A warm Salad with Artichokes in Vermouth
Artichokes seem to follow me in the past few weeks, even when I don't buy them they end up in my kitchen. I got a bag full of beautiful purple baby artichokes as a gift, the tiniest I've ever seen. A friend of mine had bought too many and knowing that I use everything that finds its way into my space she was happy to pass them over to me. I had already made plans for dinner but the vegetables couldn't wait a day longer. When I looked at them, a warm salad came to my mind, a little snack in between. I imagined them sautéed and deglazed with vermouth and some parsley on top, so I brought out my pan and started the cooker.
As a starter for 4 you need 6 small baby artichokes. Cut off the artichoke stem if it’s too woody and pluck the hard outer leaves. Cut the artichoke’s tip off (1/3 – 1/2 of the artichoke), quarter them and scoop out the hairy choke. Keep the prepared artichokes in a bowl of cold water and the juice of half a lemon while you’re finishing the rest.
Sautée the prepared artichokes in a large heavy pan in a dash of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter for about 5 minutes together with 1 thinly sliced clove of garlic. Deglaze with 75ml / 2.5 ounces of vermouth and season with salt and pepper. Add 75ml / 2.5 ounces of water and 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and let them simmer on a medium heat for about 10 minutes until al dente. Sprinkle with roughly chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Gratin with Cauliflower and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
This is a recipe my father used to make for us when we were children. We all loved it because of the cheese and mashed potatoes! I still do as it's one of the few dishes made with cauliflower that I really like.
When I wrote about my ginger, lemon and cauliflower soup I mentioned that I don't use this pretty white cabbage so often in my kitchen, I only like it in a few combinations. I don't have anything against its unique taste, it just needs the right treatment to bring out its sweet side. The mashed potatoes are a good choice, seasoned with nutmeg which I also use for the cauliflower to refine its taste, they are a good match. I didn't want to disturb the mild flavours in the gratin so I picked a soft cheese for the crunchy crust, not too ripe and overpowering. I used a hard Gouda, this Dutch cheese melts well and develops a nice crust under the grill, it's also the cheese my father used for this meal.
This recipe is very simple to prepare, a whole cauliflower cooked in one piece, pushed into creamy mashed potatoes and baked with cheese to a golden gratin. If you need a quick dinner for a handful of people, this is the perfect choice!
Gratin with Cauliflower and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
For 4 people you need
a whole cauliflower, around 700g / 25 ounces
potatoes, peeled, 650g / 23 ounces
garlic, in its skin, 3 big cloves
milk 200ml / 7 ounces
butter 50g / 2 ounces
nutmeg, freshly ground
salt and black pepper
hard cheese (Gouda, Emmentaler or cheddar), thinly sliced, 100g / 3.5 ounces
Cook the potatoes together with the garlic in salted water for 20 minutes. Rinse the potatoes under cold water for a few seconds and peel the garlic. Mash the potatoes together with the garlic, milk and butter, whisk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
Cook the cauliflower in lots of salted water al dente (around 10 minutes), it should be soft with bite without falling apart.
Scrape the mashed potatoes into a baking dish, put the cauliflower on top and push it down. Season the cabbage with salt, pepper and nutmeg and cover it with the cheese. Bake under the grill for a few minutes until golden brown, bubbly and crisp, slice like a cake and serve immediately.
A Field in the Forest, Beelitz and Asparagus Soup
A couple weeks ago I had a conversation about asparagus with my aunt and uncle, we talked about the various tastes depending on the vegetable's origin. The soil, the climate and weather have such a big influence on these delicate stems. I've enjoyed great asparagus in my life, green and white, but we agreed that the best is from Beelitz, an area 50 km (30 miles) outside Berlin. I always wanted to visit to see the large fields covered in foil keeping them dark, to watch the harvest and buy my asparagus directly from one of the farmers.
It's May, the seasonal peak for asparagus and there's no time to wait any longer! A few days ago we got on a train heading South-West to search for the famous Beelitz asparagus fields. We took our bikes with us to explore some of the quiet and hidden corners of the countryside, the forest and the fields and I can say that we found what we were looking for, asparagus heaven!
We got off the train at a tiny station, an old timber framed house which seemed abandoned for years. We noticed that we were the only travelers on the platform, we were happy about that and enjoyed the silence. When you live in the city the absence of noise is one of the biggest luxuries! The early afternoon sun felt just right, soft and warm, we jumped on our bikes, excited to start our trip.
Beelitz is a small town, it's peaceful and pretty. Old brick houses line the narrow cobblestone streets, little trees along the pavements blossoming in bright pink, a perfect picture book scene. It didn't take us long to leave the town behind us. The world in front of us turned into a glowing green, majestic trees with fleshy leaves, lilacs blooming at every corner spreading their sweet scent. The grass on the wide meadows looked fresh and juicy. We crossed a river and filled our lungs with the cleanest air we smelled in months! We turned into a tiny path and met an old man gathering grass for his rabbits. We chatted for a little while before we continued our drive along endless fields, on hidden alleys and through lonesome forest.
After driving through a dark forest of pine and fir trees for about half an hour we noticed a sparkle in the distance. At that point we weren't even thinking about asparagus anymore, we just enjoyed the peace and quiet, but there it was, right in front of us in the middle of hundreds of trees, an endless field of asparagus!
