Maple flavored roasted sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes always bring back memories to me of my grandmother. She used to fry slices of sweet potato until they had a golden caramelized crust and I was standing next to her and couldn´t wait until a batch was ready to eat them straight from the pan, burning my mouth and fingers... yum

This warm salad I served together with the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. A good match.

click here for a printable version

Serves 4

850 g       sweet potatoes, (the ones with the orange coloured flesh!!)
2 tbsp      olive oil
                coarse sea salt
                freshly ground black pepper
50 g         walnuts
4              spring onions, cut into thin slices
4 tbsp      roughly chopped flat leave parsley
1/4 tsp     red chili flakes
35 g         raisins

Dressing:

4 tbsp      olive oil
2 tbsp      maple syrup
1 tbsp      sherry vinegar
2 tbsp      lemon juice
2 tbsp      orange juice
2 tsp        freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp     ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Wash and trimm the sweet potatoes but don´t peel them. Cut the potatoes into 2 cm big cubes. Spread them out on a baking sheet covered with parchment, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Mix everything with your hands until the potatoes are eavenly coated with the oil. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning the potato cubes carefully after 15 minutes.

Toast the walnuts in a non-stick frying pan, cool and brake into pieces by hand.

Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and season with salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are just tender transfer them to a large bowl while still hot. Add the parsley, spring onion, chili flakes, walnuts and raisins. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to blend. Serve still hot or at room temperature.

Bacon wrapped maple pork tender loin

You might have noticed by now, that I really like to mix sweet flavors into my dishes and this is one more recipe that applies to this fact. A tender and juicy pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon and glazed with maple syrup. Hmm... served with roasted sweet potatoes (recipe will follow tomorrow) and a fresh rocket leaf and endive salad. Be sure to plan in the time for brining - at least 8 hours.


click here for a printable version


Serves 4


For brining pork

• 4 cups   water
• 2,5 tbsp coarse sea salt
• 1 tbsp    maple syrup 
• 1/2 tso   crushed black peppercorns
• 1 sprig   fresh sage
• 1            garlic clove, smashed
• 1            bay leaf
• 1            pork tenderloin, (app. 600g), trimmed

For roasting pork

• 3           garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp  finely chopped fresh sage
• 3 tbsp  maple syrup 
• 200 g  bacon slices 
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 
  

Brine pork:

Combine all brining ingredients except pork tenderloin in a saucepan and heat over high heat, stirring, until salt is dissolved. Pour brine into a deep casserole dish; cool to room temperature, uncovered, about 2 hours.

Add pork to brine, making sure it is completely covered by brine, and marinate, covered and chilled, 8 to 24 hours.

Roast pork:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 175°C/350°F.

Pat pork dry (discard brine), then transfer to a roasting pan. Stir together garlic, sage, and 1 tablespoon syrup in a small bowl and rub all over pork. Lay bacon slices crosswise over loin, overlapping slightly, and tuck ends of bacon underneath loin.

Roast pork until thermometer registers 140°F/60°C, about 30 minutes. Stir together 1 tablespoon syrup and vinegar until combined. Brush vinegar mixture over bacon slices and continue to roast pork until thermometer registers 150°F/66°C, about 5 minutes more. If the bacon has not browned yet, turn on the oven grill on high until the bacon is crispy.  Remove from oven and let stand in pan 10-15 minutes. Transfer the tender loin to a cutting board and cut into 3 cm thick slices.

Stir the remaining tablespoon of syrup into the cooking juices. Serve the meat on preheated plates and drizzle with the sauce.

Chèvre Chaud Salad

When I´m walking my dogs a place I frecuently like to pay a visit to on the way is an old farm dating back to
the 1300. It had burned down and was rebuilt in the late 1700. It is situated beautifully in the midst of a unique nature reserve. It is open year round and in winter they carve out the snow from underneath the outside tables so you have place for your legs and feet and provide you with some warm blankets. Indeed we were sitting outside last January having a cup of coffee and ALL the tables outside were occupied and people were actually having lunch at minus 2°C!! (It was a sunny day though :-) ). Inside it is the most cozy place you can imagine with low ceilings, beautiful old furniture and a blazing fire in the fireplace. And the first thing you perceive when you enter is the delicious smell of homebaked cakes and breads and freshly  baked waffles...

