Roasted Duck standing up in the oven

It is never a bad time to learn something new. I wanted to prepare a Vietnamese style duck in the oven. Looking for an inspiration I used Pinterest. So many kinds of roasted duck recipes. Reading through one that covered Peking Duck at home without the clay oven and the method to cook it hanging free in that oven, caught my eye. 

The device used was something I have in my baking containers. The bottom part of an Angel Cake Tin. Very clever. That prevents the duck from sitting in its own fat while roasting in the oven.

Marinate:

1 cup dark soy sauce, 1/3 cup mirin, 3 tbsp agave syrup, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, white pepper

1/3  cup shaosing wine, 1 tbsp ketchup manis, 1 tsp 5 spice powder, 2 star anise, 2 cloves

Marinate the duck for 2 to 3 hours. Stick it on top of the baking tin bottom and place it in wider baking dish. 

Fold the wings in some aluminium foil to prevent them from getting burned. Just unwrap them the last 12 min. For each 500 g of duck you will need 15 min of cooking time at 180 C. My duck was in the oven baking for 1: 10 min. Then I let it rest outside for 10 min more.

I ate some of it with lettuce, herbs and fresh veggies. The carcasse went in a pot with water and frozen veg and cooked for 1 hour and made 750 ml soup stock. Some breast meat went on some rice the other day.

Chanterelle Mushroom Time - Eating out

It is still very rare to go out to eat with friends in a restaurant. My friend celebrated her birthday today and invited me and an other friend to go with her and her husband to a restaurant in Lower Franconia, Bavaria. It was a 50 minute drive for me. We ate at Weinhaus Becker in Grossostheim.

Chanterelle Mushroom Cream Soup

We have a late summer day today with 23 C and sunshine. All tables were set outside in the large back yard. It was beautiful to sit there and it was very packed outside.  It took a while for the service to bring the drinks to the table and it took a lot longer for our food. 

The monthly special was all kinds of dishes with chanterelle mushrooms.

Pork Loin with Chanterelles and Tater Tots

The food was very good and we enjoyed our meal. 

Cheese Soup with Semolina

All kinds of cheese can go in a soup like this. Clean out the fridge, cheese wise.

That is a quick dinner snack. All in all does not take longer then 10 min. Eat it with some toast and you have a full meal. Cheese soup in a bit colder weather warms you from the inside. 

Ingredients:

1/2 leek, 2 spring onions, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp semolina

400 ml beef stock, 50 ml Noilly Prat, 50 ml double cream

Salt, pepper, nutmeg, dash of lemon juice

Chop leek and spring onions and saute them fir 3 min in oil. Add Noilly Prat, wait 1 min and add the beef stock. Toss in the cheese and on medium heat let it melt in the soup. Bring the soup back to a boil qnd stir in the semolina to thicken the soup.

Finish with cream, salt and pepper, grate some nutmeg and add some lemon juice.

Toast some bread.

Spaghetti with Sesame Dressing

Asian style spaghetti. A very fast lunch since I used 3 min spaghetti.

Cooked in a less than one litre of water with some salt and ginger slices in it. The cooking time of the pasta is the preptime of the dressing. 

Just grate a clove of garlic and a piece of ginger in a bowl, add the other ingredients and toss them iin a pan with foaming butter and a bit more sesame oil and cook it for 2 min. 

In with the drained pasta and a little starchy pasta water. Add chopped spring onion greens and more sesame seeds and your work is done.

Ingredients for 2:

200 g spaghetti

1 tbsp honey, 1 1/2 tsp Gochugaru hot pepper flakes, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 clove of garlic, 1 knob of ginger, 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 2 tsp rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, spring onion greens

Torta di Ceci or Chickpea Pancake

If you need something wholesome go to Italy.

No, not a pasta dish. Even if that is called wholesome too 😀.

This is a pancake made with chickpea flour, olive oil, water and seasoning. Prepare a large one in a pan, divide it for the people sitting around your table and serve either a gremolata or a yogurt with it.

Recipe for 3 to 4:

175 g chickpea flour, 30 g olive oil,

340 ml water, salt, pepper, onion and garlic granulates, smoked paprika and what ever you like to add. I used some Umami seasoning from Trader Joe's and some Chaat Masala.

Dip:

Yogurt, salt, pepper, chili oil, lemon juice fresh herbs.

Mushroom Coconut and Peanut Soup -vegan

I never thought that mushrooms and peanuts would go together. Coconut milk instead of double cream in a soup is a pretty standart method while cooking vegan dishes. But adding peanut butter and roasted peanuts to that soup sounded a bit strange to my ears.

But this is from an ALDI recipe collection.

From my veal goulash last Sunday I had 3/4 of a punnet of brown button mushrooms still in the veggie drawer of my fridge. They needed a purpose. The ALDI recipe was sitting on my stack of recipes. Now or never.

All other ingredients were at home as well.

Recipe for 2:

200 g button mushrooms

1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Salt, pepper, nutmeg, juice 1/3 lemon

1 1/2 tbsp peanut butter, 500 ml veg stock, 200 ml coconut milk

2 stalks parsley, 25 g roasted unsalted peanuts

Clean the mushrooms and set 2 bigger ones aside for later. Chop the others. Chop onion and garlic. In oil start with the mushrooms, after 3 min add onion and garlic and saute for 5 min. Season. Add stock and coconut milk and cook 7 min. Use a stick blender and make a fine soup. Add peanut butter. Add lemon juice and check the seasoning.

Slice the leftover mushrooms and toss them in a little oil in a small pan. 

Ladle the soup in two bowls and divide the sauteed mushrooms. Add parsley and peanuts.

 

Lentil Soup with dried Plums and Bloodpudding

These ingredients sound weird when you read the listed recipe. Savoury and sweet with a good amount of sausages. Not a dish for everyone. 

I tried some other recipes from this regional magazine issue. Unknown combinations but all were tasty. The cooking time was reduced by using a can of brown lentils.

Recipe for 3:

1 medium can of brown lentils

1 large carrot, 15 cm leek, 2 medium potatoes, 700 ml veg stock

2 wieners, 10 dried soft plums

2 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp sugar, salt and pepper

200 g blood pudding

Peel and cut the veggies in bite size chunks. Prepare the hot veg stock and toss them in. Give them 10 min to soften down. Pour the lentils into a colander and drain the liquid. Add them to the soup and cut the Wieners in slices and add them as well. Cook for 3 min. Cut up the dried plums. If they still have the stones, take them out. 

Add to the soup. Now season with salt and pepper, vinegar and a little sugar to taste.

Ladle in bowls and top with slices of cold bloodpudding.