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Coq au vin (serves 6)

This is Helle's signature disk for our holidays in France.

100 g lardons (mild unsmoked bacon)
2 tb butter
1 kg chicken, jointed, dried thoroughly
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
80 ml cognac
1 bottle full-bodied red wine
about 400 ml chicken stock
1/2 tb tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
onions & mushrooms as boeuf bourguignon recipe (with which coq au vin shares a strong family resemblance)
3 tb flour
2 tb butter

In a casserole saute bacon in the butter, set aside. Brown the chicken pieces over high heat in the same fat. Return the bacon to the dish, season, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning chicken once. Pour in the cognac and ignite with a match while shaking the dish. Add wine and enough stock to cover. Add tomato paste, garlic, herbs, bring to a simmer, cover and cook slowly for half an hour until chicken is done. Remove chicken.

Simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes, skimming off the fat, then increase heat and reduce to about 600 ml. Adjust seasoning and remove from heat. Blend butter and flour into a paste and whisk into the sauce. Bring to a simmer for a minute or 2, until thick enough to coat a spoon.

Return the chicken to the dish, add the onions and mushroom and heat through to serve.

Source: Julia Child 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'

Boeuf bourguigon (serves 6)

Staying in a classic French vein, this bears reheating and freezing.

200 g lardons (mild unsmoked bacon)
1 tb oil
1.2 kg lean stewing beef, cut in 50 mm cubes, dry with paper towels
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tb flour
1 bottle full-bodied red wine
at least 500 ml beef stock
1 tb tomato paste
2 cloves garlice, crushed
1/2 tsp thyme
bay leaf
18 - 24 small onions, peeled
1 1/2 tb butter
1 1/2 tb oil
125 ml beef stock or wine
bouquet garni
400 g button mushrooms
2 tb butter
1 tb oil

In a large casserole aaute in the oil, remove with a slotted spoon. Saute beef, a few pieces at a time until browned on all sides, set aside. Brown the vegetables. Pour out the fat and return the bacon and beef, add salt and pepper, add the flour and toss lightly to coat. Put in 230'C oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return for a further 4 minutes. (This browns the flour). Remove casserole and reduce oven to 165'C.

Add wine and stock to just cover the meat, add tomato paste, garlic, herbs. Bring to simmer on the stove, cover and return to oven. Simmer slowly for at least 2 1/2 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

Saute onions in butter & oil over moderate heat for about 10 mins until onions are evenly brown. Add braising liquid & bouquet garni, cover and simmer slowly for 45 mins until onions are tender but retain their shape, and liquid has evapourated.

Saute mushrooms carefully in butter, oil and a sprinkling of salt over a high heat, tossing frequently, for around 5 minutes. Remove them from heat as soon as they are brown, they should not give up any liquid.

Tip casserole into a sieve, wash out and return the beef and bacon to it. Add onions and mushrooms. Simmer sauce for a couple of minutes, skimming off the fat. There should be about 600 ml of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon. Adjust seasoning. Pour back into the casserole, bring back to a simmer for a couple of minutes. Serve with buttered noodles or potatoes.

Source: Julia Child 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'

Ratatouille (serves 8)

Do not overcook as the vegetables should stay whole and distinct.

3 onions, thinly sliced
250 ml oil
3 large aubergines, cut in 1 cm chunks
3 red peppers, chopped
3 courgettes, cut in 1 cm chunks
4 large tomatoes, skinned, chopped, drained
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp coriander seeds, roasted & ground
fresh basil or parsley, chopped

Salt aubergines and courgettes, put in a colander and weight down for an hour to press out liquid.

Fry onions in oil until soft. Add augergines, courgettes, peppers, garlic, cover pan and cook gently for 40 mins. Add tomatoes and coriander, season, cook another 30 minutes, possibly uncovered if there is too much liquid in the rat.

Finally stir in the fresh herbs.

Source: Elizabeth David 'French Provincial Cooking'

postmodern apricot dumplings

A postmodern deconstruction of an Austrian dessert classic that is much lighter than the original.
  
50 grs breadcrumbs
50 grs almonds (optional)
50 grs butter
pinch of salt

6 tbsp brown sugar 
8-10 apricots, ripe but firm
a few dashes of apricot schnaps or vin de liqueur (optional)

200 ml yogurt
200 ml mascarpone or whipping cream
3 tbsp  linden honey or elderflower syrup
2 cream chargers (optional)

Mix the yogurt, mascarpone and honey into a smooth cream. For a lighter texture, replace mascarpone with whipping cream, put everything into a syphon and charge with two cream chargers. Keep cool in the fridge. Melt a big knob of butter with a pinch of salt in a non-stick frying pan and on low heat, let the breadcrumbs and almonds slowly toast to a golden brown colour. Keep warm. Cut apricots into eights, caramelize sugar in a non-stick pan, coat the apricots in the sugar and deglaze with a dash of apricot schnaps or vin de liqueur. Keep warm.

To assemble, layer the ingredients into a tall, thin glass in the following order: Start with 1 cm of breadcrumbs, then 1.5 cms of yogurt, 3 cms of apricots , 1.5 cms of yogurt and finish with 1 cm of breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.

Peaches can be substituted for the apricots. Vanilla can be added to the fruits if they are not ripe and fragrant enough.

Onion soup (serves 4)

Not quick to make, but a meal in itself. The goal is a velvety, evenly coloured soup, so use a good heavy pot and take care during cooking to avoid it catching.

600 g thinly sliced onions (yellow or white), outer layer removed
3 tb butter
1 tb oil
1 tsp salt
3 tb flour
2 l stock
125 ml dry white wine
3 tb cognac

Heat butter and oil in pan until foaming has subsided (this means the optimum temperature is attained), add onions and cook slowly, covered, for 15 mins. Uncover, raise heat to moderate, add salt, cook 30 mins until onions are golden brown. Stir frequently. Add flour and cook 3 mins. Remove from heat and stir in stock and wine, season. Simmer partially covered for 30 mins. Add cognac right at the end.

And for the croutes:

4 slices french bread
garlic clove
grated gruyere

Toast both sides of bread under the grill, rub one side with garlic, sprinkle with cheese, return to grill until melted. Place one on top of soup in each bowl, serve.

Source: Julia Child 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'

keeping your pans in order

Cast iron

Seasoning
Cast iron pans should be black due to a protective layer of oil coating the steel. If the pan starts to turn grey, you need to re-oil the pan. Evenly coat the pan with cooking oil and put in a 220'C oven (the oil should be just below smoking point) for half and hour. Turn oven off and leave pan inside as it cools.
Cooking
Do not cook with lots of sugar or tomatoes for prolonged periods of time as it can affect the oil coating.
Cleaning
Do not leave food to stand in cast iron pans. Clean immediately after cooking, don't soak for long periods of time. Dry after washing. wipe with a drop of oil if the surface looks dull before storing.

