Camping deluxe - Farfalle Pasta with Figs, Mozzarella di Bufala & Honey Butter
Although I can't really call myself an experienced camper, I'm fascinated by the idea of setting up a tent in the middle of nowhere and keeping the signs of civilization to a minimum.
I got my introduction to camping through my boyfriend. To avoid unnecessary difficulties, he chose wisely and decided to give it a go when we were in his home country - a place where you're never really completely cut off. He convinced me to take a boat to Comino, Malta's tiny sister island, which is just the right size to jump bravely into our first outdoor adventure without having to worry about too many risks. Our 'captain' dropped us off at the shore, along with our two bags, a tent, and a cooling box. It was August, it was unbearably hot, and I found myself in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, on a rocky island. There was not a single tree in sight. My boyfriend, however, looked at the situation with far more optimism. He knows Comino like his back pocket, thanks to countless trips as a child. He set up our rather basic looking tent within less than 10 minutes, with a little help from his clueless German girlfriend (I really tried hard not to be a burden). And when we were done, we jumped into the gentle waves in a lonely bay and I felt a bit like Robinson Crusoe. All of a sudden I started to like this camping idea.
To prepare our dinner, I collected some twigs and my man made a fire. We even managed to exchange a few of our tomatoes from the cooling box with the fresh catch of a passing fisherman. Then I got comfortable: I couldn't help but turn the rocks around me into a little desert island kitchen. Olive oil, salt, and pepper were ready to marinate the fish and vegetables for our DIY BBQ and we sat down with a glass of wine (a gift from the fisherman). This dinner tasted so good that I could have cried. Maybe that's part of the whole camping experience, you're very close to nature, you depend on the weather, the sunlight, the sea, and the food that nature (or your cooling box) offers you. It makes you humble and it opens your senses, everything feels more intense. To smell, taste, feel, and see is essential when you live in and around a tent or camper van. The night came early and covered our little island in the deepest darkness. As soon as the sun sank into the sea, I felt more sleepy than usual, but also more peaceful. I brushed my teeth in the calm sea and went to bed.
Most of my activities on the Maltese Islands are documented in thousands of pictures, but the idea of camping - at least in my eyes - is about being unplugged and as far away from any technical devices as possible. So there's no photographic evidence of my first or our following Comino camping adventures. However, when I spoke to my mother about camping recently, she brought many stories and pictures back to mind that I hadn't thought of in decades. My parents and my sister went to the Camargue, in southern France in the 70s, to a place with the beautiful name Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. They didn't have a tent but an old Volkswagen van. I always loved the old photographs, of them on the beach and in old villages, on ancient narrow cobblestone streets. The ease of a camper on their faces. One of the nicest camper vans I know belongs to our friends Luke and Jessica in Malta. Their gorgeous four wheeled gem is baby blue, built in 1968, and its restoration took them 10 months, but all the patience, sweat, and love they put into it was worth it.
Stephanie Le from Canada also shared her love for camping with me in our meet in your kitchen feature a few weeks ago. She's a pro, she even manages to create a Beef Stroganoff when she's out in the woods. Stephanie made me think about the culinary challenges that you have to face when you limit your life to a few bags and a grill or gas stove. It also makes a huge difference if you're in a place that still allows you to forage, or where fishermen offer you the best fish you ever tasted in your whole life. I'm talking about a rather romantic kind of camping here, away from the crowds and civilization and its disturbing visual and acoustic side effects.
Let's say you'll be out in the wilderness, for 1-2 nights, and you can upgrade your meal with some fruit and dairy products, the cooling box will keep it fresh for a day. When Volkswagen asked me to come up with a recipe - an eat in my kitchen on the road creation - I couldn't help but think of camping deluxe. A kind of camping that satisfies the longings of a gourmet who ended up off the beaten track. The senses stimulated by the whole outdoor experience, ready to be caressed by a beautiful plate of farfalle with ripe figs, creamy mozzarella di bufala, velvety honey butter, and fragrant basil. The dried pasta and honey are easy to store, the figs and herbs can be kept in a lunch box, and the mozzarella and butter stay fresh in the cooling box. This would be my ideal treat for a night under the clear black sky.
For more delicious recipes and kitchen inspiration, visit Volkswagen's Pinterest community board Food Blogger for Volkswagen.
Farfalle Pasta with Figs, Mozzarella di Bufala and Honey Butter
Serves 2
farfalle pasta 200g / 7 ounces
butter 3 tablespoons
honey 1 1/2-2 teaspoons
large figs, cut into 8 wedges each, 2
mozzarella di bufala, torn into pieces, 125g / 4 1/2 ounces
fresh basil leaves, a small handful
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
flaky sea salt
Cook the farfalle in salted water until al dente.
In the pot used to cook the pasta, heat the butter and honey and whisk until combined. Mix in the farfalle, stir, and divide between 2 plates. Arrange the figs, mozzarella, and basil on top and season with crushed pepper and flaky sea salt to taste.
Enjoy warm or cold.
Eat In My Kitchen is out! From the book: Radicchio, Peach & Shallot with Stilton
The Eat In My Kitchen book is out and I'm the happiest person on the planet!
One of the exciting - and often quite challenging - things in life is that you never really know where the journey will take you. It's like being on a ship out on the open sea. Sometimes it seems like you can control the direction, but it might just be an illusion, and in the end you can only ever go with flow instead of fighting against it. Since I understood this, my life rolls more smoothly than ever. I wasn't one of those kids that had a clear idea of their future and what it should bring. At the age of 18 I was still a bit clueless about my place in this world, so I decided to go to university and study architecture. I was a good girl and left 4 years later with a diploma in my pocket although I knew I wouldn't want to work as an architect. Instead, I worked happily in the music industry for 15 years. But things changed, I changed, the music business changed, my direction in life changed. I decided to start a food blog on a cold winter's day in November 2013, and this decision had more of an impact on my life than I could have imagined back then. I shared a new recipe every day in the first year of Eat In My Kitchen, and although I felt creatively extremely stimulated after those 12 months, I was also exhausted. My writing and photography improved tremendously in that year, and my cooking and baking evolved as well - I became more experimental. However, I had to slow down the pace, it was too much. But the solution was easy: less posts on the blog and I found a rhythm that allowed me to enjoy every single part of being a blogger (it still feels weird to say that).
In the even colder days of February 2015, life, the universe, destiny, luck, or whatever you may call it, had different plans. Holly La Due from Prestel Publishing in New York came into my life, she sent me an email in the morning, we skyped in the afternoon, and sealed our deal in the evening - all in one day. Holly's decision to ask me if I'd like to write a cookbook, changed my life so drastically that I'm still processing what's been happening in the past year and a half. I never really got used to seeing myself as a blogger, life was too fast, and now I'm a cookbook author. I still have these moments, when I look at my book using one of the recipes in my own kitchen, and I get a little shock and feel, "wow, that's my book". I guess I need a little more time.
