Author Archives: yllacaspia

Paprikás pancakes

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One a recent holiday to Budapest I feel in love with these pancakes, which I tried in a lovely traditional restaurant near the City Park. I couldn’t wait to try out my own take on them when I got home – here I’ve made the sauce less salty, reduced the calories by using low fat yoghurt and used flavourful chicken thighs instead of breast.

  • 6 chicken thighs, skin removed
  • 2 green peppers, sliced
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1.5 tbsp hot paprika
  • 1.5tbsp sweet paprika
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 4-5 tbsp low-fat plain yoghurt
  • 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 6-8 plain pancakes (use your favourite recipe – I like this one)

Mix the flour with 1tbsp hot paprika and 1 tbsp sweet paprika. Heat the oil and dredge the chicken thighs in the flour, setting the leftover flour aside for later. When the oil is hot, fry the chicken thighs in batches until browned all over. Once done, keep the chicken in a plate or bowl while you fry the peppers and onions until the onion is soft. Add the chicken back to the pan with the chicken stock, then bring to the boil, cover, and turn down to a simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool slightly. Mix the reserved flour into 2tbsp of yoghurt and then stir into the stew. Finally, stir in the rest of the yoghurt.

To serve: remove the bones from the chicken pieces and shored the meat into the sauce, then use to fill or top the pancakes. Great with garden peas or a crunchy salad.

Pork and sage burgers

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These pork burgers were a hit at my recent barbecue and enough people asked for the recipe that I thought I’d share it here – they are great on the barbecue or wrapped with streaky bacon, grilled and served with fries. Gothman and I may even have had them for breakfast with fried eggs one sunny morning.

  • 500g lean minced pork
  • 1 small red onion, chopped finely
  • 2 spring onions, chopped finely
  • 1 chilli, chopped
  • 1 tbsp dried sage
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed

Optional additions

  • 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
  • 1 small or medium egg

Method: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until evenly mixed. Refrigerate for an hour, then form into small patties and return to the fridge until you are ready to cook them. Grill at a high heat for five minutes on each side and serve with homemade burger rolls, red onion relish and hot chilli sauce if you’re brave enough.

Gaiju Cake

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One of the things I particularly like to do is invent special cakes for friends’ birthdays. This decadent little number was for my friend Daniel. He’d mentioned he was serving bourbon at his birthday party and I wanted to bring something with spice in it that would complement the flavour. But you don’t need whiskey to enjoy this cake! It’s great for any special occasion.

For the saffron and cardamom sponge:

  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 3-4 strands saffron
  • 175g butter (room temperature)
  • 175g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 175g flour, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp milk

Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and crush them with a pestle and mortar, then soak the saffron strands in a teaspoon of boiling water. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and then beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the spices. Finally, stir in the flour and baking powder. Divide the mixture between two greased sandwich tins and bake at 175C for 25-30 minutes.

For the saffron cream:

  • 60ml double cream
  • A few strands saffron
  • 1 tbsp icing sugar

Soak the saffron strands in 2tsp boiling water and leave to soak for a few minutes before adding to the cream. Whip the cream and saffron into stiff peaks, then combine with the icing sugar.

For the buttercream:

  • A few saffron strands soaked in 1tbsp boiling water
  • 140g butter (at room temperature)
  • 280g icing sugar

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat until they form a smooth cream

Once the cake has cooled, assembly is easy – spread the saffron cream on one of your cakes and place the other on top. Then smother the whole thing with buttercream, using a palette knife for a smooth effect – then enjoy!