Baked Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

For about a year now, I’ve been trying to stick to a healthy kind-of diet. I wouldn’t call it a complete diet because, errr… well, I cheat a LOT! But nevertheless, I’m trying. (You probably don’t believe me considering the many recipes for baked goodies I post on the site, but I’m trying okay! Trying is important.)

I try to exercise every day, whenever I don’t get too lazy (though I must admit, I could do better). Dinners are usually salads, bowls of fruit or yogurt and honey and I try to cut back on dairy, carbonated drinks and sweet treats as much as possible; though I do indulge in a nice cheat session every once in a while (and then feel incredibly guilty about it! Grrrr )

I’m a huge fan of all things healthy. A burst of fresh, light flavours in my mouth is always welcome. Thus, when I was to do a red themed ‘Masterclass with Winola Peris’ column for the Red issue of The Woman magazine back in February, I decided to take a step back from the idea of doing a column on Red Velvet Cupcakes or Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies and do a healthy recipe instead. Also, back then I was having a real moment with feta cheese. No matter what salad I made or if I was having toasted chicken mortadella or nuggets, a slice or two of feta cheese always accompanied it.

Hence, I came up with this recipe for delicious Baked Red Bell Peppers stuffed with Feta Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes 😀

Here’s what you need. 

• Large Red Bell Peppers – 1
• Cherry Tomatoes – 250 g
• Feta cheese – 150 g, cubed or crumbled
• A bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped finely
• Dried Basil – 2 tsp
• Paprika – 1 tsp
• Roasted Black Pepper – 1 and 1/3 tsp
• Olive Oil – 1 tsp, plus extra for drizzling before baking

Here’s how you make them.

• In a bowl, toss cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, coriander, basil, paprika and roasted black pepper until well combined. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and give the mixture one final mix.
•  Halve the red bell peppers and clean out the insides. Fill each bell pepper with the cherry tomato and feta cheese filling.
• Place the filled red bell peppers in a baking tin and drizzle olive oil over them. Cover the dish with foil and place on the baking rack fitted in the top third of the oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Once done, take off the foil and bake for another five minutes at 150 degrees Celsius. Serve immediately.

Step 1: Make the Cherry Tomato – Feta Cheese Filling

Step 2: Stuff the cleaned Red Bell Peppers with the Filling

Step 3: Drizzle with Olive Oil and Bake

These Baked Stuffed Red Bell Peppers are the kind of snack you can indulge in without feeling the slightest bit guilty. Crunchy, mushy and nourishing, this dish is an extraordinary amalgamation of the unique piquancy of the bell peppers, the juicy tang of cherry tomatoes and the creamy sourness of feta cheese with refreshing hits of roasted black pepper, coriander, basil and paprika. They make for the perfect appetizer or snack-time treat. What’s best, they’re ready to eat in just under  20 minutes!

Tip: I like for my bell peppers to maintain that amazing balance between crisp and mushy, but if you would like your bell peppers to be mushier and soft, covering the dish with foil and baking for an added 10 to 15 minutes should do the trick.

Bread-Crust Pizza

It’s been a while since I blogged, and I truly missed it. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind and I’m so glad that my routine is finally slowing down a little… Alright, let’s get this post started!

Looking back at my childhood, I have many beautiful memories tied to food. I remember my mum used to pack Neer Dosas (thin South-Indian rice crepes) stuffed with ketchup in my lunch box in kindergarten. There was a time when I wouldn’t eat pizzas or hamburgers from fast food joints; I would watch as my brother savoured that junk food only to go home and feast on some Mangalorean fish curry and rice. For a while, I only ate Maggi noodles mixed with scrambled egg (now I just can’t tolerate anything with fried egg!). I remember a glass of chilled lemonade waiting for us at home when we returned from Catechism classes on Friday mornings. And of course, my older brother making mango and chikoo milkshakes! I also have a memory of my mum telling me that the stringy dark golden crispy-fried food in front of me was chips fish, when in reality it was crispy-fried bitter gourd! (I reallllly loved the ‘chips fish’, by the way!) Oh and I loved all the different ways my mum cooks chicken! 😀 And I still do…

Numerous food memories have been etched in my mind from the years gone by. The more I think about it, the clearer the reason for me being a foodie becomes. Writing this reminds me that some of the best moments in my life stand out because of the special food involved!

