A Summery Berry and Bacon Panzanella with Rosemary
A Tuscan Panzanella salad had been on my mind for weeks, I could clearly picture the colourful composition: Dark red cherries, crunchy bacon, crisp arugula (rucola), and chunks of spongy ciabatta dripping with olive oil and thick Balsamico vinegar and then sprinkled with woody rosemary. I was just waiting for the fruits to arrive at my Turkish vegetable shop around the corner.
Unfortunately, the day I planned to throw the salad together, my trusted vegetable man didn't have cherries and - what worried me even more - the weather was dull and grey. The first problem was easily solved, I replaced sweet cherries with even juicier strawberries, blueberries, and figs, which made the whole thing even more mushy and luscious. It tasted great, but the soggy look made it rather difficult to catch a pretty picture. Even more so as they just put scaffolding in front of my kitchen window, which means the light situation in this room is far from ideal.
In these moments I always know why I love food so much and why photography, sometimes, drives me crazy. Food either tastes good or it doesn't, of course it should look appetizing, but I believe what tastes good also looks good. But photography has its own rules and mysteries, to be able to capture a dish's yumminess in a picture, the conditions need to be right, especially the light. So please, when you look at the pictures in today's post, think of summery-sweet fruit juices, porky saltiness crisped in the pan, the freshness of green leaves, and the confidence of Mediterranean rosemary. Buon appetito!
Berry and Bacon Panzanella with Rosemary
Serves 2-4
For the dressing
olive oil 3 tablespoons
balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
white balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
fresh rosemary, very finely chopped, about 2 teaspoons
fine sea salt
ground pepper
For the Panzanella
olive oil
bacon 4 slices
arugula (rucola) or mixed lettuce leaves, torn, a large handful
ciabatta or rustic white loaf, cut into chunks, 2 large handfuls
strawberries, cut in half, a handful
blueberries, a handful
figs, quartered, 2
For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the Panzanella, heat a small splash of olive oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for a few minutes on both sides until crispy and golden brown. Take the bacon out of the pan, let it cool for a few minutes, and break into large pieces.
In a large bowl, spread the greens and lay the chunks of bread on top. Arrange the fruits and bacon on top of the bread and pour the dressing all over the Panzanella. Serve immediately, preferably for lunch, accompanied by a glass of white or rosé wine, and think of your next holiday.
My Maltese Winter Sandwich: Pomegranate Chicken, Red Coleslaw & Bacon
We drove down the winding road to the Grand Harbour in Valletta and stopped our cars in front of an old garage. The wooden door must have seen many storms, the green paint faded and the hinges rusted, it's the salt in the air that takes over whatever it gets hold of. Our friends Michelle and Michelangelo came down to the harbour in the cutest Volkswagen beetle the world has ever seen - in baby blue (Michelangelo would correct me and say it's Diamond Blue). Built in 1968, the car only changed owner once, when our friends bought it in 2010 from an elderly lady from the village of Qormi. It was in mint condition despite its 110,000 original kilometres. The previous owner's name was Teresa and she became the eponym of our friend's little love bug, since then, the beetle is affectionately called Terez.
Terez - and her original 1300cc single port engine, a fact that Michelangelo points out with pride in his voice - has seen a lot since she found her new owner: four overland trips, the latest being our friend's honeymoon trip last summer. The three of them (including Terez) attended the Le Bug Show 2016 in Spa and crossed half of Europe to get there. Malta, Sicily, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany added 5,400 kilometres to the tachometer and seemed to have made the bond between the car and its owners even stronger.
Every car needs a check up once in a while, especially when it's nearly 50 years old, and to make it a little more fun, I joined my friends and brought some food and my camera. While Michelangelo laid hands on the tires, I kept mine busy preparing sandwiches for all of us. It's the peak of winter, a time of year when I usually have to confront Berlin's seemingly endless, yawning grey sky for weeks and months, but here in Malta I'm spoilt with sunshine and vibrant colours. This inspired me to come up with a snack as fresh and bright as the Mediterranean world around me. It's a chicken sandwich, the meat tender and thinly sliced, with purple coleslaw and orange wedges, sparkling pomegranate seeds (some of which I turned into a sticky syrup), crunchy bacon bites, and pungent green onions. The composition is rather difficult to eat, but trust me, the pleasure that you'll feel when you taste it, is absolutely worth it. And the solution is simple, just squeeze it until the sticky juices run out of the sandwich and soak the soft bread - it's a heavenly mess.
