Pumpkin soup

Hmpf. Yes. It has been a while. More than a little while. But well, I am back now. With renewed good intentions and the firm resolution to revive this blog adventure. I think I got discouraged by the dwindling visiting numbers. And then I just stopped visiting altogether myself. Maybe some creative pause is healthy... Let's see!

But in the spirit of the season, here comes a very autumnal dish: fresh pumpkin soup!

Ingredients (for about 4 plates) :
2 tbsp. butter
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
500g fresh pumpkin
200 ml fresh cream
500 ml water
1 tsp. salt
Pepper
Some leaves of sage

Preparation:
Chop the shallots and press the garlic. Heat both in 1 tbsp. of butter in a pan. Cut the pumpkin into cubes and add it to the onions and garlic, fry for about 5 minutes. Add the water, season with salt and pepper and then let the mix simmer at reduced heat (and with the lid on) for 20 minutes. When the pumpkin is soft, purée it and add 100 ml of cream. Keep the soup warm.
In a frying pan, heat the second tbsp. of butter and add the sage leaves. Fry them until crunchy. In the meantime, whip the cream until it's stiff.
Serve the soup with the whipped cream and sage leaves!

Note: if you want the soup to be more hearty, add 2-3 carrots and 2-3 potatoes.

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Goat's cheese pancakes with mango salad

I don’t have much to say to “explain” this recipe – other than to say that the pancakes are very yummy (with a nice twist because of the goat's cheese)

and the fruit salad makes this dish very refreshing and healthy. If you don’t like mangoes, you can substitute it for peaches and/or nectarines and strawberries.

Ingredients (for 4 pancakes):

100 g goat’s (or sheep’s) cheese

1 lemon

1 ripe mango

A handful of fresh mint leaves

1 small egg

70 g flour

1 tsp. baking powder

125 ml milk

20 g butter

Liquid honey

Salt

Preparation:

Mix the egg, flour, baking powder and milk in a bowl and whisk until the dough is smooth. Add a pinch of salt and the goat’s cheese (in little crumbs) to the dough. Grate the lemon’s skin and add to the mix, then stir well. Cut the mango into pieces and drizzle some lemon juice over the fruit. Cut the mint into small stripes and add to the mango salad. Bake the pancakes in butter for about 2-3 minutes (until golden brown) and serve with the mango salad. 

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Summer rolls

It seems I have a blog-writing block. This could be related to the fact that I am currently in Italy, enjoying my holidays and not spending loads of time indoors. But let’s overcome this lethargy and be a more active member of the blogging community. And let’s do it with an Asian recipe – that always helps ;-).

So today, I propose a recipe for summer rolls, i.e. non-fried spring rolls.

Ingredients:

Spring rolls sheets (available in bigger supermarkets either frozen or dry)

50 g glass noodles

60 g bean sprouts

½ cucumber

1 carrot

1 spring onion

Cooked shrimp (as many as you have spring roll sheets)

Surimi sticks (1 per sheet as well)

Fresh coriander and mint leaves and chives

2 tbsp. dark soy sauce

Preparation:

Soak the spring roll sheet, one by one, in warm water, until soft. Similarly, “cook” the glass noodles by soaking them in hot water. Cut the cucumber and carrot into long stripes (not too thick) and prepare the filling for the rolls.

Place one spring roll sheet at a time on a damp kitchen paper towel and place the filling of the roll onto it (the mint and coriander leaves first so that they shine through the pastry). Fold in the sides of the roll (so that it looks like a Döner Kebap or an envelope) and roll the sheet.

For the sauces, you can either just use plain soy sauce or sweet chilli sauce or you follow the recipes posted when writing about the dumplings.  

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Raspberry cupcakes

Recently, I was invited to a birthday party and tasted some of the most delicious cupcakes I’ve ever had! I’m normally a) not a big fan of desserts (except if they’re Asian of course ;-) ) and b) don’t like cupcakes that much because they’re just so heavy. But somehow, the version prepared that evening was very convincing and so I am sharing the recipe (which I adapted ever so slightly) with you. I hope I can convince some of you cupcake-doubters too and for those of you who are cupcake-lovers anyway, I hope this one is an addition to your favourites!

Ingredients (for a batch of about 20 big cupcakes or 25-30 smaller ones):

For the dough:

200 g sugar

125 g butter

2 eggs

1 vanilla pod

150 ml sour cream

180 g flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 basket of raspberries

For the topping:

200 g Philadelphia cream cheese

125 g butter

500 g icing sugar

1 vanilla pod

Preparation:

Mix the (melted) butter, sugar and eggs in a bowl. Cut the vanilla pod in half and scratch out the seeds with a knife; add to the paste. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt and sieve into the butter mix. Add the sour cream in between portions of flour. Put 2-3 raspberries in each cupcake form and add the mix with a spoon. Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes. In the meantime, mix the butter (at room temperature), Philadelphia and the vanilla seeds (scratched out of the pod) in another bowl. Sieve in the icing sugar and stir until it is creamy. Add a handful of raspberries and mix well.

