Earth Meets Sea
25 August 2010
The combination of mushrooms and seafood is not really the most likely one. But though the flavour of prawns tasting of the freshness of the sea is admittedly a far cry from the somewhat musty, earthy flavour of porcini reminding of a cool forest, I find the couple does really well together, particularly when merged into a creamy sauce. Or maybe it is the very difference of the two that makes this composition so interesting?
The icing on the cake then was a little dash of lemon-flavoured olive oil, which we have recently bought – guess where – at Viktualienmarkt. In fact the olives are pressed together with unpeeled lemons of the same groves, giving the oil an exquisit flavour of lemon zest – a flavour that certainly goes well with both fish and mushrooms.
Porcini & Prawn Cream Tagliatelle
| serves 4 |
| 300g porcini |
| 300g mushrooms (champignons) |
| 250g king prawns, peeled (net weight) |
| 5 or 6 spring onions |
| a hand full of fresh chives, finely chopped |
| 150ml crème fraîche |
| 1 teaspoon of café de paris spice mixture (or some mild curry mixture) |
| a dash of lemon-zest flavoured olive oil (alternatively: virgin olive oil plus some freshly grated lemon zest) |
| salt and pepper |
| some oil for frying |
500g tagliatelle |
Finely slice the spring onions and lightly sweat in a little bit of oil in a deep-ish frying pan. Clean the porcini and the mushrooms, chop and sauté with the spring onions for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly. Season with salt and a teaspoon of some very mild curry mixture (like café de paris), and stir in half of the crème fraîche. Cover with a lid and keep at low heat for another 10 minutes or so (the porcini and mushrooms should be soft but have some bite left in the centre).
Don’t forget to prepare the tagliatelle in the meantime!
Shortly before serving, briefly sear the (peeled and cleaned) king prawns using a separate frying pan.Add to the porcini sauce along with the rest of the crème fraîche as well as the (finely chopped) chives. Make sure not to keep cooking too much after that, as the prawns will get chewy and the porcini overcooked (which would be a real shame).
Serve with the pasta and finish with some freshly ground pepper and a dash of lemon-zest flavoured olive oil (or, in absence of that, some virgin olive oil plus some freshly grated lemon zest).
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Aubergines at Their Best
30 July 2010
Recently I have fallen in love again with my old favourite vegetable, the aubergine. I admit they sometimes lack taste, but when you can get hold of the really good aromatic ones, for me they can hardly be topped.
I have found such delicacies at one of the stalls at Viktualienmarkt, which offers produce almost exclusively from own production (I have in fact mentioned it before). In winter their range is somewhat limited, but now in summer the offer is so abundand and appetizing...
Their products are all very good, but for me the clear winner (maybe only matched by the tomatoes) are the aubergines. They are not the nicest looking ones – small and somewhat wrinkly and their skin not as shiny – but really unrivalled in tastyness. No wonder I’ve been using them so much lately. For example for this antipasti platter I prepared for a casual evening with some friends:
Aubergines & Courgettes in Pumpkinseed Dressing
| serves 4 |
| 2 small courgettes |
| 2 small aubergines |
| 40 ml pumpkin seed oil |
| 20 ml cold-pressed olive oil |
| 20 ml balsamic vinegar |
| 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds |
| 2 tablespoons freshly chopped herbs (e.g. mixture of parsley, chives, dill) |
| salt and pepper |
| some oil for frying |
Cut the aubergines and the courgettes into slices of about ½ cm, salt and let rest for about 30 minutes so the water comes out.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by combining pumpkin seed oil, virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Finely chop the herbs and add; crush the toasted pumpkin seeds with pestle and mortar and add, too.
Get back to the vegetables and wipe the water off the surface with a kitchen towel. Heat a little bit of oil in a non-stick frying pan and toast the vegetable slices at medium heat until browned on both sides and soft (though not overcooked). Take out of the pan, spread out on a platter, and spread the dressing on top. Let rest for at least 30 minutes (but can also be prepared well in advance). Serve at room temperature.
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Austrian Food for my Japanese Friends
18 June 2010
Recently three of my Japanese friends came to Germany for a figure skating competition in which we all took part. We all spent a week in the picturesque town of Oberstdorf in southern Germany, and for their first evening I invited my friends over for dinner at my rental apartment with the idea to treat them to some Austrian food.
