Ginger spiced pate

I haven't been cooking a lot recently which worked really well for my waistline, but not so well for my blog. But I volunteered to bring food to some of my friends parties lately. Whether I did it to help them with their preparations or whether I did ot for the sake of having something to add to my blog remains a secret :-)
When my friend Laurent celebrated his 34th birthday, I brought round the biggest block of pate ever, thinking that there will be around 20 guests. As it turned out, 2/3 of the people didn't show up. So I am sure that he and his boyfriend are still having pate every evening.
Whenever there is an occasion, I make pate. Pate and salami are the two reasons why I couldn't become a vegetarian. Salami I buy in the shops, pate is something though I usually make myself: It's cheaper, better and more animal-friendly as I only use organic duck or chicken liver. Also, it's less boring than shop bought pate as I play around with flavours quite a bit. I have tried many variations, but my favourite one uses spring onion, chilli, ginger, soy sauce and garlic. Once the chicken liver is nicely brown on the outside but still pink in the centre, I add the spices and a few splashes of soy sauce, put it all in a blender, add butter and mix until smooth and creamy.
To make it look more fancy, I decorated my latest pate with some jellied ginger by simply boiling some ginger with water, then adding gelatine. I poured the mixture into a pound cake tin and let it cool in the fridge for an hour before filling the tin up to the rim with pate.

Asian spiced steamed lamb with green tea dressed noodles and mango salsa

I haven't had the chance to cook a lot recently as I have been travelling the world for weeks now. I like to travel, but I have the feeling that my digestive system disagrees with me on this one. A few days of restaurant food only are ok and very enjoyable indeed, but when we starting talking weeks rather then days, then I really start missing my own food. I guess it is all part of a routine I have acquired over the years. My eating pattern is rather specific: a slice of bread and a diet coke for breakfast, small sushi for lunch and a large salad with pumpkinseed oil dressing and a side plate of pasta, noodles, rice and/or meat for dinner.

But in the last two weeks I didn't really get any of the above. I spent over two weeks in the US. My first ten days in New York were more easily digestible then the adjacent week in Dayton, Ohio.
I wasn't too impressed with New York in general, but there is one thing the city can be proud of: bakeries. Especially those that are located in Greenwich Village. The sourdough twist with dark chocolate is reason enough for me to return to NY.

Dayton is a different story. There is only one kind of bread the city seems to offer: Bagels. I am not a huge fan of bagels as they have a ridiculously high amount of calories packed and baked into a small bread roll. Lunch as well represented a challenge: not many sushi places in sight. As for dinner: meat and fish always seem to come in a creamy sauce and salad is obligatory served with a huge topping of cheese and bacon.

But the travelling days are over for the moment and I happily returned to my malfunctioning oven this weekend to compensate for 2 weeks of unhealthiness with steamed organic lamb served on carrot noodles. Yum.
Asian spiced steamed lamb with green tea dressed noodles and mango salsa, for 4
For the lamb
: 500g organic shoulder of lamb, cut into portions
: 4 Kaffir lime leaves
: 5 juniper berries, crushed
: 1 large chilli, chopped
: 1 lime-sized piece of ginger, sliced
: 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
: 1/2 tsp minced garlic
: 3 tbsp light soy sauce
: 1 tsp dark soy sauce
: juice of 1 small organic orange

For the noodles
: 4 portions/parcels of dried carrot noodles
: 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
: 1 tbsp chopped ginger
: 1 handful of dried red dates, stone removed
: 1tsp matcha powder
: 2- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
: zest and juice of 1/2 lime
: 1 tsp sugar
: vegetable oil
: sesame oil

For the mango salsa
: 1/2 ripe organic mango, diced
: 1 handful of finely chopped spring onions
: 1 small red chilli, chopped
: 1/2 tsp sugar
: juice and zest of 1/2 lime
: 1 handful of chopped coriander

Marinate the lamb in a mixture of all the ingredients above for at least 4 hours. Dissolve the matcha powder in 100ml hot water, then add the dates and let soak until needed.