Thank you Michelle, Michelangelo, and Terez for a wonderful morning in Valletta!
For more delicious recipes and kitchen inspiration, visit Volkswagen's Pinterest community board Food Bloggers for Volkswagen.
My Maltese Winter Sandwich: Pomegranate Chicken, Red Coleslaw, Orange and Bacon
Makes 6 sandwiches
For the coleslaw
cored red cabbage, cut into thin strips, about 230g / 1/2 pound
fine sea salt
yoghurt 5-6 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice
ground pepper
For the pomegranate syrup
pomegranate juice 180ml / 3/4 cup
granulated sugar 4 1/2 tablespoons
For the sandwich
olive oil
chicken breast 400g / 14 ounces
fine sea salt
ground pepper
bacon 6 slices
lettuce leaves 6
white buns (or ciabatta cut into buns), cut in half, 6
oranges, peeled and cut into filets, 1-2
the seeds of 1 pomegranate
green onions, the green part cut into thin slices, 1
freshly grated orange zest, about 1 tablespoon
For the coleslaw, in a large bowl, mix the cabbage and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and, using your fingers, rub the salt into the cabbage. Let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. Add the yoghurt and orange juice, mix well, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
For the pomegranate syrup, in a saucepan, bring the pomegranate juice and the sugar to the boil and cook over medium-high heat (it should bubble) for about 7 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Set the syrup aside.
In a heavy pan, heat a splash of olive oil over high heat and cook the chicken breast for a couple minutes on each side until golden, you might have to reduce the heat to medium-high. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer the chicken to a baking dish. Roast in the oven for about 8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Check with a skewer, only clear juices should come out. Let the chicken rest in aluminium foil for about 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into slices (about 18 slices for 6 sandwiches).
In a large heavy pan, heat a splash of olive oil and cook the bacon for a few minutes on both sides until golden brown and crisp. Transfer to paper towels, let it cool for a few minutes, then break the bacon into pieces.
Divide the lettuce leaves between the bottoms of the buns and arrange the chicken on top, drizzle with a little of the pomegranate syrup. Spread a heaping tablespoon of coleslaw, 2-3 orange filets, and some pomegranate seeds on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with the sliced green onion, bacon bites, and orange zest, and drizzle with additional pomegranate syrup. Close the bun, squeeze, and enjoy!
Fennel Tomato Lasagna with Crunchy Bacon
A couple days ago, I went to a meeting that finished much earlier than expected. I stepped out into the street on that cold and grey morning and decided to squeeze in a quick coffee. Just a creamy cappuccino, a flaky chocolate croissant, and a peaceful moment to myself. I went to my favorite Italian deli for a bit of dolce vita - sipping a fantastic coffee while listening to the patron chatting with his customers in Italian, accompanied by a medley of Italian operas. A toddler giggled, two dogs observed the busy scene. The shelves around me presented a tempting selection of chiantis, pasta, polenta, capers, and bottarga. The counter right in front of me filled with various prosciuttos, salami, ciabatta sandwiches, and homemade pasta treats. And right next to it, bowls of every antipasti one can possibly think of. Just the thought of it makes me hungry again.
This is the kind of scene that makes you want to go straight to your kitchen, open a bottle of wine, and start cooking. Italian of course. The weather doesn't leave the slightest doubt that spring isn't near yet, so a hearty lasagna is the best thing to have on your plate. Mine is filled with lots of juicy tomatoes, roasted fennel seeds, and fennel bulb thinly sliced and sautéed, plus crunchy bacon bites, dried chili peppers, a bit of Parmesan, and a creamy béchamel sauce. At first, I wanted to combine the fennel with a meaty bolognese but then I remembered a pasta dish that I shared on the blog almost two years ago and that changed my mind. You could leave out the bacon, but I recommend leaving it in: the fennel seeds roast in the meat's salty juices and merge with the tinned tomatoes - and become a heavenly sauce. Layered with pasta sheets and the crisp fennel bulb, it's just what I want on a cold day in February.
