Apple Crumble

I am not very good at desserts. Whereas my mother makes the most wonderful desserts, I am definitely better at preparing the savory part of the meal. For this reason (and because I am inherently lazy) I tend to rely on a small range of dessert options that I have tried and tested so many times that I can make them blind. Apple crumble is an all time favorite, not only with my family but also with friends. An added plus is the fact that it's easy to make and can be prepared in advance. Served with a bit of vanilla ice cream it's the perfect ending to any meal.

Ingredients: 

300gr flour

175gr brown sugar

200gr butter

450gr apples (I usually use Granny Smith)

70ml white wine

Preparation: 

1. Peel and core the apples, then cut them into slices. Heat a knob of butter in a pan and gently fry the apple slices for about 5 mins after sprinkling with a tablespoon of brown sugar. Add the wine and allow to bubble away for a few minutes. 

2. Mix the flour, sugar, and the butter in a bowl (cut the butter into cubes beforehand) and mix with your hands until the mixture takes on a crumbly texture (you need to rub the ingredients between your fingers and hands).  

3. Fill the cooked apples into an oven dish and cover with the crumble. Heat the oven to 180°C and cook the crumble until it's slightly brown (this takes roughly 35 mins). 

Allow to cool slightly before serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Spicy Ginger-Soup

My mother made this for us a few days ago and while I was a bit skeptical at first, I was quickly convinced. The soup is easy to make, uses few ingredients, and it tastes wonderful. I highly recommend  you give it a try!

Zutaten: 

100 gr fresh ginger (sliced, but not peeled)
2 EL freshly grated ginger

500 ml stock (I used beef stock)

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons butter

50ml single cream

Cayenne 

Salt and pepper

Preparation: 

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour. Stir until well mixed. Add the stock and the ginger. Stir well until the flour-butter mixture has dissolved and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. 

2. After 10 minutes remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the ginger to infuse the soup for an hour. Then remove the ginger. 

3. Add the cream and the grated ginger. Season to taste with salt, pepper and some cayenne. In case the soup is still too thick, just add a little water or stock. 

Spaghetti Bolognese

Simple often works best...and this is certainly true for this recipe. I usually make this on Sunday evenings and I always make enough for two meals. This way, I have something ready for a weekday, when it can be more tricky to find the time to cook from scratch. The most important thing to remember when cooking this dish, is that it's essentially a stew, so it needs time to cook slowly. Sounds tedious, but since you can just let the sauce bubble away on the stove, it actually doesn't require all that much attention.

Ingredients for 4-6:

500gr mixed minced meat (half pork, half beef)
2 medium-sized onions
2 carrots
2 sticks of celeriac
2 cloves of garlic
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of beef stock
2 tbs tomato concentrate
1 tsp sugar
1 glass of red wine
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried Italian herbs (alternatively you can of course also use a bunch of mixed fresh herbs if you've got them handy)

Preparation:

1.Cut the carrots, the celeriac, the bay leaves, and the onion in cubes and slowly fry in a bit of olive oil (without browning). When the onions turn translucent and the carrots have begun to soften (this takes roughly 10mins), add the minced meat. Continue to fry until the meat is cooked through (see picture).

2.  Now add the tomato concentrate and the sugar. Mix well before adding the red wine. Once that has reduced by about half, add the stock, chopped tomatoes, the herbs, a good pinch of salt, pepper, and the garlic. Stir and set to simmer for about an hour. The lid should be on but not fully closed.
3. After 1h, season to taste (you might want to add a bit more sugar to counterbalance the acidity of the wine and the tomato concentrate). In case the sauce is still too liquid, allow to cook for bit longer without the lid on. Normally, however, the half-open lid works well and the sauce will have just the right consistency.


I usually serve this with spaghetti and a green salad. Left-overs can either be served the same way, or you can cook some short pasta, mix with the sauce, place everything in an oven dish and cover with grated cheese before baking in the oven for 20mins at 180°C (I would recommend, however, to cook the pasta VERY al dente for this, otherwise they end up getting too soft).

