SPRING ROLLS

300g pack cooked rice noodles from the chiller cabinet (see tips)
400g mixed vegetables, thinly sliced and put in separate bowls, such as red peppers, beansprouts, carrots, shredded Chinese leaf cabbage, spring onions
140g cooked prawns
100g cooked chicken or duck, shredded
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
small piece ginger, finely chopped
splash light soy sauce
Chinese five-spice powder, for sprinkling
8-10 sheets filo pastry
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds, for sprinkling if you want
For the dipping sauce:

Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Before you get the kids cooking, put the noodles, vegetables, prawns and chicken in individual bowls for everyone to help themselves. Wash hands, put aprons on, sit the kids down and give them their own mixing bowl and spoon. Let them choose which ingredients they want (noodles are essential) in their rolls and if they want to graze as they choose, that’s fine – all the ingredients are cooked or can be eaten raw. Add a bit of garlic and ginger, a tiny dash of soy and sprinkling of five-spice to each bowl and let them mix everything together.

Push the bowl aside and lay a sheet of pastry in front of each child. Ask them to spoon the filling down one side of each sheet then give them the beaten egg and a brush so they can brush around the edges. Then help them to roll them up neatly by folding both sides over the filling, then rolling them up.

Lift the spring rolls onto a baking tray, seam side down, brush with a little more egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if you want. Try to remember which child made which roll to save any arguments at the end! Bake the rolls for 20-25 mins or until golden.

When the spring rolls are golden and crisp, remove from the oven.  Bon appetite!

FRIED SPRAT

In Estonia this dish is made with sprat (baltic herring), a subspecies of the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). Baltic herring is smaller and less fatty than the Atlantic herring, and they're also much smaller - up to 18 cm long compared to the Atlantic herring's 40-45 cm. Sprat (baltic herring) is considered the "national fish" of Estonia. It's known as silakka in Finnish, strömming in Swedish, hareng de la Baltique in French. True (Nordic) fish aficionados claim the taste of Baltic herring to be superior to the taste of much more well-known sardines. :)
If you cannot get hold of the Baltic herring, you could try sardines instead - apparently the marinade works well with fried sardines, too.

1 kg fresh sprat 
5-6 egg
200-300g flour
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
oil, for frying

Clean the fish (remove the heads, guts and backbone). Beat the eggs with salt and black pepper. Fry the fish. Dip fish fillets into the mixture, flesh side down. Press both sides of the fish into the flour, shaking off any extra flour.
Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot. Place the breaded fish fillets, flesh sides down, onto the pan and fry for a 2-3 minutes, until dark golden brown. Flip gently over and fry the skin side until golden brown. Bon appetite!

This is a fresh sprat. 

SMOKED SALMON POTATO BITES

18 baby potatoes (500g)
100-200g Philadelphia Light Sweet Chilli
200g smoked salmon

salt
black pepper

Place the potatoes on a baking tray and cook at 200 degrees C, gas mark 6 for about 30-40 minutes or until cooked. When cooked, cut the potatoes in half and top with a little Philly and a piece of smoked salmon. Serve whilst still warm or coldly.

Bon appetite!

M&M COOKIES

375g flour, self-raising

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

a little salt

220g butter at room temperature

280g sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 pack of M&M candies

Preheat the oven to 190C degrees. Mix the self-raising flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl and let stand dry.

Whip with a mixer at high speed, or 2 min. and if, or have a smooth top, then add sugar and blend until the heleja fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time now and blend at low speed and add vanilla. Mix together all ingredients now.

Put into the oven in a pan Add 2 tablespoons of baking paper and an ice cream or a bullet the size of the ball. Click on the ball after a 5-8 M & M candies and bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. or until cookie edges are golden brown hue seen. Let the cookies cool on baking trays to cool on a rack or raise caution, since the beginning of the cookies are soft and going broke fast, cools goes hard and crispy :) Serve with cold milk or cold cocoa, tea or coffee. Cookies are a big hit children's birthday parties :)

 Bon appetite!

ESTONIAN HONEY CAKE

Honey cake layers:
6 tbsp honey
200 g (250 ml/1 cup) caster sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
360 g plain flour (600 ml)
Between layers:
1 kg sour cream
85 g (100 ml) caster sugar

Whisk eggs until pale and thick. Heat honey and sugar in a large saucepan. When it's about to boil, remove from the heat and add the whisked eggs, stirring until combined. Add baking soda and stir again.
Add flour gradually, mixing until combined. Put aside to cool completely! Divide the dough into seven equal parts (it's easiest to do it by rolling it into a cylinder and then cutting into seven pieces). 

Take seven sheets of baking/parchment paper, dust very slightly with flour.

On a slightly floured parchment paper, form each piece of dough into a ball and then roll out into a 24 cm circles.
Bake one dough circle at the time for 5 minutes in the middle of a 225 C oven until dark golden. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking paper.
Layer five baked circles with the sour cream on a cake stand, covering also the top cake circle.
Crush the seventh cake circle in a food processor and sprinkle on the top layer of sour cream.
Place into the fridge for 6 hours or overnight.

Bon appetite!

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

1 cup jogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 tsp salt,or to taste
500g boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
4-5 long  skewers
Sauce:
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 green jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
salt, to taste
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4  cup chopped fresh cilantro
To serve:
Basmati rice, cooked
Salad:
1/2 cucumber
5-6 radish
1/2 Chinese cabbage
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar, or to taste
salt to taste

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hour.
Preheat a grill for high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.
Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Bon appetite !

CHRISTMAS BUNDT CAKE

185g Stork tub (baking butter)
185g caster sugar
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vannilla extract
150g self-raising flour, sifted
45g cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder
25ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tsp coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tbsp water
For the topping:
50g dried cranberries
50g pistachios, roughly chopped
200-300g white chocolate, melted
You will need:
a 25cm savarin cake tin (ring mould), greased

Preheat the oven to 180C, 160C fan, 350F gas 4. Using an electric hand whisk, beat the Stork and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl, then sift over the mixture and fold in gently with a large metal spoon. Add the milk and coffee mixture and fold until combined.
Spoon the mixture into the in and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clear. Leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Melt chocolate. Spoon over the cooled cake and top with the cranberries and pistachios.

Bon appetite !