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long time no see

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it’s been quiet here for some time since i was away on travel — and maybe i won’t be able cook for a while longer, since i’m still full up from all the great food i had. for instance one of my favourites from childhood on, made by my grandmother.

may i introduce: pfannkuchen (=pancake). the pfannkuchen is a twofold white bread made from yeast, salt, flour and milk, which is baked in a dutch oven. it needs to be generously brushed with oil during baking time.

i don’t know if there is any other region in germany besides where i come from where such a bread is eaten as side dish (let alone to call it pfannkuchen. pfannkuchen usually refers to some kind of doughnuts – which we call krapfen. any food etymologists out there?) it goes very well with various vegetables, for instance sugar snaps, savoy or kohlrabi.

here we had it with kohlrabi, fresh from my grandmother’s garden.

plus rissoles and bratwurst.

and green salad, of course also fresh from the garden.

summary: i need a garden.

pic, rec, savoury, Sonstiges, vegetarians

green sauce

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you can’t see much of it, but the green sauce was great, in particular with the early season potatoes and boiled eggs. i would not dare to call it frankfurter grüne sauce, since it does only contain two out of the seven herbs required for this speciality. in case you are interested: these are parsley, chive, borage, chervil, cress, garden burnet and sorrel. and if you want to know even more, you can go to the green sauce festival or visit the green sauce monument. (in frankfurt. crazy.)

ingredients:

  • one bunch of parsley, minced
  • one bunch of chive, cut in small rings
  • 150 g sour cream
  • 150 g crème fraîche
  • 2 tsp mustard (dijon, hot)
  • 1 tbsp sun flower oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt, pepper

in a blender, mix all ingredients until smooth. keep in the fridge until use.

Hauptgerichte, pic, rec, savoury, vegetarians

green asparagus tart

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i made this tart in a hurry, and while doing so i found out that a few minutes in the freezer are for the pastry as good as an hour in the fridge. anyway the pastry was very nice – i tried a mixture of white flour and dark flour (whole grain). next i may try it with spelt, as suggested in various other recipes.

ingredients:

pastry:

  • 100 g flour (type 405)
  • 100 g flour (type 1050)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 100 g butter, very cold
  • 1 egg

filling:

  • 500 g green asparagus
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 4 cherry tomatoes
  • 200 g crème fraîche
  • 30 g fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 50 g grated cheese
  • salt, pepper

mix flour and salt, using a pastry cutter cut the butter into the dough. add egg and knead quickly. put for 10 minutes in the freezer.

transfer the dough in a 26 cm baking pan (unfortunately i do not have a proper tart pan – yet), spread and pat it into the pan. press it up the sides about 3 cm high. put the pan into the freezer for another ten minutes. bake in the preheated oven at 200°C for 10 minutes, afterwards let it cool a bit.

meanwhile prepare the filling:

wash and prepare the asparagus, remove and/or peel the end parts as needed. cut in pieces of 10cm. in a large pan, melt butter and cook asparagus for five minutes. season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

mix crème fraîche with chopped parsley, then add eggs. stir well. season with salt and pepper.

arrange the asparagus on the tarte shell, cut tomatoes in three slices each and put on the asparagus. pour the egg mixture over it and bake at 175°C for 15 minutes.

remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese. i used a mixture of parmesan and camembert. put the tart back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

my plan was to have it for dinner with the family yesterday, and eat leftovers for lunch today. and yes, there were still leftovers.

but a quick check around midnight confirmed my creeping suspicion that they might not see the daylight again.

Beilagen, pic, rec, savoury, vegans

coconut dāl

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i made this a while ago, the dāl can be seen in the background. it’s delicious!

ingredients:

  • 1 tsp ghee
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp chili flakes
  • 2 curry leaves
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cm ginger
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/ tsp sugar
  • 125 g red lentils
  • 30 g coconut flakes
  • 100 ml coconut milk
  • 100 ml water
  • 1/4 tsp turmerik
  • 1/4 tsp salt, more to taste
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala

mince ginger, onion and garlic. in a large pan, melt ghee. add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, chili flakes and crumbled curry leaves, heat until the mustard seeds pop. add ginger, onion, garlic and sugar and cook until the onion turns soft. add lentils and coconut flakes, cook for two minutes, stirring continously. add coconut milk, water, and turmerik.  cook until the lentils are done. season with salt, ground coriander and garam masala.

