Lamb Kofte with Bulgur

I bought some lamb mince in a discount supermarket I rarely visit. I was surprised that they sold this kind. But later, when I had some of my stuff together and went to the cashir, I knew why.

Enough customers in this store to appreciate a good lamb mince. There is a small Turkish store side by side, they mostly sell packaged goods and some veggies. Selling lamb mince made sense to me now.

I had the meat and no idea what so ever to cook. My first look went through my dry goods storage  and a box of bulgur caught my eyes. To make it a bit more tasty, I used 2 spring onions to get a better taste and some chicken stock.

As veggies I bought a long cucumber and had some French curd in the fridge. A good combo like a Tsaziki is going well with lamb.
I decided to just season the meat and form it into some long shaped patties and browned them in olive oil. After a while, when they took some colouring, I added a good amount of Ayvar.

Ayvar is a paprika and onion paste and has some vinegar in. A half cup of water to loosen it a bit and all that over the lamb. I closed the lid and cooked that for a couple of minutes until the kofte were done.

recipe for 2:
300 g lamb mince
1 tsp dried onion
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Pul Biber
salt and pepper
2 tbsp breadcrumbs

1/2 cup bulgur
1 tsp olive oil
2 spring onions
1 cup stock

4 tbsp curd
1/3 cucumber grated
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried mint
tsaziki seasoning

Tuna and Capers vegetable Rice

So easy - so good!

I still had a bunch of carrots and leek from my shopping trip one and a half week ago sitting around. The quality of these vegetable was amazing.  Now was time to finally prepare a meal with them.
I had no idea what to cook and looked for an inspiration.
What goes with carrots and leeks, parsley and chives?

In my cupboard sat a jar of high quality Italian tuna and a new jar of small capers in salt. They just arrived from Italy last weekend. What else to cook and get out of the fridge?
An open container of Kaymak, Turkish rich creme fraiche and some double cream.

Now for the staple part of the meal. Pasta? Potatoes? Rice?
Rice won the race. I cooked it with some vegetable stock to make it a bit richer.

recipe for 2:
1 jar tuna
2 tbsp capers
20  cm leeks
4 carrots
6 stalks of chive flowers
3 tbsp Kaymak
5 tbsp Whiskey
5 tbsp double cream
salt and pepper
1 tsp Pul Biber
1/2 fenugreek powder
2 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup of rice

Clean the veggies and drain the tuna and wash the salt from the capers.
Cook the rice in veg stock.
In a wide pan melt the butter and add the veggies, except the parsley and saute for 5 min.
Add the salt and pepper and pul biber and pour in the whiskey and close the lid to steam for 4 min.
Add capers, tuna and Kaymak and cream.
Adjust the seasoning and finish with the cooked rice and parsley.

Lentilles à la graisse d'oie or lentils in goose fat

It sounds gross, but it is delicious.

I ate them with more grease, as in bacon and a good helping of pasta.

When I did my grocery shopping trip to France a week ago, I found a can with lentils just in the right size for two portions. I only saw the picture of the brown lentils and some veggies and tossed it in the shopping cart.
In Swabia they eat lentils with some veggies with some handmade pasta -Spaetzle. If they splurch, they add some Wieners to the dish.

I did not have Wieners but a package of bacon strips. These in a pan with some onions, was my way the eat Swabian food.

I prepared the bacon and the onions and went to open the can. That was the moment when I started to read what was written on the label.

My French food wise is relatively solid. Sometimes I have some little problems. But "graisse" was not lost in translation, that means Fat.
The type of bird had me struggle just a bit, Duck is canard and Oie is ...... goose. Lentils made with goose fat. That sounded a bit strange at first.
Then I opened the can and it looked like a thick soup with veggies and stock. I poured it in the pan with the bacon and added fresh cooked pasta.

A little research later showed, that these kind of lentil dish is a speciality of the south west of France. An area, where Foie gras is produced. So a little goose grease goes well with other stuff.

Sukiyaki at home

I had friends over for a very late birthday celebration. I offered a Japanese dinner and they were intrigued. Luckily they do not have any problems to eat foreign food and eat with chopsticks.

We had a lot of fun with the cooking of our food on top of the rechaud. First I served the Gyoza. I am getting better and better at preparing them and it is a lot of fun, when everyone likes them.
I had grated daikon with soy sauce as the dipping sauce and it was a great addition.

