Plantain chips

I have recently "discovered" plantains and this recipe is awesome! 

Lentils with spätzle

Lentils with spätzle is an old traditional Swabian dish (south west Germany) and it has become my favorite lentil recipe. Well, not exactly the traditional dish but rather an updated version of it.

I found the recipe at the website of the organic food company Rapunzel and it is somewhat modernized version of the traditional dish. These lentils have a touch of apple juice, apple balsamic, cloves, cinnamon and there are no sausages on the side like in the traditional version. And it is not only delicious but it is also very easy to make.

Just make sure to use cloudy apple juice without any additives or sugar, i.e. pure unfiltered apple juice. I use this one.

Lentils with spätzle
adapted from Rapunzel
serves 2
400 gr cooked brown lentils
30 gr butter
20 gr flour
3 dl cold water
3 tbsp cloudy apple juice
2 tbsp finely diced celery
2 tbsp finely diced carrot
2 tbsp finely diced potato
1 tbsp apple balsamic ( I use regular apple vinegar)
1 bay leaf
a tiny tiny pinch ground cloves
a tiny tiny pinch ground cassia cinnamon


250g flour ( I use spelt)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
about 1,5 dl water

In a saucepan melt the butter and add the flour. Cook on a medium heat until the flour gets light brown, takes a bit more than 5 minutes. Add about 3 dl cold water and whisk until nicely blended with the roux. Add the apple juice, all diced vegetables and spices. Cook until the vegetables are done.

If you are making spätzle start with the dough. Mix flour, salt and eggs. Add slowly water until you have dough that is not too much runny nor too much thick. When you put the dough in the spatzle maker it should form drops but not drop straight through. Cook the spatzle in plenty of water and drain.

When vegetables are done add apple balsamic (or vinegar) and cooked lentils. Let it boil and serve with spätzle.

Enchiladas

When you order enchiladas in Mexico you will get tortillas covered in chili sauce, filled with chicken (or beef, or beans...) and topped with some cream and cheese. There are tons of varieties.

But traditionally, enchiladas had no filling. Tortillas were simply dipped in the chili sauce and served. That is how I like enchiladas the best as well. Fillings are good, but a good corn tortilla with a chili sauce is awesome.

It has to be corn tortillas though, they are a perfect match for a simple chili salsa. Wheat tortillas do not have much taste so they are more suitable for filled enchiladas.

I also top enchiladas with goats sour cream and goats fresh cheese. Not very traditional but oh so delicious.

Enchiladas

serves 2
8 corn tortillas, warm

500 gr fresh tomatoes
1 small coarsely chopped onion
1 garlic clove
5 serrano chilies (or more)
salt and pepper
fresh chopped coriander

2 tbsp goats sour cream mixed with some milk
2 tbsp goats fresh cheese
some fresh coriander

Put the whole tomatoes, chopped onion, peeled garlic clove, and whole chilies in a sauce pan. Cover with water and cook for about 15 minutes. When done drain the water, take away the tomato skin, clean chilies and chop everything (or use food processor). Add coriander, salt and pepper.

Dip warm tortillas in the chili salsa, fold each tortilla in half, put a spoon of salsa inside and place on a plate. Spoon some more salsa over and top with sour cream, fresh cheese and coriander. Serve immediately.

Barbecue season

It is end of April and this weekend we were lucky enough to have a great weather and the first barbecue of the year.

Pimiento de Padrón is a Spanish type of pepper. It looks like chili and sometimes it is as spicy as chili, but usually it is quite mild in taste. In Spain it is fried in olive oil and served as tapas.

And Cypriot cheese Halloumi is made with goats milk, sheep milk and some mint. It is perfect for grilling.

Vegetable smörgåstårta

Here is my vegetable version of the Swedish sandwich cake. Avocado and coriander give it a delicious touch of Mexico and eggplant the cute round form.