Most of the time in life it's not just us alone, not just a single person who creates, we're woven into a net of people, ideas, and visions. Whoever pulls the string on one side of the net, affects the whole result. This heavy blue book full of recipes, Eat In My Kitchen - to cook, to bake, to eat, and to treat, is not just lying on my table anymore, today it's been sent out into the world, now it's on the book shelves and maybe lying on your table. And this makes me feel peacefully happy and thankful, I could squeeze the world.
This book has been a gift for me from the start. Being able to turn a vision into a physical object makes me feel very humble, I know that this book carries a part of every single person who's been involved. Thank you, to the most amazing team and friends all over the world:
Holly, Jamie, Jan, Lauren, Karen, Luke, Stephen, Angy, Emma, Oliver, Andrew, Will, Marisa, Ron, Monica, Ellen S, Jen, Pia, Julie, Adeline, Ellen M, Cynthia, Molly, Malin, Yossy, the Cini family, Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley, Joanna, Karl, Jo, Iggy, Marina, Türkan, Jörg, Kitty, Hetty, Mama, Uli, Ursula, Uwe, Jenny, Edith, Emma, Alex, Julia, Nina, Kim, Jessica, Luke, Matt, Muxu, Daphne, Nadine, Jan, Essa, Sandra, Chris, Alexandra, Doris, Chris, Anna, Jimmy, Gina, Pattie, Jayne, and all my loved ones.
Thank you my wonderful food loving blog friends, you've come back and visited these pages for almost 3 years. Your passion, enthusiasm, your questions and comments, your emails and pictures, made me enjoy my kitchen and my food even more than I already do. You drive me on to dig deeper into culinary traditions and to come up with new ideas every day. Thank you and a big hug!
Today I'll share the second recipe from my book with you, the colourful salad that made it onto the cover of my book and that became one of my favourites. It's a luscious composition playing with contrasts: bitter crunchy radicchio, soft and juicy peaches, sweet oven roasted shallots, sharp Stilton, and a little thyme. It's a beauty on your picnic blanket, a fresh addition to your brunch table, and the easiest starter for a dinner party.
The pictures of me and the picnic scene in this post were taken in July, at Villa Bologna in Malta, for an article in Eating & Drinking Magazine.
Radicchio, Peach, and Roasted Shallot Salad with Blue Cheese
SERVES 2 TO 4
FOR THE SALAD
8 shallots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise (or 4 small red onions, peeled and cut into quarters)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Flaky sea salt
Ground pepper
5 ounces (140 g) radicchio, soft leaves only, torn into pieces
4 ripe peaches, peeled and cut into 8 wedges each
2 ounces (60 g) Fourme d’Ambert, Stilton, or any crumbly blue cheese, crumbled
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
FOR THE DRESSING
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Fine sea salt
Ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread the shallots on the lined baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, and season to taste with flaky sea salt and pepper. Gently mix with your fingers and roast for 10 minutes. Flip the shallots over and roast for another 5 minutes or until golden brown and soft. Peel any hard or burnt layers off the shallots and set them aside. You can prepare the shallots in advance; they don’t need to be warm.
For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, both vinegars, and the honey; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Arrange the radicchio, peaches, and shallots in overlapping layers on plates, sprinkle with the crumbled cheese and thyme, drizzle with the dressing, and serve immediately.
Roasted Cauliflower with Capers and Preserved Lemon - and about letting go
Eat In My Kitchen will be out worldwide in 34 days (in English, on October 4th) and my German book will see the book stores even earlier, in less than a month, on September 26th. It's becoming real. It's the transition from a project that existed as an idea in the heads of a handful of people to a finished, physical book, which will lean against other books in book shelves and hopefully come to use in many kitchens. Soon, this transition will be complete and then it won't just be my 'baby' anymore. Then it will be out in the world, it will live its own life, create lots of stories around food, and I won't be a part of it anymore. Soon, it won't be in my hands anymore.
You could say that it's not really a huge difference to the blog, which is true to a certain extent. For almost 3 years I've been sharing my recipes (more than 600) here, in the digital world. Whoever felt inspired cooked or baked them, many sent me pictures or emails, and enjoyed it. This interaction still made me feel like I'm a part of it, a part of my Eat In My Kitchen blog that changes constantly, it grows and evolves. But the book is different, it's done, it's printed, it reached the warehouses already, there's nothing I could change, even if I wanted to. Now, I have to learn to let go.
Although there's no work left to be done on the physical book, there's tons of organization left. My book launch events in London, Berlin, Malta, New York, and Washington seem to need my attention 24/7, there are interviews and photo shoots on my schedule, and so many things that come along with a book, things that I never thought about. It felt like a lot of work writing this book, but to send it out into the world seems even more crazy.
I have a habit, whenever my life resembles a rollercoaster, I try to be a little more disciplined and create a rhythm that I stick to. I have my rituals, I take Saturdays off, I go jogging more regularly, I set up more tea time breaks than usual, and I don't skip dinner. It's often quite simple, due to a lack of time and inspiration, but that doesn't matter. I chop my vegetables, nibble on my cheese, and sip at my wine glass (not every night though). I try to create normality within the chaos, a routine, and that helps me.
My current life leads to recipes that neither require much work or time, nor many ingredients. Unfortunately, the time that's left for my beloved grocery shopping decreased considerably in the past few months. But there's no need to complain, those dishes created out of spontaneity taste just as good. On one of those late nights, I opened the door of my fridge, I spotted a head of cauliflower, a jar of my homemade preserved lemons, and capers from Malta. I cut the cabbage into pieces, tossed it in olive oil and my tasty preserves, and ended up with the most delicious comfort food. It was a happy night.
If you're curious about my Eat In My Kitchen book, you can pre-order it here:
Roasted Cauliflower with Capers and Preserved Lemon
Serves 2
cored cauliflower, cut into medium pieces, 600g / 1 1/3 pounds
olive oil 60ml / 1/4 cup
preserved lemon, thinly sliced, 1/2
capers, preferably preserved in salt, rinsed, 3 tablespoons
flaky sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F.
Spread the cauliflower in a medium baking dish. Add the olive oil, preserved lemon, and capers and toss to combine. Season with a little flaky sea salt (mind that the capers are salty) and crushed pepper. Roast for about 18 minutes or until the cauliflower turns golden. Flip the cauliflower and roast for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, turn on the grill (broiler) for the last few minutes, if you prefer it a bit more crispy. Serve warm or cold.
Bean and Caper Dip with Golden Sautéed Zucchini
Besides all the excitement that our Mediterranean summer offered last month, we also got the chance to spend a more than relaxing, but nonetheless very inspiring evening at one of our friends' house. Alex and Benjamin live a life that's just as busy as ours, which makes it a bit difficult to meet. They love to travel, they celebrate their weekly gatherings and dinner parties with their loved ones, and they also split their life between Malta and London. And this I'll never understand and I'm sure you'd agree if you could see their gorgeous palazzo in the silent heart of Żebbuġ - if I lived there, I'd never leave the house! However, we managed to find a free evening, or rather a few free hours, and visited them for drinks and nibbles.