It has always been a joy to cook for these girls – food is extremely highly valued in Japan, and they are always excited to try regional specialties. And this time again they were totally delighted at the Griessnockerlsuppe (semolina dumpling soup) as a starter, the oven-baked Schinkenfleckerln and the balsamico-dressed salad.
It was the first time I tried to make Schinkenfleckerln, a dish made of pasta and chopped ham, and I have to admit they came out really tasty. I had used some good quality ham and added a lot of nutmeg to the mixture, which gave a very nice touch. The right pasta to use for this – simple little squares of about 1cm – is actually not so common outside Austria, so I used farfalle (the butterflies) instead, which worked out just as fine. With all the cream, butter and eggs it is not exactly the lightest dish, but just so tasty... And after all we were there for a week of intensive sports, so we could really use a good basis...
I kept eating the remainders (of course I had made far too much) bit by bit the following days as a snack here and there, just cold out of the fridge. Simon joined me later that week and got hooked on it, too. We didn't leave a single noodle.
Schinkenfleckerln
| 300g “Fleckerl” pasta (little squares – alternatively take farfalle) |
| 300g cooked ham in slices (maybe slightly smoked) |
| 1 large onion |
| 3 eggs |
| 30g butter |
| 200ml crème fraîche |
| some nutmeg |
| a hand full of parsley, freshly chopped |
| pepper, salt |
Cook the pasta in salt water. When al dente, drain them well and stir in a bit of butter so they won’t stick, and let cool to room temperature. Pre-heat the oven at 180°C. Butter an oven dish and keep it prepared.
Finely chop the onions and let brown in a frying pan with a bit of butter. Cut the ham into little squares about the same size as the pasta (1-2 cm). In a mixing bowl, combine the butter with some pepper and salt as well as a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and stir until creamy. Add the eggs and the crème fraîche and stir again until light and foamy. Then combine with the ham, the toasted onions, the parsley and the cooked pasta.
Fill the mixture into the prepared oven dish and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes (the top should get just slightly browned). Take out of the oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
My tip: The Schinkenfleckerln taste just as yummy the following day(s), warmed up or just cold!
Simon and his Rhubarb Spleen
24 May 2010
Simon is totally in love with everything that contains rhubarb – rhubarb cake, rhubarb jam, rhubarb yogurt,… It is this particular sourly taste he likes so much, and although I am not quite as crazy about rhubarb as him, I can well understand it. But although I like it quite a lot myself, for some reason I have never actually cooked anything with rhubarb before. Probably because we never had it at home (again, not for any particular reason – it just didn’t happen to be part of my parents’ regular dishes).
Now (dispite the on-going cold weather) it’s rhubarb season, and when I came across some at Viktualienmarkt I spontaneously bought a bunch to treat Simon to some nice dessert. Since I had never used raw rhubarb before, I asked the market lady about it, and was amazed at how easy it is to handle – the peel comes off very easily – and all the more I wondered why I never tried it before.
Anyways, this dessert is very simple: rhubarbs and strawberries just stewed in some red wine, finally garnised with a bit of vanilla ice cream. I served it right away and still hot. It was not bad and Simon was delighted, but actually I was a bit disappointed that there was only just a hint of a taste of rhubarb (I suspected it might have been somewhat premature). The real surprise, however, came the following day: I came home hungry from work and pinched a spoon full of the leftovers – what an intense taste of… rhubarb! The fruit sauce had thickened and become much more concentrated, much nicer than the day before.
Unfortunately for him, Simon had left for the week, and I couldn’t possibly resist the temptation. Sorry Simon, you really missed the best… I might make this again, though.
Rhubarb & Strawberry Dessert
| serves about 4 (2 if rhubarb fanatics) |
| 250g fresh rhubarb |
| 250g ripe strawberries |
| juice of 1/2 lemon |
| brown sugar to taste |
| 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar (1 pack) |
| 80ml red wine |
to combine with |
| vanilla ice cream |
Peel the rhubarb and chop into about 2-3 cm long bits. Wash the strawberries and chop, too.
In a saucepan, heat a table spoon of brown sugar until it melts. Add the rhubarb and the strawberries and stir engergetically. Pour over the red wine, add the lemon juice as well as the vanilla sugar and season to taste with some more brown sugar, if you wish.
Set at low heat and stew for at least 20 minutes. Let sit for a few hours so the sauce cools down and thickens, then serve with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
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