Which brings me to the highlight of this post — Bread-Crust Pizza! 

When I first decided to recreate my mum’s recipe for this wonderful breakfast treat, I had no idea just how nostalgic a moment it would be for me. As I set up my frames and camera to shoot the dish step-by-step for my ‘MasterClass with Winola Peris’ column in The Woman magazine, I was transported back to the wonderful times when my mum would make bread-crust pizzas for us.

She would save up the crusty ends of bread loaves for months together and freeze them until she had enough – four slices for each of us. Then, on a lazy Friday morning, as my brother and I grudgingly tossed and turned, hating the idea of waking up, mum would lure us out of bed saying, “Wake up! Or you won’t find any Bread-Crust Pizza remaining for you!” Just the sound of those words had us up, rushing to brush our teeth and freshen up. We would then sit on the kitchen floor waiting hungrily with plates in hand while mum would toast the pizzas and serve them to us sizzling hot! The memory makes me smile (and my tummy rumble!) 😛

So here I am, sharing with you a slice of my childhood and what has now become something of a family specialty. 🙂

This is what you need

• Bread Crusts – 8 slices (you can also use slices of bread)
• Tomato Ketchup – 1/2 cup
• Chilli-Garlic Sauce – 1/2 cup
• Chicken Franks/ Sausages – 6 (preferably the spicy kind)
• Capsicums – 2
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – 1 cup

Here’s how you make this yummy breakfast delight! 

• Make the topping – In a bowl, mix together tomato ketchup and chilly-garlic sauce until well combined. Chop the capsicums and chicken franks into tiny cubes, put together and give it a quick toss.
• Assemble the slices – Slather the sauce mix onto the facing side of each slice. Evenly spread the capsicum-chicken frank mixture over the prepared slices and top it off with some shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Cook the pizza – Place each of the slices on a heated pan and cover. Cook for about eight to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread is crisped up. Once done, take it off the heat and serve immediately.

Step 1- Make the topping

Step 2 – Assemble the Slices

Step 3- Cook the Pizza

These Bread-Crust Pizzas are my favourite kind of kitchen fun – few ingredients, not too much work, a tad bit time-consuming (but totally worth it) and you end up with super yummy, super tasty food! Simple flavours and easy techniques come together to give you a dish you will not regret trying. And take my word for it, once you have tried this recipe, it’s going to become a regular in your home! Everyone’s going to love it.

The crunchy crackle of the toasted bread against the creamy velvety goodness of the cheese; the tang of the ketchup coupled with the sweet pungency of the capsicums and the heat from the sausages is simply wonderful. It’s a blend of contrasts that never ceases to amaze me.  It’s got just the right balance of everything to make it a meal to cherish and remember (and of course, to recreate again, again, and well, AGAIN!)

Go ahead, save those crusty ends of bread loaves that you normally throw away and whip up some magic with them. You can experiment with various combinations as toppings – shredded chicken, mushrooms, baked beans, cottage cheese, and more. Mix and match, and you are sure to enjoy your creation! 🙂

P.S: Do check out my column on The Woman magazine’s newly launched interactive portal http://www.thewomanoman.com 🙂

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

For the past couple of months, I’ve been writing a food column titled ‘Masterclass with Winola Peris’ for The Woman magazine, Oman. Every month, the column includes a step-by-step tutorial of an easy recipe that is in-tune with the theme of the edition. The April issue of The Woman is all about health and when it came to writing a healthy recipe, I was stuck. That’s because, well…I’m a baker! (It’s kind of hard to come up with something healthy when you’re in love with turning loads of butter, eggs and sugar into cake!)