Brote, pic, rec, savoury, vegans

barbari (iranian flat bread)

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this flat bread recipe is adapted from here.

ingredients:

  • 375 g flour (type 550)
  • 20 g fresh yeast
  • 250 ml lukewarm water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 egg, beaten (for glazing)
  • sesame seeds for sprinkling

crumble yeast in a large bowl, sprinkle with sugar. add water and stir a few times to dissolve the yeast. add 150 g flour and mix until smooth. let it stand for about 20 minutes, it should puff slightly.

mix salt with remaining flour. add olive oil and flour mix to the sponge (n.b. is this sponge? or already poolish? i have no idea.). using a wooden spoon, mix for about 5 minutes. form dough into a ball, brush lightly with oil, then cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for about 2 hours.

preheat oven to 220°. line a baking tray with parchment paper. place the dough on top and flatten to about an inch in thickness. brush the beaten egg onto the surface. using the back end of a wooden spoon (which should be dipped in oil) punch holes in the dough. sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for about 20 minutes.

barbari, featuring on the right side the most dangerous knife in our kitchen (warning: this link contains blood)

pic, rec, savoury, Suppen, vegans

red lentil soup with vegetables, dates and ginger

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here is another recipe inspired by chili and ciabatta. i made the vegetable soup with courgettes, with minor modifications. being warned that the amount of lentils in the original recipe was not enough to qualify for a lentil soup, i more than doubled the amount. i also added chick peas, baby peas and lemon juice. the soup is flavoured with a paste made of ginger, garlic, dates, chili and some other spices – which i find a very interesting (and tasty) take on seasoning.

ingredients:

paste:

  • 6 dates (cored)
  • 25 g fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp pul biber (chili flakes), more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
  • zest of one lemon

soup:

  • 2 zucchini
  • 1 bunch of green onions
  • 15 small tomatoes
  • 160 g red lentils
  • a can of chick peas (340g)
  • 80 g baby peas (frozen)
  • 60 g couscous
  • 1.6 l vegetable stock (yes, it makes a lot of soup. i cooked for 6 people.)
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, more to taste
  • salt

to serve:

  • olive oil

cut dates, ginger and garlic in small pieces (i used a mincing knife), then pestle with the remaining spices into a thick paste.

cut zucchini in little pieces, cut spring onions in small rings, quarter tomatoes.

in a large pot, cook the ginger-paste in olive oil for a few minutes on medium heat. add zucchini and cook for a few minutes. add 800 ml vegetable stock, then add red lentils and cook for about five minutes. add remaining vegetable stock, chick peas and baby peas. when the lentils are almost done, add couscous and cook for another five minutes. season with salt. finally add green onions and tomatoes and let it simmer at very low heat for two minutes. season with lemon juice, and more chili flakes to taste.

to serve, sprinkle with a bit olive oil. we had it together with barbari.

note: the soup was quite thick, i wanted it to be more like a stew. if you want it more “soupy” you could leave out the couscous or use less lentils.

Kuchen und Plätzchen, pic, rec, sweet, vegetarians

estonian kringel for bbd #30

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i saw estonian kringel a while ago at the website things we make and found it so beautiful that i immediately put it on my list of things to make. bread baking day #30 – twisted breads – seemed a good occasion to give it a try. after checking some other recipes for kringel i made a few adaptions to the recipe (namely i left out the raisins since i find they burn to easily when on the outside of a loaf), and i also made only half the amount –  mine is a small kringel.

ingredients:

dough:

  • 20 g fresh yeast
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 125 ml lukewarm milk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 25 g butter, melted
  • a pinch of fine sea salt
  • 300 g flour

filling:

  • 40 g butter, melted
  • 5 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

other:

  • slivered almonds

crumble yeast into a large bowl, add sugar. dissolve yeast in milk and let stand for a few minutes until it bubbles. add egg yolk and melted butter. mix salt and flour, add and knead well. cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rise for about 1.5 hours.

preheat oven to 200°C. mix sugar and cinnamon. on a floured surface, knead the dough a few more times, then roll it out (about 50 cm x 25 cm). spread 3/4 of melted butter for filling over the dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar-mix. roll the dough up, starting from the long edge, and cut in half. i left the first centimetres uncut at first, since it makes twisting easier. twist the dough together, with the cutting edges to the outside. shape into a circle and transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. brush with the remaining butter, and sprinkle with slivered almonds (optionally). bake for about 20 minutes, make sure not to burn the edges (you may want to reduce the heat to 180° for the last minutes).

to serve, dust with icing sugar, or top with a sugar glace. or leave it as it is – as we did 🙂

i’m submitting the kringel to bbd #30, hosted at living in the kitchen with puppies.

