Spätzle with three types of mushrooms

Came back from a getaway weekend to Germany with a packet of ready-made spätzle, so I came up with this quick recipe that can feed a crowd. The creamy cheesy sauce brings the flavours together and adds some saltiness to the dish.

You'll need:

Spätzle

shimeji mushrooms

oyster mushrooms

cremini mushrooms

bacon cut into small cubes

cream

grana padano

smoked paprika 

butter

oil for frying 

black pepper 

parsley

1. Cut oyster mushrooms into smaller pieces and thickly slice the cremini mushrooms. Fry all the mushrooms on a pan, adding a little bit of butter and a generous dose of black pepper for taste. 

2. Fry the bacon and combine with the mushrooms. Add cream, grated grana padano and smoked paprika. Mix in the spätzle and cook together for a few minutes, e voila!

3. Serve with parsley and some extra grana padano on top.

 

 Bon appetit!

White peach salad with a twist

 

A little 'revelation' of this summer. Great for the hot days. With some extra effort, peaches could be grilled too. The twist lies in the addition of orange zest into the vinaigrette, which makes all the difference.

You'll need:

a handful or two of fresh rocket salad

a few fresh basil leaves

2-3 slices of prosciutto (my favourite one is always San Daniele)

Mozzarella (cut into slices or small salad balls)

white peach/nectarine sliced

2 spoons of olive oil

a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar

a teaspoon of mustard

orange zest

1. To make the vinaigrette, mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and the orange zest. Leave aside for a while, if possible.

2. Assemble the rest of the ingredients together, pour the vinaigrette, et voila!

Buon appetito!

Kimchi pancake with beef and shiitake mushrooms

 

Continuing my Asian adventure with a kimchi pancake. Kimchi is Korean fermented spicy cabbage, which is a real staple of Korean cuisine. It can be used as a side dish of its own or be added to a variety of dishes like this one. When added to pancake batter, it gives it not only the flavour, but also it makes it beautifully orange. While ready-made kimchi is more and more readily available in Europe, it is actually much nicer and cheaper if done by yourself (it takes a few days but it is worth it). Kimchi is not only sour but also very spicy, yet the pancake batter works to cool it down. That's why it pairs well with the spiciness of shichimi hogarashi (Japanese 7 spice mix) and the sweetness of the brown sauce.

You'll need:
5 spoons of wheat flour1 egg
50gr of kimchi 
shiitake mushrooms
a beef steak
Japanese 7 spice mix (shichimi togarashi)
yuzu powder 
Japanese brown sauce
spring onion (for decoration)

 

1. Prepare the pancake batter by mixing the flour and the egg with some water. You will want to make the batter slightly denser than the batter for french pancakes, since the juice from kimchi will water it down a bit. Add the kimchi (cut into smaller pieces if using whole leaf kimchi) to the batter and put aside.
2. Warm up some oil on a pan and fry your steak seasoning it with shichimi togarashi, yuzu and some salt. Once done to your liking, put it aside to rest.
3. Slice the shiitake mushrooms and fry them on the same pan as the steak. To add variety to the plate one could also add shimeji mushrooms, but in covid times one has to deal with what's available.
4. Fry the pancakes on a separate small pan. Due to the fact that the batter has kimchi in it, it is more easily breakable, similarly to  okonomiyaki, so making them on a bigger pan might be more of a challenge. Thus, be careful when turning them over.
5. Slice your beef and start assembling the ingredients together. Pour some brown sauce over the pancake, beef and the mushrooms et voila!

Itadakimasu!

Udon hoisin with beer onion rings

When the West met the East: this vegan recipe joins the crunchy beer onion rings with sticky hoisin udon, all accompanied by zucchni covered in shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) and shimeji mushrooms. It is both sweet and spicy and a surprisingly great mix of intense flavours. And the leftover onion rings tasted great with wasabi mayo! 