Black steel
Scrub with steel wool and scouring powder, rinse and dry it. Heat for a minute or two until the bottom is too hot for your hand. Rub with a paper towel and oil and let it stand overnight. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt in the pan, heat again, and rub vigorously for a moment with paper towels, rub pan clean.

Kuku Sabzi - Iranian herb frittata

1 cup spring onions (green parts only)
1 cup parsley
1 cup coriander
1 cup dill
1/4 cup fenugreek leaves (dried) 
 
6 eggs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon advieh (Persian allspice) 
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp fine flour
2 tablespoons dried barberries (optional)
100 grs ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. While it is heating up, put ghee in an oven-proof dish, about 25x15 cms, until melted, reserve 1/4 of it. Soak the dried fenugreek leaves in lukewarm water for 15 minutes, remove and drain in a sieve. Finely chop the herbs including the thinner stalks. Break eggs into a bowl, add baking powder, flour, advieh, garlic, salt and pepper, beat with a whisk until smooth, mix with the herbs and pour into the oven-proof dish. Bake for 15 minutes, pour remaining ghee over the top, spreading it evenly. Return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes. It should be set and have a slightly golden crust.

Cut into small pieces and serve with flat bread and cucumber yogurt.

source: New Food of Life - Najmieh Batmanglij 

Jujeh Kabab - Iranian Saffron Chicken Kabab

Had this every second day in Tehran. Delicious, either made on a grill or with a cast iron grill pan.

for the marinade:
1 onion, thinly sliced
250 grs full fat yoghurt (10% Greek/Turkish style)
juice of one lime or lemon
2 tsp olive oil
1 gr. saffron (1/2 tsp)
2 tsp salt
pepper

1 kg chicken breast, cut into cubes, about 2 cms
5 tomatoes, halved, or 10 cocktail tomatoes

baste (optional):
juice of 1 lime or lemon
50 gr. butter
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

Grind saffron and salt with a pestil and mortar. Dissolve with 2 tbsp hot water. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken, mix, cover and marinate for at least 6 hrs to 2 days.

Thread on skewers with tomatoes and slowly grill on a charcoal grill or a grill pan. Optionally paint with the baste during the grilling and just before serving.

Serve with a cucumber yogurt and flat bread or with basmati rice topped with a knob of butter and a raw egg yolk.

source: New Food of Life - Najmieh Batmanglij

sweet potato gratin (serves 4-6)

Finally, a seriously simple but great gratin recipe.

1.5 kg sweet potatoes (or normal) washed and sliced into 5 mm slices

5 tsp sage, roughly choppped

6 garlic cloves, crushed with 2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

250 m double cream

Mix together everything but the cream. Arrange in a gratin dish by tightly packing handfuls of potato slices vertically (skin edges facing up) until dish is full. Cover with foil and bake in a 200'C oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil, pour over cream and bake a further 25 mins, or until potatoes are soft. Garnish with extra sage and serve.

Source: Ottolenghi

chocolate cake

A building block cake. Great for birthday cakes.

50 g high quality cocoa powder

100 ml milk

100 ml cream

200 g raw sugar

125 g butter

2 eggs

150 g flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar

good pinch salt

Combine cocoa, milk, cream, half of sugar, butter over low heat. Whisk eggs with rest of sugar, baking powder, vanilla sugar, salt until tripled in volume. Fold cocoa mixture gently into egg, alternating with flour.

Bake in 200' oven for about 30 mins and remove just before cake is fully set in the middle. It will complete cooking as it cools.

From: kogebogen.dk and Georg

plunger coffee

10 g ground coffee per cup

95'C water i.e. not boiling

steep for 3 mins for a medium size jug

depress plunger and pour out

pizza dough (4 small pizzas)

After years on the shelf Ollie's pizza recipe is finally getting a workout.

800 g flour (combination of hard flour and wholegrain durum flour - currently experimenting with ideal proportions)

650 ml lukewarm water

15 g yeast

15 g salt

25 ml olive oil

Combine water and yeast well, add to rest of ingredients and knead, preferably in a mixer with a dough hook, for 10 mins. Divide dough into 4, put in separate bowls and cover with gladwrap, and leave in a warm place for a couple of hours or so until doubled in size. Put in the fridge for 1-24 hours. Take out and allow to recover while you preheat the oven (with pizza stone I hope) as hot as it will go. For a drier thinner style use 500 ml water and 50 ml olive oil. Take a portion of dough and stretch out on a floured surface with your hands.

For a baked pizza lay up your toppings and put straight into the oven. Getting the pizza into the oven is an art in itself I won't claim to have mastered. Leave in long enough for the toppings to cook together well and base to be baked through.

For a grilled pizza brush dough with garlic oil and put in the oven oiled side down. Leave in until bottom is starting to brown, take out, lay up your toppings, then put back in the oven. The toppings need only melt for the pizza to be done. Good for white pizzas (ie without tomato base) and delicate toppings.

Georgian beetroot and walnut salad

Another recipe from the excellent book "Die georgische Tafel" (The Georgian table) by Nana Ansari, who runs a wonderful restaurant on Karmelitermarkt in Vienna.

1/2 kg fresh beetroot
100 grs walnuts
50 grs spring onion
25 grs fresh coriander
25 grs fresh dill
25 grs fresh parsley
1 clove of garlic
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
chili powder

Wash the beetroot and boil for 12 minutes over steam in a pressure cooker. They should be soft but firm. Let cool and peel. Chop into very fine cubes, max half a centimeter long. Roughly chop the walnuts herbs, garlic in a food processor. Add vinegar and season with salt and chili powder. Mix well with the beetroot. Adjust seasoning, serve cool.

Georgian spinach with yoghurt

This is from Georgia, not from me...

1/2 kg fresh leaf spinach
250 ml greek yogurt
25grs fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
chilli powder
salt

Wash and spin-dry the salad. Briefly wilt in a frying pan, chop roughly. Mix with yogurt, coriander, garlic. Season with chilli powder and salt. Chill and serve cool.

adapted from: Die georgische Tafel (The Georgian table), Nana Ansari

Japanese meat balls

200 grs shredded chicken or minced beef
1 spring onion
2 fresh shiitake mushrooms or 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1,5 cm of fresh ginger, grated
1,5 tbsp saké
1,5 tsp dark soy sauce
oil for frying

In a food processor, blend the dried mushrooms very finely. Boil with a small amount of water until soft and water has nearly evaporated. In the food processor, chop the spring onion (and shiitake if using fresh ones), add the remaining ingredients apart from the meat. Blend once more, then add the meat and blend into a very fine texture. Using two tablespoons, shape into little balls and fry in ground nut oil.