They don´t have a large menu at Långangens Gård, but the plates they offer are so tasty and the cakes can´t be made better at home.

One of my favorite dish there is a chèvre chaud salad. So on my way back from town today I thought I could make a similar version of this dish at home for a quick lunch.

I omitted the cucumber, bell pepper and tomato and added caramelized pine nuts, physalis (cape gooseberries), blackberries, fir honey and mild white onion.

click here for a printable version

Serves 2:

150 g            mixed greens
1 small          white onion, cut in thin wedges and washed and drained in a sieve to loose some sharpness
                     good quality balsamico
                     good quality olive oil
                     coarse sea salt
                     freshly grated black pepper

2 large           slices of french or italian country bread, toasted and cut in halves
350 g             goat cheese, cut into 4 slices

4-6               thin slices of San Daniele or other Parma ham
1 handful       physalis
1 handful       blackberries

30 g              pine nuts
2 tsp             organic sugar

2-3 tbsp       warmed fir honey


Heat a small, non-stick frying pan and caramelize the sugar and pine nuts stirring with a wooden spoon. When golden brown, remove from the pan onto a plate and let cool (don´t be tempted to lick off the caramel from the spoon!! A mistake you will only make once :) )

Wash and spin dry the salad, toss gently in a bowl with the salt, pepper, balsamico and olive oil.

Set each slice of cheese onto half a toasted breadslice. Place them on an ovenproof dish and grill in the oven until golden brown.

Arrange the salad on two large plates. Add two chèvre chaud crôutes on each salad, roll up two to three slices of procuito in a decorative way and place on the salad. Garnish with blackberries, physalis and pine nuts.

Drizzle the warm honey over the salad and serve immediately.

©Just Cook!

"Grünkohl"

It´s been a really busy week so far but at least I´ve managed - for the first time - to attend a gettogether of a small group of ladies from our school who meet once a month for a potluck-lunch. Everybody brings something they enjoy to prepare and I decided on a quite typical german dish (at least in the northern parts of Germany) for this time of the year, but in a much leaner version.

In North Germany it´s a tradition that people gather - when it´s really cold outside - for a Kohlfahrt - "cabbage walk".  They take long walks over the countryside warming themselves with "Korn" - a colorless spirit made from fermented rye and very popular in North Germany - on the way. The reward at the end of the walk - that usually takes you to a local pub - is this hearty plate of "Grünkohl" served traditionally with Kassler,  a variety of sausages, boiled or fried potatoes and lots of beer and  "Korn" . 

click here for a printable version

Here´s the "light" version of the Grünkohl:

500 g           fresh, cleaned and trimmed kale

  30 g           fresh ginger

    2             garlic cloves

    2             small onions

    2 tbsp      oil

400 g           kassler (salted smoked pork)

300 ml         broth

    1             lemon

    1             bunch  flat leaf parsley

Preparation:

Wash the kale thoroughly and tear into small pieces discarding the stems. Peel the ginger and cut into paper-thin slices. Cut the garlic into smallest dice and set half of it aside. Cut the onions into thin wedges.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add ginger, garlic and onions and sauté until translucent. Add the kale and stir well. Set the Kassler meat ontop, deglaze with the broth, cover and let simmer over low heat for 50 minutes.

Peel the lemon, cut the lemon peel into thin strips and then chop finely. Pluck the parsley leaves from the stems and cut finely. Mix together the lemon peel, parsley and the remaining garlic.

Cut the Kasseer in Slices and serve with the lemon-parsley Gremolata.

Good with mashed potatoes. In this case I just mash them roughly and add some olive oil, sea salt and a hint of freshly ground pepper.

Potato Gratin

Almost forgot that I still had to post the recipe of the potato gratin we had with the leg of lamb last week.

For me the best potato gratin goes without cheese and eggs. I just love the creamy consistancy of this gratin with a hint of garlic. Also a nice lunch with a fresh salad.

click here for a printable version

Serves 4

1 kg             waxy potatoes
250 ml         milk
250 ml         heavy cream
40 g             butter + some butter to grease the casserole
1                  garlic clove
                    sea salt
                    white pepper
                    nutmeg

Cut the garlic clove in halves and rub the casserole with it. Crush the remaining garlic.

Butter the casserole. Peel the potatoes and rinse them in cold water. Then slice them very thin on a potato slicer (about 1,5 mm) and layer them in the casserole dish immediately. 