You'll need:

udon pasta
1/2 courgette
shimeji mushrooms
1 onion
Hoisin sauce
soy sauceginger
shichimi togarashisalt & pepper
flour
beer (I used Leffe blonde)
hot smoked paprka
garlic powder 
sunflower oil
spring onion

1. In a bowl mix 3 spoons of flour with smoked paprika, garlic, salt and some beer to reach a consistency of pancake batter. Leave aside for around 10 minutes before using.
2. Boil your udon in salted water.
3. Melt some butter in a pan and fry shimeji mushrooms adding some black pepper. 
4. Remove shimeji mushrooms from the pan and fry sliced zucchini together with shichimi togarashi and some oil. I cut my slices into half moons to add some shape variety to the dish.
5. Add some chopped ginger to the pan, then put back the mushrooms in, followed by udon pasta, a spoon of hoisin sauce and some soy sauce. Mix it all together and set aside.
6. Peel the onion and slice to form rings. Cover the rings in flour and then transfer in batches into the mixture prepared in step one before frying in hot oil. Make sure the rings are well covered in batter before putting in oil and dry them on a kitchen towel once fried.
7. Assemble the pasta and the onion rings together, sprinkle with chopped spring onion for colour et voila!

Itadakimasu!

Polpette carote e porri

 

 

Another teaser from the meatballs series, this time meatballs with carrots and leeks. They have a super crunchy cereal bread crust but are extra soft inside. Some hearty spices that include cumin make them a great comfort food. An apple and leek salad adds to the zestiness of the dish.

Boules de Picolat

 

Boules de Picolat or Catalan meatballs - despite their name, they are actually a dish tipical of the southern French region of Roussillon bordering with Spain. A mixture of beef and pork, tipically served with white beans in a spicy tomato sauce, but mine are served with chickpeas instead. I added also one more secret ingredient into the meatballs themselves to make them unlike any other Catalan meatballs ;)

Here I give you just a teaser, since I decided to save my meatball recipes for a special collection that I'm putting together.

    *Pictures courtesy of KD.

Parmigiana

You would think that parmigiano (parmesan) is absolutely essential for a parmigiana, after all it's in the name, right? It turns out that it might not be as obvious as that, the name parmigiana might not even derive from parmigiano regiano. I made mine with pecorino an mozarella and it was perfect for this. The light tanginess of pecorino and the fact that it's not as hard as parmigiano made it a perfect replacement. A mix of pecorino and parmigano should work good too. The real essential is the aubergine. Here is my take on this Italian classic.

You'll need: (for two individual size pots)
an aubergine
salt
3 tomotoes
half a mozarella
grated pecorino
dried oregano
cinnamon
black pepper
red wine
olive oil

1. Slice the aubergine, spread the slices on a plate, salt them generously and leave for 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, boil some water in a kettle and pour over the tomatoes to remove their skins. The task is easier if you cut a cross on their bottoms.
3. Chop the skinned tomatoes and fry on a pan with a clove of garlic cut in half, a splash of olive oil, dried oregano and some wine. Once your sauce is ready put aside and prepare the aubergine.

3. Rinse the aubergine slices from excess salt and fry with olive oil until they brown slightly. Add a pinch of cinnamon (optional).

4. Start layering your pots. Start with a layer of tomato sauce, then aubergines, mozarella, some  freshly ground black pepper, then aubergines again, tomato sauce, pecorno, aubergines, pecorino until you reach the top of the pot.

5. Put the pots in an oven pre-set to 180 degrees (top and bottom heating) and leave there for around 15 minutes until the cheese on top melts and starts to brown. Remove from the oven, leave aside for 5 minutes before you serve it (it will be piping hot at first and if you want to remove your parmigiana from the pots, it's gonna be easier if it cools down a little) Decorate with some fresh basil leaves before serving et voila!

Buon appetito!