Once the cupcakes are done and cooled, decorate with the topping. 

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Pho Bo (Vietnamese beef soup)

Uh, after posting the link to my blog on Facebook, the number of viewers increased drastically – obviously you would say. It was still a very positive surprise and motivates me to continue… In the hope that the number of you checking out the recipes will stay high!

Today’s recipe is Pho Bo, a Vietnamese beef soup. I discovered it in London since you know that I have never actually been to Asia… But maybe this fall, I’ll finally manage. Inshallah ;-). Until then, I just ignorantly continue to cook from (probably Europeanised) recipes. Still, they're really tasty... so I hope you like the outcome as much as I do!

 

Ingredients (for 4 to 5 portions):

1 ½ L beef stock

1 tbsp. fish sauce

2 onions

3 cm of ginger

2 stars anise

2 cloves (yes, just 2)

1 cinnamon stick

200g fresh, thick rice noodles (or dried, but cook them first)

200g beef filet

100g fresh bean sprouts

2 spring onions (with the green)

1 lime

2 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves

If you like and have: Thai basil leaves

Preparation:

Firstly, prepare the beef (same procedure as for the Bibimbap): rinse the beef under cold water, then pat it dry with a paper towel and wrap it in cling film. Freeze the meat for about 30 minutes (until it is firm to the touch, but not frozen solid). When ready, remove the beef from the freezer and unwrap the cling film. With a sharp knife, cut the beef into thin slices.

At the same time, simmer the stock with the fish sauce, the onions (cut into quarters), ginger (cut into slices), anise, cloves and cinnamon for 30 minutes. Strain the stock and bring it to the boil. Put the rice noodles (they have to be soft) and the beef (raw!) into soup bowls. Pour the stock over the noodles and beef. Put the bean sprouts, spring onions, lime (cut into slices) and coriander leaves on a plate and serve with the soup. 

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Olive and tomato tapenade

My grandmother makes this really good olive and tomato tapenades - and for these warm summer evenings, crunchy bread with some delicious olive or tomato spread is just all you need!

Ingredients for the olive tapenade:

200g black olives (or if you prefer, green olives), without stones

2-3 cloves of garlic

50-100g capers (depending on how much you like capers

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Optionally, lemon juice and anchovies

Ingredients for the tomato tapenade:

1 glass of dried tomatoes in oil (do not use the oil)

5 black olives (without stone)

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Optionally, garlic and the skin of 1 lemon

Preparation:

Purée all the ingredients, add 6 tbsp. of olive oil and season with salt and pepper according to need and taste.

Serve with fresh bread or crackers. 

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Banana times two

It was festival time in Bern so please excuse the delay in posting new recipes!

I have realised that it has been a while since I have posted any dessert recipe. In order to make up for the long silence and the absence of any sweets, here come two recipes (Asian of course) with banana – both equally healthy... ;-) Enjoy!

 

Fried bananas

Ingredients (6 baby bananas):

50g flour

5 tbsp. coconut flakes

3 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. corn starch (Maizena for example)

2 tbsp. sesame seeds

¼ tsp. baking powder

2 pinches of salt

100 ml water

6 baby bananas (or 3 normal ones)

Oil (for frying)

Preparation:

Mix the flour, sugar, corn starch, sesame

seeds, coconut flakes, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the water and mix well. Cover the bowl and let the mix rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Cut the baby bananas in half (in the length; if using normal bananas, cut them in half in width as well). Add about 3 cm oil into a frying pan and heat. Turn the bananas in the marinade and bake (i.e. fry) until golden (about 2 minutes per side). Put the bananas on paper towel to dry, but serve warm.

Milky bananas

 

Ingredients (8 baby bananas):

8 ripe baby bananas

150g sugar

200 ml coconut milk

1½ tsp. salt

1 L + 100ml water

Preparation:

In a glass bowl, mix the water with 1 tsp. of salt. Peal the bananas and put them in the water for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, heat 100ml of water in a saucepan. Add the sugar and simmer (at lower heat) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved in the water. Take the bananas out of the salty water and put them in the sugary one. Cook the bananas at low heat for 15 minutes, turning them carefully (once is enough). The baby bananas will turn yellow (other bananas turn light brown). Mix the coconut milk with ½ tsp. salt in another saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. To serve, place the bananas into little bowls (with the sugared water) and add the warm coconut milk. 