Vegetable smörgåstårta
serves 2
6 slices bread
2 tbsp hummus
4 thick slices of roasted eggplant
1/2 avocado
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

4 tbsp hummus
1/2 slice roasted eggplant
2 slices avocado
some whole coriander leaves

Put a slice of a roasted eggplant on the bread and cut out . Mash avocado, add lemon juice, coriander, salt and pepper.

Spread 1 tbsp hummus on one slice of the bread, top with a slice of eggplant. Put the second slice of bread on the top.

Spread half of the avocado mixture, top with a with a slice of eggplant (or tomato). Finish with a third slice of bread. Frost with 2 tbsp hummus and decorate with eggplant, avocado and coriander leaves. Make the second sandwich cake.

Goat cheese gnocchi

Long live goat milk and all awesome things you can make with it!

Goat Cheese Gnocchi
from NY Times
serves 2
225 gr fresh goat cheese
1 large egg
1/4 C flour (or more)
sea salt

2 tbsp butter
1 big onion, thinly sliced

1/3 C vegetable stock
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
50 gr butter
1 C spinach
50 gr grated parmesan
ground black pepper

Put cheese, egg and pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add slowly the flour until you have a dough that is not sticky. Do not kneed too much. Put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Melt the butter and add sliced onions. Cook until onion is soft and begins to brown. set aside.

In a large pot bring water to boil, add salt and reduce the heat so that water simmers. On the side put a bowl with ice water. Roll out the gnocchi dough in a 1 cm thick snake. Cut into 2 cm long pieces and with a back of a fork make the typical gnocchi marks. Boil gnocchi for 2-3 minutes and put in the ice water. When they are cool, drain and set aside.

In a large pan put vegetable stock, thyme and gnocchi. When gnocchi are hot add butter and let it melt. Add spinach and parmesan, season and serve. Top with caramelized onions.

Bean and couscous burgers

I love refried pinto beans but these burgers are very close behind. I replaced bulgur with couscous but I can see these made with quinoa, as well.

Bean and couscous burgers

adapted from Epicurious
serves 4
1/2 C chopped onion, divided
1/2 C couscous
about 1,5 C water (or less, depending on type of couscous)
1 C pinto beans, cooked
3/4 C walnuts
2 garlic cloves
1/2 C packed fresh cilantro
1,5 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne

salt and pepper

Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl. Cook 1/4 C onion is some olive oil until golden, add the water and when it is boiling pour over couscous, cover and let sit until all water has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

I do not have a food processor so instead I mashed the beans and finely chopped the walnuts, cilantro and garlic. Blend together, add couscous, rest of the onion and all the spices. Form six burgers and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Heat some oil in a pan, cook the burgers until golden brown, turn around and cook until golden brown on the other side. Serve with your favourite burger sauce!

Vietnamese style spring rolls

When we lived in Shanghai there was a restaurant that served the most amazing Vietnamese spring rolls, ever. So when I came across the recipe that reminded me of those I just had to make it. And the rolls were super delicious, fresh and very summery.

I filled the spring rolls with fresh vegetables and veal cutlet. But feel free to use what ever vegetable or meat you like the most.

Vietnamese style spring rolls
recipe from Eating Out Loud 
serves 2 hungry
1/3 C smooth peanut sauce
1/3 C water
2 tbsp soy sauce (I used only 1 tbsp)
1 tsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp chili oil (I used chili powder)
2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 clove minced garlic

200 gr veal cutlet
2 tbsp peanut sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger

1 carrot
1 kohlrabi
1 cucumber
fresh cilantro
couple of salad leaves

10 rice wrappers ( I used square 16x16 cm)

First make the peanut sauce. I did not use blender, instead I chopped cilantro and whisked all ingredients in a small bowl.
Blend 2 tbsp peanut sauce, garlic and ginger in a bowl and marinate the meat. In the meantime cut the vegetables.

When done with vegetables, heat a pan a cook the meet to your liking. Let the meat sit for about 10 minutes and then slice.
Pour some warm water in a deep plate big enough to fit rice wrappers. Dip one wrapper in the warm water until completely soft (10-15 seconds). Take out of the water and put on a dry plate.
Place some vegetables and a strip or two of meet and wrap tightly. Repeat until you have used all vegetables. Serve with the peanut sauce.