To keep the vegetables in the dark, they are covered with white foil which reflects the sun and creates a surreal, glittering scene, it felt like being on the moon! In the evening, on our way back to the train station we saw the pickers coming to harvest, creating dark shadows in front of a blinding white in the spotlight of the sinking sun. It was beautiful!
Behind the fields we spotted a farmer who offered thick and juicy white asparagus, the freshest I've ever bought. I filled my basket with the clean white stems knowing that I would turn a few of them into a delicious asparagus soup!
Asparagus Soup
For 4 people you need
white asparagus, peeled, the bottoms cut off, 1kg / 2 pounds
a pinch of sugar
water used to cook the asparagus 900ml / 2 pints
heavy cream 100ml / 3.5 ounces
nutmeg, freshly ground
salt and black pepper
tarragon, around 30 leaves for the topping
In a large pot, bring lots of water to a boil, add a pinch of sugar and salt and cook the asparagus for 20 minutes. Keep the water, take the asparagus out with a slotted ladle and cut into 3cm / 1" pieces. Set the heads aside and leave for the topping.
Bring 900ml / 2 pints of the water used to cook the asparagus to a boil and cook together with the cream on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and purée with a stick mixer or in a blender. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste and serve in deep bowls sprinkled with the asparagus' heads and tarragon leaves.
Parmesan Risotto with crisp Fava Beans
When my sister told me abut her latest risotto discovery from her trip to Italy, she sounded so thrilled that I couldn't wait to get the pot on the cooker. She was talking about a parmesan risotto which by itself isn't necessarily spectacular but this one is different. It's made with bigger pieces of cheese which are stirred into the creamy rice when the risotto is done. The parmesan melts, partly, but a few crumbs keep their crunchy center which makes it taste stronger, more concentrated. I was absolutely impressed, this method of preparation lifts parmesan risotto onto another level!
I had some fava beans left on my window sill which I added to the rice, I prefer to have some vegetables with my risotto. Be it a simple salad or some sautéed greens on the side, I need my vitamins as much as my carbohydrates! I fried the beans with some garlic, deglazed them with white wine and let them simmer for a few minutes. I wanted them al dente, a crisp topping for my smooth risotto!
I cooked the risotto with the water I had used to cook asparagus in a few days ago. It's a light broth which I always keep and freeze, great for recipes which need a soft vegetable aroma.
Parmesan Risotto with Fava Beans
For 4-5 people you need
Arborio rice 400g / 15 ounces
medium size onion, chopped finely, 2
broth around 2200ml / 4.5 pints
Parmesan, cut into 1cm / 1/2" cubes, 80g / 3 ounces
fava beans, peeled out of their pods and shells, 800g / 28 ounces (around 300g / 10.5 ounces peeled beans)
garlic, roughly chopped, 1 clove
white wine 120ml / 4 ounces
salt and black pepper
olive oil for frying
butter 2 tablespoons
In a large pan, heat a little olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter, add the garlic and beans and fry on a medium heat for a few minutes until golden. Deglaze with half of the wine and let it cook for a minute. Season with salt and pepper and add the rest of the wine, close with a large lid and let it simmer for 5 minutes or until al dente. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a large pot, fry the onions in a little olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter until golden and soft, stir in the rice and fry on a medium heat for a minute. Add some of the broth, the rice should be covered, stir and turn the heat down to medium-low. When the liquid has been absorbed add more broth, a little at a time stirring in between. Depending on the rice, it needs more or less liquid. When the rice is al dente and the broth is more or less absorbed take it off the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the Parmesan, close with a lid and let it sit for a minute. Arrange on plates together with the fava beans.
Gorgonzola, Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Sandwich
My first strawberries this year find their place on a sandwich together with the creamiest blue cheese of all, Gorgonzola! This cheese gets its name from its place of origin, the commune of Gorgonzola in the province of Milan. It's not as sharp and spicy as Roquefort or Stilton, it's more on the mild side, perfect for when I feel like a soft cheese aroma. That's what my strawberries needed, especially because their season has just begun here and they haven't reached their full spectrum of flavours yet. To bring some spice into this combination I added a few pink peppercorns, also gentle enough for the red fruits.
This sandwich is so sweet and creamy that a fluffy ciabatta bread felt like the right choice. I spread Gorgonzola (about 100g / 3.5 ounces for 2 people) in thick lumps on a few slices of the fresh loaf, I didn't want to spare on the milky creaminess before I covered the sandwiches with a couple slices of strawberries. Sprinkled with the pink peppercorns which are best when softly pressed before they join the red fruits, I felt a bit hesitant to take the first bite, this week's sandwich really is beautiful!
Buffalo Mozzarella, Cuore Di Bue Tomato and Mint Salad
When I saw these beautiful Cuore Di Bue Tomatoes in the vegetable department of my local organic shop I had to buy them. I know these tomatoes from Malta where farmers sell them from their vegetable trucks at every street corner in the towns. These mobile shops are piled high with ripe, colourful fruits and vegetables from the island, surrounded by women chatting and exchanging the latest gossip while waiting to have their vegetables weighed. Many of them have been going to the same farmer for years and I gladly follow this tradition. Whenever I'm there I buy my groceries from my vegetable man, Leli, twice a week he parks his truck under pink oleander trees in the middle of Msida. He is one of the most friendly, calm and humble people I know, he doesn't talk much but he always has a little smile on his face. Before we leave the island at the end of our holidays, we visit him one last time to say good-bye, I never know who is more sad, him or us!