Pasta with Salmon and Vodka

I had this in a restaurant some years ago and immediately tried to copy it at home. The Vodka in the title might seem like a pretentious way to make a simple salmon-cream sauce sound cooler, but it really makes a difference...so don't leave it out (unless you are cooking for children of course).

Admittedly this recipe is not going to get you on the slimmer-of-the-year short-list, but I figure it's all about quality, not quantity. Plus it's almost Christmas, so who cares!
 

Ingredients (serves 2):

300gr salmon (filet)
Handful of cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato concentrate
1 teaspoon sugar
250m cream
1-2 shots of vodka (plus one for the cook?)
250gr fresh tagliatelle
1-2 tablespoons of parsley (chopped finely)

Preparation:

1. Heat the cream in a large pan, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken the cream slightly. Then add the tomato concentrate, salt, pepper, the halved cherry tomatoes, the sugar, parsley, and, finally, the vodka. Bring to the boil briefly. 

2. In the meantime cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until they are al dente.

3. Cut the salmon in 2cm cubes and add to the sauce. The fish only needs 4-5 minutes to cook through. Make sure you don't leave it too long, otherwise it gets dry and horrible.

Beef-Fajitas with Fresh Tomato Salsa and Guacamole

I am, admittedly, not a huge fan of Mexican food - too heavy for my taste. Fajitas, however, are a favorite with my family. Traditionally they are made using chicken or steak, but I prefer this variety based on the classic chili con carne. The list of ingredients may seem a bit daunting, but it really doesn't take long to prepare!

Ingredients (serves 4): 
400gr ground beef
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup beef stock
1 red onion
1 tbs tomato concentrate
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Cayenne
1 can kidney beans
1 red pepper

For the guacamole:
2 ripe Avocados
Juice of half a lime
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander

For the salsa: 
1 packet of cheery tomatoes
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander
2 tbs Olivenöl
1/2 red Chili
1 small onion
Juice of half a lime

Additionally you need: 
Wraps
150gr grated Cheddar
Sour Cream
 

Preparation:

1.  Finely chop the red onion. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the onions. Once they are soft, add the beef and the red pepper.  When the meat is cooked (there is no need to brown it), add the tomato concentrate, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Next add the chopped tomatoes, the stock, and the kidney beans. Mix well and allow to simmer for 10-15mins. Season to taste. 

2. For the salsa, simply chop the cheery tomatoes in small pieces and place in a small bowl. Finely chop the onion, the chili and the coriander and add to the mix, followed by the lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and set aside. 

3. Peel the avocados and remove the pit. Mash up the avocados using a fork. Don't overdo it though, you want the guacamole to remain chunky! Next add some coriander, salt, pepper, and the lime juice. If you like it spicy, you can also add a bit of chili.

The fajitas are served with sour cream and grated cheddar.

Seared Tuna and Cucumber Salad

The first time I tried this was in a rather unlikely location: a restaurant in Disney World! Surprisingly enough, it turns out that they do have restaurants there that serve an alternative to the omnipresent burgers and fries that you find everywhere else. When I got back home I immediately tried to copy the recipe and while I don't think that I achieved a perfect match, it's pretty close. Obviously this dish relies almost entirely on the quality of the fish, so you need to get the highest possible quality of sushi-tuna you can find. 

Ingredient (for 4 as main course):

For the tuna:

800-900gr sushi quality tuna

3 tbs Sesame seeds

2 tbs chopped coriander
3cm piece of fresh ginger

1 red chili

For the salad: 

1 handful roasted peanuts

2 cucumbers

1 small red onion

6 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tbs fish sauce

2-3 tbs sugar

1/2 bunch of coriander

Juice of half a lime
1/2 red chili

Preparation:

1. Roast the sesame seeds in a dry pan. Finely chop the coriander, the chili and grate the ginger. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and add some salt. Coat the tuna with this mixture and set aside.

2. For the cucumber salad you first need to drain the cucumbers (they contain a lot of water, which will end up diluting the dressing). Finely slice the peeled cucumber, place them in a bowl and add two teaspoons of salt. Mix and set aside for 10mins. 

3. In the meantime, finely chop the onion. Add the vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and some chili to the onion and mix well until the sugar is fully dissolved. Drain the cucumbers (the salt will have pulled out much of the water) and add the dressing.

