from my orchid kitchen

Inspired by the traditional and delicious Italian Caprese salad, this is a quick and healthy way to serve succulent chicken breasts topped with melted mozzarella cheese, ripe cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and a touch of balsamic that the whole family will love.

The Ingredients

• Chicken - For the oven cooking times mentioned, whole but small chicken breasts are recommended, or 2 large breasts cut in half lengthwise instead.
• Mozzarella cheese - to obtain thick slices I simply used 2 pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese cut in half but can be replaced by pizza grated cheese.
• Cherry tomatoes - the chicken can also be served with another kind of tomato sliced or cut into pieces.
• Salt and Pepper - basic seasonings in savory dishes
• Powdered garlic and Paprika - are also quite common when it comes to chicken meat seasoning, but can be replaced by chopped fresh garlic or other herbs/spices to taste.
• Balsamic vinegar - it's optional, but in Caprese salad, it is very common to use it as a seasoning and it also complements well with the flavors present in this recipe.

How to make

• Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. To make them more succulent, they can be left in brine in a proportion of 1 tablespoon for each 250ml of cold water (use enough water to cover all the meat) for 2 hours or at least 30 minutes, and drain it well before adding other spices (in this case it is not necessary to season it with salt, just the pepper).
• Then season with garlic powder and paprika on both sides.
• A frying pan is placed on the stove with a little olive oil where the chicken breasts will be seared for about 3 minutes (on each side), to also gain a little color.
• The oven is turned to 200ºC, and the chicken breasts are layered on a tray or other container that can stand oven heat, previously greased with a little olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes.
• After that time, remove from the oven and place a slice of cheese over each breast, returning them to the oven for another 2 or 3 minutes (enough for the cheese to melt).
• Serve the chicken sprinkled with chopped basil, a little balsamic vinegar to taste, and the cherry tomatoes (those who like roasted cherry tomatoes can add them to the chicken breasts during cooking.

Caprese chicken recipe

Ingredients

4 (small) chicken breasts
4 thick slices of fresh mozzarella
20 cherry tomatoes (approximately)
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (optional)
Chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder
Paprika powder

1. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
2. In a frying pan, brown the chicken in a little olive oil, about 3 minutes on each side.
3. Remove the chicken to a heat-proof tray or container, and place it in the oven at 200ºC for about 20 minutes.
4. Place a slice of cheese on each breast, and return it to the oven just so that the cheese melts (2 or 3 minutes).
5. Before serving, decorate with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar.

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For when you want a special dessert, this light mascarpone mousse combines perfectly with juicy fresh strawberries, which in turn are paired with a dense chocolate and hazelnut cream.

This dessert can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator, but I must warn you that with the cold, the hazelnut cream can lose its creaminess and become solid. My suggestion is to prepare the mousse with the strawberries and at the time of serving add the hazelnut cream and the other elements of the topping, or else leave everything ready and remove it from the refrigerator ahead of time and let it reach room temperature.

The ingredients

• Mascarpone cheese and cream - these are the two main ingredients of the mousse (along with sugar) and which will incorporate air and produce a light and creamy mousse.
• Sugar - it will be necessary to sweeten the mousse, but also the strawberries; as I used this sugar with stevia blend, only 2 tablespoons are needed; I also added 1 teaspoon of this sugar to the strawberries.
• Strawberries - originally the fruit used was raspberry, but I decided to change and also increase the quantity so that the dessert had more fruit. It can be used fresh or frozen, but if frozen, thaw for a few minutes and then cut into pieces.
• Hazelnut and chocolate cream - as you may have noticed, in the recipe I mention hazelnut cream and not the famous trademark (Nutella®), simply because it is not the cream I buy, preferring to use a healthier one. This one from Naturefoods was the one I used, and there are other brands on the market, even sugar-free and also with a higher percentage of hazelnuts, but if you want to make this dessert even more special, I suggest this Lindt chocolate cream.
• Hazelnuts and hazelnut cream wafers - are optional toppings; the hazelnuts may or may not be toasted (I didn’t, I just served halved), and the wafers may be hazelnut or chocolate filled or may even be replaced by another type of cookie to taste.

How to do

• Start by washing and arranging the strawberries, then cut them into small pieces into a bowl.
• If you want you can sweeten the strawberries a little, and reserve. In another bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with the sugar and cream, and reserve.
• We choose the containers (cups or bowls) where we are going to serve. Of the total amount of strawberries in pieces, half is removed and divided by the bottom of each container.
• Then the mascarpone mousse is distributed over all glasses/cups. The remaining strawberries are distributed over the mousse.
• Finally, everything is covered with the topping elements: hazelnut cream, wafers, hazelnuts, and some strawberries (in pieces or slices).
• It should be noted that not all hazelnut creams have the same texture, some of which are thicker and need to be heated to be a little more liquid.