Veggie bulgur feast

It started with a bulgur recommendation from Ottolenghi's book and developed from there. The way he prepares bulgur is a classic Turkish way, except for the fact that he adds four spice instead of paprika to the onion/tomato mixture. Myself I turned more in the Maroccan direction with the addition of ras el hanout. Interestingly, ras el hanout feels very different with bulgur (adding a sweet softness to it) than with the aubergine (to which it adds a bit of a spicy zing), even though I used exactly the same spice mixture. Add to this spicy chickpeas, sweet potatoes and Greek yoghurt with mint and you have yourself a veggie feast.

You'll need:

100gr bulgur

2-3 tomotoes

1 spoon of tomato concentrate

1 medium size onion

1 clove of garlic

1 sweet potato

100-150gr of chickpeas from a can

1 aubergine

olive oil

ras el hanout

sweet smoked paprika

fresh mint leaves

100-150gr of greek yoghurt

1 tea spoon of lemon juice

1.Start off with the aubergine. Slice it into relatively thick slices, you want to keep it nice an moist on the inside without necessarily having to add too much olive oil. Spread the slices over a plate or a baking tray, cover with a generous dose of salt and allow to sweat for a few minutes. this is to avoid any risk that it would turn bitter.

2. In the meantime, prepare the yoghurt, by putting in chopped mint and some lemon juice. No need to add too much as Greek yoghurt is already relatively acidic in flavour. Set aside for the flavours to mix.

3. Wash off the salt from the aubergine, put on a baking tray, sprinkle with a less generous dose of salt and add also ras el hanout. Sprinkle with some olive oil and put in the oven set to 175 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

4. Peel and cut the sweet potato into small cubes. Mix together with chickpeas, smoked paprika and olive oil. Transfer to a baking tray and add to the oven. these will need around 20 minutes (25 if you want chickpeas to become crunchy) in the oven, so put them in slightly later than the aubergine.

5. Chop the onion and fry on a pan until it turns soft. Add chopped garlic. As soon as you can smell it, add the tomatoes and the tomato concentrate. Fry until the tomatoes become a puree. Add ras el hanout and 2 glasses of water to the mixture. Bring to boil, add bulgur and turn the heat off or keep it at an absolute minimum. Wait till bulgur absorbs the liquid et voila!

6. Assemble the ingredients together on a plate, decorating with some fresh mint leaves.

Bon appétit!

Momos

Being stuck at home did not prevent me from taking my tastebuds on a culinary journey to the faraway lands of Nepal, Tibet or Northern India where these steamed dumplings come from.Typically they are eaten with hands, often as street food, dipped in a spicy chili chutney.

You'll need:
round wrappers
pork mince
spring onion
red onion, finely chopped
fresh cilantro
garam masala
chili powder
turmeric
garlic, finely chopped
ginger, finely chopped
salt
For the chutney:
dried red chili(s)
1 tomato
garlic paste
rice vinegar
a pinch of sugar

1. Mix the ingredients for the filling all together. Make the dumplings by putting a tea spoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper, wetting with water the edges of the wrapper and then closing it like a little pouch. You hold the dumpling in your hand and with the support of your thumb close the pouch by adding more and more of the wrapper with your index finger going round.

2. Prepare the chutney, by putting the tomato and the dried chilis in boling water for a few minutes. Remove from the water, deskin the tomato, and blend together with the chillies and some garlic paste. Add rice vinegar, a pinch of sugar and some water if need be.

3. Boil some water in a pot and steam the momos in a bamboo basket over the boiling water. To prevent sticking, put some cooking paper in first. Your momos should be ready withing 3-4 minutes.

Buon appetito!

Brunch alla messicana

I took this spicy idea for lunch from la Cucina Italiana magazine and adapted it so that it can be served as a dish for one and be a bit less hefty than the original one. I wanted the potato pancake on which the egg rests to be a bit softer than in my standard recipe for potato pancakes.