A little research on and having put my mind to cracking this challenge, I decided to come up with a wholesome healthy meal that would be both supremely nutritious and lip-smackingly delicious at the same time! Hence, I made Pulled Chicken Sandwiches! 😀

These chicken sandwiches are fascinating. Combining an array of flavours and textures, they are sure to take your palate on an endearing journey – with every bite you will fall more in love with this delectable sandwich. And you know that feeling when you eat something super yummy that you just wish it would never get over? Yes, that feeling is a given!

If you’re a fan of chicken and you love a good sandwich, you ought to try this recipe!

Here’s what you need:

For the sauce:

• Vegetable Oil – 2 tbsp
• Onions – 1/2 cup, finely chopped
• Dark Brown Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Garlic Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Roasted Black Pepper Powder – 1 tsp
• Ketchup – 1 cup
• Vinegar – 2 tbsp
• A dash of salt

For the Chicken:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – 4
• Dark Brown Sugar – 2 tbsp
• Paprika – 1 tsp
• Ground Cumin – 3/4 tsp
• Ground Ginger – 1/4 tsp
• Salt – 1/4 tsp
• Vegetable Oil – 1 tsp

For the Sandwich:

• Cheese – 4 slices
• Ciabatta Bread – 8 slices
• Lettuce leaves – a bunch, coarsely chopped

Here’s how you make these Pulled Chicken Sandwiches:

• The Sauce: In a skillet, heat the oil and fry the onions until translucent. Add in the brown sugar, chili powder, roasted black pepper powder and garlic powder; stir until the spices are well incorporated. Mix in the ketchup and vinegar and stir. When it comes to a boil, take it off the heat.
• The Chicken: Marinate the chicken with brown sugar, paprika, ground cumin, ginger and salt. Heat oil in a pan and cook the chicken until tender and well done, about six minutes on each side. Take the chicken off the heat and while still hot, shred it with two forks.
• Assemble the sandwich: Place a slice of cheese on one slice of bread and pop into the oven for a few seconds. Top the cheese with chopped lettuce and a good helping of pulled chicken. Lightly drizzle the sauce over the chicken and finish it off with the other slice of bread

Take a bite of this sandwich and here’s what you’ll experience – the soft melt-in-the-mouth bread, the creamy cheese lending its perfect sourness. Then there’s the sweet and spicy pulled chicken with a golden crust that is incredibly scrumptious, complimented by the crunch and freshness of the lettuce and the sweetly enveloping sauce that makes the whole sandwich come together beautifully. It is just glorious! Also, the different textures coming through are a real treat.

I loved this sandwich and it sure is part of my rather long list of go-to comfort foods. And what do I like about it best, you may ask? Well, I don’t have to feel a single bit guilty if I do happen to binge on these! (Yayyy me!) Now that you know how to eat healthy without giving up on all the food you love, I trust you’re going to treat yourself with these absolutely YUMMM Pulled Chicken Sandwiches! Go on, get cooking! 🙂

PS. For those of you who live alone and don’t have much time to put something elaborate together for a meal, this is the recipe for you! Quick, easy and delicious! 😀

Check out my column in the April issue of The Woman magazine, Oman! 🙂

Nutella and Berry filled Crepes

Every meal I’ve ever cooked, every cake I’ve baked and every dessert I’ve made, have a very fond memory attached to it. Though some memories get a little hazy over the years, some meals will always have a special place in my heart. The first time I made Nutella and Berry filled Crepes was one such meal I will always cherish.

It was just a little over a year ago; the boyfriend’s birthday. The special occasion called for a special brunch. Into the kitchen I went, and while I fried up a crepe at a time, my friends so wonderfully set the table for brunch. It was a late Saturday afternoon. Four plates of warm Strawberry and Nutella filled Crepes and mugs of sizzling coffee lay on the table, four very happy friends sat around engaging in animated conversation, gorging on the delicious crepes in front of us. I can’t remember a time when we were more relaxed. The memory makes me smile. 🙂

The Brunch Spread

After that day, the boyfriend and my two friends loved me a tad bit more (because of the crepes, of course) and the amazing experience of savoring these Nutella and Berry filled crepes was a luxury we allowed ourselves every so often.

