H&M's cooking notes

Beer Jelly

2010-11-16T18:43:00.005+09:00

Serves 4-5
- 10g powdered gelatin
- 50ml water
- 60g sugar
- 180ml water
- peel of 2 lemon slices
- 350ml beer (cold)
- 2 tablesp lemon juice

Dissolve the gelatin powder in 50ml water and let it stand for about 5 minutes.
Put the sugar, lemon peel and 180ml water to boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin.
Cool down by placing in a bowl of cold water. Add the beer and lemon juice. Reserve 100ml of this mix (to make the foam), and divide the rest into transparent glasses.
Whisk the reserved 100ml on ice until foamy, and top the jellies with this foam.
Let it set in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Serve straight from the fridge.

Carpaccio de Saint-Jacques au Citron Vert

2010-08-01T14:57:00.004+09:00

Pour 2 personnes

- 8 noix de Saint-jacques très fraîches
- 1 petit citron vert
- 2 ou c.café d'huile d'olive vierge
- 2 pincées de fleur de sel
- poivre noir du moulin
- une pincée de baies roses

Laver les noix de Saint-Jacques sous l'eau froide et les sécher dans du papier absorbant. Les découper en fines rondelles et les disposer sur les assiettes.
Presser le citron vert et arroser les Saint-Jacques de son jus. Placer une heure au réfrigérateur.
Juste avant de servir, arroser d'un filet d'huile olive, saupoudrer de fleur de sel, de poivre du moulin et de baies roses concassées.

Tori hamu

2010-07-27T11:08:00.001+09:00

"Chicken ham", or how to transform a plain chicken breast into fantastic ham, japanese style.

1 chicken breast, skin removed
3 teasp salt
2 teasp sugar
1 teasp pepper
1 clove mashed garlic (optional)

Place the chicken breast, salt, pepper, sugar, garlic in a sealed plastic bag and mix to rub all the meat evenly.
Let it rest in the fridge overnight.
Next day, rub off the salt and soak the chicken in 1.5% salted water for 1 hour.
Boil for 3 min in a large saucepan with water, turn off the heat, and let it cool down until it reaches room temperature.
Enjoy in a summer salad, or in any way you would use ham. It can also be easily frozen and kept for further occasions.

Clafoutis Framboise-Cassis à la Pistache

2010-07-20T20:26:00.003+09:00

Un délicieux déssert estival de chez Le Pétrin.

Pour 6 à 8 personnes

70g de pistaches mondées non salées
40g de sucre et 40g de cassonade
2 œufs
3 jaunes d'œuf
250g de crème liquide
1 c.café d'extrait d'amandes
10g de farine
300g d'un mélange de framboises et cassis (ou autres fruits rouges)
30-40g de pistaches mondées hachées

Placer les pistaches mondées entières et la moitié des sucres dans le bol d'un robot muni du couteau (double lame). Mixer par pulsations courtes jusqu'à obtention d'une poudre de la consistance d'une poudre d'amandes classique. Réserver.

Dans un saladier moyen, fouetter les œufs et les jaunes d'œuf avec la crème liquide et l'extrait d'amandes pour bien les mélanger. Ajouter le reste de sucre, les pistaches en poudre et la farine et fouetter à la main pour obtenir une pâte homogène un peu épaisse.
Placer au réfrigérateur et laisser reposer pendant 2 heures (la pâte peut être préparée la veille et rester au frais la nuit).

Préchauffer le four th. 6 (180°C). Beurrer légèrement 6 à 8 plats individuels à clafoutis ou ramequins puis les chemiser de sucre semoule.

Répartir la pâte à clafoutis dans les ramequins, puis les fruits.
Enfourner et laisser cuire pendant environ 15min puis répartir les pistaches mondées grossièrement hachées sur les clafoutis.

Poursuivre la cuisson pendant 5 à 10 min (le temps de cuisson dépend de la taille des moules utilisés et également du temps de réfrigération de la pâte): les clafoutis doivent être gonflés particulièrement sur les bords et avoir une coloration blond doré mais le centre doit rester encore légèrement crémeux (un peu comme pour un fondant chocolat).

Servir légèrement tiédi ou frais selon les goûts (c'est également bon le lendemain), saupoudré d'un voile de sucre glace tamisé.

Shumai

2010-06-27T18:31:00.006+09:00

My favorite chinese dumplings, very oishiiii!

Makes about 35 pieces (2-3 pers)

300g minced pork
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
a small tin of scallops, about 50g, and a bit of their juice
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 teasp salt
2 teasp sugar
1/2 teasp black pepper
1 teasp ginger paste
1 egg, beaten
1 tablesp soy sauce
1/2 teasp corn starch

shumai wrappers

Thoroughly mix all ingredients, and fill the shumai wrappers as presented on the photo.
Steam them for 5-7min and eat right away, dipped in a touch of mustard.

Lamb Tagine with Green Olives and Lemon

2010-06-11T19:53:00.000+09:00

Our new favorite tajine :-))

Serves 4

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, mashed
zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
Kosher salt
about 1kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 3cm pieces
1 teaspoon meat tenderizer (optional)
several cups of water
2 large carrots, roughly sliced
1 large onion, in thin slices
1 cup pitted green olives
a handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
a handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
juice of 1 lemon

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, ginger, paprika, coriander, cumin, black pepper, cayenne, cloves, turmeric, cinnamon stick and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Add the lamb and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.
Take out the meet from the fridge, sprinkle with meat tenderizer, mix and let it rest for 5min.
Add a tiny bit of oil to a wok, heat it up well and brown the marinated lamb, several pieces a time. Reserve.
In a large pot, add a bit of olive oil and slowly brown the sliced onion. Add the carrots and the browned meat. Pour some water until it covers about everything, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the lamb is very tender, about 2 hours.
Stir in the olives, parsley, cilantro and lemon juice. Check the seasoning and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Flans de Tapioca et Coco

2010-05-04T11:57:00.007+09:00

Pour 4 petits ramequins

40g de tapioca
250ml de lait
20g de sucre brun
1 c.café d'extrait de vanille
une pincée de sel
20g de beurre
25g de noix de coco râpée
1 oeuf, séparé

Faire tremper le tapioca dans de l'eau froide pendant 10 minutes.
Chauffer le lait avec le sucre, le sel, l'extrait de vanille. À ébullition, ajouter le tapioca et mélanger. Laisser cuire pendant 5-10 min jusqu'à ce que le tapioca soit cuit.
Ajouter le beurre et la noix de coco râpée. Ajouter le jauner d'oeuf et bien mélanger.
Monter le blanc en neige et l'incorporer délicatement à la préparation.
Verser dans des ramequins beurrés, et cuire au bain-marie à 200 degrés pendant 15 minutes.
Servir tiède avec un coulis de fruits acidulés.
(topping sur la photo: 6 dattes en morceaux, 1 c.café de kirsch, 2 c.café de jus de citron, cuits pendant 2 minutes)

Very Yummie Lamb Kebabs

2010-04-26T21:11:00.004+09:00

Serves 2

400g minced lamb meat
1 egg yolk
1/3rd of a red onion, grated
2 teasp lemon juice
1/2 teasp chili powder
1 teasp cumin powder
1 teasp coriander powder
1 clove garlic, mashed
1-2 tablesp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
a handful pistachio nuts, crushed
salt, pepper to taste
olive oil

Soak a few wooden skewers in water while you prepare the mix to avoid burning.
Combine all ingredients and mix well (OK with your hand). With wet hands skewer the meat into long sausage shapes. Rotate the meat around the skewer, pressing gently all round. Brush with a little olive oil and grill under a medium heat or barbecue till it's cooked well right through (about 10min).
Serve with hot pitta bread, cucumber and yoghurt, tomato, salad, humus etc...

Chocolate Raspberry Cake for a Valentine

2010-03-01T09:51:00.000+09:00

Serves 6

200g good quality chocolate (70%)
125g butter
1 tablespoon liquor
50g sugar
4 eggs, separated
a good pinch of salt
30g maizena (or potato starch)
1 tablesp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teasp baking powder
170g frozen raspberries
2 tablesp jam (like raspberry, cassis, blueberry....)

Take the raspberries out from the freezer while you prepare the rest. Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Butter and flour a 22cm round cake mold, and lay a sheet of cooking paper on the bottom.
Put the chocolate, butter and liquor in a salad bowl and slowly melt on a water bath (no boiling!). Let it cool down.
In a big salad bowl, beat the egg yolk and the sugar until fluffy and whitish (at least 10min). Add the melted chocolate while slowly mixing. Incorporate the maizena, flour and baking powder, cocoa powder.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with salt until stiff. Incorporate them to the batter in several times, keeping it light.
Pour 2/3 of the batter into the mold. Slightly dilute the jam with a bit of water and spread it on the batter. Overlay with the raspberries, and cover with the rest of the batter.
Bake for 40min, and wait for 5-10min before un-molding.
Serve with a drollop of whipped cream.

Mousse of Strawberries with Lime and Ginger and their Pastries

2010-02-16T20:19:00.000+09:00

Serves 3

For the mousse:
200-225g fresh strawberries
15g light brown sugar
1/2 teasp grated ginger
1/2 lime zest
1/3 lime juice (1/2 if not so juicy)
80ml whipping cream
1 teasp sugar (level)
1 egg white
a pinch of salt

For the pastries (enough for 4):
about 20X20cm of puff pastry
20g coarsely ground almonds
1/2 lime zest
1/2 teasp grated ginger
1 tablesp honey

Prepare the mousse: Blend the strawberries, light brown sugar, lime juice and zest, ginger, to a purée.
Whisk the cream until nearly firm but don't overdo it. Add a teaspoon sugar towards the end.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until firm.
Add the cream to the strawberry purée a little a time, and mix gently. Once incorporated, fold in the egg white in two or three times, keeping the mix light.
Divide the mousse among glasses, cover with cling film and let it set in the fridge for several hours.

Prepare the pastries: pre-heat the oven to 200degC. Mix the honey, ginger, lime zest and almond, and evenly baste the pastry square with this mixture. Cut out 4 strips and twist each one on itself, so that the filling is mostly on the inside.
Bake them until golden, for about 15min. The pastries can be made in advance, just slightly heat them up before serving.

Serve the mousse straight from the fridge with the heated pastries. Délicieux! (not because it's my own recipe...) :-))

A Creamy and Cozy Fish Soup with Wild Rice

2010-02-08T11:47:00.001+09:00

Serves about 3 for a full dinner

about 500ml fish stock
1 can coconut milk
1/2 onion, finely sliced
1 celeri branch, finely chopped, and a few leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, mashed
peanut oil
salt, pepper
100g wild rice
200g prawns, cleaned
200g white fish (like cod), cut into chunks
as many mushrooms a you like, roughly sliced
a few scallops
a small bunch of parsley

Rinse the wild rice under cold water, and boil according to the instructions of the package, usually in salted water for about 45 minutes, low heat.
In a wok pan, sauté the sliced onion, garlic, mushrooms, in a bit of peanut oil.
In a large saucepan, heat up the coconut milk and the fish stock. Add the sautéed onion and mushrooms, celery and leaves, parsley, a bit of salt and pepper, and simmer for about 30min.
Add the fish, prawns and scallops, and cook for another 5min. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked wild rice and serve. This velvety soup can be enjoyed with toasted bread and white wine.

Ankimo

2010-01-17T16:17:00.008+09:00

It might be very hard to cook Ankimo if you don't live in Japan, but as we plan to have it again because is was sooooo good, here is our recipe. Ankimo is basically steamed anglerfish liver, and it tastes very much like a delicate foie gras, to be enjoyed with grated daikon and sake or white wine.

Serves 4-6 as an appetizer

1 fresh anglerfish liver
about 100ml soy sauce
about 100ml white wine

Rinse the liver in cold water, you can soak it for a few minutes. Gently remove the blood vessels without tearing the liver apart.
Put it in a clean plastic bag (a transparent freezing bag is fine), pour some soy sauce, mix gently and leave it for 1 minute.
Remove from the bag, pat the liver dry with kitchen towels, and put it in a second bag with white wine. Rinse gently with the whine, remove from the bag, and pat the liver dry with kitchen paper.
Lay it on aluminum foil and wrap it the longitudinal way. The liver can be slightly folded inside the aluminum foil, to form a regular cylinder. The foil should be rather tight. Seal it well and steam for 30 minutes.
Take the roll out from the steamer and let it cool down at room temperature. When it has cooled down, put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Remove from the fridge about 15 minutes before serving. Cut slices about 1 inch thick, and serve with grated daikon and lemon dipping sauce.

Wonderfully Crispy and Fluffy Fish'n Chips

2009-12-06T09:28:00.008+09:00

This dish had been in our minds (or in Paw's mind) for a few weeks. Would we be able to replicate the most famous of British dishes in our humble kitchen? Answer is yes!
As for many recipes, the result is as good as the ingredients are, so you have to get the best quality of the freshest cod, and new frying oil, and you'll be laughing!

Serves 2

For the fish:
4 fillets of cod
125g flour
1 teasp baking powder
pinch of salt
80-100ml lager beer (chilled, very important)
sunflower oil for frying

salt and malt vinegar

For the dip:
3 tablesp ketchup
1 tablesp grated horseradish
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
a few drops of tabasco (optional)
pinch of salt

Chips or baked potatoes

Have the frying oil ready to be used.
Make the batter for the fish: in a large salad bowl, mix the flour, pinch of salt and baking powder, and gradually add the cold beer while mixing with a wooden spoon. The amount of beer has to be adjusted on the spot. The batter should not be too runny, but it should just coat the spoon. Dip the fish fillets into the batter to coat them.
Heat up the oil to 180 degrees. Fry the fish 2 by 2 until golden, about 2-3 minutes on each side. You can add some peaks of batter with a spoon while frying if you like.
Remove from the oil, sprinkle with salt. Serve with chips and the dip, and drizzle with a few drops of malt vinegar.

Chinese Barbecued Pork (Char Siu)

2009-12-06T09:18:00.008+09:00

This was a shot in the dark, as my experience with barbecued pork is about.... none. But we had been to Chinatown recently, and all these great flavors tinkled our chinese taste buds. It turned out to be very good and not that far from the real thing. I think. Mission accomplished.

Serves 2

250g pork loin (about 20cm long, 5cm thick)

2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 teasp freshly grated ginger
1 tablesp soy sauce
1 tablesp chinese rice wine (shokoshu)
1 tablesp tien mien jian (sweet soybean paste)
1 tablesp dark brown sugar
1/4 teasp five spice
1 teasp sesame oil
freshly ground pepper

1 tablesp honey

Combine all ingredients except honey, and marinate the pork loin overnight in the fridge. Turn a couple of times.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Overlay the oven tray with aluminum foil. Pour about 2 cups of water over the tray. Place the marinated pork on a rack (reserve the marinade), and place in the oven. The marinade will slowly drip onto the tray while cooking. Bake at 220 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the meat, lower the heat to 180 degrees, and bake for another 15 minutes.
Mix 1 tablespoon of the leftover marinade with 1 tablespoon of honey. Take the meat out of the oven, baste with this mixture, transfer to a broiler, and grill for an additional 3-4 minutes on each side, with basting of honey sauce.
Slice the loin and enjoy with ramen noodles, plain or fried rice, buns, as an appetizer, warm or cold, the possibilities are endless.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Fleur de Sel Cardamom Caramel Filling

2009-11-29T17:34:00.010+09:00

Another great recipe from Baking Obsession, I really liked the flavor and texture combination. And besides, they look rather elegant!

makes about 27 cookies

180g flour
30g cocoa
1/2 teasp kosher salt
110g butter, softened
100g dark brown sugar
1 teasp vanilla extract
1 egg (room temperature)

filling
90g store-bought soft caramels
1/2 teasp kosher salt
1.5 tablespoon milk
5 cardamon pods, crushed to a fine powder

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt to combine. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add the egg and continue mixing until light and well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough forms.
Roll the dough into regular 1-inch balls. Place them onto a baking sheet. Using a handle of a wooden spoon, make an indentation in the center of each cookie; make it quite deep and about a penny in diameter. Chill the formed cookies for 20 minutes in the refrigerator, covered with parchment or plastic, before baking.
Bake the cookies, in batches, for 12-13 minutes, until the cookies appear set. Transfer the cookies on the sheet on a cooling rack and, using the same spoon handle, deepen the indentations made earlier; don’t poke through though, be gentle. You do want this extra space for a delicious filling. Transfer the cookies to the cooling rack and let them cool completely before filling.

Put the caramels, milk, salt, cardamom into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on “medium” for about a minute, pausing the microwave and stirring a couple of times, until the caramel is melted and mixture is smooth. Let it cool down for a couple of minutes and fill the cookies. Top with a few fleur de sel crystals if you wish.
The cookies can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container.

A Breakfast with Crumpets *

2009-11-16T20:46:00.006+09:00

A delicious breakfast, according to a recipe from the Guardian.uk.
Can't wait until next weekend to have them again :-))

Makes 4 (for 2 persons).

150g plain white flour
about 230ml lukewarm semi-skimmed milk (or a mix of milk and water)
2g powdered dried yeast
4g salt
1/3 tsp baking powder
A little sunflower or vegetable oil

In a bowl, whisk the flour, milk, water and yeast into a rather runny batter the consistency of single cream. Cover with cling-film and leave for an hour until really bubbly (or three to four hours, if need be).

Heat a heavy-based frying pan or flat griddle over a medium-high heat. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter. Lightly grease the crumpet rings and pan. Put one ring in the pan, fill to just below the top – the batter should stay in the ring and lots of holes should appear on the surface after a minute or two. (If it dribbles out underneath, it is too thin, so whisk a little more flour into your batter mix. If lots of holes don't form, it's too thick, so whisk in some water.) Assuming your test crumpet is OK, after five minutes or so, when the surface is just set, flip it over, ring and all. (If the cooked base seems too dark, turn down the heat.) Cook for two to three minutes, until golden on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter in batches. Butter and eat at once, or cool on a wire rack for toasting later.

Honey and Yuzu Pannacotta

2009-11-12T20:43:00.007+09:00

This recipe was adapted from a post on the stunning blog Baking Obsession. I made a few changes and used japanese lime (yuzu) instead of lemon, but it will also work with normal lemon or lime.

Makes 2 or 3 glasses, according to size and appetite

20ml yuzu (or lime) juice
1 teasp gelatin powder
170ml whipping cream
40ml honey
zest of 1 yuzu (or lime)
a pinch of salt
85ml yogurt
a few drops of vanilla essence

1 teasp apricot jam
2 teasp honey
zest of 1/2 yuzu (or lime)
1 teasp Grand-Marnier (or other alcohol)
crushed pistachios (optional)

Pour the lemon juice into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over. Let soften for a couple of minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the whipping cream, honey, lemon zest, and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the honey is dissolved and the cream is hot. Remove from the heat and whisk in the softened gelatin; whisk until the gelatin dissolves. Set aside.
Place the yogurt in a bowl. Add the vanilla extracts and whisk to combine and lighten the yogurt. Gradually, whisk in the warm cream-gelatin mixture. Divide the mixture equally between 2 or 3 glasses or ramekins. Once cooled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to overnight.
Right before serving or close to the serving time, combine the jam, honey, Grand-Marnier in a small microwave-safe bowl. Warm the mixture gently, so it’s barely warm to the touch. Stir in the yuzu zest. Divide the honey mixture equally between the panna cotta, gently spread. Note that the jam should be spreadable but not hot; otherwise, it will melt the panna cotta. Decorate with crushed pistachios and serve right away.

Red Curry and Coconut Tuna Steaks

2009-11-05T21:43:00.006+09:00

Serves two

2 fresh tuna steaks

For the marinade:
1 teasp red curry paste
2 tablesp white wine
1 tablesp lemon juice
1 teasp (level) sugar
pepper

grated coconut for coating
peanut oil

For the dressing:
2 tablesp fish sauce
2 tablesp lemon juice
2 teasp sugar
1 tablesp fresh corianger, chopped

Combine all ingredients of the marinade and leave the tuna to marinate for 10 minutes (turn from time to time).
Coat the steaks with grated coconut. Heat up a couple of tablespoons of peanut oil, and cook them for about 2 minutes on each side.
Serve right away, with basmati rice, vegetables, and drizzles of dressing.

Apple and Raspberry Crumble

2009-10-31T15:50:00.004+09:00

What can be more comforting than an apple crumble on a slow autumn Saturday? We enjoyed this seasonal treat with an afternoon coffee on our balcony, making the most of the mild october sun.

For about 5 servings

For the fruity part:
3 apples
1 tablesp sugar
1 tablesp butter
2 tablesp lemon juice
1 tablesp raisins
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of ground clove
about 150g frozen raspberries

For the crumble:
60g flour
50g dark brown sugar
50g ground nuts or almonds
50g butter, cut in small pieces

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.

Peel the apples and slice them. In a saucepan, melt the butter and sugar and cook in the apples over low heat until they soften and take up a nice golden color. Add lemon juce, raisins, cinnamon, clove, raspberries, mix well and set aside.

For the crumble, mix the flour, brown sugar and ground nuts in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers until you obtain a sandy and crumbly mixture.

Put the apple mix in an oven proof dish, overlay with the crumble and bake at 190 degrees for about 25 minutes. Serve warm with a side of vanilla ice cream or custard.

Sweet Potato and Blueberry Muffins

2009-10-17T16:16:00.005+09:00

When it comes to muffins I can come up with endless combinations or flavors and textures. Those have an autumn touch with sweet potatoes an blueberries, delicious.

For 6 muffins
- 100g flour
- 150g cooked sweet potato (about 1 small yellow type)
- 1 good teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (level) of sodium bicarbonate
- 30g sugar
- a pinch of clove powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 80ml milk
- 30ml olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- about 100g blueberries (frozen is fine)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
Mix the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and reserve.

Peel the sweet potato, cut it in rough chunks and steam them until cooked. Pass them through a sieve with a spoon, keep the purée light and fluffy.
Mix the flour, baking powders, sugar, salt, clove powder and sift them into a bowl. Add the sweet potato purée and mix gently. Sprinkle with blueberries.
In another bowl, mix the beaten egg, milk, olive oil, vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and mix with a wooden spoon. A few turns are enough, the mix has to remain lumpy.
Divide the preparation among the muffin cups, put them in the oven (lower shelf) and lower the temperature to 180 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.

Kani Kuriimu Korokke

2009-10-02T07:02:00.003+09:00

In other words, Creamy Crab Croquettes, a Japanese favorite. It's hard not to dig in this luscious treat, but since it is fried bechamel after all, it has to be enjoyed with moderation. Look who's talking...
:-))

Serves 3-4 as a dinner:

- For the croquettes:
50g flour
50g butter
400ml milk
salt, pepper, grated nutmeg
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 shitake mushrooms or similar, finely chopped
olive oil
2 tablesp white wine
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
1 can of crab meat (draw any water)
1 egg, beaten
bread crumbs
oil for frying

- For the tomato sauce:
2 tablesp olive oil
1 tomato can
1 clove garlic
a good pinch of salt
a good pinch of sugar
pepper
1 bay leaf

Make a bechamel sauce with 50gr flour, 50g butter and 400ml milk. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and let it cool down.

Sauté the onion and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil over low heat, add a bit of white wine. Stir until soft and brown (10min), season with salt and pepper, reserve and let cool down.

When all the ingredients are cold enough, mix the bechamel, onions, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, crab meat.
Let this mix set and harden in the fridge for at least one hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. In a saucepan, heat up the olive oil, add the tomato can, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, bay leaf, and cook for 10 minutes. Reserve.

Take the dough out of the fridge and form the croquettes with the help of a spoon, about 10X5X2cm. It is a very soft dough but no worries. Dip them in beaten egg and coat them with bread crumbs. Fry the croquettes in about 180degree oil until golden (about 3min) and serve right away, with a side of green salad and drizzles of the lukewarm tomato sauce.

Grilled Figs and Feta Cheese

2009-09-30T08:00:00.000+09:00

These grilled figs will go very well with roast meat or smoked ham among others...

Serves 2 as a side dish

4 ripe figs
feta cheese
1 teasp olive oil
1teasp lemon juice
1teasp honey
4 half walnuts
pinch of rosemary

Heat up the grill of your oven.
Finely chop the walnuts and roast them dry in a frying pan. Reserve.
Crush the rosemary with a pestle and mortar. Reserve.
Cut the figs in half. Make small whole with a teaspoon to make a nest, and add a piece of feta cheese. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice and honey, and drizzle some over each half fig and cheese. Sprinkle with rosemary.
Grill in the oven until it gets melty. Take out, sprinkle with walnuts and serve warm.

Frappuccino Vanille et Sauce au Caramel Salé

2009-09-19T07:41:00.002+09:00

Pour 2 personnes

160ml de café fort
150g de glace à la vanille
1 c.soupe de pépites de chocolat
50ml de lait

30g de caramels mous
1 c.soupe de lait
1 pincée de fleur de sel

Préparer le café, laisser refroidir et congeler en petites doses (dans des moules à muffins en silicone par exemple) pendant plusieurs heures.