Back to the Cuore Di Bue Tomatoes, I buy and eat them in bulk when I'm Malta. Their taste is far away from most of the tomatoes you can buy in the cities, they are strong and sweet, very intense, they taste like real tomatoes! Their name comes from their shape and size which is similar to an ox heart but I thought that the Italian name, Cuore Di Bue sounds a bit nicer than Oxheart Tomatoes!
I had a buffalo mozzarella in my fridge which had to be used soon, a quick salad mixed with my beautiful tomatoes was the first idea that came into my mind. I still love this Italian classic which can be a delicious starter or snack when it's made with good quality ingredients. Unfortunately, lots of restaurants offer it made with tasteless tomatoes and mozzarella, which has damaged its image a little over the years. Buffalo milk however creates a very strong mozzarella which is great for this salad, to add a green taste as strong as this cheese, I replaced the traditionally used basil with mint. Our salad for 2 was ready within seconds, 125g / 4.5 ounces of buffalo mozzarella roughly torn into bite sized pieces mixed with 2 ripe Cuore Di Bue tomatoes sliced thinly and a few leaves from my mint plant. The dressing was as easy, 3 tablespoons of olive oil whisked with 2 tablespoons of Balsamico vinegar, salt and pepper.
Sweet and spicy Rhubarb Chutney
My love for chutney developed quite late, almost nine years ago while I lived in England for a couple months. One night I found out about the glorious combination of Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese and chutney. I knew about a similar duo, ripe cheese and fig mustard, a great alternative to a sweet dessert, heavenly when the cheese's milkiness unites with the spicy and fruity flavours in your mouth! When my dear friend Audrey, a lady who likes good cheese as much as I do, offered me this North Yorkshire delicacy I was taken after the first bite. My favourite was a young cheese, mildly flavoured with cranberries, a bit crumbly and just perfect together with sweet onion chutney. Sometimes, after we had been out, we used to chat in Audrey's kitchen, get out some jars of pickles, chutneys and a truckle of Wensleydale and we quite often ate more than just a midnight snack!
Not too long after this culinary discovery I started to make my own chutneys. I experimented for a while and came up with a recipe which I now use for all kinds of chutneys, plums, apples, onions or rhubarb. Depending on the fruit's taste I adjust the spices a little bit but the basic recipe remains untouched. Most of the time I mix in red onions and red hot chili peppers for the spiciness, a couple apples to thicken the texture and lots of spices, turmeric, cloves, star anise, fennel seeds, black pepper, garlic and ginger. Rhubarb is at its seasonal peak at the moment, the best time to turn it into a sweet and spicy chutney!
Cheese and chutney isn't the only way to enjoy chutney, you can also use it to flavour aromatic gravies, eat it with slices of warm or cold roast meat or spread it on sandwiches.
Rhubarb Chutney
For 3 medium sized jars you need
rhubarb, sliced 550g / 19 ounces
apple, peeled and roughly chopped, 125g / 4.5 ounces
red onion, medium sized, roughly chopped, 1
cider vinegar 220ml / 7.5 ounces
granulated sugar 150g /5.5 ounces
fresh hot chili pepper, without seeds, finely chopped, 1/2
garlic, chopped, 1 clove
fresh ginger, grated or chopped, 1 heaping teaspoon
For the spice mixture (makes 2 teaspoons, you might only need 1 1/2)
turmeric, ground, 1/8 teaspoon
cinnamon, ground, 1/2 teaspoon
cloves, ground in the mortar, 12
star anise, ground in a mortar, 2 single pieces
fennel seeds, ground in a mortar, 1/2 teaspoon
small dried chili, ground in a mortar, 2
spirit to sterilise the rims of the jars
Sterilise the jars in boiling water for 5 minutes.
In a large pot, bring all the ingredients together with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the spice mixture to the boil. Cook for about an hour on medium temperature until the chutney thickens. You can add more of the spice mixture if you like before you fill the chutney into the jars.
Dip the rim of your jars in spirit and wash out the lids with the alcohol as well. Fill your jars with the chutney and close well immediately.
You can eat the chutney right away but I prefer to let it sit for 3 weeks. You should keep an open jar in the fridge (mine stays fresh for months) and the closed jars in your pantry.
Tyrolean Cheese and Bread Dumplings
A traditional Tyrolean dumpling is one of the nicest things that can happen to white bread! Mixed with eggs and milk, enhanced with spices, herbs or bacon and finally poached in salted water, the bread turns into delicious little dumplings. Together with roast meat they are the ultimate mountain dish, their spongy texture is perfect to soak up the juices and gravy. They are usually cooked in big batches so that the leftovers can be sliced and fried in butter till golden and crisp.
Sometimes I just skip the first meal, the meat and the gravy and I fry the dumplings right away, filled with aromatic cheese like a strong, ripe mountain cheese, a Tyrolean grey cheese or Swiss raclette. You could also mix all the cheese leftovers which you find in your fridge, I do that sometimes and it can create some interesting results. This time I went for a ripe Swiss cheese, strong without being overpowering and it melted into the bread perfectly. I didn't wait until the next day to fry them, I just let the cooked dumplings dry on a wire rack for about half an hour before I threw them in hot butter and oil. Sometimes, the leftover meal is at least as good as the main!