The first time I made Strawberry Nutella Crepes

What I would say is the best thing about these crepes, is that you can have them at any time of the day. Breakfast, brunch, dinner, dessert, crepes work as the perfect meal at any time! To me they have become a guilty pleasure I love to indulge in, a dish I have cravings for quite often, and my go-to meal I take comfort in when I’m stressed or sad. (No, I don’t eat ice-cream out of the tub. Yes, I do lick the nutella off the plate once I’ve polished off these crepes.)

I am a great fan of the concept of breakfast for dinner, and obviously, crepes are the reason for that. The idea of sitting in bed with a tall glass of chilled water, a plate loaded with crepes, smeared with nutella and topped with berries and watching back-to-back episodes of Chasing Life is my way to unwind (not to mention, it’s what you’ll find me doing on most weekends!) So, if you love breakfast for dinner – or any time of the day – as much as I do, you’ve got to give this recipe a go!

Here’s what you need:

• All Purpose Flour – 1 cup
• Sugar – 4 tbsp
• Salt – a pinch
• Eggs – 2
• Unsalted Butter – 2 tbsp, plus extra for greasing the pan
• Milk – 1 cup
• Vanilla Essence – 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Nutella – 1 cup
• Mixed Berries – 1 cup (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries)

This is how you make these Crepes:

• In  large bowl, blend together the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, melted butter, vanilla essence and milk until you have a smooth runny batter.
• Heat a griddle on medium flame. Grease it with butter and pour in about 1/4 cup of batter. When the surface of the crepe begins to bubble, flip over and cook on the other side for about a minute. Repeat this until all the batter is used up.
• While still warm, spread some Nutella on the inner side of the crepe and top with berries. Roll up and serve immediately.

These Nutella and Berry filled Crepes are immensely delectable. The soft mildly sweet crepes, the luscious creamy Nutella lending it’s nutty and chocolaty flavors and the sweet and tang coming through from the berries, each one lending it’s own unique texture and zest, all come together to form the perfect ticket to sweet paradise! It is pure ambrosia – both to the palate and the soul. 😀

I highly recommend indulging in a plate piled high with Nutella and Berry filled Crepes if you’re going through a rough patch, or even if you’re not. You will surely love these! It’s a promise. 🙂

P.S: If you’re in Oman, do check out my monthly column ‘Master Class with Winola Peris‘ in The Woman magazine 🙂

A very special feature in The Woman Magazine!

For those of you who are expecting another recipe, I’m sorry, this post isn’t about the food I’ve cooked (be assured that a new recipe will follow soon). This post is about the blog itself; it is about The Foodscape.

More than a year ago I was given an opportunity to write a food review for a magazine I was interning for. That was the first piece on food I had ever written, after which I was desperately in search of a platform to write about food. I dreamed and furnished extensive fantasies about how I would work as a writer for a food magazine, slowly set up my own little bake shoppe, eventually become a renowned food critic (though I would always be kind and not of the confidence-crushing nature) and someday have my own cookbook. Quite a dream, eh?

A couple of months ago, I took my first step towards making my dream a reality. No, I didn’t get a job as a writer for a food magazine. However, I did begin writing for Oman’s leading women’s magazine – The Woman, published by United Media Services. It’s been two months since my stint with The Woman began and I’ve loved every bit of it – from writing pieces about  food, fashion and health, to meeting inspiring people, to working with a bunch of amazing colleagues and helping with the coordination of work events, I’ve enjoyed every minute!

The November issue of The Woman was incredibly special. Food-centered that it was, I had the opportunity of writing pieces on the best dishes in the world and the relationship between the colors of food and health. The best bit; my boss asked me to write about my experience as a food blogger. And that’s how The Foodscape got featured in The Woman magazine. 🙂

 

I cannot express just how happy I am that the November issue of The Woman is out! I’m ecstatic and incredibly grateful 🙂