Mango-avocado salad with coriander-lime dressing

I once ate this in a restaurant in Stockholm and immediately set upon re-creating the dish when I got home. It's AMAZING! The combination of flavors is perfect and it's great both as a starter and a main course. In this case I served it with some seared tuna, but garlic infused jumbo shrimp off the barbecue work a treat too.

One cautionary note though: you need to make sure (!!) that you get RIPE avocados and a RIPE mango. This dish won't work at all if you end up with a half-ripe avocado or one of those horrible mangos that tastes like nothing. Unless you have a reliable source, I therefore recommend buying both a few days in advance.

Ingredients (serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter):

2 ripe avocados
1 large mango
1 bunch of coriander
2 limes
2 large tomatoes
Vegetable oil (olive oil doesn't work here)
1-2 red chilis
salt

Preparation: 

1. Peel the avocados and the mango and cut both in 1cm cubes. Finely chop the coriander leaves, putting the stems aside. Halve the tomatoes and remove the seeds, then cut the tomato into smallish cubes. In a salad bowl, mix the mango, the avocado and the tomato. 

2. For the dressing, mix 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the juice of 1-1 1/2 limes (see note below), the chili and roughly 2 tablespoons of the coriander stems in a blender. Add some salt and pepper and season to taste. Depending on the limes, you might need to add a little bit of sugar, but be careful, you want this to be quite acidic. It should also be quite spicy :-)

3. Just before serving (and really JUST before), add the dressing to the salad and mix thoroughly. Season to taste and add the coriander. 

A quick note on the dressing: it is a bit difficult to give exact amounts here. Much will depend on the sweetness of the mango and the sourness of the limes. Essentially, what you are aiming for is a balance between the sweetness of the fruit and the acidity of the dressing. The salad should have a nice zing to it.

Roast sweet potatoes with feta cheese

I love sweet potatoes...in any form. They have a lovely texture and their sweetness goes incredibly well with meat dishes. In the winter I tend to serve them mashed, but in the summer I prefer this variety. The salty flavor of the feta cheese is in perfect balance with the rich sweetness of the potatoes. Add a bit of chili and you have a perfect side-dish for your barbecued meat.

Ingredients (serves 2): 

1 sweet potato (two if they are small)
100gr of Feta cheese
1/2 tablespoon of hot chili powder (optional)

Preparation: 

1. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 2cm cubes. Coat with a bit of olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and the chili powder. Put the potatoes in a small baking tray and place it in the oven at 200°C (fan assisted). Roast for about 30 minutes until the potatoes start to turn brown around the edges. 

2. Remove from the oven and crumble the feta cheese over the potatoes. 


Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver "30-Minute Meals"

Spaghetti Arrabiata

I can't really imagine that there are still people out there who have never cooked spaghetti arrabiata and I initially didn't plan to post this (after all VERY simple) recipe, but when I made this the other night I was reminded (once again) what a beautiful dish this is, so here we go. Spaghetti arrabiata is extremely simple to make, requires a very short list of ingredients and is a perfect blend of tastes. The sweetness of the tomatoes is nicely balanced by the chili, add a bit of parmesan and you have a perfect dinner.

Ingredients (serves 4): 

2 cans of peeled tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
1 tablespoon of tomato concentrate
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 red chili
1 handful of fresh cherry tomatoes

Preparation:

1. Peel the shallots and the garlic, chop finely. Cut the chili in rings (depending on how hot the chili is you might want to remove the seeds).

2. Fry the shallots in some olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and the chili and continue to fry for a few more minutes. Then add the tomato concentrate, canned tomatoes, an additional can-filling of water, the sugar and some salt and pepper.

3. Stir well and set to simmer for about 1 hour. I leave the lid on, but tilt it slightly so that some of the steam can escape. After about half an hour add the cherry tomatoes (cut in half).

4. When the hour is up the sauce should have a fairly thick consistency. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar (as needed). The sauce should have a slightly sweet and at the same time spicy flavor.