When you meet Alex, a man who seems to either work or spend his time in his beautiful kitchen (click here for pictures), you're treated to the most scrumptious culinary pleasures. Even his 'nibbles' are heavenly. He's a true connoisseur, a man who loves the fine arts, exquisite food and wine, and who's always up for a good conversation. Alex is a critical mind and and you'll never feel bored in his presence. Benjamin is the most beautiful person who's helped me deal with the struggles of my current crazy life more than once. Whenever my mind and body can't keep up with the challenges anymore that come with writing a book and organizing book launch events, I call Benjamin. He's the best reflexologist I know and whatever problem my body comes up with, Benjamin will fix me!
But back to the nibbles: I've always been a huge fan of Alex's dips. Be it hummus or smoky grilled eggplant, they are all addictive. And there's one of his creations that struck me with its subtle salty note. I couldn't make out what it was at first, but I loved it since I enjoyed the first bite last summer, spread lusciously on a thick slice of crusty Maltese bread. Alex purées boiled yellow split peas, mixes in chopped onion, olive oil, lots of lemon juice, and - here's the secret - capers. The salty fruits add a special flavour, it doesn't really taste like caper, it could also be canned tuna. I totally fell for it and couldn't stop eating the thick spread. Now I made it at home, it was my first try, but in my version I use canned cannellini beans. They are sweet and smooth, velvety, and fit just as well to this Mediterranean composition. A few thick slices of golden sautéed zucchini, some ciabatta, and lunch - or dinner - is served.
Bean and Caper Dip with Golden Sautéed Zucchini
Serves 2
For the bean caper dip
rinsed and drained canned cannellini beans 360g / 13 ounces (you could also use boiled yellow split peas as in Alex's original recipe)
capers, preserved in salt, rinsed, 20g / 1 ounce
small shallot, roughly chopped, 1/2 -1
olive oil 60-75ml / 1/4-1/3 cup
freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons
For serving
olive oil
small zucchini, cut into thick slices, 2
fine sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
fresh ciabatta 1 small loaf
For the dip, purée the beans, capers, 1/2 of the shallot, 60ml / 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and lemon juice in a blender. Add more of the shallot to taste and purée until smooth. If the texture is too thick, add more olive oil, and, if necessary, season with additional lemon juice and salt to taste.
In a heavy pan, heat a splash of olive oil over high heat, turn the heat down to medium-high, and sauté the zucchinis for 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden with brown sprinkles. The zucchini should only start to soften outside and still have some bite on the inside. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the zucchini between plates and add a dollop of the bean caper dip. Drizzle the dip with a splash of olive oil and sprinkle with a little pepper. Serve with fresh ciabatta, enjoy warm or cold.
Avocado, Melon and Fennel Salad with Mint
This is the official start to my salad season. In the next month, I'll be indulging - daily - in simple yet scrumptious compositions of tasty vegetables and juice-dripping fruits. Chopped and tossed with a quick vinaigrette or just a dash of olive oil and some flaky sea salt from Gozo. Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, fennel, radicchio, carrots and peas, the sweetest peaches, pears, and plums - summertime offers a firework of flavours and I'm ready to celebrate each single one of them.
My next few weeks will bring the kind of temperature into my life that makes you think twice if it's really necessary to switch on the gas cooker. We'll be off to Malta soon and that means it will be 30°C (90°F) in the early morning and more than 40°C (105°F) at noon - this calls for a different menu. It'll be hot, but I won't complain, it's the time of the year that I look forward to the most. I can run around in an airy dress all day and late night swims won't leave me chilled - it's warm enough to sit on the rocks with wet hair when the sun has already sunk into the sea. I can basically live outside 24 hours a day, that's my kind of paradise.
In the Mediterranean, you have to go with the flow and stay flexible, so we keep the cooking plan as open as possible to adjust to our mood. You can always find a large jar of fresh, homemade basil pesto in the fridge and, of course, the whole variety of Malta's crop fresh from my favourite farmer Leli's fields, all piled up on the table and shelves. Fresh oregano, marjoram, basil, and the spiciest arugula are ready to be picked in the garden and always at hand to refine a chunk of creamy mozzarella di bufala, a crunchy bruschetta from the BBQ, or a 5-ingredient pasta dish: Give me spaghetti, olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs and I'm happy. If I'm lucky, there will still be a few lemons on the tree in the family garden in Msida. The season's over but my Maltese mama always keeps a few fruits on the tree for me, she knows how much a German girl enjoys the treat of picking the lemon for her morning tea straight from the branch.
I decided that I'll spoil myself with a kind of luxury that doesn't cost anything: To slow down and keep it simple, to let go of constant planning and rigid expectations. I know that I'll sit at the sea for hours, quite possible every day, but that's as far as my schedule goes. We'll be away for a month to stay with our Mediterranean family, we won't stop working, but we'll definitely take a great chunk of time off, it will be a different pace. To give myself enough time for the transition from my northern to my southern rhythm, I'll prepare a few recipes here in Berlin to share with you in the first two weeks of my holiday. Once I get into the groove, I'll write about my Maltese kitchen life. Until then, I will enjoy a foretaste of what my taste buds have to expect: a simple salad of velvety avocado, honey-sweet Cantaloupe melon, and crispy fennel - topped with fresh mint and a light vinaigrette.
Avocado, Melon and Fennel Salad with Mint
Serves 2
For the dressing
olive oil 3 tablespoons
white balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
fine sea salt
ground pepper
For the salad
soft avocado, peeled and cut into thin wedges, 1
small fennel bulb, cored and very thinly sliced, 1
small Cantaloupe melon, peeled and cut into thin wedges, 1/2
fresh mint leaves, a small handful
For the dressing, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Arrange the avocado, fennel, and melon in layers in a wide bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with mint leaves and serve immediately.
Strawberry, Chickpea, and Raw Asparagus Salad with Basil and Pink Peppercorns
Whenever I buy a new appliance for my kitchen, a bigger wardrobe for our bedroom, or a more powerful driller for the tool box, I always ask myself how I managed before the new purchase entered our home. I'm totally fine with having to deal with limited space or less satisfying equipment in the house, but give me the comfort of improvement and I'm hooked for life.
This is exactly how I felt when I got my new fridge last December. It's only the third fridge I have ever owned and although I can't really complain about its predecessor - it did a decent job for more than 15 years - it drove me crazy at times. Mainly because the space it offered and the food I tried to put inside it did not match at all. I love fresh food, I buy a lot of fruit and vegetables every week at the farmers' market, and all kinds of cheese, olives, capers, prosciutto ... and wine of course. There are only two people to feed but our food needs space. Thinking back, I don't know how I managed to store all the greens in my old fridge while I was working on my book a year ago, I have no idea. It worked, but now it's different, now I actually enjoy my fridge. A few days ago I came into my kitchen with lots of bags and baskets full of rhubarb, berries, asparagus and other spring produce and everything fit. I looked at this silver beauty and couldn't help but say "I love my fridge!". When Samsung offered me their Chef Collection for my kitchen, I was over the moon and I still feel the same. When you love food and cooking you truly appreciate having the right equipment.
