Baked Herb Crepes

These savory spinach and ricotta cheese crepes are a show stealer at the brunch table. Covered with tomato puree, these crepes are baked and are amazing to eat!

Baked Herb Crepes

Chef's Name	:	Manju Malhi
Recipe Servings	:	4
Recipe Cook Time	:	1 Hour

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs of your choice
  
  1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra for frying
  
  75 ml milk
  
  3 eggs
  
  30 gm plain flour
  
  Pinch of salt
  
  Sunflower oil, for greasing
  
  
  For the Sauce:
  
  2 Tbsp olive oil
  
  1 small onion, chopped
  
  2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
  
  400 gm can chopped tomatoes
  
  Pinch of light brown sugar
  
  
  For the Filling:
  
  450 gm fresh spinach, cooked
  
  80 gm ricotta cheese
  
  60 gm pine nuts, toasted
  
  5 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and chopped
  
  2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
  
  Salt
  
  Nutmeg
  
  Ground pepper
  
  4 egg whites

Methods

To make the crepes, place the herbs and oil in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Add the milk, eggs, flour, and salt and process again. Leave to rest for 30 minutes. Heat a small frying pan and add a little oil.

Add a ladle full of batter. Swirl around to cover the base.

Cook for 2 minutes, turn and cook for 2 minutes.


To Make The Sauce:

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and sugar and cook for about 10 minutes, or until thickened. Puree in a blender, then sieve and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375F.


To Make the Filling:

Mix the spinach with the ricotta, pine nuts, tomatoes, and basil.

Season with salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold one-third into the mixture, and then gently fold in the rest.

Place one crepe at a time on a lightly oiled baking sheet, add a spoonful of filling and fold into quarters.

Bake for 12 minutes until set. Reheat the sauce and serve with the crepes.

Chicken Lasagne

White wine infused chicken dumplings, lasagna roundels and bechamel sauce cooked together and served with poultry.

Chicken Lasagne

Chef's Name	:	Chef Tomasso Maddalena Travertino, The Oberoi
Recipe Servings	:	4
Recipe Cook Time	:	3 Hours

Ingredients

• 250 gm pasta dough
  
  1/2 cup bechamel sauce
  
  2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
  
  1/2 cup chicken dumplings
  
  1/2 cup sautéed mushrooms
  
  1 tsp truffle oil
  
  2 tsp poultry jus
  
  
  For the Pasta Dough:
  
  400 gm
  
  4 eggs
  
  1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  
  
  For the Bechamel Sauce:
  
  2 Tbsp butter
  
  1/2 cup flour
  
  1 cup cold milk
  
  1 bay leaf
  
  1 whole onion
  
  2 to 3 Tbsp sauteed mushrooms
  
  2 to 3 Tbsp soaked morels
  
  A pinch of pepper
  
  
  For the chicken dumplings
  
  1/2 cup minced chicken mixed with rosemary and thyme
  
  2 tsp white wine

Methods

For the Pasta Dough:

In a bowl, mix the eggs to the flour, add extra virgin olive oil and knead a dough. Allow it to rest for 2 hrs.


For the Bechamel sauce:

Melt butter in a pan and add the flour. Mix in cold milk and stir. Now add the onion, bay leaf, pepper, morels and the mushrooms. Cook for few minutes and let it cool.


For the Chicken Dumpling:

Make small dumplings with the minced chicken. Now sear and cook them in a pan with white wine.

Prepare thin sheets of the dough using the pasta rolling machines.

Cut it into roundels and cook in rapid boiling salt water for 3-5 minutes.

On a plate, spread the bechamel sauce and assemble the lasagna roundels folding in the sauce.

Spread the chicken dumplings and some cheese on top.

Now bake it until you get a light brown color.

Serve the dish with streaks of poultry jus and truffle oil.

Lasagne of Squashes

Layers of delicious lasagne sheets, cheese and freshly made sauce baked golden.

Lasagne of Squashes

Chef's Name	:	Vicky Ratnani
Recipe Cook Time	:	45 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tsp of olive oil
  
  10 to 12 sheets of lasagne
  
  1 medium zucchini, chopped into bite size pieces
  
  1 medium yellow squash, chopped into bite size pieces
  
  2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  
  A few leaves of fresh oregano
  
  1/2 cup grated mozzarella
  
  1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
  
  
  For the sauce:
  
  2 Tbsp olive oil
  
  1 medium onion, chopped
  
  2 large cloves of garlic
  
  4 medium sized tomatoes, cut in half
  
  1 red bell pepper, sliced
  
  1/2 a cup of tomato sauce
  
  A few basil leaves
  
  Salt and pepper to taste

Methods

Spread the chopped zucchini on a baking tray and season with salt and cracked black pepper, thyme, oregano and olive oil.

Roast it in an oven for 9 minutes at 250 degrees C.

In a deep vessel, blanch the lasagne sheets in salted boiling water and a dash of oil, till its half cooked.

Then drain and shock the sheets in iced water to avoid overcooking. Keep aside.

In a mixie, blend all the ingredients for the sauce together with 1 tbsp of oil.

Heat another 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan, add the blended ingredients and let it simmer for 4-5
minutes.

Season the sauce with salt and let it reduce to a thick sauce.

Add this sauce to the roasted zucchini and yellow squash and mix well.

In a baking dish, smear one spoon of the sauce at the bottom and lay the lasagna sheets
side by side to cover the base.

Sprinkle some grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and then spoon some of the sauce
with zucchini and yellow squash over it.