Tyrolean Cheese and Bread Dumplings
For 3-4 people you need
white bread or buns, cut into 1 x 1cm / 1/2 x 1/2" cubes, 350g / 12.5 ounces
milk 250ml / 8.5 ounces
organic eggs 4
plain flour 130g / 4.5 ounces plus more if the mixture is too moist
salt 2 teaspoons
hard mountain cheese (like Appenzeller, Gruyère or Raclette), finely chopped, 100g / 3.5 ounces
medium sized onion, finely chopped, 1
butter for frying
olive oil for frying
salt and black pepper
chives, snipped, a small bunch
In a large pot, bring lots of salted water to a boil.
Fry the onion in a little butter for a few minutes till golden and soft. In a large bowl, mix the bread, fried onions, cheese and chives, leave a few tablespoons for topping. Whisk the milk with the eggs, salt and pepper and pour over the bread. Add the flour, mix with a spoon or your hands. The mixture will be sticky but shouldn't be runny, the dumplings should keep their shape. Add a little more flour if it's too soft. Fill a little bowl with water, wet your clean fingers and form the dumplings into long egg shapes (you need around a heaped tablespoon of the mixture). If you wet you fingers once in a while the mixture won't stick to your hands and it will be easier to form the dumplings.
Simmer the dumplings, in batches on a medium-low heat for about 12 minutes. Take one out with a slotted ladle to check if they are done. Let them dry and cool on a wire rack before you cut them in half (lengthwise) and fry them in a splash of olive oil and around 2 tablespoons of butter on medium temperature till golden brown and crisp on both sides. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with chives.
Green Asparagus with my Egg and Lemon Yoghurt Dressing
Here is another variation on my raw green asparagus salad, I enjoyed it so much that I tried a few others since I wrote about it on the blog last month. This time I mixed the crunchy vegetable with boiled egg crumbles, chives and a sweet and sour creamy dressing. After my Mediterranean style salad with cherry tomatoes and parmesan I felt like a fresh and Nordic combination. I sliced the green stems thinly with my cheese slicer, they curled up around the eggy crumbles and mixed well with the thick and creamy dressing.
As a starter for 4 or a lunch for 2, you need 500g / 1 pound of raw green asparagus (the woody bottom part cut off), rinsed and thinly sliced (lengthwise). For the dressing I whisked 3 heaped tablespoons of yoghurt, with 3 tablespoons of heavy cream and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice but you should adjust the ratio of milky and sour to your taste. Seasoned with salt, pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar, I dolloped it on the asparagus and finished it off with 2 hardboiled eggs, chopped and crumbled and a small bunch of chives, snipped on top.
Baked Aubergine Mousse with Rosemary and golden Polenta Slices
This pale aubergine mousse isn't a beauty but its taste and smooth texture make up for it! Something changes in the purple fruit's flavour when it has been cooking in the oven. If you fry it in a pan or cook it in a stew it's nice but only oven baking manages to extract the aubergine's finer qualities. Sliced, grilled and filled like my aubergine rolls or baked in foil which turns the aubergine into a soft mousse. Both recipes leave no doubt as to why aubergines are so popular in Mediterranean cooking!
Baking aubergines al Cartoccio together with spices and herbs allows them to become infused with lots of different flavours. The spongey flesh, its soft texture is perfect to absorb tasty liquids and aromatic steam which is why they are also know to soak up so much olive oil! Rosemary was my herb of choice this time which I also used for the golden fried polenta slices. I'm a big fan of this yellow corn, either turned into a thick purée and mixed with gravy and meat or fried, buttery and crisp.
Baked Aubergine Mousse with Rosemary and golden Polenta Slices
For 2-3 people you need
aubergine, cut in half, 1
garlic, 4 cloves in their skin
rosemary, the needles of 3-4 sprigs
olive oil 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F.
Place the aubergine on a big piece of aluminum foil, sprinkle with olive oil and some rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Turn the fruit's cut side down, add some more rosemary and the garlic and close the pouch. Bake on a baking sheet for about 40 minutes till soft. Check if the flesh is soft and scrape it out with a spoon. Mix in a bowl together with the soft roasted garlic, some of the roasted rosemary and season with salt and pepper, mash with a fork.
For the polenta
polenta 120g / 4 ounces
water 250ml / 8.5 ounces, plus around 100ml / 3.5 ounces for cooking
milk 250ml / 8.5 ounces
salt 1 teaspoon
olive oil 2 tablespoons plus more to grease the baking dish
butter for frying 3-5 tablespoons
rosemary, the needles of 2 sprigs
In a sauce pan, heat the water and milk, add the salt and bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat, add the olive oil and polenta and whisk. Turn down the heat to the lowest temperature and put the pan back on. Cook the polenta for 10 minutes mixing and adding more water once in a while.
Grease a 28 x 20cm / 11 x 8" baking dish with olive oil. Pour the polenta into the baking dish, let it cool for around 10 minutes. When the polenta is cold and a bit hard, flip the baking dish gently around, either on cling film or directly on your working surface, mine is made of marble and it worked fine. Cut the polenta into diamond shapes and fry in hot butter together with the rosemary on both sides, just for a couple minutes till golden.