Whisk together the milk and cream. Add some nutmeg, the crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the potatoes (the dish should be filled by 2/3). Top with butterflakes and bake in the preheated oven (170 °C) for 70 minutes.

Today I felt like cooking something a little more elaborate...

...so I´m preparing a four course dinner plus amuse gueule tonight.

While shopping I realized, that I had to change plans since I could not find any fresh tuna, so the tuna tartar I had planned for amuse guele had to make space for mini latkes served with crème fraîche, tiny red onion dice and löjrom - a delicate swedish caviar. And in lack of butter beans I´m using edamame - fresh soy beans in the appetizer. The menu I´m preparing consist of the amuse gueule mentioned above, followed by a delicate fennel soup, black tiger prawns served with an asparagus-bean salad. As main dish we´re having a salmon confit served on a celeriac puree. And finaly as desert a yoghurt mousse served with a freshly prepared mango sherbet, prosecco and fresh berries.

Be sure not to fill up on the latkes even though it is quite difficult to stop after having just two or three...

Mini latkes with löjrom

click here for a printable version

serving 4-6 as an amuse gueule (2-3 pieces each)

500 g       shredded potatoes, pressed to eliminate all liquid
1              shredded onion, pressed to eliminate all liquid
1 tbsp      flour
3/4 tsp     salt
1/4 tsp     pepper
2 tbsp      sunflower oil
100g        crème fraîche
100 g       löjrom (or trout caviar)
2 tbsp      very finely diced red onion

Combine potatoes, onion, flour, egg, salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a coated pan. Add the potatoe mixture with a teaspoon in the hot oil. Bring in shape with the back of the teaspoon and fry until golden and crispy on both sides. Let drip off on paper towel and let cool slightly before adding half teaspoon of crème fraîche, one teaspoon löjrom and some onion dice on each latkes. Serve immediately.

Elegant fennel soup

click here for a printable version

serves 4-6

2-3         fennel bulbs (about 600 g)
1            onoin
1            garlic clove
1            medium sized potatoe
1/2 tsp   fennel seeds
1            star anise
3 tbsp    olive oil
1 l          homemade chicken stock
              sea salt, white pepper
100 ml   heavy cream
100 ml   milk
2 tsp      lemon juice

For serving:

4 tbsp    whipped cream
              best quality olive oil
              some fennel greens


Clean and trimm the fennel bulbs. Keep some of the greens and cut the fennel into small dice. Cut the onion and the potatoe into small dice as well.

Place the fennel seeds and the star anise into a little cloth and tie up well.

Heat the oil in a casserole  and sauté the onion. Then add the diced fennel and sauté for two more minutes stirring constantly.

Add the chicken stock, potatoes, garlic and spices and let cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
Now add the milk and cream and let come to a boil.

Remove the spices and puree the soup with a handmixer.

Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Serve in hot soup bowls and garnish with a little whipped cream, olive oil and fennel green

Black Tiger Prawns served on Asparagus-Bean-salad

click here for a printable version

Serves 4

250 g       fresh green soy beans or lima beans
                sea salt
250 g       white asparagus
1              leek
12            Tiger Prawns, raw
20 g         Arrugula
                pepper
1-2 tbsp   good quality sherry vinegar
3 tbsp       olive oil
2 tbsp       Tomato-compôte (see recipe below)
1/2 tbsp    Acacia honey
3 tbsp       cider vinegar

Blanche the beans in boiling salted water for four minutes. Drain and cool in ice water instantly. Twist the beans out of the shells.

Wash the asparagus, peel and trimm off the ends. Cut the Asparagus with help of a potatoe peeler into thinest slices.

Clean and rinse the leek with running cold water. Cut the white part into thin rings.

Halve the tiger prawns lenghtwise but not all the way. Keep the tail end untouched. Clean and rinse them. Pat dry with paper towel.

Wash the arrugula and spin dry.

Mix the honey with the cider vinegar.

Combine arrugula, asparagus, leek and beans and  season with salt, pepper and a good sherry vinegar.

Fry the Tiger prawns in two tablespoons olive oil two minutes on each side.

Arrange the Tomatoe-Compôte on four plates, dress the salad and the prawns ontop and drizzle with the cider-honey mixture and some drops of olive oil.