Sprinkle some more cheese along with a few basil leaves and then repeat with the lasagna
sheets, cheese and then the sauce.

Repeat the layers till the baking dish is fully covered.

Drizzle with a cap of olive oil and add more basil leaves.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 - 190 C and till the crust is golden brown.

Serve hot.

Potato Rosti

Rosti is a Swiss dish made with grated potatoes which was usually consumed as breakfast. Similar to hash browns, it is popularly eaten as a side dish with any continental meal. Topped with Gruyere cheese and mildly seasoned with salt and pepper, potato rosti is a very simple and easy dish to make.

Potato Rosti

Recipe Servings	:	4
Recipe Cook Time	:	20 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large potatoes
  
  Salt and pepper
  
  Oil to fry
  
  Sliced Gruyere cheese

Methods

Boil potatoes in salted water until 3/4 done. Cool and peel.

Grate the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a hot pan, fry until both sides are golden brown and crisp.

Place cheese slices on top and allow it to melt. Serve hot.

Greek Salad

Easy and healthy salad bowl of greens and feta cheese.

Greek Salad

Chef's Name	:	Vicky Ratnani
Recipe Servings	:	4
Recipe Cook Time	:	15 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 bunch romaine lettuce
  
  1 cucumbers (peeled & de-seeded)
  
  1 red onions
  
  1/4 each bell peppers
  
  6 olives
  
  5 cherry tomatoes
  
  30 gm feta cheese
  
  A pinch of oregano
  
  20 ml red wine vinegar
  
  40 ml olive oil
  
  Salt & pepper to taste

Methods

Wash and prep the vegetables into chunks. Whisk together oregano, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Pour over the dressing.

Toss and serve the salad chilled.

Chocolate Brownie

The classic brownie recipe with walnuts and chocolate. Serve them warm with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle with some chocolate syrup.

Chocolate Brownie

Chef's Name	:	Niru Gupta
Recipe Servings	:	5
Recipe Cook Time	:	30 minutes

Ingredients

• 100 gm butter
  
  200 gm sugar
  
  6 Tbsp cocoa
  
  100 ml milk
  
  150 gm flour
  
  2 eggs
  
  50 gm chopped walnuts

Methods

Melt the butter, sugar, cocoa and milk together.

Add remaining ingredients. Stir to mix.

Bake in a square baking tin at 180 degree C for 25 minutes.

Cool and cut into squares.

Vietnamese Rice Paper Wraps

Julienned vegetables, glass noodles and fish sauce dressing wrapped in rice paper.

Vietnamese Rice Paper Wraps

Chef's Name	:	Vicky Ratnani
Recipe Servings	:	4
Recipe Cook Time	:	15 Minutes

Ingredients

• 4 each rice paper 4 each
  
  2-3 large Iceberg lettuce leaves
  
  1 cup glass noodles
  
  1 radish, julienne
  
  1 carrot, julienne
  
  1 cucumbers 
  
  1 tsp fish sauce
  
  1 sliced chilly
  
  1 tsp Lime juice
  
  1 tsp soy sauce
  
  1 tsp toasted crushed peanuts
  
  
  

Methods

On a wet kitchen towel, lay out the rice wrappers. Layer the iceberg lettuce on to the rice wrapper.

Mix the rest of the ingredients to make a salad. Pile on to the lower half of the rice paper and wrap to form a roll.

Cut into 4-5 pieces and serve with a spicy dip.

Misal Pav

Cooked moong mixed with yogurt, chutneys, masalas, onions and tomatoes, served with pav.

Misal Pav

Chef's Name	:	Niru Gupta
Recipe Servings	:	2
Recipe Cook Time	:	25 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup sprouted moong
  
  1 tsp cumin - roasted and powdered
  
  3/4 cup tomatoes - chopped
  
  3/4 cup onions - chopped
  
  1 cup yogurt
  
  1 Tbsp imli chutney
  
  1 Tbsp oil
  
  Red chilli powder - to taste
  
  Salt - to taste

Methods

Heat oil and add 1/2 cup water, moong and salt. Cover it and cook on low heat until the moong becomes soft.

Add a pinch of salt to the curd and beat.

Transfer the sprouts to a plate.

Pour the beaten curd, chutney, cumin seed powder, onions, tomatoes, chili powder and salt.

Serve with paav.

Chocolate Peanut Slice

Honey, oats and peanut butter baked, topped with white and dark chocolate and served with mint iced tea.

Chocolate Peanut Slice

Recipe Cook Time	:	1 Hour

Ingredients

• 100 gm butter
  
  125 gm castor sugar
  
  2 tbsp honey
  
  2 tbsp peanut butter
  
  125 gm flour
  
  1/2 tsp baking powder
  
  150 gm rolled oats
  
  150 gm unsalted peanuts - roasted and chopped
  
  1 egg
  
  Topping
  
  175 gm melted dark chocolate
  
  50 gm melted white chocolate
  
  Iced mint tea
  
  handful of mint leaves
  
  1/2 liter boiling water
  
  1 tea bag
  
  sugar to taste
  
  juice 1/2 lime

Methods

Melt butter, sugar, honey and peanut butter together.

Stir in flour, baking powder, oats and nuts.

Press into an oiled 8" by 12" tray.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes. Cool.

Spread and decorate with chocolate before cutting into squares


For Iced Mint Tea:

Place mint leaves in a jug.

Pour on hot water. Infuse with teabag. Sweeten to taste. Cool and strain.

Sharpen with lemon juice and serve with ice.