Au moment de servir, préparer la sauce caramel en faisant fondre les caramels, le lait et le sel au micro-ondes en mélangeant de temps en temps.
Piler le café congelé, le mettre dans un mixeur avec la glace, les pépites de chocolat et le lait, et bien mixer le tout.
Verser dans des verrines et napper de sauce au caramel.

Zucchini, Prawn and Smoked Salmon Risotto

2009-09-09T09:51:00.004+09:00

Definitely the best risotto this year. And believe it or not, this is recipe number 100! Omedetoooo H&M's cooking notes!

Serves 2-3 as a dinner:

zucchini purée:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small zucchini
1/2 onion, finely sliced
salt, pepper
a bunch of fresh basil

risotto:
1 small zucchini
about 300gr fresh shrimps, peeled and cleaned
2 small cups (about 250g) arborio or japonica rice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
a handful of parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic
thyme (fresh or dry)
50ml vermouth (or Marsala, Martini bianco)
50ml white wine
about 750ml vegetable stock (equiv. 2 cubes)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt, pepper
a few leaves of basil, chopped
about 100gr smoked salmon
about 30g butter

Make the zucchini purée: Slice the first zucchini. Sauté it in a frying pan with olive oil and the half onion. Add salt and pepper, continue cooking with occasional stirring on low/medium heat for 15min. Add the fresh basil and blend. Reserve this purée.

Slice the second zucchini. In the same friying pan, sauté the slices with little olive oil, salt and pepper (not too much) and let then get a nice golden color on both sides. Reserve.

In the same frying pan, sauté the shrimps in a bit of olive oil, with mashed garlic, a little salt and pepper (a couple of minutes, just until cooked). Reserve.

Start making your basic risotto:
Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Put the olive oil in a separate large pan, add the onion, then 1 clove of mashed garlic and the parsley and cook very gently for about 5 minutes, without colouring, until soft. Add the rice (it will sizzle) and turn up the heat. Add the thyme. Don't let the rice catch on the bottom of the pan, so keep it moving.

Pour in the vermouth and wine. Keep stirring all the time until it has evaporated, leaving the rice with a lovely perfume.

Add the stock to the rice a ladle at a time, stirring and waiting until it has been fully absorbed before adding the next. Turn the heat down to low so the rice doesn't cook too quickly, otherwise the outside of each grain will be stodgy and the inside hard and nutty (you don't want to cook it too slowly either, or it will turn into rice pudding!) and continue to add ladlefuls of stock until it has all be absorbed. It should take about 30 minutes for the rice to have softened but is still a little al dente. Check the texture from time to time. You might not need to add all the stock. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary. Add turmeric, lemon juice.

When the risotto is cooked incorporate the zucchini purée, the grilled zucchini and shrimps, the smoked salmon, fresh basil. Add the butter, turn off the heat and let it rest lid on for a minute.
Mix and serve, decorate with shrimps, salmon and basil.

Chocolate and Peanut Semifreddo

2009-08-03T10:59:00.001+09:00

This recipe was adapted from Jamie's "Torrone and Chocolate Semifreddo and Rhubarb", by replacing the torrone with sugar coated peanuts. It makes a very good ice cream dessert combined with a sour fruit (like raspberry or rhubarb) sauce.

Serves 6

2 eggs
200ml double cream
25gr sugar
zest of 1 orange
pinch of salt
50gr dark chocolate, bashed up
50gr sugar coated peanuts, bashed up

Put a shallow-ish earthenware dish (or several small ones) into the freezer to chill.
To make the semifreddo you'll need three large bowls. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks in the largest one until pale, creamy and almost doubled in size (it will take about ten minutes, don't rush this important step).
In the second bowl, whisk the cream until you get soft peaks forming on the end of your whisk. Don't over-whip though, it's better loose than thick.
Whisk the egg whites and pinch of salt in the third bowl until you get very firm stiff peaks.
Add the cream to the the sugar and egg yolk mix, the orange zest, and gently fold in. Add the egg whites in 2-3 times, together with the chocolate and peanuts, and fold in very carefully.
Working quickly, scoop your semifreddo into the pre-frozen dish(es), and return it to the freezer as soon as you can. It will take at least 4 hours to freeze until firm, but you can make this dessert days (weeks?) in advance.
Take it out from the freezer and transfer to the fridge 15 minutes before serving.
Scoop and serve with a warm fruit sauce.

Sate Ayam (Spicy Chicken Skewers with Sate Sauce)

2009-07-22T18:59:00.004+09:00

serves 3:

600gr chicken breasts or boneless thighs

marinade:
1 lemon grass, bashed up
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teasp turmeric
1/2 teasp chili powder
1 teasp red curry paste
2 tablesp (level) sugar
1/2 teasp salt
1 tablesp peanut oil
1 tablesp dried coriander

sate sauce:
1 lemon grass, bashed up
1 teasp tamarind, diluted in warm water
2 dried chili peppers, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teasp grated ginger
1 tablesp honey
1 teasp ground coriander
1 tablesp fresh coriander, chopped
1 cup peanuts or cashew nuts, finely crushed
1 teasp tahini (sesame paste)
pinch of salt
a few curry leaves
1 teasp lemon juice
water to the apropriate thickness of the sauce

wooden skewers

Cut the chicken into small bits that will easily cook on a skewer. Mix them with all the ingredients of the marinade and let them rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Mix all ingredients of the sauce in a saucepan and heat them up to boiling point. Remove from the heat.

Soak the wooden skewers in water for at least 20min (avoids burning), and thread the marinated chicken onto them.
Grill or barbecue them until golden, serve with the sate sauce, vegetables and basmati rice.

Thai Chicken Mango Curry *

2009-07-17T18:23:00.003+09:00

Serves 3-4

- 2 small thai mango or a big one
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 teasp powdered stock in 100ml water
- 4 teasp red curry paste
- 2 teasp fish sauce
- 1 tablesp mango chutney
- 2 teasp freshly grated ginger
- 1 teasp turmeric
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablesp honey
- 1 red bell pepper, cut in pieces (2cm)
- 600gr chicken breasts, cut in small pieces (2-3cm)

Cut 1/3rd of the mango in small cubes and reserve for topping.
Blitz the other 2/3rds of the mango to a pulp, add it to a pan with all other ingredients except chicken, mix and bring to a simmer over low heat. Let it sizzle gently for 20-30min to let the flavours develop.
Add the chicken and continue cooking for about 15min.
Serve with basmati rice and decorate with the reserved mango cubes.

Edit: works also very well with pineapple as a substitute for mango!

Pâtes aux Boulettes de Thon à la Sicilienne

2009-07-13T03:00:00.000+09:00

Une recette adaptée de Péché de Gourmandise, elle même adaptée de Jamie Oliver. Les boulettes de poisson offrent une alternative intéressante aux boulettes de viande, surtout en été où leur goût frais et citronné est le bienvenu.

Pour 3 personnes:

Pour les boulettes :
300 g de thon frais
35 g de pignons (remplacés par des noix de cajou)
une pointe de cannelle
1 c à c d'origan
15 g de chapelure ou mie de pain
30 g de parmesan râpé
1 oeuf
1 c à s de jus de citron
Sel et poivre

Pour la sauce tomate :
Huile d'olive
1 petit oignon pelé et finement hâché
2 gousses d'ail écrasées
vin blanc
1 c à c d'origan
1 boîte de tomates de 400 g
1 c à s de purée de tomates
une pincée de sucre
2 feuilles de laurier
une poignée de basilic frais ciselé
Sel et poivre

Préparer les boulettes: couper le thon en petits cubes, et les hâcher finement avec un bon couteau. Concasser les pignons.
Mélanger tous les ingrédients et former des boulettes avec les doigts (un peu difficile parce que collant, mais patience).
Les mettre au frigo pendant la préparation de la sauce.

Préparer la sauce: Hâcher l'oignon finement, le faire revenir dans une poêle assez haute avec de l'huile d'olive pendant 5 min. Ajouter les gousses d'ail, déglacer avec du vin blanc. Ajouter les tomates en boîte, la purée de tomates, la pincée de sucre, l'origan, le laurier, sel et poivre, et un peu d'eau. Laisser cuire à feu très doux pendant 20-30 min. Rajouter de l'eau si nécessaire, contrôler la teneur en sel.
Ajouter les boulettes de thon une à une et continuer la cuisson pendant dix minutes. Servir et parsemer de basilic ciselé.

Mothership Squash and Beef Carpaccio

2009-07-07T01:38:00.000+09:00

This was a successful recipe from Jamie magazine, in which we replaced the squash by pumpkin, works equally well here.

Serves 2 as a dinner or 4 as a starter

1 buternut squash, deseeded, cut into 8 lengthwise (or equal amount of pumpkin)
1 level teasp ground coriander seeds
1 level teasp ground fennel seeds
1/2 teasp chilli powder
1 teasp oregano
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a few pinches of sea salt (fleur de sel OK)
freshly ground pepper
3–4 teasp extra virgin olive oil

300g beef filet
1 teasp mustard seeds, bashed up
extra virgin olive oil
mixed interesting leaves such as rocket, radicchio, watercress, dandelion...
balsamic vinegar
lemon juice
salt, pepper
shaved parmesan cheese

Prepare the pumpkin: preheat the oven to 200deg, slice the pumpkin evenly and remove the skin. Mix the ground coriander, ground fennel, chilli, oregano, cinnamon, salt, pepper, olive oil. Rub this all over the pumpkin segment and place them on a roasting tray with greaseproof paper. Get another sheet of paper, rub one side with olive oil and put it, oiled-side down, on top of the squash. Bake in the hot oven for 25 min. (take the beef out of the fridge).
Get rid of the paper and turn the temperature to 170deg, cook for another 25-30 min, or until the pumpkin is soft and roasted.

10min before the end of the cooking time, prepare the meat. Pat it dry with kitchen paper, then rub it all over with a little olive oil. Season a board with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and the mustard seeds. Roll the fillet in this.
Preheat a thick-bottomed pan, add a little olive oil, get the pan very hot, then sear the fillet for about 1.5-2min on each side. This gives the outside some texture while the inside will be blue. Remove from the pan and let it rest for a couple of minutes.
With a sharp knife, slice the fillet as thin as you can.
Divide the leaves between the serving plates. Dress them up with a mix of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a touch of lemon juice. Add the slices of meat, the pumpkin from the oven, and grate over some parmesan to finish.

Another tested alternative, very good:
Marinate the meat for 1 hour in 2 tablesp olive oil, 2 tablesp balsamic vinegar, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon chilli flakes.
Prepare the salad bed with:
- salad mix, rocket, watercress.
- 1 avocado, cubed and mixed with 1-2 tablesp lemon juice, fleur de sel
- steamed asparagus

Remove the meat from the marinade and grill it in a frying pan for 2 min on each side, let it rest.
Meanwhile ,heat up the rest of the marinade with a good pinch of sugar in a sauce pan for a minute. Pour this dressing over the prepared salad.
Slice the meat very thinly and lay it over the salad.
Top with shaved parmesan cheese. Serve with roast potatoes.

Cake aux Patates Douces, Épices et Graines de Potiron

2009-06-04T13:35:00.001+09:00

300g de patates douces
300g de farine
2c.café de levure chimique
1c.café de bicarbonate de soude
3 gousses de cardamone, en poudre
une pointe de muscade et de girofle moulus
1/2c.café de cannelle
3 oeufs
80g de sucre en poudre
80g de sucre de canne
une pincée de sel
quelques gouttes d'essence de vanille
100g de beurre, fondu
30ml de lait
30ml de jus de citron
environ 30g de graines de potirons (en supermarché)

Préchauffer le four à 190 degrés.
Peler et cuire les patates douces à la vapeur. Passer la pulpe à la presse patate, comme pour une purée.
Mélanger la farine, les poudres à lever et les épices, et les tamiser.
Monter les œufs avec les sucres, une pincée de sel et la vanille (bien battre pendant au moins 10min), ajouter le beurre fondu en continuant à battre.
Réduire la vitesse du batteur et ajouter par petites quantités le lait, le jus de citron et les patates douces. Incorporer le mélange de farine tamisée, et les graines de potiron en dernier.
Verser dans un moule à cake beurré et fariné (foncé avec du papier sulfurisé si nécessaire), et enfourner. Baisser la chaleur du four à 180 degrés et cuire pendant 50-60min. Le temps de cuisson dépend de la taille du moule, contrôler avec la pointe d'un couteau (dans notre four il a fallu 70min!). Démouler à la sortie du four.

Kefta Mkaouara (Meatball and Egg Tajine)

2009-05-28T08:35:00.003+09:00

Serves 3:

For the meatballs:
300g minced meat
2 tablesp bread crumbs in 3 tablesp milk
1 teasp ground cumin
3 ground peppercorns
1 teasp paprika
1/2 teasp cayenne pepper
1/2 teasp dried coriander
1/2 teasp cinnamon
a good pinch of salt

For the sauce:
1 onion, finely chopped
olive oil
1/2 teasp coriander seeds, ground
1/2 teasp fennel seeds, ground
1 teasp turmeric
3 peppercorns, ground
1 teasp paprika
1 teasp ginger
1/2 teasp cayenne pepper
1/4 teasp allspice
1 tomato can
2 cloves garlic, mashed
a good pinch of sugar
salt to taste
water (about 200ml)
a hanfull of fresh parsley, chopped
3 eggs

Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl and mix thouroughly until everything is homogeneous. Shape up meatballs of about 1.5cm diameter and set them aside.

In a deep frying pan, saute' the onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil, for several minutes over low/medium heat. Add the spice mix (coriander seeds, fennel seeds, turmeric, peppercorns, paprika, ginger, cayenne, allspice) and stir for a couple of minutes on low heat. Add the tomato can, garlic, sugar, salt and water. Mix well and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes on low heat. Control the taste and adjust if necessary. Add the meat balls one by one, the parsley, and continue cooking for another 15-30 minutes on low heat with the lid on.
Make three slight dips in the mixture and break an egg into each one. Let it sizzle until the eggs are just set (about 5min).
Serve with couscous or slices of toasted bread.

Lamb Biryani with Aubergine Raita

2009-05-20T08:50:00.003+09:00

This dish is a little bit elaborate but totally worth the fuss. At least for us spice addicts, flavour and taste are just perfect!

Serves 4:

1kg lamb shoulder, without bone and fat, cubbed
vegetable oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
9 whole green cardamon pods
1/2 teaspoon ground black peppercorns
1 teasp coriander seeds
1 teasp ground coriander
1/4 teas ground clove
1 teasp ground cumin
1/2 teasp chilli powder
1 teasp grated ginger
2 teasp salt
3 garlic cloves, mashed
juice of 1 lemon (about 40ml)
water
200ml yoghurt
1 teasp garam masala
2 tablsp fresh chopped coriander
275g basmati or jasmin rice
2-3 whole cloves
5cm piece cinnamon stick
1 teasp turmeric (or saffron if possible)
50ml milk
2 bay leaves
a handfull of sliced almonds

Aubergine Raita:
3 small aubergines (japanese size)
300ml yoghurt
a pinch of salt
a pinch of ground cumin
dried coriander to decorate

In a wok or a frying pan, brown the meat on every side in a little bit of oil, and set aside.
In a wok, deep fry the onions, in 3-4 batches on low/medium heat. It will take about 10min per batch, they should have a nice golden colour without getting dark brown. Set them aside on a plate overlaid with absorbing kitchen paper.
Grind 5 cardamon pods, the peppercorns and coriander seeds with pestle and mortar. Combine with ground coriander, ground clove, ground cumin, chilli powder, ginger.
In a large pan, heat up a few tablespoons of oil. Add the spice mix on low heat and fry for a couple of minutes. Add half of the fried onions and continue stirring for a minute. Add the lamb meat, garlic and salt and mix well, let it get coated with all the spices for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice, and water to cover up the meat. Let it go back to sizzling and remove the impurities that come up to the surface. Cook for a further 5 minutes and remove from the heat.
Incorporate the yoghurt, 1 tablespoon a time, mixing well inbetween each tablespoon. Put back on low heat and let the curry simmer for two hours, until the lamb is very tender.
Add the fresh coriander and garam masala, mix well, cover and let it rest for 30min at room temperature to develop the flavour.
Preheat the oven to 180 degreesC.
Meanwhile, wash the rice in cold water and soak it for 30min. Boil a large amount of water, add 2 teaspoons of salt, 4 whole cardamon pods, 2-3 whole cloves, the cinnamon stick, and boil the rice for 5 minutes. Drain the water, and keep the rice warm (with the whole spices) and covered.
Dilute the turmeric in milk and set aside.
Set up the Biryani. My alsacian claypot terrine work well for that, otherwise a large pot with tight lid will also do. Start with a layer of meat (half of the lamb) with 2-3 tablespoons of the curry sauce. Overlay with half of the remaining fried onions, and half of the rice. Drizzle half of the turmeric-milk over the rice.
Continue layering with the other half of the meat, fried onions, rice, turmeric milk.
Pour 100ml of the curry sauce, top with two bay leaves, cover, and bake for 30min at 180 degreesC.
Meanwhile, roast the almonds in a dry frying pan for a few minutes until they get some colour, and set aside.
Serve the Biryani strait from the clay pot, with an aubergine raita and topping of almonds.

Aubergine Raita:
Wash and cut the small aubergines in half (longitudinal) and put then under a grill until the flesh softens and can be scooped with a spoon. Collect the flesh and homogenize it in a blender. Let it cool down and add yoghurt, a pinch of salt and ground cumin and put in the fridge until serving. Decorate with dried coriander.

Bouillabaisse

2009-05-13T15:46:00.002+09:00

Notre version de la bouillabaisse, bien sûr sans rascasse et autres poissons méditerranéens, mais ils peuvent être facilement remplacés par des poissons à chair blanche que l'on trouve ici.
Autre différence, le fenouil hors de prix au Japon a été remplacé avec succès par des graines de fenouil et du céleri en branche. Et ma foi, c'était succulent, comme à Marseille, ou encore mieux...

Pour environ 4 personnes:

quelques c.soupe d'huile d'olive
1 grand oignon, en tranches fines
2/3 d'une branche céleri et 1/3 des feuilles, en petits morceaux
1 blanc de poireau, en petits morceaux
1 c.café de graines de fenouil, légèrement concassées
3 gousses d'ail écrasées
un petit verre de vin blanc
4 belles tomates, en dés
1 c.soupe de purée de tomates
une poignée de persil hâché
une feuille de laurier
1/2 c.café de poivre de cayenne
1 c.café de curcuma (remplacer par du safran si possible)
sel et poivre
environ 500ml de fumet de poisson (voir en-dessous)
4-5 belles pommes de terre, pelées et coupées en 3 ou 4
4 grosses crevettes
selon la taille, environ trois poissons à chair blanche (rascasse, daurade, congre..), écaillés et évidés par le poissonier

Pour le fumet de poisson:
la carcasse (tête et os) d'un grand poisson (chez le poissonier)
une botte de persil
1 feuille de laurier
1/4 onion
1/3 de céleri en branche et 2/3 des feuilles
la partie verte d'un poireau
environ 1 litre d'eau

Pain grillé et rouille pour servir

Préparer le fumet de poisson: mettre tous les ingrédients du fumet dans une grande casserole (à froid) et faire bouillir à feu moyen/fort pendant une demi-heure, en enlevant les impuretés qui montent à la surface. Filtrer le tout et réserver.

Préparer la bouillabaisse: dans une cocotte, faire revenir l'oignon dans l'huile d'olive sur feu doux pour le faire dorer.
Ajouter le céleri et le blanc de poireau et continuer à remuer pendant 2-3 minutes. Ajouter l'ail et les graines de fenouil et touiller encore un peu. Verser le vin blanc et incorporer les tomates et la purée de tomates. Mélanger et ajouter le persil, le laurier, le poivre de cayenne, le curcuma ou safran. Saler et poivrer (comme le fumet n'est pas salé il faudra environ 2 c.café de sel).
Laisser mijoter pendant 5 minutes, et ajouter environ 500ml du fumet de poisson petit à petit, en contrôlant le goût et la teneur en sel. Ajuster si besoin).
Laisser cuire encore 5 minutes puis ajouter les pommes de terre. On peut partiellement couvrir la bouillabaisse et laisser cuire les pommes de terre à feu modéré pendant 10-15 minutes, jusqu'à environ 70% de leur cuisson.
Retirer la bouillabaisse du feu. Avec une louche, retirer la moitié de la soupe (sauf les pommes de terre) et la mixer pour l'homogénéiser, puis la verser à nouveau dans la cocotte avec le reste. Mélanger.
Remettre sur le feu et ajouter les crevettes et les poissons (préalablement bien lavés), couvrir et laisser cuire pendant 5 minutes où jusqu'à ce que les poissons et les pommes de terre soient cuits.
Servir avec du pain grillé et de la rouille, accompagné d'un vin blanc (Pinot Blanc ou Riesling Alsaciens sont parfaits)

Salmon and Cabbage Tamarind Curry

2009-05-04T11:18:00.000+09:00

Serves 3-4

3 tbsp tamarind juice (taken form 1 tbsp block in 100ml warm water)
6 salmon filets
1 teasp salt
1 small onion
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teasp grated ginger
1 teasp ground coriander
1 teasp ground cumin
2 teasp ground turmeric
2 dried chillies
1 tbsp tomato purée
400ml coconut milk
about 200ml water
1/2 teasp garam masala
1 teasp brown sugar
1/4 cabbage, leaves roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Prepare the tamarind by softening 1 tbsp tamarind block with 100ml warm water.
Cut the salmon into bite-sized chunks, rub with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and set aside.
Halve and finely slice the onion. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the onion until soft, but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic and ginger and fry for a further 1 minute, stirring all the time.
Turn the heat down low, sprinkle over the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, and chillies, and stir continuously until the spices give off a warm, toasted aroma - about a minute.
Add 3 tbsp of the tamarind juice, tomato puree, coconut milk, water, the remaining salt, garam masala, and the sugar. Simmer the curry, uncovered, for about 15 minutes before tasting. If you feel the curry needs it, add a touch more tamarind and chilli.
Add the cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the fresh coriander and the fish to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes, or until cooked. Serve with steamed rice.

Golden Pancakes for Breakfast

2009-04-19T08:08:00.001+09:00

Serves 3

400ml flour (including 1/10 of whole flour, optional)
2 teasp baking powder
50ml sugar
a good pinch of salt
80ml milk
2 eggs
a few drops of vanilla essence
a knob of butter

In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Crack in the eggs and mix with a whisk. Add the milk and vanilla essence and mix until the batter is homogeneous.
Heat up a knob of butter in a frying pan. Over low heat, pour in the batter with a ladle to form pancakes of about 15cm diameter and 1cm thick. Bake for about 2min on each sides over low heat, until golden. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Serve with butter, honey, marmelade or maple sirup.

Tarte Froide au Parmesan et Légumes d'Eté

2009-04-13T07:55:00.002+09:00

Pour 4-5 personnes en entrée, ou un dîner complet pour deux personnes

Pour le fond de tarte:
110g de farine + 15g de farine complète
40g de parmesan râpé
une bonne pincée de sel
60g de beurre
1 oeuf légèrement battu
1/4 c.café de piment en poudre

Pour la garniture:
3 petites tomates
2 poivrons jaunes pas trop grands
1 petite courgette
1/2 gousse d'ail
sel, poivre
1 c.soupe de jus de citron
1 c.soupe d'huile d'olive extra vierge
quelques feuilles de basilic
parmesan râpé
6 tranches fines de jambon de Parme

Préparer le fond de tarte:
Dans un saladier, mélanger les farines, le parmesan râpé et le sel. Couper le beurre en tout petits morceaux et les incorporer au mélange en malaxant avec les doigts, comme pour un crumble, jusqu'à obtenir un sable. Ajouter la pointe de piment, l'oeuf battu et mélanger rapidement avec les doigts jusqu'à ce que la pâte se forme. Couvrir et réfrigérer pendant une demi-heure. Préchauffer le four à 180 degrés.
Beurrer et fariner un moule à tarte (le mien avait 26cm) et tâpisser le fond de papier cuisson. Etaler la pâte avec les doigts et presser de façon à ce qu'elle forme un fond et des bords réguliers dans le moule. Piquer la pâte avec une fourchette, enfourner et cuire ce fond de tarte pendant 20 minutes, jusqu'à ce qu'il soit doré. Démouler apres cuisson.

