Claret & Gold

Cotolette di Maiale alla Salvia, Pera con Coriandolo & Cavolo Rosso con Ginepro, Semi di Finocchio e Gin

Pork Cutlets with Sage, Pear Slices with Coriander and Red Cabbage with Juniper Berries, Fennel Seed and Gin

Autumn. Much as everyone else seems to love the Summer, this is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Along with Springtime, at no other time of year do we get such beautiful changes of color in our surroundings! And yes, it is getting colder, and the vegetables are getting their first taste of colder temperatures... but that only does the cabbage good and makes it sweeter... and the pears plump and golden and juicy and waiting to be picked and enjoyed...

...maybe even together in a dish like this one! Very simple and quick to prepare, this has so many great things going for it! You will love the way the flavors compliment each other and as for the colors! Well, surely we don't need to talk about them!

Obviously, the cabbage was the thing that required the longest cooking time here, but even that was not too long. I didn't want to make one of those traditional red-cabbage sides that boil away for hours, delicious as they may be. Nope! It's all about being different in my kitchen! So I made mine like this...

I chopped the cabbage up finely and added about a third the amount in finely chopped shallot. I sautéed these for 2-3 minutes in a pat of butter, then added about 1" worth of finely chopped ginger, 2 ground juniper berries, another 2-3 whole berries, a good pinch of fennel seeds, salt and pepper. 

Next came the juice of half a lemon and a tablespoon of honey. I stirred these together well, kept the heat high and once the moisture had almost disappeared from the pan, I deglazed it with a generous splash of gin- yum, yum, yum! I stirred in the gin, added a little water, put on the lid and let it simmer away whilst I prepared the rest...

The pork was simply fried in a little butter with salt, pepper, a slice or two of garlic, a couple of sage leaves. Whilst it was sizzling away, I peeled, cored and sliced the pear, flipped the meat over and added the slices to the pan. Whilst they began to soften and brown and pick up the flavors of the meat juices, I ground about half a teaspoon of coriander seeds and sprinkled them onto the pear slices.

I added just a tiny splash of water to deglaze the pan and turned over the meat, added a little more salt and pepper, flipped the pear slices over once and was ready to serve! It was that quick and easy! But of course it is the combination of these simple flavors that makes the result so special!

The cabbage wet onto my serving dish first, the pork on top and the pears, last but not least, as a golden, shining finish to this miniature feast! And a feast it was- for the eye and for the palate as well! And if you decide to give this a go- it will be a feast that you were invited to, too!

So Light- So Bright!

Quinoa con Cavolo Rosso alle 5 Spezie Cinese, in Agrodolce, con Limone
Quinoa with 5-Spice/Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage & Lemon

Quinoa is actually pretty wonderful stuff. I say that, because up until about a month ago, when I made it for myself the first time, I was almost certain of the fact that I didn't like it. Mainly, that was due to the fact that I had never eaten any before that wasn't totally bland and usually totally dry. As with almost everything- it all depends on the spices you use and the preparation- after all, neither rice, potatoes, pasta nor couscous for example, would be particularly exciting unflavored and served on their own...

So I decided to get a little experimental this evening, (as usual!) and to try out something new. I had a small red-cabbage that I had picked up at the market hall on Saturday and had the notion that it would be great combined with 5-spice powder, ginger and carrots, but as I dislike the blue color that it turns when it is cooked if nothing acidic is added, that was when I thought of lemon juice. And honey... and of making it into a sweet 'n' sour dish!

I began of course by rinsing the quinoa until the water I poured off stopped being milky and became clear, and then getting it boiling, with twice the amount of water as quinoa itself, for 20 minutes.

During that time of course, I needed to get the cabbage cooked! So- into a frying pan went a little butter and a little sesame oil. I quickly chopped up about 2" of ginger and added these, then cut the red cabbage in half and then cut the half cabbage into 5-6 slices, which I in-turn, cut cross-wise into very fine strips. These went into the frying pan with a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of 5-spice powder.

I stirred these together well and fried them for 4-5 minutes. In the meantime, I cut a couple of slices of peel from the lemon and blanched them for 2-3 minutes. Whlst that was happening, I added the juice of the full lemon to the frying pan and stirred it in quickly, deglazing the cabbage and bringing up all of the good flavors of the spice and ginger.