Mascarpone mousse with strawberries, hazelnut cream and wafers recipe

Ingredients

125 gr mascarpone
200 ml of cream
4 tablespoons of sugar
300 gr of strawberries
150 gr of chocolate hazelnut cream

Topping
Chocolate or hazelnut wafer cookies
Hazelnuts in pieces
Strawberries

1. Cut the strawberries into small pieces, and set them aside.
2. In a bowl, beat the mascarpone with the sugar and cream.
3. Distribute some strawberries (about half the amount), through the cups or serving bowls.
4. Cover the strawberries with the mascarpone mousse.
5. Distribute the remaining strawberries on top of the mousse.
6. Then pour the hazelnut cream over the strawberries.
7. To finish, decorate with wafers, hazelnuts, and strawberries in pieces.

This gluten-free dessert is a great light and moist cake made with an uncommon key ingredient - chestnut flour, with a very pleasant taste and making you want some more.

I already had the recipe for this chestnut cake saved a few years ago in my files, because at the time it was still difficult to find chestnut flour on stores. Nowadays this is no longer the case, at least in large urban centers, with sections of healthy food in supermarkets increasing in size and variety of products, and also with the increase in the number of stores that sell products for alternative diets.

What captivated me in this simple cake was not only the fact of using chestnut, an ingredient that I quite like, but also the use of cream instead of butter or oil as a source of fat on the recipe.

Here at home, everyone loved the cake, which is quite soft and slightly moist, and contrary to what you might think, the chestnut flour doesn't give the cake that flavor we find when we eat other desserts made with fresh chestnuts, but a soft flavor that contrasts very well with the lemon. Despite everything, anyone who wants can make this cake without adding the lemon zest and replacing it with vanilla.

The Ingredients

• Eggs
• Chestnut flour - this flour belongs to the group of alternative flours to serve in gluten-free diets, and basically results from finely ground dry nuts. There are many traditional recipes of Italian origin that use this flour, not only in sweet recipes but also in some savory and even bread.
• Baking powder - in addition to the whipped egg whites, baking powder is used to make this cake even fluffier.
• Sugar - the amount present allows it to be pleasantly sweet. Can be substituted for brown sugar or coconut sugar.
• Lemon zest - the lemon flavor in a cake is always pleasant, but it can also be optional and replaced with 1 or 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
• Creme fraîche - this dairy is nothing more than fresh cream, but with about 30% (and up to 50%) of fat to which a culture of bacteria has been added. Due to bacterial fermentation, its texture is thicker and creamier, thus avoiding the presence of thickeners, and has a slightly acidic flavor.

How to make

• Start by beating the egg yolks together with the sugar until it dissolves and the cream is pale and fluffy.
• To this cream are added the lemon zest and then the creme fraîche.
• Then, the chestnut flour (previously sifted and mixed with the baking powder) is involved in the preparation. When sifting, we will avoid the formation of lumps.
• Apart, beat the egg whites.
• The egg whites are involved in the preparation, little by little, so that they don't lose air and collapse.
• The preparation is then poured into a greased and sprinkled with sugar pan (the one in this recipe is 20cm).
• Bake at 180ºC between 35 to 40 minutes.
• Decorate with some powdered sugar after cooling and when serving, as the cake has some moisture and it'll gradually dissolve the sugar we apply.
• In this decoration, I used the crochet/lace technique, in which we basically use those old lace cloths or towels (washed and cleaned) and put them on top of the cold cake and sift some powdered sugar on top. Not all cakes are good candidates for this type of decoration, but it is quite original. In light coloured cakes, you can also make the design by replacing sugar with cocoa powder. 

Chestnut, cream fraîche and lemon recipe

Ingredients

4 eggs
125 gr of sugar
200 gr of creme fraîche
125 gr of chestnut flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
Zest of 1 lemon

1. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until you get a soft cream.
2. Add the lemon zest and creme fraîche, wrapping well.
3. Apart, sift the brown flour and add the baking powder.
4. The flour is then incorporated into the previous preparation.
5. Whip the egg whites.
6. The egg whites are gradually well wrapped in the preparation with the help of a whisk or spatula.
7. Place in a greased and sprinkled with sugar pan.
8. Bake at 180ºC between 35 to 40 minutes.
9. Decorate with some powdered sugar.