4. Heat up a pan to high heat, add a bit of sesame oil and sear the tuna on both sides for no more than one minute (each side). Remove from the pan and slice finely to serve.

5. Add coriander and chopped peanuts to the cucumber salad and season to taste. 

The tuna is served finely sliced with some rice and cucumber salad. You should also have soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger on the table.

One for the carnivores: Filet of Beef on Salt

A good filet of beef is pretty hard to top. While it doesn't have the intensity of flavor a Rib-Eye can offer, properly prepared it will meld in your mouth. But you need high-quality ingredients. This is not a good time to try to safe money - if you are going to cook a filet of beef, make sure you get the best meat available. Assuming that you do, there is no need to get overly fancy in terms of preparation, good ingredients speak for themselves. The beauty of this particular recipe is that it's 100% fail-safe. It always works. I promise!

Ingredients (for 4)
2x 400-500gr filet of beef (thick end)
500gr coarse sea salt

Preparation:

1. Whenever you cook meat, make sure that you take it out of the fridge a good two hours before you are going to start. This is particularly important here because the actual preparation time is so short. Once the meat has warmed to room temperature, rub it with a bit of sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil. 

2. Heat your oven to 250°C. 

3. Mix the salt with a couple of tablespoons of water and evenly spread it on an oven tray (I used a pizza tray here). The surface area needs to be big enough to place the meat on it.

4.When the oven has reached temperature, place the tray with the salt (NOT the meat) inside. After 20mins the salt will have formed a hard, searing hot crust. Now you place the filet on the salt.

5. After 9 Minutes (exact), you turn the meat around and leave it in the oven for another 9 minutes. Don't experiment! I know it seems short, but trust me! When the time is up, take the meat out of the oven and loosely wrap it in some aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 15min (no short-cuts here!). The meat will now be perfect...medium on the sides, medium-rare towards the middle.

German dumplings...with a twist

Dumplings are a staple of German cooking. Traditionally they are made from potatoes, but I prefer the variety made from bread. To the uninitiated the method I use to make these might seem strange, but it's really quite easy. The dough can be prepared in advance, which is convenient when you have guests. I would always recommend making at least enough for 4, even if you are cooking for just two people, because the left-overs are delicious.

Ingredients (for 4):

300gr white Bread from the day before (rolls work best)
220ml milk
100gr bacon
1 medium-sized onion
Small bunch of parsley
2 eggs
Butter
Nutmeg

Preparation:

1. Cut the rolls in 1cm cubes and warm up the milk. Place the bread in a large bowl and add the milk. Weigh the mixture down using a plate and a can of tomatoes or similar and allow to soak for approximately 15-20mins. 

2. In the meantime, chop the onion and cut the bacon in small bits. Fry both in a bit of butter over medium heat until the onions are soft. Transfer on a plate to cool down.

3. Once the bread has soaked up all of the milk, add the eggs, the chopped parsley, the bacon-onion mix, salt, pepper, and some nutmeg. Mix(using your hands) until you have a sticky dough. 

4. Take a clean kitchen towel and soak it in water. Lay it out on your work surface and place your dough in the middle, forming a sausage shape (see picture below). Roll the towel up, twisting the ends for added pressure, and tie the ends using cord. The whole thing now looks like a large piece of wrapped candy. 

5.Heat up water in a large casserole and, once it starts simmering, place the dumpling in the water. After 30mins the dumpling will be ready and can be unwrapped.

6. There are two ways to serve this. The simple version is to slice the dumpling and serve as it is. The second version (which I usually reserve for the left-overs) is to fry the slices in a bit of butter before serving.

Glazed carrots: two variations

Carrots in their different varieties make a great side-dish. They are easy to make and most people like them. Simple boiled carrots are of course a total no-go, but glazed with a bit of butter or, in the more interesting version, with chili and ginger, they are the perfect accompaniment for meat and fish dishes. 

