Chokky Rocks - Kangaroo Cookies

The Internet calls them Kangaroo Cookies! I was looking for some nut free cookies because my coworker is allergic. The ingredients I`ve listed was raisins and chocolate and I got lucky.

But the main crunch in this cookies comes from the huge lot of cornflakes. That makes it a workout to get the cookie dough together, the dough is sticky and not so easy to handle.
Use 3 baking sheets and if you have a big one like I do, you can set 20 cookie balls on one sheet.
Make them nearly golf ball size.

recipe:
250 g softened butter
160 g sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
350 g flour
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp milk

100 g chopped semi sweet or milk chocolate
125 g raisins
4 cups cornflakes

Preheat the oven 180 C
Cream butter,sugar and eggs together, add the rest of the dough batter and give it a good mix,
stir in chocolate and raisins first and mix properly.

Now it gets even  harder, stir in the cornflakes and try to incorporate them.
Roll nearly golf ball size balls and set them on a baking tray.
Bake for 17 minutes

Chicken Freekeh Lebanese style

I still have two boxes of Freekeh sitting around and so I was looking for other dishes to prepare with Freekeh. This green and roasted wheat has much more healthy stuff then the prominent Quinoa everybody is using in the moment. Since the green wheat was grown in Lebanon I checked for Lebanese recipes that used it.
And I`ve got lucky!

recipe for 2:
1 whole chicken
1 red onion
8 cloves of garlic
4 shallots
2 spring onions
4 bay leaves
1 chili
1 piece of ginger
1/ 2 Cinnamon stick
3 cloves
4 cardamom pods
10 peppercorns
1 stalk of lovage
2 tbsp olive oil
125 g Freekeh
50 g whole almonds
30 g pine nuts
30 g cashew nuts
50 g raisins
1/2 lemon
some pomegranate seeds
flatleaf parsley

In a huge pot dump in the red onion, spring onions, 4 cloves of garlic, chili, bay leaves, lovage, ginger, peppercorns, cardamom pods, Cinnamon and cloves and  the washed chicken and enough water to nearly cover it.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Take out to cool down a bit so you can handle it.

The moment the chicken comes out of the broth, soak the freekeh  in some water and set aside.
Chop shallots and garlic roughly.
Peel the chicken off the skin and the bones and rest the meat in some warm broth, which you drained from the pot without the debris.
In a medium pot add the olive oil and garlic and onions and give them 3 minutes, add the drained freekeh and give it a good coating. Through a sieve pour in enough stock to cover the freekeh 1 cm above, cook it and eventually add more stock.
Cook for about 20 minutes or as long as the freekeh needs to get al dente. Let it rest a while. Add some lemon juice.

Use a big plate and pile the freekeh in the middle, get the chicken meat around it, garnish with nuts and raisins and pomegranate seeds and finish with tomato and parsley.
30 g pomegranate seeds
1 tomato
1 stalk of parsley
salt and pepper

There will be enough broth in the pot to filter it and freeze it with some leftover chicken for a great soup in the near future. Do not waste it.

Egg variations and herby Frankfurt green sauce

Easter time and especially Good Friday is the time here in Hessian to eat some fresh herbs. These are grown all around here and 7 different ones make the super tasty sauce.
I have written some blog about it, so go and check it out.
Good Friday is a day were no meat is eaten, so eggs are the alterative. Hard boiled ones are eaten with the sauce regularly.
But that is boring!

Preparing 3 different kinds of egg dishes was a challenge, because they need different cooking methods and special timing.

The day before the guests arrive, hardboil some eggs and cool them and peel them.
Use 700 ml beetroot juice, a bit of vinegar, some bay leaves and salt and cook that for 15 minutes and cool it down. Put the peeled eggs in and let them sit until the next day.
Cut them in half and scoop out the egg yolk.

Mix the egg yolk with mustard, Greek yogurt and season it with salt and pepper and some smoked paprika and some chives.
Fill the cream back into the eggs.

The most difficult egg version is Onsen Tamago, the Onsen egg. The method is named after the Japanese hot springs were you can take a bath.
Some of them have a higher temperature so people took some egg with them  and put them into the hot springs and the eggs came out with a super soft yolk.

We used the sous-vide method and after getting very soft egg yolks, they were covered in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, egg and breadcrumbs again and deep fried for 2 minutes. They were still soft inside.

Put the eggs in 67 C water for 50 minutes, then cool them down to firm up and crack them and get the egg out. Push away the runny egg white and drop the yolk into the flour and start the process.

Next fry some quail eggs.

Now your eggs are done and ready to plate up. The herby sauce is eaten with potatoes.

Kohlrabi three ways

It is just one simple kind of vegetable, that is often put aside when more prominent ones are used. It is a very old one and great to eat either raw, as a salad or cooked in several different ways.
Very often it is just served as a bland warm veg as the side here in Germany and not many people say they love it, they just eat it covered in some kind of bland white sauce.

