Prawns in Goat Cheese Sauce with Pasta

Many people say that seafood and cheese do not go together. 

This creamy linguine pasta works very well with this combination. The goat cream cheese is rich, but mild and the sharp Pecorino at the end just rounds everything up.

I had some tiny tomatoes ripen in a dark container. A small hand full went in the sauce as well. For a bit of color I used some smoked paprika and some piment d'espelette.

Ingredients for 1:

120 g linguine, 110 g defrosted prawns

7 mini tomatoes, 3 spring onions, 2 garlic cloves

50 g goat cream cheese, 20 g Pecorino, 75 ml double cream, 6 tbsp pasta water, 1 tbsp butter

Salt, pepper, piment d'espelette, smoked paprika

Start the linguine first.  Chop the onions, tomatoes and garlic and toss them in a wide pan with butter. Let them cook for 4 min to soften. Add the goat cheese and some of the pasta water.

Pour in the cream and season. Add more pasta water if needed. Heat up the prawns for 2 min, when they are already cooked

Combine with the linguine and grate some Pecorino on top.

Burrata on Cucumber

At the high end supermarket in Frankfurt I bought some Italian organic Burrata from Campania. It was sitting in the fridge and I had no idea what to do with it. In tge evening I was looking for something light and fresh. 

Finely sliced cucumber marinated in chive flour vinegar, olive oil, lemon salt and Asian pepper. A lit of roughly chopped flat leave parsley mixed in. 

On top the Burrata, only seasoned with a good gluck of balsamic vinegarand a little pepper. I ate it with some rye bread with butter.

Vegetable Rice and Cheese Pancake

That pancake is the sum of a fridge raid. Over the last 2 weeks a couple of veggie leftovers have taken residence in my fridge.

A small chunk of cabbage, the stem part of a bok choy, one lonesome green onion and 2 small carrots. Not a large amount, but decent enough for a meal.

I thought first about Okonomiyaki, but I wanted to stay meat or seafood free. Then I found day old shortgrain rice and an open package of grated cheese.

Some fresh herbs from my balcony, one egg and some potato starch went in the dish too.

For seasoning I went with salt, sugar, pepper and chili flakes.

The roughly cut up veggies went with the herbs and the seasoning together in the Thermomix. Egg and starch went in after a good blizz.

In a wide pan with a good gluck of neutral oil the mix went. On medium high heat fir a couple of min on each side. Cabbage and carrots are needing some time to get soft.

As a dip I served Greek Yogurt with some Sambal olek.

Ingredients for 6 pancakes:

100 g cabbage, 1 bok choy, 2 carrots, 1 green onion, fresh herbs

30 g grated Gouda cheese, 1 egg, 2 tbsp potato starch

60 g cooked day old rice, salt, peppee, chili, sugar

Ground Meat with Cabbage Oven baked -Parmetier

From my Chicken legs on cabbage was enough cabbage left for a new dish. I bought mixed ground meat (beef and pork) without knowing what to do with it. 

From Friday I had some leftover potato mash. Checking my veggie drawer in the fridge I came up with a green bell pepper. Not my usual choice for peppers, but it came in a mixed pack. That went in the pan with the cabbage and onions and garlic.

This is a dish that needs a bit of planning and some prep time. I made each part on its own and took my time with it. Last was the Bechamel sauce and the preheating of the oven.

First step was peeling and cutting two large potatoes in thicker slices and cooking them for 7 min in salted water. Drained and set aside.

Then I peeled and chopped 4 shallots, 1 yellow medium onion anf 6 garlic cloves and set half of it aside. Then I cleaned the green bell pepper and cut it in smaller strips. Now all the cabbage went under thr knife. First I got rid of the stem, then cut it in slices and washed it.

In some oil start with onions, garlic and pepper. After 4 min toss in the cabbage. Season with salt, pepper and caraway seeds. Cook until the cabbage has softened. Transfer to a bowl.

Use the same pan and prepare the minced meat with the other half of onions and garlic in a little oil. Brown very well and season to taste.

Make the Bechamel sauce. Heat up some leftover potato mash is the microwave.

Use a high oven proof baking dish and start layering. A little sauce, potatoes, cabbage, meat, sauce, potatoes, cabbage, meat, sauce. Spread the potato mash over the top and ptess down. Cover with the leftover sauce.

At 180 C fan bake for 35 min, add 1 cup shredded Gouda on top and stick under the grill for 10 min to melt the cheese.

Chicken Legs on Cabbage

This is a low carb dish and easy to prepare in the oven.

I bought 2 organic chicken legs this week without any idea what to cook with them. Chicken thighs are so versatile and a recipe to cook them can be found anywhere. 

I was lucky and watched a Reel on YT. That was my inspiration for todays use of the chicken legs. I only bought a nice head of cabbage in the morning and I even know the perfect way to use up the leftover pieces tomorrow. 

Two weekend meals without a lot of planning. My other ingredient without a special recipe in mind was a package of minced beef and pork.