Glazed carrots...the simple way



Ingredients

500gr carotts
2 tbs Butter
300ml vegetable stock
1 tsp sugar


Preparation:

1. Peel the carrots and cut them into regular sticks (I usually cut them in half and then quarter them lengthwise). 

2. Place the carrots in a deep pan (it should be large enough for the carrots to be spread quite evenly) and add enough stock to just cover them. Add a bit of salt, a tablespoon of butter, the sugar and bring to the boil. 

3. All you now need to do is wait until the liquid has boiled off. This should take about 20mins, by which time the carrots will be tender and you only need to add another piece of butter and a bit of black pepper to finish them.




Chili-Ginger Glazed Carrots

This recipe was published by a German cook called Tim Mälzer (the German Jamie Oliver) and served to us at a dinner party by my friend Alex. It is similar to the recipe above, but the chili and ginger give these carrots an additional twist. 

Ingredients:

500gr carrots
1 red chili
1 clove of garlic
20gr fresh ginger
250ml vegetable stock
Butter

Preparation:

1. The carrots are peeled and cut into sticks, same as above. The chili is sliced finely, the same goes for the garlic and the ginger. 

2.  Heat a bit of olive oil in a deep pan and fry the carrot sticks over high heat for about 5min. Add the garlic, chili, and ginger, and fry for another minute before adding the stock. 

3. Let the stock boil away (which should take about 10-12 min) before adding salt, pepper and a bit of butter.

Quick Red Pepper-Tomato Soup

It's soup season and this one has the added advantage of an extremely short preparation time. It's perfect for busy evenings when you can't be bothered to undertake a huge effort in the kitchen but don't want to resort to a mere sandwich either. For my daughter I make the soup without chili, but it's definitely better with the added heat. To accompany the soup, all you need is some toasted sourdough bread, topped with butter and a bit of sea salt.

Ingredients:

1 large can of chopped tomatoes
1 medium sized onion
2 large red peppers
1 red chili
1 tbs creme fraiche
2-3 tbs cream
1 tbs tomato concentrate
2 tsp sugar

Preparation:

1. Roughly chop the onion and the peppers. Heat up some olive oil or butter in a medium-sized casserole and add the onions. Once the onions are soft, add the peppers and allow to fry for a few minutes before adding the tomato concentrate, the chopped tomatoes, an equal amount of water, half a chili (chopped finely), and some pepper.

2. Gently boil the mixture for about 10min until the peppers are soft and then puree using a mixer. Last, add the cream and a bit of creme fraiche. Season to taste. 

Moroccan Lamb

Whenever I cook lamb, I remember that fabulous scene from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", where Toula tries to explain to her aunt that her boyfriend Ian, in addition to not being a "nice Greek boy", is also a vegetarian, to which the aunt replies: "Oh, don't worry. I'll make lamb!". The reality is of course that even acknowledged carnivorous don't necessarily like lamb and I always check with my guests before serving it at dinner parties.

This particular recipe is a veritable explosion of flavors. The lamb is stuffed with dried fruit, coriander, lime, ginger, and chilies and slowly roasted in the oven for 4-5 hours. Perfect for guests!

Ingredients (for 4): 

1kg leg of lamb (ask your butcher to take out the bone, the weight here is without the bone)
1 large red onion
150gr raisins
150gr dried apricots
150gr dried plums
Juice and zest of one lime
80gr fresh ginger
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cloves of garlic
1 red Chili
Salt & pepper

Preparation:

1. First you need to prepare the meat. This means that you have to cut the meat to produce a relatively flat and even surface (see pictures below). You can either do this yourself or ask your butcher to "butterfly" the lamb, he will know what to do. When the meat is prepared, rub generously with salt and pepper and place on the work surface. 

2. Now you have to prepare the filling. This is pretty simple: you only need to roughly chop up the dried fruit, the onion, garlic, ginger, and the chili and mix it all up in a dish. Add the lime zest and juice, a few tablespoons of olive oil, coarse sea salt, pepper, cumin and cinnamon, and the chopped  up coriander. The smell is going to be unbelievable!

3. Next you fill your lamb, for which you need to use roughly 2/3 of your mixture. Simply spread over the meat, press down and roll-up. The result is going to be a pretty large and somewhat unwieldy lump of meat, but not to worry, the result is going to be great! Tie the meat up firmly using some string and brown the meat from all sides in a frying pan.