So when I took a look at all the vibrant colours in my fridge, I came up with a salad that looks and tastes as bright and fresh as this season. I cut raw green asparagus very thinly and mixed it with a handful of arugula and canned chickpeas. A few fresh strawberries on top and a light vinaigrette made with orange juice drizzled all over and it was almost done: Some pink peppercorns added subtle spice and their distinct aroma. It was a very satisfying spring creation.
Strawberry, Chickpea, and Raw Asparagus Salad with Basil and Pink Peppercorns
Serves 2
For the dressing
olive oil 3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons
white balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
fine sea salt
ground pepper
For the salad
young green asparagus, trimmed, 4 stalks
arugula leaves, 1 large handful
drained canned chickpeas, 2 handfuls
fresh strawberries, cut into quarters, 6
a few fresh basil leaves
a few pink peppercorns
For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, orange juice, and vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cut off the heads of the asparagus and cut them in half lengthwise. Using a mandoline, a cheese slicer, or a sharp knife, cut the asparagus stalks into long, very thin slices.
In a large bowl, arrange the arugula, asparagus, chickpeas, and strawberries in layers and drizzle with the dressing. Sprinkle with pink peppercorns and basil and serve immediately.
Potatoes with Cinnamon Hummus, Basil, and Prawns
When I have a bowl of hummus in front of me, I grab the biggest spoon I can find and enjoy this creamy, nutty deliciousness with inexplicable enthusiasm. I don't know where this fascination comes from, I only discovered this Middle Eastern dip relatively late in my kitchen, but I'm obsessed with it.
Most of the time I'm not even very experimental, I just stick to my basic recipe, but sometimes my mood calls for a little change. I either replace the chickpeas with white beans, stir in some fresh or dried herbs, or I try less pleasant combinations that I never ever want to taste again (like my avocado hummus - disastrous!). There must be something in the tahini - the rich, oily sesame sauce that's used for hummus - its nutritional value, that my body is almost addicted to. I can eat the thick, pure sauce by the spoon, straight out of the jar. It's strange.
One of my latest experiments led to a very simple yet absolutely scrumptious result: a generous amount of ground cinnamon and a pinch of ground cumin. The spices enhance the dip's sweetness and give it a warm and earthy touch. You don't actually taste them, they merge with the other ingredients and create a new flavour, which makes me want to eat even more of it. To accomplish the sweet side of the hummus, I added sliced boiled potatoes (warm or cold, both work), fresh basil, and a few prawns. It felt like summer on a plate and reminded me of a similar Mediterranean meal we had in Malta last year.
Potatoes with Cinnamon Hummus, Basil, and Prawns
Serves 4
For the hummus
drained and rinsed canned chickpeas, 240g / 8 ounces
tahini 150g / 5 ounces
water 120ml / 1/2 cup
freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 tablespoons
garlic, crushed, 1 large clove
ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon
ground cumin 1/8 teaspoon
fine sea salt about 1 teaspoon
For serving
olive oil
prawns, the heads cut off, 8-12
boiled potatoes (warm or cold) 8-12
flaky sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
fresh basil leaves, a small handful
For the hummus, purée the ingredients in a blender and season with cinnamon, cumin, and salt to taste.
In a large pan, heat a splash of olive oil over high heat and sear the prawns for 1-2 minutes per side or until cooked through.
Arrange the sliced potatoes on 1 large platter or on 4 small plates, drizzle generously with the hummus and additional olive oil, and season to taste with flaky sea salt, crushed pepper, cumin and cinnamon. Place the prawns on top, sprinkle with basil and enjoy immediately.
Sicilian Blood Orange, Olive, and Red Onion Salad
The past mornings have been rather cloudy and grey and to make it even worse, they pulled my beloved wild vine off the wall opposite my kitchen window, which I used to call my vertical garden - the poor thing damaged the bricks. My little garden is gone. So the mood hasn't been very uplifting. And as I sat at the table in my kitchen, chewing over a new exciting meet in your kitchen features that I've been working on over the past few days and that I'm eager to share with you, I had to decide to postpone it. The feature was supposed to be up on the blog this week, but unfortunately, my guest from afar - Australia - is opening his second restaurant and so busy that we couldn't finish the interview yet. I felt a bit sad, or rather frustrated, because I adore his work and I'm so curious to read his answers and to get to know him a bit better. In these moments, I can be like a little child, impatient and not willing to accept reality - in this case: having to wait.
Food is the best cure for disappointment, at least in my case, so I looked around my kitchen to see what I could use to throw together for a quick and uplifting lunch. As I spotted a bunch of ripe blood oranges, I remembered a Sicilian salad made with the sweet citrus fruits, olives, and red onions. I added some rucola, olive oil, flaky sea salt, and crushed peppercorns and enjoyed the colourful plate in front of me just as much as the fresh taste of this delicious composition. Needless to say, my mood was much better after the first bite. The sweetness of the oranges merges perfectly with the spicy rucola and onions and the dark and oily depth of the olives. And it's put together in just a few minutes - it's a keeper!
Blood Orange, Olive, and Red Onion Salad with Rucola
Serves 2-4
fresh rucola leaves, 2 handfuls
small blood oranges, peeled (outer skin and white pith), cut into rounds, 4
small red onion, cut into slim rings, 1-2
black olives with pit 12-16
olive oil
flaky sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
Divide the rucola between plates. Lay the blood oranges, onion, and olives on top. Drizzle with some olive oil and season with flaky sea salt and crushed pepper to taste. Serve immediately, preferably with soft ciabatta.
Beluga Lentils with Ginger Orange Rutabaga and Rosemary
I once read that the 3rd Monday of January is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year - Blue Monday. I don't know if it's true, luckily it has already passed, and I didn't notice my mood drooping drastically that day. However, I've felt a rising impatience for more light and warmer weather to come back into my life. So much so that I had to book flights to Malta last night. This always makes me feel so much better, no matter how far in the future the departure date lies, just the thought of it puts me in a good mood.
Another way to lift my spirits is food. Cosy food, colourful food, or simply delicious food. This dish combines all of it: nutty Beluga lentils, topped with thin slices of rutabaga, quickly cooked in the pan with lots of ginger, orange zest and juice, and fresh rosemary. The rustic root is as bright as the sunrise over Malta's east coast and its earthy flavour can easily deal with some strong aromas. I was surprised how well it merged with the dark legumes.