Serve on sticky rice, sprinkle with juices from the pan,  finely chopped green parts of spring onion and shanso pepper.  This should work well also in a clear Japanese noodle soup.

Adapted from: Japanese Cooking, A Simple Art, Shizuo Tsuji 

Za'atar with Sumac

If you can't get Za'atar, it is easy to make it yourself. There are are many different varieties, here is one with sumac:

3 tbsp sumac
2 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp savory
1 tbsp majoram
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsps sesame seeds

Put the spices in a food processor and give them a short whizz. Dry roast the sesame seeds and roughly grind with a pestil and mortar. Keeps for a couple of months.

Great on flat bread with a bit of olive oil.

Georg's Faux Gras with Gewürztraminer jelly

Had something similar with real foie gras in Alsace, delicious. Tried to emulate it with ethically slightly more correct chicken livers, which took a bit of research and experimenting. The result is not the same but a great dish in its own right.


faux gras

300 grs chicken livers
100 ml full fat cream
200 grs butter
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
15 grs dried porcini or shiitake mushrooms 
3 tbsp cognac or brandy
1 tbsp port or sherry
1 tbsp english mustard
white pepper
salt

Finely chop the onion and garlic, fry slowly until translucent. Finely grind the dried mushrooms in a food processor, then simmer with half of the cream for 10 minutes. (Fresh mussrooms might work equally, they would need to be fried with the livers.) Clean the livers of any white bits and dark spots, chop and fry with the onions until done. Add cognac and port and turn heat off immediately. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend into a fine mush. Adjust seasoning, maybe add a bit of cognac if necessary. Pour into little ramekins and refrigerate.

The surface will go green when stored in the fridge, so if you want to keep it for a few days it is best to cover it with a thin layer of clarified butter.


Gewürztraminer jelly

1/4 l Gewürztraminer or other aromatic sweet dessert wine
50-100grs sugar according to taste
agar agar powder (quantity according to instructions of your brand)

Simmer the Gewürztraminer with the sugar and agar agar for three minutes. Pour into a flat bottom container about half a centimeter high. Refrigerate. Remove and cut into thin strips and serve with the paté.

roast chicken with sumac, za'atar and lemon (serves 4)

1 large chicken, quartered (breast and wing, leg and thigh)

2 red onions, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 tb olive oil

1 1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tb sumac

1 lemon, thinly sliced

200 ml chicken stock

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tb za'atar

20 g unsalted butter

50 g pine nuts

4 tb chopped parsley

Mix chicken, spices, lemon, garlic, red onion, stock, salt and pepper in a large bowl and marinate overnight in fridge.

Bake in 200'C oven 30 - 40 minutes.

Sautee pine nuts in butter with pinch of salt until golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

Cover chicken with other ingredients.

Source: Ottolenghi

buckwheat pancakes

1 1/4 cups 150 g buckwheat flour
1/2 cup 60 g standard flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
4 eggs, separated, whisk whites until stiff
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups blueberries

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients except egg whites. Mix together carefully until just combined. Fold in egg whites in two batches with a metal spoon to avoid deflating them. Measure 1/4 cup mixture onto pan and sprinkle with blueberries.

OPTIONS:
Drop sliced bananas or other fruit on top in smallish pieces before turning, but be careful they don't stick .

Source:'The Best New Recipe'

jerusalem artichoke and rocket soup

The rocket enhances the artichokes' earthy flavour, then the yoghurt lightens things up.

400 g jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed clean and roughly diced

45 g rocket, roughly chopped plus extra to garnish

1 l chicken stock

10 garlic cloves, crushed

6 spring onions, minced

1 egg

350 g Greek yoghurt

Put first 4 ingredients in a pot and simmer for 1/2 hour, blend smooth, remove from heat.

Whisk egg into yoghurt. Slowly add about half the hot soup to the yoghurt, ladle by ladle, to bring the yoghurt temperature up without splitting it. Pour yoghurt back into the soup pot, bring very gently to a simmer for a minute or two. Add spring onions, season, and garnish.

Source: Ottolenghi

grilled broccoli with chilli and garlic

Broccoli like you've never tasted before.

2 heads of broccoli, separated into florets

115 ml olive oil

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 mild red chillies, thinly sliced

toasted almond flakes or lemon, thinly sliced

Blanch broccoli in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes exactly. Remove and dunk in ice-cold water to stop it cooking. Drain and allow to dry completely - this will take some time. Toss with 45 ml oil and season generously. Grill broccoli on a smoking hot griddle pan in several batches, turning to grill all over.

Sautee garlic and chilli in the remaining oil until golden. Toss with the broccoli. Garnish with almond or lemon.

Source: Ottolenghi

pizza

This is a catch-all post for pizza topping ideas. I assume you already have your dough.

Chanterelle, Radicchio, and Pancetta Pizza (enough for 2 small pizzas)

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces fresh chanterelles, cleaned, sliced

1 1/2 tb plus 2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp lemon juice

3 cups thinly sliced radicchio (about 1 small head)

1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

1 cup (packed) Italian Fontina (such as Val d’Aosta), coarsely grated (about 4 ounces)

1 fresh mozzarella cheese, drained, halved, thinly sliced

2 ounces thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon), very coarsely chopped

Heat 4 tablespoons oil in large skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 tablespoon thyme; stir 30 seconds. Mix in lemon juice and season. Set aside.

Heat remaining oil over high heat. Add radicchio, leek, and 1 tablespoon thyme, season, sauté until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Scatter Fontina and mozzarella on pizza. Top with radicchio mixture, then mushroom mixture. Sprinkle over pancetta and 1 teaspoon thyme. Bake pizza.

Four cheese white pizza

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then coarsely chopped

3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Mix remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic. Brush pizza dough with some of the oil, bake for 1 minute with oiled side down.

Top browned side with mozzarella cheese and goat cheese, leaving. Crumble ricotta cheese over, then sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake pizza. Drizzle remaining garlic-oil over pizza. Sprinkle with basil.

spaghetti with mushroom and parmesan (serves 4)

My own invention. Delicious!

250 g mushrooms (oyster are good) torn into strips

1 tb butter

1 packet spaghetti, cooked

2 cloves garlic, minced

big handful of finely grated parmesan

broad leaf parsley, chopped

Sautee mushrooms in butter for a few minutes, add a splash of water, add garlic and cook a further minute. They should be juicy. Toss with the hot spaghetti, parmesan, and parsley and season.