Ingredients:

2x 3 cm thick slices of cabbage, olive oil

2 chicken legs

35 g butter, paprika, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, herbes de Provence, Italian herbs, 1 tbsp Ssamyang spicy, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 2 tbsp water, caraway seeds

Marinate the chicken with 2/3 of the melted butter and the paprikas, salt, pepper, herbes, Ssamyang and tomato paste for 30 min in the fridge.

Brush the cabbage with the other butter and season with salt, pepper and caraway. Use an ovenproof dish and brush the dish with olive oil.

Set the chicken leg on top. Bake at 170 C fan for 40 min.

Turkey Breast Involtini with Ham, dried Tomatoes and Parmesan

This is a very easy recipe. I used thin slices of turkey breast and filled them with lots of tasty things.

After a short while in the pan, they go in the oven to bake. I served them with garlic onion potato mash.

Use good quality raw ham, such as Black Forest, Parma or Serano ham. Dried tomatoes in oil and grated Parmesan are thete to enhance the flavour.

Use a toothpick to hold the involtini together.

Ingredients:

2x 110 g turkey breast slice (thin)

2 long strips of raw ham

2 sun dried tomatoes in oil

Grated Parmesan, salt, papriks, pepper

Oil and butter

Turkey Breast Strips in Mustard Sauce and Pasta

One of my next recipes will be turkey breast involtini filled with Black Forest Ham. But the meat was only available in a larger box at the supermarket. That gave me the chance to have a light dinner the day before.

Frozen peas, pasta and mustard are mostly in stock at home. The other ingredients were too. That made it easy to cook. It just took the time of the dried pasta to get al dente. 

That is better than any Take out you can order.

Just chop garlic and spring onion and cut the turkey breast slices in thin strips. Season them and set aside. Start the pasta.

In a wide pan or wok heat up the oil and the butter and toss in onion and garlic, after 3 min the turkey. Let that get color together. Add some pasta water, the mustard and stir. Add the cream, the cream cheese and cook on medium heat until the turkey is done. Chuck in the defrosted peas to warm through.

Finish with some chives and a round of freshly ground pepper.

Ingredients:

100 g short pappardelle

1/2 cup defrosted peas, 1 spring onion, 3 cloves of garlic, chives

5 tbsp pasta water, 100 ml double cream, 30 g cream cheese, 2 tbsp mustard

Salt and pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp butter

 

Pumpkin Feta Walnut Dip

One side of my green Hokkaido pumpkin was still sitting on the kitchen counter. Too expensive and with a gold medal sticker on the side to throw out.

Peeling it is time consuming. I just took the seeds out and put it in the oven for 40 min at 180 C fan. There is enough pumpkin puree for 3 different recipes.

Recipe:

11/2 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

2 tbsp honey, lemon salt, pepper, fresh thyme

175 g sheep milk feta

30 g walnuts

I shelled some local walnuts harvested 3 weeks ago. This year is not a great walnut year. Every 3rd walnut was black and rotten inside.

Except the walnut, chuck everything in a blender and make a smooth dip. Pour in a bowl and top with walnuts, a drizzle of more honey and thyme

Duroc Pork Chop with Beats

Spanish Pork from Duroc Pigs is a delecacy.

 The meat flavour is intense and there is no need to cook a pork chop until it is completely done. 59 C inside temperature was enough for my taste.

I bought white and yellow beets and served them with the pork. Just butter with a little oil and some water. Seasoning it with salt and pepper and just fresh parsley.

Preheat the oven to 100 C fan and put some baking paper on a baking sheet.

Season the pat dried chop only with sea salt and give it 2 min on each side in a very hot pan. Put it on the baking paper and stick a thermometer in the thickest part.

Keep it in the oven until it reaches 56 to 59 C

If you like to eat it well done, let the internal temp reach 64 to 65 C.

Pumpkin and Chestnut Oyster Mushrooms, vegan

I have never seen Chestnut Oyster mushrooms before.

I went on a splurge and bought high end groceries at Frischeparadies Frankfurt. The shopping carts are 60% the size of the ones you will find at regular Supermarkets.  The products available are great quality and not available in most stores.

The dark green pumpkin was the first item that went in to my shopping cart. I found the mushrooms later at the veggie section.

The idea for this recipe came from my October calender photo. I looked at it and thought about it. Since the great ingredients were on hand, I made my own version of it.

Recipe for 2:

1 kg intense tasting pumpkin

175 g chestnut oyster mushrooms, 5 brown button mushrooms

1 large spring onion, 2 tsp green peppercorns, 3 tbsp rapeseed oil

80 ml veg stock, porcini salt, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, 2 tbsp fresh parsley

Peel the pumpkin and take the seeds out. Cut it in bite size chunks. Cut the spring onion on wider pieces. Heat up the oil and tosd the pumpkins in. Sesaon with salt and pepper and let them sit in the pan for a couple of minutes to take a bit of color. Stir and add the onions. After 5 min pour in the veg stock and let it reduce to minimum.

Now get all the mushrooms in and stir well. Season again and add thyme. Cook for 5 min. Spoon the green peppercorns in. Finish with parsley.

I did not keep the recipe vegan. I needed to use up fresh Mozzarella cheese which went over the expiration date on Saturday. That was a great choice to prevent food waste.