Asparagus with caper mayo and radish salad

A different way to have some kind of asparagus salad.

There are many different components and each of them need a bit of time. I use green asparagus, but the original recipe from "Konstantin Keller"called for the German white gold. But as always, recipes are giving me ideas, but I make my own version of them often.

The first step in the morning was breaking off the hard lower parts of the green stems. They have something like a predetermined breaking point. I cleaned the asparagus before starting the prep, so the broken off parts went in a small pot with 300 ml water and some salt to cook for 20 min. I just needed some asparagus water to start cooking the stalks themselves. I used the water to cook them in, then kept the remaining water and used some of it for the marinate later.

Let the asparagus and the water cool down. The salad with the mixed radishes came next. It needs a bit of time to marinate too. I have a Japanese style harpe slicer, that made my life easier getting all the radishes sliced. Chopped fresh herbs and a little salad dressing and they had time to set.

The marinate for the asparagus was easy, just mix asparagus water, grapeseed oil, lemon juice and piment d'Espelette with some salt and pepper and brush the asparagus stalks with it.

Next step was the capers mayo. I mixed mayo with mustard and chopped capers and some chives and that was layered over the lower parts of the asparagus.

The original recipe called for smoked trout as a protein. I used some canned fish.

Ingredients:

500 g green asparagus

150 g smoked fish

Marinate for the asparagus :

30 ml asparagus water, 1/2 lemon, 2 tbsp grapeseed oil, 1/2 tsp piment d'Espelette, salt and pepper

Dressing:

3 tbsp mayo

1 tsp medium French mustard

2 tbsp capers, the salt washed off

1/4 tsp chives

Salad:

300 g mixed color radishes

2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs

Olive oil

Vinegar

Salt and pepper 

Plantain Pancakes

I've waited until the Plantain was nearly completely black, now it was soft and sweet.

It was on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks. Every time I looked at it, I had an other idea to prepare it. First starchy and now more like a stringy banana. 

This is the time to mash it and mix it with flour, onion and seasoning to prepare some savoury sweet pancakes.

Use a knife to peel the plantain, otherwise you wont get the outer skin off. A potato masher is the right tool to make plantain mush. 

Chop the onion fine and add it to the plantain, season and add enough flour for a pancake like thick mix. Use high smoke point oil and cover the bottom of the pan with it completely.

Bake on each side on medium high heat for 4 to 6 minutes, flipping them over in between often.

Rest on kitchen paper to soak up some oil.

Ingredients:

1 black soft plantain

1 small onion

3 or 4 tbsp flour depending on the size of the plantain

1 tsp ground ginger powder

1/2 tsp black pepper 

1/4 tsp salt

Oil for frying

Frozen Strawberries in Chocolate

Standing in front of the ice cream frozen section at a supermarket gets you lot of things that are new.

I am always drawn to new things or advertised new products to give them a chance.

Many many years ago I saw a start of a commercial on US TV that had a banner:

ADVERTISING IS THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

There would not be so many new products if nowbody knows about them. You only have to make up your mind if these products would be something for you to try.

I made chocolate covered fruits a while ago. They were good but a lot of fuss and chocolate smears everywhere.

This tub of milk chocolate strawberries comes frozen. Take some out and let them sit for 15 minutes to defrost a little, then enjoy. Stuff the others back in the freezer.

They are produced in Austria and they are awesome.

 

Biscoff Caramel Cookies

My friend gave me soft caramel candy from Poland last year. It sticks to my teeth so much and that was the reason to look for a recipe.

This recipe is from "backenmachtglücklich.de"

It called for a caramel cream to add to the dough, but offered the possibility to use Biscoff spread. Since an open jar was sitting around from my Ice cream, it was a good way to empty it more.

Recipe for 22-24 cookies:

300 g AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

150 g soft unsalted butter

100 g sugar

50 g brown sugar

60 g Biscoff spread

1 large free range egg

1 tsp Vanilla paste

80 g chopped soft caramel candies

In one bowl combine sifted flour with salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl cream together butter and both sugars. Then add 40 g Biscoff, the egg and vanilla paste. Stir it together and dump in the dry stuff. 

Combine well and add 20 g more Biscoff and 40 g caramel chunks. Bring it together, then form balls and press a piece of caramel on top. Store in a bowl with a paper layer in between or when you have room in your fridge, put the cookies on a baking sheet with baking paper and cool for 1 hour.

Get them out and let them get a little back to temperature while you heat up the oven to 175C.

Bake them 10 to 13 min depending on size and your oven. They should not take color to stay soft inside.

If they are uneven, take a cookie cutter or a jar and loosely get them back in shape. 

After they are cooled, store them in an airtight container and eat them in a week.

Tomatoes and scrambled eggs on elbow maccaroni

The AirB&B had chickens in the backyard, and 2 sheep, a large dog and an old cat. But only the fresh eggs were part of this dish.

I had a couple of smaller size tomatoes and some green onions and wanted something warm for dinner. My first thought was only melted tomatoes in olive oil on top of pasta, but then I saw the eggs.

I remembered Chinese style breakfast tomato and egg combination, often eaten with rice, but I had neither Chinese spices nor rice with me. But pasta and Italian herbs.

The tomatoes went in the pan with the olive oil when the spring onions were softened. Salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste and let them cook until mushy. Then 2 eggs were cracked in and stirred until they started to scramble.

The elbow maccaroni were drained and a piece of butter added. The tomato egg mix was folded in. Some more black pepper and the dish was done.

Croatian Food cooked in the AirB&B

I was at the butchers to buy some Cevapi there.

Not much to choose when you are in a foreign kitchen and have to make do with what ever you find there. 

Small pans are only good for small amounts of meat. Cevapi as tiny  squared sausages are excactly what works perfect for a meat dish.

Two spring onions cooked with the Cevapi.

The famous red saucy rice with carrots and peas is called Djuvec rice. I used a shortcut and bought a microwavable ready made ricebag. That only needed 3 minutes and was ready to serve.

Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

I did not want to use the oven for 2 medium sized potatoes to bake. For small portions the air fryer should work fine.

But I did not realize that it takes allmost as long to bake them in the air fryer as baking them in the oven. 45 to 60 minutes.

One thing is good, no aluminium foil needed.

I filled them with butter and French style curd with spring onions and just salt and pepper.

I had a pork cutlett and decided to bread it and serve it together with the baked potatoes. The combation worked well and the taste was great.

The washed potatoes have been pricked with a knife, oiled and seasoned with salt.