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Ham croissants

This is one of my favourite apéros… Homemade ham croissants are just ever so slightly better than their supermarket colleagues. My mouth is watering just from thinking about them now… Maybe I should make some today!

Ingredients (for about 20-30 croissants):

2 puff pastries (octagonal ones are more practical)

150-200g cooked ham

3 eggs

1 bunch of parsley

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Cut the ham finely (ca. 5x5mm). Scramble two full eggs and the egg white of the third egg (keep the egg yolk!). Season with peper and salt. Chop the parsley and mix it with the ham and eggs. Cut the pastries into triangles and place a tea or table spoon (depending on the size of your triangles) of filling onto the pastry. Roll the triangles from the bottom to the tip and curve into croissants. Brush the croissants with egg yolk and bake them for about 10 minutes at 200°C in the middle of the oven (or until they look nice and tanned). Bon appétit!

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Cauliflower-Prawn Curry

As promised, I am moving away from the salads. But not from the Asian ;-). This recipe of a prawn curry is very simple and delicious! If you don’t like cauliflower, just exchange it with another vegetable.

 

Ingredients (for 2 portions):

300-500g prawns

1 lime

1 tbsp. peanut oil

2 tbsp. yellow curry paste

300-500g cauliflowers

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

4 dl coconut milk

½ tbsp. raw cane sugar

2 star anise

1 cup of jasmine rice

Preparation:

Mix the prawns with the lime juice (keep the limes!). Prepare the rice (before cooking, wash the rice until the water is no longer cloudy). Heat the oil and fry the curry past. Chop the onion and garlic finely and add it to the paste. Break the cauliflowers into smaller pieces and add them to the pan. Steam for about two minutes. Mix in the coconut milk, sugar and star anise and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the prawns and simmer for four more minutes. Take out the anise. Serve the curry with the rice and grate some lime skin on top (or if you happen to have any around, sprinkle with cut kaffir lime leaves). 

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Summery Salads - N°5: Glass noodle salad

I think this will be the last one of the series for a while since maybe you got a bit tired of just reading about salads. To remain true to myself, it’s yet another Asian salad. Very easy and quick to prepare.

Ingredients (for 1 bowl of salad):

150g glass noodles

50g raw cashew nuts

300g cherry tomatoes

½ red onion

100g bean sprouts

3 tbsp. honey

1 handful of coriander leaves

1 handful of Thai basil leaves (or sweet basil leaves)

Chilli powder

1 garlic clove

2 Chillies

4 tbsp. lime juice

½ tsp. lime zest

4 tbsp. fish sauce

Preparation:

Cook the glass noodles in a saucepan (in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes). Drain the water and rinse the noodles with cold water. Dry the noodles with a paper towel and add them to a salad bowl.

Heat a frying pan (medium-high heat) and add the cashew nuts. Dry-roast until they start to brown. Add the chilli powder and 1 tbsp. of honey and stir until the cashew nuts are well coated. Once the nuts are cooled down, chop them roughly. Add the cherry tomatoes, onion, bean sprouts, coriander and Thai basil to the bowl with the glass noodles. For the dressing, mix the finely chopped garlic with the chillies (deseeded and sliced), lime juice, lime zest, fish sauce and 2 tbsp. honey. Add the dressing to the salad and serve it with the roasted cashew nuts. 

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Summery Salads - N°4: Malaysian papaya salad

So, number two in the series is, surprise surprise, an Asian summer salad! I don't think it needs much more introduction, so here comes the recipe:

Ingredients (for 2 reasonably big portions):

50g green beans and/or 

50g sugar peas

1 small (unripe) papaya

½ cucumber

¼ Chinese cabbage (optional)

1 mandarin

½ avocado

4 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp. fresh coriander

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

½ red onion (or 1 spring onion)

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp. sesame seeds

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek

1 tbsp. raw cane sugar

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tbsp. fish sauce

Preparation:

Blanch the beans and/or sugar peas in boiling water for 3 minutes. Half the cucumber and papaya, remove the seeds and cut into small cubes. Fry the onion and the garlic (chopped finely) in the oil. Mix the sugar with the lemon juice and fish sauce. Cut the cabbage (if you choose to put it in), the mandarin and avocado. Roast the sesame seeds. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and decorate the salad with the sesame seeds, cherry tomatoes and coriander. 