I then added enough water to cover the base of the pan and let the cabbage simmer down. Whilst that was happening, I finely sliced a Spring onion, a carrot, which I first halved length-wise and the 2 strips of lemon zest. 

By this time, the quinoa had been boiling for almost 20 minutes, so I added the carrots and onion to it, stirred them in well, replaced the lid and let it sit for a further 5-10 minutes to fluff up and finish cooking in the residual heat of the saucepan.

Back at the frying pan, it was time to spice up the cabbage. I added a couple of tablespoons of "banana chili sauce" which I happen to have- a Phillipino concoction that I picked up on my last trip to the Asian supermarket. Of course you can use regular chili and add more honey or sugar- but being slightly sweet, this just brought me one step ahead. I also added soy sauce, obviously, a little more sesame, just for the flavor and a good tablespoon of honey. And a handful of raisins- just to be sure there was enough sweetness going on and that there was something nice and juicy in the mix!

I stirred these into the cabbage and then in turn, added the quinoa to the pan and finally brought everything together! I let it continue to cool on a low flame whilst I finely chopped some chives as a finishing touch and plucked a few fine leaves of parsley. Served up together and with a sprinkle of those blanched lemon zest sliced, this was a fun, tangy and spicy treat!

Just because I live in Frankfurt, doesn't mean it is going to end up being Sauerkraut for supper!

Enjoy!

Packin' a Punkin'

Zucca Bianca Ripiena di Lenticchie Rossi al Pomodoro & Zenzero, in Cartoccio

Patisson Pumpkin & Tomato & Ginger Red Lentil Parcel 

This was the first time I had tried out a larger Patisson, or "patty pan" pumpkin- it was just so adorably small and innocent looking in white, that I felt compelled to take it home and do something crazy with it! But only good things of course! 

I had tried those little patty-pan pumpkins before- the tiny, little 2-bite variety that basically taste akin to a regular zucchini to be honest, so I was curious to find out how this one would be. The lady at the market hall informed me that you can eat these un-peeled and that they are even suitable for eating raw in a salad... so many new things waiting to be discovered!

I decided to make something pretty, something tasty and something healthy- all rolled into one... again! In fact, I decided that it was so pretty it needed to be gift-wrapped before I set it out at the table- haha! Of course, the wrapping is a bit of a gimmick, but not a senseless one, as it allows you to easily serve up all ingredients of this dish piping hot and at the same time, to capture all of the aromas, so that they wow your guests (or yourselves) and yes... to have fun!

I started off by slicing away the top of the pumpkin and scooping out the seeds and also a little of the flesh, to allow for a a little more space for the filling. The extra pumpkin that I scooped-out, of course, I tried raw as it was- after all, the lady at the market had told me it can be served as a salad. And you know- it wasn't that bad! Maybe an idea for another time though. For this dish, I placed the top and bottom of the pumpkin onto a steam rack, into a saucepan and on to the stove top to steam away for 10 minutes...

Whilst the pumpkin was steaming, I finely chopped a Spring onion and a half-stick of celery- a nice, small, tender one, a little crushed garlic and about a 2" piece of ginger, very finely chopped. I started these frying in just a drop of olive oil in a saucepan and then added 2 cupfuls of lentils and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. I stirred these ingredients all together well and seasoned with salt, pepper and a hint of cayenne. 
I deglazed the saucepan with just enough boiling water to cover everything and reduced the heat to a low simmer... and there the lentils stayed for the next 5-6 minutes.

In the meantime, the pumpkin was done, so I set it out on a sheet of baking powder and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a drop or two of sesame oil. After 5-6 minutes of cooking, I spooned the lentil mixture into the pumpkin and added a drizzle of sesame oil too, popped on the lid and then added a handful of arugula leaves which I just happened to have lying around... spinach would also have been good, but as always- I used what I had! I seasoned all with a little salt and pepper, a last light drizzle of sesame oil and then I wrapped the parcel together and tied it up, ready for a brief stay in the oven. 