I bought three types of mushrooms and they were eaten all. Instead of Napa cabbage I bought Pok Choy. The Napa cabbage heads are so big in the moment, I was not going to have a cabbage feast over the next weeks.

ingredients for 3:
700 g home made chicken stock
200 ml soy sauce
100 ml mirin
1 tbsp sugar
4 pok choy
2 carrots
2 spring onions
8 shitake mushrooms
2 packages of enoki mushrooms
1 box of shimishi mushrooms
100 g sugar snap peas
400 g fine sliced beef
3 fresh free range eggs
dipping sauces

daikon for pickled salad
3 bowls of rice
Miso Soup with Tofu

Isabell`s Orange Cake with Liqueur Syrup

This cake recipe sprang on me when I checked Pinterest to look for a quick cake to bake on a Sunday morning.

Juicy oranges, syrup and a lot of butter makes this cake very soft and moist. I dressed 3 slices of oranges in the leftover syrup and put them on top of the cake. I will serve it with whipped cream.
Baking is done in half an hour and the prep time is about the same. Use a 9 inch round baking dish, I used a 9 1/2  inch one, the only size near the designated one.

recipe:
2 organic oranges ( you will need 1/2 cup juice for the cake and the rest for the syrup)
1 tbsp zest
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz (225 g) salted butter
80 % of 1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 large free range eggs

syrup:
rest of the orange juice
3 tsp brown sugar
3 tbsp Grand Marnier

Heat up the oven to 170 C.
Butter the baking dish and put paper on the bottom, flour the sides and get the rest of the flour out.

In a small bowl sift flour, salt and baking powder.
In a Kitchen machine blend the soft butter with the sugar until creamy.
Add one egg and 1 tbsp of flour and beat together, follow with the other eggs the same way.
Pour in the rest of the flour and the zest and 1/2 cup of juice. Scrape down the sides and beat again. Do not over mix.
Pour in the baking dish and put into the oven and bake for 30 min.

Loosen the sides of the cake and take it out of the dish. Let it cool down, flip and take off the paper, flip again.
Make the syrup and poke some holes in the cake. Drizzle with syrup.

Thai Prawn Soup

Tom Kai Gung is the idea of this soup.

But it is less hot then the original recipe and more European in style.
The veggies and mung been noodles with the large prawns together makes this dish a great winter warmer. But it is a light meal.

The base is home made chicken stock. Do not use the cube kind, better some from a jar if you have to buy it.

Heat it up with the kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass and ginger and mushrooms. That gives the Umami to the soup.

The other ingredients follow a little later.

Recipe for 2:
750 ml chicken stock
10 large king prawns shelled
1 spring onion
200 g button mushrooms
50 g sugar snap peas
1 red bell pepper
1 red chili
2 tbsp Nuoc Mam
1 lime
2 tbsp parsley
2 knobs of ginger
4 kaffir.lime leaves
2 lemongrass stalks
50 g mungo bean noodles

Chop the veggies and heat up the stock. With the aromats and mushrooms give the soup 5 min. Add the other veggies.
Put the noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Drain after 3 min and add to the

Peel the prawns. When they are raw and frozen, they need a little longer in the soup.
Season with fish sauce and lime. Finish with parsley.

French chicken filled pastry

Bouchees á la Reine or in German Königin Pasteten.

This is a very classic dish. Not much eaten nowadays. I know that for a long time, but it is difficult to get hold of here in German supermarkets. No problem so in the French supermarkets.

From my chicken soup/stock cooking last Sunday, I still have lots of chicken breast and stock.
I shoved the Bouchees into the oven at 150 C for 10 min to warm them through.

The base to my filling was a little roux with a bit of milk and a good dose of chicken stock.

The veggies went into a pan to get soften and done and the cut up meat was added. When everything was done, I just combined the roux with it and added a bit of fresh parsley.

recipe for 4 pastries:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
50 ml milk
2 tbsp cream
200 ml chicken stock
salt and pepper
200 g cooked chicken breast
parsley
200 g button mushrooms
3 spring onions
1 clove of garlic

Fill it in the pastries and enjoy.

One Pan Dish

Sometimes it has to taste like a quick trip to the Mediterranean Sea.
The typical veggies of the markets in small towns along the sea are in this dish. If you have some fresh herbs on the window sill, use them.

A fridge full of veggies and creamy Feta cheese go so well together.
Just chop courgette, eggplant and tomatoes and a bit of garlic. Good olive oil and a some salt and pepper.

When all is well on its way, a good gluck of red wine helps to soften it even more.