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Summery Salads - N°3 - Tabbouleh

Now, this is the Lebanese version of Tabbouleh (i.e. based on a lot of parsley rather than a lot of bulgur or couscous as is the Moroccan version). Yet, you still need a bit of bulgur for the Lebanese version too. In case you don’t know what that is, let me explain quickly: “Burgul” is the Turkish word whereas in Arabic it is called “burghul”. It looks a lot like couscous, but is a bit thicker. According to Wikipedia, bulgur is made from the groats of several different wheat species, most commonly from durum wheat. You find it a lot in Middle Eastern cuisine, as for example in Tabbouleh. So here comes the recipe:

Ingredients (for a bowl of salad):

4 bunches of flat parsley

1 bunch of fresh mint

½ cucumber (optional)

5 tomatoes

1 small white onion

5 tbsp. bulgur

Olive oil

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Salt and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pepper)

Lettuce and cabbage leaves

Preparation:

Wash the parsley and mint and dry them thoroughly. Chop both finely and add them in a bowl. Cut the cucumber, tomatoes and onion and keep separately (the Tabbouleh gets soggy quite quickly). Shortly before serving, mix in the tomatoes, onions (and cucumber) with the parsley and mint and add the bulgur (no cooking needed!). Add the liquids: lemon juice and olive oil and season with salt and the spices. Mix well and serve with lettuce or cabbage leaves. 

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Summery Salads - N°2: Quinoa-pomegranate

Yep, you might think that I have a newfound addiction to pomegranates... But actually, I am just trying to use my rests in an intelligent way. So here comes a semi-self invented summery salad with pomegranates, radish and raisins.

Enjoy!

Ingredients (for 1 reasonably filling portion):

150g Quinoa (1 cup)

30 cl water (2 cups)

½ cucumber

½ pomegranate

7 radishes (or more)

Raisins or dried dates to your liking

2 tbsp. fresh mint

Lime juice

Olive oil

Salt

Preparation:

Rinse the Quinoa in water (much like rice) to remove the bitter coating. Bring the water to the boil and add the Quinoa. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes (until the germ separates from the seed and the water is absorbed).

Half the cucumber and remove the seeds. Chop into cubes. Cut the radishes into slices. Mix the Quinoa (cooled down), pomegranates seeds (see Summer Beef salad recipe for instructions on how to best remove the pomegranate seeds), cucumber, radishes, raisins (or dried dates) and mint in a bowl and add the lime juice and olive oil. Season with salt.

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Summery Salads - N°1: Ebly-strawberry salad

I thought that over the next days, I would put a series of summery salads. Technically, the beef salad with pomegranate could have been the first one of these salads. But well. Now this - own creation - Ebly salad with strawberries will be! Enjoy (and let's hope the weather will play along!).

Ingredients (for 1 person):

1 cup of Ebly

2 cups of broth

1 small onion

½ cucumber

½ capsicum (red bell pepper)

50g sugar peas

Strawberries (as many as you like)

Olive oil

Vinegar (best is a glazing Balsamic vinegar that is a bit fruity)

Salt & pepper

Preparation:

Chop the onions and braise them in olive oil. Add the Ebly and broth and simmer for about 10 minutes (or until the water is absorbed and the Ebly is soft). Cut off the ends of the sugar peas and blanch them in boiling water for about two minutes. Cut the peas, capsicum, strawberries and cucumber into cubes. Put them in a bowl and add the Ebly. Season with vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper. 

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Gazpacho (cold tomato soup)

And because it was so hot these past days, here comes the recipe for cold tomato soup, i.e. Gazpacho – a very refreshing starter or main dish for a summer evening. When in Mallorca a couple of years ago, I discovered in a restaurant that they put strawberries on the table to add into the soup: very yummy indeed!

 

Ingredients (for 4 persons):

800g ripe tomatoes

2 onions

2-3 garlic cloves

1 cucumber

1 green & 1 red capsicum (bell peppers)

200g bread (can be toast bread)

100g strawberries

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. wine vinegar

Salt, pepper

Preparation:

Skin the tomatoes and cut them into quarters. The easiest way to peel tomatoes is to put them into boiling water for 20 seconds and then to shock them with icewater. Cut the onions, cucumber, capsicum and bread. Put ¼ (of the tomatoes, cucumber, onions, capsicum and bread) away for the “topping”. Purée the rest of the vegetables and the garlic with the oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Cool the soup in the fridge (preferably for a couple of hours, but if time is short, just add ice cubes). Before serving, roast the leftover bread (cut into cubes) in oil or butter. Cut the strawberries into small cubes and serve all the vegetables together with the soup. 