Fennel Tomato Lasagna with Crunchy Bacon
Serves 4 to 6
For the béchamel sauce
milk 700 ml / 3 cups
a pinch of nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
fine sea salt
ground pepper
unsalted butter 30g / 2 tablespoons
plain flour 30g / 4 tablespoons
large bay leaf 1
For the lasagna
butter, for the baking dish
olive oil
cored fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise, 340g / 12 ounces
fine sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
thick-cut bacon, cut into very small cubes, 200g / 7 ounces
fennel seeds 2 tablespoons
garlic, crushed, 3 cloves
small dried chili peppers, 2
peeled whole tinned tomatoes, chopped, 1.2kg / 2 2/3 pounds
no-boil lasagna noodles, about 250g / 9 ounces
freshly grated Parmesan 100g / 3 1/2 ounces
For the béchamel sauce, combine the milk, nutmeg, and pinches of salt and pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately take the pan off the heat and set aside.
To make the roux for the béchamel, melt the butter in a clean medium saucepan over medium-high heat and as soon as it’s sizzling hot, whisk in the flour. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the roux and whisk until smooth. Add the bay leaf and simmer on low, whisking occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until the texture starts to thicken. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper then cover, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (conventional setting) and butter a 26 x 20 cm / 10 x 8" baking dish (or a dish of roughly this size).
In a large, heavy pan, heat a generous splash of olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the fennel slices in batches for about 1 minute per side or until golden and al dente. Spread out the fennel slices next to each other in the pan so that they cook evenly. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
Put the pan back on the heat and cook the bacon over medium-high heat for about 7-10 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy. Add a little oil if necessary and stir once in a while. Scrape the bacon to the sides of the pan, add a little olive oil (if the pan is too dry) and the fennel seeds, garlic, and chili. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2 minutes, mind that the seeds don't turn too dark. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and, stirring occasionally, cook for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Take the pan off the heat and set aside 3 tablespoons of the sauce (for the final layer of the lasagna).
Arrange a layer of pasta on the bottom of the buttered baking dish and spread with 1/3 of the tomato-bacon sauce and sprinkle with 1/4 of the béchamel. Top with 1/3 of the sautéed fennel and 1/4 of the Parmesan. Repeat to make 3 more layers, top the last layer with pasta. Sprinkle with the reserved 3 tablespoons of the tomato-bacon sauce and the remaining béchamel and Parmesan. Bake for 35-45 minutes (depending on the lasagna package instructions) or until the pasta is al dente. To brown the cheese a little, you can switch on the broiler for the last 1 to 2 minutes. Let the lasagna sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving and sprinkle with some crushed peppercorns. Enjoy!
My 501st post: Spicy Cumin Guacamole and Bacon Sandwich
500 posts (and even more recipes) on eat in my kitchen and I missed it! Sunday's cinnamon peach cake was the big jubilee recipe and it would have been more than festive enough to raise a glass of champagne, but anyways, this chance is missed and over. So, today I celebrate the 501st post with a spicy guacamole bacon sandwich, refined with citrusy coriander and hot chili peppers. The meat's smokey saltiness wonderfully breaks the velvety smoothness of the Mexican dip and makes it hearty and rich. I wanted to write about this creation much earlier but after July's hot tempered discussion about a green pea guacamole recipe caused by Melissa Clark's article in the New York Times, I lost interest and faith in further guacamole variations.
But this is in the past now, like all the 500 recipes that found their way from my humble kitchen in Berlin (and Malta) to so many people and other kitchens all over the world. How all of this could happen still amazes me. I just write about what happens on my cooker or in my oven and then it reaches whoever feels inspired by the title, the pictures or the story behind each post. In the past, before eat in my kitchen, I used to just cook or bake my recipes, sometimes just once but most of the time they became staples, dishes that always come back to my table. Obviously, the taste and look would vary slightly as no recipe is always the same. But now I can come here, like everybody else, and see the whole collection of meals that passed through our kitchen. This is really beautiful - and inspiring for myself as I tend to forget about recipes.