BreadBakingDay #30 - last day of submission June 1st, 2010

Hauptgerichte, pic, rec, savoury, vegetarians

pierogi ruskie

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we went on a little roadtrip through poland early 2008, visiting wrocław and krakow. among the many nice things we ate were pierogi ruskie. i, and i guess most people,  thought this means russian pierogi, which is kind of funny since in russia pierogi (or rather piroshki) are something that is baked in the oven. but as i learned here, ruskie is actually an old Polish word meaning Ukrainian. In old Polish Ukraine was called Rus [from the word Ruthenia], and Ukrainians Rusini. Therefore the name pierogi ruskie would translate as Ukrainian pierogis. you live, you learn.

ingredients:

dough:

  • 200 g flour
  • 75 ml water
  • 1 tsp soft butter
  • 1/4 tsp salt

filling:

  • 200 g cooked potatoes
  • 120 g quark (white cheese)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • salt and pepper to taste

to serve:

  • brown butter, or breadcrumbs fried in butter
  • sour cream or yoghurt

mix salt and flour, add butter and water and knead well for about 8 minutes. chill in the fridge for an hour.

cook onion in butter until soft and golden. mash potatoes with a fork, then mix with quark and onion. season with salt and pepper.

roll out the dough very thin, cut out round shapes, place a teaspoon of filling in the middle. then brush the edges of the circle with cold water, fold into a semicircle and seal. (i used my new set of pasta makers to do this, and it worked great.)

cook for 3-5 minutes in boiling salted water. the pierogi are done when puffed and floating atop.

put in a bowl and cover with brown butter to prevent sticking.

serve with breadcrumbs fried in butter and sour cream or yoghurt. another version is to serve them with onions and diced bacon, fried in oil.

Kuchen und Plätzchen, pic, rec, sweet, vegetarians

chocolate cake with fresh strawberries

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i found the idea for this chocolate cake at chili and ciabatta. it is very rich but goes perfect with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. i made 3/5 of the original recipe (without the raspberries), which was enough for a baking pan of 22cm diameter. the chocolate i used was 63% cocoa – so the cake was very chocolatey. but since it can never be chocolatey enough i also glazed it with a little bit ganache made from cream, chocolate and butter before topping it with strawberries.

Kuchen und Plätzchen, pic, rec, sweet, vegetarians

raspberry cheesecakes – once again

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these cheesecakes are a favourite ever since i first made them. very easy (and quick!) – whenever i don’t know what to bring to a party i just bring them along. the recipe is adapted from the raspberry swirl cheesecakes at taste.com.au. (but i finally stopped calling them swirl cheesecakes since i never do the swirl part.)

ingredients:

  • 10 finely ground oreo biscuits (including filling. any other biscuit  will do as well, but it really tastes best with oreos)
  • 20g butter, melted
  • 50 g frozen raspberries, thawed
  • 1 tsp icing sugar
  • 375 g cream cheese
  • 145 g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • optional: lime zest, lime juice

preheat oven to 160°C. line a muffin pan with paper cases. mix ground oreos and butter, divide mixture among paper cases and press down well. bake for 5 minutes, then remove and cool.

mash the raspberries and strain through a sieve. discard seeds and stir in the icing sugar.

beat cream cheese until light and fluffy, then add sugar slowly, beating until combined. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. (optionally add lime zest and lime juice – in this case adjust sugar to taste). pour cheese mixture over the biscuit bases, then place drops of the fruit puree on top of the cakes.

bake for 10-15 minutes until set. open oven door and allow cakes to cool completely in switched-off oven.

ps: i’m submitting these cheesecakes to the next round of cucina rapida.

pps: for the blueberry version, just use frozen blueberries instead of raspberry puree.