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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

Japanese beef and mushroom wok

I recently set off on a culinary journey to Japan and came back full of new inspirations, having discovered some new extraordinary flavours and ingredients that were previously completely unknown to me. So, today I propose a dish that uses some of the classical Japanese ingredients and plays on Japanese flavours, even if the end result might be far from authentic. I found pak choi and the different mushrooms in a supermarket around the corner, so depending on where you live, they might not be as difficult to get as it may first seem. Mirin and Japanese seven spice mix might be more difficult to get, but luckily I found a great Japanese store here in Brussels (to buy the former, I brought back with me lots of spices from Japan as is my usual habit when travelling abroad).

 Udon and soba noodles from a Japanese shop in Bxl (Tagawa, I highly recommend it)

You'll need:
a beef steak
soba or udon noodles
one baby pak choi
spring onion
one red chilli
4cm ginger, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
lime zest
Japanese 7 spice mix (shichimi togarashi)
epoki mushrooms
shiitake mushrooms
chestnut mushrooms
dark soya sauce
mirin
salt

1. Start off by preparing all of the ingredients, the cooking time is very short so there won't be time to prep while it cooks.

2. Season the beef in salt and shichimi togarashi and quickly fry on a hot pan. Remove from the pan and let it reston the side.

3. Put the sliced mushrooms on the same pan on which you just fried your beef. Add ginger, garlic, chilli and lime zest.

4. Boil the noodles. One minute before they are ready (follow the instructions on the packet, they should take a just a few minutes to soften) add pak choi and spring onion.

5. Slice your beef, add it to the pan with the mushrooms. Add soya sauce and mirin. Add noodles with the vegetables and stir so that the sauce covers everything, et voila!

Bon appetit!

Lamb yoghurt curry

It takes some time to prepare this dish, but it's definitely worth it. Deliciously warming smooth sauce covering soft pieces of lamb will make you reach for another helping.

 You'll need:
600gr lamb leg or shoulder cut into 3-4cm chunks
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
4cm of ginger
6 cloves
5 green cardomon pods (seeds only)
garam masala
chili powder
150 ml greek yoghurt
200gr chopped tomatoes
fresh coriander (to decorate)

1. Roughly chop the onions and put to a blender with a bit of water. Transfer the mixture into a deep pan and fry over medium heat together with some oil for around 10 minutes.

2. In the same manner, blend the garlic and ginger. Add to the pan.

3. Stir in half of the yoghurt and add the meat. Brown the meat.

4. Grind the cardamon seeds and cloves. Add to the meat together with garam masala and chili powder. Add the rest of the yoghurt and simmer for around an hour with a lid on.

5. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for another 30-40 minutes, et voila!

6. Serve with chapatis or naan bread.

Buon appetito!

Saag aloo

Saag aloo is a great Indian side dish to accompany your tandori chicken or meat curries. It works very well as a lunch idea as well, even on its own.

You'll need:

4-5 waxy potatoes

2 big handfulls of fresh baby spinach

1 onion

a clove of garlic

3cm of ginger

brown mustard seeds

cumin seeds

chilli flakes

oil for frying

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Boil in salted water 'al dente' that is 2 minutes less than what is needed for them to be fully cooked (which depends on the potato variety and the size of the cubes).

2. In the meantime, toast mustard seeds and cumin on a hot pan before adding chopped onion. As the onion is on its way into becoming golden brown, finely chop the garlic clove and ginger.

3. Add ginger, garlic and chili flakes to the pan. Add the potatoes and then spinach, shredded into smaller pieces (don't forget to wash it beforehand). Stir and cover the pan with a lid and wait around half a minute for the spinach to soften, et voila!

Buon appetito!

Lentils salad on the run

A little salad for a rainy Autumn day that needs next to no preparation. Although popular in many cuisines (including India, see my recipes for a lentils curry or masoor dhal), lentils are still rarely used where I come from. They are very filling and a lentil salad could make a very nice packed lunch. I also make a version with boiled carrots instead of sundried tomatoes. 

You'll need:

a can of green lentils

sundried tomatoes

fresh parsley

a few rashers of bacon

red wine vinegar

red pepper

1. Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry on a pan.

2. In the meantime, rinse well the lentils and transfer them into a bowl.

3. Cut the tomatoes and chop  a generous dose of parley and add both to the bowl.

4. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and some freshly grated red pepper.

5. Add the fried bacon, mix everything together, et voila! Serve with fresh buttered bread.

 

 

Buon appetito!

Peanut butter chicken with ginger pear and grilled pineapple

The magic of this recipe is in how well the flavours work together. On its own, peanut sauce could be a bit heavy, but ginger pear and grilled pineappe add freshness to the dish. I created this dish for a Vietnamese themed competition.