Tomato Compôte:

Blanche 1 kilo of aromatic, ripe tomatoes to peel. Cut in quarters and take out the seeds. Now cut into small dice. Cut a shallot into brunoise and sauté in a deep pan with two tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Add the tomatoes and let cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Now add a bouquet garni consisting of leek, sellery leaves and fresh thyme. Crush two garlic cloves and stir into the tomatoes. Add half a teaspoon sugar, 1 g saffron, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Leave on the stove over medium-low heat for another 20 minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni and season with some fresh thyme and some best quality olive oil. Best if prepared a day in advance and kept in the fridge. Can be served cold or hot.

Salmon Confit served on celeriac puree

click here for a printable version

Serves 2

1/2 l                      Olive oil

300 g                    best quality salmon filet (essential to have a good salmon here), skinned

                             fleur de sel

                             piment d´espelette

300 g                    diced celeriac

1/2 l                      milk

200g                     cream

                             a pinch of sugar

                             fleur de sel

                            some chives to garnish

Preheat your oven to 65°C. In a small saucepan heat the oil to 40 °C.

Rinse the salmon under running cold water and pat dry. Cut into 3x6 cm pieces and set into a preheated Casserole dish. Pour the oil over the salmon so that the salmon is completely covered. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the oven for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile you can prepare the Celeriac puree. Put the celeriac dice into a pot. In a second pot heat the milk and cream and let come to a boil. Pour immediately over the celeriac. Add a pinch of sugar and let cook until soft over low heat. 

Transfer to your blender and puree thoroughly. Pass through a fine sieve and season to taste with fleur de sel.

To serve place three tablespoons of the puree on warm plates. Carefully remove the salmon from the pot, pat dry with paper towel and set on the puree. Sprinkle with Fleur de sel and Piment d´Espelette and decorate with chives.

Yoghurt Mousse served with Mango Sherbet and Prosecco "soup"

click here for a printable version

Serves 4

Yoghurtmousse

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

60 g sugar

2 sheets gelatine soaked in cold water

200 g plain yoghurt (unsugared!), 3,5 % fat

175 g whipped cream

Mango Sherbet

75 g sugar syrup

(cook up same amount water and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved)

250 g ripe mango puree (made in the blender)

juice of 1/2 lime

Prosecco "soup"

250 ml sugar syrup 

300 ml Prosecco

pulp of one Vanilla bean

juice of 1/4 lemon

4 sheets gelatin, soaked in cold water

For decorating

200 g mixed fresh berries

Yoghurtmousse

In a small saucepan heat the sugar together with the lemon juice and -zest. Once the sugar has dissolved add the two sheets of gelatine and stir well until dissolved as well. Pour into a bowl and mix in the yoghurt and - carefully now - the whipped cream. Fill 2 cm high into nice glasses, cover with plastic foil and fridge.

Mango Sherbet

Be sure to puree the mango completely so there will be no pieces left. Add the mango puree with the sugar syrup and the lime juice and fill into an ice cream maker (or set in the freezer and mix with a fork every 15 minutes)

Prosecco "soup"

Mix 250 ml of Prosecco with the sugar syrup, vanilla pulb and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the 4 sheets of gelatin and stir in thoroughly. Take from the heat and let cool in the fridge 3-4 hours.

To serve

Add the remaining 50 ml of Prosecco to the soup and stir carefully. Add to the glasses. Distribute the berries in the glasses and set a ball of sherbet (formed with two tablespoons) ontop. Garnish with a lemon balm leave.

Leg of lamb

While my friend Tina was here last weekend, we made sure to eat all the things she likes and her hubby and daughter don´t care for that much like sushi and lamb (guess I´ve mentioned that before ;-) ). We decided on a nice leg of lamb since we both thought that lamb chops should definitely be prepared on a charcoal grill - ours is laying under quite a thick layer of snow right now - and lamb tenderloin has such a subtle flavour, we wanted something more hearty.

We prepared it with lots of garlic and fresh herbs and served it with green beans and a potato gratin. It was so good - although it was served at around 10:30 pm (somehow we forgot the time...)

click here for a printable recipe

Serves 4-6

1           Leg of lamb, 2 kg
8           garlic cloves
2 tsp      herbes de provence
5 tbsp    olive oil
3 twigs    fresh rosemary
3 twigs   fresh thyme
             freshly ground black pepper
             sea salt

2           large tomatoes
3           large carrots
3           onions

1 cup    redwine
50 g      ice cold butter, cut in small dice

Take your leg of lamb out of the fridge about 2 hours before preparing so it can take room temperature. Trimm off all the excess fat. Mince two garlic cloves, chop the leaves of 1 rosemary and thyme twig and mix with 2 tbsp olive oil, herbes de provence, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Massage this thoroughly into the meat.