Pink pepper vinaigrette

recipe adapted from Eve 
enough for a salad for 2 people

1,5 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove

2 tsp red peppercorns

Put the vinegar in a small bowl, add mustard and blend well with a whisk. Add slowly oil, whisking constantly until you have used all the oil. The vinaigrette will become thicker in consistency.

Crush the peppercorns, press the garlic clove, add to the vinaigrette and blend well.

Bosnian spinach pie

This is the pie I needed milk ricotta for, Bosnian spinach pie. Actually all over the Balkans you can find a variety of this pie, shaped differently but filled with spinach, cheese or some kind of creamy diary. This pie is actually type of a strudel but much thinner and differently shaped.

The best is to use fresh spinach, it gives the best consistency and it does not make the pie too much wet. Fresh spinach also absorbs eggs better then frozen spinach.

I prefer to cut the dough in three parts and then to stretch each part individually to have three dough sheets. But if you want you can stretch all the dough at the same time so that you have one big dough sheet.

Bosnian spinach pie

serves 4

600 gr fresh spinach (not cleaned)
or 350 gr cleaned & wilted spinach
200 gr milk ricotta
2 eggs

salt and pepper

2,5 dl strong bread flour

2,5 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp salt

about 7 tbsp warm water

80 gr melted butter for brushing the dough sheets
round baking dish, 28 cm

Start with making the strudel dough and let it rest. Wash and clean the spinach, cut it in thicker stripes and steam in a sieve until wilted. You can also wilt it by putting a tiny bit of water in a saucepan and cook for couple of minutes until wilted. Let cool and then squeeze out as much water as you can. Set aside.

Stretch the dough, I made 3 dough sheets, each approximately 60x35cm. Let dry until you finish preparing the filling. Add eggs to the spinach, salt and pepper and blend everything with your hand until the eggs have been absorbed by the spinach. Drizzle the melted butter over the stretched dough.

Put a third of the spinach filling on the long side of the dough sheet, and third of the milk ricotta over the spinach, leaving 5 cm edge all around. Roll until you have used all dough. Grease the baking dish and put the pie roll inside, shaping it as spiral. Repeat with two other dough sheets.

Brush the top with some melted butter and bake on 180 C for about 45 minutes. Serve warm.

Roasted potato and mushroom salad

recipe adapted from Fine Cooking

serves 2

4 medium potatoes
200 gr mushrooms

some olive oil

salt and pepper

150 gr creme fraiche

about 3 tbsp orange juice
2 tsp lemon juice

2 scallions

salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 200 C. Peel potatoes and cut in 1 cm cubes. Toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes. In the meantime clean the mushrooms, toss with oil, salt and pepper and add to the potatoes. Roast another 15 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk creme fraiche, orange juice, lemon juice salt and pepper. Slice the scallions thinly.
When the potatoes and mushrooms are done sprinkle with scallions and serve with the dressing

on the side.

Sweet potato stackers

Sweet potatoes, salad and Black Forest-ham make these stackers. They are easy to prepare, delicious and they look pretty too.

Sweet potato stackers
adapted from BBC Good Food
sweet potatoes (should be long and thin)
salt, pepper and olive oil
some salad leaves
couple of slices of Black Forest ham

Heat oven to 180C. Peel the potatoes and slice in 1 cm thick disks. Toss with oil, salt, pepper and bake for about 25 minutes. When done leave to cool.

On each sweet potato put a bit of salad and top with some Black Forest ham. Serve!

Baked eggs in zucchini

I was inspired by the post "Baked eggs in potato skins" over at The Kitchen. I scooped the round zucchini, seasoned with salt and pepper and baked at 200C for about 20 minutes. The zucchini should be somewhat soft. I cracked one egg in each zucchini and returned to oven for about 15 minutes more. You can check with a toothpick if the egg yolk has been cooked to your liking. When done, season once again and serve.