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Family birthday cake

I have an excuse for this blogging silence. I didn’t have Internet when in Amsterdam. And the weather was just too nice to be spending time indoors. Oh, and it was my birthday too, so I was busy cooking and baking. But this week, I intend to be back on schedule… To appease you all, here comes the “secret” recipe of my family’s birthday cake. Originally baked by my grandmother and then adapted over time by my parents and eventually me. My mouth is water only from thinking about it... 

Ingredients for the dough (for 1 cake, 26 cm in diameter):

120g butter

300g sugar

4 eggs

65g grated hazelnuts

65g grated almonds

150g chocolate powder (like Caotina or Nesquik)

10cl cream

225g flour

1 packet baking powder (or 1 knife tip of bi-carbonate)

Ingredients for the topping:

175g butter

250 icing sugar

150g dark chocolate (“Crémant”)

15ml Kirsch

Preparation:

Melt the butter in a bowl (over boiling water) and mix in the sugar. Separate the eggs (keep the egg white apart) and add the egg yolks. Add the hazelnuts, almonds and chocolate powder, as well as the cream. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mix. Finally, beat the egg white (until stiff) and add it into the mass. Bake the cake in the oven at low level, at 200°C for 40 minutes (to test whether the cake is ready, stick a knitting needle into the cake: when the dough is no longer sticking to it, the cake is baked).

For the topping, melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl (over boiling water). Mix the two and then sieve in the icing sugar. Add the Kirsch (it is optional) and cool the topping in the fridge until it has the right consistency (to spread it). Cut the cake in half (horizontally) once it is cooled out. Spread about 1/3 of the topping on top of the lower half. Then close the cake again and spread the rest of the topping on top. Decorate (with Smarties for example). 

A little tip: the cake is actually even better after one day in the fridge!

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Afternoon Tea

Inspired by the many cold and rainy spring (now almost summer!) afternoons, here comes the recipe for a true English Afternoon Tea - with finger sandwiches and scones.

Ingredients (for 25 small scones and 30 smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches in total):
350g flour
15g baking powder
1 tablespoon of sugar
150g butter
1L milk
1 packet of toast bread
150g smoked salmon
1/2 cucumber
Cottage cheese
Philadelphia
Wasabi
Chives
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
English Tea (Earl Grey, Assam or Darjeeling)
Clotted cream or 250ml of (unsweeted) whipping cream
Strawberry jam

For a "spring" version of the sandwiches (as in the photo):
100g (very thin) green asparagus
Stracchino (slightly bitter Italian cheese) or Philadelphia
50g Prosciutto crudo
Honey

Preparation:
1. The scones: Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and butter in a bowl, knead with your fingertips until you get a "crumbly" mass that looks like bread crumbs. Put the dough into the fridge for about 1h.
Preheat the oven at 200°C. Add 250ml milk to the dough until you get a soft, wet dough that sticks to your fingers. Spread the dough (roughly 2cm thick) on a surface covered with flour and cut out round forms roughly 5cm in diameter. Try to avoid touching the dough with your fingers as much as possible and use knives instead. Then place the scones on a baking tray, brush with milk and bake for 20 minutes.

2. If not using clotted cream, whip normal cream until it's thick.

3. The sandwiches: Finely chop the chives into the cottage cheese and season with salt and pepper (and finely chopped mint if you like); peel the cucumber and cut it into very thin slices. Then spread the cottage cheese on the toast bread and layer the cucumbers on top. Spread some cottage cheese on the toast bread that goes on top. Cut the sandwiches into triangles or fingers.

For the smoked salmon sandwiches, mix some wasabi into Philadelphia and then spread on the toast bread (the two halves). Layer with smoked salmon and cut as described above.









For the "spring version", steam the asparagus for about 2-5 minutes until they are softer (but not completely cooked). Then fry them in olive oil. Also fry the prosciutto crudo until it's crunchy.
Spread some Stracchino on the toast (or otherwise Philadelphia) and add a thin layer of honey. Then layer the asparagus (cut in half) and the prosciutto as seen in the photo. Cover with the top half and cut as indicated above.





Prepare the tea and serve it with the sandwiches, hot scones (put them in a basket covered in hand towels to keep them warm), cream, milk (for the tea) and jam. Enjoy!

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New title layout

Today, according to my schedule (I told you that I would try to make an effort at keeping up the posts) there should have been a new recipe. But instead of writing down some yummy new culinary discovery, I created the collage for the new title layout - part of my other summer project. Next recipe tomorrow so be back!

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Korean dinner (Namul and Bibimbap)

I have mentioned in my introduction post that I have this weird love for Korean food. I think (if I remember well) that it started some years ago in Abu Dhabi where my host family introduced me to the Korean version of Sushi (Gimbap) and my first Korean restaurant (where you sit on the floor around a low table into which a charcoal grill is built in). 