Here is a starter with kohlrabi in three different ways - a wonderful dish to serve in spring and summer.

recipe for 4
3 medium kohlrabi with the leaves
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp pine nuts
1tbsp Parmesan
1/2 tsp lemon juice

150 g little Mozzarella balls
orange salt
wild garlic leaves

Cut off the leaves of the kohlrabi, clean them, pat them dry and make a pesto.
Peel the kohlrabi as it is, use a mandolin and make 2 mm discs with it. Make 4 equal piles.
Use 4 different round cutters and cut each pile in a different size.
Combine vinegar, a bit of salt and sugar and use 4 bowls and divide the dressing. Soak each pile of discs for a couple of hours, stir occasionally.
In a pan with melted butter, put all the leftovers from the discs in and saute until soft, season with salt and pepper. Use a stick blender and make a puree and set aside.

You can use the Mozzarella balls as they are, just cut them in half. If you have a smoking gun, stick them into a box or bag and give them some wood smoke. They get a great taste. Season with a little orange salt.

Use the different sizes of kohlrabi to make a nice looking plate, set some mozzarella on top, some puree and pesto and dress with some wild garlic leaves.

Serve

Easter Bunnies - no Chocolate

You get chocolate Easter bunnies here in every shop, you will see them on each table.

Make a difference - make chocolate free ones!
Baking bread is a hobby of mine, so baking some cute little bunnies is fun and the method is simple.
Make a bread dough and use a pair of scissors.
They look different this time from the ones I made last year, there are so many versions to try out.
To get a workable dough it is good to prepare it the evening before you bake and just let it proof in the fridge.

recipe:
450 g flour
50 g chestnut flour
30 g fresh yeast
2 tsp salt
a pinch of sugar
330 ml tepid water

some milk to brush it before you put it into the oven.

Make the dough and knead it for 10 minutes to stretch the gluten - or use you kitchen machine.
Put in a covered bowl and stick it in the fridge over night.
Get it out one hour before you will start to get it back to room temperature.










Flour a surface and use a scale and a knife.

Cut off 10 pieces about 55 g each.
The rest of the dough cut in half to make Mom and Dad bunnies.
Form into little thick sausages and take a scissor and cut into the upper half to make the ears, cut the piece of dough the  in the middle to separate the ears and form them so they stand upright.
Set the bunnies on baking paper and let them rest 20 minutes to proof a little again

Brush them with milk and stick them into the oven at 220 C for 25 minutes, Mom and Dad will need 5 more minutes.

Cocas - tomato filled Puff Pastry from Algeria

I checked my fridge and found a lot of tomatoes and a roll of puff pastry. Trolling through the Internet I found an Algerian recipe which was pretty easy to prepare and all ingredients were on hand.

Filled savoury pastry is a huge favourite of mine. The ones with cheese and spinach or with minced meat are so good and found in so many places in the world. Each country has their own special.
I remember a trip to Morocco where they served brick dough filled with some kind of cream and nuts, the only thing was that the filling was to sweet for my taste.

Tomatoes and onions sounded a lot better. You just have to be patient, because the filling has to cool down completely, otherwise you will get a soggy bottom on your pastry.

recipe:
one ready made puff pastry
6 bigger cherry tomatoes or 2 regular ones
1 red onion
5 shallots
1 egg
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Raz al Hanut
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp chili
salt and pepper
dried thyme
sesame seeds

Cut the onions into fine slices, cut the tomatoes into small cubes, chop the garlic.
Use a pan with a lid.
In oil start to sweat off the onions on medium heat with a lid, they get a bit jammy that way, add the garlic and the tomatoes and without the lid cook until the liquid is gone.
Season with Raz el Hanout, Honey, salt, pepper and thyme and some chili.
When the mix is soft and dry, get it out of the pan onto a plate and let it cool down completely.

Preheat the oven 180 C
Cut the puff pastry into 13x13 cm squares and fill them with the mix,
beat the egg and spread some egg wash around the edges, close and put on a baking paper.
If it happens that the pastry is closed all around- cut some holes into the top so the steam can escape.
If you do it rustic like I do, do not bother.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Nduja Pasta Sauce

I bought some hot and spicy Nduja for my Antipasti platter on Saturday.
It is a really hot kind of cured sausage with lots of hot paprika and chili from Calabria in the south of Italy just across the street of Messina to Sicily.

Since the sausage was hot, my friends only tasted it and I had a good piece of it left over.
I wanted to eat it melted in a sauce so I put it in the pan without any extra oil. The sausage is not so fatty like the Spanish Chorizo, I was surprised. But it is a lot spicier when melted.
I put some homemade defrosted tomato sauce with veggies on top and incorporated the sausage. Wow very spicy.

recipe for 2:
80 g Nduja sausage
200 g pasta
150 g home cooked or ready made pasta sauce
50 g homemade riotta
basil
olive oil
salt and pepper