Category Archives: tastes

carnivores, Hauptgerichte, pic, rec, savoury

lecsó

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in unserem haushalt gibt es keinen fernseher, und er wird auch nicht vermisst. auf reisen sieht die sache aber anders aus, da werden etwaige fernsehgeraete gern und durchaus oft frequentiert!

jedenfalls habe ich neulich erstmals ein paar folgen kuechenschlacht geguckt. in der fraglichen woche war ein gewisser prof. pieper aus ulm kandidat, welcher unter anderem das letscho seiner ungarischen frau erwaehnte. an letscho hatte ich schulspeisungshalber eher unschoene erinnerungen – aber die leidenschaft mit der der herr pieper von letscho als dem ultimativen sommergericht sprach fuehrte noch am selben tag zu einem grosseinkauf von spitzpaprika. und das ergebnis war wirklich richtig gut (wenn auch nicht zu 100% dem originalrezept entsprechend) – so gut dass ich es zwei tage spaeter gleich nochmal kochte.

Zutaten:

  • 8 Schoten weisser Spitzpaprika
  • 4 grosse Fleischtomaten
  • 4 Zwiebeln
  • 3 EL Butterschmalz
  • 3 Knoblauchzehen
  • 125 ml Weisswein
  • edelsuesser Paprika
  • Salz

zwiebeln längs halbieren und in feine halbringe schneiden und in schmalz langsam anduensten – waehrend dieser zeit habe ich das restliche gemuese geschnitten. paprikaschoten entkernen und in streifen schneiden, tomaten grob wuerfeln, knoblauch kleinhacken.

zwiebeln mit weisswein abloeschen, einige minuten koecheln lassen. paprika und knoblauch zufuegen und bei maessiger hitze 10-15 minuten schmoren. tomaten zufuegen und bei starker hitze im geschlossenen topf weitere 10 minuten garen. schliesslich bei maessiger hitze im offenen topf auf die gewuenschte konsistenz einkochen lassen. mit salz und paprikapulver abschmecken.

mangels fleischwurst haben wir noch ein paar grob geschnittene siedewuerstchen dazugegeben, beilage war reis.

Kuchen und Plätzchen, pic, rec, sweet, vegetarians

welcome baby girl cake

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our neighbour’s second daughter arrived two nights ago. to welcome her, i made a lemon cake (adapted from chili und ciabatta).

ingredients:

dough:

  • 240 g flour
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 170 g butter, at room temperature
  • zest of one lemon
  • 115 g cream cheese
  • 215 g sugar
  • 3 eggs, yolk and white separated
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • one pinch of salt

icing:

  • 70 g icing sugar
  • lemon juice
  • red food color, white icing pen

sift flour, cream of tartar and salt into a bowl.

cut butter in small pieces, beat until creamy. add lemon zest and cream cheese, continue beating. add sugar by the tablespoon, continue beating. add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

add half of the flour mix into the cream, stir a few times. then add lemon juice, stir. add remaining flour, stir again (do not overwork the dough).

beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. first fold 1/3 of the egg white carefully into the dough, then the remaining 2/3.

bake at 160°C. the original recipe was used for a rectangular form and needed 70 minutes baking time. i made two cakes of 18 and 12 cm diameter, which needed 40 resp. 50 minutes.

in case you’re wondering: the wrapping is made of sandwich paper, two paper plates and a bit of silver ribbon.

Hauptgerichte, pic, rec, savoury, vegetarians

halloumi vegetable skewers

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ingredients:

marinade:

  • juice of one lemon
  • 5 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp parsley, minced
  • 1/4 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • pepper

other:

  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 zucchini
  • 200 g halloumi

mix ingredients for marinade together.

cut bell pepper, zucchini and halloumi in bite size pieces, put in a bowl and cover with marinade. chill in the fridge for 4 hours.

Skewer the vegetables and the halloumi. put on a baking tray and brush with remaining marinade. grill at 200°C for 20-30 minutes. (you may want to reduce to 175°C for the last minutes).

we ate it with a taboulé-style salad and a yoghurt dip.

Beilagen, pic, rec, savoury, vegetarians

white asparagus with orange butter and almonds

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it’s still asparagus season! today we had white asparagus for the first time this spring and i learned a great trick to make it even more tasty – cook the asparagus in stock that is made of its trimmings.

ingredients:

  • 1 kg white asparagus
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1.5 tsp sugar
  • 50 g butter
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 3 tbsp slivered almonds
  • more salt, pepper

wash, trim and peel the asparagus. put asparagus skins plus trimmings in a pot with 1.8 l cold water, add salt and sugar. bring to boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. remove skins and trimmings.

put asparagus into the stock, bring to boil then let it simmer for 10-15 minutes (until al dente).

meanwhile toast almonds in a dry pan until they start to turn golden. add butter and orange juice, cook for a few minutes at medium heat (until butter starts to brown). remove from heat, season with pepper and salt.

transfer asparagus on a prewarmed platter,  cover with orange butter.

Beilagen, pic, rec, savoury, vegetarians

green peas with onion and parsley

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a very simple dish.

ingredients:

  • about 250 g green peas (frozen)
  • 150 ml water (optional: 70 ml white wine + 80 ml water)
  • one onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • parsley, pepper, salt

cook onion in 1 tbsp butter for a minute, add peas and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. add water (or water plus wine), cover and let it simmer until the peas are done. remove from heat, add the second tbsp butter, about 2 tbsp parsley, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

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.