Japanese mushroom broth

A delicious broth with intense mushroom flavour.

10 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 handful dried porcini mushrooms
1 piece of kombu (giant kelp, ca. 5x20 cm)
2 tablespoons dried wakame pieces
vegetable and sesame oil

1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 carrot, very finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, very finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp finely grated ginger and juice

a few handfuls of fresh mushrooms like shiitake, oyster, enoki, shimeji, porcini...

4 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp tamari or darks soya sauce

optionally: soba noodles, silken tofu

Wipe kombu with a damp cloth, place with 5 of the porcini mushrooms in 2 litres of cold waters. Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove Kombu. Finely blend the dried porcini and 5 dried shiitake mushrooms in a food processor, add to the broth. Boil for 15 minutes, let sit for 10 minutes. Remove whole shiitake mushrooms from the broth, slice and return to the broth.

Fry onion, carrot and celery in vegetable and sesame oil until translucent. Add garlic and mirin and cook for on a minute. Add to the broth.

In the same frying pan, fry fresh mushrooms in vegetable and sesame oil, salt liberally.
Add tamari and ginger to the soup. Ladle soup into bowls, place the fried mushrooms in the middle. Sprinkle with seven spice mix or freshly ground black pepper.

Cooked soba noodles or tofu can be added to the soup in order to turn it into a main dish.

Adapted from: yoshuku, jane lawson

warm chickpea salad

Another dinner out of a can, but deceptively delicious.

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 celery stalk, finely sliced

1/2 cup fennel, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed with some salt

2 tb lemon juice

2 tb olive oil

3 tb parsley, torn

Boil a kettle and pour the water over the chickpeas in a bowl. Combine the other ingredients, then drain the chickpeas and throw them in as well. Stir and sit a little. Suits grilled lamb.

Possible additions: sliced black olives, canned tuna if you want a meal in itself.

Source: Bill's food

roast chicken with saffron, hazelnuts and honey

Ottolenghi's was one of my favorite places to get food when I lived in London. They put out one of the few 'celebrity' cookbooks I have time for.

1 chicken, divided into quater: breast and wing, leg and thigh

2 onions, roughly chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

generous pinch of saffron strands

juice of 1 lemon

4 tbsp water

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

100g hazelnuts

70g honey

2 tbsp rosewater

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

Mix the chicken and spices, water, lemon juice together and leave at least an hour in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 190'C and roast hazelnuts on a tray for up to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Combine with honey and rosewater and mash in a pestle to a chunky paste.

Put chicken and marinade into a generous roasting tray, bake for 35 mins. Spread hazelnut paste over chicken pieces and return to oven for 5-10 minutes.

Garnish with spring onions and serve with rice or couscous.

Source: Ottolenghi Cookbook

chickpeas on toast

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp carraway seeds

1 medium carrot, in 1cm dice

1 medium onion, in 1cm dice

30g chorizo sausage, finely diced

2 tsp tomato puree

120g tinned chickpeas, reserve water

200g tinned tomatoes

1 tsp caster sugar

Saute seeds in olive oil briefly, add carrot and onion and saute until soft. Add puree and sausage, cook a little more, add remaining ingredients + enough water so that total added liquid amounts to 220ml. Simmer covered for 20 mins. Remove lid and cook til nicely thickened.

Serve on thick toast and sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves.

Source: Ottolenghi in The Guardian

Nick's vietnamese dipping sauce

1 cup water
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tb raw sugar
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped (to taste)
2 fresh chillies, finely chopped (to taste)

Mix all together. Keeps well in the fridge.

Essential accompaniment to spring rolls.

Source: Nick

Roast Beef & Variations

1,5 kg beef (minimum) blade chuck or top sirloin)

salt, pepper

mustard 
olive oil

Take beef out of the fridge a couple of hours before cooking so that it can warm up to room temperature. Liberally salt, pepper and rub with generous amounts of mustard. Preheat oven to 80-90 degrees celsius. Sear beef with olive oil in a heavy pan on very high heat on all sides. Sit on a roasting rack in a tray not much bigger than the beef. Slow roast until internal temperature reaches 55 degrees celsius. (This takes approximately 30 mins for every 500 grs of meat.) Remove from oven, cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

Another recipe: Heston Blumenthal sears the beef with a blow torch and cooks it at an extremely low 55 degrees for about 20 hours.


Variations:

With warm Belugal lentils
Cut cold beef into thin slices and serve on top of Warm Beluga Lentil Salad and drizzle with Austrian pumpkin seed oil.

Japanese
Very thinly slice cold roast beef and cut into strips. Place on top of a bowl of steaming hot Japanese sticky rice, this will warm the beef. Sprinkle with grated horseradish or wasabi. Drizzle with a Japanese sauce made of 50 ml mirin, 40 ml soya sauce, a grated 2 cm piece of ginger and a dash of lime or lemon juice.

Breakfast
Thin slices on toasted bread, with horseradish and fleur de sel.

green papaya or mango salad (serves 1)

1 small green (underripe) papaya or mango
1 tsp palm sugar softened in a little water
pinch chopped garlic
pinch chopped birdseye chilli
5 x 10 cm pieces snake bean
few roasted peanuts
pinch chopped dried shrimps
1 tb fish sauce
1 tb tamarind water
4 cherry plum tomatoes, halved
juice of up to 1 lime

Peel papaya/mango and finely shred on mandoline. Put garlic, chilli, beans in mortar and bruise with pestle. Add everything else and bruise once more. Add the papaya and bruise once more. Serve.

Carefully control the amount of lime according to taste.

Source: Rick Stein's seafood odyssey

salmon with Japanese citrus soy glaze

cooking time: 10 minutes.

3 tbsp soy sauce
120 ml sake or sherry
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tsp caster sugar
80 grs butter
1 inch of finely grated ginger stem
black sesame seeds to garnish

4 Salmon fillets

Fry the salmon with a mixture of groundnut oil and sesame oil. Remove from the pan, discard fat. Add all the ingredients for the glaze, bring to the boil and cook for 4-5 minutes, until glazy.

Serve with rice, garnish with black sesame seeds.

This might go well with chicken fillets as well.