Préparer les légumes:
- Couper les tomates en fines tranches. Les déposer dans une passoire, les saler et les laisser dégorger pendant au moins une demi-heure.
- Couper les poivrons en deux dans le sens de la longueur (enlever les graines) et les faire noircir sous le grill (partie bombée vers le haut). Les emballer dans du papier journal pendant 10-15min. Après ce temps la peau noircie s'enlèvera très facilement. Les couper en lanières et réserver.
- Couper la courgette en rondelles fines, les faire griller à sec dans une poelle, sur feux doux, en les retournant de temps en temps.
Lorsque tous les légumes sont prêts, les mettre dans un saladier. Ajouter la demi gousse d'ail ecrasée, l'huile d'olive, le jus de citron, du poivre, le basilic ciselé, et mélanger délicatement.

Finaliser la tarte:
Râper une couche de parmesan sur le fond de tarte. Disposer les légumes en soignant la présentation, et ajouter des demi tranches de jambon de Parme sur la tarte. Servir aussitôt.

Les Incontournables Carrés au Citron

2009-04-07T06:49:00.001+09:00

Pour 20 petites pièces environ

125g de beurre mou
40g de sucre glace
150g + 35g de farine
quelques gouttes d'essence de vanille
3 oeufs
150g de sucre en poudre
2 cuil. à café de zestes de citron râpé (zeste de deux citrons)
125ml de jus de citron (jus de trois citrons environ)

Préchauffer le four th.180°C. Beurrer et fariner un moule carré ou rectangulaire (le mien était rond, 26cm de diamètre) et tapisser le fond de papier sulfurisé.
Dans le bol du robot, fouetter le beurre, le sucre glace et l'essence de vanille jusqu'à l'obtention d'une crème lisse. Incorporer 150g de farine.
Garnir le fond du moule avec cette préparation (répartir et tasser avec les doigts et lisser de façon régulière). Enfourner et faire cuire 15 minutes: le gâteau doit être légèrement doré.

Dans le bol du robot, fouetter maintenant les oeufs et le sucre jusqu'a ce que le melange soit bien mousseux et volumineux. Ajouter le reste de farine (35g), puis le zeste et le jus de citron.
Verser sur la base chaude et faire cuire au four encore 20 minutes: le gâteau doit être ferme sous le doigt. Laisser refroidir complètement le gâteau dans le moule avant de le découper. Saupoudrer de sucre glace.

Ideal pour un pique-nique ou un buffet, et d'apres moi c'est encore meilleur le lendemain.

Potato, Avocado and Watercress Salad

2009-04-04T01:21:00.000+09:00

Serves 2-3 as a side dish

3 or 4 small new potatoes per person
2 tablesp yoghurt
2 tablesp lemon juice
salt, pepper
1 avocado, sliced
a handful of watercress or brocoli sprouts

Wash the potatoes and boil them in salted water until tender. Let them cool down some, and remove the skin. Cut them in half or in thirds and put them in a salad bowl. Add the yoghurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and mix.
Arrange them in a flat serving dish, add the avocado slices and top with watercress or brocoli sprouts.

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Salade de Pommes de Terre, Avocat et Cresson

Pour 2-3 personnes, en accompagnement

3 ou 4 petites pommes de terre nouvelles par personne
2 c.soupe de yahourt nature
2 c.soupe de jus de citron
sel, poivre
1 avocat, pelé et tranché
une bonne poignée de cresson ou de pousses de brocoli

Laver les pommes de terre et les faire cuire dans de l'eau salée jusqu'à ce qu'elles soient tendres. Egoutter et laisser refroidir un peu, et les eplucher. Les couper en deux ou en trois et les mettre dans un saladier. Ajouter le yahourt, le jus de citron, le sel et le poivre, et mélanger.
Les disposer dans un plat pour servir, ajouter les tranches d'avocat et garnir le tout de cresson ou de pousses de brocoli, et le tour est joué!

Chicken in a Cashew Nut Sauce

2009-03-31T07:57:00.000+09:00

Serves 4-5

2 onions
1 tablesp tomato purée
40g cashew nuts
2 teasp garam masala
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teasp chilli powder
1 tablesp lemon juice
1 teasp turmeric
2 teasp salt
1/2 teasp cumin powder
2 tablesp yoghurt
vegetable oil
1 tablesp fresh coriander, plus extra to garnish
1 generous tablesp sultanas (golden raisins)
750g chicken breast fillets, skinned and cubed
about 300ml water
6-8 mushrooms

Cut the onions and garlic into thick slices, then place in a food processor or blender. Process for 1 minute.
Add the tomato purée, cashew nuts, garam masala, chilli powder, lemon juice, turmeric, salt, cumin powder and yoghurt and process for a further 1 min until homogenous.
In a large pan, heat about 3 tablespoons oil, lower the heat to medium and pour in the onion and spice mixture. Fry gently, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary.
Add the fresh coriander, sultanas and cubed chicken to the pan and continue to stir-fry for a further minute.
Add the mushrooms, pour in the water and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes.
After this time, remove the lid and cook a little bit more until the sauce thickens and the chicken is tender. For another 10-15 minutes if necessary.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fresh chopped coriander. Serve with plain boiled basmati rice.

Simple Milk Puddings with Amaretto

2009-03-27T10:03:00.002+09:00

These puddings are a classic of Chinese restaurants, and with this very easy recipe they will taste exactly the same, just try!

Serves 4

- For the puddings:
500ml milk
6g gelatin sheets

- For the sauce:
50g sugar
50ml water
1 tablespoon Amaretto liquor

- about 200g litchies or mango (or other if not available).

Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for 5 minutes.
Heat up about 75ml of the milk in a saucepan until just warm, not boiling. Squeeze out the water from the gelatin sheets and melt them in the warm milk. When melted, add the rest of the milk and mix well. Divide between 4 cups and refrigerate for a few hours or over night.
For the sauce, heat up the sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar is melted. Let it cool down and add the Amaretto. Mix well. You can keep this sauce at room temperature.
Take the puddings out from the fridge 15min before serving.
Lay the fruit on the puddings and pour two tablespoons of Amaretto sauce over it.

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Puddings de lait à l'Amaretto

Pour 4 personnes

- Pour les puddings:
500ml de lait
6g de feuilles de gélatine

- Pour la sauce
50g de sucre
50ml d'eau
1 c.soupe de liqueur d'Amaretto

- Environ 200g de litchies ou de mangue (ou autre fruit)

Faites tremper la gélatine dans de l'eau froide pendant 5 minutes.
Chauffez environ 75ml de lait (prélevés sur les 500ml) dans une petite casserole sans le faire boullir, et faites-y fondre la gélatine essorée. Ajoutez le reste du lait froid et mélangez. Répartissez dans des coupelles et réfrigérez pendant quelques heures ou toute une nuit.
Pour la sauce, faites chauffer l'eau et le sucre jusqu'à ce que ce dernier ait fondu, et laissez refroidir. Ajoutez ensuite la liqueur d'Amaretto et mélangez. On peut garder cette sauce à température ambiante.
Sortez les puddings du frigo environ un quart d'heure avant de les servir. Ajoutez les fruits et deux cuillères de sauce sur chaque coupelle.

Simon's Chocolate Cake

2009-03-21T09:51:00.001+09:00

This is our favourite chocolate cake. Our friend Simon used to make it in Sweden and gave us the recipe for it. It is also the only cake that the Paw is baking, over and over again...
:-)

For a 20cm round cake tin

225g + 35g good dark chocolate (at least 70%)
225g butter
4 eggs
1dl sugar
2,5dl flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cut the butter and the 225g chocolate in small pieces, put them in a bowl and melt them over a warm (but not boiling) water bath. Let the mix cool down.
In another bowl, beat the sugar and the eggs with an electric whisk until they become airy and light, and whitish (for at least 10 min).
Incorporate the chocolate sauce to the egg and sugar by slowly stirring with a spatula. Sift in the flour mixed with baking powder little by little while stirring. Add the 35g chocolate cut into chunks of about 1-2cm.
Pour this batter in a buttered and floured 20cm cake tin, and bake at 200 degrees for 22-25 min, depending on your oven. One can use a tin of a different size but the cooking time needs to be adjusted. The heart of the cake should stay moist and melty.
Serve with a topping of whipped cream.

Pour un moule rond de 20cm de diamètre

225g + 35g de bon chocolat noir (70% cacao)
225g de beurre
4 oeufs
1dl de sucre
2,5dl de farine
1 c.café de levure chimique

Coupez le beurre et 225g de chocolat en morceaux et faites-les fondre au bain-marie chaud mais non bouillant jusqu'à obtention d'une sauce. Retirez du bain-marie et laissez tempérer.
Battez les oeufs et le sucre au batteur, jusqu'à que le mélange blanchisse et soit devenu mousseux et léger (au moins dix minutes). Incorporez-y la sauce au chocolat en mélangeant doucement avec une spatule.
Tamisez la farine mélangée avec la levure chimique sur cette préparation, petit à petit et tout en mélangeant avec la spatule. Ajoutez les 35gr de chocolat coupes en morceaux d'environ 1-2 cm.
Versez dans un moule beurré et fariné de 20cm, et faites cuire à 200 degrés pendant 22-25 minutes. On peut utiliser un moule de dimension differente mais le temps de cuisson devra être ajustée à sa taille. Le coeur du gâteau doit rester fondant.
Servez avec de la crême chantilly.

Soufflés of Pumpkin with Bacon and Blue Cheese

2009-03-14T09:14:00.003+09:00

Serves 3

30gr unsalted butter
30gr flour
300ml milk
salt, pepper to taste
a pinch of grated nutmeg
200g pumpkin
50g blue cheese
100g very thin slices of bacon
3 eggs

Cut the pumpkin into cubes of about 3-4cm, remove the skin and boil them in lightly salted water until soft (about 10min). Drain and reserve.
Cut the bacon into small pieces, sauté in a dry frying pan until they get a light brown colour. Reserve.
Make a bechamel with 30g butter, 30g flour and 300ml milk, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Incorporate the pumpkin to the bechamel by passing them through a sifter, and mix.
Add the egg yolks one by one and mix well. Add the bacon.
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm, and incorporate them to the preparation in three or four times, delicately lifting the mixture to keep it light. Together with the last egg white, add the crumbled blue cheese.
Divide among individual ramekins, and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with a green salad and potatoes.

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Soufflés au Potiron, Bacon et Bleu

Pour 3 personnes

30gr de beurre
30gr de farine
300ml de lait
sel et poivre
une pincée de noix de muscade râpée
200gr de potiron
50gr de Bleu
100gr de bacon très fin
3 oeufs

Coupez le potiron en cubes d'environ 3-4cm, retirez la peau et faites les bouillir dans de l'eau légèrement salée jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient tendres (environ 10 min). Egouttez et réservez.
Coupez le bacon en fines lanières et faites les dorer dans une poelle sans graisse. Réservez.
Faites une béchamel avec 30gr de beurre, 30gr de farine et 300ml de lait. Salez et poivrez et ajoutez la muscade.
Incorporez les morceaux de potiron à la béchamel en les passant à travers un tamis. Ajoutez les jaunes d'oeufs un à un en mélangeant bien, puis le bacon.
Battez les blancs d'oeufs en neige ferme avec une pincée de sel. Incorporez les délicatement à la préparation, en 3 ou 4 fois, en soulevant bien pour la garder légère. Avec les dernières cuillerées de blanc d'oeuf ajoutez également le bleu grossièrement emiétté.
Répartissez dans des ramequins individuels et enfournez à 200 degrés pendant 25-30 min.
Servez dès la sortie du four (inutile de préciser qu'ils tombent très vite) avec une salade et des pommes de terre.

Grondin Perlon en Robe de Mariée

2009-03-08T21:09:00.006+09:00

Nous avons pû apprécier ce délicieux poisson chez nos amis Megumi et Akihiro, et nous nous sommes empressés de tester la recette peu de temps après.
Le grondin perlon est excellent, mais on peut utiliser tout poisson à chair blanche et ferme, comme la daurade, le flétan, la rascasse par exemple. Demander à votre poissonnier de l'évider pour vous, et ce sera un jeu d'enfant.
La cuisson en croûte de sel permet à toutes les saveurs de se développer sans s'échapper, et le poisson reste juteux et tendre.

Pour 2 personnes

1 poisson à chair blanche ferme, évidé
1 citron, coupé en morceaux (8 ou plus)
2 gousses d'ail, pelées et coupées en morceaux
1 bouquet d'herbes (persil, thym, romarin...)
400g de sel
2 blancs d'oeufs, légèrement battus
1 c. soupe de farine
huile d'olive vierge

Rincez le poisson préparé par votre poissonnier sous l'eau du robinet, et séchez-le à l'intérieur comme à l'extérieur en tapotant avec du papier absorbant.
Remplissez l'intérieur du poisson avec le citron, l'ail et les herbes.
Préparez la pâte de sel en mélangeant le sel avec les blancs d'oeufs, et ensuite la farine.
Deposez un peu de cette pâte (de la forme du poisson, comme pour un lit) sur un plat allant au four. Mettez-y le poisson fourré, ventre en-bas, et tapissez le tout de pâte de sel (la tête et la queue peuvent rester hors du sel).
Enfournez à 180 degrés pendant 25 a 40 minutes, selon la taille du poisson. 25min pour une truite, ensuite adaptez pour des poissons plus grands.
A la sortie du four, brisez la croûte de sel et retirez la chair du poisson, servez-le avec un filet d'huile d'olive vierge, des pommes de terre et une salade.

Paw's Matcha Mousse and Strawberries *

2009-03-04T14:17:00.001+09:00

This was Paw's first matcha mousse, and actually his first attempt at mousse at all! And I have to admit that it was a flying success.

Serves 3

20g sugar
20ml water
3g Agar Agar
4g matcha tea powder

100ml heavy cream

1 egg white
10g sugar

Before you start make sure the cream is well chilled, keep it in the fridge until the last moment.

In a small saucepan, mix the water, sugar and Agar Agar. Put it over low heat, and slowly add the matcha powder through a sifter while stirring (it shouldn't boil). Mix well, and remove from the heat.

Beat the cream until firm with an electric whisk.
Beat the egg white, and when nearly firm add the sugar, and continue beating until completely firm.

Mix the beaten cream into the matcha preparation. Stir delicately but well enough to homogenize the mixture.
Add the beaten egg white, in 2-3 times, very gently to keep the mousse texture.

Pour the mousse into individual glasses, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can also make this mousse the day before and keep it refrigerated over night.
Decorate with strawberries before serving. Serve aditionnal strawberries with this mousse, color and taste complement very nicely!

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La Mousse au Thé Matcha de Paw

20g de sucre
20ml d'eau
3g d'Agar Agar
4g de poudre de thé matcha

100ml de crème à chantilly

1 blanc d'oeuf
10g de sucre

Garder la crème bien froide au frigo jusqu'au dernier moment.

Dans une petite casserole, mélangez l'eau, le sucre et l'Agar Agar. Sur feu doux et tout en remuant, ajoutez petit à petit la poudre matcha au tamis, sans faire bouillir la préparation. Retirez du feu.

Battre la crème en chantilly.
Battre le blanc d'oeuf en neige bien ferme et incorporer le sucre vers la fin.

Ajoutez la chantilly à la préparation au thé, mélangez jusqu'à ce que tout soit homogène, sans grumeaux. Ajoutez ensuite le blanc d'oeuf en 2-3 fois, en soulevant très délicatement pour ne pas perdre la consistance de la mousse.

Versez dans des verrines et laissez reposer au frigo pendant au moins deux heures (on peut très bien la préparer un jour avant).
Décorer les mousses avec des fraises avant de servir, et les accompagner de fraises.

Tajine of Lamb with Dried Apricot and Pistachios **

2009-03-01T09:59:00.016+09:00

Maw and Paw are back on the cooking scene! :-))
This is our new favorite tajine recipe. We found it on L'Atelier Vert, and this is a slightly modified version of a lamb tajine recipe that originally contained hazelnuts and fresh apricots.

Serves 5

1 kg. lamb shoulder or leg, trimmed of fat, deboned and cut into 5cm chunks
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots, sliced 1cm thick
2-3 tablespoons peanut oil or olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns
2 teaspoons turmeric (replace with saffron if possible)
2cm piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced, or 2 teaspoons ginger paste
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon harissa
about 50ml white wine
2 bay leafs, a few sprigs of parsley
3-4 cups of water
1 cube of stock
12 dried apricots, halved
3 tablespoons pistachios, without shell (half of it reduced to a powder, the other half slightly crushed)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
Salt to taste

Grind the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and black pepper in a mortar or spice grinder. Combine with turmeric and cinnamon. Use about half of this mixture to rub into the meat; return the spiced meat to the refrigerator for a couple of hours (This step may be done the day before).

Heat the peanut or olive oil over medium heat in a wok pan. Brown the meat slowly and thoroughly on all sides. Remove the meat to a platter and reserve.
In a large casserole, add a few tablespoons of oil and sauté the onion for 5-10min over medium heat (they shouldn't get dark). Add crushed garlic, the carrots, the remaining half of the spice mix, ginger, harissa, honey, and continue stirring for a couple of minutes to coat the vegetables with the spices. Deglaze with white wine, and add the lamb and the pistachio powder to the pan. Add salt to taste. Pour enough water to just cover the meat, and add the cube stock, bay leafs, parsley, and apricots . Bring to the boiling point, then reduce the heat to very low, cover and simmer for about two hours, until the meat is meltingly tender. If the sauce is still too liquid you can remove the lid for 10-15min.

Before serving, incorporate the chopped fresh coriander to the casserole. In a frying pan, roast the crushed pistachios without oil for a few minutes, and sprinkle them on the meat. Serve with plain couscous, and a salad.

Mousse au Chocolat à la Fleur de Sel

2008-09-04T01:39:00.001+09:00

Une mousse qui a un grain...de sel! Cela peut paraître surprenant, mais sel et chocolat font très bon ménage pour peu que l'on respecte les doses. Le sel réhausse le goût du chocolat et le met en valeur pour le plus grand plaisir des papilles. Essayez et dites-moi ce que vous en pensez!

Pour 2 personnes
- 65gr de chocolat de bonne qualité (70% cacao)
- 35ml de crème pour chantilly
- 1 c.soupe de Kirsch (ou autre liqueur)
- 1 blanc d'oeuf
- 15gr de cassonade
- une petite demie c.café de fleur de sel

Râper environ 1/6 du chocolat en copeaux pas trop fins et les réserver.
Casser le reste du chocolat en morceaux et les mettre dans un saladier avec la liqueur. Faire fondre sur une casserole au bain-marie, à feu tres doux (l'eau ne doit pas bouillir).
Pendant ce temps, battre la crème en chantilly. Battre également le blanc d'oeuf en neige et incorporer la cassonade pour le raffermir.
Lorsque le chocolat est prêt, ajouter la fleur de sel et mélanger. Incorporer la chantilly pour détendre le chocolat, et bien mélanger.
Ajouter le blanc d'oeuf très délicatement, en plusieurs fois. Vers la fin, ajouter les 3/4 des copeaux de chocolat. Mélanger toujours très délicatement.
Remplir des tasses à expresso avec cette mousse (une petite portion par personne suffira), et parsemer des copeaux restants.
Mettre au frigo pendant au moins six heures ou toute une nuit. Sortir les mousses quinze minutes avant de les déguster.

Tunisian Style Fried Bricks

2008-08-28T05:34:00.002+09:00

These bricks are made with minced lamb meat in the original recipe, but since it is quite difficult to find that kind of meat we simply used beef and pork, which worked just fine.
The filling of the bricks have to be well cooked before frying because once in the oil everything will be very quick.
The tricky bit is for the raw egg not to escape from the sealed brick before frying, but we succeeded with flying colours in this step! The egg came out perfect, slighly cooked and just runny enough. Oishiii...

Serves 2 (5 bricks, 2 of them with egg)
- 5 large or 10 small sheets of brick dough
- 2 eggs
- about 300gr minced meat (a mix)
- 1 small onion (or 1/2 onion), finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- salt, pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- a few drops of Tabasco
- a pinch of allspice
- a few leaves of coriander, chopped
- 2 tablespoons dried raisins, soaked in water for half an hour and drained
- flour and water to seal the bricks
- vegetable oil for frying

In a wok or frying pan, heat up one or two tablespoons of oil and sauté the onion until golden. Add the minced meat and continue stiring for a couple of minutes. Add white wine, salt, pepper, cumin, allspice. When it is cooked you can add coriander leaves, Tabasco and raisins, and mix.

Lay a sheet of brick dough on a deep soup plate (If you are using a small sheet you will need a second one on top of the filling. If it is a large sheet just fold it on itself over the filling).
Add some filling (2-3 tablespoons) and make a small well in the center for the egg.

With a brush or with your fingers, paint the edges of the sheet with a mix of water and flour. Carefully break in the egg, and immediately cover with the upper sheet. Seal it well by pressing both sheets together, and rolling them up a little. Be fast!

Deep fry the bricks for a couple of minutes on each side.
Serve as soon as they are done, with drizzles of lemon juice and a green salad.

Khao Kup Gapi **

2008-08-22T03:50:00.003+09:00

This dish is H's adaptation of a popular Thai dish which rapidly became my favorite "weekend-lunch-summer-dish". Gapi rice contains a lot of Gapi (shrimp paste), smelly but sooooo addictive!

Serves 2

- 300gr minced meat (a mix of beef and pork)
- sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon chinese broth powder
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 garlic clove, mashed
- a pinch of sugar
- a few leaves of fresh coriander (optional)

- sesame oil
- 2 bowls of cooked rice
- 2 teaspoons gapi
- pepper
- finely chopped spring onion

- 2 eggs
- sliced cucumber or tomatoes
- lemon juice and fish sauce à volonté

Chop the vegetables in thin slices and reserve.

Prepare the meat: in a wok, sauté the minced meat in a little bit (not too much) of sesame oil. Add ginger, broth powder, wine, oyster sauce, clove, sugar, coriander, and stir until cooked (about 5 minutes). Set aside.

Prepare the gapi rice: in the same wok, heat up sesame oil and add the gapi. Stir well until the color changes to a deep red (30seconds), then add the cooked rice little by little, as you would do for fried rice, mixing well with a spatula.
Add some pepper and the spring onion. Set aside.

Fry your eggs sunny side up in a frying pan.

Divide the rice between two bowls. Top with the minced meat, the vegetables and the egg, and serve.
Add fish sauce and lemon juice and mix everything. Bon ap'!

Pasta Fredda au Pesto Maison et Tomates Mi-Cuites

2008-08-16T01:02:00.000+09:00

Les pâtes froides sont le plat de prédilection de l'été Italien. Et non, ce n'est pas une salade de pâtes!
:-)
Les pâtes doivent être cuites juste avant d' être mangées (comme pour les pâtes chaudes) et rincées sous l'eau froide, mais elles ne doivent pas dessecher. Pour le 'topping' on choisira deux ou trois ingrédients seulement, qui doivent mettre en valeur les pâtes.
On peut mettre le parmesan dans le pesto mais j'ai préféré en faire des copeaux et en parsemer les pâtes à la fin.

Pour deux personnes
- 250gr de pâtes de bonne qualité
- une poignée de feuilles de basilic fraiches
- une bonne c.soupe de pignons
- une gousse d'ail
- 2 c.soupe d'huile d'olive extra vierge
- sel, poivre
- un petit bloc de parmesan
- 50gr de jambon cru
- une quinzaine de tomates cerise
- 2 c.café de jus de citron
- une pincée de sucre

Préparer le pesto: Mettre le basilic, les pignons, l'ail, l'huile, un peu de sel et poivre dans un blender et mixer le tout. Réserver.
Couper le jambon cru en lamelles (pas trop fines). Avec un économe, faire des copeaux avec le parmesan. Couper les tomates cerise en deux.
Faire cuire les pâtes et les rincer à l'eau froide.
Dans un wok ou une poêle, faire rapidement revenir les tomates dans un filet d'huile d'olive, avec sel et poivre, une pincée de sucre et jus de citron. Cela ne doit pas prendre plus d'une ou deux minutes.
Dans un saladier, mélanger les pâtes avec le pesto, la moitié ou trois quarts des tomates, du jambon cru et du parmesan. En dresser les assiettes, et finir en ajoutant le reste des tomates, jambon et parmesan sans mélanger.
Décorer avec une feuille de basilic (j'ai oublié..).

Salade de Courgettes Aigre Douce

2008-08-08T01:19:00.001+09:00

Une salade très appréciée qui vient de chez Péché de Gourmandise. J'y ai juste ajouté la mozzarella pour en faire un dîner complet, léger et estival. Les quantités sont facilement ajustables selon les goûts (ce n'est qu'une salade après tout).