After 4-5 minutes, the pumpkin and lentils were piping hot and the arugula had "half-wilted" down... perfect! A nice vibrant green color, a slightly bitter, nutty flavor- just perfect in combination with the sweet pumpkin and the spicy lentils!

Whether you eat the skin of the pumpkin or simply spoon-out the soft flesh remains up to you- but the flavor will delight you one way or other! Make sure to use plenty of ginger to bring the otherwise bland pumpkin to life and you won't regret it! A quick drizzle of Hoisin sauce was the finishing touch for me and dinner was served! Hope you and your guests have as much fun with it as I did!

Pearfectly You!

Fritella Dolce, Speziata, con le Pera, Mertilli Rossi & Mandorle

Spiced Pear, Cranberry & Almond Pancake

Pears. Everywhere I looked at the market hall yesterday, pears! Isn't nature grand? The way it yields up its crops and says, "Hey farmer! Pluck me- or chuck me!" It seems like every pear tree in Germany decided to do just that last week! So there they were- ripe and ready and really low-priced! So of course I had to take a bagful with me...

... although I had no idea of what I was going to do with them! The only thing I knew was that coriander seed would be playing a role in the recipe, no matter what it ended up being- it is my absolute favorite spice to enjoy with pear! But of course I didn't just stick to once spice... you all know me well enough by now!

I started off by peeling and halving the pears, scooping out the pips and carefully slicing away the stalk and stem. Next, I sliced into them carefully, leaving the thick end intact and sprinkled the undersides with a little spice- a mix of coriander, a little cinnamon and cardamom- about a half teaspoon of each, which I ground up freshly with my mortar and pestle. 

I carefully placed the sliced pears onto a steam-rack and let them steam for 5-6 minutes until they were almost soft. In the meantime I got busy with the pancake mix, which was a classic egg, flour and baking powder mix- nothing too unusual, apart from the fact that I whisked the whites separately and then mixed them into the other ingredients, to give a little extra fluffiness. So in this case it was 2 eggs, 4-5 spoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of baking powder. I added a pinch of salt, the remaining spices and I sweetened mine with Stevia, although you can obviously use sugar if you prefer.

I turned on the oven, ready to go and got my non-stick frying pan ready on the stove top- also ready for action! But more than anything, very, very hungry! Again, I opted to do without butter, but you may wish to use it- and this would be the time! Into the hot pan went the fluffy pancake batter, then after just 1 minute, into the oven it went for a minutes-worth of heat from above. I did this because I wanted the pancake to begin setting and becoming firm, so that the pears would not sink into it and become invisible. 

I then fetched the pan back out and laid the pear out on top, added just a light drizzle of jam- in this case it was a cranberry preserve, and a generous sprinkle of chopped almonds... and then back into the oven it went for 10 minutes at 250°F.
After that time, I fetched it out again briefly, added a light drizzle of honey and gave it a final 1-2 minutes under the broiler for a wonderful golden finish... delicious!

So this was hardly rocket science and even in my practically fat and sugar-free version, the combination of ingredients, spices and flavors made this very special indeed! And as I always say... if you only "do breakfast" at the weekends, like I do and you like to keep them healthy- you can still have fun and you can still indulge! So I recommend that you do! And I hope you will like it!

Get Comfortable

Funghi Porcini Rusticale con Puré di Patate

Rustic Oregano Porcini Mushrooms with Mashed Potato

Arguably the kings (or queens) of mushrooms, Porcini are so delicious and flavorful it is easy to see why they have such a reputation! I have a good "stash" of dried porcini at home, which I love to use for soup, risotto or pasta dishes and indeed the dried porcini have a really intense, almost superior flavor to fresh... but I did just use the word "almost" ;-)

Porcini are in season here right now... could it be the rain I wonder, that is bringing them out? In any case I made my way out to the market hall in the rain and got back home with a terrific bowl full of fresh and fabulous mushrooms to transform into a superb supper this evening... so at least that is one thing about this weather to not complain about! There were so many and the price was so reasonable... it would have been unreasonable to have resisted!