Adapted from: Yoshuku, Jane Lawson

Japanese savoury cup custard - Chawan Mushi

This is delicious, both in taste and texture.


custard:  
3 eggs 
450 ml dashi or home-made chicken stock 
1 tbsp mirin or dry sherry 
1 tbsp light soy sauce

ingredients: 
4 shrimps 
4 small dried shiitake mushrooms 
1 small piece of salmon, cut into 4 bite-sized cubes 
1 small piece of chicken breast, cut into 4 bite-sized cubes
1 small carrot, cut into 4 pieces 

Other possible ingredients: clams, oysters, mussels, broccoli, pumpkin, turnip.

preparation time: about 45 minutes

Boil the dried shiitake mushrooms and carrots in water until soft. The mushrooms will take longer than the carrots. The water can then be used to make the dashi-stock. Meanwhile, marinate the salmon and chicken pieces with a little bit of sake and soja sauce. Divide the salmon, shrimp, mushrooms and carrots between 4 small heat-proof bowls. Carefully blend the ingredients for the custard without creating bubbles. Slowly pour into the bowls until ingredients are covered. Cover with cling film or tin foil. Steam for 20 mins, the temperature should not go above 80 degrees celsius. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and dried tuna flakes (Katsuobushi).  

Adapted from: Japanese Cooking, A Simple Art, Shizuo Tsuji 

flash-fried leaves

Not so much a recipe as a method statement for quickly cooking all sorts of leaves as a side, with occasional updates.

Radicchio
Quarter a head including the stem and stir fry in a little olive oil until wilted. Dress sparingly with a vinaigrette of mustard, honey, apple vinegar and olive oil. Crispy bacon crumbled on top is good.

Cabbage (also chinese greens)
Slice cabbage in strips. Put some peanut oil in a wok, add finely chopped garlic and ginger (2 to 1 ratio) and fry briefly. Add cabbage, stir-fry briefly, add japanese soy sauce to taste. When cabbage just done, add enough sesame oil to give it all a glossy appearance, and serve.

beghrir - Moroccan semolina pancakes

Great as a dessert or for breakfast!

125 grs fine semolina
50 grs plain all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
100ml milk
250 ml water
1 egg
15 grs dried yeast
honey
butter
orangeblossom- or rose-water
fresh berries, to serve


Sieve Flour into a bowl, add semolina and salt, mix. Warm the milk and water together to 35'C. Add egg, sugar and yeast. Pour over semolina mixture. Mix gently for 10 minutes. Cover and leave in a warm place for two hours until frothy. Fry small pancakes over low heat on one side only, do not turn. Small bubbles should appear on the upper side. Do not pile pancakes on top of each other while they are hot.

Gently warm a lump of butter together with some honey. Add a dash of orangeblossom- or rose-water. Mix well and spread onto the pancakes before serving.

Serve with thick yoghurt and fresh berries, garnish with mint. Great with Moroccan thé à la menthe.

fast & delicious chocolate cake (with optional orange or bergamot flavours)

220 g chocolate (min 70%)

8 tbsp butter

4 eggs (at room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla-sugar

½ tsp salt

50 grs sugar

2 tbsp flour

optional:

finely grated zest from 2 organic oranges 

8-10 drops of bergamot oil (available in pharmacies)

total preparation time: about 20-25 minutes.

Melt the chocolate together with the butter in the microwave or over a bain-marie. Meanwhile, beat the eggs together with salt, sugar and vanilla until they have tripled in volume. This takes about 5 minutes with an electric whisk. Sieve the flour over the mixture and slowly and gently work in the chocolate & butter. Optionally, add one of the flavorings, or both. Done. Fill into individual heat-proof cups or into a single round springform 18 cms in diameter, which have been greased and dusted with flour.

Bake at 180 degrees, approx. 8 minutes for the individual cup cakes or approx. 12 minutes for a single cake. Check before the time is up, the center should still be wobbly and undercooked. Serve warm!

adapted from "The Best Recipe" (fallen chocolate cake)

chocolate guinness cake

250 ml guinness

250g unsalted butter

75 cocoa

400 caster sugar

140 ml sour cream

2 eggs

1 tb real vanilla extract

275g flour

2 1/1 tsp baking soda

Preheat to 180'C, butter and line a 23 cm tin. Put guinness in a pot with butter until melted, whisk in cocoa and sugar. Beat sour cream with eggs and vanilla, add to pot, whisk in dry ingredients. Pour into tin and bake 45 mins to an hour.

300 g philadelphia cream cheese

150 g icing sugar

125ml double cream

Put sugar in a food processor, whizz, add cream cheese and whizz. Add cream and whizz to spreadable consistency. Trowel over the cooled cake.

From: Roberta

saffron polenta

1 cup of corn polenta
4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
good pinch of saffron
salt
parmesan cheese

Grind saffron with some salt in a mortar, add to the stock, bring to a boil. Slowly pour in the polenta while stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook at low heat for about 20-30 minutes (Depending on the type of Polenta) stirring continuously. It's done when the polenta starts to stick to the spoon and comes away from the edges of the pot. Add some grated parmesan, stir to blend and fill into a oiled cake tin or pour onto cling film and shape into a roll. Let cool.

Cut into slices with a string, which can then be fried, grilled or gratinated with some more parmesan.

Sprinkle with some fresh thyme and serve as a side with lamb etc. or as a savoury breakfast.

The above would work equally with Thom's "real polenta made easy"- recipe

Sweet and sour okra

200 grs okra
7 garlic cloves
half a small onion
1 dried chili, seeds removed
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp sugar
3 tsp lemon juice
vegetable oil

Wash and pad dry okra, trim ends and cut into 3 cm pieces. Put garlic and chili into a food processor with 3 tbsp water. Blend into a smooth paste. Mix with ground cumin, coriander and tumeric.

Heat oil, add whole cumin seeds, fry until they start to sizzle, lower heat and add the spice paste, fry for one minute then add okra, sugar, lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of water. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and simmer for 8 minutes or until Okra is tender.


from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery 

barmix mayonnaise

A naked sales pitch for a barmix, but this is brilliant. The ingredients transform into mayo as if by magic.

1 egg at room temperature
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp white wine vinegar
300 ml oil (sunflower, or part extra virgin oil to your taste)

Put the ingredients in the order listed into a tall beaker. Place barmix with inclined disc blade right to the bottom, turn on high speed for 10 seconds, then slowly draw up through the mixture and push down again. Repeat once or twice. Takes 20 seconds in all.

green beans with pork

This delicious Thai dish has more garlic in it than anything else I cook. You can of course vary the vegetable component.

500 green beans, cut into short lengths
12 - 16 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 - 9 fresh hot chillies (to your own taste), finely chopped
5 tb oil
275 g lean pork, minced
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tb brown sugar
3 tb fish sauce

Put oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add garlic and chillies and stir-fry until golden. Add pork, stir-fry until no longer raw, add remaining ingredients + 300 ml water. Cook about 8 mins until beans are tender and water largely absorbed.