Sesame Seed Weekend Bagels
My Sandwich Wednesdays became a tradition shortly after I started eat in my kitchen more than 5 months ago. Usually I choose the bread according to the toppings when I share one of my sandwich recipes but sometimes it's the other way around. The first sandwich post on the 4th December started with a homemade bagel, a defrosted one as I like to bake them in big batches and fill my freezer with them. It's so convenient to have them on hand, I just have to warm them up in the hot oven for a few minutes. The crust becomes a little bit more crunchy but the inside stays soft and as soon as I cut the warm bagels in half the sweet smell of homemade bread fills the air in my kitchen. That's what happened on a cold day in early December, when I smelt the bagel I felt like butter fried leek, sweet tomatoes, hot red chili peppers and smooth cream cheese, the first eat in my kitchen sandwich was born!
Here's the recipe I promised to share! One batch gives me 12 well sized bagels. Most of the time I use organic white spelt flour (type 630) which I prefer to use for my baking in general, for sweet and savory. It's similar to wheat, the results don't differ in taste or texture but it's better for the body as it has much higher nutrition values. My extensive baking demands lots of flour therefore I prefer to go for good ingredients. Another nice side effect is that ever since I changed over to spelt flour a few years ago I lost 2 pounds! When I run out of spelt, I still use wheat without changing the recipes, also for the bagels and they look, feel and taste the same, delicious!
Sesame Seed Bagels
For 12 bagels you need
plain flour, wheat or white spelt type 630, 700g / 1.5 pounds
dry yeast 1 package (for 500g / 1 pound of flour)
water, lukewarm, 380ml / 13 ounces
granulated sugar 2 tablespoons
salt 1 1/2 scant tablespoons
sesame seeds, for sprinkling
sugar cane syrup or molasses 1 heaping tablespoon, for poaching the bagels
In a large bowl, combine the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt, add the lukewarm water (you might not need all of it). Mix with your dough hooks for a few minutes. The dough shouldn’t be moist and sticky at all, more on the dry side. Continue kneading and punching with your hands until you have an elastic and soft dough ball. Grease the bowl lightly with vegetable oil and put the dough back in. Cover with a tea towel and let it rise in the warm oven (35°C / 95°F) for 60 minutes. This works really well but make sure that your oven is set to top/ bottom heat and not to fan.
Take the dough out, punch it down and knead for 1 minute. Divide the dough in half and each portion in 6 for 12 bagels. Roll each piece into a round ball between your hands and shape into a thick rope. Connect the ends to a ring, sealing and pinching well. Place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and greased with vegetable oil, cover with a tea towel and let the bagels rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
Set your oven to 260°C / 500°F top/ bottom heat. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
Add the syrup to the boiling water and poach the bagels for around 30 seconds on each side turning them with a spatula or a slotted ladle. I boil 3 bagels at a time, they should swim freely. Put them back on the baking sheets, sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and bake for 8 minutes until golden brown.
Fava Bean Pesto with Mint on a Sandwich
Finally, fava beans are back in season and just peeling them is a sensual experience! These beans are crunchy beauties wrapped in silky transparent shells, protected by the velvety inside of their fleshy pods. To peel them, smell them and finally taste them is a spring highlight to me! I know it sounds a bit overwhelming, but spring vegetables have this effect on me. Luckily, the preparations have a meditative side effect as you have to buy lots of beans to end up with just a handful of this green treasure, but the effort is worth it. The firm texture and fresh green taste stands for everything I love about spring!
Usually I peel the beans out of the shells to achieve a finer taste but for my pesto I skipped this part. The beans were so young, the skin so tender and soft that I could keep them in their shell which also has a nutritional value.
This time, I made a pesto out of my fava beans, cooked only 5 minutes and mixed with garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and fresh aromatic mint. You could mix it with pasta and some grated Pecorino but I spread it on a sandwich. I covered my juicy focaccia bun with a thick layer which I sprinkled with even more chopped mint leaves.
Fava Bean Pesto and Mint Sandwich
For 4 sandwiches you need
focaccia or soft buns 4 (you could also use thick slices of ciabatta bread)
fava / broad beans, peeled out of the pods, in their shells, 900g / 2 pounds for around 260g / 9 ounces of peeled beans
garlic, quartered, 1 clove
water 100ml / 3.5 ounces
freshly squeezed lemon juice 3 teaspoons
olive oil 1 tablespoon plus more for frying
fresh mint, chopped, 1/2 - 1 teaspoon
salt and black pepper
In a sauce pan, fry the garlic in a little oil on medium heat for 1 minute and mix in the beans. Add the water, season with salt and pepper, close with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes. With a slotted ladle (you will need some of the liquid), take the beans and garlic out of the pan and purée in a blender (or with a stick mixer) together with 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the beans, the lemon juice ,1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of mint. Season with salt, pepper and mint to taste and spread voluptuously on your sandwich.
Fusilli with sweet Bell Pepper and Red Onions
This pasta dish is one for those nights when I just want to get cosy on the sofa with a plate of hot pasta on my lap and relax! It's quick to prepare, it's hearty but still light and all it requires is usually to be found in my kitchen anyway, pasta (for this meal I prefer fusilli as it mixes well with the long strips of the vegetables), red bell pepper, red onions or shallots, garlic and parmesan. This time I added finely chopped spring onions, it's not necessary but the added spiciness was a nice contrast to the sweet flavours. When I fry the bell pepper and onions and they start to brown I deglaze them with white wine or vermouth or I just use the water from the pasta. The liquid helps the juices and roasted bits and pieces to combine to a thick sauce, perfect to glaze the spiral pasta.