Cut the feta into half inch cubes and add them to the pan. They will soften and melt a bit into the veggies. Stir everything well.

Recipe for 2:
2 small courgettes
1 eggplant
3 tomatoes
Herbs
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
1 glass of red wine
200 g feta cheese

Gin Mussels

From my grocery shopping spree I came back with a 2 liters pack of mussels from the Netherlands.

There are so many ways to prepare them and I wanted to make them the Northern way.
Ususally that would mean Aquavit, a caraway seed based clear spirit with at least 37,5 % alc.

I do not have this kind at home and I do not like it- but, I have Gin at home. It turned out just great and it was an unknown way to have a huge bowl of mussels.

And I have to say, I felt a little drunk after my dinner. I drank the Fewer tree Tonic water after the meal.

recipe for 2:
2 l mussels - about 1,4 kg
2 potatoes
1 apple
1 white onion
2 tbsp butter
40 ml water
salt and pepper
3 tbsp parsley
100 ml Gin

Peel the potatoes and core the apple, but keep the skin on. Peel the onion.
It needs to get soft soon, so tiny cubes, less then 1 cm is needed.
Melt the butter in a big pot and toss all cubes in. Stir and saute them with the lid closed for 5 min, then add the water and cook an other 5 min. Season.

Clean the mussels and throw away the open or broken ones.
Pour then in the pot and stir well to get them all coated in the veggies.
Chuck in the Gin and close the lid.
The alcohol steams them open fast. It will take about 3 min. Open the lid and shake well until all are open. Throw out the ones which are still closed. Sprinkle the parsley on top.

Enjoy with some bread to dip in the sauce.

French half Cock Pot au Feu

This time I am cooking XXL.

I bought one half of a cock at the supermarket in France. This part was 2,5 kg. The next thing I bought was a vegetable box for Pot au Feu with 2 kg. It was time to get out my biggest pot.

I need a good chicken stock next Saturday, I wanted to have a good chicken noodle soup, I want to make a fricasse and fill that into puff pastry. So lets get cooking.

Recipe for the base:
1/2 rooster
1 large onion
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 leek
4 carrots
1/2 celeriac
1/2 swede
1 yellow bell pepper
3 bay leaves
1 chili
1 knob ginger
Parsley stalks
Pepper and salt
Enough water to nearly cover the bird.

Cooking time is 2 hours.

When you have taken the meat off, taken the stock you need, get the carcass, skin and tendons back into the pot with the leftover veggies. Fill it up with water and cook again for 1 hour. Now you have more stock.

Oven baked fresh Trout

I was in France grocery shopping for the first time in 2019. Finally it was a very cold but dry and later sunny day.

For today´s dish I wanted some fish and I stood in front the large display of various seafood and could not decide what kind of saltwater fish to buy. I saw a huge display of freshwater fish and there was a offer for fresh trout today.

I took one and wanted to prepare it with the smallest amount of work after coming home from the 3 hour round trip. I had to unpack all the bags and store the goodies away. Slaving in the kitchen was not on my agenda today.
I just peeled a couple of potatoes and made a quick salad with freshly bought chicoree and blue grapes and stuffed the seasoned fish with fresh herbs and butter and lemon.

It sat on its belly on bit of butter on a baking paper and went into the oven at 220 C for 25 min.

recipe:
1 fresh trout
2 tbsp parsley
2 twigs of thyme
1 rosemary
salt and pepper
1/4 lemon

for the salad:
2 chicoree
6 blue grapes halved
1 tsp pomegranate syrup from Turkey
1 tsp agave syrup
juice of one clementine
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Two strong cheeses in a sauce with linguine

Not so many people love the taste and smell of strong cheeses. For many it is an acquired taste that develops over the years.

Even as a kid I loved the taste of strong cheeses. Our neighbours came from Switzerland and introduced us to Raclette cheese. I was 5 when I had it the first time and I am a fan of this cheese since then.

I still have a good chunk of Appenzeller max sitting in the fridge and a package of Roquefort.
It may be overkill for many, but trust me, melted over pasta with some wine and cream it is lovely and still strong.

Recipe for 2:
125 g Roquefort
60 g Appenzeller max
100 ml double cream
50 ml white wine
1 tbsp butter
1 shallot
Pepper
220 g linguine

Cook the pasta.
In a pan melt the butter and add the chopped onion. Give it 3 min.
Add wine and cream and the Roquefort. Grate the Appenzeller and add it when the Roquefort is melted.
Season with pepper, no salt.
Toss the pasta in.