From: Madhur Jaffrey Far Eastern Cookery

trio restaurant in Malmø

We went here for Helle's 40th birthday and had a transcendent meal, served to us by the 3 chefs themselves. Absolute attention to detail, utter seriousness, pure modernity. We would have giggled at it all if the food wasn't so brilliant. The tempered cod with mushrooms has just set a new bar for a fish course; I doubt I'll find better. Or fish roe with carrot puree and powdered beef marrow - sounds absurd but in reality amazing.

chocolate orange cake

A moist, flourless, scrummy cake made entirely in the food processor. Brilliant!

2 small thin-skinned oranges, c 375 g

6 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

200 g ground almonds

250 g caster sugar

50 g cocoa

Put whole oranges in a pot with cold water, bring to boil, simmer 2 hours. Drain, halve, remove pips, pulp the lot in the food processor, allow to cool. This much can be done the day before.

Add remaining ingredients to the food processor and run until combined but still a little lumpy. Pour into a buttered and lined 30 cm tin. Bake in a 180 ' C oven for about an hour. Check after 45 minutes, cover with foil if top is in danger of burning.

Cool in tin then turn out. Decorate with additional orange peel if desired.

From: Nigella Lawson via Roberta

Crab, prawn & ginger laksa (serves 8)

This is fearsomely complex but can easily be adapted with fewer ingredients, omission of the wontons, changing the crab to mussels etc. Main point is the delicious soup packed with ginger and using fresh wonton wrappers as 'instant' noodles.

1.5 kg crabs

2 medium-hot chillies, halved

2 red onions, peeled and quartered

1 carrot, peeled and finely sliced

6 cloves garlic, crushed with skins on

3 tsp dried shrimp paste

10 cm thumb of ginger, finely sliced

10 cm thumb of galangal, finely sliced

1 tin chopped tomatoes

6 lime leaves

4 stalks lemongrass, bashed

150 g minced raw prawn meat

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated

Fish sauce

6 spring onions, finely sliced

wonton wrappers

12 small bok choy, halved

lemon juice

1 c fresh coriander leaves

1/4 c mint leaves

Remove claws and crack them. Smash the body and legs of the crabs with a hammer, put on a roasting dish and cook in a 220'C oven for 30 mins. Add chillies, carrot, garlic and shrimp paste, cook 20 mins more. Tip everything into a pot and cover with 3 l water, simmer a little and skim, add ginger, galangal, tomatoes, lime leaves, lemon grass and simmer gently for 2 hours. At some point remove the meat from the claws, set aside and return claws to pot.

Mix prawn, ginger, fish sauce, spring onions together, chill in fridge 30 mins. Put a little in a wonton wrapper and seal edges with water.

Strain stock, return to boil and add bok choy. Add wontons and cook 4 mins. Shred remaining wonton wrappers into 'noodles' and drop these in, cook briefly. Adjust seasoning.

Serve with crab meat and herbs.

From: The Sugar Club cookbook

Guzi's fish and chips

Travelling up the unbelievably beautiful west coast of the South Island in New Zealand? Stop for fish and chips at Guzi's on the back street of Franz Josef. An authentic chippie yet to succumb to gentrification.

salmon chips

Never throw away that piece of raw salmon skin again!

Instead take it, coat both sides with vegetable oil and sprinkle liberally with salt flakes. Put under a hot grill, scale-side facing up. Watch carefully, remove when crispy and break into bits. Eat immediately.

From: Brownie

crème de panais- cream of parsnip soup

4 parsnips, about 600-700 grs
1 onion
1 liter of vegetable or chicken stock
dash of full-fat cream
3 tbsp crème d'amandes
2 bay leafs

nutmeg

chervil or parsley

jerusalem artichokes

oil for deep frying

A delicious sweet and creamy soup! Wash & brush the parsnip, no need to peel them. Roughly chop parsnip and onions and put into a pot with the stock and bay-leaf. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the crème d'amandes. When the vegetables are done, blend into a smooth cream. In a separate bowl, slowly mix the crème d'amandes with a few spoons of the soup, then blend into the soup by hand. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add cream. Top with

jerusalem artichoke chips. Garnish with chervil or parsley.

The soup is even better a day or two later.

crème d'amandes
Either use raw unpeeled almonds or alternatively blanch, peel and dry-roast them until they take on colour. Let cool down. Using a food processor, blend into a very smooth paste comparable to dry tahini. This takes quite a long time. Stop frequently in order to loosen the paste with a spoon and to avoid overheating. Can be kept in a jar in the fridge for months.

jerusalem artichoke chips

Finely slice the jerusalem artichokes, no need to peel them. Keep in cold water with a dash of lemon juice or vinegar to avoid discoloration. Drain and pat dry, deep fry until golden, drain and salt.

from: Claire Girard's "Ma Vraie Nature"

carrot, ginger & orange soup with dukkah (serves 4)

A much superior carrot soup to my first effort:

40 g butter

1 large onion, chopped

2 tb ginger, finely chopped

700 carrots, peeled and chopped

1.2l chicken stock

an orange, skin/pith/membranes cut off, chopped, seeds removed

Saute onion and ginger in butter until soft, add carrots, add stock and simmer for a half hour. Blend well, add orange, blend again. Reheat gently and adjust seasoning.

Serve with natural yoghurt and dukka, an Egyptian spice mix:

1 tb cumin seeds

2 tb coriander seeds

1 tb ground cinnamon

1 tb whole pepper

2 tb sesame seeds

2 tb hazelnuts
dried mint or thyme

1 tsp rough salt

Toast cumin, coriander and pepper. Grind to a powder. Toast seasame lightly. Roast hazelnuts in an oven til lightly done, rub in a teatowel to remove skins, cool, break up roughly. Combine all.

breakfast like a king

"Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."

Adelle Davis, pioneering American nutritionist.

Not sure about her suggestion for dinner, but she is right about breakfast. Sunday brunch is nice - but we have a cooked breakfast nearly everyday, it is amazing how quick it is once you get the routine and hang of it. Keeps you going for most of the day!

pan con tomaca (Spain)

ciabatta, baguette or rye bread

3 ripe tomatoes, grated into a mush

clove of garlic

olive oil

fleur de sel

Halve bread sticks and cut in large pieces. Roast on a cast iron griddle, if necessary with a bit of olive oil. Rub with a clove of garlic, drizzle with olive oil. Spread liberally with tomato mush. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. A bit of thyme is also nice.

churros con chocolate (Spain)

OK, this is heavy and deep-frying in order to make breakfast is not for the faint-hearted, but this makes a great calorie-orgy on the occasional weekend.

