Mexican Corn Porridge or Atole de Elote

I watched YT Beryl Shereshewsky again. This time all things made from fresh corn on the cobb.

Our season for fresh corn on the cobb is very short here. About 4 to 6 weeks. The day after the video I went for the corn and the other needed ingredients for 2 more recipes. That was no fun. Corn on the cobb, done. But running through 3 different supermarkets, one of them Organic, I came out without the ingredient I was looking for. TAPIOKA pearls.

Today I went to a 4th supermarket and bought an alternative: SAGO pearls. Tapioka is from the maniok root, sago comes from a palmtree.

But this recipe was easy to make and no weird ingredients needed.

Recipe for 1:

1 fresh corn on the cobb

150 ml water, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, 150 ml milk, 1 tsp corn starch

Cook the corn on the cobb for 10 min. Let it cool in cold water a bit to handle it. Cut off the kernels.

Use a blender and put them in with the milk.

In the same pot heat up the water with sugar and cinnamon. Pour the mix in and bring to a boil.

Make a starch slurry and bind the porridge to the consitency you like. Add some whole corn pieces.

 

Beef Tongue with Horseradish Sauce

I am always looking for new things to cook and I am open to a challenge.

My trip to the AUCHAN Hypermarche brought me a beef tongue. A whole raw one. The supermarket had an extra fridge with all kinds of beef cuts. But no steaks or tenderloins, but the nose to tail kind. Liver, lung, oxtail, tripes and tongues.

I cooked everything except lung and tongue before. This time I went for tongue. 

Here in Germany we have wide blood sausages that contain pork tongue. I love it. Now I wanted to eat tongue on its own.

The cooking process is super easy. To get the skin off later, you will need a sharp thin bladed pairing knife. The remaining stock is best to use for sauces and as a soup.

Recipe for 3:

1 beef tongue, 6 garlic cloves, 1 stalk sage, 1 stalk rosemary, bay leaves, 1 tsp salt, enough water to nearly cover the tongue

Horseradish sauce:

2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp flour, 150 ml milk, 200 ml beef tongue stock, nutmeg, lemon salt, lemon juice, white pepper, 5 tbsp horseradish with cream friache

Cook the tongue for 2 hours. Insert a knife to check if the meat is done. Take it out and wait until you can it savely touch. Skin the tongue. Cut it in 1 inch slices to serve. If the other dishes aren't ready, put the tongue back in the stock to keep warm.

I made some mash potatoes and an easy lettuce to go with it.

Polenta with Honey and Thyme Figs

Parmesan Polenta is the savoury part of this dish. Topped with fresh figs that are caramelized in honey and spiced with lots of fresh ground pepper and fresh thyme. What's not to like?

This week and the next are fig weeks. The tree in front of my balcony is still loaded with figs. 

The second harvest in October still looks promising, since the weather forcasters are talking about the La Niña weather anomalie. They forecast a warm fall. That would give me a full second harvest. In regular years, I only get the first 3rd of the figs, the other wont ripen. And I leave them for the animals.

Recipe for 1:

1/2 cup instant polenta, 1 1/2 cup veg stock, 1 tsp butter, 1 heaped tbsp Parmesan

4-5 figs, 2 tsp honey, 1 tbsp butter, 2 thyme twigs, fresh ground pepper

Cook the polenta and finish with Parmesan

Melt butter and honey together. When it starts to brown, add sliced figs, thyme and pepper. Wait until figs are soft.

Figs wrapped in Parma Ham with Buffalo Mozzarella

I found this kind of combination on a recipe website from Jamie Oliver.

But I changed a couple of things. Arugula is a salad green I try to avoid. It always reminds me of lettuce with dog piss. I used an other kind of lettuce.

Most of todays ingredients came from my grocery haul at AUCHAN Hypermarche. The different and larger stock they have compared to the smaller supermarket Auchan nearer to me, is a challenge. It took a lot more time to shop than usual. And the prices for all kinds of meat have increased significantly.

Recipe:

4 or 5 figs depending on their size

4 or 5 slices of Parma Ham

1 Buffalo Mozzarella, a   chunk of Parmesan

Lettuce, fresh chopped mint leaves

1 tsp honey, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 lemon juiced

Salt and pepper

Peel the figs and cut the top open without cutting through to the bottom. Wrap them in a slice of Parma ham. Place on the lettuce leaves. Rip the Mozzarella apart with your fingers and scatter over the plate. Take a speed peeler and get some slices of Parmesan on the plate. Sprinkle the mint over too. Mix warmed up honey with the dressing ingredients and pour on top of all.