Beluga Lentils with Ginger Orange Rutabaga and Rosemary
Serves 3-4
For the lentils
Beluga lentils, or any lentils (no soaking required), 280 g / 10 ounces
small sprig fresh rosemary 1
bay leaf 1
olive oil
balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
fine sea salt
ground pepper
For the rutabaga
peeled rutabaga, cut into wedges and very thinly sliced (use a mandoline or cheese slicer), 300g / 10 1/2 ounces
freshly grated ginger 1 tablespoon
freshly grated zest of 1 orange
freshly squeezed orange juice 100ml / 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons
fine sea saltground pepper
finely chopped fresh rosemary needles 1-2 tablespoons
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
Place the lentils in a saucepan with plenty of (unsalted) water, add the rosemary and bay leaf, and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until al dente (or follow the package instructions). Remove excess liquid with a ladle if necessary and stir in a generous splash of olive oil and the vinegar. Season to taste with salt, pepper and vinegar.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the rutabaga: In a large, heavy pan, heat a generous splash of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the rutabaga and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and al dente. Scrape the rutabaga to the side, add a little more olive oil to the pan along with the ginger, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the orange zest (leave a little of the zest for the topping) and juice and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the rosemary or use as a topping once the plates are ready. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the desired texture is reached.
Divide the lentils between plates and lay the rutabaga on top. Sprinkle with rosemary, orange zest, and crushed peppercorns and drizzle with a little olive oil (optional). Serve immediately.
Celeriac Salad with Caramelized Honey Kumquats and Walnuts
Berlin, January 2016:
My little cookbook library got extended by a few amazing recipe collections. Santa was so kind to leave a few gems under the tree: Nigel Slater's new The Kitchen Diaries III, Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (finally!), Vegetarian India by Madhur Jaffrey, and the fantastic Anatolia by Somer Sivrioglu and David Dale. The latter blew me away! This book is gorgeous, the pictures are mouthwatering and the dishes inspired me as soon as I laid my eyes on the first page. I'll definitely write about it again in the next few weeks, I already tried one of the recipes for a Turkish pizza and it was divine.
Madhur is a new find for me, I haven't had much time to thumb through the pages of her book but what I've seen so far looks divine. Nigel's book is a cooking bible with 250 (!) recipes - and I'm already struggling with the amount of work I have with the 100 recipes in my Eat in My Kitchen book! I love his approach to creating recipes, the way he writes about them and the beautiful photos taken by Jonathan Lovekin who's also been responsible for Nigel's former kitchen diaries, which I'm equally obsessed with. I'm sure I'll spend quite some time with this book in the next few years.
One of Nigel's creations, which is the 248th recipe in the book, struck me right away: a gorgeous celeriac and blood orange salad sprinkled with nigella seeds and capers. I haven't tried it yet - but I will soon - however, it made me think about celeriac salads. I like the addition of citrus, especially my beloved blood orange, but so far they haven't been in sight at the market. Kumquats came to mind, caramelized and softened in sizzling honey, I used these sweet, sour, and bitter bites for my luscious Orange Blossom, Ricotta, Kumquat, and Pistachio Tartine last April. It was quite a beauty. For my salad of grated celeriac, I also added a creamy yet light yoghurt-cardamom dressing, and sprinkled it with walnuts. Some honey drizzled on top to enhance the sweetness and my first winter salad of 2016 was born. Thank you Nigel!
If you're not that fond of kumquats, you can replace them with orange fillets.
Celeriac Salad with Cardamom-Yoghurt, Caramelized Honey Kumquats, and Walnuts
Serves 3-4
For the dressing
yoghurt 200g / 2/3 cup
olive oil 2 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tablespoon
ground cardamom 1/4 teaspoon
freshly grated orange zest 1/2 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon for the topping
fine sea salt
ground pepper
For the salad
peeled celeriac, grated, 250g / 9 ounces
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
liquid honey 1 tablespoon plus 1-2 tablespoons for the topping
freshly squeezed orange juice 4 tablespoons
kumquats, cut in half lengthwise, 12 (or 12 orange fillets)
walnuts, 1 large handful
a few black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth and season to taste with salt, pepper, cardamom and orange juice.
In a large bowl, mix the grated celeriac and lemon juice, using your fingers. Sprinkle with the dressing.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the honey in a small, heavy pan on high heat, add the kumquats and the orange juice and cook for about 2-4 minutes or until soft and caramelized, turn them once or twice and mind that they don't burn. Take the pan off the heat and arrange the kumquats on top of the salad.
Sprinkle the salad with walnuts, crushed pepper, and additional orange zest, and drizzle with honey. Enjoy immediately or let it sit for a few hours. It won't look as pretty anymore but tastes just as good.
Orange and Fennel Couscous with Orange Blossom Water and Mint
I decided to make couscous and cooked enough to feed a family of six - it shows that I don't work with this grain very often. The package looked tiny but the result was humongous! It didn't do the pleasure any harm though, the recipe was delish, we just had enough couscous for days.
Inspired by a phone call with my mother and our obligatory recipe exchanges, I mixed the earthy North African dish with crunchy fennel sliced like carpaccio and juicy orange fillets. To focus on the citrus a little more, I roasted orange peel in olive oil in the oven to create a fragrant oil and some crunchy citrus bites. An open bottle of orange blossom water in my fridge convinced me to go for an orange trilogy - a good choice. Each of them added their individual depth, texture and aroma: the juices of the fruit paired beautifully with the crisp peel and the flowery scented water. Fresh mint leaves on top to finish it off and three happy people at the table ate far more couscous than we ever have before.
Orange and Fennel Couscous with Orange Blossom Water and Mint
Serves 4
olive oil
long strips of orange peel 6
oranges, cut into fillets, 2
freshly squeezed orange juice 3 tablespoons (collected while cutting the fillets)
fennel bulb, very thinly sliced (like carpaccio), the green chopped, 1 (about 250g / 9 ounces)
couscous 300g / 10 1/2 ounces
quality orange blossom water (preferably organic), to taste
salt and pepper
fresh mint leaves, a small handful
Set the oven to 220°C / 430°F (top / bottom heat).
Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a shallow baking dish, add the peel and cook in the oven for about 6 minutes until golden brown and crunchy, mind that the peel doesn't turn too dark. Take out of the oven and set aside.
To cut the orange into fillets, first peel off the outer skin with a knife and then cut off the white pith. Hold the orange in one hand and cut with the knife along the skin between the fruit's fillets to end up with skin-free fillets. Collect the juices.
For the couscous, put the grains in a large pot. In a kettle, bring double the amount of water to the boil (or adjust to the instructions on the package), pour the boiling water over the grains in the pot and close with a lid, let it sit for 5 minutes. It's not necessary to cook the couscous on heat.
Transfer the cooked couscous to a large, deep bowl and gently stir in the fennel, orange oil, orange fillets and about 3 tablespoons of the collected juices (to taste). Season with orange blossom water (about 1-3 teaspoons, depending on the brand), salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more olive oil if necessary and sprinkle with the roasted orange peel (broken into pieces), fresh mint and the chopped fennel green. Serve warm or as a cold salad.