250 grs medium white flour

250 ml water

1/4 tsp salt

rapeseed oil for frying

Bring water to a boil, lower heat, add flour and salt, mix vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a thick dough ball, remove from heat. Press through a solid one-hand cake decorator with a large star-shaped tip into 10 cm long strips. Heat oil to 180 degrees in a pan, fry until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. For extra calories, roll in sugar.

Traditionally, churros are eaten dunked into Spanish hot chocolate. The "Reybar" brand is the very best if you can get your hands on it. Otherwise you can make some yourself:

120 grs good dark chocolate, chopped
2 cups full-fat milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp sugar

vanilla essence

Heat chocolate and half of the milk in a pan. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk and whisk into the chocolate with the sugar and vanilla extract. Cook on low heat, whisking constantly, until the chocolate is thickened, about five minutes. Add extra cornstarch if it doesn't start to thicken after 5 minutes, it is supposed to be nearly solid! Remove from heat and whisk smooth. Pour and server in wide cups or bowls for dunking churros.

Serve with freshly-pressed orange juice and plenty of water to balance the richness of the chocolate con churros.

frittata (Italy)

4 eggs

2 tomatoes, chopped

dash of milk

roasted red peppers in oil and/or caper-berries

grated parmesan

1 clove of garlic, minced

fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary or basil

Lightly whisk the eggs with the milk, add the remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour into a 20 cm heavy-bottomed non-stick pan and fry covered over very low heat, until set. Use a heat-spreader on a gas-hob if necessary. Cooking time is 20 minutes, no need to flip over. The bottom will be nicely browned.

You can add to the basic recipe of egg, tomato, cheese, garlic and herbs whatever ingredients you find in the fridge. Fresh vegetables should be cooked before. Feta cheese, roasted red peppers and Thai basil is a great combination.

Mediterranean fry up

merguez sausages or other spicy lamb sausages

thinly sliced fried haloumi cheese

fried tomatoes

roasted mushrooms sprinkled with thyme

green or red peppers roasted with garlic

eggs sunny side up

fried slices of saffron polenta, (great with an egg sunny side up)

fresh avocado, drizzled with olive oil and black pepper

Fry everything, serve with warm pita or other flat bread, hummus, baba ghanoush, or ful mudammas. Garnish with fresh thyme.

homemade yoghurt (Morocco)

yoghurt: UHT-full-fat milk and natural yoghurt as a starter

orange blossom water

honey

prunes or walnuts

Homemade yoghurt is the most delicious yoghurt you can get and it is easy to make. Mix 1 liter of UHT milk with half a cup of fresh natural yoghurt with live cultures. Keep for 8-10 hours in a yoghurt-maker or any other warm place, about 38 degrees. The longer you let it ripen, the more sour it will become. Let cool and then refrigerate. Mix with a dash or orange blossom water, chopped prunes or walnuts and sprinkle with honey.

smoked fish with poached egg (Scotland)

smoked fish filets: salmon, trout, haddock

ciabatta, baguette or rye bread

eggs, 1 each

fresh or curd cheese

caper-berries

dill (fresh, or frozen)

Roast the bread on a cast iron griddle. Spread with fresh or curd cheese, sprinkle with chopped caper-berries, a slice of fish, black pepper, dill and finally cover with an egg, either poached or sunny side up, salt with fleur de sel. Heaven.

porridge (Great Britain)

Porridge? Yes! You just need really good oats and a generous amount of salt and some nice topping:

1 part coarse or medium rolled oats

2 parts water

1/4 tsp salt

Bring water  and salt to a boil, add oatmeal, (mixing in a bit of rougher oatmeal makes for a heartier texture). If your porridge tends to stick and burn, prepare it in a bain-marie. If you prefer a softer porridge add more water.

Top with honey, freshly toasted chopped nuts or fresh fruit - ripe peaches are simply delicious.

Also great with apple slices, fried in butter together with a bit of sugar until slightly caramelized. Check out this page on the perfect porridge.

ham or roast beef with freshly grated horseradish (Austria)

Horseradish clears your head in the morning. Eat with some nice rye bread. Preserved, creamed horseradish also works as does a good mustard.

Recipe for home-made roast beef to follow.

scrambled eggs with fresh porcini mushrooms (Austria)

handfull of porcini mushrooms,

butter 

eggs

dash of milk

salt

A delicacy for the short time of the year when you can get fresh porcini mushrooms. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices. Fry in butter until browned, salt. Lightly whisk eggs with milk, salt and pepper, add to the mushrooms in the pan. Don't fry and scramble too long, the scrambled egg should still be quite moist. Sprinkle with black pepper & thyme. Also good with oyster mushrooms, fried with garlic.

fruit salad with mint

Cut various kinds of fruit in pieces, mix, sprinkle with lemon juice. Sweeten with honey if necessary and add chopped fresh mint. Some nuts, possibly roasted are also nice.

mango lassi

natural yoghurt

500 ml mango pulp (Alphonso variety)

250-500 ml water, according to taste

1 tbsp orange blossom or rose water

Mix all ingredients, sprinkle with ground cardamon and/or roast ground cumin and some toasted slivered almonds or pistachios. Garnish with mint.

Saké-Simmered Mackerel

This is one of the most delicious ways I have encountered to cook mackerel, which some people avoid because of its strong taste. However it is one of the cheapest fish you can buy, is healthy and one of the few species of fish that Greenpeace still recommends (together with herring and carp). Filleting mackerel can be a bit of work but if you get it filleted in the shop then it is a very simple & fast recipe.

500 g of mackerel filets
180 ml sake
120 ml mirin
80 ml dark soy sauce
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
pinch sugar

In a heavy sauce pan, heat saké until just simmering. Lay in mackerel filets, skin side up. Bring saké back to a quick boil, add mirin, bring back to boil. Sprinkle with ginger, add soy sauce, bring back to boil. (Waiting for the liquid to boil each time when adding fluids is supposed to rid the mackerel of odor.) Finally add the sugar. Cover with a wooden drop-lid or a circle of baking paper with a venting hole cut in the middle. Cook on high heat for 10 minutes or until fish is tender.

Serve with Japanese sticky rice and miso soup.

Source: Japanese Cooking, a simple art by Shizuo Tsuji

Beetroot soup with apple and horseradish

A rich soup with intersecting flavours.

80 g butter

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

700 g beetroot, peeled and sliced

2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

200 ml dry cider

1.2 l chicken stock

3 bunches spring onions, sliced

3 tb creme fraiche

Sweat onions and garlic in 50 g of butter until glossy. Add beetroot and apple, sweat together a bit longer. Add cider and reduce til syrupy, add stock, season, simmer a half hour, blend smooth.