Pour 2 personnes
- un lit de roquette
- 50gr de jambon cru
- une dizaine de petites tomates grappe rouge
- une mozzarella
- une courgette (de taille Japonaise, environ 20cm)
- une petit cube de parmesan
- une poignée de pignons
- 2 c.café de miel
- huile d'olive, vinaigre balsamique, jus de citron, sel, poivre

Couper la courgette en rondelles et la faire dégorger 20 mn dans une passoire avec du sel.
Pendant ce temps, couper les tomates en quatiers et la mozzarella en gros dés. Détailler le jambon cru en lanières et faire des copeaux de parmesan avec un économe.
Quand les courgettes ont dégorgé, les essuyer et les faire sauter pendant 4-5 mn à la poêle ou dans un wok avec un peu d'huile d'olive. Poivrer, saler et arroser de deux c.café de vinaigre balsamique. Continuer la cuisson jusqu'à ce que les courgettes soient "laquées". Les réserver et laisser tiédir.
Dans la même poêle ou wok colorer les pignons avec le miel 2 à 3 mn.
Sur un grand plat, faire un lit avec la roquette, puis y disposer les tomates, le jambon cru, la mozzarella, les courgettes, les copeaux de parmesan et parsemer de pignons caramelisés.
Faire une vinaigrette avec 3 c.café d'huile d'olive, 1 c.café de vinaigre balsamique, 1 c.café de jus de citron, sel et poivre, et répartir sur la salade.

Hot cold noodles for summer

2008-08-04T05:02:00.002+09:00

Serves 2

- Chinese noodles (ramen)

For the sauce:
- 1.5 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 large tablespoon Tahini (sesame paste)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 tablespoon chinese liquor (or sake, or white wine)
- 1.5 tablespoon rice vinegar (or malt vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon hot chili paste
- 1 tablespoon ground peanuts (optional)
- 1 teaspoon dochi (fermented black beans, optional)
- 50ml water

For topping:
- Thin slices of pork or chicken, simply boiled or stir fried
- finely chopped cucumber, scallions, slices of tomatoes

Put all the ingredients of the sauce in a blender and give it a few turns until everything is well blended (so easy).
Prepare the meat and the vegetables.
Boil the noodles according to the instructions on the pack, and rinse them thoroughly under cold water until cooled down. Drain all excess water.
Put the noodles in individual bowls and pour the sauce over them. Top with meat and vegetables and serve, then mix everything and enjoy!

Thai Meat Ball Curry **

2008-07-11T01:47:00.003+09:00

I have inserted a small picture of the dish because photography was not exactly successful! The curry was very good though and we'll do it again, so there will be other opportunities.
We wanted to test our newly acquired shrimp paste (kapi), and it does make a difference.

Serves 3

For the meat balls
- 500gr minced meat (mix of beef/pork)
- 1 small clove garlic, mashed
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon sake or chinese liquor
- 1 large tablespoon bead crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed to powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt, pepper from the mill
- flour for coating the meat balls

For the sauce
- 1 can of coconut milk or coconut cream
- 1 clove garlic, mashed
- 150ml chicken stock
- 3 teaspoons red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 3-4 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- a bunch of fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- fresh coriander leaves

Prepare the meat balls: combine all ingredients for the meat balls in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly (better with your hands).
Form balls of about 3cm diameter and slightly coat them with a bit of flour to avoid sticking. Reserve in the fridge.

Prepare the sauce: Pour the coconut milk in a large sauce pan. Add the shrimp paste and curry paste and beat with a whisk until they have dissolved. Add the stock, mashed garlic, cumin, turmeric, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and mix. Now turn on the gas and let the sauce cook over low heat for about 10 minutes to bring all the flavors together.
Add the meat balls one by one, and continue cooking for at least 15 minutes (longer is fine).
Finally, add the spinach and coriander leaves, cook for a few more minutes and serve with rice.

Tandoori Chicken

2008-06-23T06:15:00.000+09:00

Tandoori Chicken is a popular Punjabi dish, where chicken is marinated in yoghurt and spices, and traditionally cooked at high temperatures in an earthen oven (tandoor). If you don't own a tandoor it can also be grilled or cooked in the oven as we did.
As cooking chicken in the oven slightly dries up the meat, we served it with a spicy tomato sauce.

Serves 4

-750gr boneless chicken thighs, in chunks of about 3-4cm

For the marinade:
- 2 cups plain yoghurt (400ml)
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 4 cardamon pods, powdered
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- 3 tablespoons paprika powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- vegetable oil
- 2 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, mashed
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 tomato cans
- a pinch of sugar
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- water (about 100ml)
- 30gr butter
- 50ml milk

Combine all the ingredients of the marinade, add the chicken and mix, cover and let it rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

For the sauce, sauté the onion in a wok pan with a little oil, cloves and bay leaves. Add garlic, cinnamon, fenugreek, turmeric, ginger, cumin, and continue stirring.
Add the tomato cans, sugar, salt, pepper, and water. Let it simmer for one hour over low heat.

Pre-heat the oven to 210 degrees C.
Place the marinated chicken in an oven-proof dish (without too much overlapping) and cook at this temperature for about 25 minutes, depending on your oven.

Towards the end of the cooking time, add butter and milk to the sauce and adjust the taste.
Serve Tandoori chicken with the sauce and white rice.

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Le poulet Tandoori est un plat Indien très populaire, très parfumé grâce aux nombreuses épices de la marinade.
Comme la cuisson au four dessèche légèrement le poulet, nous le servons avec une sauce à base de tomates et d'épices. Et ça y est, on est en Inde..

Pour 4 personnes

- 750gr de hauts de cuisses de poulet, sans os, en morceaux de 3-4cm

Pour la marinade:
- 2 cups de yahourt (400ml)
- 2 c.café de cumin en poudre
- 4 graines de cardamone, en poudre
- 1/2 c.café de piment de cayenne
- 2 c.café de gingembre râpé
- 2 gousses d'ail, écrasées
- 3 c.soupe de paprika
- 1 c.soupe de jus de citron
- 1 c.café de sel

Pour la sauce:
- 1 oignon, finement ciselé
- huile végétale
- 2 clous de girofle
- 2 feuilles de laurier
- 2 gousses d'ail, écrasées
- 1/2 c.café de cannelle
- 1/2 c.café de fenugrec
- 1 c.café de curcuma
- 1 c.café de gingembre râpé
- 1 c.café de cumin en poudre
- 2 boites de conserves de tomates
- une pincée de sucre
- une pincée de sel et de poivre
- environ 100ml d'eau
- 30gr de beurre
- 50ml de lait

Dans un saladier, mélanger tous les ingrédients de la marinade et le poulet. Couvrir et laisser reposer au frigo pendant au moins six heures ou toute une nuit.

Préparer la sauce: Dans un wok, faire revenir les oignons dans un fillet d'huile avec les clous de girofle et les feuilles de laurier.
Ajouter l'ail, la cannelle, le fenugrec, le curcuma, le gingembre, le cumin, et continuer à remuer.
Ajouter ensuite les tomates, une pincée de sel, poivre et sucre, et l'eau. Laisser mijoter sur feu très doux pendant une heure.

Préchauffer le four à 210 degrés. Disposer le poulet dans un plat creux allant au four (en Pyrex par exemple), et le faire cuire pendant environ 25 minutes selon le four.

Vers la fin de la cuisson, ajouter le beurre et le lait à la sauce.
Servir le poulet Tandoori à la sortie du four avec la sauce et du riz.

Coconut and Lemon Yoghurt Cake

2008-06-16T04:19:00.001+09:00

I had a leftover of yoghurt and 2 eggs in the fridge, and that really called for a yoghurt cake.
The addition of coconut and lemon make for a very tasty and moist cake.
Oh yes, and it is also dead simple...

For a 22cm springform
- 200ml yoghurt
- 2 eggs
- 280ml sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100ml coconut cream (or coconut milk)
- 400ml flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional)
- 3 tablespoons grated coconut
- 140ml oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

for the sauce
- 40ml lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
- 60ml water

In a bowl, beat the yoghurt, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla extract with an electric whisk.

Add the following ingredients while beating at low speed, and alternating:
Flour mixed with baking powders, coconut cream, grated coconut, oil, lemon juice.

Pour into a buttered and floured springform, and bake at 180 degrees C for about 45 minutes, depending on your oven.

When the cake has cooled down, shortly heat up lemon juice and water in a saucepan, and pour this sauce over the cake with a spoon.
I know it is difficult to wait, but this cake is best eaten the day after. It can also be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.

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Eh oui, on peut faire un gâteau au yahourt avec seulement deux oeufs, en l'améliorant un peu, et c'est même très bon!

Pour un moule rond d'environ 22cm
- 200ml de yahourt
- 2 oeufs
- 280ml de sucre
- une pincée de sel
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille
- 100ml de crème (ou lait) de coco
- 400ml de farine
- 2 c.café de poudre à lever
- 1/2 c.café de bicarbonate de soude (facultatif)
- 3 c.soupe de noix de coco râpée
- 140ml d'huile neutre
- 2 c.soupe de jus de citron

Pour le jus
- 40ml de jus de citron (1 citron)
- 60ml d'eau

Dans un grand saladier, battre le yahourt, les oeufs, le sucre, le sel et l'extrait de vanille.

Avec le batteur à vitesse minimale, ajouter en alternant: la farine mélangée aux poudres à lever, la crème de coco, la noix de coco râpée, l'huile, le jus de citron.

Verser dans un moule beurré et fariné, et faire cuire à 180 degrés pendant environ 45 minutes selon le four.

Quand le gâteau a bien tiédi, réchauffer 40ml de jus de citron et 60ml d'eau dans une petite casserole, et verser ce mélange par cuillerées sur le gâteau pour l'imbiber.
Ce gâteau est meilleur le jour d'après, et il peut se conserver au frigo pour 2-3 jours.

Mini Soufflés aux Asperges Vertes

2008-06-09T02:17:00.000+09:00

Serves two (4 ramekins)
- 10 green asparagus
- 2 eggs, separated
- 200ml milk
- 20g butter
- 20gr flour
- 40gr Parmesan cheese
- salt, pepper, nutmeg

Peel the asparagus and remove the stalky part. Cut them into pieces of about 2-3cm.
Boil them in salted water for 5 minutes until soft. Drain, and reserve the first two bits from each tip, they will be incorporated later on.
Puree the rest of the asparagus in a blender.

Make a bechamel sauce with 20gr butter, 20gr flour and 200ml milk. Season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and mix. Incorporate the pureed asaparagus and the egg yolks, and mix everything.

With an electric whisk, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm. Incorporate them very delicately to the bechamel/asparagus mix, in three times, and add the asparagus tips that were not pureed.
With a spoon, fill buttered ramekins with this mix (they will rise a little but not that much). Place them in a warm waterbath, and cook in the oven at 200 degrees C for 25 minutes. Serve immediately, with grilled fish or grilled meat.

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Ces petits soufflés iront très bien avec du saumon ou de la viande grillée. A faire au dernier moment, bien sûr!

Pour 2 personnes (4 ramequins)
- 10 asperges vertes
- 2 oeufs, blancs et jaunes séparés
- 200ml de lait
- 20gr de beurre
- 20gr de farine
- 40gr de Parmesan
- sel, poivre, noix de muscade

Peler les asperges et enlever la partie fibreuse du pied. Couper en petits tronçons de 2-3cm, et les faire bouillir dans de l'eau salée jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient tendres.
Réserver les deux premiers tronçons de chaque pointe, qui seront incorporés plus tard.
Mixer le reste des asperges en purée.

Faire une béchamel avec 20gr de beurre, 20gr de farine et 200ml de lait. Assaisoner de sel, poivre, et noix de muscade. Ajouter le Parmesan râpé, mélanger. Incorporer la purée d'asperges et les jaunes d'oeufs et mélanger.

Battre les blancs d'oeufs en neige ferme avec une pincée de sel. Les incorporer délicatement à la béchamel aux asperges, en plusieurs fois, et ajouter les pointes réservées. Verser dans des petits ramequins beurrés et les placer dans un bain-marie d'eau chaude (dans un plat creux en Pyrex par exemple).
Faire cuire les soufflés à 200 degrés pendant environ 25 minutes, et servir immédiatement.

Strawberry Shortcake (Cream Scones) *

2008-06-01T01:47:00.002+09:00

The basis for these shortcakes are cream scones, for which I followed the recipe from Joy of Baking. The scones are cut in half, filled with marinated strawberries, and topped with whipped cream.
Because scones might not be the easiest pastries to bake, the website gives us a few tips. It tells us it is best if all the ingredients are cold, to add the liquid to the dry ingredients all at once, and then to mix everything together quickly and lightly. Also, if we twist the cookie cutter through the scone dough, rather than cutting straight down, the scones will rise higher during baking.
Scones can be baked in advance and heated up shortly just before being topped with strawberries. They are also excellent at breakfast with butter and your favorite jam.

For 7-8 scones
- 280gr all purpose flour (an alternative: 255gr all purpose flour and 25gr integral flour, for some edge)
- 50gr sugar
- 10gr baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 76gr butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100ml whipping cream

Filling and topping for 2 persons
- about 200gr fresh strawberries
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon liqueur (Kirsh, Grans Marnier, Maibu etc..)
- about 80ml whipping cream for the topping

Preheat the oven and rack to 200 degrees C.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with your fingers. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a small cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture at once to the flour mixture. Mix with your hands until just combined, and transfer to a floured surface.

Pat the dough into a circle that is about 18 cm round and 3-4cm thick. Then, using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds (I only had a heart-shaped cutter). Place the rounds on a cookie sheet, spacing them a few cm apart. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking. Put the rack at middle level of the oven.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes (23min for us) at 190 degrees or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Wash and slice the strawberries. Place about one third of the strawberries in a large bowl and crush them with a fork. Add the remaining sliced strawberries, along with the sugar and liquor. Set aside to macerate at room temperature for about 30 to 60 minutes.

To serve: Cut the scones in half and place the bottom half of the scone on a dessert plate. Top with some of the strawberries. Place the top half of the scone on the strawberries. Top with whipped cream and a few more strawberries. If there is any juice from the strawberries, drizzle a little over the top of the scone. Serve immediately.

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La base pour ce dessert sont les "cream scones", que l'on peut également manger au petit déjeuner ou avec le thé. J'ai suivi la recette de Joy of Baking pour ces scones.
Il est conseillé de garder les ingrédients (surtout le beurre) bien froids avant de commencer, et d'ajouter les ingrédients liquides aux ingrédients secs en une seule fois. Apres cela il s'agit d'être rapide et de ne pas trop mélanger la pâte.
Ces scones peuvent être faits à l'avance et légèrement réchauffés avant de les garnir de fraises.

Pour 7-8 scones
- 280gr de farine
- 50gr de sucre
- 10gr de poudre à lever
- une pincée de sel
- 76gr de beurre
- 1 oeuf
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille
- 100ml de crème fleurette

Garniture pour 2 personnes
- environ 200gr de fraises
- 1 c.café de sucre en poudre
- 1 c.café de liqueur (Kirsch, Malibu, Grand Marnier...)
- environ 80ml de crème pour chantilly

Préchauffer le four et la plaque à 200 degrés.

Dans un grand saladier, mélanger la farine, le sucre, la poudre à lever et le sel.
Couper le beurre (froid) en tous petits morceaux, et l'incorporer à ce mélange, en l'écrasant avec les doigts comme pour un crumble.
Dans un bol, mélanger la crème, l'oeuf battu, l'extrait de vanille. Ajouter ces ingrédients liquides au melange précédent, en une seule fois.
Mélanger rapidement avec les doigts jusqu'à ce que tout soit lié, et transférer sur une surface plane légèrement farinée.
Aplanir le pâton à la main en un cercle de 3-4cm d'épaisseur.
Découper des cercles (ou autres formes) à l'emporte-pièces et les déposer sur du papier cuisson en les espacant de quelques centimètres. Badigeonner le dessus des scones d'un peu de crème pour qu'ils prennent une belle couleur dorée à la cuisson.
Les faire cuire pendant 20-25min à 190 degrés en positionnant la plaque au milieu du four.

Laver les fraises et les couper en morceaux. A l'aide d'une fourchette, écraser un tiers des fraises. Ajouter le reste en morceaux, le sucre et la liqueur, et laisser macérer pendant 30min- 1hr.
Pour servir: Couper les scones en deux. Mettre des fraises sur la base, recouvrir avec l'autre moitié, de la crème en chantilly, et encore quelques fraises.

Ebi No Chiri Sosu (Chili Sauce Prawns)

2008-05-26T01:05:00.001+09:00

I requested this dish for my birthday dinner, as Monsieur H cooked for me. It is a Japanese recipe that is now adapted by many chinese restaurants.
It contains several ingredients that you can find at Asian markets.
The recipe might seem a bit complex, but it's totally worth it!

Serves 2
- 12 big prawns
- salt (1/2 teasp + 1/2 teasp)
- starch (1 tablesp + 1/2 teasp + 2-2.5 tablesp)
- 1 tablesp water
- 2 tablesp sake
- 1/4 egg white
- vegetable oil
- 150ml chinese broth
- 2 tablesp ketchup
- 1/2 tablesp hot miso paste (tohbanjan)
- 1 tablesp sugar
- 1 tablesp chinese liquor (shohkohshu)
- pepper
- 2.5 tablesp finely chopped spring onion (half and half)
- 1 clove garlic, mashed
- 2 teasp grated ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

Peel and de-vein the prawns and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix with your hand as if gently massaging, until it becomes gluey (make sure your hands are clean).
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon starch and 1 tablespoon water, and mix again in the same way.
Rinse the prawns under cold water. Any bad smell should be gone by now.

Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper, and put them in a bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons sake, and mix with your hand until the prawns have absorbed the liquid.
Add 1/4 of an egg white and mix until it gets bubbly.
Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon starch, mix and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Bring the prawns back to room temperature.
Heat up a fair amount of oil in a wok pan (enough to deep fry the prawns). If you can monitor the temperature of the oil, heat it up to 120 degrees celsius, and add prawns one by one. Fry them until they are red and start rolling up. This should take only a couple of minutes.

Remove the prawns from the pan and discard the oil. If the pan is dirty, wash it, and add another 2 tablespoons of oil.
Add tohbanjan over low heat, and when sizzling, add ketchup. When it gets bubbly add garlic, ginger, half of the spring onion, and wok everything.
Pour the broth evenly from the side of the wok pan. Turn up the heat, add sugar, salt, pepper, chinese liquor.
When boiling, add back the prawns. After this step you have to be quick otherwise they will become hard and overcooked.
It will settle and start boiling again. At that point you can add the other half of the spring onion, and 2-2.5 tablespoons of starch diluted in an equal amount of water.
When the sauce is binded, add 1 tablespoon oil, and when it appears at the surface turn off the heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon vinegar and it is ready to be served, with rice and vegetables of your choice.

Lemon Surprise Pudding

2008-05-20T01:19:00.000+09:00

This recipe was adapted from Joy of baking, where it is called Lemon Sponge pudding.
It seemed so unique, for even though you mix the ingredients together as you would any cake batter, the batter separates into two layers as it bakes. The top layer becomes a light and airy sponge cake and underneath is a deliciously tangy lemon cream, the surprise. This separation takes place because of the high proportion of milk to flour and eggs.
I am using coconut milk but you can also try with normal milk as in the original recipe. It can be baked in one large soufflé dish, but individual ramekins are just prettier.

for 4 ramekins (4 pers)
- 35gr granulated white sugar
- 35gr light brown sugar
- 25gr unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 33gr all purpose flour
- a pinch of salt
- 50ml lemon juice
- 160ml coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius. Butter four ramekins or other heatproof bowls.

Set aside 2 teaspoons of the white sugar to use when whipping the egg whites. Then, in the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the remaining sugar (white and brown), vanilla extract and egg yolks until airy and fluffy. Add the melted butter (room temperature), and continue beating for a couple of minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and beat until just combined, then gradually pour in the lemon juice and coconut milk. Set aside while you beat the egg whites.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, in three additions, mixing only until incorporated.

Carefully pour (or use a ladle) the batter into the prepared ramekins (the batter does not rise much during baking so you can fill the ramekins almost to the rim). Place the ramekins in a water bath (carefully pour in enough hot water so that the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins).

Bake at 170 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature, but do not refrigerate.

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Pour ce dessert j'ai adapté une recette de chez Joy of baking. La recette m'a tout de suite parue un peu spéciale et j'ai craqué pour ce dessert "deux en un". La faible proportion de farine par rapport à la quantité de lait et d'oeufs fait en sorte que le mélange se sépare en deux phases durant la cuisson. En dessous d'un moelleux et léger biscuit on trouvera une crème au citron veloutée a souhait, la surprise du chef.

Pour 4 ramequins (4 personnes)
- 35gr de sucre en poudre
- 35gr de cassonade
- 25gr de beurre, fondu
- 2 oeufs (blancs et jaunes séparés)
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille
- 33gr de farine
- une pincée de sel
- 50ml de jus de citron
- 160ml de lait de coco

Préchauffer le four à 170 degrés, et beurrer les ramequins.

Réserver 2 c.café de sucre en poudre pour les blancs d'oeufs, et battre le reste des sucres avec les jaunes d'oeufs jusqu'à ce que le mélange blanchisse. Ajouter le beurre fondu (à température ambiante) et continuer à battre pendant une ou deux minutes.
Réduire la vitesse du batteur au minimum, incorporer la farine, et graduellement le jus de citron et le lait de coco.

Dans un autre récipient, battre les blancs avec une pincée de sel, et lorsqu'ils sont assez fermes, ajouter les deux c.café de sucre en poudre. Incorporer ces blancs délicatement à la préparation citronnée, en trois fois, en mélangeant juste assez pour que tout soit homogène.

Verser la sauce dans les ramequins et les placer dans un bain-marie d'eau chaude (dans un plat en pyrex par exemple). Enfourner et faire cuire pendant 40-45min.
Servir tiède ou a température ambiante mais éviter de réfrigérer.

Asparagus and Shrimp Risotto **

2008-05-14T01:02:00.006+09:00

I am giving this recipe two stars, not so much for the asparagus and shrimp, but for the basic risotto recipe which can be adapted in a million ways.
This is Jamie's risotto, a recipe we tried years ago when we made our first risotto, and we are using the same one ever since. That's how good it is.
There is a lot of Parmesan cheese in the basic recipe, which you better leave out if you are using shrimps, but otherwise the process is the same.

Serves 2-3 as a main dish
- about 1/2 litre vegetable or chicken stock (equiv. 2 small cubes)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 large stick of celery, grated
- 250gr Arborio or Japonica rice
- 50ml vermouth (or Marsala, Martini bianco)
- 50ml white wine
- one bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed
- 150gr shrimps (frozen is fine too)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- dried basil (or fresh one)
- salt, pepper
- about 30gr butter
- grated Parmesan cheese "à volonté"

Peel the asparagus and chop them into stalks of about 3cm, keeping the tips whole.
Boil them in salted water for about 10 minutes, and reserve.

Start making your basic risotto recipe.
Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Put the olive oil in a separate large pan, add the onion and celery and cook very gently for about 5 minutes, without colouring, until soft. Add the rice (it will sizzle) and turn up the heat. Don't let the rice or veg catch on the bottom of the pan, so keep it moving.

Pour in the vermouth and wine. Keep stirring all the time until it has evaporated, leaving the rice with a lovely perfume.

Add the stock to the rice a ladle at a time, stirring and waiting until it has been fully absorbed before adding the next. Turn the heat down to low so the rice doesn't cook too quickly, otherwise the outside of each grain will be stodgy and the inside hard and nutty (you don't want to cook it too slowly either, or it will turn into rice pudding!) and continue to add ladlefuls of stock until it has all be absorbed. It should take about 30 minutes for the rice to have softened but is still a little al dente. Check the texture from time to time. You might not need to add all the stock.

You can now add the shrimps and lemon, and when the shrimps are cooked (5min), gently stir in the asparagus (without the tips). Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.

Turn off the heat, beat in your butter (and a handful of Parmesan if you are using it) and basil. Check the seasoning. Put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for a minute.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and decorate with the tips of the asparagus. If you are not cooking a shrimp risotto, sprinkle generously with freshly grated Parmesan.

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Voici le fameux risotto de Jamie, celui que nous faisons depuis plusieurs années. En fait nous n'avons pas changé de recette depuis le premier essai risotto. Les variantes sont bien sûr infinies. Nous faisons souvent la version "champignons-jambon de Parme", ou "Bleu-crevettes", ou même "potiron-sauge" par exemple.
La recette de base contient beaucoup de Parmesan, mais si vous faites un risotto aux crevettes ou au poisson il est recommendé de ne pas en ajouter.

Pour 2-3 personnes
- environ 1/2 litre de bouillon de légumes ou de volaille
- 4 c.soupe d'huile d'olive
- 1 petit onion, finement haché
- 1 grosse branche de céleri, rapée
- 250gr de riz Arborio ou Japonica
- 50ml de vermouth (ou bien Martini blanc, Marsala...)
- 50ml de vin blanc
- une botte d'asperges vertes
- 150gr de crevettes (même congelées)
- 2 c.soupe de jus de citron
- basilic (séché ou frais)
- sel et poivre
- environ 30gr de beurre
- du Parmesan à volonté

Peler les asperges et les couper en petits tronçons d'environ 3cm, en laissant les pointes entières. Les faire cuire 10 minutes dans de l'eau salée, et réserver.