You'll need:

One medium potato

1/2 a shallot

one clove of garlic

1 egg

a spoonfull of sour cream

a few slices of avocado

fresh coriander

lime juice

sriracha sauce 

hot smoked paprika 

chili flakes

salt

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic and add them to a bowl. Peel the potato and gratehalf of it using a cheese grater and half of it on a finer grater. Add it to the bowl. Sprinkle some hot smoked paprika and salt over it and mix it all together. 

2. Break the egg and pour it into a small container being careful not to break the yolk. Transfer a tiny bit of the white into the potato mix so that it sticks better.

3. Transfer the contents of the bowl into a hot pan with some oil on it and spread to form a thin pancake. Fry on one side and turn (it will be ready to turn once it starts turning golden on the edges).

4. Pour the egg over the pancake, sprinkle some chili flakes on top, put the lid on the pan and fry for around 2 minutes depending on pan's temperature.

5. Delicately transfer the contents of the pan into a plate and garnish with a spoonful of sour cream, sriracha, fresh coriander and avocado slices previously covered in lime juice, et voila! 

Buon appetito!

Salmon Wellington

A fish version of a famous beef dish, accompanied by a refreshing flavour of Thai basil. Commonly, duxelle (i.e. finely chopped mixture of mushrooms sautéed in butter) contains onions or a shallot, but here it is not strictly necessary.

You'll need:
French puff pastry
a piece of fresh salmon
mushrooms
butter (for frying)
black pepper
a handful of fresh Thai basil leaves
one shallot (optional)

1. Start off by preparing the duxelle, as it will have to cool down before you can use it: peel and finely chop the mushrroms, dissolve some butter on the pan, add the mushrooms and fry them over medium heat together with a very generous dose of black pepper. If using the shallot, put it on the pan before the mushrooms and let it soften.

2. Put the salmon on the pastry, season with salt and then proceed to put a layer of duxelle on top, followed by a generous dose of chopped Thai basil.

3. Tightly close the pocket using another layer of pastry (or close it off like a calzone), but cut some holes on top to allow the moisture to go out.

4. Put in the oven pre-set to 180 degrees and leave it there until the pastry turns golden brown. For a nice colouring of the pastry, you can brush it with an egg or milk.

Buon appetito!

Grandi gnocchi di ricotta

Welcome to episode one of lockdown cooking! What better way to spend your time at home than cooking? Maybe it's actually a good time to turn to those traditional grandma recipes that take hours to cook? Now might be the best time to oversee a slow cooked ragu alla Bolognese or take the time to prepare a proper ramen broth that takes 36 hours to cook... Anyway, for the time being I start with something a bit more modest that can be done in next to no time - gnocchi di ricotta con spinaci, prosciutto e pomodori secchi. Come to think of it, my comeback to more classical Italian flavours mind be a sign that mind is far away from Brussels...

You'll need:

250gr ricotta (or Polish twaróg)

1 egg

around 70gr flour

pepper

a bowl of fresh spinach

4cm ginger

prosciutto (my favourite is san daniele)

sundried tomatoes

grated parmigiano regiano or grana padano

1. First prepare the gnocchi mixture by mixing the ricotta cheese (or twaróg) with the egg and flour, adding a generous dose of black pepper. Once kneaded a bit, put it aside in the fridge to harden a bit for around 30 minutes.

2. Finely chop the ginger and the fry it on a pan for 30 seconds or so, before adding the spinach leaves. I usually chop the leaves a little bit even if it is baby spinach to make them more manageable to eat. Don't forget to rinse them first though! Quite often there will be sand on them and you really want to avoid that sort of crunch in your mouth.

3. Boil some water in a pot. Form the gnocchi with the use of two teaspoons into a shape of a quenelle. Add salt into the boiling water before transferring in the gnocchi. Boil them for around two minutes.

4. Assemble the ingredients together, sprinkle some parmigiano/grana padano on top, an extra sprinkle of freshly grated black pepper e voila!

Buon appetito!