Peel and cut the onions into wedges. Peel the carrots and cut in half and then in app. 4 cm long pieces. Cut the tomatoes in quarters.

Preheat your oven to 160° C/ 320°F.

Heat a large roasting pan on high heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil. Fry the leg of lamb from all sides until a nice crust has formed. Take out of the roasting pan, add the carrots, remaining garlic cloves and onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, fresh herbs, leg of lamb and redwine. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and set in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, basting with the liquid once in a while.

Turn off the oven. Place the vegetables and the leg of lamb on a platter in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Pour the cooking juices into a sauce pan and let reduce a couple of minutes.

Mount with the cold butter and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the Lamb, cut in slices from the bone, with the sauce and vegetables and maybe a potato gratin (recipe will follow) and green beans like we had it.

SHAKE NO TATAKI - Japanese salmon tartar

I love to eat raw things and Sushi or Sashimi I could have every day... So while my friend Tina was visiting me last weekend we tried to have everything her family doesn´t care for that much but she actually likes a lot (in terms of food - and lots of other things - we match perfectly :-) ) We went out for Sushi (since it´s so much work preparing it at home) and had this japanese salmon tartar as an appetizer at night. Unfortunately I had no chance of taking a picture, therefore I´m "forced" to prepare it again today to have something to post - lucky me. And taking into account the freezing temperatures outside, I´m having a steaming hot cup of Miso soup with it followed by .... no idea yet.

click here for a printable version

Serves 2

250 g         salmon
30 g           garlic chives (nira, asian store ?), if you can´t find nira substitute with chives but then use only 15 g
20 g           caviar
2                quail egg yolks (if you can´t find quail eggs substitute with small chicken eggs)

Sauce:

100 ml         fish stock (dashi-no-moto ?)
    5 g           kastuo bushi (dryed bonito flakes, asian store) ?
3 tbsp          mirin ?
5 tsp            japanese soy sauce
2 tbsp          fresh lime juice

To serve:

2 tbsp         turnip mustard (root) or daikon radish, grated
1 tbsp         gari (sushi ginger ?)
                  chives to decorate
1 tsp           wasabi ?


To prepare the sauce mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and let it reduce over high heat for 4-5 minutes. Let the sauce cool down to room temperature and pour through a fine sieve.

Wash the salmon under running cold water and pat dry. Make sure there are no fish bones in the filet. Take off the skin and trimm off all the dark parts as well as the fatty, thin side. Wrap in plastic foil and freeze for 30 minutes. Then cut into smallest dice. Mix with the finely chopped garlic chives. Cool in the fridge together with two plates for serving.

Divide the salmon with the help of two metal rings (8cm diameter) onto the cold plates. Press down slightly with the back of a tablespoon to give shape. Place a spoonful of caviar and an egg yolk onto the salmon and decorate with chives.

Carefully add about 3 tablespoons of sauce around the salmon. Serve with the grated turnip mustard, ginger and wasabi on small extra plates.

Merquén flavored brussel sprout pasta with crispy breadcrumbs

An easy to prepare pasta dish using brussel sprouts that are in season here at the moment. Another vegetable that isn´t always loved at first sight but combines deliciously with the other ingredients in this dish. A scrumptious combination of flavors and textures.

Serves 4

click here for a printable version

400 g              spaghettini
4                     thin slices sourdough bread
2 tbsp             good quality olive oil
4                     garlic cloves
160 g              butter
500 g              brussel sprouts, trimmed and sliced
100 g              bacon, finely diced (optional)
                       merquén, what it is and where to buy , spanish link to Wikipedia                                                                                         
                       sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp              fresh lemon juice
                        freshly grated parmesan to serve

Cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water as indicated on the package. Drain and keep warm. Save some of the cooking water - you might need to add some if the pasta should be to dry.
How to cook pasta

In a small pan fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp, let excess fat drip off on paper towel.