Faire chauffer le bouillon dans une petite casserole.
Verser l'huile d'olive dans une autre grande casserole ou cocotte, ajouter l'oignon et le céleri, et faire cuire à feu doux pendant environ 5 minutes, en remuant et sans laisser brunir. Ajouter le riz sur feu modéré/vif et continuer à mélanger jusqu'à ce que les grains deviennent translucides (quelques minutes).
Mouiller avec le vermouth et le vin blanc, tout en remuant jusqu'à ce que tout soit évaporé.

Ajouter le bouillon louche apres louche, en remuant et en laissant le riz absorber le liquide entre chaque louche. Controler la cuisson de temps en temps. Peut-être que vous n'aurez pas besoin d'utiliser tout le bouillon. Apres 30 minutes, le riz devrait être presque cuit, juste légèrement al dente.

Vous pouvez alors ajouter les crevettes et le jus de citron, et après 5 minutes, les asperges (sans les pointes). Ajuster avec sel et poivre.
Retirer du feu, ajouter le beurre et le basilic (et une poignée de Parmesan si vous en utilisez). Couvrir et laisser reposer une minute.

Servir avec un filet d'huile d'olive et décorer avec les pointes d'asperges.
Pour un risotto sans crevettes ou poisson, parsemer généreusement de Parmesan.

Strawberry sorbet

2008-05-09T05:00:00.001+09:00

Strawberries are a season's favorite, no doubt about it. There are endless ways to prepare them, and I will probably post more strawberry recipes in the future.
This is a sorbet I found on Joy of Baking (a very nice website, by the way). It is tasty and refreshing, and more importantly, it doesn't require an ice cream machine. Here you go:

Serves 6
- 500gr strawberries
- 65gr white granulated sugar
- 80ml water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons liqueur (Kirsch, Grand Marnier, Malibu etc...)

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan, over low heat, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 3-5 minutes). Boil the mixture for one minute then remove from heat. Pour the sugar syrup into a heatproof container, and place in the refrigerator until completely chilled (about an hour or so).

Meanwhile, wash the strawberries, place them in a food processor and process until they are pureed. Transfer to a large bowl, add the lemon juice and liqueur, and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled.

Once the syrup and pureed strawberries are completely chilled, combine them. Pour the mixture into a pre-frozen stainless steel pan (sorbets will freeze faster in stainless steel), or into a Tuperware, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer. Also place 6 empty ramekins in the freezer.

When the sorbet is completely frozen (4 to 5 hours), remove from the freezer and let stand at room temperature until partially thawed. Transfer the partially thawed sorbet to the food processor, and process to break up the large ice crystals that have formed on the sorbet (this step is what gives the sorbet its fluffy texture). Fill the cold ramekins with sorbet, cover with cling film and refreeze for at least three hours, and up to several days. Take it out from the freezer 15 minutes before eating.

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Voici un sorbet à la fraise bien rafraîchissant, de chez Joy of Baking. Pas besoin de sorbetière, le mixeur se charge d'éliminer les cristaux trop grands qui peuvent se former pendant la congélation.

Pour environ 6 ramequins
- 500gr de fraises
- 65gr de sucre
- 80ml d'eau
- 2 c.soupe de jus de citron
- 2 c.soupe de liqueur (Kirsch, Grand Marnier, Malibu...)

Dans une petite casserole, faire fondre le sucre dans l'eau sur feu très doux (3-5min), puis faire bouillir pendant une minute. Verser ce sirop dans un récipient, et laisser refroidir au frigo pendant au moins une heure.

Laver et équeuter les fraises, et les mixer jusqu'à obtenir une purée. Ajouter le jus de citron et la liqueur, et mettre également au frigo pour une heure, jusqu'à ce que le mélange soit parfaitement froid. Placer un récipient (en acier inoxidable si possible, autrement un Tuperware fera l'affaire) au freezer pendant ce temps.

Quand ils sont bien froids, mélanger le sirop et la purée de fraises. Verser la préparation dans le récipient pré-congelé, couvrir avec du film alimentaire et mettre au freezer jusqu'à ce que tout soit congelé (environ 4-5 heures).
Pendant ce temps, placer des ramequins au freezer pour qu'ils soient bien froids.

Au bout du temps de congélation, sortir le sorbet du freezer et le laisser partiellement décongeler. Le remettre dans le mixeur et donner plusieurs tours pour casser les cristaux qui se sont formés.
Répartir dans les ramequins froids, couvrir de film alimentaire puis de papier aluminium, et congeler à nouveau. Il faudra au moins 3 heures pour une congélation totale, mais on peut laisser le sorbet au freezer pour plusieurs jours bien sur.
Les sortir du freezer 15 minutes avant de déguster.

Pita Bread *

2008-05-05T16:21:00.002+09:00

These are the Pita breads we used for the Shish Taouk kebabs. By some sort of magic, they puff up while being baked, leaving a hole in the middle. They can therefore be stuffed with anything, mainly for warm kebabs but you can also make sandwiches out of them.

for 6 Pita Breads (kebabs for 2 persons)
- 200gr high gluten (strong) flour
- 50gr white flour
- 3gr dry yeast
- 5gr salt
- 7.5gr sugar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 150ml tepid water

Dissolve the yeast in tepid water and let it get bubbly for 10 minutes to activate it.
Sift the flours, salt and sugar into a large bowl and make a well. Add the yeast mixture little by little, while mixing with one hand. When it is homogeneous incorporate the olive oil. Transfer to a flat surface and knead for 15 minutes. Form a ball with the dough, place it in the bowl and cover with a wet cloth. Let it rise for about 2 hours in a draft-free place (inside the oven for instance) until it has doubled in volume.
Divide in 6 equal parts and form regular little balls wich each of them. Let them rest (bench time) under a cloth for 15 minutes, while you pre-heat the oven (rack included) to 230 degrees.
Flatten the balls with a rolling pin, to a rather thin circle of about 15cm (similar to rolling out a small pizza dough). Put them on cooking sheet and bake at 220-230 degrees for 7 min (depending on the oven) with the rack on lower position. You will probably have space for only 2-3 Pita at once in your oven. Just repeat the process for the rest of the balls.
They are cooked when they have swelled up and have a nice golden color.

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Pour 6 pains Pita (kebabs pour 2 personnes)
- 200gr de farine de gluten
- 50gr de farine pour pâtisserie
- 3gr de levure sèche
- 5gr de sel
- 7,5gr de sucre
- 1c.soupe d'huile d'olive
- 150ml d'eau tiède

Diluer la levure dans l'eau tiède pour l'activer et la laisser pendant 10 minutes jusqu'à ce que le mélange fasse des bulles.

Tamiser les farines, le sel et le sucre dans un grand saladier, et faire un puits. Ajouter petit à petit la levure et l'eau, en touillant avec le bout des doigts. Lorsque la pâte est homogène, incorporer l'huile d'olive. Transposer sur une surface de travail et pétrir pendant 15 minutes. Former une boule et la remettre dans le saladier. Recouvrir d'un torchon humide et laisser lever la pâte pendant environ 2 heures dans un endroit sans courants d'air (dans le four par exemple).

Après la levée, dégazer la pâte et former 6 boules de taille égale. Les recouvrir d'un torchon et les laisser reposer pendant 15 minutes. Pendant ce temps, préchauffer le four et la plaque de cuisson à 230 degrés.

Abaisser la pâte des Pita avec un rouleau a pâtisserie jusqu'à obtenir des disques assez fins d'environ 15cm de diamètre, comme pour des petites pizzas. Déposer les disques sur du papier cuisson, et les cuire à 220-230 degrés sur la plaque au bas du four, pendant environ 7 minutes. Vous aurez probablement de la place dans le four pour seulement deux ou trois disques à la fois. Répétez l'opération pour tous les pains.
Ils sont cuits quand ils ont gonflé et pris une belle couleur dorée.

Shish Taouk (Lebanese Chicken Kebab) *

2008-04-30T17:06:00.001+09:00

I hope I am not offending any Lebanese person by calling this chicken Shish Taouk. I meddled a bit with the basic recipe, but only to improve it ;-)
We ate it with Pita bread (recipe will follow in another post), but this chicken can also be appreciated with only a yoghurt sauce of your choice and vegetables, or skewered for a great barbecue dish.

Shish Taouk, serves 2-3
- 500gr boneless chicken legs, in bits of about 5cm
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Aubergine and yoghurt sauce
- 1 medium sized aubergine (or 2 small japanese ones)
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 1/4 of a small onion
- about 4 tablespoons plain yoghurt
- 2 teaspoons Tahini (sesame paste) - optional
- a few drops of lemon juice
- a few blades of Italian parsley (or regular parsley), chopped
- salt, pepper

Plus
- Pita bread, tomato, cucumber, salad leaves....

In a deep dish, mix all ingredients for the Shish Taouk, cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours to get the best flavour out of the chicken.

To prepare the aubergine sauce:
Wash the aubergine and remove the end bit. Poke a few holes with a fork, put it on a tray overlaid with cooking paper, and bake it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 45 minutes (it will wrinkle up). When it is cooked, cut it in half lengthwise and scrape the pulp with a knife. It should come off easily.
Put the pulp in a blender together with garlic, onion, Tahini, lemon juice, and blend everything.
Add this preparation to the yoghurt, mix in the parsley and adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.

There are several ways to cook the chicken. The best one is on a barbecue, if you are lucky to have one (it's a great summer dish). Alternatively, you can just use a frying pan and brown the meat for a few minutes, or grill it in the oven, or broil it.
Open the pita bread and stuff it with chicken, chopped vegetables and aubergine sauce. Yummmiiee...

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J'espère ne fâcher personne en appelant ce poulet Shish Taouk. J'ai un peu modifié la recette, comme d'habitude, mais la base est la même. On peut remplir des pains Pita (la recette pour bientôt) avec ce poulet et faire des kebabs. On peut également en faire des brochettes ou le déguster grillé avec une sauce au yahourt et des légumes frais.

Shish Taouk, pour 2-3 personnes
- 500gr de hauts de cuisses de poulets, sans os, en morceaux d'environ 5cm
- 3 c.soupe de jus de citron
- 2 c.soupe d'huile d'olive vierge de bonne qualité
- 3/4 c.café de sel
- 1/4 c.café de poivre
- deux gousses d'ail ecrasées
- 1/4 c.café de cannelle
- 1/4 c.café de quatre-épices
- 1 c.café de curcuma
- 1/2 c.café de piment de cayenne

Sauce à l'aubergine et au yahourt
- une aubergine de taille moyenne (2 petites au Japon)
- 1/2 gousse d'ail
- 1/4 d'un petit oignon
- environ 4 c.soupe de yahourt nature
- 2 c.café de Tahini (pate de sésame) - facultatif
- quelques gouttes de jus de citron
- quelques brins de persil plat, ciselé
- sel et poivre

Plus
- Pain Pita, tomates, concombre, feuilles de salade....

Dans un plat creux, mélanger tous les ingrédients du Shish Taouk, couvrir avec du film alimentaire et laisser mariner au frigo pendant au moins 6 heures.

Pour la sauce:
Laver l'aubergine et enlever la queue. Faire quelques trous avec une fourchette et la cuire au four à 200 degrés pendant environ 45 minutes, jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit bien froissée. La couper ensuite en deux dans la longueur et retirer la pulpe avec un couteau.
Mettre la pulpe dans un mixeur avec l'ail, l'oignon, le Tahini, le jus de citron, et mixer. Ajouter cette préparation au yahourt, ajouter le persil et assaisoner avec sel et poivre.

Pour cuire le poulet l'idéal serait d'utiliser un barbecue (c'est un plat parfait pour l'été). Autrement on peut simplement le faire sauter dans une poêle à frire avec un peu d'huile d'olive, ou bien utiliser le grill du four.
Pour les kebabs, remplir les pains Pita de poulet, tomates, concombre, salade, et sauce. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate and Banana Muffins

2008-04-24T18:10:00.000+09:00

I am quite proud of those muffins because they are my own recipe and they came out really delicious.
For all the chocolate lovers out there....

For 6 muffins
- 120gr flour
- 1 good teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (level) of sodium bicarbonate
- 40gr brown sugar
- 35gr ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (10gr)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 banana, cut into small bits
- 70gr good quality dark chocolate, chopped into chunks of about 1/2cm
- 1 egg
- 80ml milk
- 30ml olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
Mix the flour, baking powders, almond powder, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and sift them into a bowl. Make a well. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks and banana bits.
In another bowl, mix the beaten egg, milk, olive oil, vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and mix with a wooden spoon. A few turns are enough, the mix has to remain lumpy.
Divide the preparation among the muffin cups, put them in the oven (lower shelf) and lower the temperature to 180 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.

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Qui peut résister à des muffins au chocolat?....

Pour 6 muffins
- 120gr de farine
- 1 c.café (bombée) de levure chimique
- 1 c.café (rase) de bicarbonate de soude
- 40gr de cassonade
- 35gr d'amandes en poudre
- 1 c.soupe de cacao en poudre non sucré (10gr)
- une pincée de sel
- 70gr de chocolat de bonne qualité, en morceaux de environ 1/2cm
- 1 banane, coupée en morceaux
- 1 oeuf
- 80ml de lait
- 30ml d'huile d'olive
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille

Préchauffer le four à 210 degrés.
Mélanger la farine, les poudres à lever, les amandes en poudre, le cacao, la cassonade, le sel, et les tamiser dans un saladier. Faire un puits. Répartir le chocolat et la banane coupée sur ces ingrédients secs.
Dans un autre saladier ou un bol, mélanger l'oeuf battu, le lait, l'huile d'olive et l'extrait de vanille. Verser sur les ingrédients secs et mélanger en quelques tours de main seulement. Le mélange doit rester grumeleux pour des muffins légers et non élastiques.
Répartir la préparation dans les moules à muffins. Enfourner (niveau bas) et réduire la chaleur à 180 degrés. Cuire pendant 25 minutes.

Tartare Boeuf-Vache

2008-04-19T18:07:00.000+09:00

I wanted to try this steak tartare recipe by Péché de Gourmandise for quite a while, and I had to bring it up several times before Mr.Paw finally gave in, but I think he liked it.
Needless to say, it is absolutely necessary to get the very best piece of filet for this recipe, and eggs as fresh as possible, as they are eaten raw.

Serves 2
- 250gr beef filet (tenderloin, sirloin, tournedos...)
- 2 egg yolks
- 25gr Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon Ketchup
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- a few drops of Tabasco
- salt, pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon capers
- 2 shallots
- a few blades of Italian parsley

Cut some chips out of your Parmesan block with a good knife or with a vegetable peeler and make them crumble with your fingers. Set aside, and keep some for decoration.
Pepare the sauce:
In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, mustard, Ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Slowly incorporate the olive oil while whisking vigourously.
Add the drained capers, chopped parsley (reserve a couple of leafes for decoration), finely chopped shallots.
Prepare the meat:
Cut your filet into slices of about 4-5mm. Cut each slice into equally thin strips, and each strip into very small dices. It's a bit long but totally worth it.
Mix the meat with the sauce and cheese. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Shape up a small heap in each plate, decorate with Parmesan chips and parsley, and serve with a green salad and grilled potatoes or fries.

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Cela faisait un bout de temps que je voulais essayer cette recette de tartare de chez Péché de Gourmandise parce que je sais qu'on peut trouver de l'excellente viande de boeuf au Japon. Et j'avais raison...
Couper la viande en petits dés plutôt que d'utiliser de la viande hachée est le meilleur moyen d'apprécier un tartare. Il faut cependant s'assurer que le filet soit de la plus haute qualité pour ce genre de plat.
Ah oui, c'est "vache" à cause du Parmesan, vous l'aurez compris...

Pour 2 personnes
- 250gr de filet de boeuf
- 2 jaunes d'oeufs
- 25gr de Parmesan
- 1/2 c.soupe de moutarde de Dijon
- 1/2 c.soupe de Ketchup
- 1/2 c.soupe de sauce Worcestershire
- quelques gouttes de Tabasco
- sel, poivre
- 2 c.soupe d'huile d'olive
- 1/2 c.soupe de câpres
- 2 échalotes
- quelques brins de persil plat

A l'aide d'un économe faire des copeaux de Parmesan. Ecraser les copeaux en petits morceaux avec les doigts sauf quelques uns pour le décor.
Préparer la sauce :
Dans un saladier mettre les jaunes d'oeufs, la moutarde, le Ketchup, quelques gouttes de Tabasco et la sauce Worcestershire. Saler, poivrer, mélanger et ajouter l'huile d'olive en filet en battant avec un fouet comme pour une mayonnaise.
Quand l'huile est incorporée, ajouter les câpres égouttées, le persil ciselé, les échalotes hachées.
Préparer la viande :
Faire des tranches de 4-5 mm puis couper les tranches en lanières et enfin les lanières en petits dés. C'est un peu long mais ça en vaut la peine.
Mélanger la viande à la sauce et ajouter le fromage. Rectifier l'assaisonnement.
Décorer avec quelques copeaux de fromage réservés et du persil. Accompagner d'une salade et de pommes de terre au four ou frites.

Petits Flans de Semoule et Coco, Coulis de Mirtilles

2008-04-15T19:44:00.000+09:00

Another semolina recipe. These little puddings are deliciously moist and tasty.

For about 5 ramekins
- 250ml coconut milk
- 250ml milk
- 60gr light brown sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 80gr semolina
- 40gr butter
- 30gr grated coconut
- 2 eggs
- pinch of salt

For the coulis
- about 250gr blueberries (frozen is fine)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons Kirsch or other liqueur

In a saucepan, bring the coconut milk, milk, to a boil with the sugar and the vanilla pod split in half.
Slowly pour the semolina in while whisking, and reduce the heat to a very low simmer. Cook for about 5 min or so, it will considerably thicken.
Remove from the heat, remove the vanilla pod and add butter and grated coconut. When it is somewhat cooled down, incorporate the egg yolks.
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm, and delicately incorporate them into the preparation.
Butter small ramekins and coat with sugar, removing the excess. Divide the preparation between them.
Place the ramekins in a water bath (in a Pyrex dish for instance) and cook them for about 35 minutes at 180 degrees. Remove from the oven and let them cool down.
These puddings can be eaten the same day, or kept in the fridge overnight.

To make the coulis, simply cook the fruit, sugar and liqueur together in a saucepan for 10-15 minutes. Serve lukewarm.

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Ce dessert tout simple est en fait très savoureux, et parfaitement moelleux après la cuisson au bain-marie. A refaire, très certainement.

Pour environ 5 ramequins
- 250ml de lait
- 250ml de lait de coco
- 60gr de cassonade
- 1 gousse de vanille
- 80gr de semoule fine
- 40gr de beurre
- 30gr de noix de coco râpée
- 2 oeufs
- une pincée de sel

Pour le coulis
- environ 250gr de mirtilles (même congelées)
- 2 c.café de sucre
- 2 c.soupe de Kirsch ou autre liqueur

Dans une casserole, amenez le lait de coco et le lait à ébullition, avec la cassonade et la gousse de vanille coupée dans le sens de la longueur.
Versez doucement la semoule en pluie en mélangeant bien avec un fouet, et réduisez le feu à doux. Cuisez pendant environ 5 min.
Hors du feu, ajoutez le beurre et la noix de coco râpée. Lorsque le mélange a tiédi, ajoutez les jaunes d'oeufs.
Battez les blancs en neige ferme avec une pincée de sel, et incorporez-les délicatement à la préparation.
Beurrez des petits ramequins et saupoudrez l’intérieur de sucre. Enlevez l’excès. Divisez la crème entre les ramequins.
Placez les ramequins dans un bain-marie (dans un plat creux en Pyrex par exemple), et cuisez pendant environ 35 minutes à 180 degrés. Retirez-les du four et laissez-les un peu refroidir. On peut bien sur les déguster le jour même, ou les laisser au frigo jusqu'au lendemain, mais il est préférable de ne pas les servir glacés.

Pour le coulis, cuire les mirtilles, le sucre et la liqueur à feu doux/moyen pendant 10 à 15 min. Servir tiède.

Crumble de Tomates au Mascarpone

2008-04-10T12:01:00.000+09:00

My original plan was to cook a tomato and goat cheese crumble, but I could not find any goat cheese on that day. I had to settle with plain fresh cheese (actually closer to Mascarpone), but it turned out to be a good combination. The mild and creamy taste of the cheese balances out the sourness of tomatoes.
This dish will go well with grilled meat or grilled fish.

Serves 4, as a side dish

- 6-8 tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- salt, pepper
- a pinch of sugar
- 50gr flour
- 50gr butter
- 30gr bread crumbs
- 50gr Parmesan cheese
- a good bunch of fresh basil, sliced
- 60gr Mascarpone cheese (or fresh cheese)

Chop the tomatoes into cubes and set them aside for a while to drain excess water.

Prepare the crumble: cut the butter in small bits and let it soften at room temperature.
In a bowl, mix the flour, bread crumbs, grated parmesan and a good pinch of salt. Add the butter add work it with your finger tips until you obtain a crumble that looks that thick sand.

Sauté the tomatoes in a frying pan with olive oil, salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, garlic, white wine, for 1 or 2 minutes only. Turn off the heat, add the fresh basil and pour the mixture into a gratin dish.

Top with small knobs of mascarpone and cover the gratin with crumble.
Bake at 180 degrees until the crust is golden. It will take about half an hour, depending on the oven.

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Ce plat sent bon l'été et la Méditerranée. Il accompagnera parfaitement toute
grillade de viande ou de poisson.

Pour 4 personnes, en accompagnement

- 6 à 8 tomates
- 2 c.soupe d'huile d'olive
- 2 c.soupe de vin blanc
- 1 ou 2 gousses d'ail
- sel, poivre
- une pincée de sucre
- 50gr de farine
- 50gr de beurre
- 30gr de chapelure
- 50gr de Parmesan
- une botte de basilic frais
- 60gr de Mascarpone (c'est également très bon avec du fromage de chèvre)

Couper les tomates en gros dés et les laisser reposer quelque temps pour les égouter.

Préparer le crumble: Couper le beurre en petits morceaux et le laisser ramollir hors du frigo.
Verser la farine, la chapelure, le parmesan rapé et une bonne pincée de sel dans un saladier. Ajouter le beurre. Travailler du bout des doigts de manière à obtenir une pâte qui soit comme du gros sable.

Faire revenir les tomates dans une sauteuse avec un peu d'huile d'olive, sel et poivre, une pincée de sucre, un peu de vin blanc, l'ail écrasé, le tout pendant une ou deux minutes, pas plus. Incorporer ensuite le basilic ciselé, et étaler dans un plat à gratin.

Répartir le mascarpone en petites cuillerées sur les tomates, et recouvrir de crumble.
Mettre au four à 180 degrés jusqu'à ce que la pâte soit bien dorée (environ une demi-heure selon le four).

Cake à la Semoule et aux Cranberries

2008-04-04T09:58:00.000+09:00

I brought back a pack of "semoule fine" from France, thinking that it was Durum Semolina flour for making pasta which, of course, it wasn't (it happens all the time).
It was a pack of regular semolina, not as fine as the flour used for pasta, and not as coarse as the one for couscous. Something just in between.
Fortunately, it seems to be used in some desserts, and here is one one them:

- 4 eggs
- 100gr flour
- 160gr semolina
- 1 (heaped) teaspoon baking powder
- 1 (level) teaspoon sodium bicarbonate
- 80gr butter, melted
- 100gr sugar
- zest and juice (40ml) of 1 lemon
- 50gr ground almonds
- 70gr dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt

Mix and sift the flour, semolina and baking powders, and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract with an electric whisk until the mixture is airy and whitish (about 10min).
Add the melted butter and continue whisking for a while. You can then add the flour, semolina and baking powders, alternating with lemon juice (and zest).
Stir in the almonds and dried cranberries with a wooden spoon.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm.
Incorporate them to the batter in several times, as delicately as possible.
Pour into a buttered and floured springform, and bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.

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J'ai trouvé la recette de base pour ce cake chez Marmiton, et j'y ai ajouté le citron, la vanille et les cranberries, qui à vrai dire vont très bien ensemble.
La semoule fine lui donne une texture intéressante (et peu commune, dirais-je), moelleuse, avec une croûte presque croustillante.

- 4 oeufs
- 100gr de farine
- 160gr de semoule fine
- 1 bonne c.café de levure chimique
- 1 c.café rase de bicarbonate de soude
- 80gr de beurre, fondu
- 100gr de sucre
- zeste et jus (40ml) d'un citron
- 50gr d'amandes moulues
- 70gr de cranberries séchées
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille (ou du sucre vanillé)
- une pincée de sel

Mélanger et tamiser la farine, la semoule fine, et les poudres à lever. Mettre de côté.
Battre les jaunes d'oeufs avec le sucre et l'extrait de vanille jusqu'à ce que le mélange blanchisse (environ 10min).
Ajouter le beurre en continuant à battre. Ajouter la farine, semoule, poudres à lever, en alternant aver le jus/zeste de citron. Incorporer les amandes et les cranberries.
Battre les blancs en neige ferme avec une pincée de sel, et les incorporer en plusieurs fois à la préparation, aussi délicatement que possible.
Verser dans un moule à cake beurré et fariné, et mettre au four à 180 degrés pendant 45 minutes environ (cela dépend du four).