At the moment, I need all my time to write for my cookbook which is a totally different experience on another level. The web is digital, it changes constantly with a pace that can be intimidating at times but a printed book is unchangeable. I'll be able to feel it in my hands when I thumb through the pages, to lay it on my kitchen table, and I like this feeling, it's real. It's as real as all the wonderful messages I've been receiving from you from the start, messages about all the recipes that inspired you or simply teased your appetite.
Thank you! xx
A note on the side: In my opinion, guacamole can easily take variations as any other dish - as long as it pleases the personal taste of the creator. This is part of our worldwide kitchen culture, it's makes it richer every day, it evolves, changes and always finds its way back to its roots. It's a gift that shows that a culture is alive, not a threat.
Spicy Cumin Guacamole and Bacon Sandwich
Makes 3 sandwiches
dark, rustic buns, cut in half, 3
breakfast bacon 6-9 slices
fresh red chili pepper, seeded and sliced, 1/4
For the guacamole
large ripe avocado 1 (or 2 small ones), the flesh scraped out
sour cream 2-3 heaping tablespoons
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped, 3 heaping tablespoons plus a few leaves for the topping
ground cumin, a pinch
fine sea salt
ground pepper
In a bowl, chop the avocado with a knife until chunky, stir in the sour cream, lemon juices, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well, season to taste and set aside.
In a heavy pan, cook the bacon until crisp, transfer to kitchen paper to remove excess fat.
Spread the guacamole voluptuously on the bottom side of the buns, sprinkle with chili pepper and lay the bacon on top. Finish it off with a few coriander leaves, close the bun and enjoy!
Tarte Flambée - Alsatian Flammkuchen with Taleggio, Apples and Bacon
When I lived close to the French border a few years ago I loved to drive over to France on a Sunday morning for a short day trip to the Alsace region, especially at this time of the year! The vineyards were all red and golden and the first young wines were ready to be enjoyed. I mentioned these trips about a month ago when I wrote about my Zwiebelkuchen which I used to eat at the traditional restaurants in the small villages. Another Alsatian classic to accompany the new harvest is the Flammkuchen (Flammkueche in the Alsatian dialect), the famous Tarte Flambée! It's similar to pizza but the dough is made with milk instead of water, it's spread with a thin layer of sour cream mixed with an egg yolk and the result is crunchy and light. The basic version is made with onions and bacon but after years of visiting this region I started experimenting with the toppings in my own kitchen and here's one of my favourites.
The combination of cheese and fruit works just as well as on a sandwich. I like to mix thin slices of sour apples like boscoop with a creamy Italian taleggio cheese from the Val Taleggio in the Lombardy region. I baked some thin slices of bacon on top of the Flammkuchen to bring in some smoky saltiness. It's important to put them on top so that they become crispy and release their juices into the fruity cheese mixture.
Flammkuchen with Taleggio, Apples and Bacon
I bake my Flammkuchen and my pizza on a hot baking sheet which has a similar effect to a pizza stone. I preheat it on the bottom of the hot oven and turn it around to bake on the hot surface.
For 1 big Flammkuchen you need
plain flour 250g / 9 ounces
dry yeast 1 package (for 500g / 1 pound of flour)
salt 1/4 teaspoons
sugar 1/2 teaspoon
milk, lukewarm, 120ml / 4 ounces
olive oil 2 tablespoons
For the topping
sour cream 120g / 4.5 ounces
organic egg yolk 1
a pinch of salt
taleggio, cut into cubes, 80g / 3 ounces
sour apple (like boscoop), cored, quartered and cut into thin slices, 1/2 -1
thin bacon slices 6
pepper
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the lukewarm milk and the olive oil and mix with your dough hooks for 5 minutes until well combined. Continue kneading with your hands for a few minutes until you have an elastic dough ball. Put the dough back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let the dough rise in a 35°C / 95°F warm oven ( top / bottom heat, no fan!) for about 1 hour.
Take the dough out, punch it down and roll it out into a flat circle on a well floured surface. 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.
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).
Whisk the sour cream, egg yolk and a pinch of salt.
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. Quickly place your risen dough onto the baking sheet.