4. Once that's done, remove the excess oil from the pan, add the remainder of the filling and place the whole thing in the oven at 120°C. The cooking time will be roughly 4 1/2 hours, but to be on the safe side you should allow for 5 hours. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer for this recipe. Once the core temperature has reached 75°C you can either take the meat out directly, let it rest for about 15mins (very important!) and then slice it for serving. Alternatively, you can also just turn the temperature down to 50°C and leave it in the oven for a bit longer (in case your guests aren't ready for the main course yet).

To serve, you remove the string and slice the lamb. This is inevitably a bit of a messy procedure, but simply place the meat and the filling in a large dish and place it directly on the table. I serve this with glazed carrots and garlic mashed potatoes.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Salted caramel sauce has been on my to-do list ever since I saw this picture of Nigella Lawson (Nigella). Who could resist! So last week I finally got around to trying this and while it took me a few attempts to get the mixture just right, the result is very impressive. Salted caramel sauce is best served with vanilla ice cream, but it tastes just fine on a spoon directly out of the jar too!
 

Ingredients:
150gr sugar
70gr butter
120ml cream
1-2 tsp Sea Salt (Fleur de Sel)

Preparation:

1.First you slowly melt the sugar in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once the sugar has melted, reduce the temperature slightly.

2. Now you add the butter, cream and the salt. Because these ingredients are cold, the sugar is going to get lumpy at first, but don't panic it will melt again given a bit of time (and stirring).

3. Once the mixture is smooth and liquid once again, taste to see whether you need more salt (the caramel should be sweet with a mild salty twist).  

I fill the sauce in jam jars and let them cool down in the fridge. They are great as little presents to bring to dinner parties.

Sticky Soy-Sherry Chicken

Both of my parents are passionate cooks, so I guess it's not surprising that many of my childhood memories are related to food in some way or the other. This recipe was a stable during my childhood and while we hadn't eaten it in a very long time, my father still had the original recipe on file somewhere. As turns out, it's still just as good as it was when I was a kid.

Ingredients (serves 4): 

1 Chicken (1,5kg)

150ml Soy sauce (preferably the low-sodium kind)

150ml Sherry or Mirin (I actually used the later)

    2 tbs Sugar

    1 clove of garlic

    1 1/2 tbs freshly grated ginger

    Sesame oil

Preparation:

1. Cut the chicken in 10 pieces (or have your butcher do this for you). 

2. Mix the soy sauce, the sherry (or Mirin) in a deep dish. Add the mined garlic, the sugar, and the grated ginger. Place the chicken in the marinade and leave it there for at least one hour (there is no need to put this in the fridge). 

3. After an hour, take the chicken out and dry it off using kitchen paper. Keep the marinate! Heat up some sesame oil in a frying pan and brown the chicken from all sides over medium heat. Careful: because there is quite a bit of sugar in the marinade, the chicken will burn quickly! 

4. Once the chicken is evenly brown, take it out of the pan, get rid of the excess fat (I just wipe the pan with some kitchen paper), and return the chicken to the pan. Now add half of the marinade and cook for another 25mins over medium heat with the lid on, occasionally turning the chicken. 

The chicken is served with rice and green vegetables such as pak-choi or sugar snaps. .

Chestnut soup with cognac

I love this soup! For me it's a perfect autumn dish (in particular given that we have some huge chestnut trees in our backyard). The combination of the earthy taste of the Chestnuts, the mildness of the cream and the sharpness of the cognac is heavenly. An additional plus is the short preparation time.

Ingredients:

300gr pre-cooked chestnuts

1 small onion

1 tbs butter

500ml vegetable stock

2-4 tbs Cognac

3 tbs cream

Preparation: 

1. Chop the onion finely and fry it gently in the butter. After about 5 mins the onion should be soft and you can add the chestnuts (I simply crumble them in using my hands - no need to get fancy about this). Fry the chestnuts for a few minutes, then add the stock and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. 

2. Once the time is up, take the pot off the stove and puree everything using a mixer. Add the cream, cognac, salt and pepper and bring to the boil briefly. In case the soup is still too thick, add some more water or stock.