Our Fresh Pasta Recipe **, Gorgonzola and Spinach Sauce

2008-03-28T09:58:00.001+09:00

We recently got a pasta machine, and even more recently bought fancy pasta plates. This means that we are quite often in the mood for pasta.
We wanted to try a sauce that is different from our all time favorite meat sauce, and this one was fantastic! (I should stop being so modest...)

Serves 2

For the pasta
- 90gr gluten flour
- 60gr soft flour
- 50gr durum semolina flour
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of salt

For the sauce
- 150ml heavy cream
- about 60gr Gorgonzola cheese (or Blue cheese)
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt, pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- white wine
- about 150gr fresh spinach
- 6 Shitake mushrooms (or other), chopped
- Parmesan cheese

In a bowl, mix the flours and salt, make a well. Crack the eggs in the middle and mix everything with one hand.
When the dough doesn't stick to the hand anymore, transfer to a flat surface, and knead for 15 minutes (if the dough is a little bit sticky, add a bit of semolina. It depends on the size of the eggs).
Form a regular ball without wrinkles, wrap it with cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 2 hours.
If you do not have a pasta machine, roll out the dough as thin and as regular as possible. This is quite tricky and never worked for us, I am afraid.
If you are using a machine, take half of the dough at a time. Roll it out a little to give an approximate oval or rectangular shape. Pass it through the pasta machine (divide again if it becomes too long) from the setting nr.7 up to nr.3 (only once per setting). We don't go until setting nr.1 as we like a bit of crunch. Pass the sheets through the tagliatelle knife. Leave the pasta on a hanger (it is OK if the pasta dries for 15 minutes, no worries) while you make the sauce.
Fresh pasta needs very little cooking time. Put a large amount of water to the boil, add salt, a little bit of olive oil, and boil the tagliatelle for 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

For the sauce:
Roughly chop the spinach and boil them in salted water for a couple of minutes. Rinse under cold water and very slightly squeeze out excess liquid. Reserve.
Heat up a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and brown the mushrooms. Add a few tablespoons white wine, then the cream, salt, papper, crushed garlic, nutmeg, Gorgonzola cheese, and spinach in the end.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese after topping the pasta.

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Pour les pâtes fraîches, 2 personnes:
- 90gr de farine de gluten
- 60gr de farine pour boulangerie (T55)
- 50gr de durum semolina
- 2 oeufs
- une pincée de sel

Pour la sauce:
- 150ml de crème fluide pour chantilly
- environ 60gr de Gorgonzola (ou du Bleu)
- 2 gousses d'ail
- sel, poivre
- 1/4 c.café de noix de muscade moulue
- vin blanc
- environ 150gr d'épinards frais
- 6 champignons Shitake (ou autres champignons bruns), en tranches
- Parmesan

Dans un saladier, mélanger les farines et le sel, et faire un puits. Ajouter les oeufs et mélanger le tout avec une main.
Quand la pâte ne colle plus aux doigts, la transférer sur une surface plane et pétrir pendant 15 minutes. Si elle colle encore légèrement après 5 minutes, rajouter un peu de semolina.
Former une boule régulière, l'envelopper de film alimentaire et laisser reposer au frigo pendant 2 heures.
Si vous n'avez pas de machine à pâtes, étaler la pâte aussi finement et régulièrement que possible, et découper des tagliatelles (assez difficile!).
Avec la machine à pâtes, travailler avec une moitié de la pâte à la fois. L'étaler sur environ 1 cm en lui donnant une forme ovale ou rectangulaire, et la passer dans la machine, de la position la plus haute jusqu'à la 3 (la position 1 étant la plus fine). Ne la passer qu'une seule fois pour chaque position.
Couper les tagliatelles, et les laisser sécher sans qu'elles se collent pendant que vous préparez la sauce.
Pour la cuisson, les faire bouillir dans de l'eau salée (on peu aussi ajouter un peu d'huile d'olive) pendant 3 minutes, et servir immédiatement.

Pour la sauce:
Faire bouillir les épinards coupés pendant 2 minutes dans de l'eau salée. Les rincer à l'eau froide, légèrement presser pour enlever l'excès d'eau, et résever.
Faire chauffer un peu d'huile d'olive dans une poelle et faire brunir les champignons. Déglacer avec du vin blanc et ajouter la crème, l'ail écrasé, sel, poivre, noix de muscade, Gorgonzola, et les épinards avant de servir.
Verser sul les pâtes et garnir de Parmesan fraîchement rapé.

Tender Pork with Prunes *

2008-03-21T20:46:00.000+09:00

We usually cook this kind of dish with lamb, but the pork tenderloin looked particularly good at the supermarket that day, and it was indeed a good pick.
As tender and savory as it can get, and once again, perfect with couscous.

Serves 3

- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- salt
- pepper
- 100gr thinly sliced bacon
- 500-600gr pork tenderloin, cut into about 1.5cm slices
- flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 50ml Marsala wine
- 2 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme, crushed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- cayenne pepper to taste
- 12 dried prunes
- a handful of crushed almonds (optional)
- about 200ml water

Coat the slices of tenderloin with flour and tap off the excess.
Heat up the butter in a large pot, and slowly brown the onion, garlic and bacon.
Remove from the pot and set aside.
Heat up olive oil in the same pot and brown the pork on both sides, season with salt and pepper.
Add Marsala wine, the onion, garlic, bacon, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, thyme, honey, cayenne pepper, dried prunes, almonds, and water until the meat is covered up.
Put the lid on with a small opening and let it sizzle for 1h30min.
Towards the end of the cooking time you can remove the lid if the sauce has not reduced enough. Add salt and pepper if necessary, and serve with couscous.

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Pour 3 personnes

- 1 onion, finement ciselé
- 2 grosses gousses d'ail, écrasées
- 1c.soupe de beurre
- sel et poivre
- 100gr de petits lardons
- 500-600gr de filet mignon de porc, en tranches de 1.5cm d'épaisseur
- de la farine
- 2 c.soupe d'huile d'olive
- 50ml de Marsala
- 2 clous de girofle
- 2 feuilles de lauriers
- 1/4 c.café de cannelle
- 1/2 c.café de thym sec, écrasé
- 1 c.soupe de miel
- piment de Cayenne (si on aime un peu relevé)
- 12 pruneaux (pour ma part, je préfère avec noyaux)
- amandes
- environ 200ml d'eau

Enrober les tranches de filet mignon de farine.
Dans une cocotte, chauffer le beurre et faire dorer à feu doux l'oignon, l'ail et les lardons. Les enlever et réserver.
Dans la meme cocotte, ajouter un peu d'huile d'olive et faire brunir la viande des deux côtés. Saler et poiver, et déglacer avec le Marsala.
Ajouter l'oignon, ail, lardons, clous de girofle, laurier, cannelle, thym, miel, piment de Cayenne, pruneaux, amandes, et recouvrir le tout d'eau.
Couvrir (laisser juste une petite ouverture) et faire mijoter pendant 1h30 à feu très doux. On peu enlever le couvercle vers la fin de la cuisson jusqu'à ce que la sauce ait la consistance désirée.
Rectifier l'assaisonement et servir avec de la semoule.

Petit Campagne aux Graines de Fenouil

2008-03-17T18:44:00.000+09:00

This was only the second time we tried to bake our own bread, and it came out surprisingly well, we'll do it again.
Fennel seeds give a nice anis flavour to the bread and it will go really well with meat dishes, beer and wine, but maybe not with breakfast this time.

For 1 small Campagne

- 140gr high-gluten flour
- 40gr soft flour
- 20gr whole wheat flour
- 3gr salt (1 teaspoon)
- 6gr sugar
- 4gr dry yeast
- 125ml tepid water
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, slightly crushed

Dissolve the yeast in tepid water and leave it for about 10 minutes until it gets bubbly.
In a bowl, mix the flours, sugar and salt, and make a well. Add the yeast mixture little by little while mixing with one hand. Continue mixing until the dough is homogeneous and does not stick to the hand anymore.
Transfer to a flat surface and knead the dough for 30 minutes (be patient!).
Form a ball that you put back in the bowl, cover with cling film and let it rise until it has doubled in volume (inside the oven works well). We put it in a 35 degree oven for 1h15min.
Remove the dough from the bowl, add the fennel seeds and knead again for a couple of minutes to incorporate them. Let it rest for 15 minutes (cover).
Form a nice and slightly flattened ball (it will be the final shape of the bread), and put back to rise for another 45 minutes at 35 degrees. We also add a small cup of boiled water in the oven during that second rising time.
Remove the bread from the oven while you preheat it to 220 degrees, and put it in a safe place away from drafts (you can loosely protect it with tin foil).
When the oven is warm, lightly (very lightly!) spray the bread with water and sprinkle with whole weat flour. Make a couple of incisions with a sharp knife, and bake at 220 degrees for 25-30min (26min for us, middle shelf).
This bread is best on the same day.

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Les graines de fenouil donnent à ce Campagne un petit goût anisé très intéressant, qui accompagnera un plat de viande avec du vin ou de la bierre. Pas pour le petit déjeuner cette fois, mais vraiment bon!

- 140gr de farine de gluten
- 40gr de farine blanche pour boulangerie
- 20gr de farine complète
- 3gr de sel (1c.café)
- 6gr de sucre
- 4 grammes de levure sèche
- 125ml d'eau tiède
- 2 c.café de graines de fenouil, légèrement écrasées.

Delayer la levure dans l'eau tiède pour l'activer, et laisser pendant environ 10 minutes jusqu'à ce que le mélange fasse des bulles.
Dans un saladier, mélanger les farines, le sucre et le sel, et faire un puits.
Ajouter peu à peu l'eau et la levure en touillant avec une main. Quand la pâte ne colle plus aux doigt, transférer sur une surface plane et pétrir pendant 30 minutes (courage!).
Former une boule et la mettre dans un saladier. Couvrir avec un torchon de cuisine ou du film alimentaire et laisser lever jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait doublé de volume. Nous la mettons au four à 35 degrés pendant 1h15min.
Au bout de ce temps, dégazer et incorporer les graines de fenouil en pétrissant pendant environ 2 minutes. Laisser reposer pendant 15 minutes à température ambiante (couvrir).
Former ensuite une belle boule régulière légèrement aplatie, qui sera la forme finale du pain. Mettre à lever une seconde fois. Nous la mettons au four à 35 degrés pendant environ 45 minutes, avec une petite tasse d'eau bouillie.
Retirer du four et préchauffer ce dernier à 220 degres. Mettre le pain à l'abri des courants d'air pendant ce temps.
Quand le four est chaud, vaporiser très légèrement le pain avec de l'eau, et saupoudrer de farine complète. Faire 2 ou 3 entailles avec un couteau tranchant, et enfourner pendant 25 à 30 minutes (26min pour nous, niveau moyen).
Ce pain est meilleur dégusté le jour même.

Fantastic Meat Pie **

2008-03-12T10:56:00.000+09:00

Mr.H is the Minced Meat Meister of the household, no one makes better burgers than he does. He is also "in charge" when it comes to meat pie, and this great recipe was provided by his mum (is it all genetic?).
We have it several times every winter and never get tired of it.

Serves 4

- 300gr pie crust
- 700gr minced meat (a mix of beef/pork)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
- 50gr bacon, finely sliced
- 6 mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
- olive oil
- 50-80gr processed cheese, chopped into small bits
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon white or red wine
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 40ml milk
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon dry sage
- salt and pepper to taste

Soak the bread crumbs in milk.

In a frying pan, sauté the onion with garlic, then bacon, mushrooms, bell pepper, in a bit of olive oil. Set aside and let them cool down.
When cold, add them to the minced meat in a large bowl, together with the bread crumbs, milk, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, wine, soy sauce, half of the egg, nutmeg, oregano, sage, salt and pepper. Mix well, and add the processed cheese.

Roll out the pie crust. Use one half to cover the bottom and sides of an oven-proof dish (at least 3-4cm high, as on the picture). Add the meat, and cover with the other half of the pie crust. Try to seal the pie, and use the leftovers of dough for decoration.
Brush with the other half of the beaten egg and bake at 200 degrees for 40-50 minutes.
Enjoy with a green salad.

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Nous faisosns cette tourte plusieurs fois chaque hiver, on l'aime beaucoup. C'est une recette de la maman de H qui a même été testée avec succès en Alsace, l'autre pays de la tourte...

Pour 4 personnes

- 300gr de pâte feuilletée
- 700gr de viande hachée (un mélange boeuf/porc)
- un oignon, haché
- 2 gousses d'ail, ecrasées
- 50gr de lard ou lardons, coupé en petis morceaux
- 6 champignons de Paris, coupés en petits morceaux
- un petit poivron vert, coupé en petits morceaux
- de l'huile d'olive
- 50-80gr de fromage fondu, coupé en petits morceaux
- 2 c.soupe de ketchup
- 1 c.soupe de sauce worcestershire
- 1/2 c.soupe de vin blanc ou rouge
- 1/2 c.soupe de sauce de soja
- 1/2 tasse de miettes de pain
- 1 oeuf, battu
- 40ml de lait
- 1/2 c.café de noix de muscade moulue
- 1 c.café d'origan
- 1 c.cafe de sauge
- sel et poivre

Verser le lait sur les miettes de pain et réserver.

Dans une poelle, faire revenir les oignons et l'ail avec un peu d'huile d'olive, et faire de même avec les petits lardons, les champignons et le poivron. Mettre de côté et laisser refroidir.

Ajouter ensuite le tout à la viande hachée, avec le pain, lait, ketchup, sauce worcestershire, vin, sauce soja, la moitié de l'oeuf, les épices, sel et poivre. Bien mélanger, et incorporer ensuite le fromage.

Etaler la pâte. Utiliser la moitié pour recouvrir le fond et les parois d'un moule à gâteau ou d'un plat en pyrex. Répartir la viande, et recouvrir de l'autre moitié de pâte. Utiliser les restes pour décorer. Dorer avec l'autre moitié de l'oeuf battu, et faire cuire à 200 degrés pendant 40 à 50 minutes.
Servir avec une bonne salade verte.

Saag Gosht (Lamb in Spinach Curry)

2008-03-08T13:14:00.000+09:00

We had this curry at the restaurant a couple of times and I really loved it, so we gave it a try at home, and it was a success.
The only problem with this curry is that it is not photogenic, to say the least... I challenge anyone to take an apetizing photo of Saag Gosht. So once again, don't get turned off by the picture, just try it!

Serves 4

- 800gr boneless leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into appr. 2.5cm cubes
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 3-4 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste (or freshly grated ginger)
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed to powder
- 4 cardamon pods, crushed to powder
- 10 black peppercorns, crushed
- 3 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- a pinch of nutmeg
- 3 garlic cloves, mashed
- salt (at least 1 teaspoon)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes (400ml)
- about 100ml water
- 300gr yoghurt
- 2 teaspoons dried chili flakes (optional)
- 400gr fresh spinach

In a frying pan, brown the lamb with a little oil, and set aside.

Heat up a wok pan and then the ghee. Lower the heat and add the sliced onions. Keep frying for about 20 min over low heat until they are soft and golden.
Add the cumin, turmeric, chili powder, ginger, coriander, cardamon, peppercorns, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaves, and fry for a couple of minutes. It will smell fantastic.
Add the tomato can, water, garlic, salt, and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove the cloves and the bay leaves and set them aside.
Stir in the yoghurt, mix and remove from the heat.
When it is somewhat cooled down, purée everything in a blender or a food processor.
Put the mixture in a large pot together with the lamb. Add the chili flakes, 2 of the reserved cloves and one bay leaf, and let it sizzle over low heat for 2 hours (lid on with a small opening).
Boil the spinach for 2-3 minutes and purée with a blender or a food processor.
Fifteen minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the spinach to the lamb curry and mix.
You can do this curry in advance, let it rest for a while and heat it up again just before eating.
Serve with Naan bread or rice.

Fluffy Naan Bread

2008-03-02T19:15:00.000+09:00

Since we cook a lot of Indian curry these days we sometimes want to have Naan bread with it.
This bread is not difficult and doesn't need a lot of kneading at all, which is always a good thing.

for 4 small Naans (2 persons)

- 100gr all purpose flour
- 100gr high gluten flour
- 50gr plain yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter. Alternatively: unsalted butter, melted)
- 80ml tepid water
- 1 teaspoon dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar

Activate the yeast in tepid water for 5-10 minutes until it gets bubbly.
In a bowl, mix the flours, salt, sugar, and make a well. Add the yoghurt and ghee and start mixing with one hand. Add the yeast in water little by little.
Mix everything until you obtain a homogeneous dough and work it with your hand for just a few minutes to incorporate some air. It will be a rather wet and soft batter.
Cover and let it rise in a draft-free place (inside your oven is fine) until it has at least doubled in volume (it can take 3-4 hours).
When it is ready, divide it in 4 equal portions, and form a little ball with each of them. Let them rest again for about 30 minutes in your oven. We put a cup of boiled water beside them during this step to keep the dough moist.
When you are ready to eat, roll out the balls to about 1/2cm and give them an elongated shape.
Heat up a frying pan without any oil or butter. Add 2 Naans at a time and cook over medium heat for a bout 2 minutes on each side. Cover with a lid during that time. Cooking the Naans in a frying pan works much better than in the oven for us.
Enjoy with your favourite curry!

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Pour 4 petits Naans (2 personnes)

- 100gr de farine pour pâtisserie
- 100gr de farine de gluten
- 50gr de yahourt nature
- 2 c.soupe de ghee (beurre clarifié. A defaut, du beurre non salé, fondu)
- 80ml d'eau tiède
- 1 c.café de levure sèche
- 1 c.café de sel
- 1 c.café de sucre

Activer la levure en la diluant dans l'eau tiède, et laisser pendant 5-10min jusqu'à ce que le mélange fasse des bulles.
Dans un saladier, mélanger les farines, le sucre et le sel, et faire un puits.
Y ajouter le yahourt et le ghee et commencer à mélanger avec une main. Ajouter petit à petit la levure diluée et mélanger jusqu'à obtention d'une pâte homogène.
Travailler la pâte pendant quelques minutes seulement en la soulevant pour incorporer de l'air. Elle ne se détachera pas entièrement des doigts, mais tout va bien.
Couvrir le saladier et mettre à lever dans un endroit sans courants d'air (par exemple dans le four) jusqu'à ce que la pâte ait au moins doublé de volume. Cela peut prendre 3-4 heures.
Au bout de ce temps, diviser en 4 parts égales et former de petites boules.
Les remettre au repos dans le four pendant environ 30 minutes (nous ajoutons un bol d'eau bouillie dans le four pour garder un taux d'humidité élevé).
A l'aide d'un rouleau a pâtisserie, abaisser les boules sur environ 1/2 cm en donnant une forme allongée aux Naans.
Chauffer une poelle sans graisse et faire cuire les Naans à sec, deux à la fois, pendant environ 2 minutes de chaque côté. Couvrir avec un couvercle pendant la cuisson.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins

2008-02-27T11:32:00.000+09:00

Baking muffins is supposed to be easy but it always makes me nervous. I think it is quite difficult to obtain the desired texture even if one is careful enough not to overmix the batter.
Anyway, those were the best achievement so far, soft and airy. Feel free to decrease the amount of sugar or oil if you are concerned about calorie intake.

For 6 muffins

- 120gr flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (level) sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
- 50gr brown sugar
- a good pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons grated coconut
- 40ml oil
- 65ml milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80gr white chocolate
- about 100gr raspberries (frozen also works)

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
Break the chocolate into bits, not too small (about 1/2cm) so that you can still taste the chunks after the muffins are baked.
In a bowl, sift the flour, sugar and baking powders. Mix in the grated coconut, make a well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, vanilla extract, oil, pinch of salt.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips and raspberries over the flour mix, add the liquid ingredients and fold everything quite rapidly with a big wooden spoon, being careful not to overmix. The batter has to remain lumpy for the muffins not to be elastic.

Fill 6 muffin cups and put in the oven (on lower shelf). Lower the temperature to 180 degrees and bake for 25 minutes.

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Pour 6 muffins au chocolat blanc et framboises

- 120gr de farine
- 1 c.café de levure chimique
- 1 c.café (rase) de bicarbonate de soude
- 50gr de cassonade
- une bonne pincée de sel
- 2 c.soupe de noix de coco rapée
- 40ml d'huile
- 65ml de lait
- 1 oeuf
- 1 c.café d'extrait de vanille
- 80gr de chocolat blanc
- 100gr de framboises (même congelées)

Préchauffer le four à 210 degrés.
Casser le chocolat blanc en morceaux pas trop petits (environ 1/2cm).

Dans un saladier, tamiser la farine, la cassonade et les poudres a lever. Y ajouter la noix de coco rapée.

Dans un autre saladier, battre l'oeuf, le lait, l'extrait de vanille, l'huile et la pincée de sel.

Répartir les morceaux de chocolat et les framboises sur la farine, ajouter les ingredients liquides et mélanger le tout en quelques tours de mains seulement. Le mélange doit rester grumeleux pour que les muffins soient légers.

Répartir dans les moules à muffins et enfourner (niveau bas). Réduire la chaleur à 180 degrés et cuire pendant 25 minutes.

Tuna Tartare on a Spinach Mousse

2008-02-23T13:50:00.000+09:00

This appetizer is perfect for a special occasion, it looks quite festive doesn't it?
Béatrice from by La Tartine Gourmande, who developed the recipe, made it for a New Year's Eve dinner, and we had it recently on Mr. H's birthday.

Serves 4

For the spinach mousse
- 120ml heavy cream (cold)
- a bunch of fresh spinach (about 200gr)
- 2-3 tablespoons of fresh coriander
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 sheet of gelatin of 1.5gr
- salt, pepper to taste

For the tuna tartare
- about 250gr fresh tuna
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (or ginger paste)
- 1.5 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

To prepare the mousse:
Wash the spinach and the coriander, and boil them in salted water for about 3 minutes.
Strain them and rinse under cold water. Squeeze the excess water out of the spinach.
Purée the spinach and coriander in a blender or a food processor.
Soak the gelatin for a few minutes in cold water. Meanwhile, whip the cold cream into whipped cream.
Heat the milk, squeeze the excess water from the softened gelatin and dissolve it in the milk.
In a bowl, mix the purée with the gelatin/milk and whipped cream. Fold carefully to keep the preparation light. Season with salt and pepper and divide it between the serving glasses. Place in the fridge for several hours so that it sets.

To prepare the tartare:
Mix the grated ginger, lime zest, lime juice, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and chopped herbs.
Dice the tuna, mix it with the sauce and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
Top the mousses with the tuna tartare and decorate with more chopped chives.

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J'ai trouvé cette recette sur le blog de Béatrice, by La Tartine Gourmande.
Allez y faire un tour à l'occasion, il y a de bonnes recettes et des photos magnifiques.

Pour 4 personnes

Pour la mousse aux épinards
- 120ml de crème liquide
- environ 200gr d’épinards frais
- 2-3 c.soupe de coriandre fraîche
- 3 c.soupe de lait
- 1 feuille de gélatine de 1.5gr
- sel et poivre

Pour le tartare de thon
- environ 250gr de thon rouge frais
- zeste d’un citron vert
- 1 c.café de racine de gingembre frais râpé très finement
- 1.5 c.soupe de jus de citron vert
- 1 c.café de miel liquide
- 1 c.soupe de sauce soja
- 1 c.soupe de sauce nuoc-mâm
- 1 c.soupe d’huile de sésame
- 1 c.soupe de coriandre fraîche hachée
- 2 c.soupe d'oignon tige, haché

Pour préparer les mousses:
Lavez les épinards et la coriandre, et faites les cuire dans de l’eau bouillante salée pendant quelques minutes. Égouttez-les et rinsez-les à l’eau froide. Pressez les épinards pour enlever l’excès de liquide.
Mixez les légumes et réservez cette purée.
Mettez la gélatine à ramollir dans de l’eau froide. Pendant ce temps, fouettez la crème froide en chantilly.
Chauffez le lait et ajoutez la gélatine bien essorée pour la dissoudre.

Mélangez délicatement la purée de legumes dans un saladier avec le lait/gélatine et la chantilly. Salez et poivrez et répartissez dans des verres. Mettez au frigo pendant plusieurs heures pour que la mousse prenne.

Pour préparer le tartare:
Mélangez dans un bol le gingembre râpé, le zeste de citron vert, le jus de citron, la sauce soja, le miel, la sauce nuoc-mâm et l’huile, ainsi que les herbes hachées.
Coupez le thon en petits dés et ajoutez-le à la sauce. Mélangez bien et laissez mariner pendant 10 minutes.
Répartissez dans les verres et décorez avec quelques tiges restantes.

