Butter Bean and Fennel Soup
It's time for soup! The colder it gets the more I feel like food that is up-lefting and soul-warming. Something that makes me feel strong and prepares me for the cold, dark months ahead of me. Although I love winter, the snow, even the cold, when you get cosy inside, slow down and relax, it's important to treat yourself to the right food to renew your body and mind.
I'm in the mood for a thick soup, smooth but light - like my Minestrone with big butter beans and fennel with some parsley and black olives sprinkled on top. The texture is velvety and it tastes a bit sweet. Today I add a piece of bacon to it as I feel like something deeper in taste. Usually I cook the vegetarian version, I don't prefer one over the other, both are nice winter treats!
Butter Bean and Fennel Soup
Keep in mind that you have to soak the dried beans in water overnight. I like to cook soups in bigger batches to store some in the freezer - great for busy days. This recipe is for 4 people, sometimes I even double the amount.
dried butter beans or Cannellini beans, soaked in cold water overnight, 250g / 9 ounces
fennel, rinsed, cut in thin slices, 300g / 10.5 ounces
celery stalk, cut in cubes, 1
onion, cut in cubes, 1
broth or water, around 1500 ml
optional: a piece of bacon, 40g / 1.5 ounces
garlic, crushed, 1 clove
bay leaf, 1
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying
parsley, chopped, for the topping, 2 tablespoons
black olives, chopped, for the topping, 4
good olive oil, for the topping
Heat some oil in a large pot. Fry the onion, celery, garlic and bacon (left in one piece) for a few minutes. Add the fennel, take the beans out of the water and put them into the pot as well. Fill with broth, add the bay leaf and close with a lid. Don't season with salt before the beans are done or they won't become soft. Cook for 30 minutes or until the beans are soft. Depending on the bean's texture it may take another 30 minutes. Mine needed 60 minutes today but I must admit that I found them in a dark corner of my shelf.
When the beans are done, take out half of the vegetables (cooked beans and fennel) and put them to the side. Mix the other half of the vegetables together with the liquid in a blender and season with salt and pepper. Put everything back into the pot together with the remaining vegetables. When you arrange the soup in soup bowls sprinkle with olives and parsley and drizzle your best olive oil on top.
The last spaghetti (in 2013)
The last day of the year always gives me a funny feeling, an emotional mixture of memories, feelings - and excitement for what the future will bring.
I need some pasta to relax.
Tonight, we are invited to dinner, we will have cheese fondue. I don't want to eat too much for lunch before this cheese feast but I have some grilled aubergine left from our Sunday pizza. Golden brown and soft, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with oregano, crushed garlic, salt and pepper - I just cut them in bite sized pieces. I throw some spaghetti in boiling water, when they are done, mix them with the aubergine, a bit of olive oil, some more dried oregano and crushed pepper and sea salt - from Mr. Cini's salt pans in Gozo. You can sprinkle some Parmesan on top if you like. A simple meal to relax in the last hours of 2013!
Fennel Carpaccio with Caper and Lemon
Two days left in 2013 - an easy and comfy lunch is in order to lean and look back on the past months. I feel like a quick carpaccio with fennel, caper and lemon, fresh and light, the right foundation for an honest review of an exciting and inspiring year - and the start of eat in my kitchen!
My mother told me about this vegetarian carpaccio which she enjoyed at a restaurant in Italy, so much that it became part of her - and my - recipe collection. Sometimes she is so excited by her food discoveries that she calls me immediately after she ate to tell me about her find. She knows that I love fennel and caper - a perfect match together with lemon and olive oil. I can get good quality fennel all year round therefore I cook with it quite often. As much as I love this carpaccio as a quick lunch because it's so easy to prepare, it makes a beautiful, light starter as well.
As a starter for 4, cut 1 fennel bulb in very thin slices and arrange them on plates. Add 6-10 capers on each plate, mine are salted so I have to rinse them first. Drizzle some olive oil and fresh lemon juice on top and season with salt and pepper. It only takes a couple minutes.
A Feast of Leftovers
It is so satisfying to create meals with leftovers. Although it is exciting to cook a special meal for a special event, the next day when I see the food that is left I get inspired to combine it differently and create something new. When I enjoyed our Christmas duck and the tasty gravy on Christmas Eve I knew I would make a hearty, wintery pasta dish with the leftovers. This has become something of a tradition. Every year in the days after Christmas, when we need a break of our extensive meals, we eat the meat leftovers and gravy mixed with pasta.