Spread a thin layer of the sour cream egg yolk mixture on top of the dough, you might not need all of it. Spread the apples and taleggio on top and season with pepper. Top with the bacon and bake in the hot oven for a few minutes until the Flammkuchen is golden brown and crisp.
Bean and Bacon Salad with White Balsamico and Lemon Thyme
There is something really satisfying about deglazing tiny, crunchy cubes of bacon with sweet Balsamico vinegar. Be it the white or the dark one, both coming from Modena, this vinegar merges with the oily bacon juices to a thick, sweet and sour syrup. It is very concentrated, a great dressing to glaze hearty and crunchy salads like beans and cabbage. A few spoons enrich the vegetables with the whole range of the vinegar's aroma together with the meat's smoky saltiness.
I like to use this dressing for my traditional Bavarian cabbage salad as it brings out a sweet smoothness in the strong cabbage. Today it refines my fava beans, crunchy and green, cooked in salted water for around 6 minutes until they were al dente and rinsed with cold water. I peeled the beans out of their transparent shells for this salad and added some lemon thyme, salt and pepper.
As always, there is lots of peeling involved when there are fava beans on the table, I had 130g / 4.5 ounces of peeled beans after I started with 700g / 1.5 pounds of the fleshy pods. It was enough for the 2 of us as a side dish. I fried 30g / 1 ounce of bacon cut into tiny cubes in a little olive oil for a few minutes until they were golden brown and crisp before I deglazed it with 25ml / 1 ounces of white Balamico vinegar. I scraped the bits and pieces off the bottom of the pan and poured the syrup and bacon over the beans immediately. It just needed a little salt as the bacon added quite a bit of saltiness to it, some ground black pepper and a few fresh leaves of my lemon thyme on top and the salad was done!
Rabbit wrapped in Sage and Bacon roast on Rhubarb
Sweet and sour rhubarb, salty bacon and aromatic sage wrap my juicy pieces of rabbit in a delicious composition of spring flavours. You could use pork fillet in this recipe as well but I like rabbit meat, it's tenderness and unique taste. We often eat it when we're in Malta where rabbit is so popular that it became the national dish. Be it as a Mediterranean stew with olives, tomatoes and wine, often cooked together with pork for a stronger aroma, or in a pie, I've enjoyed some of the best rabbit meals on this island!
Rabbit meat isn't very challenging to cook as long as it's kept moist and not overcooked. The little packages of sage and bacon in my recipe infuse the meat with their flavours but also keep it juicy. The steaming rhubarb roasting under the meat has the same effect. Its juices add a fruity taste to the meat and make sure that it doesn't dry out while it's cooking.
Rabbit wrapped in Sage and Bacon roast on Rhubarb
For 4 people you need
rabbit, without bones, 500g / 1 pound for 8 portions (I bought rabbit back and legs, the fillets from the back were the easiest to prepare)
rhubarb, cut into 5cm / 2" pieces, 500g / 1 pound
granulated sugar 3 tablespoons
garlic, thinly sliced, 3 cloves
fresh sage 16 leaves
bacon 8 slices
white wine 75ml / 2.5 ounces
olive oil 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper
Set the oven to 210°C / 410°F. My oven has a Rotitherm roasting setting which works perfectly for this recipe.
Cover the bottom of a baking dish with the rhubarb mixed with sugar. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the rabbit in 8 portions, season with salt and pepper and wrap each portion in a slice of bacon together with 2 leaves of sage and 3 slices of garlic. Place on top of the rhubarb and pour the wine and olive oil over it.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, pouring some of the juices over it from time to time. For the last 3 minutes sprinkle the bacon with some sugar.
Chutney filled Dates wrapped in crisp Bacon
Devils on Horseback, dried fruit wrapped and baked in bacon, are a typical winter dish, but the temperature dropped, it's a bit grey outside and I wanted to try something new with my chutney. It's still a great finger food nibble, even in spring! After I made my rhubarb chutney I thought about new combinations besides the classics with cheese, meat or sandwiches. A package of dried dates caught my attention, I had bought them a couple weeks ago from a Turkish shop I discovered while strolling through the streets. I went inside to check out their meat section as you can get the best lamb from Turkish butchers but I was a bit late and the shop was closing. On my way to the cash point I grabbed a package of dates unsure of what I would use them for and hopped back out onto the busy streets.