Watermelon Caprese with Mozzarella di Bufala, Basil and Mint
The past few days on the island called for light and easy treats from the kitchen - it's been hot in Malta and quite a challenge for a northern girl like me. I witnessed 50°C (122°F) measured in the sun and, although I prefer warmth over cold, it's been beyond enjoyable. The sea is my daily escape, whenever I get the chance to jump into the cool waters, it feels like my brain cells finally start working again. There's a reason why life's pace is slower in the Mediterranean, the body just can't cope any other way. Luckily, we're off to Berlin today and we'll have 3 weeks to cool off a little before we get back to Malta's burning sun.
On the culinary side, I tried to defy the extreme weather conditions with lots of water, juicy peaches and melons. I noticed a growing watermelon trend in the web in the past few weeks that I had wanted to avoid. It felt like a flood of melon popsicle, melon soup and melon salad recipes - no need to bother you with another one on eat in my kitchen. But then, I thought of this delicious combination of chilled watermelon, creamy mozzarella di bufala, olive oil, sea salt, basil, mint and a little black pepper and I thought it wouldn't be fair not to share this easy pleasure. If you find yourself in the Mediterranean, or anywhere else in the world where the temperatures seem unbearable and where sweet and juicy watermelons are accessible, prepare a plate of melon caprese, slow down and relax!
Watermelon Caprese with Mozzarella di Bufala, Basil and Mint
Serves 3-4
chilled, ripe watermelon, sliced into thin triangles, 1/8-1/4
mozzarella di bufala, torn into bite sized pieces, 125g / 4 1/2oz
olive oil
fresh basil leaves about 16
fresh mint leaves about 8
flaky sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
Arrange the melon and mozzarella on a large plate, drizzle with a splash of olive oil and sprinkle with basil, mint, salt and pepper.
Oregano Potato Salad, Grilled Prawns and Malta's Hidden Gems
Being back on my island feels unbelievably good! The past 10 days have been filled with lonely beaches, fishermen's villages, camping on a lonely island, new restaurant and ice cream shop discoveries, espresso breaks at traditional cafés and my obligatory (almost) daily visits to one of the countless pastizzerias. I'm in heaven - like every summer!
Whenever we go to Malta, I have a long list of things I definitely want to do while we're here. Our friends and family have the same idea, which means I have to plan well. The first 2 weeks tend to be packed with all the places I've been desperately wanting to visit in the past few months. My first day on the island is all about grocery shopping and a visit to my favourite vegetable man. Every Tuesday and Friday, the farmer Leli parks his mobile truck shop in Msida to offer his fresh produce under pink oleander trees. This man has the most charming eyes and the juiciest melons, peaches and tomatoes right from his fields. I stock up on Maltese sausages and Ġbejna (local sheep cheese) and sneak into one of the old village bakeries to buy far more bread than a family of 5 can possibly eat. But there's always the option to make a Panzanella (Tuscan bread salad) or a Maltese Bread Pudding with the leftovers, so there's no reason to feel bad. This year I finally went to Qormi, a town famous for its traditional bread baking skills. I literally followed my nose and spotted a tiny place in a side street which makes fantastic large loaves of sourdough bread, Ftiras (rings of breads) and soft aniseed buns. The two bakers Duminku and Glenn took time out to show me around and to my surprise, also shared the bakery's traditional Maltese bread recipe with me! So I'm planning on trying this recipe in my Maltese mama's kitchen and, hopefully, sharing the successful results with you soon. I asked Duminku for a recipe for 1 loaf which might have been a bit silly, 12 loaves was the minimum we could compromise on.
We spent another unforgettable afternoon at Ghar Lapsi in the south. After a long swim and snorkeling in the most mesmerizing crystal blue, we sat with an aperitif at Rita's, the rather old-fashioned Lapsi View Bar & Restaurant. My Aperol Spritz was the size of a fish bowl and the view of lonely Filfla island at sunset was so stunning that we decided to stay for dinner. It was a wise choice, the spider crab ravioli were to die for. Ice cream was next! My Maltese sister Emma insisted that we had to try Mario's creations at Ta' Skutu in Qrendi, a small family run business started in 1900, cooling their creations with ice blocks imported from Sicily. Besides the classic flavours, he also offers seasonal specialities, like beer or potato ice cream. I was truly struck by the sweets and the pretty, old interior (and the deer on the wall). But getting to know his chatty niece holding a white rabbit in her arm turned the visit into an almost Alice in Wonderland-like experience - the whole scene felt beautifully surreal. We finished the night at Mariano's farm (my farming and modeling brother in law) with an introduction to keeping sheep and a traditional Kusksu (Maltese bean soup) with homemade Ġbejna - freshly made from sheep milk which had been milked only 5 hours before.
A night of wild camping on Malta's small sister island Comino allowed us to enjoy a late evening and early morning swim at Blue Lagoon. This place is paradise as long as you don't join the day tourists turning the lagoon into a sardine tin during the day. It's a summer hotspot, the white beaches and turquoise water make you feel like you're in the middle of the Caribbean. We stayed in our tent at Santa Marija Bay and had the Blue Lagoon almost to ourselves after everybody had left.
My obligatory Sunday morning visit to the Marsaxlokk fish market inspired today's recipe: the most simple potato salad made with only 5 ingredients (potatoes, olive oil, Gozo sea salt, crushed pepper and fresh oregano) crowned by delicious prawns right from the BBQ.
This is sweet summer life!
Oregano Potato Salad, Grilled Prawns
For lunch for 2 you need
large prawns (wild, not farmed) 4-6
large waxy potatoes rinsed, scrubbed and cooked, 2-3
olive oil
flaky sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
fresh oregano leaves, 2-4 tablespoons
lemon 1/2
Grill the prawns on a BBQ or sear in a pan in a little oil on high heat.
Cut the potatoes into thick slices and divide them between 2 plates. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. Serve with the prawns and fresh lemon juice.
Raw Asparagus Salad with Peach, Orange Blossom and Pecorino
I had lots of asparagus in my kitchen this year but, unfortunately, no time to try many raw recipes. I needed green and white asparagus for new recipes for my cookbook which I'm very happy with. Since late March, a quick combination of Asparagus with Balsamic Bacon and a Tortilla joined the eat in my kitchen recipe collection but there was no salad with the raw green stalks, that changed last week.
My Mediterranean version with tomatoes and Parmesan inspired by my mother introduced me to the pleasures of raw asparagus for the first time, followed by a Nordic salad with hardboiled egg, lemon yoghurt dressing and chives. This year, I felt like a fruity take on this dish, thinly sliced green asparagus with honey sweet white peaches, young pecorino and a refreshing dressing made with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange blossom water. Enjoyed with a glass of chilled rosé and a crunchy loaf of rustic French bread I didn't even mind that the cool temperatures couldn't keep up with this summery dish.