For 2, I cooked 200g / 7 ounces of fusilli in lots of salted water al dente and kept 75ml / 2.5 ounces of the water used to cook the pasta. I always start frying the onions and cooking the pasta at the same time which allows me to take out the water when I need it. I cut 1 big red onion in half and sliced it finely, likewise the bell pepper (about 3mm / 0.1 "). In a large heavy pan, I fried the onions in a splash of olive oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes till golden and soft and added the slices of bell pepper. After a few minutes of frying and tossing I deglazed the vegetables with a splash of vermouth which you could replace with white wine, preferably a sweeter one, and poured the water I kept from the pasta on top. I immediately covered it with a big lid, let it simmer for a few minutes until soft and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Mixed with the pasta I filled everything in big plates and sprinkled it with thinly sliced spring onions and freshly grated Parmesan, time to get cosy!
Pizza Bianca with Moroccan Lemons, Chèvre and Rosemary
When I wrote about my Moroccan Preserved Lemons about a month ago, Kelly from My Soulfull Home got in touch. I met Kelly through a blog tour in February which she had organised. She asked me to join the tour together with 15 other bloggers, it was carnival and I shared my family's Berliner experience. A few weeks ago she told me about a delicious pizza bianca with lemons and rosemary which one of her friend's makes and she told me that I should give it a try as soon as my lemons were ready. Here they are, sour, soft and juicy!
When I had the first piece of my own preserved lemons in my mouth, I felt a bit excited! My aunt was with me in my kitchen, she was the one who inspired me to preserve lemons in the first place. The first bite was intense, a bit salty as I forgot to rinse the slice of lemon, too much excitement! When I let some water rinse off a bit of the saltiness (for 2-3 seconds), they were perfect! The preserving liquid, concentrated juices of all the lemons, tastes as good and is great for strong sauces and stews.
For my pizza bianca, I decided to add some chèvre to mix its smooth milkiness with the lemon's sourness and the woody rosemary. Ricotta would have worked too, but I wanted the strong aroma of this soft goat cheese. I sprinkled some olive oil on top which gave it a bit of a focaccia feeling, some sea salt and pepper and enjoyed this absolutely delicious summery snack. Thank you Kelly!
If you like pizza as much as I do, you can also try my Aubergine and Pecorino Pizza or my Spinach and Ricotta Pizza.
Pizza Bianca with Moroccan Lemons, Chevre and Rosemary
I always start to prepare the dough 2 hours before I bake it to give it enough time to rise. I bake my pizza on a hot baking sheet which has a similar effect to a pizza stone.
For 1 large pizza (size of 1 baking sheet) you need
For the topping
chèvre or ricotta, 200g / 7 ounces
preserved lemon, rinsed and thinly sliced, 1(you could also use lemon zest)
fresh rosemary, the needles of 5 sprigs
olive oil 4-6 tablespoons
salt and black pepper
For the dough
plain flour 350g / 12.5 ounces plus more for mixing
dry yeast 1 package (for 500g / 1 pound of flour)
water, lukewarm, 190ml
olive oil 3 tablespoons
salt 1 teaspoon
Combine the flour with the yeast and salt, add the lukewarm water (you might not need all of it) and olive oil. Mix with your dough hooks for a few minutes. The dough shouldn’t be moist and sticky at all, more on the dry side. Continue kneading and punching with your hands until you have an elastic dough ball, not too hard, not sticky. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it rise in the warm oven (35°C / 95°F) for 40 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 well risen, roll it out on a very well floured working surface (this is very important or you'll have problems taking it off again). It should be a bit smaller than the size of your baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let it rise for another 10-15 minutes.
The pizza
Set your oven to 260°C / 500°F. My oven has a special pizza setting but you can use top / bottom heat as well. Put the baking sheet on the bottom of your oven to heat it (for around 10 minutes).
Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven, turn it around and place it carefully on two stable wooden boards or mats as it will be very hot. Place your risen dough carefully but quickly (best done by two people) on the baking sheet, push it gently into place if necessary. Sprinkle with the slices of lemon, rosemary and olive oil and dollop the chèvre with a tea spoon on top.
Put the baking sheet back into the oven, on the bottom again, and bake for a few minutes until the pizza is golden, season with salt and pepper.
Preserved Artichoke Hearts with Spices and Thyme
I've been wanting to marinate artichokes for so long, ever since I had my own kitchen in fact, which is quite a while ago. I took my time and over the years I discovered the advantages of a pantry packed with jars of homemade jams, chutneys, preserved lemons and fruits but now I want to see some artichoke hearts cooked in wine and vinegar, with lots of spices on my shelves as well. I love to fill this space with all the jars that make my favourite food so handy and always available, I don't have to worry about industrial preservatives which are banned in my kitchen.
The process of preserving has a wonderful side effect, it's so relaxing! I understand why my grandmother used to have a room in her cellar packed to the ceiling with preserving jars and bottles, cherries, pears and plums, German apple purée, gherkin, jams, so much that even my big family didn't manage to eat everything that she produced. I imagine that she enjoyed preserving food as much as I do now, standing peacefully in her kitchen, keeping an eye on the bubbling and steaming food in the pots. When I'm done with cooking and have filled my culinary products into the jars and line them up on a table, I feel so satisfied and rewarded for the work I've done, it's truly therapeutical!