The dates finally found their purpose, I filled them with chutney, wrapped them in slices of bacon and baked them in the oven. Sweet and sticky, salty and a bit sour, my chutney filled dates wrapped in crisp bacon! It sounds like an attack on the taste buds but it's actually a very harmonic combination, all the flavours melt together smoothly. My rhubarb chutney hasn't sat yet, I want to give it a couple more weeks, so I used my plum chutney (the same recipe, just with plums).
It's very easy to prepare these nibbles, you just need a few dried dates (as a snack for 3, I used 15 dates) and replace their seeds with some chutney (the plum chutney was very good but I tried one with rhubarb and it was good too). I cut a strip of thinly sliced bacon into 3 and wrapped each piece around a filled dated. Baked in the oven on 200°C / 390°F they turned golden and crisp after a few minutes!
A Fried Egg and Bacon Sandwich with Tarragon and Parsley
One morning we decided to "decorate" our fried eggs with fresh herbs and it became a morning classic in our kitchen. It looks really pretty and tastes even better. The variations are endless and change all the time depending on the herbs growing in our terracotta pots, and there are plenty at the moment! Usually the small plants don't survive the cold winter, the roots aren't really as protected as they should be. I tried to keep the herbs inside on my kitchen window sill during the cold season but they tend to suffer from bugs and mildew, so I gave up. I wish them the best of luck, protect them with some leaves and hope for the best. To my surprise, a fragile, skinny tarragon plant, an offshoot which I dug out of my mother's herb garden managed to bear the cold and frost and it's shining again in its recaptured bloom and beauty. I love its strong aroma which reminds me a bit of aniseed.
For my fried eggs, I picked a few of the tarragon's long leaves, about 6 slim ones for each egg, and some crunchy parsley, the Italian one with big flat leaves. The combination works well, I just went easy on the parsley, 2-3 leaves per egg were enough as it can easily be too overpowering. I fried the eggs in a little butter on medium heat in a non-stick pan, put the herbs gently on top of the liquid egg whites and yolks and covered the pan with a big lid until the whites turned solid. I kept the egg yolk soft as I wanted it to soak into the hearty bread when I cut it open. To finish off my sandwich, I fried 3 slices of bacon golden brown and crisp and put a few slices of my dark spelt bread into the pan as well. When you roast the bread in the fatty juices, just in the end for a minute or two, it becomes a bit crunchy and is infused with the meaty aroma. I didn't add any salt, just crushed black pepper, thanks to the strong bacon!
Spaghetti with Crisp Bacon, Tomatoes and Fennel Seeds
A fruity tomato sauce with spaghetti together with a glass of red wine can never go wrong. To add some crisp bacon and fennel seeds makes it even better! I don't even remember all the different variations on tomato sauces I've made in my life but this one is really good, and quick to prepare. For days I've been wanting to make a Sauce Bolognese but I never found the time as it needs to cook for an hour. This one here is meaty as well but only needs 10 minutes on the cooker. The bacon (I used lots of it!) makes it hearty and the aromatic spice adds a Mediterranean touch to it.
For 2 people I used 100g / 3.5 ounces of bacon, cut into little cubes and fried until golden and crunchy. I fried 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds, 2 cloves of garlic (crushed) and 1 small dried chili together with the meat for about 2 minutes before I added 400g / 14 ounces of tinned tomatoes (crushed), 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper. The sauce simmered on medium temperature for 8 minutes while the spaghetti (200g / 7 ounces ) cooked in lots of salted water until they were al dente.
If you prefer a vegetarian sauce just leave out the bacon and add a bit more olive oil to fry the fennel seeds, I make that sometimes and it's great, too.