 

Tagliatelle with fresh Figs

My fig tree is ready to harvest. Yesterday I picked 27 figs off the tree. 

The next couple of days until the weekend there are a lot more to harvest. Now I am drowning in figs. They do not have a long shelf life in the fridge, I need to stay on top of them. In the end I will take my fruit and veggie dryer out of the basement and make the others in to snacks for the fall.

But this is the first of a couple of recipes I am going to make. 

The sauce calls for a bit of curry powder. I went for my Vietnam Curry. That has a high content of cinnamon which goes great with figs. Not only are the figs ready to harvest. I cut off most of my pepperoni from one plant. They are only slightly hot for my taste, but help with the sweetness of the figs. 

The prep time for this dish is only the time you will need to cook the tagliatelle. If you peel the figs is up to you. They loose their consistency easier when they are peeled.

Recipe for 1:

110 g tagliatelle

5 figs

2 tbsp butter, 150 ml double cream, 25 g Parmesan

1 tsp Vietnam curry or any other available, salt, pepper, fresh dill, 1 red pepperoni 

Cook the pasta.

Wash and peel the figs. Chop the pepperoni and the dill.

In a large pan heat up the butter and saute the pepperoni. Add cream and curry and season with salt and pepper. Slice the figs and add them and cook on low for 5 min. Adf the drained tagliatelle and finish with dill.

Shrimp Soup Brasilian style

I love this soup. Simple and hearty and easy to cook.

I never made a soup with only a large amount of shrimps as the main protein. Mostly fish and a couple of shrimps for additional flavour.

Rice is just enough to give some texture. It does not make it in to some kind of stew. 

The soup has a good tomato base and due to the other veggies it is healthy.

Recipe for 3:

300 g defrosted raw shrimps

1 red bell pepper, 1 large red onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 celery stalk, 1 red chili, salt, pepper

1 can whole tomatoes, 1 1 /2 cans of water with veg stock paste, 1 tsp dried chili flakes

80 ml cream, 1/2 cup of long grain rice, parsley, lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil

Chop all veggies and saute them in oil for 5 min. In with the rice. Add tomatoes and fill the can with water and add veg stock paste. Season with chili flakes, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 min.

Cut up the shrimps once or twice and add them with the cream. Cook 3 to 5 min on low, add lemon juice and parsley.

I dropped my last 3 quail eggs in for extra protein.  

Chicken Pineapple Curry filled Pastry Dutch style

This is a great handheld pastry for Summer picknicks and gatherings. Easy to eat cold. When eating them fresh from the oven, the pineapple chunks inside will make sure that you burn the roof of your mouth. The pastries take a good 15 min to get ready to eat after they are released from the oven heat.

The Dutch had Colonies in the Caribbean and curry is one of the spices that is used in the cooking there often. The combination with pineapple brings out the sweet and spicy touch many of us love.

There is enough for 2 people left after I filled the pastries. On Monday I will add some cream and stock to it and make a creamy curry to gi with some pasta or rice. One day less of cooking a full dish.  

Recipe for 2:

1 roll of fresh puff pastry, 1 egg

1 onion, 2 spring onions, 2 garlic cloves, 1 celety stalk,

400 g chicken inner filet, 1 tbsp oil

1 /2 fresh pineapple, 1 green chili

4 tsp all kinds of curry powders you own. Chili flakes, salt, pepper, agave syrup, 3 tbsp water

Heat up the oil and start with chopped onions, garlic, celery and chili. Now in with the curry powders and give them a bit to develop in the pan.

Cut the chicken pieces in very small chunks and season them. Add to the pan after the veggies have softened. Add a bit of water when the chicken has some color.

Peel the pineapple and cut in small chunks as if you use a canned type. Toss it in the pan and cook for 3 more min. Check the seasoning. Get all out of the pan on a cold plate and let it cool down to room temp.

Unroll the puff pastry and divide it in 4 equal parts. Spoon some filling on one side and flip the other over. DO NOT OVER FILL

Press the edges down with a fork and put a little hole on the top. Brush with beaten egg.