I pan fried the scooped zucchini flesh with onion and garlic in some olive oil and served alongside with the baked eggs.

Chickpeas with spinach

adapted from BBC Good Food
serves 2
1 can chickpeas (about 400 gr)
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp vegetable stock (or water)
200 gr baby spinach
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a pan, add chopped garlic and cook until fragrant, without browning. Rinse chickpeas under water, drain and together with the vegetable stock add to the garlic. Cook until chickpeas are warmed through, about 15 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Salt and pepper, serve.

Stew with lamb, dates and sweet potatoes

I found the recipe for this stew in BBC Good Food (Dec. 2008). It was supposed to be a tagine but I do not have one so I call it a stew instead. And what a stew this is! It is exotic (for me), delicious and a perfect winter dish. I have made it with lamb and beef with excellent results.

Stew with lamb, dates and sweet potatoes 
recipe from BBC Good Food
serves 2
1 onion
1 tsp chopped ginger
400 gr cubed lamb
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 Ceylon cinnamon stick
salt and pepper
2 dl passata
2 dl water
2 medium sweet potatoes
6 pitted dates

toasted almonds and fresh coriander

Slice onion thinly and cook in some olive oil until soft. Add ginger and lamb (in batches) until the meat gets some colour. Return all the meat to the pan and add cumin, paprika, coriander and cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook couple of minutes until fragrant. Add water and passata, cover and cook for about 1,5 hours.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut in large cubes, add to the stew and cook for another 15 minutes. Add pitted dates and cook fr 1o minutes more. Serve in bowls with almonds and coriander.

Salmon, dill and potato gratin

This was supposed to be a tart, but I left out the pastry so it became a delicious salmon, dill and potato gratin. I used sour cream (10% fat) instead of cream (32 % fat). The reason is in the parentheses. And as the most potato dishes is best eaten right away.

Salmon, dill and potato gratin
serves 4
adapted from BBC Good Food
400 gr potatoes
3 dl sour cream
2 eggs
3 tbsp chopped dill + for decoration
salt and pepper
200 gr smoked salmon

Preheat oven, 190 C. Slices the potatoes and cook in salted water for about 8 minutes. When done drain well. Beat together sour cream, eggs, dill, salt and pepper. Slice the smoked salmon in stripes.

In a dish (1,2 liters) put half of the potatoes over the bottom, pour over the half of egg mixture and put half of the salmon stripes. Repeat with remaining ingredients once again. Bake for about 25 minutes. When done let cool for 10 minutes, decorate with fresh dill and serve.

Rolled potato dumplings with sauerkraut

Lately I have been into sauerkraut. More than usual I would say, as living in Germany makes it very easy to get to know new ways of preparing and eating sauerkraut.
So this is another dish with cooked sauerkraut, pan fried potato dumplings (Schupfnudeln mit Sauerkraut). It is a typical dish from south of Germany, Schwabia.

Potato dumplings are basically gnocchi that are rolled and pan-fried until golden. Result? Nice crunchy-crust dumplings with soft inside. And together with sauerkraut they make a most wonderful hearty winter dish. I heart it.

I found the recipes for dumplings and sauerkraut at the website of a German food magazine called Essen und Trinken. The second recipe is a fancy way of preparing these noodles but I choose to make them simple and traditional, just like they are served on the country side.

Rolled potato dumplings with sauerkraut
serves 2
adapted from Essen und Trinken
400 gr floury potatoes
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp corn starch
0,5 dl flour (or as needed)
freshly ground white pepper and nutmeg
some salt

200 gr sauerkraut
50 gr smoked ham
1 small onion
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 bay leaf

1 dl vegetable stock

Put potatoes with skin on in a sauce pan with water and salt and cook until done. In the meantime chop finely the onions, and cube the smoked ham. Heat a sauce pan with some oil, add onions and ham and cook until they get some colour. Add sauerkraut, caraway seeds, bay leaf and vegetable stock. Cover and cook on low temperature for about 40 minutes. The sauerkraut will become brownish.