I have Delverde's Conchiglioni in the shelf - they look absolutely beautiful, like big shells, and they are perfect to catch the rich gravy and duck. I chop up the duck meat into bite sized pieces and warm it up in the sauce. To offset the richness of the gravy I fry two carrots (cut into thin slices) in some oil and a bit of sugar and add a few thyme leaves. I don't want the carrots to be too soft, it just takes a couple minutes and they still have some bite. When the pasta is ready - al dente - I place the pasta shells on big plates and add the sauce with the meat and the vegetables. You can sprinkle them with crushed pepper if you like it more spicy. It's nothing short of a feast, just lighter and quicker than the first.
A Sicilian Salad with Oranges, Oregano and Olive Oil
My friends and family live all over the world. On the big festive days of the year, we spend quite a bit of time on Skype to share the special moments. We talk and laugh and - very often - show each other what we cook for our festive meals. Yesterday, my boyfriend's mother Jenny, presented a beautiful piece of ham that she had just pulled out of her oven. It looked so tempting! She also told me about the orange tree in her garden in Malta which is sagging with oranges and held a huge box of oranges for me to see. I knew what I would have for lunch today: my Sicilian salad with oranges, oregano and very good olive oil!
I know this combination sounds a bit extraordinary. It is another one of my Sicilian discoveries which I had for breakfast at a little farm in Noto two years ago. They used the oregano which grew on their farm and it was the best oregano I ever had in my life. It was unbelievably good! I never thought there could be such big differences in the taste of oregano.
This salad makes a perfect snack after the last Christmas days of culinary richness - refreshing, light and comfortable. All you need to do is to peel two oranges (including the softer inner skin) and cut them in thick slices. Drizzle some good olive oil on top and sprinkle with dried or fresh oregano and a bit of salt.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Bittersweet Chocolate
It's cold outside and I see a bright orange pumpkin right in front of me telling me what I need - a warming pumpkin soup. I have played around with many pumpkin variations in the past, with bacon, curry mixtures, roasted onions and I also love my puristic version with pumpkin seed oil and pumpkin seeds. Over the years my pumpkin soups became more spicy. I tend to feel cold all the time in Winter and nothing beats a hot and spicy soup to warm up your body from the inside.
Today I want my soup really hot and I also feel like adding some bittersweet chocolate on top (I love the combination of bitter, sweet and spicy!). I mix the soup in a blender which gives it a smooth and velvety texture. Together with the chili and bittersweet chocolate sprinkles on top, it makes quite a sensual meal!
This recipe has been featured on Food52 Halfway To Dinner!
Pumpkin Soup with Chili and Bittersweet Chocolate
For 4 people you need
For the soup
pumpkin (squash), without the seeds and fibres, cut into cubes, 600g / 1.5 pounds (I like to use Hokkaido squash with skin, or peeled butternut or Musquée de Provence)
medium sized potato, cut into cubes, 1
medium sized leek, sliced thinly, 1/3
medium sized carrots, cut into small cubes, 2
medium sized onion, chopped, 1
garlic, quartered, 1 clove
bay leaf 1
small dried chili peppers 2
a pinch of mace or nutmeg
salt and pepper
olive oil
water around 1l / 2 pints
For the topping
fresh red hot chili pepper, chopped finely, 1
bittersweet chocolate, grated, 4 heaped teaspoons plus more to taste
In a large pot, heat a splash of olive oil and cook the onion for a few minutes until golden and soft. Add the garlic, leek and carrots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the pumpkin and potato, cook for 2 minutes and cover with water. Add the bay leaf and the dried chili peppers and season with mace (or nutmeg), salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and cook for about 30 minutes (without a lid) or until the pumpkin is soft.
Take the pot off the heat and remove the bay leaf and dried chili peppers. Purée the soup with a stick mixer or in a blender until smooth, season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the soup between the plates and sprinkle with the fresh chili pepper and chocolate.
A Wintery Salad with Beetroot and Walnuts
I must confess that I literally lived in my cookie boxes the past weekend but - at least for today - I will take a sweet break (as much as I love them). My body needs something light and healthy, a salad. In winter I love to get boxes of organic field salad, its nutty taste is great to combine with roots, fruit and nuts. You just need to throw a handful of these little leaves in a bowl, add whatever you feel like and drizzle some olive oil and balsamico on top. It makes a great lunch or dinner even with some cheese and bread on the side. As this salad is so easy to prepare and looks and tastes so good, it is also a very nice starter for a wintery dinner party.