Prawn and Cabbage Curry

2008-02-18T20:16:00.000+09:00

The Paw and I are sort of curry addicts. We like all kinds of curries and we could cook and eat curry any time. Indian curry is probably my favourite, especially if it comes with Naan bread (recipe will feature soon).
I was first sceptical about the association of tomato and coconut cream, but if you ever try you will surely come back to it as it does work really well.

Serves 2-3

- 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter, see below)
- 1 small onion, finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed to powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste (or freshly grated ginger)
- 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
- 1 can diced tomato (400ml)
- a pinch of sugar (1/2 teaspoon)
- a good pinch of salt
- about 300ml coconut cream (or coconut milk)
- 16 prawns
- about 1/3 of a small round cabbage, leaves trimmed and chopped relatively large.
- 2 teaspoons dried chili flakes (optional)
- a small bunch of fresh coriander

Ghee is clarified butter, important in Indian cuisine and also used in Egyptian and Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisines. It is considered a "healthy" fat, but more importantly it gives a characterictic flavour to your dish. You can prepare your own ghee (I did) by simmering unsalted butter in a large pot until water has boiled off and milk has curdled. For a recipe see here

If you are using raw prawns, which is recommended, peel away the shell and leave only the very end of the tail. Remove the intestinal vein that runs down the back with a toothpick. Reserve in the fridge while you start cooking.

In a wok pan, heat up the ghee, and brown the sliced onion over medium/low heat for about 10 minutes.
Add coriander seeds, cumin, paprika, chili, turmeric, ginger, and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the tomato can and mashed garlic, salt, sugar, and cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the coconut cream and let the flavours come together for about 15 minutes over medium heat, uncovered.
Add the cabbage and the prawns, chili flakes, and simmer for 10 more minutes.
Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with naan bread or rice.

Petites Crèmes à la Cardamone et Framboises

2008-02-15T12:32:00.000+09:00

This is possibly the fasted and easiest dessert I have ever made.
The delicate cardamon and the sourness of raspberries work very well with this luscious cream.
As featured on Papilles et Pupilles.

Serves 2-3

- 150ml heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 10gr powdered sugar
- 10gr brown sugar
- 2 cardamon pods
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a handful of raspberries (frozen also works)

Preheat the oven to 100 degrees.
Crush the cardamon to a very fine powder.
In a bowl, vigorously whisk the egg yolks, sugars, cardamon and vanilla.
Heat up the cream over medium/low heat in a saucepan. Remove from the heat after the first boil, and slowly pour it over the egg mix while whisking.
Pour this cream into 2 or 3 little cups and put them in the oven in a water bath.
Bake at 100 degrees for 1hour and 15min.
20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add a few raspberries to each cup.
Refrigerate for several hours (preferably overnight).

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Une autre recette de chez Papilles et Pupilles.
En résumé, super facile, super rapide et super bon. Que demander de plus?

Pour 2 ou 3 petits pots

- 150ml de crème fleurette
- 2 jaunes d'oeufs
- 10gr de sucre en poudre
- 10gr de cassonade
- 2 graines de cardamone
- 1 c. café d'extrait de vanille
- une poignée de framboises

préchauffer le four à 100 degrés.
Réduire la cardamone en poudre fine.
Fouetter énergiquement les jaunes d'oeufs avec les sucres, la cardamone et l'extrait de vanille.
Dans une casserole, chauffer la crème à feu doux jusqu'aux premiers bouillons.
La verser ensuite petit à petit sur les oeufs en remuant avec le fouet.
Répartir cette crème dans 2 ou 3 petits pots, et les déposer dans un bain-marie (dans un plat creux en Pyrex par exemple).
Enfourner et faire cuire à 100 degrés pendant 1hr 15min.
20 minutes avant la fin de la cuisson, ajouter quelques framboises dans chaque petit pot.
Après la cuisson, laisser refroidir puis mettre les crèmes au frigo pendant plusieurs heures, de préférence toute une nuit.

Heidi's Bread

2008-02-10T16:19:00.000+09:00

Do you know Heidi, the little girl that lives in the Swiss Alps with her Grand'pa?
If you have seen the animation you will remember them eating buns that they would split in two, with a side of melted goat cheese.
Here in Japan one can find the popular Heidi's white bread ("Haiji no shiro pan") in bakeries.
I am a big fan of both Heidi and her bread, so here is a recipe, quite successful for a first trial. Huuum, oishiiii....

For 8 small breads

- 200gr flour (high gluten type)
- 4gr dry yeast
- 20gr sugar
- 135ml milk, tepid
- 2,5gr salt (1 teaspoon)
- 20gr butter, softened

Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well. With one (clean) hand, mix in the tepid milk, sugar and yeast. Once it has all come together, transfer to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes.
Put the dough back to the bowl and add butter and salt. Mix everything again, and when it is homogeneous knead it on a flat surface for another 10 minutes.
Form a ball, put it back to the bowl, cover with a cloth or cling film and let it rise in a draft-free place until it has at least doubled in volume. We put it in the oven at 35 degrees for about 70 minutes. The oven is a good place to let the dough rise, even without heating it.

After it has rised, divide the dough into 8 parts and form nice and even little balls.
Let them rest under a cloth for 15 minutes.
Take an edged item (the back of a plastic file folder will do) to make a split in the middle of each bun. Do not use a knife for this because it would completely cut through.
Sprinkle the buns with sifted flour and put them back to a safe place for a second rise. We put them in the oven at 35 degrees for about 70 minutes. To keep them moist and fluffy, put 1 or 2 cups of boiling water beside the buns. Renew the water once during this rising time.

Take out buns and water from the oven and preheat to 240 degrees. When it is ready put the buns in the oven on the lower shelf, and lower the heat to 140 degrees.
Bake them at this temperature for 20min.

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Pour 8 petits pains blancs de Heidi

- 200gr de farine de gluten
- 4gr de levure de boulanger sèche
- 20gr de sucre
- 135ml de lait tiède
- 2,5gr de sel (1 c. café)
- 20gr de beurre ramoli

Mettre la farine dans un grand saladier et faire un puits. Y ajouter le lait, le sucre et la levure en touillant avec une main. Une fois la pâte homogène, la transférer sur une surface plane et pétrir pendant 10 minutes.
Remettre la pâte dans le saladier, ajouter le beurre et le sucre et mélanger. Pétrir à nouveau sur une surface plane pendant 10 minutes.
Former une boule et la déposer dans le saladier. Couvrir avec un torchon et faire lever la pâte jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait au moins doublé de volume. Nous la mettons au four à 35 degrés pendant environ 70 minutes. Le four est un endroit idéal parce que sans courants d'air. On peut bien sûr faire lever la pâte dans le four éteint, il faut juste être un peu plus patient.

Quand la pâte a bien levé, la diviser en huit et former de peites boules lisses et de taille égale. Les laisser reposer sous un torchon pendant un quart d'heure.
Faire ensuite une fente assez profonde dans chaque petit pain. On peut par exemple utiliser le dos d'une pochette en plastique (oui, c'est un peu le système D....). Ne pas utiliser de couteau, qui serait trop tranchant.
Les saupoudrer de farine tamisée et les remettre à lever dans un endroit sans courants d'air (nous les remettons au four a 35 degrés pendant 70 minutes). Pour qu'ils restent bien moelleux, mettre une ou deux tasses d'eau bouillante dans le four pendant cette deuxième levée.

Retirer les petits pains et l'eau du four et préchauffer ce dernier à 240 degrés.
Enfourner les petits pains (niveau bas) et réduire la chaleur à 140 degrés. Les cuire à cette température pendant 20 minutes.

Buri no Teriyaki *

2008-02-05T11:52:00.000+09:00

I know it is quite difficult to prepare this dish if you are not living in Japan.
Buri (Japanese yellowtail or amberjack, from the family of the jacks, jack mackerels and scads) is native to the northwest Pacific, from Japan to Hawaii.
This fish is a seasonal favourite in the colder months when the meat has higher fat content.

Teriyaki ("Teri" for "shiny" and "Yaki" for "grilled") sauce is another highlight of Japanese cuisine. It is not only used for fish, so if you can't find any "Buri" it also works very well with chicken.

Serves 2-3

- 4 fillets Buri
- salt
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the marinade
- 40ml soy sauce
- 40ml sake (or white wine)

For the Teriyaki sauce
- 40ml soy sauce
- 40ml mirin (a rice wine similar to sake, but with a lower alcohol content)
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- a pinch of pepper
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste or grated ginger (optional)

Buri can have a very strong fishy taste, which doesn't fit the Japanese likings.
To get rid of the disturbing "fishiness", sprinkle both sides of the fillets with salt and leave them for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put about one litter of water to boil.
Pour the boiling water over the salted fish (it will sart cooking a bit, this is normal), then rinse the fillets under tap water.

Prepare a marinade with equal amounts of soy sauce and sake (or white wine if you don't have any sake) and soak the Buri in this marinade for about 15 minutes.
After this, remove the fish from the marinade and pat them dry with kitchen paper.
Heat up a little bit of oil in a frying pan and fry the fillets until brown (about 2 minutes on each side).
Mix all the ingredients for the Teriyaki sauce (soy sauce, mirin, honey, pepper, ginger) and pour it over the fish. Let it simmer until the sauce has reduced and thickened (not more than 5 minutes otherwise the fish will become dry).
Serve with rice and slices of boiled daikon (a type of white radish).

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Je n'ai pas trouvé l'équivalent Francais de ce poisson, le "Buri". Selon la nomenclature latine il est Seriola quinqueradiata, ou pour traduire littéralement de l'anglais, "queue jaune".
Ce plat est très apprécié par ici, surtout en période hivernale. La sauce Teriyaki (Teri pour "brillant" et Yaki pour "grillé")
est souvent utilisée en cuisine Japonaise, et très bonne également avec du poulet.

Pour 2-3 personnes

- 4 fillets de Buri
- du sel
- un peu d'huile

Pour la marinade
- 40ml de sauce de soja
- 40ml de saké (à defaut, du vin blanc)

Pour la sauce Teriyaki
- 40ml de sauce de soja
- 40ml de mirin (un genre de saké à moindre teneur en alcohol)
- quelques tours de poivre
- 1 c. café de gingembre en tube ou rapé (pas essentiel mais c'est meilleur)

Pour se débarasser du goût "poissoneux" très prononcé du Buri, saupoudrer les deux côtés des fillets de sel, et les laisser pendant 10 minutes. Pendant ce temps, faire bouillir de l'eau (environ 1 littre).
Verser l'eau bouillante sur les fillets, qui vont légèrement cuire. Les rincer ensuite sous l'eau du robinet.
Mélanger saké (ou vin blanc) et sauce soja en quantités égales et laisser reposer le poisson dans cette marinade pendant un quart d'heure.
Au bout de ce temps, enlever les fillets de leur marinade et les sécher en les tapotant avec du papier de cuisine.
Chauffer un peu d'huile dans une poêle et faire rissoler les Buri jusqu'a ce qu'ils aient une belle couleur dorée (environ 2 minutes de chaque côté).
Mélanger tous les ingrédients de la sauce Teriyaki (sauce soja, mirin, miel, poivre, gingembre) et la verser sur le poisson.
Continuer la cuisson jusqu'à ce que la sauce ait reduit et soit assez épaisse (pas plus de 5 minutes).
Servir avec du riz et des tranches de daikon bouillies.

Butter Rolls *

2008-01-28T18:37:00.000+09:00

We recently bought high gluten flour to make fresh pasta, and this recipe featured on the pack.
These simple rolls are fine for breakfast. They are not too sweet and will go well with your favorite marmalade.

For 6 rolls

- 180gr flour (high gluten, "カメリア" in Japan)
- 3gr dry yeast
- 20gr sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 55-60ml water
- 30ml milk
- 2,5gr salt (1 teaspoon)
- 25gr butter, softened

It is important that all your ingredients be at room temperature, don't forget to take out the egg from the fridge several hours before you start. You can also slightly warm up the water and milk.

In a large bowl, mix flour and yeast and sugar, and make a well.
Add half of the beaten egg, then tepid water and milk and work the dough with one hand.
When it starts not to be sticky anymore (after about 10min) add the softened butter (in 2-3 times), and the salt.
Mix and knead the dough for another 20 minutes on a flat surface (30 minutes total, yes, it is ward work!).
Form a ball with the dough, cover with a cloth and let it rise inside your closed oven until it has at least doubled in size. We set our oven to 35 degrees/ 1 hour for this step.

Divide the dough into 6 triangles and roll them out as on the photo. You can stretch them out with your hands to help forming elongated triangles. Roll each triangle on itself, starting from the large side.
Put the rolls back into the oven to rise a bit more. We set our oven to 40 degrees for 30-40min.
Of course you can rise your dough without heat, it will just take a little longer.
Take the rolls out from the oven (to a draft-free place) and preheat to 210 degrees.
Brush the rolls with the remaining half of the beaten egg, put them in the oven on the middle shelf, and lower the temperature to 190 degrees.
Bake for 10-15min (13min was OK for us).

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De simples petits pains au beurre pour le petit déjeuner.

Pour 6 petits pains

- 180gr de farine de gluten
- 3gr de levure sèche
- 20gr de sucre
- 1 oeuf
- 55-60ml d'eau
- 30ml de lait
- 2,5gr de sel (1/2 c. café)
- 25gr de beurre ramoli

Avant de commencer assurez-vous que tous les ingrédients soient à température ambiante. N'oubliez pas de sortir l'oeuf du réfrigerateur plusieurs heures avant. L'eau et le lait doivent également être tièdes.

Dans un grand saladier, mélangez la farine, le sucre et la levure, et faites un puits.
Ajoutez l'eau et le lait, la moitié de l'oeuf battu, mélangez du bout des doigts et travaillez ensuite la pâte avec une main.
Lorsque la pâte ne colle plus à la main (après environ 10 minutes), ajoutez le sel, et le beurre ramoli en 2-3 fois.
Mélangez et continuez à pétrir cette pâte sur une surface plate pendant encore 20 minutes.
Formez une boule, remettez-la dans le saladier et couvrez avez un torchon.
Faites lever la pâte dans votre four fermé jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait au moins doublé de volume. Si vous le pouvez, réglez votre four sur 35 degrés, pendant une heure. Vous pouvez bien sur faire lever la pâte sans chaleur, cela prendra juste un peu plus longtemps.
Une fois levée, divisez la pâte en six triangles et étalez-les comme sur la photo. Roulez chaque triangle sur lui-même pour former les petits pains.
Remettez-les dans le four fermé pour les faire lever une seconde fois. A 40 degrés il faudra environ 45 minutes.
Sortez les petits pains du four et mettez-les à l'abris des courants d'air. Préchauffez votre four à 210 degrés.
A l’aide d’un pinceau de cuisine, enduisez les petits pains avec le reste d'oeuf.
Enfournez à hauteur moyenne et réduisez la chaleur à 190 degrés.
Faites cuire pendant 10 à 15 minutes selon votre four (13 minutes pour nous).

Almond and Prunes Chicken Tajine

2008-01-23T09:28:00.000+09:00

Tajine is a concentration of flavours, and this one is no exception.

It is normaly cooked in a Tajine dish but it also works very well in a regular pot.

For 3 persons

- 700gr chicken (upper thighs, cut into chunks)
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, mashed
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- white wine
- salt, pepper
- 1 teaspoon turmeric (I always put 2)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste (or grated ginger)
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- about 50gr almonds (without skin, coarsely ground)
- 9 dried prunes
- a bunch of fresh coriander, chopped (or dried one)

In a large cooking pot, brown the chicken in olive oil for a few minutes, with a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from the pot and set aside.
In the same oil, slowly melt the onion and garlic until they get a light brown color.
Add turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, almonds, and a bit of white wine.
Put the chicken back into the pot. Add dried prunes, cayenne pepper, coriander, a bit of salt, and water to cover the chicken.
Put the lid on (leave just a small opening) and let it simmer for about one hour.
After this time you can remove the lid and let it cook a bit more to thicken the sauce (15-30min).
Check the seasoning, serve on couscous and sprinkle with coriander.

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Pour 3 personnes

- environ 700gr de hauts de cuisses de poulet coupés en morceaux.
- 1 oignon
- 1 gousse d'ail
- 4 c. soupe d'huile d'olive
- un peu de vin blanc
- sel, poivre
- 1 c. café de curcuma (j'en mets toujours deux)
- 1/2 c. café de cannelle
- 1/2 c. café de piment de Cayenne
- un peu de gingembre rapé
- 1/2 c. soupe de miel
- environ 50gr d'amandes mondées
- 9 pruneaux
- quelques brins de coriandre fraîche (à défaut, coriandre sèche)

Peler l'oignon et le ciseler finement.
Hacher les amandes mondées (sans les réduire en poudre fine)
Faire dorer les morceaux de poulet dans l'huile d'olive, dans une cocotte, pendant quelques minutes. Saler et poivrer, puis les retirer et les reserver.
Dans la même graisse, faire fondre les oignons et l'ail ecrasé sur feu doux, en veillant à ce qu'ils ne prennent pas trop de couleur.
Ajouter le curcuma, la cannelle, le miel, le gingembre, les amandes, et déglacer avec du vin blanc.
Remettre le poulet dans la cocotte. Ajouter les pruneaux, la coriandre ciselée, le piment de cayenne, un peu de sel, et mouiller avec de l'eau (environ 300ml, assez pour tout juste recouvrir le poulet).
Poursuivre la cuisson, à feu doux et à couvert (laisser juste une entaille) pendant une heure.
Enlever le couvercle et laisser réduire le jus de cuisson jusqu'à ce qu'il ait l'épaisseur desirée (15-30 minutes).
Rectifier l'assaisonnement si besoin est, et servir sur du couscous, parsemé de coriandre.

Apéro Papilles et Pupilles

2008-01-18T08:11:00.000+09:00

I found the recipe for this apéritif at Papilles et Pupilles, hence the name. It was very good and I would do it again, so here it is:

For 40 bite-size pieces:
- 20 grapes (red or white)
- 150-200gr fresh cheese (goat cheese, St-Moret, Rondelé...)
- 60gr pistachio
- 40 tooth picks

Wash the grapes and dry them thoroughly.
Drain any water released from the fresh cheese. With your hands, wrap each grape with a layer of cheese (it has to be cold otherwise it won't work), put them on a plate and to the fridge for about half an hour (don't worry too much about the shape, it will get better at later stages).
Put the pistachio in a blender or a food processor and pulse until quite fine but not untirely reduced to a powder. Transfer to a plate, take out the grape-cheese balls from the fridge and roll them into the ground pistachio to wrap them evenly. At this stage they should form nice and round balls.
Take your tooth picks and push one into each side of a grain (two per grain). Get your best knife and cut the grains in two in the middle. Set aside in the fridge until serving.
Pistachio can also be replaced by poppy seeds for a different version.

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Comme j'ai trouvé cet apéro chez Anne de Papilles et Pupilles (merci), je me contente de faire plus ou moins un copié-collé de sa recette, je pense qu'elle ne m'en voudra pas.

Il vous faut:
- 20 gros grains de raisins vert ou noir selon vos préférences.
- 1 boîte de fromage de chèvre crémeux [Chavroux (150g)] ou de St-Moret.
- 60g de pistaches décortiquées.
- 40 cure-dents

Ouvrez votre boîte de Chavroux ou St-Moret, égouttez le fromage. Lavez vos grains de raisin et séchez-les bien. Ecrasez le fromage dans une assiette et enrobez vos grains de raisins avec. Il faut que votre fromage soit bien froid. S'il est mou, c'est un peu moins facile. Mettez vos grains de raisins enrobés de fromage sur une assiette et mettez-les au réfrigérateur pour environ 1/2 heure, le temps que la coque de fromage durcisse à nouveau.

Concassez vos pistaches ( au mini-hachoir électrique par example). Mettez vos pistaches concassées dans une assiette plate. Quand vos grains de raisins enrobés sont bien frois, roulez-les dans cette panure. Le fait de les rouler leur donne une jolie forme bien ronde donc ne vous inquiétez pas si vos raisins enrobés de fromage ne sont pas très esthétiques, cela s'arrange à cette étape. ;)

Prenez cure-dents, et, tel un picador, enfoncez-les de part et d'autre du grain de raisin. Coupez-ensuite le grain en 2 et déposez les moitiés dans le plat de service.
Conservez bien sur au réfrigérateur avant de servir.
On peut également remplacer les pistaches par des graines de pavot.

L' île flottante de Rosalie

2008-01-12T08:26:00.000+09:00

This is my grand'ma Rosalie's old recipe for "crème caramel". My mum made it during this holiday and I guess next time it will be my turn!

For 6-8 persons:
- 1 litter milk
- 7 eggs
- 100gr sugar
- a pinch of salt
- about 14 sugar cubes (or another 100gr of sugar) for the caramel

Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk until firm. Towards the end, add two tablespoons of sugar taken from the 100gr.

In a large saucepan, heat up the milk with the rest of the sugar.
Prepare your "floating islands": Take spoonfuls of egg white and cook them in the warm milk for about 5 minutes. After a couple of minutes you can carefully turn them over with a spoon to allow them to be thoroughly cooked.
Remove the islands from the milk and keep them in the fridge.

For the caramel, melt the sugar cubes (or powder) in a large saucepan with a little bit of water and let it become dark brown. Pour the warm milk over this caramel and mix it over medium heat until everything is melted.

Pour this mix little by little over the egg yolks while mixing thorougly with a wooden spoon. Put everything back into the saucepan and keep mixing over low heat until it becomes creamy. It should "coat" the spoon but never boil, this is a tricky and very important part.
Put it in the fridge for a night, and serve topped with islands.

- - - -

Pour 6-8 personnes:
- 1 litre de lait
- 7 oeufs
- 100gr de sucre en poudre
- une pincée de sel
- 14 morceaux de sucre (ou 100gr de sucre en poudre) pour le caramel

Séparez les blancs des jaunes.
Battre les blancs en neige ferme avec une pincée de sel. Vers la fin, ajoutez 2 cuilleres a soupe de sucre en poudre prelevées sur les 100gr.

Chauffez le lait avec le reste des 100gr de sucre dans une grande casserole. Préparez les îles flottantes: Prenez de grandes cuillerées de blancs d'oeufs battus et faites-les cuire dans le lait pendant environ 5 minutes (les retourner délicatement à mi-cuisson pour qu'ils soient entierement cuits). Enlevez les îles flottantes et réservez-les au froid.

Pour le caramel, faites fondre et brunir les morceaux de sucre (ou le sucre en poudre) avec très peu d'eau dans une grande casserole. Verser le lait encore chaud sur ce caramel et bien mélanger pour tout fondre.
Versez ce melange chaud par petites quantités sur les jaunes d'oeufs en remuant bien.
Remettre le tout dans la casserole, et sur feu doux, faites épaissir sans cesser de remuer, jusqu'à ce que la crème nappe la cuillère. Surtout ne pas faire bouillir, c'est la clef de la réussite de cette crème.
Mettre au froid pendant une nuit, et servir avec les îles flottantes.

Kashmir style lamb curry *

2007-12-21T11:50:00.000+09:00

This was the first curry that Mr.Paw found on Pumpkin in India
If you like lamb you absolutely have to try it.

For 3 persons:

- 750gr lamb, chopped into about 4cm chunks
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 500gr yoghurt (400g plus 100gr)
- oil (2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried chili pepper
- 4 cardamon pods, slightly crushed
- 4 cloves
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds (optional)
- salt, pepper

In a wok or a frying pan, brown the lamb chunks in two tablespoons of oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and set aside. In the same pan, saute' the sliced onions and crushed garlic until they are translucent. Add the browned meat and 400gr yoghurt and let it simmer for 30min.

In a bowl, mix 100gr yoghurt, cumin, coriander, mint, ginger, turmeric, chili pepper, cinnamon, pinch of salt.
In a wok or a frying pan, heat up one tablespoon of oil and stir fry the cardamon and cloves for a couple of minutes. This brings out the full fragrance of the spices. Add the cold yoghurt-spice mix and let it sizzle for about 5 minutes.
You can then pour the whole mixture into the pan that contains the lamb, mix everything and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with almonds and serve with naan bread or white rice.

Lemon and Cinnamon Christmas Cookies

2007-12-13T16:10:00.000+09:00

It's Christmas time, the best time for baking cookies. At home in Alsace we would bake several kinds of cookies, enough to fill up a few boxes. They were supposed to be for guests first and therefore hidden by my mum in some remote corner of the house, but somehow we always managed to find them and gobble them up, until the day she would find empty boxes and get reeeeally mad.

This recipe was taken from the book "Les petits gâteaux d'Alsace: S'bredlebuech".
It originally did not include peanuts. I had planned to add almonds but I came home from the supermarket with the wrong pack, as it often happens. I then decided to add those peanuts anyways, and it worked well, no regrets. I also added nutmeg and five spice that were not on the original recipe.