For the mango salsa, mix the mango with the chilli, lime zest and juice and the sugar. Finish off with a sprinkle of coriander and spring onions.

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the pack. Drain and drizzle with a little sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together.

Fill the bottom of a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Put the lamb into a bamboo or metal steamer, then place the steamer in the pan and cover with a lid. Depending on the size of the lamb slices, it will take 10-15 minutes until the meat is cooked (still pink in the middle)

Whilst steaming the lamb, finish off the noodles. Sautee the onion and ginger in a little vegetable oil for around 3 minutes, then add the drained noodles. Season with soy sauce, sugar and lime, then add the soaked dates, followed by the soaking liquid (green tea). Finally, finish with a little more sesame oil.

Arrange the noodles on a plate, place the meat in the middle, then add a tablespoon or two of mango salsa to each plate. Serve immediately.

Bobotie

When I last was in South Africa two years ago, British TV chef Anthony Worrall Thompson apparently was there at around the same time as I could read in the local newspapers. Now, they asked him: What do you think about South African food? He replied something down the lie of: It is a bit like Europe in the 50ies. Everything, especially vegetables, are desperately overcooked.
I am not a big fan of Worrall Thompson, but he definitely has a point there. If vegetables make it on your plate, which isn't that common in South Africa anyways, then they are soggy, tasteless and vitamin-free.

What South Africans are good in cooking though is meat which is always deliciously marinated or seasoned. Still, in can be a bit chewy, dry and overcooked.
When I last cooked Bobotie my South African friend was surprised how moist my version of this dish was in comparison to hers.
Bobotie is something like a squidgy meat loaf. Using good quality meat and the right ratio between beef and pork mince is paramount if you don't want to be left with a rather dry dish.

There is only one kind of meat that makes it on my table: organic meat. It is so much more succulent than standard meat. Try to fry organic bacon versus cheap bacon. You will not see any water coming out of the organic bacon, whereas all the flavour and succulence of the cheap bacon simply vaporises.

The succulence in my Bobotie of course also comes from adding pork. My experience is that every mince dish benefits from the addition of pork as it doesn't dry out as quickly as beef does.
Bobotie, for 5-6
: 200g organic beef mince
: 200g organic pork mince
: 1 large white onion
: 1 slice of brown bread, preferably sourdough bread
: 300ml milk
: 2 small/medium eggs
: 1 oxtail stock-cube, dissolved in 4 tbsp water
: 3 tbsp apricot jam
: 1 tbsp ginger, grated
: 2-3 tbsp curry powder
: 1 handful of yellow raisins

Soak the bread in half of the milk. Set aside.
Fry the onions until soft, then add ginger, curry and jam. Once the jam has liquidised, add the bread (plus any leftover milk from the soaking process) and the dissolved oxtail stock cube. Combine the mixture well, making sure your are not left with any big pieces of bread. Pour onto a plate or into a bowl.

Using the same pan, fry the meat in a little oil. When the meat has turned slightly brown on the outside, remove it from the heat, then add the bread mixture and raisins and mix everything well together.
Now whisk the eggs and mix them with the remaining milk. Pour half of this mixture over the meat and give it another quick final stir before transferring the mix into an ovenproof dish.
You can either bake the Bobotie in one large dish or - as i did - divide the mixture between 6 large, lined muffin tins.

Pour the remaining egg/milk mixture over the Bobotie before baking it in a 180 degree Celsius oven for approx 45 minutes, or 25-30 mins if you use muffin tins. Serve with creme fraiche, mustard, steamed greens and curried rice.

Organic pork sausages, ratatouille and creamy polenta

Every time when I am away for a few days I return to a skinnier than ever boyfriend. Seriously, I wonder what he does live on in my absence. He can't cook and is a lousy shopper. Chewy bread, cheese, crisps, baked beans and beer, that's all he would buy and eat.
Now, don't get me wrong, I would get really fat if I lived on such a diet for days, if not weeks. He doesn't. It's NOT fair!