Sometimes I arrange this lettuce with mango or apple slices but my favourite combination is cooked beetroot and walnuts. I cooked a few beetroots a couple days ago and still have some left. I chop up one medium sized beet in little cubes and mix it with two handful of field salad. My dressing is simple but matches the beetroot perfectly: 3 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with 2 tablespoons of balsamico vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper, that's all it needs. I pour the thick dressing on top of the salad and drizzle 5 chopped walnuts on top. Today there are two of us enjoying this tasty and healthy treat!
We eat beetroot quite often, I buy 3 or 4 of them every week and cook them with 2 bay leaves in salted water for 45 minutes (more or less depending on their size). This way they keep their strong and unique taste. I love them sliced thinly as a carpaccio or cut into cubes in wintery salads.
Couscous with Orange, Ginger and 6 Spices
Two days ago I filmed a live session at a recording studio. As there were five of us and we had to work till late, I wanted to prepare something nice for us to eat, and to feed our energetic mood.
I didn't have much time to prepare, so a box of couscous caught my attention (5 minutes and it's done!). My mother had just sent it to me a couple days before because, I think, something that has to sit rather than cook for just a few minutes didn't quite satisfy her idea of cooking. I had half an hour to enhance it a bit so I decided to mix it with slices of leek and carrot and to add some strong exotic flavors - a homemade curry mixture with orange zest, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, cayenne pepper and cinnamon. I mixed in some raisins to add some sweetness to the fruity spiciness of the curry mixture. Quick and easy - perfect food to wake you up (exactly what we needed at 11pm)!
A Couscous with Orange, Ginger and 6 Spices
For 6 people you need
couscous 360g / 12.5 ounces
water 540ml (mixed with 1 teaspoon of salt)
1/2 a medium sized leek, thinly sliced
spring onion, thinly sliced, 2
carrots, cut in small cubes, 4
raisins, a handful
olive oil, 3 tablespoons plus more for frying
butter, 2 tablespoons
sour cream, 3 tablespoons
For the spice mixture
ginger, grated, 2 teaspoons
zest of an orange, 2 teaspoons
turmeric, ground, 1 teaspoon
black peppercorns, ground, 1 teaspoon
cinnamon, ground, 1 teaspoon
cardamom, ground, 1 teaspoon
cayenne pepper, ground, 1 teaspoon
cumin, ground, 1 teaspoon
Let the raisins soak in a cup of hot water.
Bring the salted water to the boil. Take the pot off the heat. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the water, add the couscous and mix immediately, cover with a lid (but leave the pot off the heat). Let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the butter, mix and separate the grains with a fork.
Mix all your spices for the spice mixture (including the ginger and orange zest) and grind in a mortar. Warm some olive oil in a large pan and add the leek, spring onions and the carrots. Push the vegetables to the side after a couple minutes, pour some more oil in the middle of the pan and fry 3 teaspoons of your curry mixture for a minute on medium heat. Mix everything together and fry for another 1o minutes (keep in mind that the carrots shouldn't become too soft). Season with salt.
Mix the couscous and the fried vegetables in a big bowl, add the sour cream and more of your curry mixture until you find the right balance of spiciness (I added another 3 teaspoons of the spices at that point, so 6 teaspoons in all). When you are happy with the result, take the raisins out of the water and sprinkle on top of your couscous.
A Salad with White Beans, Orange and Thyme
This salad is quite extraordinary in its combination but quick and easy to prepare. The first time I made it, I used dry beans which involved pre-soaking and cooking but I use tinned beans when I need a quick lunch like today. White beans are great to combine with other strong flavours and in this salad they still manage to stand out next to the strong tastes of orange peel, thyme and spring onions. They create a perfect match.
For a lunch for two people you just need a big tin of white beans (rinsed), 1 orange, 4 spring onions, a sprig of thyme and salt and pepper. Maybe a few slices of bread to go with it and your lunch will be ready in a few minutes.
Cut fine strips of orange peel (I chop up four strips of peel, each 1x6cm / 1/2"x2 1/4") and cut the spring onions thinly. Mix the beans with the leaves of the thyme sprig. For your sauce mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil together with 5 tablespoons of orange juice and season with salt and pepper. Mix everything together and you will have a beautiful lunch.
A trusted companion, my beloved Quiche
This recipe has been with me for a very long time. I think I cooked it for the first time nearly twenty years ago. And since then it has made lots of people very happy (including myself). My time trusted companion is a quiche with a wonderful crisp and buttery short crust base and a simple but perfect filling of leek, tomatoes and thyme. What I also like about it is that the egg and cream filling isn't as high and heavy as in many other versions of this famous French dish. There is still something light about mine.
In past years I tried out different fillings with spinach or broccoli but I still prefer the combination of leek and tomatoes. The taste is just perfect. I once covered the base with slices of pear and crumbled Stilton for a party, very nice too, and perfect finger food.