For about 40 cookies

- 330gr flour
- 150gr sugar
- 165gr butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- about 30gr finely crushed roasted peanuts
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 heaped tablespoon cinnamon
- a pinch of nutmeg
- a pinch of five spice (optional)
- a tiny pinch of baking powder

For icing
- icing sugar and lemon juice

Put the flour into a large bowl. Make a well and add all other ingredients except peanuts. With one hand, bring everything together, incorporating the flour little by little. When it is getting homogeneous add the peanuts, and mix until you have a smooth dough. Leave it in the fridge for one night to firm up.
The next day, spread the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of about half a centimeter. Cut out cookies of the desired shape with a cookie-cutter.
Put the cookies on an oven tray with cooking paper, and bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
You can proceed with the icing when the cookies are cold. Mix icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice and spread it on the cookies with a kitchen brush.
I know you'll want to have one immediately, but they taste better after one day, and they can be kept in a closed container for at least two or three weeks, although they usually disappear before.

Thai Fish Cakes with a Sour Dip

2007-12-09T12:10:00.000+09:00

This is another fish recipe from Delia Smith's collection.
These fish cakes have the characteristic Thai flavor that we quite like. It makes a dinner for 2 or an entrée for 4.

For the fish cakes
- 500gr white fish fillets (no skin, no bones), roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 small spring onion, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander
- 1 tablespoon lime (or lemon) juice
- 1 tablespoon coconut milk powder
- pinch of salt

For the dip
- 1 small carrot, roughly grated
- 1 cucumber (in Japan. Otherwise 10-15cm of cucumber), roughly grated
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste (or fresh ginger)
- 1 tablespoon crushed peanuts or cashew nuts
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 30-40ml rice vinegar (or wine vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon groundnut oil or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- pinch of salt and pepper

Simply place the chunks of fish, the coriander leaves, lime juice, spring onions, curry paste, garlic, coconut milk powder and a little salt in a food processor and blend till you have a finely minced texture – don't blend it to a fine purée, though, as this is not so good. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Next take dessertspoons of the mixture and form them into balls, squeezing the mixture together. Then flatten them out with the palm of your hand into small cake shapes about 4 cm in diameter (a little bit of flour might help). You should get about 16 in all. When all the fish cakes are ready, put them on to a floured plate, cover with clingfilm and leave them in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Mix the sugar with vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, oil, salt, pepper, peanuts, and pour over the grated carrot and cucumber.

To cook the fish cakes, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and, when it's very hot and beginning to shimmer, fry the cakes for about 2 minutes on each side, then drain on kitchen paper. Garnish with sprigs of coriander and serve with the dipping sauce and white rice.

Roasted Fish Topped with Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade

2007-12-03T09:52:00.000+09:00

This recipe was taken from Delia online, with minor changes.
Don't get turned off by the photo, it actually tastes very good. And if you have a leftover of tapenade you can keep it in the fridge for a few days and spread it on toasted bread. Yummy...

For 3 persons

- 5 or 6 fillets of white fish (cod or haddock or other, without skin)
- about 15 black olives, deseeded
- 3-4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped, and 2 tablespoons olive oil
- about 6 anchovies
- 2-3 teaspoons capers
- 1 heaped tablespoon grated parmesan
- 1 fat clove garlic, chopped
- a bunch of fresh basil leaves
- pepper

If your sun-dried tomatoes were not preserved in oil, soak them in 2 tablespoons olive oil over night. Otherwise, you can use the oil from the jar for making the tapenade, and a little bit of oil from the anchovies.

Place all the ingredients (except fish) in a food processor and blend them together to a coarse paste. Do not over-process; the ingredients should retain some of their identity.

When you're ready to cook the fish, wipe the fillets with kitchen paper, then fold them by tucking the thin end into the centre then the thick end on top of that so you have a neat, slightly rounded shape. Place on an oiled baking sheet, then divide the tapenade mixture equally between them, using it as a topping
Place the baking tray on a middle shelf in the oven, bake the fish for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees, and serve straight away.
Serve with a green salad and boiled potatoes.

Garam Masala Meatballs with Two Dips

2007-11-27T20:36:00.000+09:00

There were two aims to this "experiment":
1) See what Garam Masala is all about.

2) Test this coconut cream powder. Sometimes one doesn't need a full can of coconut cream or coconut milk in a recipe, in which case powder might come in handy.

For 2 or 3 persons

meatballs
- 600gr minced meat (beef or a mix beef/pork)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 1/2 onion (very finely chopped)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste (or freshly grated)
- 1 teaspoon dried coriander (fresh is better)
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala powder
- a pinch of sugar
- salt, pepper

chick pea dip
- 1/2 can chick peas (or one small can)
- 1 small clove garlic, crushed
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- salt, pepper

yoghurt, coconut and cucumber dip
- 1 cucumber (cucumbers are very small in Japan. Elsewhere, take half), peeled, grated or finely chopped according to taste.
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk powder
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4-5 tablespoons plain yoghurt
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil (optional)

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl, and refrigerate for about one hour.

Prepare the chick pea dip. Drain the canned chick peas and remove their skin. Mash them and add garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, water if necessary. Keep it cold until served.

Prepare the cucumber dip. In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of coconut cream powder with 2 tablespoons warm water. Once cold, add the cucumber, yoghurt, salt, basil.

Take the meatball mix out from the fridge and shape into about 3cm meatballs. You can arrange them onto (oiled) skewers for a better presentation.
Bake them in an oven at 200deg for about 20min.

Serve with the dips and white rice.

Panna "Mezza Cotta" Coco Vanilla

2007-11-21T20:46:00.000+09:00

I am not calling this dessert "panna cotta" because only half of the panna (cream) is "cotta" (cooked), hence "mezza cotta" (half cooked).

I came across a website (and later lost it) where they were giving tricks to prevent your panna cotta from becoming rubbery or jelly-ish. I thought it was worth trying.

It worked very well, creamy and smooth, just right, but I still feel that working with gelatin is a bit tricky. The consensus seems to be that sheets are better than powder. One problem is that different types of sheets have a different jellying power (in USA they even have Gold, Silver, Platinum sheets etc...). What's more, in Japan the size of the sheets seems to be half the ones we have in Europe, but I don't know if the amount of gelatin is actually half. It's a mess.....
I could easily repeat this recipe with the same sheets of gelatin. Elsewhere, it would need adjustment.
These Pannas were eaten directly from the glasses, so they don't need to be super stiff, which is good. I used only one small sheet of gelatin, which weighs about 1.5gr (you'll have to do some math if you want to try it)

For 4 persons:

- 200ml whipping cream
- 200ml coconut milk (or 6 tablespoons coconut milk powder diluted in water for a total of 200ml)
- 40gr sugar
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 1 small sheet of gelatin (see above)

- raspberries, or a coulis (fruit puree) made from a rather sour fruit (passion fruit would work well for example).

The whipping cream has to be kept cold in the fridge, don't use it directly after coming home from the grocery's. Take 100ml that you put in a bowl together with a whisk, and put it back to the fridge.

Put the other 100ml cream in a sauce pan, together with the 200ml coconut milk, and the sugar. Cut open the vanilla pod, remove the seeds and add seeds and pod to the cream/milk. Put the sauce pan on low heat and slowly heat it up. Stir from time to time, and be careful not to boil it. Once it is warm keep it on low heat for 5 minutes, not too long.

Remove from the heat, remove the vanilla pod. Soak the gelatin sheet in cold water until soft (about 3min). Squeeze out the water and add it to the warm cream/milk. Mix well.
Leave this Panna at room temperature until it is completely cold. It might take an hour, don't rush this step (some kind of mysterious chemistry is happening there).

You can then take the 100ml cream out of the fridge and gently whisk it, trying not to incorporate too much air. Whisk until it is not completely liquid anymore, but not yet stiff. It should take about 5min.
Incorporate it to the other Panna and gently mix until homogeneous.

Put a few raspberries (or other) into glasses and add the mix (if you are using a coulis instead of fresh fruit pour it over just before serving).
Refrigerate, ideally for one night. Take out from the fridge about 30min before serving.

Apple Chicken Green Curry

2007-11-15T20:45:00.000+09:00

I would like to give this recipe its 2 stars already because I know it's a dynamite recipe, but let's follow the rule and wait until we have done it several times.

This curry was found (and cooked) by "contributor Pawawaw" on the webpage of a Japanese woman married to an American and living in India (Pumpkin in India). This was the second curry from her page that we tried and they were both delicious. What's more, it is simple and fast.

For 2-3 persons:

- 600gr chicken (preferably thighs)
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- about 350gr plain yoghurt
- 3 tablespoons cream (optional, we didn't add it)
- 1 apple (the sour type is fine)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger (fresh or paste)
- 1 green chili (we used 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes instead)
- about 1 tablespoon fresh mint
- about 2 tablespoons fresh coriander
- 15-20cm negi or white part of a leek
- 1 teaspoon salt, pinch of pepper

Roughly chop the apple (peeled), garlic, chili, mint, coriander, negi or leek, and put in a blender. Add the yoghurt, cream (optional), ginger, salt, pepper, and blend everything.
Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks and brown them in a wok pan (or a deep pan) with a bit of vegetable oil, add white wine.
Add the blended ingredients and let it sizzle gently for about 20min. Occasionally give it a stir but don't put a lid on.
Serve with naan bread or toasted baguette.

Gnocchi di Zucca

2007-11-10T09:35:00.000+09:00

The recipe for these very Northern Italian gnocchi were found on Chef Blog.
It is a winner combination between the sweetness of the pumpkin and the smoked bacon, to be appreciated with wine, red or white. Good Parmesan cheese is also essential in this dish.
It is recommended to cook the gnocchi as soon as the dough is ready.

For 2 persons:

- a piece of 800-850gr pumpkin (to yield 500gr pulp when processed)
- 100gr flour
- 1 egg
- Parmesan cheese
- salt, pepper, nutmeg
- about 100gr thin strips of bacon
- butter, sage (fresh is better but dried is OK)

Remove the seeds and the skin from the pumpkin and chop it into small bits (more or less 1x2x2cm).
Divide them into 3 portions and microwave them until soft (covered with cling film, at 600W for 3min each round should do it). You can also simply bake them in an oven at 160-170deg for 20-30min (we have not tried that but it should work). Also, it is not recommended to boil the pumpkin for this recipe because it would take up too much water.

Chop the bacon into thin slices and set aside.
Pass the cooked pumpkin through a potato masher or a sieve. This step should yield about 500gr of a smooth pulp.
Add 1 beaten egg, a handful of grated Parmesan, a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of salt and pepper, the flour, and mix well. The dough will be relatively soft.
The gnocchi are cooked in a large amount of boiling salted water.
There are two ways to do this. You can either fill a pastry bag (poche a douille), or you can use two teaspoons, taking a small heap with one of them and scooping it into the water with the other one. This will take more time though.

Give the gnocchi about 2-3min to cook. Meanwhile, heat up 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and saute' the bacon. Add the gnocchi and a bit of sage and give a quick stir. Serve with a generous topping of grated Parmesan cheese.

Spinach and Crab rolled Lasagna

2007-11-05T17:21:00.000+09:00

This dish is a kind of "poor man's" lasagna, or should I say, "busy-lazy man who wants to have lasagna anyway" type of dish. Don't get me wrong, you will still need a bit of time for the preparation, but it doesn't involve making a Bechamel or a meat sauce (pfiuuu...).

For 9 rolls, 3-4 persons:

- 9 lasagna sheets

filling:
- 200gr ricotta or similar cheese (fresh cheese)
- a large bunch of spinach
- 1 clove garlic
- olive oil
- white wine for cooking
- a tin of crab meat
- 1 egg
- 1 or 2 teaspoons flour
- salt, pepper to season

sauce:
- 1 small onion
- 1 clove garlic
- olive oil
- wine for cooking (red or white)
- 1 tin of peeled tomatoes
- tomato puree (about 200ml)
- water (about 1/2 glass)
- 1/2 stock cube
- pinch of sugar
- oregano, basil, bay leaf, salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne pepper

You can start by making the sauce and let it sizzle while you prepare the rest.
Finely chop the onion and saute' with olive oil and mashed garlic. Add a bit of wine, the tomatoes, stock, sugar, oregano, basil, bay leaf, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (optional), and some water.

Now for the filling: Roughly chop the spinach, and saute' for 2-3min in olive oil with mashed garlic and a bit of white wine. When they are cooked drain the juice (you can press a bit). Mix the spinach with ricotta, beaten egg, crab, salt, pepper, and adjust with a little bit of flour if it looks runny.

Boil the lasagna sheets in salted water for 5 minutes.
Add filling to each sheet and roll.
In an oven-proof dish, pour a layer of tomato sauce, add the lasagna rolls, and cover entirely with the rest of the sauce (the lasagna must not be dry).
Put in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fig and Pecan Brownies

2007-11-02T10:40:00.000+09:00

The basics for this recipe were taken from Mes Tables de Fetes, but with several twists of my own.
These brownies are best with a cup of coffee on the same day, but they can also be kept in a closed container or in the fridge for several days.

For about 15 big brownies:

- 200gr dark chocolate (at least 70%)
- 1 tablespoon Kirsch (or other liquor)
- 125gr butter, softened, at room temperature
- 90gr sugar
- 3 eggs
- 90gr flour
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 heaped teaspoon unsweetened cacao powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- about 70gr pecan nuts (as much as you like, really), slightly crushed
- 6 dried figs

Cut the figs in 8. If they are too dry and hard soak them for a couple of hours in water and a bit of liquor. It will enhance their flavour.

Melt the chocolate with one tablespoon Kirsch (or other liquor) in a water bath. Be careful not to bring the water to a boil.
With an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar until the mix becomes whitish and light (at least 10min). Add the eggs one by one and continue beating for a while.
Set the electric whisk to the lowest speed and add the melted chocolate, cacao powder, pinch of nutmeg, pinch of salt, milk, and sift in the flour.
Fold in the figs and nuts with a spatula.
Pour the batter into a buttered and floured springform pan, and bake at 210 degrees for 20 minutes (this depends on your oven and on the size of your springform pan, but it is important that the cookies stay moist and not overcooked).
When out of the oven and cooled down, cut into squares or triangles.

Chinois au Miel Cacao et Amandes

2007-10-26T06:57:00.000+09:00

A delicious brioche for weekend breakfast.

For the dough, follow the recipe as in Brioche a la Geispitzeoise**, but start with 500gr of flour instead of 750gr, and scale down all other ingredients (don't add raisins).

For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cacao powder
- 2 heaped tablespoons finely crushed almonds

For the frosting:
- 1 heaped tablespoon icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kirsch (or other liquor) + water

Make the dough and let it rise once (in a draft-free place, for at least 2-3 hours).
Meanwhile, roast the almonds in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, until they are lightly brown.
Spread the dough into a 30X40cm square (approximately).
Mix honey and cacao, and spread this filling on the dough with a brush. Sprinkle with almonds.

Make a roll, and cut about 7 slices (it might vary) of equal thickness.
Prepare a springform pan. Because some filling might leak out of the rolls while cooking (no panic!), lay a sheet of cooking paper at the bottom of the pan (I don't have cooking paper, so I cooked it directly on aluminium foil lightly sprinkled with flour). Butter the sides of the pan.

Lay your rolls in the pan as on the picture, put the whole thing back to a safe, draft-free place (inside the oven works well), and let it rise a second time (1 or 2 hours, until the rolls have well "invaded" the pan).

Bake at 190 degrees for 35 minutes.

When it is out of the oven, make the frosting by mixing icing sugar, liquor and water, and spread it on the brioche with a brush.

Vos plus belles photos culinaires

2007-10-21T15:46:00.000+09:00

Edith, maîtresse de maison chez Mes tables de Fêtes, a lancé un concours de photos très sympatique intitulé Vos plus belles photos culinaires (pour des raisons obscures je n'arrive pas à correctement insérer le lien vers le règlement du concours, mais vous pouvez le trouver directement sur le blog en question. Sorry...).

Il ne m'a pas fallu très longtemps pour trouver la photo que je voulais présenter. Dans les fichiers éparpillés de mon MacBook, il y en a de bonnes et surtout de moins bonnes. Je ne sais pas si celle-ci est vraiment bonne, mais je l'aime bien, et c'est un peu le but de ce concours. Pour le fun....

Je suis Alsacienne, "expatriée" au Japon, et j'aime beaucoup tout ce qui est Alsacien.
Ce n'est pas trop facile de cuisiner Alsacien par ici. Enfin, si on est riche, il y toujours moyen de trouver les ingredients, la viande appropriée etc, mais bon...

L'année dernière pour Noël j'ai reçu un moule à Kougelhopf. Un moule ancien (les nouveaux ont besoin de plusieurs "rounds" pour un bon résultat) que ma soeur a trouvé chez un antiquaire (je crois....). Il a gentillement fait le voyage retour Bâle-Tokyo avec nous.

Quand j'étais petite je faisais un gâteau pratiquement tous les samedis (pour le dimanche) mais jamais de Kougelhopf. Ca, c'était plutôt l'affaire de Mamo ou Grand-Mamo.
J'ai donc fait un amalgame-maison de recettes trouvées sur internet, persuadée que ça allait rater. Mais il semble que la chance du débutant existe bien! Il était tellement beau et beau que je n'ai pas encore eu le courage d'en faire un deuxième!
Mais ça viendra. Après le deuxième, je poste la recette, promis.
Bon, je me vante, je me vante, mais pas plus tard que la semaine dernière j'ai tenté un Baekeoffe pour un résultat pas génial génial...

Ah, j'oubliais, mon appareil est un compact.

Et, oohhhhh, je viens juste de voir le nombre de commentaires laissés au post de Edith (101!) et les premières photos en diaporama, plus belles les unes que les autres. Bonne chance au jury!

Hot Cashew Noodles *

2007-10-16T16:51:00.000+09:00

Friday evening is very often "noodle evening" in the H&M household. Here is the version we had last week:

For 2 persons

- 1/3 cup (about 80ml) cashew nuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (I used malt vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili paste (or 1/2 chopped chili pepper)
- 60ml water

- fresh noodles (ramen)
- about 250gr shrimps
- salt
- about 4 tablespoons Chinese liquor (or white wine)
- green veggies like chives, negi, nira....
- optional, 1 teaspoon dried coriander (or fresh, even better)

Put the cashew in a blender together with garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, chili pepper or hot paste, water, salt, and blend everything (this sauce can be kept in the fridge for 1 or 2 days).

Chop the green veggies you want to use.
In a frying pan or a wok, saute' the shrimps with the Chinese liquor (or wine) and a pinch of salt. Add the veggies, then the sauce, and cook while you boil the noodles (2min).
Once the noodles are cooked mix everything well, and decorate with crushed cashew and coriander.

Two Tomato Tuna Rolls

2007-10-12T09:42:00.000+09:00

This is another successful recipe from Péché de Gourmandise.
Tasty and healthy, very Mediterranean. What else could one ask for?

For two:

- 2 fresh red tuna steaks (make sure you get good quality tuna)
- 2 chunks of sun dried tomatoes
- about 250gr small plum tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), cut in half
- 1 small zucchini, finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried sage (or fresh, even better)
- about 4 tablespoons white wine
- olive oil, salt, pepper
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 small pinch of sugar
- 2 squares of aluminium foil

Cut the sun dried tomatoes into very thin slices, and soak then in water while you take care of the rest, changing the water 2 or 3 times. This will take away their rough saltiness.
With a well sharpened knife, delicately open the tuna steaks by cutting in lengthwise without completely reaching the end. Flatten them and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For each steak, cut 2 plum tomatoes into thin slices and lay them on the tuna in a row. Add the sliced and drained sun dried tomatoes.
With a brush, spread about 1 tablespoon olive oil onto each aluminium foil (be generous, the oil will prevent the fish from sticking to the aluminium). Sprinkle the foil with salt and pepper. Lay the tunas on the foils and roll them, wrap them tightly, forming a cylinder (like a big candy).
Put them in an oven-proof dish and cook in a pre-heated oven at 190deg for 20min (this was for our oven. For a normal oven 180deg or 15min are probably enough).

While the fish is cooking prepare the veggies. In a frying pan, heat up 2 tablespoons olive oil with the mashed garlic, and saute' the slices of zucchini for a couple of minutes. Add white wine, salt, pepper, sage, and cook for 5 more minutes.
Add balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar and let it reduce a bit (1 or 2 min). When it is ready to serve, stir in the rest of the plum tomatoes (30 seconds is enough).

Take out the tuna from the oven and unwrap. Cut the rolls into thick slices and display on individual plates. Add the veggies and sauce.

Autumn days minced meat *

2007-10-06T13:45:00.000+09:00

A long list of ingredients but they are mostly spices. This recipe doesn't take that much time to prepare.
The "autumnish" ingredient is the sweet potato, which can be replaced by tofu for a different dish.

For 2 persons

- 300gr minced beef (pork is fine too)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, mashed
- olive oil, salt, pepper
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste, or grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric or curcuma
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- about 3 tablespoons white wine
- about 4 tablespoons Marsala wine (or sherry)
- 1 chilly pepper, seeded and chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon "hot paste"
- a pinch of sugar
- a pinch of garam masala (optional)
- 3 medium sized tomatoes, peeled (if you are patient enough. I am not) and chopped
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into about 1cm bits

Boil the chopped sweet potato in salted water for about 10 minutes.

Thoroughly heat up your wok pan and olive oil. Turn down the heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, add turmeric and cumin powder, soy sauce, white wine, Marsala, chilly pepper or paste, pinch of salt, pinch of pepper, ginger, and cook a bit more.
Add the chopped tomatoes and pinch of sugar, and let it sizzle for 10 minutes.
Mix in the minced meat and boiled sweet potatoes, a pinch of garam masala, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Serve on rice.

Sweet and sour pork comme au restaurant *

2007-09-29T18:30:00.001+09:00

The Pawawaw is quite busy these days, hence the absence of posts, but fortunately for me he is still cooking.
I am writing down his recipe for the sweet and sour pork we had last Sunday because it was gorgeous (and I want to have it again).

Serves 4-5:

- about 800gr pork, in slices not too thick
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 big carrot
- optional: other veggies like mange-tout beans
- 12 tablespoons ketchup
- 5 tablespoons sake or white wine
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4-5 tablespoons malt vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- 10 teaspoons sugar
- a few tablespoons of a 1:1 mix of flour and potato starch
- salt, pepper
- sesame oil/vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons potato starch

Peel the carrot, chop it into bite-size chunks, and boil in salted water until soft enough. Set aside.
If you decide to add other vegetables that take a long time to cook, give them a boil the same way.
Roughly chop the onion and the bell pepper.

In a small bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, sake or wine, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix a few tablespoons flour/starch with a bit of salt and pepper.
Nicely coat each slice of pork with this mix.

Thoroughly heat up the wok pan, then add a few cm of sesame oil, or a mix of sesame oil and vegetable oil. The oil needs to be well heated.
Fry the slices of pork, about 4-5 at a time (takes about 3 minutes per round), and set them aside on a flat dish with absorbing paper (or on a grid where the fat can drop out).

When you are done with the meat remove the oil from the wok. Heat up the pan again, put a bit of fresh oil and saute' the onions and bell pepper (and additional veggies you might want) for a couple of minutes with salt and pepper. It needs to stay crunchy. Set aside on a dish with absorbing paper.

Remove the oil from the wok and add the ketchup mix, heat it up.
In a glass, dilute 2 teaspoons potato starch with about 30ml water, and stir it into the sauce to thicken it.
Now put back the meat, onions, peppers and carrots and give it a mix until everything is well coated with sauce.
Serve with rice, and enjoy.

Banana and raspberry muffins

2007-09-27T16:25:00.000+09:00

The other day at Tokyu Hands I found small silicone baking pans which I immediately wanted to try out.
I have never baked muffins before but there are tons of recipes on Internet.
This one is adapted from Delia Smith, the "most tried and trusted of British TV cooks" (Oh OK then...).

For 6 small muffins:

- 90gr flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 50ml milk
- 20gr sugar
- 25gr butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- about 50gr raspberries (or 1 tablespoon chocolate chips)
- 1 banana, 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Start off by melting the butter, and let it cool down while you prepare the other ingredients.
Pre-heat the oven to 210 degrees.
Mash the banana and one tablespoon lemon juice.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract.
Now return the dry ingredients to the sieve and sift them straight into the egg mixture. Take a large spoon and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones, quickly, without stirring or beating. The mixture has to be be lumpy, which will ensure that the muffins stay light.
Now fold in the banana and raspberries (or chocolate chips), again with just a quick stir.
Spoon in just enough mixture to fill each muffin cup. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven, 15min@210deg plus 7-8min@200deg (this is for our oven. If you have a normal oven, 20min@200deg will probably be enough).