But that's the whole trouble I have to face in my day-to-day cooking: come up with a dinner that makes him fatter and me thinner. Dishes like organic sausages with ratatouille and creamy polenta are the perfect exampe of how I master this challenge: Organic pork sausages, ratatouille and creamy polenta: 3 organic pork sausages (at least 80% meat), fried
: 2 courgettes, chopped
: 1 large yellow pepper, chopped
: 1 large onion, chopped
: 2 tbsp organic tomato puree
: 1/2 cup polenta
: 1/2 cup single cream
: olive oil
: salt
: black pepper

Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the onions for 2 minutes before adding the yellow peppers and courgettes. Stir fry the vegetables until slightly soft, then add the tomato puree and approx 150-200ml water. Season with salt and pepper, then cover with a lid and let simmer.

In the meantime, prepare the polenta. Place the polenta in a pot an cover with approx 150ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer until all the liquid has been soaked up, then transfer 1/3 of the polenta to a different pot. Again, cover with water and let simmer until the soft. Season with salt and pepper.
For the remaining 2/3 of the polenta, follow as above but this time use cream instead of water.

When the food is ready to be served, transfer the creamy polenta on to your boyfriend's plate and the not-so-delicious-but-not-as-fattening-either polenta on to your plate. Now divide the ratatouille between your plates and drizzle some virgin olive oil over his portion. Finish off your plate with 1/2 a sausage. The rest goes on his plate. Well, as I said earlier: it's not fair.

Chanterelles marinated in lime scented pumpkin seed oil

Kim is the Gordon of Vienna. Not that she would be as rude as her British counterpart, but her cooking is considered to be the best in the capital, just as Gordon Ramsey's cooking is in London. Her cuisine however is a bit more daring. She's presenting her guests with a kind of Asian-Austrian fusion cuisine; take her tuna and nash pear filled with Grammeln (dry roasted Austrian speck)
Kim kocht is the name of probably the only restaurant in the whole of Austria that has a three or more months waiting list. I haven't been there yet, but it is definately on my list of places to visit (or better food to try). In the meantime I try to do a Romana kocht based on the recipes in her cookbook.
As mentioned in previous blog entries, I cannot live without a daily dose of pumpkin seed oil. Ever since I bought her cookbook I have therefore been thinking about making the chanterelles marinated in Asian spices pumpkin seed oil. I just wasn't sure what to serve it with. It was when I read the Nobu Now cookbook that it hit me: with beef sahimi (or carpaccio). I went all way to Kensington High Street to get reddest beef fillet ever seen perfectly marbelled with the thinnest lines of fat throughout the whole piece of meat. It was well worth the 5 Pounds or so I paid for a mere 100g.
If you don't like raw meat, simply serve the mushrooms with potato or simple green leave salad.
Chanterelles marinated in lime scented pumpkin seed oil
: 1tsp vegetable oil
: 1 large onion, finely chopped
: 200g chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and cut into small pieces
: 1 stalk of lemon grass, finely shredded
: 4 Kaffir lime leaves
: 90ml pumpkin seed oil
: a dash of balsamic vinegar
: freshly ground pepper
: salt

Saute the chopped onion in a little vegetable oil. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper, then mix with the Kaffir lime leaves and chopped lemon grass. Finally add the pumpkin seed oil and balsamic vinegar.

Suya Pepper

If someone had asked me two weeks ago what the best pepper based spice mix is, I would - without hesitation - have said: Shichimi togarashi. A Japanese mix of sanshou, chinpi, hemp, poppy, shiso and sesame seeds. It adds flavour and zing to the blandest of udon dishes, lifts every salad and is a great addition to dips.