Cut the bread into smaller pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add breadcrumbs and half of the garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium, add the butter, sprouts, merquén and remaining garlic to the pan and cook about three minutes until the sprouts are tender. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, parmesan and pasta and toss to combine. Top with breadcrumbs, bacon bits  and more parmesan and merquén to serve.

©just cook!

Spanish style rice with chicken and chorizo

An easy but very tasty one pot meal prepared in just minutes.

click here for a printable version

Preparation:

2 ribs celery
2 large onions
5 garlic cloves
1 large can whole tomatoes with juice
   chicken stock
3 single chicken breasts
3 fresh spanish chorizos
2 tsp saffron threads
2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp spanish paprika
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup medium-grain rice
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup white wine

sour cream to serve

Preheat your oven to 90 °C. Finely dice the celery and onions. Drain and roughly chop the tomatoes, reserving the juice. Measure the juice and top it up with chicken stock to equal 2 cups. Cube the chicken and slice the chorizo into bite-size pieces. Before you start cooking, peel the garlic and measure out the saffron, oregano, chili flakes, paprika, salt and pepper.

To cook the dish, preheat a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat and add the oil. When the oil just begins to smoke, add the chorizo and cook for a few minutes.Stir and then add the chicken. Let the chicken cook for a few minutes, without stirring; then turn it over to cook the other side. Add a bit of pepper and salt then check the chicken. It shouldn´t be cooked all the way through. Transfer to a casserole dish and keep warm while you finish the dish.

With the heat still on high, cook the onions and celery until translucent. Crush the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds; then add the rice and sauté quickly, followed by the saffron, paprika, oregano and chili flakes. Deglaze with the white wine, making sure to scrape any bits off the bottom. Once the liquid has evaporated, add the tomato juice, along with the tomatoes, salt, pepper and stir everything together. Turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes without opening the lid during that time.

After 15 minutes, add the frozen peas and the warm chicken and chorizo. Don´t stir. Re-cover and let cook for another 10 minutes. To finish, fold everything together and turn off the heat. Let sit for an additional 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Polenta alla Romana

A tasty side dish with grilled meat or a small lunch or light dinner with a fresh green salad.

click HERE for a printable version

To prepare the polenta:

1               small onion

2               garlic cloves

3 tbsp       Olive oil

1-1,5 l      chicken broth

2               bay leaves

170 g        polenta
                 how to make Polenta

                 salt, pepper

30 g          freshly grated parmesan cheese

To prepare the tomato sauce:

3 tbsp       Olive oil

1               onion, cubed

2               garlic cloves, chopped

800 g        canned tomatoes, chopped

1               bay leave

1               chili pepper

2               sprigs thyme

1               sprig rosemary

2               sprig oregano

                 salt, pepper, sugar

5 tbsp       Olive oil

70 g          freshly grated parmesan cheese

4               garlic cloves

10             sprig fresh thyme

• Cut the onion and the garlic into smallest dice. Heat the olive oil in a pot to medium heat, add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add 1 liter of the chicken broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then slowly trickle in the polenta stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Bring to a boil once more, then reduce the heat to low. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let cook app. 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally. If needed add some more broth. The polenta should be soft and fluent. After the cooking time whisk in 30 g of Parmesan cheese.
  
• Remove the bay leaves and pour the polenta onto a wooden board or a baking sheet covered with waxed paper and let cool completely.
  
• For the tomato sauce heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until soft. Add tomatoes, bay leave and chili pepper. Let cook uncovered over medium heat.
  
• Wash and pat-dry the herbs. Take off the leaves and finely chop them. Add them to the sauce after 40 minutes and let simmer 10 to 30 minutes more until most of the fluid has evaporated. Stir from time to time.
  
• Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
  
• Cut the Polenta with a round cookie cutter (6cm) or with the knife in the desired shape.
  
• Heat the olive oil in an oven safe frying pan and fry the polenta on each side for three minutes.
  
• Take from the stove and  place one tablespoon of tomato sauce onto each polenta cookie. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  
• Peel the remaining garlic cloves and crush them slightly. Add garlic and thyme sprigs to the pan and gratinate in the preheated oven (220°C) until the cheese takes some colour.

steamed eggs with polenta- by RouxBe

Morrocan Veal Stew

A good weekday dish to heat up from the inside.