Quiche
Usually I double the amount and make two quiches, one to eat warm straight away, the other to eat cold the next day. I can't say which I prefer as the different flavours come through very strongly when the quiche has cooled down.
For one quiche you need a 27cm / 10.5" baking dish or tart pan. I use spelt flour type 630 (but you can use any other plain flour) and organic eggs.
For the short crust base
flour 250g / 8.5 ounces
butter, cold 125g / 4.5 ounces
egg, organic 1
salt 1 teaspoon
Combine the flour with the salt and cut the butter with a knife into the flour until there are just little pieces of butter left. Continue with your fingers and work the butter into the flour until combined (there shouldn't be any lumps of butter left). Add the egg and continue mixing with the hook of your mixer until you have a crumbly mixture. Form a disc, wrap in cling film and put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
For the filling
medium leek, thinly sliced, 1
tomato, cut into cubes, 1
thyme, leaves of a few sprigs
eggs, organic, 3
heavy cream 125ml
crème fraiche or sour cream 125ml
salt 1 heaping teaspoon
pepper
nutmeg, best freshly grated, a generous amount
Set your oven to 210°C / 410°F.
Mix the eggs with the heavy cream, crème fraiche, salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme.
Roll out the dough between cling film and line your baking dish with the flat pastry. Prick it with a fork and blind-bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Take your baking dish out of the oven and set the temperature down to 175°C / 350°F.
Spread the leek slices and tomato cubes over your pre-baked pastry base and pour the egg / cream mixture over. Put the quiche carefully on a baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before you eat.
Bon appétit!
Juicy Potato Bread with Beetroot and Walnuts
I love bread, I'm virtually obsessed with good bread and I need my daily dose of this wonderful, ancient invention. Every culture has their own bread tradition all over the world and it is so important to keep this up and to support traditional bakeries.
Potato bread has a nice crust and is very juicy inside. The kitchen smells divine when the loaf is freshly out of the oven. I love to cut it into thick slices and then let some butter melt on it. With the first bite I know why I love to bake my own bread!
Today I want to prepare a little sandwich with cooked beetroot slices. I drizzle some balsamico and olive oil on top and sprinkle with walnuts. This makes a wonderful snack or starter for a dinner party.
Beetroot
Cook 1 or 2 beetroots together with 2 bay leaves in salted water for 45 minutes (more or less depending on their size). Check with a skewer, it should come out easily, and rinse under cold water. Let them cool, peel and slice very thinly.
Potato Bread
For this bread I used spelt flour type 630 which I love to bake with but you can use any other flour. I chose dry yeast as it is a bit quicker to prepare but you can change to fresh if you prefer.
Sometimes I prepare the dough in the evening and let it rise overnight. This is convenient for the weekend if you want some warm fresh bread on the table for breakfast.
This makes 1 loaf of bread
potatoes, cooked, peeled, cut in cubes, cold, 150g / 5 ounces
potato water (the water the potatoes got cooked in), lukewarm, 150ml
plain flour 450g / 16 ounces
sour cream 3 teaspoons
olive oil 1 tablespoon
dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons
salt 2 teaspoons
Grate the potatoes or press through a ricer (mashing works as well).
Mix the potato water with the sour cream and olive oil.
Combine 350g / 12 ounces of flour with the salt in a big bowl. You will add the rest of the flour while kneading the dough. Add the lukewarm water to the flour together with the yeast. Mix with the dough hook of your mixer until everything is combined, add the potatoes and continue mixing for around 10 minutes. After a few minutes you can start adding the rest of the flour. Put the dough ball on a floured working surface and continue kneading with your hands. You can put all your energy in this which is good for you and for the fluffiness of the bread.
When I prepare the dough in the evening I place it in a clean, oiled and covered bowl in the fridge and let it rise overnight. You will have to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you can continue with the next steps.
In case I want to bake my bread the same day, I put the dough in a clean and oiled bowl, cover it with a tea towel and let it rise in the 35°C / 95°F warm oven for 60-90 minutes. This works really well but make sure that your oven is set to top/ bottom heat and not to fan.
When the dough is bigger and puffy punch it down and knead for a couple minutes. This one doesn't rise as much as dough without potatoes but you should notice a change in size. Now place your future bread on a lightly oiled baking sheet giving it the shape you want and cover with a tea towel. Give it another 30 minutes to rise in the warm oven again.