In London, I then extended my knowledge of Korean food mostly through eating in two restaurants around Holborn: Naru and Asadal. To make your mouths water, here some pictures of Bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) at Asadal:

So, what does this Korean food consist of? 

First, there are the side dishes, "Namul". According to Wikipedia, Namul "is a general term for a Korean seasoned vegetable dish. The name of the dish may vary slightly depending on what vegetables are used and how they are prepared, but they will nonetheless still be a type of namul." Voilà, you learn something every day ;-). The Korean national dish is "Kimchi": a (red) fermented vegetable side dish (most famous is the fermented cabbage). 

Then there are the main dishes, like Bulgogi, mentioned above or Bibimbap, literally "mixed rice" (with vegetables and beef). Of course there are many other dishes. Oh, and if you happen to ever go to a Korean restaurant, try a cinnamon drink for dessert, if they have it, it's delicious! Also, ask to be shown how a Bibimbap is properly mixed and how (and with what side orders) to eat Bulgogi!

Now, if you don't happen to be in the closest vicinity of a Korean restaurant (I wonder if there even is one in Bern...), here come the recipes to make the dishes yourself:

Namul (bean sprout, spinach and cucumber)

Ingredients (for some small side portions):

3 handful fresh spinach

½ cucumber

50g bean sprouts

2 cloves of garlic

½ spring onion 

Sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Soy sauce

Rice vinegar

Salt

For the cucumber namul (which is effectively a cucumber salad), slice the cucumber into thin circles. Then spread the circles on a plate and sprinkle salt on them. Leave for at least half an hour and every now and then, cover the cucumber slices with paper towel and squeeze out the water. The less watery the cucumbers, the better the taste of the dish. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan and sauté the cucumber slices for about 1-2 minutes. Season with pepper (and if needed, more salt) and if you like, add some rice vinegar. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the cucumber salad.

Blanch the spinach leaves in boiling water for 2 minutes for the spinach namul. Then remove the leaves and rinse in cold water. Wrap the spinach in paper towel and gently squeeze to remove excess water. Mix 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sesame oil, 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and 2 tsp. sugar in a bowl and add the spinach. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

And last but not least, parboil the bean sprouts in boiling water for 2 minutes. When done, rinse in cold water and wrap them in a paper towel to squeeze out the excess water. Finely chop one clove of garlic and the spring onion. Mix in 1 tbsp. sesame oil and 1 tsp. soy sauce and season with salt. Toss the bean sprouts into the sauce and serve immediately (or refrigerate, but not for too long as the bean sprouts will perish quickly).

I have to admit that the Kimchi shown in the photo comes out of a can – maybe I’ll make it myself one day and then I'll post the recipe.

For the Bibimbap, here come the ingredients:

300g short-grain rice (Risotto rice is fine)

200g beef fillet

120g bean sprouts

1 small carrot

½ a courgette

200g baby leaf spinach

As many eggs as there are persons eating

1 garlic clove

6 dried shiitake mushrooms

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tbsp. soy sauce

Sunflower oil

Sesame seeds

Korean hot pepper paste

Preparation:

1. The shiitake mushrooms: put the dried mushrooms in a bowl, then pour over boiling water and let the mushrooms soak for about 30 minutes (until they are soft). When done, squeeze off any excess liquid and trim off the stems.

2. The beef: rinse the beef under cold water, then pat dry it with a paper towel and wrap it in cling film. Freeze the meat for about 30 minutes (until it is firm to the touch, but not frozen solid). When ready, remove the beef from the freezer and unwrap the cling film. With sharp knife, cut the beef into thin slices. Heat 1 tbsp. sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the beef and stir-fry for 5-6 minutes (or until brown and cooked through). Add the soy sauce and season with pepper.

3. The rice: wash the rice in a saucepan until the water is no longer cloudy (3 to 4 rounds of fresh water). Drain the rice into a sieve and let it dry. Then put the rice back into the saucepan and add 350ml water. Leave the rice to soak in the cold water for about 10 minutes, then bring the water to the boil over a high heat and give the rice a quick stir. Reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan with a lid and let the rice simmer gently for about 10 minutes (or until the liquid is absorbed). Remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid and quickly loosen the grains with a wooden spatula. Replace the lid and leave the rice to steam for 15 minutes until fluffy.

4. The sesame seeds: heat a frying pan and dry-fry the sesame seeds for a few minutes until the seeds begin to pop. Put aside.