For the garnish sweat the spring onions in remaining butter until soft. Round it all off with creme fraiche.

Georg's garnish: horseradish dumplings or fresh grated horseradish. Beetroot and horseradish is a marriage made in heaven.

Source: Pawson /Bell

warm beluga lentil salad

300 grs black beluga lentils
4 shallots
60 ml good olive oil
30 ml balsamic white wine vinegar
1 tbsp creamed or fresh horseradish or 1 tsp wasabi paste
1 clove of garlic
bay leaf
700 ml of chicken broth
3 tomatoes


Finely chop shallots, lightly fry them in 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and reserve. Bring stock with bay leaf and bruised garlic to a boil. Add lentils and simmer for 25 minutes. Check consistency and add water if necessary. Prepare a vinaigrette with the olive oil,vinegar, horseradish and salt. Mix the lentils, onions and vinaigrette. Top with finely chopped tomatoes.

Serve warm. Great as a starter with with thin slices of roast beef (sprinkled with fleur de sel) or smoked trout.

A Felafel Recipe (about 20)

1 cup dried chickpeas

1 teaspoon cumin

Half a large onion, roughly chopped (about 1cup)

1 teaspoon baking powder

4-6 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Soybean or vegetable oil for frying

Chopped tomato for garnish

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Diced onion for garnish

1 teaspoon salt

Diced green bell pepper for garnish

1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper

Tahina sauce

4 cloves garlic

Pita bread

1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.

2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.

3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.

4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts, or use a felafel scoop, available in Middle Eastern markets.

5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few min­utes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Stuff half a pita with felafel balls, chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and pickled turnips. Drizzle with tahina thinned with water.

NOTE: Egyptians omit the cilantro and substitute fava beans for the chickpeas.

sauteed mushrooms (serves 6 as a side)

Otherwise ordinary mushrooms turbocharged with an admix of garlic and porcini.

100 g dried porcini, reconstituted in water in microwave for 1 min, strained and squeezed, chopped, soaking water reserved

675 g field mushrooms, thinly sliced

5 tb olive oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

salt and pepper

2 tb basil/parsley, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

Heat 4 tb oil until hot, add fresh mushrooms and sautee for c 15 mins until dark and soft, set aside. Heat remaining oil and fry garlic and porcini until garlic begins to colour. Add porcini water, reduce, add cooked mushroom, season. Add herbs and lemon juice to taste (carefully).

?try shallots with garlic

?add red wine with porcini water

Creamy variation: before herbs and lemon juice, add 100 ml white wine, cook until evapourated, pour in 150 ml double cream, finish cooking as before.

Source: The River Cookbook

apple toddy (15 servings)

4 liters unfiltered apple juice
a bottle of brown rum
200 g unrefined sugar
1 vanilla pod, split
10 star anise
1 lemon, grated rind and juice
1 tbsp cardamon pods, lightly crushed

Heat everything except the rum together and stand for at least a couple of hours. Adjust sugar and lemon juice to balance the toddy's acidity.

Just before serving heat to below boiling, add the rum and serve immediately. If your guests are thirsty, make lots!

From: Camilla Plumb

roast duck with apple and prunes

Duck for christmas in Denmark. The sauce is time-consuming but delicious. A good thing about traditional food like this is that every last piece of the luxury ingredient (duck in this case) gets used to full advantage.

a whole duck, washed, patted dry and seasoned
6 cox orange apples, cored and sliced
300 g prunes de-stoned
liver from the duck, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

sauce:
neck and giblets from the duck
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
200 ml red wine
150 ml double cream
cornflour dissolved in little cold water (optional)

Trim extraneous fat from the duck and melt in a pan. Brown the apple in the fat, add thyme, prunes, liver, season well and stuff the duck. Fasten both ends with kitchen needles. Put on a grill over an oven tray, breast down and bake at 165'C for 40 min per kilo. Turn the duck over after 2/3 of the time. Turn the heat up to 190'C for the last 10 mins to ensure crispness.

At an opportune point remove the juices and fat collecting in the oven tray to a large frypan (juices can be collected later too). Add onion, garlic and duck remnants and fry til soft. Add wine and bayleaf and reduce. Add boiling water to cover, season and simmer.

When the duck is done, remove from oven and rest uncovered 20 mins.

Sieve sauce and skim off excess fat if you wish. Return to pan, add cream and thickening if desired, simmer up gently, check final seasoning.

braised pineapple with elderflower

1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed
200 ml elderflower cordial diluted to drinking strength
juice of 1 lemon

Put pineapple with elderflower in a 180'C oven for 15 mins or just tender. Add lemon juice to taste.

Serve with drained yoghurt or vanilla icecream

Source: Aarstiderne

danish fish cakes

A classic of the Danish family table, freshened up a bit.

300 g minced salmon
300 g fine minced white fish
1 cooked potato (preferably baked) peeled and mashed
1 carrot, grated and squeezed dry
2 eggs, beaten
100 ml milk
2 tb flour

Combine fish meats well and season. Add egg, flour and milk gradually while mixing to a smooth consistency. Mix in carrot and potato. Season again and chill in the fridge for 30 mins to stiffen it up.

Fry dollops of the mix in half oil / half butter over medium heat. Turn and flatten a little. Both sides should be mottled brown and the fishcake cooked well through.

Serve with lemon wedges and/or remoulade, a sticky adulterated mayonnaise that you need to be Danish to enjoy.

This naturally begs comparison with asian fishcakes, but is rather more processed and possibly the easiest way of getting oily fish into children I know. Could easily by jazzed up with chilli, lemongrass or other fresh herbs.

food 4 brains

The Helene Elsass Center in Copenhagen has been researching diet for children with CP. Their findings boil down to a handy list of ingredients rich in specific vitamins and nutrients that help our brains to work better. Something we can all take notice of.

oily fish
liver
tomatoes
beetroot
avocado
broccoli
asparagus
potatoes
lentils
eggs
walnuts
almonds
blueberries
blackcurrants
kiwifruit
citrus fruit
dark chocolate
green tea
unrefined sugar (preferably molasses)
vegetable oil
chicken
turmeric
curry spice
rosemary
sage

pickled leek

Another leek recipe, this springs from the Danish penchant for pickles. The leeks remain raw and crunchy.

2/3 cup sugar
200 ml vinegar
1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
2 leeks, cleaned and finely chopped

Heat everything up except the leeks in a pot and put aside.

Lightly salt the leeks and stand for 20 mins, press well dry with paper towels. Add the pickling liquid and stand a half hour.

Source: Aarstiderne