Rather than make a risotto or polenta dish, I decided to make something much more simple but equally delicious- some surprisingly simple looking but delicious mashed potato. Made using Heston Blumenthal's genius method, they were so flavorful that they were indeed, satisfying enough in combination with the mushrooms, to be treated as a meal in themselves... at least they were by me this evening! Sometimes it is these simple things that bring the most comfort when you are cold and hungry- and by the time I got back home this evening... I was!

The whole secret to making the mashed potatoes is to scrub the potatoes well, then peel them and boil the peel in some milk whilst the potatoes cook by themselves. I added a clove of garlic to the potatoes whilst they were boiling... Heston didn't do that ;-), but once the potatoes were done, I mashed them and added the hot milk in which the peel had been boiling. I poured this through a coffee filter, to make sure no remnants of dirt somehow made it through, added some butter (no- not masses of it!) and whisked it up nicely with a fork. I seasoned with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg- and voila! The milk had infused with so much rich potato flavor that the mash was truly fantastic! And SO simple!

I prepared the porcini by first sizzling up a little finely diced bacon, and then adding them, cut into slices, with some finely sliced Spring onion, a little finely chopped parsley and plenty of finely chopped oregano. And yes, it is important to slice the porcini- because as beautiful as they may look, they are often riddled with little critters that you do not want to be eating! If the mushroom is peppered with tiny holes- you can be sure there are lots of tiny little white friends already tucking-in to your supper! 

I added the mushrooms and a little crushed garlic again, salt, pepper, nutmeg- the classic flavors. Plenty of pepper in this case! A little splash of white wine as soon as the onion was beginning to brown and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice before serving... I would say no longer than 5-6 minutes total cooking time! Just taste them and you will see- you don't want to overcook them or they will turn to rubber and that would be a shame... because if you time it right, they will taste divine! And together with those mashed potatoes? let me just say- you will love them! Now go make some!!!

Invisible Chicks and Incredible Spice

Curry di Zucchine "Panch Puren" alla Menta & Pane con Semi di Finocchio

Minty "Panch Puren" Curried Zucchini with Fennel-Seed Flatbread

 

Yes indeed it was those 2 ingredients that transformed a lowly and lonely zucchini into a wonderful vegetarian meal this evening. Chick-pea flour to be precise- an ingredient I grow to love more and more each time I use it! Try it yourselves sometimes if you are not already familiar with it- and you will too!

It was Friday evening, which means that I wanted to empty out my fridge of a few loose ends as usual. I had a strip of pizza dough left over from the other night- about a 4" length on the role- not much at all to be honest! Definitely not enough for any decent pizza in any case... but still I kept it, sure that I would think of something to make use of it! And this evening I did just that!

Along with the pizza dough, I had a couple of Spring onions, as always, a couple of small yellow peppers, a last chunk of ginger and obviously, one rather average sized zucchini. Could that be turned into a meal? You betcha! And I bet you wouldn't suspect it would be a meal that looks this delicious... but it was!

The stars of the show were the spices that go to make up the mix known as "Panch Puren" in India, a combination of cumin, fenugreek, brown mustard seeds, fennel and nigella seeds. I began by toasting these in a dry frying pan, along with 2 cardamom pods and a teaspoon of coriander seed, until the spices began to pop a little. Then into my mortar they went to get ground-up and ready for cooking!

To make this wonderful curry, all I needed to do was to toast about a tablespoon and a half of gram flour (chick-pea flour), again, in a dry pan. Whilst that was happening (it takes about 5 minutes, with an occasional stir in-between), I quickly sliced up the zucchini into bite-sized slices, about 1" of ginger, into thin strips, 2 Spring onions also into bite-sized pieces and the 2 mini bell peppers into small pieces. 

Once the gram flour was beginning to smell wonderfully of roasted chick-peas, I added all of the other ingredients and the spices at once. I stirred everything together well and seasoned with salt and pepper. After a minute or so, I added enough boiling water to cover everything, stirring it constantly to avoid any lumps, but as long as you move swiftly that will not happen anyway. What WILL happen though, is that the gram flour will immediately transform into a rich, dark, wonderful complex gravy! All of the aroma of the spices was infused directly into it and in turn, into the vegetables, which needed to simmer gently for the next 10 minutes to be just right.