800 g        veal for stewing
2               onions
4               garlic cloves
2               carrots
1               leek, only the white parts
1               red bell pepper
4               aromatic tomatoes
1               red chili pepper
5-6 tbsp    good olive oil
1 tbsp       tomato paste
2 tsp         Raz-el-Hanout (arabic spice blend - absolutely mandatory in this dish)
1               bay leave
                 salt, pepper
1,5 l          veal stock
                 how to prepare white veal stock
200 g        cooked chick peas
                 recipe for curried chick peas on RouxBe - sounds delicious
1 bunch     leaf parsley

• Cut the veal into 2 cm big dice.
  
• Peel the onions, carrots and garlic. Cut the onions in small dice, the garlic in very thin slices and the carrots in 0,5 cm thick slices.
  
• Clean the leek and the bell pepper and cut both into dice as well.
  
• Blanch the tomatoes, peel and cut into quarters.
  
• Wash the chili pepper and pierce a couple of times with a fork.
  
• Heat three tbsp olive oil in a large cook pot and sear the meat in portions from all sides until brown. Remove from the pot.
  
• Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pot and fry the onions and carrots until they take some colour. Then add the leek and bell pepper and fry five more minutes on medium heat. Add the tomato paste and garlic and roast for a minute. Finally add the Raz el Hanout, the meat, bay leave and the chili pepper and fill in the hot veal stock. Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature. Let simmer for about 30 minutes.
  
• Add the chick peas and let simmer for 30-60 more minutes until the meat is tender.
  
• Finely chop the parsley and let cook in the stew for five minutes.
  
• Serve the stew with a hot yoghurt sauce (halv two red chili peppers and take out the veines and the seeds. Cut into smalles dice. Mix with 300 g turkish yoghurt, juice of 1/2 a lime, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar).
  
• Have some crispy, fresh bread to serve with the stew.

Pasta alle olive verdi - Pasta with green olives

It must of been in 1994 that I read the first Donna Leon novel featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti - this sympathetic crime commissioner living in Venice with his wife Paola, professor for english literature, and their childred Raffi and Chiara.

Back then, I just came back from spending a couple of days in Venice. So when I started reading this first novel I was able to picture exactly where the commissario was moving which made it even more fun reading.  One more aspect for me loving the books was, that Commissario Guido Brunetti loves food and wine and his wife always prepares the most delicious dishes for her family (I haven´t figured out yet how she manages to serve a two-course dinner every day - actually she seems to be cooking like this even twice a day - having a fulltime job.) Obviously these lucky people have a different rythm of life as we do.

Anyways, ever since this first book I couldn´t wait until the next one of the series was published every year in July.

All the more I was rejoicing when I found out about the plans of publishing a cookbook with the recipes Paola prepared with so much love. (I´m still waiting for this to happen with the series on Commissario Montalbano written by Andrea Camilleri). Of course I had my copy in hand more or less the day it was published (have I mentioned before that I´m a "cookbook-addict"??) . Brunetti´s cookbook
I like it a lot, it´s entertaining to read with text excerpts from the respective novel and it seems to bring you this family even closer (I always wished to have been born in Italy...).

One of the pasta recipes was an instant eye-catcher. If you like olives, you will love this pasta! So try it!!

click HERE for a printable version

Serves 4

350 g             Fusilli (I used Trofie yesterday because I didn´t have any Fusilli in the house)
    2                Cellery stalks, cut into brunoise
                      How to cut using a Chef´s knife
    1                Carrot, cut into brunoise
    1                Shallot, cut into brunoise
    8 tbsp        Olive oil of good quality
1-2 tsp           Sea salt
                      Learn about gourmet salt
                      Peperoncino, crumbled (the amount you desire)
130 g             Green olives, pitted and chopped (be sure to
                      buy good quality green olives with the pit
                      that have a firm flesh like e.g. french picholines.)
                      How to pit olives
 40 g              Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
   1 bunch       Fresh basil leaves
                    

Heat the olive oil in a big, coated frying pan to medium-low heat. Add the cellery, carrot, shallot, salt and peperoncino (dried chili pepper). Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes adding a little hot water once in a while.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add the olives and sauté for two more minutes.
Cook the pasta, drain and add to the saucepan together with the parmesan cheese, a shot of finest olive oil, some freshly ground black pepper and lots of fresh basil leaves .

Serve immediately with more Parmesan and basil on the side.

Buon appetito!