Thai style baked salmon

I called it Thai style baked salmon, but probably it's far from authentic, for some of the ingredients used, such as shimeji mushrooms are more typical for Japan than Thailand. Yet, the coriander, chili and lime combination might be seen as more emblematic of Thailand. Either way, it is very easy and quick to make, which is great when you don't have too much time for cooking.

You'll need:
a piece of fresh salmon, no skin
soy sauce
lime juice
fresh coriander leaves
chili flakes
finely chopped ginger
finely chopped garlic
shimeji mushrooms
pepper
butter

1. Mix the soy sauce with ginger, garlic, lime juice, coriander leaves and chili flakes and pour over the salmon.

2. Put in the oven set for 175 degrees for around 20 minutes, depending on the size of the salmon piece(s). No need for a cover, for as long as you don't keep it there for too long, it should still come out nice and moist.

3. In the meantime, dissolve a spoonfull of butter in a pan and fry your shimeji mushrooms on it, seasoning them with black pepper.

4. Assemble everything on a plate et voila! I also added a light valeriana salad on the side, simply sprinkled with olive oil and red wine vinegar. For a bigger hunger, you could of course add some (jasmin) rice too!

Itadakimasu!

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake. Okonomi means 'how you like' which goes to show that it can be served with a variety of ingredients. One thing that's always there is cabbage. Two other elements that to my mind are indispensable to making okonoiyaki are Japanese mayonaisse (kewpie) and brown sauce that bring all the other ingredients together. Typically, it would also have dancing bonito flakes on top and powdered nori. The rest is left to the imagination of the cook, it can be meat, veggies or seafood. Just as the English do on pancake day, Okonomiyaki is good for dealing with leftover food. Hiroshima style it would also include noodles in the pancake base, but today I'm doing it Osaka style, with a prawn filling. It would be easier to prepare on a grill, but it can be done in home conditions on a pan as well.

You'll need:

250gr flour

water

1 egg

4 napa cabbage leaves, finely shredded 

3 spring onions

prawn tails

ginger

red peppercorns, crushed

Japanese 7 spice mix

Kewpie mayo

brown sauce

Bonito flakes

nori powder

some oil for frying

1. Prepare the pancake batter. It should be the same consistency as for the European pancakes, i.e.  the batter should not float out immediately from a spoon. Add salt. I also add some red pepper to it, to add a bit of spice, but this is optional.

2. Add cabbage and finely grated ginger to the mixture.

3. On a grill, the prawns would easily cook together with the pancake, but this can be more difficult to achieve on the pan, when turning a layered pancake becomes more difficult, so I fry the prawns first, seasoned in Japanese seven spice mix. I will later make the pancakes on the same pan, allowing the flavours to mix.

4. pour the pancake batter into the pan. Once it turn golden, turn it to the other side.

5. Add spring onions and prawns on top.

6. Pour kewpie and brown sauce on the pancake and then sprinkle nori powder and bonito flakes on top. These ingredients are not so widely available and might require a trip to a japanese or Asian store, but they do make all the difference to the dish.

Itadakimasu!

Sunday special: scrambled eggs with a secret

At my house it's always eggs for breakfast on a Sunday. And so it was this Sunday as well. Scrambled eggs is one of those things that anyone can do and everyone has their preferred way of doing  - scrambled vigorously or just a little bit, well-cooked or runny. And then there are numerous things that you can add to them, not just butter. I share with you my new favourite way: what you see in the picture is not just bacon and chive. The secret ingredient here is coarsely ground (or hammered) pepper and coriander seeds to add a little twist to it.

First you fry the bacon, cut into smaller pieces or pre-cut into cubes.Then you add the eggs, chives, pepper and coriander and mix it together over medium heat. Smoked bacon is usually already quite salty, so I skip the salt, but you need to know your bacon.
To my mind, the best way to eat scrambled eggs is on a piece of fresh bread with butter, allowing the butter to melt underneath warm eggs.

Buon appetito!