Green asparagus soup with curry

In Germany we tend to eat mainly the white asparagus, but since it's been so unseasonably cold the harvest is likely to be delayed somewhat. In the meantime we have to make do with green asparagus, which is fine with me. While I usually prepare it cooked al dente and dressed with some olive oil and lemon juice, it's great for soups too. Here I have added a bit of curry power, which gives the whole thing a slightly exotic touch.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 bunch of green asparagus

500ml vegetable stock

2-3 tablespoons of cream

1 teaspoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Preparation: 

1. Peel the lower part of the asparagus and remove any hard ends. Cut each asparagus in 2-3cm pieces and cook them in the broth until soft (around 10mins). 

2. Puree everything until you have a smooth liquid and add the cream. Season generously with salt and some black pepper and add the curry powder and the cayenne. The soup should have a slightly spicy note.  

Malfatti with Sage-Butter

Spring is proving to be a bit reluctant this year, but the few sunny days that we've had have definitely given me a yearning for a culinary change. No more chestnut soups or thick winter stews for me! Instead, we are going to start focussing on the new seasonal products, the first one being: SPINACH! I love spinach in all varieties and you can be sure to see a few more recipes using spinach in the coming week.

This time, I have decided to present an Italian recipe: Malfatti. They are similar to Gnocchi but instead of using potatoes as a base, these are a lovely mixture of ricotta, parmesan and (of course) spinach. 

Ingredients (serves 4-6):


500gr fresh spinach
1 small onion, finely chopped
100gr of butter
90gr of parmesan, grated
250gr ricotta
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
230gr of flour
Nutmeg
12 sage leaves

Preparation:
 

1. In a large pan, fry the onion in a bit of butter or olive oil until transluscent. Add the spinach and sautee until soft (this takes just a few minutes). Season generously with salt and black pepper. Set aside in a colander to drain. Once most of the liquid is gone (you might want to squeeze the spinach a bit to get rid of any excess moisture) and the spinach has cooled off, chop finely using a large knife.

2. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, 70gr of finely grated parmesan and the eggs (including the egg yolks). Add the spinach, then the flour before seasoning one final time with salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg.

3. Bring plenty of salted water to a simmer in a large saucepan. Cover your worksurface with a generous quantity of flour. Using roughly one tablespoon of dough at a time, form longish shapes (see picture above), roll them lightly in the flour and set aside. Once they are all done, place them in the water. The Malfatti will sink to the bottom of the saucepan first, but resurface when they are done (this takes around 5 minutes). 

4. In a large pan, heat the butter until it starts to brown slighly. Add the sage leaves and allow them to infuse the butter. Once the Malfatti are cooked, remove them from the water using a slotted spoon and add them to the sage-butter for a few minutes. 

Serve with grated parmesan.

Braised Savoy Cabbage

I realize that savoy cabbage is not everybody's idea of a delicious meal, but cooked properly it makes for a great side dish to accompany meat (in this case I served it with Saltimbocca and sweet potato mash). The most common way to make savoy cabbage is of course to chop it up and cook it in a mixture of cream and vegetable stock. Tastes great, but let's face it, it's not a pretty sight...not even to mention all that cream :-). So instead, I have recently started cooking the cabbage in large slices, and rather than using cream I simply use broth.

Ingredients (serves 4): 

1 small savoy cabbage, outer leaves removed
300ml beef, vegetable, or chicken stock
Butter

Preparation: 

1. Cut the cabbage in half and then divide each half into 4 slices (as you would do with a melon). Remove the hard bits at the core and tie each slice with a bit of string (you need to do this to prevent the slices from falling apart). 

2. Bring water to the boil in a large saucepan, add salt, and briefly (1-2 minutes at most) place the cabbage in the water. Remove and immediately place in some ice-cold water. Blanching the cabbage this way helps to retain its color. It also serves to soften the cabbage slightly. Once it has cooled off, remove the cabbage from the water and allow to dry off on a bit of kitchen paper. 

3. Heat some butter in a large pan (I usually use clarified butter) and fry the cabbage at relatively high temperature until it starts to brown slightly. Season with salt and pepper and add the stock. Now place the pan in the oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes until soft.

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.

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.