You'll need:

chicken breast

3 spoons of peanut butter

Lime juice

Dark soya sauce

200ml coconut milk

Powdered cumin

Coriander (seeds)

Smoked sweet paprika

Smoked hot paprika

Pear

3cm fresh ginger

cinammon cane

4-5 cloves

Organge zest

1/3 glass of sugar

Pineapple slices

Cashew nuts

Jasmin rice

Salt & pepper

1. To prepare the peanut sauce, add peanut butter, coconut milk, cumin, coriander, a bit of lime juice, a pinch of hot somked paprika and soy sauce into a pot and mix over a low heat until the sauce gets dense.

2. In a second pot boil around 1/2 litre of water. While the water is warming up, peel the pear (or two, a pear prepared this way goes well with many dishes, so it might be worthwile making a bit more) and cut it into quarters. Add sugar into the boiling water, followed by slices of peeled ginger, cloves, cinammon cane and a bit of orange zest. Put the pear in and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Liquid should completely cover the pears. Leave the pear in the liquid until it cools down. You can further reduce the liquid and use it as syrup from drinks and cocktails.

3. Boil the rice. In the meantime, warm up a grill pan with a bit of oil. season the chicken breast with salt, pepper and sweet smoked paprika. Grill on a hot pan. 

4. Use the same grillpan to grill the pineapples.

5. Crush the cashew nuts and roast them ona separate (dry) pan.

6. Assemble all the ingredients together, et voila!

Buon appetito!

Chicken and zucchini stew that started it all

I can't believe this recipe has not yet featured here, since it's possibly the one which set me off on a culinary journey for discovery of new interesting flavours. Many years ago, the unique combination of spices used in this stew woke up my curiosity in food which still continues today. Sadly, this fantastic combination was not my original idea, but a recipe of a French chef, popular in Poland at the time. It set me on a quest to find a spice mix called garam masala, of which hardly anyone heard at the time, that changed my approach to food completely. Now that I think of it, even zucchini were not exactly a popular vegetable back then, so easily available everywhere as it is today. Finally, equipped with the ingredients (which also include fennel seeds, which are not very common in Poland even today) I made this amazingly comforting dish which I continue to make often ever since. 

It is also a perfect dish to make if you're thinking about your lunchbox and so with this recipe I start a new category of recipes that are fit for that purpose.

You'll need:

one chicken breast

one medium size onion

one medium size zucchini (or a few small ones)

green olives

black olives (mostly for the colour)

pepper cayenne

fennel seeds

garam masala (you can make your own blend)

basmati or jasmin rice to serve with

1. Slice the onion and soften it in a pot for around 3 minutes. In the meantime cut the zucchini and add it to the pot with the onion. Add fennel seeds, garam masala and a bit of water. Zucchini is strongly hygroscopic, and so it has a tendency to take in all the oil it can get - to avoid the stew from getting too oily, add some water (I often use the water from the olives to get more flavour in).

2. Put some oil on a pan and add pepper cayenne on it. Once it gets warm enough to give away the aroma, add previously cut chicken breast. Cover it in pepper cayenne and fry for around 3-4 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Add the olives, leave for another 30 seconds and then transfer to the pot with the zucchini.

3. Simmer some more, allowing the flavours to mix, et voila!

4. Serve with rice.

Buon appetito!

Vindaloo aloo

Vindaloo is a Goan curry stemming from Portuguese carne de vinha d'alhos (meat with wine and garlic, which is served in Madeira as a Christmas dish). This special occasion curry can be found in most Indian restaurants in the UK where it is usually served as one of the spiciest dishes in the house. Myself, I usually prepare it as a rather mild curry, allowing ginger to dominate a bit more. The traditional version does not contain potatoes, but they are sometimes added, possibly through a mistake deriving from the name that contains the word 'aloo' (potatoes) in it. Since this version also contains potatoes I thought it would be best to call this recipe vindaloo aloo to avoid confusion. It is also most definitely a Europeanised version of the dish, since I use beef, rather than lamb or pork. The key ingredient, however, is the red wine vinegar in which the meat needs to be marinaded beforehand. Vindaloo done this way is a favourite recipe of Cristina, my landlady in Florence.

You'll need:

500g beef

5-6 medium potatoes
red wine vinegar
1 onion

2 spoons of sour cream

broth (optional)

4cm ginger

3 cloves of garlic

English yellow mustard powder

ground cumin

ground coriander

cinnamon

chilli

pepper cayenne
salt & pepper

oil

1. Cut the beef into cubes and marinade it in red wine vinegar, with some salt and pepper and a spoon of oil at least for 3 hours.

2. Chop the onion and fry over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and ginger and follow with the rest of spices, paying attention to not burning them.
3. Brown the meat, preferably in a thick den pot. When it's ready, add spiced onion and previously peeled potatoes cut into cubes.
4. Add water or broth to the mixture, enough to cover the potatoes and cook without a lid until they soften. The mixture will reduce itself quite a bit, so it might require a stir from time to time and possibly some more liquid.
5. Add sour cream, et voila!

Buon appetito!