Adapted from "Lemon, creme fraîche & chestnut cake recipe" / Originally posted in 2019

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This homemade dessert is nothing more than pure and ripe mango puree with a bit of natural pineapple juice combined with gelatin and prepared in a pudding mold.

In these summer days, fresh desserts are always more prevalent, but sometimes they aren't the healthiest ones. Children mainly love fresh jellies and puddings but for the most part, there is no real fruit involved, just color and artificial flavors.

It is not the case of this mango pudding made only with fresh fruit, yogurt, and little (if any) sugar.

The ingredients

• Mango - in the pudding you see here was used fresh ripe mango, however, it can also be made with canned mango pulp.
• Pineapple juice - in this recipe I used this juice but you can use any other as long as it is from real fruit. It is not recommended to use pineapple-flavored soda because, in addition to being nothing more than a liquid full of sugars/sweeteners and additives when exposed to heat, it will undergo changes that can be harmful to health and also the taste may change.
• Yogurt - as I had no yogurt in my fridge, I replaced it with 0% quark cheese that has approximately the same consistency, but both natural flavored and/or vegan yogurts, as well as those with mango or pineapple flavor.
• Sugar - the amount of sugar used will depend on several factors: if the pineapple juice has sugar, if the yogurt is sweetened, the natural sweetness of the mango, and finally, the personal liking of each one of us.
• Agar-agar - when it comes to preparing this type of fresh puddings, I prefer to use agar-agar algae instead of gelatin sheets not only because they are of vegetable origin (unlike gelatin sheets that are of animal origin) but also because they set better and its structure and consistency better withstand not so cool temperatures.

How to make

• If using natural fruit (as I did), start by peeling the mango and removing the stone.
• All the pulp pieces are crushed, using a food processor, blender, or hand mixer, yielding approximately 400ml of mango puree.
• The puree is then passed through a strainer in order to remove the filaments that may have escaped the blending (this step is optional and depends on the blending method and equipment used).
• If you prefer to use the canned pulp, just measure the same amount that I obtained from the fruit.
• Add the puree to the yogurt (or quark) and mix well.
• Sweeten it with some sugar to taste (depends on the amount of sugar present in the ingredients used).
• In a proper container, bring the water together with the agar-agar to the heat, stirring constantly to dissolve well.
• Let it boil for approximately 1 minute.
• Turn off the heat and pour in the pineapple juice, stirring constantly.
• Without stopping stirring, add the 2 preparations (agar-agar with pineapple + mango with yogurt) until everything is homogeneous.
• The interior of a pudding mold is rinsed with water, and then the prepared mixture is poured into it.
• Place in the refrigerator until solid, at least 4 hours.

Fresh mango pineapple pudding recipe

1. Peel the mango and remove the core.
2. In a food processor, blender or hand mixer, grind the pulp well.
3. Pass the pulp through a strainer to remove filaments that have not been crushed (optional).
4. Add the pulp, sugar, yogurt or quark and mix well.
5. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil together with the agar-agar, stirring constantly so that it dissolves well.
6. Let it boil for approximately 1 minute.
7. Turn off the heat, and stirring constantly, add the pineapple juice.
8. Always stirring, preferably with a whisk, add the 2 preparations until everything is homogeneous.
9. The interior of a pan is rinsed with water, and then the prepared mixture is poured into it.
10. Place in the refrigerator until solid, at least 4 hours.

Made with just 5 main ingredients, it is the perfect crepe to taste simple with a hint of cinnamon or on these hot days with ice cream.

The ingredients

• Egg - to connect the elements and give some consistency to the crepes. I estimate that it can be replaced by a "flax egg" but I still haven't tried this alternative.
• Banana - it is advisable to use ripe bananas, which will give crepes a softer texture in addition to the flavor and also allow the recipe to be sweetened naturally.
• Milk - animal or vegetable milk can be used, and I usually use oat or almond milk.
• Corn starch - this ingredient will replace wheat flour, making this a gluten-free recipe.
• Coconut oil - since the banana is present, only one tablespoon of fat in the dough is needed.