5. The vegetables: heat the frying pan and add a little bit of sunflower oil. Add the shiitake mushrooms to the pan and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then drizzle over the sesame oil. Then stir-fry the bean sprouts and the carrot (without adding sesame oil). Steam the courgette for 5 minutes (until soft) and steam the spinach for 2-3 minutes. Drain the spinach leaves of any water and squeeze out any excess water.

6. The eggs: heat more sunflower oil in frying pan. Prepare “sunny-side-up” eggs – with the yolk still running.

To assemble, divide the rice into serving bowls (either as many as there are eaters or in one common bowl), add the vegetables and beef and put the fried egg on top. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve with the Korean hot pepper paste and the namuls.

Voilà! 

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Aubergines Szechuan

This dish is a very tasty starter or side dish and very easy and quick to prepare! Not much more introduction is needed, hence let’s get started immediately:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. peanut oil

800g aubergines

1 tbsp. raw cane sugar

2 tbsp. ginger

3 cloves of garlic

1 red chilli (or dried chilli flakes)

1 dl vegetable stock

4 tbsp. dark rice wine, sherry or Marsala

2 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 tbsp. dark rice vinegar or Aceto balsamico

If available in your household: Szechuan pepper

Preparation:

Cut the aubergines into cubes (about 3 cm x 3 cm) and finely chop the ginger, garlic and chilli (of which you remove the seeds first). Heat the peanut oil in a Wok or frying pan and when hot, add the aubergines, sugar, ginger, garlic and chilli. Stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, rice wine, soy sauce and the vinegar (i.e. all the liquids) and let everything simmer (with the lid on) for 6 minutes. Add the Szechuan pepper (crushed) or some dry chilli for decoration. Ready!

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Risotto with pomodori secchi

Normally, when winter doesn't last until June, it would be way too hot to still be eating risotto at this time of the year. But lucky us, it’s still cold and rainy and so we can experiment a bit more and come up with fun new combinations for this Italian rice dish. Here’s today’s version: with dried tomatoes and nuts. Buon appetito!

Ingredients (for 4 reasonably well-eating adults):

2 cups of Risotto rice (Arborio or Carnaroli)

25g butter

1 large onion (red or white)

2l chicken broth

A glass of cooking white wine

1-2g of saffron

100g dried tomatoes in oil

80g walnuts

50g grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Soak the saffron in a glass of hot water and keep aside.  Bring the broth to a boil in a saucepan. Finely chop the onion and sauté it in the butter in a separate, medium-sized, deep pan, until the onion is soft (do not allow the onion to go golden or sweeten!). Add the rice and toast it until it’s glassy. Add the wine and stir continuously until it evaporates. Now add a ladle of broth and continue stirring. Repeat this until the rice is soft on the outside, but still very slightly hard at the centre. Add the saffron (with the water), the chopped dried tomatoes (drained) and crushed walnuts, as well as the last two ladlefuls of broth. When the rice is cooked, turn off the flame and stir in the grated Parmesan. Serve immediately. 

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Sticky rice with mango

As previously mentioned, I have this unexplained passion for Asian food – and especially Asian desserts. I do like cakes and some of the patisserie, but somehow I get much more excited about fried bananas or daifuku (a Japanese rice cake – “mochi” – filled with sweetened red bean paste). In this spirit, here comes a recipe for one of my favourite desserts: sticky rice with mango!

Ingredients (for 6 portions):

150g sticky rice

4dl coconut milk

50g raw cane sugar

½ tsp salt

1 mango

Peppermint leaves

Preparation:

Soak the rice in water for at least an hour then rinse it in a sieve with cold water until the water is no longer cloudy.

Mix the coconut milk with the sugar and salt and put ¼ of the mixture away. Put the rest of the liquid with the rice into a (glass) bowl. Place the bowl into a bamboo basket or in a pan with “steam pan” (pan with steaming basket), with about 2cm of water. Cover the bowl with the lid and steam for 30-40 minutes (until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender). Cut the mango into slices, decorate a plate with mint and add the sticky rice. Then pour the coconut milk sauce (previously put away) over the rice. 

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Summer beef salad (with pomegranate)

This summery and very yummy beef salad is a creation of my own, inspired by Asian beef salads (with mango for example). The fruits used here can be exchanged, or others added.
Bon appétit!