Set your oven to 230°C / 445°F (for bread it works best to use top / bottom heat and not the fan setting). Bake your bread for 10 minutes, take the temperature down to 190°C / 375°F and bake for another 20 minutes. Test by knocking on the bottom side of the bread, it should sound hollow. Let it cool on a rack before you start cutting it. I minimise this to a few minutes as I can't wait to try it. Not with this smell in my kitchen.
A hearty Potato and Parsnip Gratin
I feel really excited when I see food bubbling in the oven. I can sit in front of the glass oven door and watch it become golden, rising up and down and filling the kitchen with the kind of smell that you just achieve with oven dishes. Especially with a gratin! For tonight we will have a very hearty gratin with potatoes, parsnip, onions and bacon and enhanced with nutmeg, cloves and brandy. This creates an addictive combination of hearty and sweet through the parsnip and brandy. We always plan to make bigger portions to have some leftovers for the next day but with gratin we never manage. Today is the same - it is all gone already.
Potato and Parsnip Gratin
For 3 as a main, or 4 as a side dish, you need
large potatoes, peeled or rinsed and sliced, 4-5
large parsnips, peeled or rinsed and sliced, 4
small onion, cut into thin rings, 1
bacon, cut into small cubes, 40g / 1.5 ounces
butter 30g / 1 ounce
heavy cream 75ml
milk 200ml
water
garlic, crushed, 1 clove
nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
brandy for deglazing
sea salt and pepper
Set the oven to 220°C / 430°F. Our oven has a Rotitherm roasting setting which works perfectly for gratin, it combines the grill setting with fan circulation, but the top / bottom oven setting works as well.
Heat the butter in a large pan, fry the bacon and onions on medium heat until golden and add the garlic. Add the potato and parsnip slices to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Deglaze with brandy and pour the cream and milk on top, add a little water until everything is covered. Now add the spices and season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer until the potatoes and parsnip are almost done. Arrange the potato and parsnip slices in a baking dish or roasting tin and pour the bacon/ milk/ cream mixture over the vegetables. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven until golden brown.
Winter Lentils with Chestnuts and Star-anis
My mother loves lentils – and so do I – and she also loves to share her new lentil creations with me like her all time favorite lentils with chard (a variation which I will post another time). So for many, many years she has sent me her recipes by fax, written on a type writer, as she doesn't like emails and computers. I have a folder full of faxes from her with wonderful recipes and always signed with a sweet motherly note.
Today's lentil creation is something new, I need a soul warmer, with typical winter spices. I bought some French chestnuts and brought out the star-anis and cloves inspired by my last baking sessions. I will use very aromatic lentils from Swabia in the South of Germany sent to me - of course - by my mother. They are cultivated by an organic producer group called Alb-Leisa which recovered this treasure from oblivion. These re-cultivated lentil types had disappeared abruptly in the 1950s due to costs and extensive work. Luckily the Alb-Leisa work is well appreciated, their production has expanded and we can now buy aromatic lentils with old-fashioned names like "Späth's Alblinse I and II".
Lentils with Chestnuts and Star-anis
Here comes the soul-warming recipe, enough for 4 people. I use small lentils which don't need pre-soaking.
lentils 300g / 10.5 ounces
small leek, cut in thin slices, 1
carrots, sliced in half and chopped, 3
small onion, chopped, 1
garlic clove, cut in half, 1
olive oil
broth or water 1l
thyme, a bunch
star-anis 1 (single, not a whole star)
bay leaves 2
cloves 2
allspice, whole not ground, 2
chestnuts, a hand full
salt and pepper
I prepared the chestnuts earlier as they don't need to be warm. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F and place an ovenproof bowl filled with water on the bottom of the oven. Cut a cross on the curved side of the chestnuts and put them in the oven on a baking sheet 10 minutes or until they get dark and their crosses start curling up. Take them out of the oven and cover them with a wet tea towel immediately. This makes it much easier to peel them. Take them out of their outer hard and soft, inner skin while they are still warm. Mind your fingers as they can still be hot.
Warm olive oil in a pan and fry the leek, onion, carrots and garlic on medium heat. Add the lentils and pour the broth on top. Add the thyme and the spices (star-anis, bay leaves, cloves, allspice) but don't season with salt yet or the lentils won't cook and stay hard. Some people put the spices in a disposable tea filter which makes it easier to get them out later. I don't mind them, I prefer to add them unwrapped. Cover with a lid and let it simmer. The cooking time depends on the lentil type. Mine need 20 minutes. After 10 minutes check if there is still enough liquid. When the lentils are soft, season with salt and pepper. Take out the thyme, bay leaves and the spices you can find.
Serve the lentils in deep bowls with broken chestnuts on top and enjoy this soul warming treat.