Raw Asparagus Salad with Peach, Orange Blossom and Pecorino
For 2 you need
The asparagus should be very fresh and not woody.
raw green asparagus, the bottom cut off and the lower part peeled if necessary, about 10 stalks
flat white Doghnut (or Saturn) peaches, sliced thinly, 2
young Pecorino (or Parmesan), sliced thinly, about 50g / 1 3/4oz
For the dressing
olive oil 3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons
quality orange blossom water (preferably organic) 2 teaspoons
a pinch of sugar (or honey)
salt and pepper
Cut the asparagus' heads off and in half, cut the stalks into slim slices, this works best with a mandoline or cheese slicer. Arrange the asparagus and peaches on plates. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing and season to taste, sprinkle over the salad and finish it off with the Pecorino.
Green Beans and Peas with Tahini Lemon Mayonnaise and Basil
I've never been a big fan of mayonnaise but this recipe changed everything, now I'm hooked on it! Mix this dip with a little tahini, juice and the zest of a lemon to lighten up it's rather heavy qualities and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
When it comes to mayonnaise, I've always been quite picky. The ones from the store are not an option for me at all, at least I've never found a good one. I always make my own from scratch like I learned from my mother, with good olive oil and fresh organic egg yolks. When it's mixed with crushed garlic, like the Spanish Aïoli, I can actually enjoy it a lot, especially when I have a fresh loaf of bread at hand.
So a few days ago I decided to make a fresh salad of greens, crunchy beans and peas quickly blanched until al dente. When I thought about the dressing I started to play around with different recipes in my mind. I had just received a culinary gift from a friend who just got back to Berlin after a quick visit to his family in Israel. He brought a huge jar of delicious tahini to my kitchen which I usually turn into hummus right away, but not this time. I mixed a spoonful of it with lemony and garlicky mayonnaise to top my summery salad sprinkled with spring onions and basil, it was more than delish!
Green Beans and Peas with Tahini Lemon Mayonnaise
You could whisk the mayonnaise by hand but I use a stick mixer and a small mug which guarantees a thick and creamy result.
For 2 as a lunch or 4 as a side dish you need
green beans, the ends snipped off, 550g / 1 1/4 pounds
peas, fresh or frozen, 140g / 5oz
salt and pepper
olive oil 1 tablespoon
small spring onion, cut into slim rings, 1
fresh basil, about 12 leaves
For the mayonnaise
garlic, crushed, 1 clove
freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 teaspoons
fresh organic egg yolks 2
quality olive oil 75ml / 1/3 cup
salt
tahini 1 tablespoon
lemon zest 2-3 teaspoons
In a large pot, blanch the peas in boiling salted water for 1 minute, take them out with a slotted ladle, rinse with cold water for a few seconds and drain. Use the same water, bring it to the boil and blanch the beans for 4-5 minutes or until al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. In a bowl, mix the beans and peas with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and then arrange on plates.
For the mayonnaise, mix the garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. Drop 2 egg yolks into a mug which should be just big enough for a stick mixer to fit in it. Pour 1/4 of the oil onto the egg yolks and start mixing with the stick mixer immediately, add more oil and the lemon garlic mixture, a little at a time, mixing constantly. When the dip is thick and creamy (after a few seconds) season with salt and whisk in the tahini and 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon zest, season to taste. On the plates, spread a few dollops of the mayonnaise on top of the greens and sprinkle with spring onion, basil and lemon zest. Serve immediately.
A Salad of Rucola, Plum and Pear with Orange Blossom Water
Here's another one of the kitchen leftover mash-ups I mentioned yesterday: There were 3 bunches of rucola (rocket) on the window sill, Italian plums which started to look a bit sad and ripe pears, ready to be eaten just before they get soft and mushy. I tossed everything together in a bowl and mixed it with my new favourite summer salad dressing: olive oil whisked with freshly squeezed orange juice and a little orange blossom water. It's fantastic, the citrus' fruitiness merges wonderfully with the orange blossom's flowery aroma and the warm olive oil.
Citrus and olive oil is a delicious combination. One of my favourite recipes on eat in my kitchen features this glorious treat, it's a very simple yet absolutely delicious Sicilian salad. The first time I ate it was at a farm in Noto where we stayed a few years ago. The lady of the house would make it for us for breakfast. She used the ripest oranges from the farm, cut them into fillets and sprinkled them with a little olive oil and dried oregano. It was a heavenly and eye-opening experience for me. I had never really thought of this combination before, mixing fruit with olive oil was quite new for me at that point and this morning treat influenced many of my recipes over the years. It taught me to be open minded and experimental, to combine various flavours, to mix what seems far away in taste but trust that it will lead to a satisfying result (which it often does).
However, the combination of fruit and olive oil needs a strong partner, either a herb or spicy rucola leaves as I chose. You could replace the plums and pears with any other sweet fruit you have at hand in your kitchen: strawberries, nectarines, figs or oranges. As long as they have honey sweet juices to add to the salad, they will be a good choice!
A Salad of Rucola, Plum and Pear with Orange Blossom Water
For a quick lunch for 2 you need
rucola (arugula) leaves, 2 handful
pear, quartered, cored and sliced, 1 (or an equal amount of another sweet fruit)
large plum, cut in half and sliced, 1 (or an equal amount of another sweet fruit)
For the dressing
olive oil 3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons
quality orange blossom water (preferably organic) 1-2 teaspoons, to taste
salt and pepper
Arrange the rucola and fruit in a bowl. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing, season to taste and sprinkle over the salad, serve immediately.
Asparagus with Crisp Balsamic Bacon
All you need are 6 ingredients: green asparagus, bacon, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper! This is one of the easiest asparagus recipes we've had on our table this spring and I'm sure I'll cook it a few more times during this season. Its comforting heartiness combined with the vegetable's crunchy freshness is all I need when I sit at the kitchen table after a long day of work.
The preparation takes around 10 minutes which is also quite convenient. Green asparagus only needs a few minutes until it's cooked al dente and the bacon bites fried to salty crispiness don't take much longer. I deglazed the meat with a little white Balsamico vinegar which brings out its sweet side and fits so well with the green stalks. It's such an easy spring comfort dish!
Asparagus with Crisp Balsamic Bacon
For 2 people you need
green asparagus, the bottom part cut off, 500g / 1 pound
bacon, cut into tiny cubes, 80g / 3oz
olive oil
white balsamic vinegar 25 ml / 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper
Blanch the asparagus in salted water for 3-4 minutes or until al dente, drain and rinse with cold water for a second to keep its fresh colour.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and fry the bacon for a few minutes on medium heat until golden brown and crisp. Deglaze with the vinegar, add the asparagus, stir gently and season with salt and pepper to taste, serve warm.