Ingredients (for 1 person) :
- 150g beef (preferably filet)
- 1 spring onion
- 1 carrot
- 1/3 of a cucumber
- 6 strawberries
- 1/2 pomegranate
- fresh mint
- fresh coriander
- oil

Sauce :
- rice vinegar or lime juice
- soy sauce (preferably sweet)
- fish sauce

Preparation :
Chop the spring onions and fry them in a pan; add the sliced beef. Season with fish sauce and sweet soy sauce and fry until the beef is no longer pink.
Cut the carrot (either in little dice or with a vegetable peeler into thin stripes); half the cucumber and remove the seeds; cut in dice; also cut the strawberries.
Put the halfed pomegranate into a bowl of cold water and, holding the fruit under water, pull it apart. The water limits the amount of pomegranate juice squirting into all directions and the skin between the seeds floats on the water, making it easier to separate the seeds from it.
Put all the ingredients into a bowl; season with rice vinegar (or lime juice), fish sauce and soy sauce and finely cut the mint and coriander over the salad with scissors. 

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Tarte flambée (or Flammekueche)

The tarte flambée (or Flammekueche in Alsatian, literally "pie of flames") is the Alsatian version of pizza: thin dough covered (typically) with crème fraîche, onions and bacon. I had some of the best Flammekueche in "Les Brasseurs" in Geneva and Migros has quite a good frozen version (the one with the woven crust). However, it is relatively easy to make a tarte flambée at home. Plus: you can choose what to put on top of the dough!

Ingredients (for the traditional tarte; for 1 hungry person):

200g plain flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

100ml water

1 cup (roughly 100g) crème fraîche (or sour cream)

50g bacon

Grated cheese (about 50g)

1 small onion

Dried herbs

Preparation:

Mix the flour, salt, olive oil and water and knead until the dough is soft. Let it rest for at least half an hour. 

Spread the dough very thinly (mm) onto a baking paper (the dough is a bit reticent to spread - roll out first on the edges and just insist!). Add the crème fraîche, bacon and onions (cut in thin rings) and grate some cheese over them (you can also put the bacon and onions on top if you prefer). Then sprinkle some herbs ("herbes de provence" for example) over the tarte and bake it at 250°C for about 4 minutes (until crispy and slightly brown). Serve immediately - preferably with a good beer. Bon appétit!

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Maki Sushi

I looooove sushi. And I know that I am not the only one. Judging by the worldwide fish stocks, we may have to forget about them again one day.

Before that though, let's enjoy them while they last. Here comes the basic recipe (with some exotic versions to try).

Ingredients (for 10 rolls, i.e. roughly 80-100 maki):

500g sushi rice

7 dl cold water

10 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp (!) sugar

2 tsp salt

10 Nori sheets (the dried algae sheet)

Wasabi

Soy sauce

Pickled ginger

For the filling, you are quite free, but here are some basic ingredients:

Smoked (or fresh) salmon

Tinned (or fresh) tuna

Prawns (cooked or fried in batter, i.e. tempura)

Surimi (the crab sticks)

Avocado

Cucumber

Eggs

Capsicum

Spring onions (or chive)

Philadelphia (or sour cream or crème fresh)

Mayonnaise

More possible (some slightly exotic) ingredients are: different vegetables (carrots, courgette, mushroom,...), fish eggs (for Gunkan Maki - the ones that look like little boats), tofu, beef, pickled plum, mango and other fruit (strawberries are yummy!), mint,... the list is endless!

Preparation:

The rice is the most important in sushi. Lucky us, every bigger supermarket these days has sushi rice and rice vinegar on some shelf. 

Before cooking, wash the rice thoroughly (just like Basmati or Jasmin rice) until the water is clear. Then add the 7dl cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the stove and DO NOT LIFT THE LID for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the rice vinegar with the sugar and salt and once the rice is ready, mix into the rice, gradually "cutting" through the rice with a wooden spoon. Leave to cool out (the rice is better when at room temperature than cold). Cover with a tea towel.

Start making the sushi by lightly spreading rice on the Nori sheet. Wet your hands before grabbing the rice as this prevents it from sticking to them. Also: you can toast the Nori sheet lightly by holding it over a toaster in order to increase its aroma. Do not squash the rice when spreading it. Leave about 3cm at the top edge and about 1 cm at the bottom, left and right. Place a stripe of ingredients on the first third of the roll, then roll the maki sushi according to the pictures and instructions below.

Slowly start rolling the paper around the filling; "tuck" the Nori sheet under to hold the filling in place.











Press evenly (from the center towards the edges, i.e. moving the hands outwards) on the roll. Then open the matt and roll the roll one by one, turn by turn. Put some rice corns on the top edge of the Nori sheet to make it stick.

To cut the roll, hold a sharp knife (most of us don't have a sushi knife readily available so use a cook knife) under cold water, then slice a piece (about 1-1.5cm thick) off in one go. Try to avoid "sawing" through the roll as this will make the filling fall apart. Wet the knife before every cut.



Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

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