Bacon Sandwich with Balsamico Basil Cream Cheese
Before I tell you about my idea for this week's Sandwich Wednesday I would like to share some great news! Eat in my kitchen has been nominated for TheKitchn's "Best Daily Read Cooking Blog" which makes me very happy and proud. It would be great if you could take a minute to vote for eat in my kitchen (voting ends this Saturday the 22nd February) at this link: http://thekitc.hn/1gBlL11
Thank you for your support, Meike xx
Back to my sandwich, this week I was in the mood for hearty, dark bread, topped with Balsamico cream cheese and crisp bacon. One of my favourites from my local bakery is an organic spelt potato bread, juicy but with a nice crust. It's similar to rye bread, just a bit lighter with the advantage that the loaf stays fresh longer because of the starch from the potatoes. Cut into thick slices, it's perfect for a late winter sandwich. I also bought some very strong bacon, a bit on the salty side. To balance this out I combine it with a smooth, milky cream cheese enhanced with Balsamico and basil. This is a great spread, I also use it on slices of grilled aubergine rolled up into little antipasti. Delicious, but I'll write about that another time!
For this week's sandwiches - for 2 as always - you need 4 slices of dark bread (spelt or rye), one side spread with my Balsamico basil cream cheese mixture. For the spread you mix 70g / 2.5 ounces of cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons of Balsamico, 8 basil leaves sliced thinly and salt and pepper to taste. When this is done you just need to fry 6 slices of bacon until golden brown and crisp and lay them on the cream cheese. Sprinkle with some more Basil, close with another slice of bread if you like and enjoy!
Spaghetti Carbonara with Onions and Prosciutto
There was a time when I had this meal at least once a week. It was a special winter that I spent in the North of England, in North Yorkshire directly on the coast. The sea was rough, the air was damp and salty, and it was cold, the kind of wet cold that creeps into your bones. My diet concentrated on fish and chips (every year, this place is voted for the best fish in England), pies and simple dinners I could cook in our tiny kitchen. Spaghetti Carbonara was one of them. Fried Prosciutto, onions and eggs and you can brave any weather.
I use my Tyrolean Prosciutto from San Cassiano - luckily there's still some left. I tried many others for this recipe but I still think this one is the best. In the past I used to make it with crispy bacon but the spices of the Prosciutto add something really nice to the creamy egg and onions. I cut it into strips, like the onions, and fry everything before I mix it with the pasta, eggs, cream and Parmesan. And crushed black pepper, of course!
Spaghetti Carbonara
For 2 people you need
spaghetti 200g / 7 ounces
Tyrolean Prosciutto, cut into strips, 5 slices
medium sized onion, cut in half and into thin slices, 1 -2
egg yolks 3
heavy cream 80ml
salt and crushed black peppercorns
olive oil for frying
Parmesan, freshly grated
In a large pan, fry the onions in some oil until golden and soft. Add the Prosciutto and fry for a couple minutes as well. Mix the egg yolks together with the cream, salt and pepper.
Cook the pasta al dente and immediately put it into the warm pan (off the heat) on the fried onions and Prosciutto. Pour the egg and cream mixture on top, mixing well. Sprinkle with lots of crushed black pepper and Parmesan, and enjoy a glass of red wine with it - that's what I do!
A Bavarian Salad with Cabbage, Crispy Bacon and White Balsamico
I feel like a crisp, nourishing winter salad and find my inspiration in Bavarian cooking. White cabbage - the German Kraut - is the answer to my needs. A big head of cabbage has been waiting in the fridge for a few days and its time has come! A few years ago, my mother told me about a Bavarian salad made of raw white cabbage and fried bacon deglazed with white Balsamico vinegar. I made it just a few days after she told me about it, impressed by its simplicity but mainly by the taste, and it became one of my favourite winter salads, an absolute classic. The fried bacon juices and the white Balsamico create a great dressing, not too heavy but rich enough for the kraut. Good and solid Bavarian food!
I chop 500g / 1 pound of cabbage very thinly and mix it with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. I rub the salt into it with my fingers which softens the cabbage's texture. It needs to sit for 15 minutes, so I fry some bacon next (around 100g / 3.5 ounces). I cut the bacon into very small cubes and fry them in a small amount of oil. When they are golden brown and crisp, I deglaze them with some white Balsamico vinegar, enough to have some liquid left to pour over my cabbage together with the bacon. I add some olive oil (2-3 tablespoons), more vinegar if necessary and season with salt and pepper. I have my salad with some bread and cheese, an easy but tasty lunch - stuffed with vitamins!
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.