Artichoke hearts preserved in olive oil are great on bread sprinkled with parsley, on crostini or pizza, mixed with pasta or in a risotto. You could also fry them together with your omelet, mix them into a Mediterranean salad or enjoy them pure on a summery antipasti platter.
Preserved Artichokes Hearts
For 6 artichoke hearts preserved in an 800ml jar you need
baby artichokes 6
water 900ml
white wine 350ml
white wine vinegar 150ml
garlic, quartered, 2 cloves
bay leaves 2
black peppercorns 8
juniper berries 5
thyme 8 small sprigs
salt 1 teaspoon
lemon 1/2, to prevent the artichokes from turning brown
olive oil to fill the preserving jar
spirit to sterilise the rim of the jar
Peel the artichoke stems, if it isn't soft but woody you have to cut it off. Pluck the hard outer leaves and cut the artichoke's tip off (1/3 - 1/2 of the artichoke), just the soft parts of the leaves should be left. Loosen the hairy choke with a knife and scoop it out with a spoon. Keep the prepared artichoke heart in a bowl of cold water and the juice of half a lemon to avoid it discolouring while you're finishing the rest.
In a large pot, bring all the ingredients to a boil, add the artichoke hearts and cook for 10 minutes.
Sterilise the preserving jar in boiling water for 5 minutes. Take it out, let it dry for a few minutes and dip the rim of your jar in the spirit and wash out the lid with the alcohol as well.
Drain the artichokes and put them in the sterilised jar, fill with olive oil till covered and add some of the spices and thyme sprigs. The jar should be filled with oil to the top! Close the jar, keep in your pantry or enjoy immediately.
Vichyssoise with crunchy Garlic Chips
Velvet in a bowl, vichyssoise! This traditional soup is made with only a few ingredients, potatoes, leek, heavy cream and broth besides the spices which were garlic, bay leaf, salt, pepper and nutmeg in my case. There is an ongoing dispute if the recipe is a French or an American invention. Louis Diat from a French town close to Vichy who was a chef at the Ritz Carlton in New York claimed that he cooked the first vichyssoise in the early 20th century, in remembrance of his mother's and grandmother's cold potato and leek soup. The first written proof is found in 1923 in French culinary magazines which relate it to the American cooking. Either way, it's such a simple yet delicious soup and one of the first recipes I made on my own when I started cooking.
I always preferred to eat this soup warm and not cold as I'm not too fond of cold soups in general. My vichyssoise is quite leeky and light, I go easy on the cream and want the vegetable's flavours to be prominent. My addition of garlic and bay leaf is also a variation on the original recipe. That's what recipes are for, to evolve and adapt them to your own taste!
Vichyssoise with Garlic Chips
For 4 people you need
potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes, 450g / 16 ounces
leek, sliced, 350g / 12.5 ounces
vegetable or chicken broth 1300ml
heavy cream 75ml
bay leaf 1
nutmeg, freshly grated
salt and pepper (black or white, as you prefer)
butter 1 tablespoon
olive oil for frying
garlic, thinly sliced, 4 cloves, for the topping
chives, snipped, a small bunch, for the topping
In a large pot, heat the butter and a splash of olive oil and sweat the potatoes and leek for a few minutes. Add the broth and spices and simmer for 25 minutes on low heat. Take out the bay leaf and purée the soup in a blender or with a stick mixer. Whisk in the cream and bring to a boil, cook for about 5 minutes and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
In a sauce pan, heat a splash of olive oil and fry the slices of garlic for a few seconds until golden and crisp on both sides. Don't burn them as they will taste bitter.
Either serve the soup immediately, sprinkled with the garlic chips and chives, or let it cool and chill in the fridge.
White Asparagus wrapped in Crêpes with Sauce Hollandaise
A bag full of white asparagus is laying on my kitchen top, so crunchy and fresh, that its juices start running as soon as I cut the bottoms off. Their short season which ends in late May or early June has just started. It's a delicate gem, also referred to as the royal vegetable, white gold or edible ivory. While green asparagus grows above the ground, the white shoots stay covered in soil and ripen in the dark which prevents photosynthesis, hence the white colour. This technique is called blanching in horticulture, it creates a delicate flavour and makes them tender and less bitter. Unlike their green relatives, white asparagus has to be peeled and also needs to cook a little longer, around 8 minutes to keep them al dente.
One of the most common recipes which puts the focus on the pure taste of the asparagus, is white asparagus served in brown butter with breadcrumbs and slices of cooked ham and new potatoes on the side. A very popular variation on this meal which is also my favourite, is to replace the butter with a sauce Hollandaise, homemade of course as it's not as complicated as one may fear. The taste of this sauce, buttery, eggy, enhanced with Dijon mustard and lemon brings the best out of this royal vegetable. There is some helpful information put together on Food52 for dressings which demand emulsification like sauce Hollandaise or aioli.
I wrapped my first white asparagus of the year in thin crêpes with chives and baked them with a thick and fluffy sauce Hollandaise under the grill, just for a few minutes until it had a golden bubbly crust.
White Asparagus wrapped in Crêpes with Sauce Hollandaise
For 4 people you need
white asparagus, peeled, the bottoms cut off, 1.5kg / 3 pounds
In a large pot, cook the asparagus in plenty of salted water for about 8 minutes till al dente.