And of course, in the meantime, in another pan, I transformed that last scrap of pizza base into a makeshift flat bread, which I sprinkled generously with fennel seeds, before toasting it in a dry non-stick pan. I simply cut it into 2 ovals which I sprinkled with seeds and then flattened our with a rolling pin, which made the dough nice and flat and also pressed the seeds into it nicely. I sprinkled the dough lightly with salt and then carefully laid it into the hot pan. After just 2-3 minutes of gently shaking around, the bread was ready to be flipped over and just 3-4 minutes after that, golden brown and ready to be enjoyed!

As was the curry by now! I added lust a little yogurt to the sauce to make it smoother, but decided to add a little extra once I had served it up. A nice swirl of yogurt, a generous sprinkle of mint and a good pinch of chili flakes made this into a real treat! I know that most people consider zucchini to be bland... but not like this it isn't! And together with the 2 little rounds of bread, it was easily satisfying enough to serve as a full meal! Obviously it would also be wonderful with rice- but however you make it- I know you are going to enjoy it! And you are going to be glad that you made good use of that good food!

The Taste of Things to Come

Minestra di Lenticchie, Zucchine, Pomodoro & Verdure Miste
Lentil, Zucchini, Tomato & Mixed Vegetable Soup

Now, don't go getting too excited- or even a little upset about the title of this post- it is not referring to any startling new standard in culinary excellence or to the next great food craze... but it is simply referring to the fact that the cold weather is here already. This is my first soup in quite a while now- but it most definitely will not be the last! Especially and at least for the next 5-6 months it won't!

The best thing about the weather turning bad is that I do love soup! I love soups and casseroles and Winter dishes in general- although the challenge is of course always: time.  After a long work-day, you obviously may neither have the time, nor the energy to start preparing stews and slow-cooking dishes of that kind. So a nice, comforting, hot bowl of soup, freshly made from scratch and finished in just 30 minutes is not a bad thing, right?
And no- I may used pre-made pasta, pizza dough or pastry- but you will never catch me eating soup from a can! Those other things are just flour and water, with maybe a little egg, butter or yeast in them. Nice if you make them yourself- but at the end of the day- just flour and water. But for an actual meal... come on! The main ingredients, the produce- should be fresh!

This would have been finished even more quickly if it hadn't been for the fact that the dry lentils take 30 mins until they are ready, if you haven't soaked them in advance. And I hadn't. So it took longer... doh! No matter- it was still easy to improvise and this is how I put it together.

I started off with a "sofritto" of carrot, onion and celery in a relatively fine dice. For my generous single portion, all I needed was a half of a carrot, 1 tender stick of celery and a shallot. I fried these in a little olive oil, with a hint of crushed garlic, rosemary and oregano, for 2-3 minutes. I then added a good handful of lentils, a tablespoon of tomato paste and seasoned with salt and pepper. I also happened to have one lone, yellow pepper- one of those mini bell peppers- and I quickly diced that up and added it too. That's the way it is with minestrone soups... you use what you have!

Once everything was nicely mixed together, I added a couple of bay leaves and then deglazed the pan with enough boiling water to cover everything. I used a large, deep pan as the larger surface area helped to cook the soup down more quickly. 

Whilst it bubbled away, I diced,up a small zucchini and sliced a good handful of cherry tomatoes- 5-6 were plenty for this. I also finely sliced a Spring onion and after 15 minutes of cooking, these all went into the pan with the other ingredients and I topped up the water and seasoning as necessary- a little more tomato paste, a little more oregano and a couple of finely chopped celery leaves. Then on went the lid, and back on to a medium heat it went to simmer away for another 10 minutes.

After that time, all of the vegetables were nicely cooked, the broth was good and tasty and the lentils were done... all it needed was a couple of finishing touches! And they looked like this: a couple of handfuls of arugula, a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of coarsely ground black pepper and a good stir! In that order of course- haha!

Then back went the lid, off went the heat and out came my bowl ready for my supper! After 5 minutes, the arugula had wilted down and the soup was ready to be dished-up! I love the nutty flavor it added and the hint of peppery bitterness, which went wonderfully well with the mild zucchini and the fruity tomatoes. Yes, it was a nice rustic treat on this first "cold" evening of the year and warming through and through!