Preheat the oven 200 C fan and bake for 20 min.

Strawberry Apple Rosemary Crumble

My neighbor rung at my door and asked me to take her key and water her plants. She is going on a Mother and Child rehab for 3 weeks. She asked me, if she could give me her last few apples and a pot of parsley. No prob! 

Now I have a basket full of apples, parley, a melon and some sunflowers.

Now the problem is mine. I have a punnet full of fresh strawberries, some cherries, my own melon and some pears. Fruit overload - not so good in this sweltering heat.

Make applesauce - no, I already have some jars. Smoothie - no need.

Bake something, great! A hot oven at 31 C outside is something only people who love to bake, do. YESSSS!

Recipe:

550 g apples, cored and cubed,  250 g strawberries (170 hulled and halved), the other in slices

1 tsp lemon juice, 5 tbsp water, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon 

4 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, cinnamon

100 g flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 50 g sugar, 60 g chopped almonds, 1/2 tsp salt, 65 g cold butter, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven 160 C fan.

In a pot add water, brown sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon and put the apples in. Stir often and cook for 4 min. Take off the heat and add the halved strawberries and the maple syrup flour mix. Pour that in a ovenproof dish.

In a bowl mix the rosemary with the dry ingredients and add chopped cold butter and maple syrup. Make a crumble and place it on top of the fruits.

Bake for 35 to 40 min.

Top with sliced strawberries and cream or creme fraiche.

Gochujang Fried Rice

There is still enough chili paste in my Gochujang box. But I am getting better at using it up.

This fried rice is such a great dish to prepare when working from home. Get all ingredients ready in the morning and store them in the fridge. Cook the rice the evening before. Fried rice is always better with cold day old rice.

A fried egg on top with runny yolk is just the icing of the cake. If you have the time, just do it.

 Recipe for 2:

1 1/2 rice cooker cup jasmine rice cooked and stored in the fridge over night

180 g minced beef, 1 tbsp oil

3 spring onions

1 carrot, 1 celery stalk

2 eggs, sesame seeds

Sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp Gochujang

1 tbsp Gochugaru hot pepper flakes

2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Oyster sauce

Pepper, 1 tbsp corn syrup

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp water

Start the green onion oil by frying them gor 3 to 5 min. Now in with the beef. Break it down with a spatula and let it take color. Sesaom with a little salt and pepper

Toss in the veggies and cook for 3 more min. Now add the cold rice. Stir it through so it breakes apart. Add the sauce and mix well.

In a small pam fry 2 eggs. Let the yolks be soft.

Set om top og the rice. Add a little sesame oil and sesame seeds and serve.

 

Pork Tenderloin in in Lemon Tea Sauce with Cherry Tomatoes

The recipe comes from the Amalfi region of Italy. The area where the famous lemons for Limoncello liqueur are grown. 

But a pure lemon fruit tea is refreshing in summer too. I was surprised how good it worked as the main component in a pasta sauce. A little lemon zest and a dash of juice made it even better.

The thin sliced pork loin was ready in 6 min and waited in some aluminium foil until the other ingredients were cooked. 

Recipe for 3:

350 g Pork Tenderloin, 250 g Tagliatelle

250 g cherry tomatoes

150 ml veg stock, 200 ml lemon fruit tea

1/4 lemon juice, zest 1/2 lemon

Salt, pepper, chili flakes, 15 g Parmesan

2 tbsp butter, 2 tsp potato starch+2 tbsp water

3 basil stalks

When you keep a good mis en place and use an induction hob, the food is ready in less than 30 min.

Start with all basic prep work, such as boiling the water for tea and stock and setting the cups aside. Cut the pork tenderloin in 2 cm slices and season them with salt and pepper. Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in halves. Zest the part of the lemon and squeeze some juice.

Vook the tagliatelle and heat up the butter in a wide pan. Get the pork in, on both sides 3 min. After flipping them over, sprinkle some chili on one side. Get them out and wrap in aluminium foil and set aside.

Pour tea and stocl in the pan to deglaze it and turn up the heat again.   Add the tomatoes, parmesan, zest and juice. Make a slurry and bind the sauce. Drain the pasta and toss it through and add the pork and juice too. Finish with basil.