When potatoes are done let cool 5 minutes and peel. This can also be done one day in advance. Mash potatoes, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. The potato dough should not be sticky when you touch it with clean hands. If it is sticky add some more flour.

Take a piece of potato dough and on a table roll into finger thick rolls. Cut dumplings, 5 cm, and form spikes at the ends. Boil water with salt in a sauce pan and cook dumplings for about 2-3 minutes. Drain well.

In a pan heat some oil, add drained dumplings and fry until golden. When done add sauerkraut and serve directly. The dumplings get soft quite quickly when mixed with sauerkraut so add them in the last minute. Guten Appetit!

Brussels sprouts

When I see brussels sprouts on the market I know the winter has arrived. I love brussels sprouts and this is probably the most simple and super delicious way of preparing them. I found this recipe in Good Food magazine (Dec. 2008), it was not actually a recipe, more like a tip.

Steamed Brussels sprouts
serves 2, side dish 
400 gr brussels sprouts
some olive oil (or butter)
freshly grated nutmeg
salt

Remove bad looking leaves from sprouts and cut them in half (or keep whole). Steam for about 20 minutes (longer if whole). Heat a pan, add olive oil and steamed sprouts. Grate some nutmeg over, salt, mix well, cook for 2 minutes and serve.

Cauliflower and carrot salad

I have attacked my pile of food-magazines and am cooking everything I find interesting. I have mostly BBC Good Food magazines but there are couple of Gourmet, Fine Cooking, Bon Appetit and one Essen & Trinken (German).

And to manage to go through the whole pile I am not buying any more food magazines until I am done with my existing pile. So look forward some magazine food around here.

This salad recipe is from BBC Good Food, December 2008. When I first read the recipe I liked it instantly, but was sceptic about the raw cauliflower. I just do not find raw cauliflower very tasty so I steamed it instead. I also left out the mayonnaise. Love this salad!

Cauliflower and carrot salad 
adapted from BBC Good Food
serves 2

1 cauliflower (about 400 gr)
1 big carrot
1 shallot
2 tsp capers
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Cut the cauliflower into small florets and steam for about 15 minutes, and when done let cool. Grate the carrot coarsely, chop the shallot and capers finely. In a small bowl whisk the lemon juice and Dijon mustard, add oil and season.

Put cauliflower, chopped shallot, capers and parsley in a big bowl and pour over the vinaigrette and mix well.

Sauerkraut soup

I have grown up eating sauerkraut every winter and I love it. Served as a salad to a hearty winter stew is a true comfort food to me. However I have never eaten cooked sauerkraut, but here in the south of Germany it is quite common. So when I found recipe for sauerkraut soup in a magazine called Eve I had to try it.

The recipe comes originally from a book called "33 magical soups" written by Marion Grillparzer. The soup turned out really excellent, it is definitely a new winter favourite. It is spicy, sour, sweet and pan fried apples give it a wonderful touch. But the dish is really filling so I think I would rather call it a stew...delicious stew that is!

Sauerkraut soup
serves 2
original recipe can be found here
1 onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tbsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp hot paprika
200 gr sauerkraut
1,5 dl dry white wine
6 dl vegetable or meat stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
4 potatoes (about 250 gr)

1 apple
salt and black pepper
1 tsp honey
fresh marjoram (I used dried)

Cut onion in half and slice thinly. Cook in 1 tbsp oil until soft and transparent. Add the flour, both paprika and cook shortly until fragrant. Add sauerkraut and cook couple of minutes. Add wine, stock, bay leaf and caraway seeds. Cover and cook for about 45 minutes. After 30 minutes add peeled and cubed potatoes.

Cut the apple in thick slices, salt and pepper and pan fry in the rest of oil until they soften and get some color.

When the soup is done, season with honey, salt and pepper, serve in bowls and decorate with apples and marjoram.