How to make

• In a blender, food processor or hand mixer, place the liquid ingredients first: milk, egg, and coconut oil (melted).
• Cut the banana into pieces and add.
• Then add the remaining ingredients - sugar and corn starch.
• Crush everything until you get a homogeneous liquid and without banana pieces (you may find, especially those more used to making crepes, that the preparation is more liquid than in other recipes, but it is normal because as they use bananas they have a slightly moistier texture but similar in consistency compared to simple crepes).
• Place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 15 minutes.
• Heat a frying pan or crepe pan, over low heat and lightly oil it with a few drops of oil or a little butter.
• When it is hot, pour part of the mixture into the pan to form a thin film of dough.
• Once it is cooked, turn it over carefully and let it cook for a few more seconds.
• It is very important to grease the pan whenever you are preparing another crepe, as they can easily stick to the bottom.
• This recipe yields approximately 10 to 12 crepes of about 22 cm in diameter.
  

Banana crepes recipe

Ingredients

1 medium banana
1 egg
250 ml of milk (of any kind)
1 cup of corn starch (approx. 140 gr)
1 tablespoon of sugar (optional - I don't usually add)
1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or butter)

1. Place all ingredients in a blender, food processor or hand mixer glass.
2. Grind everything until a homogeneous liquid is obtained.
3. Allow to rest, preferably in the refrigerator, for at least 15 minutes.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan or crepe pan, lightly greased with a little oil.
5. Pour about a soup ladle (barely filled) of the mixture, covering the bottom of the pan.
6. When it starts to show some "bubbles", and with the help of a spatula, loosen the edges of the crepe, and turn to get color on the opposite side.

Adapted from "Crepes de banana" from the portuguese book "O Verde" by Olívia Santos

This savory cake with typical portuguese ingredients is ideal to serve with a salad to take to lunch at work, for a picnic, or even to the beach.

Inspired by the other arugula cake previously published here on the blog, I made a less vegetarian version with more Portuguese (or perhaps Iberian) flavors using chorizo, onions, and olives.

One of the advantages of this type of recipe is that it can be made the day before (and I guarantee that this cake tastes even better the next day than on the day itself...) and is well preserved if we want to savour it outside the home.

The ingredients

• Arugula/rocket leaves (for salad)
• Eggs
• Flour and baking powder - self-raising flour can also be used, in which case the teaspoon of baking powder is omitted.
• Olive oil - in this case, olive oil has two functions: to be the fat chosen as the base ingredient of this savory cake, and also to be the fat used to sauté the onion.
• Milk - you can use any type of milk, but if using vegetable milk you must take into account the flavor that will add to the recipe. Here I used oat milk.
• Cheese - for this recipe I prefer to use mozzarella cheese that has a relatively neutral flavor but can be substituted for Edam type of cheese.
• Onion - I chose to use fresh onion that is then sautéed in olive oil, to remove some of the onion's moisture and also add more flavor.
• Chorizo ​​- I used chorizo ​​that is bought thinly sliced, but you can substitute this for bacon cut into strips.
• Olives - since the quantity is still significant and to save time, I bought black olives that were already pitted and sliced.
• Garlic powder - in savory cakes I prefer to use this dry seasoning instead of fresh garlic because it is better distributed in the dough. However, chopped garlic can be used which will be sautéed along with the onion.
• Salt and Pepper - these are two basic spices that we use in almost everything.

How to make

• Start by chopping the onion and sauteeing it in a frying pan, using 1 or 2 tablespoons of the olive oil mentioned in the recipe.
• Allow it to cool before adding to the preparation.
• Beat the eggs, adding the spices - salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• Later, the other liquid ingredients are added - olive oil (amount which was not used to sauté the onion), milk, and also the grated cheese.
• The arugula is removed from the package, and the leaves are checked, as there are usually some that may be wilted and must be discarded. If necessary, rinse them again and drain well before adding the arugula leaves to the egg mixture.
• Drain the slices of olives well from the jar and add to the preparation.
• Cut the chorizo ​​slices into thin strips (an easier way to do this is to cut the slices using kitchen scissors instead of using a knife), and place them in the bowl of the preparation.
• Once cooled, the onion can also be added to the other ingredients.
• Previously, the baking powder is well mixed with the flour, and then gradually the flour is added to the preparation so that there are no lumps, involving everything very well.
• Grease a loaf pan (in this case, 18x10cm) and line it with parchment paper.
• The preparation is poured into the pan and cooked at 180ºC, between 45 to 50 minutes.

Arugula, olives, onion & chorizo cake recipe

1. In a frying pan or small saucepan, brown the chopped onion using part of the oil in the recipe.
2. Reserve until cool.
3. In a bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
4. The remaining olive oil, milk, and grated cheese are added.
5. Cut the chorizo ​​slices into thin strips.
6. Arugula, onions, sliced ​​olives, and chorizo ​​strips are added to the preparation.
7. In a bowl mix the flour with the baking powder.
8. Gradually, the flour is well wrapped in the preparation.
9. Place in a loaf pan previously greased and lined with parchment paper.
10. Bake at 180ºC for about 45 to 50 minutes.