Green Bean, Pea and Kumquat Salad with Turmeric and Mint
Nature is blossoming all around me! Crisp young leaves sprinkle the branches of the Linden trees in front of our house with their fresh green, thousands of yellow, pink and white flowers take over the city, visually and with their fragrance. It feels so refreshing and wakes up all my senses!
So many colours bursting around me inspire my culinary activities, I need crisp greens, beans, peas and mint, and a little orange, sweet and sour kumquats and fresh turmeric root for a light vinaigrette. You could also enjoy this composition as a warm side dish, with a splash of olive oil instead. I wanted to take my time, to prepare one ingredient after the other without hassling about keeping everything warm. I chose to slow down my pace, the kitchen windows wide open and the birds seemed as excited about this outburst of spring as I am. It was a cold salad in the end, enjoyed with a relaxed mind and a couple slices of fresh ciabatta.
Green Bean, Pea and Kumquat Salad with Turmeric and Mint
For 2 as a lunch or 4 as a side dish you need
flat green beans, the ends cut off, 380g / 13 1/2oz
peas, fresh or frozen, 150g / 5 1/4oz
kumquats, rinsed and scrubbed, thinly sliced, 4
fresh mint leaves, a small handful
For the dressing
olive oil 3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice 3 tablespoons
freshly grated turmeric root (or ginger), a pinch, to taste
salt and pepper
In a large pot, bring salted water to the boil and blanch the beans for 3 minutes or until al dente. Take them out with a slotted ladle and rinse them under cold water for a second (to keep the fresh colour). Blanch the peas in the same pot for 1 minute, take them out and rinse them for a second with cold water.
Whisk the ingredients for the dressing and season to taste. Arrange the beans and peas on a large plate, sprinkle with the dressing, the slices of kumquat, mint leaves and a little more grated turmeric root.
Roast Onion, Spinach and Pomegranate Salad with Stilton
Some of my recipes start with a visual idea, with colours and textures that slowly merge into a dish in my head, and this salad was one of them. I could picture an early spring green combined with different shades of red. Green stands for crunchy freshness which I found in tiny leaves of baby spinach, red colours are juicy and sweet, like oven roasted red onions and crunchy pomegranate seeds. It may sound a bit far-fetched, but it's very simple, I find that, quite often, I can follow this rule: what looks good together tends to taste good together too. Maybe my mind only suggests flavour combinations which my taste buds already connect with a positive experience, I don't know, it definitely worked for this composition!
Texture was next, as soon as the colours for this dish were set. All these crunchy bites demanded some milky creaminess. A while ago my sister asked me to give blue cheese a little break on eat in my kitchen, she hates it but I love it and therefore I could use it all the time. For sandwiches, of course, salads, risotto, gnocchi or crackers, there's almost no dish on the savory side that can't deal with a little addition of this fantastic dairy product. So I knew that I'd have to refuse her request, it's just too tempting. And here it is again, English Stilton, kind of the queen of blue cheese, it's simply too good on warm onions and it was a true revelation in combination with the pomegranate. I'm sorry Nina!
Talking about colours and textures, my dishes got a new addition! A few months ago, I saw pictures of some very puristic plates, the simple shape and elegant lines caught my attention the moment I spotted them. I got in touch with the company, Broste Copenhagen, the same day but unfortunately, Esrum (my desired collection's name) wasn't available yet, it's a brand new series. I had to wait a few weeks, but then a huge box arrived right at my door step, filled with beautiful plates, ceramic mugs and golden cutlery. For almost 20 years, I've been using the same flatware, a rustic black set (a Finnish classic from 1952) and my delicate fine Bone China. I didn't feel bothered as I like both a lot. So, one day my mother mentioned with careful politeness that, for eat in my kitchen, a little change of plates in my photos wouldn't be a bad idea, just once in a while, for a little variation. I always listen to her wise words, so I started to look for some inspiration. This isn't an easy undertaking in my case, I prefer products that are timeless, minimal and practical designs, following the architect Mies van der Rohe's principal that form follows function. Broste seems to have a similar idea in mind and made the perfect plates for me, thank you!
Roast Onion, Spinach and Pomegranate Salad with Stilton
For 3-4 people you need
medium red onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges, 3 (about 300g / 10 1/2 ounces)
baby spinach 200g / 7 ounces
pomegranate 1
Stilton, crumbled, 80g / 3 ounces
Daikon cress (or pepper or water cress), a small handful
olive oil 4 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons for the onions
balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons
white balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
honey (liquid) 1 teaspoon
sea salt and pepper
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F (I used the Rotitherm setting) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread the onions on the baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Gently mix with your fingers and roast in the oven for 10 min, turn the onion wedges and cook for another 7-10 minutes or until golden brown and soft.
For the dressing, whisk 4 tablespoons of olive oil with the dark and white vinegar and the honey, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spread the baby spinach on large plates, lay the onions on top and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and Stilton. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and sprinkle with the cress.
Mediterranean Octopus with Fennel and Orange
This is my favourite octopus recipe, tenderly cooked with star-anise, fennel seeds, bay leaf and garlic before it reveals its fine qualities in a refreshingly light salad side by side with crunchy slices of fennel and juicy orange filets. It's one of the purest ways to savour this seafood which is so unique in taste and so scrumptious when prepared well. Cooked octopus combines a smooth butteriness with the soft sweetness of the fresh sea, it doesn't need much more to caress my taste buds. A little fruity acidity and the flowery aroma of anise and it's complete.
It's that time of year again, when my summer holidays come back to mind and tease me, especially the culinary memories from Malta and Gozo, our second home, and I can't wait to revive them in a few months. This octopus salad makes an annual appearance and will definitely be on my plate more than once. It's one of my personal Mediterranean classics, cooked in my Maltese mother's kitchen and savoured in her garden for lunch, with a glass of crisp Maltese white wine and the sun on my back. So much to look forward to, so let the holiday dreaming begin!
Here's more about the man who taught me to cook octopus with star-anise and fennel seeds, Chef Kurt Micallef from Malta.
Mediterranean Octopus, Fennel and Orange Salad
For 2 people you need
For the octopus
octopus, skinned and cleaned, 300g / 10.5 ounces
star-anise 1 piece
a pinch of fennel seeds
bay leave 1
garlic, cut in half, 1 clove
small onion, cut in half
lemon, sliced, 1/2
For the salad
orange, peeled and cut into fillets, 1
medium fennel bulb, cut into very thin slices, 1, the green chopped
olive oil 3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons
white balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon
salt and pepper
In a large pot, bring water with the star-anise, fennel seeds, bay leave, garlic, onion and lemon to the boil. Slip in the octopus and cook on low heat (simmering) for about 45 minutes or until the octopus is tender. Take the octopus out of the broth, let it cool and cut into pieces.
For the dressing, whisk the olive oil, orange juice and vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the slices of fennel on plates and lay the octopus and orange on top. Sprinkle lightly with the dressing and fennel green, serve immediately.