If you asked me know, my answer would have to be: Suya Pepper. I got introduced to it only recently in an African restaurant in Reading. It was sprinkled over a very simple dish: roast and flaked chicken leg topped with thick slices of fresh onion. The spice mix brought together the flavours of a dish that would otherwise have been totally overpowered by all that fresh onion. Living close to Lewisham comes handy when you are a fan of the African cuisine like I am as they have all the ingredients there: Yam, Cassava, Plantains, Okra... Suya!
It's been a week now since I bought my wee bag of Suya Pepper. And it has spiced up my life tremendously: it's fabulous on Verhackert (a kind of Austrian pork rillette) and a match made in heaven when sprinkled over corn-on-the-cob.

Chicken skewers a la saltimbocca

Skewers make a great party dish: you can be as creative as you want with the ingredients and presentation. And best of all: you won't have to wash millions of plates once your guest have left.
Inspired by The Passionate Cook, my friend Laurent took the skewer idea on board and although we couldn't find all ingredients given in the recipe we came up with our own pretty good little mouthfuls of succulent chicken and croutons.
Basically, we were missing the fresh sage. Fresh herbs are not always easy to get. Unless you live in shopping distance to Borough Market. But luckily, in this recipe you can cheat using dried sage. Chicken skewers a la saltimbocca with croutons and basil, for 15 skewers
: 2 boneless chicken breasts, diced
: 100g Serrano ham, cut into thin stripes
: 2 tbsp dried sage
: 15 leaves of purple basil
: French country loaf, diced
: sea salt
: olive oil

Salt the diced chicken, cover each piece with dried sage, then wrap in Serrano ham. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken parcels until golden. Remove from pan.
Add a little more oil to the pan and fry the bread cubes until crisp.
Stick one piece of chicken and one crouton on each skewer. Finish each skewer off with a leave of fresh basil.

Bacon and cheese sausage

I love a fry up. Occasionally. A generous helping of organic streaky smoked Bacon, baked beans, fried egg and buttered soda bread will fill my belly for an entire day.
Only thing I simply cannot stomach about an English breakfast or Ulster fry are British sausages. Even the supposed-to-be good ones (those that actually contain proper meat) can’t compete with a proper German or Austrian sausage. Kaesekrainer, Nuerenberger Bratwurst, Weisswurst… whatever their names, they are haute cuisine compared to British bangers. My all-time favourite will have to be the Kaesekrainer, followed by Berner Wuerstl (according to a Swiss friend, this kind of sausage is totally unknown in Bern and every other part of Switzerland though). Bacon and cheese sausage (Berner Wuerstl)
: 1 Frankfurter, Viennese or Hot Dog sausage
: 1 slice of Emmenthal cheese
: 1-2 slices of pancetta or Hamburger speck

Slice the sausage open lengthways (make sure to not totally slice the sausage in half, leave the skin on one side in tact). Fill with cheese (fold/break thes cheese so that it fits) and wrap tightly with the pancetta. You can secure the Berner Wuerstl with tooth picks if necessary. Fry in a lightly oiled pan. Serve with chips (Pommes frites) and ketchup.

Zuericher Geschnetzeltes

I remember having Geschnetzeltes at least twice a month when I was younger. First came the Zuericher Geschnetzeltes, but inspired by her weekly woman’s magazine, my mother soon added all sorts of things to her Geschnetzeltes. Two family favourites were Geschnetzeltes with asparagus and curried Geschnetzeltes with tinned peaches (still my number 1 among the all the Geschnetzelte).
There are times when your body screams for the comfort food from your childhood. Plus, I found a pack of dried Spaetzle in my cupboard, had turkey breast and cream at home, so nothing could stop me… apart from the lack of white wine. Time to improvise then: a splash of white wine or cider vinegar diluted with some water turned out to be a rather successful substitute. Zuericher Geschnetzeltes, for 2
: 250g thinly sliced turkey breast
: 1 small onion
: 100ml single cream
: splash of white wine or cider vinegar
: lemon pepper
: salt
: small bunch of parsley

Fry the onion in a little olive oil until soft. Add turkey breast. Once the meat has browned a little, add a splash of vinegar and some 150ml of water. Let the liquid reduce a little, then pour in the single cream. Season with lemon pepper and salt, sprinkle over some fresh parsley and serve with Spaetzle.