This fresh dessert is very simple to prepare and uses of one of the most well-known tropical fruits - passion fruit, which is included not only as a topping but also in the filling of this cheesecake slice.

Whenever I can find passion fruit at cheaper prices, I let it ripen and then freeze the pulp to be able to use it in future recipes like this.

We all know the concept of cheesecake, and that there are two different types: those cooked in the oven, and those that use gelatin or another type of thickener and aren't baked.

However, there are also variations such as "cheesecakes in a jar" or the so-called "cheesecake slices", that are no more than cheesecakes but with less filling (and so faster to cook), often made in square or rectangular trays and cut into squares.

I decided to prepare this version of mine in a round shape, and as you can see in the photos, by including the pulp in the cream filling, it becomes slightly more creamy, but its structure is not affected because it is not as tall as a regular cheesecake.

The ingredients

The base requires the following ingredients:

• Egg - to connect all elements.
• Milk - when adding milk (which can be of any type - I used almond milk) the texture of the dough will be softer.
• Flour - here I used a mix of 2 flours - white wheat + wholemeal, but you can use only white wheat flour or replace whole flour for spelt or oat flour.
• Sugar - it's a small quantity just to slightly sweeten the base; I used white sugar but brown or coconut sugar can be used (but it will change a bit the color of the base).
• Oil - since one of the ingredients here is desiccated coconut, coconut oil was used, but any other vegetable oil or even extra virgin olive oil can be an alternative.
• Coconut - a small portion of desiccated grated coconut is added to this base pasta because it complements the tropical flavor of the passion fruit, but without being too intense.
• Vanilla - it is optional, but it's an ingredient that goes into almost all sweet recipes.

Only 4 ingredients are needed for the filling:

• Passion fruit - is the main ingredient of this cheesecake, and is used both in the filling cream and in the topping. You can also make this with canned passion fruit, and you can omit the seeds by straining the pulp.
• Cream cheese - this cream cheese is of the Philadelphia® type, but I prefer to use other brands without carrageenan (E407) and other additives.
• Sugar - this cheesecake is not very sweet, but this amount is enough to counteract the acidity of the fruit.
• Eggs - these give firmness to the filling and unite all the other ingredients.

How to make

• Start by preparing the base, beating the egg with the vanilla, and then add the oil and milk.
• Gradually, the sugar is dissolved and the grated coconut is wrapped and finally the flours.
• Grease a removable ring pan (20cm) and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Spread the base preparation, smoothing it with the help of a spoon or spatula.
• Bake at 180ºC to bake for about 20 minutes.
• While the base is cooking, cut the passion fruit in half and remove the pulp for a bowl.
• The pulp of 2 passion fruits is reserved.
• The filling is prepared, in which the cream cheese is beaten with the sugar.
• Then the eggs are added, one by one, and finally the passion fruit pulp is mixed.
• Remove the pan from the oven and pour the mixture over the base.
• Put it back in the oven, reducing the temperature to 160ºC, allowing it to cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
• After that time, remove from the oven and spread the pulp of 2 passion fruits that had been reserved on top (as it is still hot, the filling will absorb the juice and the seeds will decorate the top of the cheesecake).
• Allow to cool to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator (where the filling gains consistency) until serving time.
• Anyone who wants can add even more passion fruit pulp as a topping if they wish so.

Passionfruit cheesecake slice recipe

Ingredients

Base
50 gr of all-purpose flour
20 gr of wholemeal flour
1 small egg
2 tablespoons of oil
40 gr of sugar
30 ml of milk
10 gr grated desiccated coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Filling
250 gr of cream cheese
140 gr of sugar
2 eggs
6 passion fruits (approx. 125ml)
1 to 2 passion fruits to decorate

1. Mix all the liquid ingredients in the base.
2. Apart, mix all the dry ingredients of the base.
3. Wrap the dry mixture well in the liquid mixture.
4. Line and grease a removable bottom pan (used 20cm diameter) with parchment paper.
5. Pour the base mixture into the pan and bake at 180ºC for about 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese well with the sugar and add the eggs, one by one.
7. Finally, the passion fruit pulp is wrapped in the cream.
8. After the base comes out of the oven, the cream filling is poured over it.
9. Put it back in the oven at 160ºC, cooking for 25 to 30 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and while hot, spread the remaining passion fruit pulp on top.
11. Allow to cool and store in the refrigerator until serving.