For the crêpe
organic eggs 4
milk 400ml
plain flour, sieved, 200g / 7 ounces
salt 1 teaspoon
chives, chopped, 1 bunch
Whisk or mix the ingredients for the pancakes until well combined, stir in the chives at the end. Fry the crêpes thinly in a large non-stick pan in a little butter for 1-2 minutes. They should be golden on both sides.
For the sauce Hollandaise
butter melted 120g / 4.5 ounces
organic egg yolks 4water 4 tablespoons
freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons
Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons
salt and black pepper
In a sauce pan, whisk the egg yolks with the water, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper for the sauce Hollandaise till fluffy. Put the pan on a low temperature, the pot should become warm but not hot. Whisk the melted butter into the egg mixtures, adding just a tablespoon at a time and whisk well in between. If the sauce becomes too hot, take it off the heat immediately or add a little more water. When its all combined continue whisking for 1-2 minutes, off the heat if it's already thick and creamy or on the heat, but mind the temperature. Season with salt and pepper and more mustard to taste.
For the crêpe roll
Roll 2-3 asparagus in each crêpe, put the wraps flat onto a large baking dish and pour the sauce over it. Bake under the grill for a couple minutes until the sauce starts bubbling and turns a golden brown. Serve immediately.
If you don't need all of the sauce for the asparagus you can keep it in the fridge until the next day and eat it with potatoes or mixed in an omelet, both are great with chopped chives!
Cucumber Salad with Dill and Sour Cream Dressing
Lots of amazing food was gathered on my own and on my friend's and family's tables in the past couple days, we enjoyed some special culinary treats, had a great time, and of course ate lots of sweets, cakes and chocolate. No complaints but it's time for a break! I love to feast for days, especially together with the ones I love. Treating others and myself to good homemade food, spending time together at a long table, trying out and sharing new recipes, I need and appreciate this so much. It's like taking a break from the daily routine when time is tight and work is always waiting. These feasts caress my soul, I treasure these moments highly and most of the time they become my most beloved memories!
But each feast has its end, otherwise it wouldn't be so special. Therefore I gladly enjoy a light salad, simple and quick. It combines a lot I love about spring, juicy and tasty cucumber which is such a pleasure after months of watery winter cucumbers, fresh dill, strong and aromatic, and a smooth dressing with sour cream and lemon. For the two of us, I sliced 1 small cucumber very thinly and dolloped my milky dressing over it. I whisked 2 heaped tablespoons of sour cream with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and added 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. This is just a rough guideline, adjust the ingredients to your own taste, or add some more herbs like chives or parsley or some other vegetables like cherry tomatoes or lettuce. I was happy with my puristic combination, just cucumber, the dressing nicely balanced between sweet, sour and milky, and some freshly chopped dill sprinkled on top.
Grilled Aubergine Rolls filled with Ricotta and Basil
Imagine creamy, milky ricotta enhanced with sweet and thick balsamic vinegar, some fresh basil leaves stirred in and all this spread on grilled slices of aubergine, and you'll have a combination so smooth and velvety that it melts in your mouth! This to me is an absolute perfect match, maybe my favourite way to enjoy aubergine.
I like to make this as a starter for a dinner party, it's easy to prepare and my guests always love it, or as a luscious in between nibble. What's even better is to roll them for a relaxed dinner on a warm evening, with windows wide open, some ciabatta bread on the table and wine, cheese, thin slices of prosciutto or Mortadella di Bologna. I love it, it feels like a little holiday, for only a few hours but with the same effect as being in a restaurant in Italy. That's what I love about food, it's like music, it can put you in a different time, place and mood and it's all in your hands!
Grilled Aubergine Rolls filled with Ricotta, Balsamico Vinegar and Basil
As a starter for 4 you need
large aubergines (eggplants), cut into 1/2cm / 1/4" slices, 2
olive oil to brush the slices of aubergine, around 75ml, depending on the size of the aubergines
fresh ricotta 140g / 5 ounces
heavy cream 2 tablespoons
balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons or more to taste
fresh basil leaves, cut into strips, around 10 or more to taste
salt and black pepper
Set your oven to grill (broiler).
Brush the aubergines with olive oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Grill in the oven until golden brown and soft on both sides, they will darken partly but that's fine. Mine needed 7 minutes on one side and 5 minutes on the other but that depends on the oven. Set the aubergines aside and stack them, that will keep them moist and soft.
Whisk together the ricotta, cream and balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the basil. Spread a teaspoon of the ricotta cream on top of each slice of aubergine and roll lengthwise into a wrap.
Guacamole Bagel with spicy Chili Peppers
Whenever I make guacamole I have to make lots of it, I can eat it with a spoon! When an avocado is so smooth, ripe and buttery that you can scoop it out like an ice cream, it doesn't really need anything more. If only there wasn't this addictive Mexican dip which combines the fruit's oily richness with lemon juice, coriander, salt and pepper. There are endless variations on it, I always try out new versions, this time I added some sour cream and freshly chopped red chili pepper.
For this week's Sandwich Wednesday I had a bagel in mind. I had a couple of them in my freezer from the last batch I baked (I haven't forgotten that I still have to share the recipe, it will come soon!). For the guacamole, I chopped 2 ripe avocados roughly and mashed them with a fork, just a little as I wanted a lumpy texture. I mixed them with 2 tablespoons of sour cream, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper and added 1 red chili pepper (without seeds) cut into tiny cubes and 2 tablespoons of roughly chopped coriander leaves. Spread on a juicy bagel or any other nice bun, it's divine!
