Spicy oven-baked sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a favorite in my household and I make them at every opportunity. In the winter I usually prefer the mashed version, but during barbecue season these here are great as a side-dish. They are extremely easy to make and are perfect to accompany all kinds of meat dishes. Although, truth be told, I am perfectly happy having just these, some grilled vegetables and a nice fresh yoghurt dip.

Ingredients (for 2):

1-2 sweet potatoes (I used 2 medium-sized ones)
1 red chili
coarse sea salt, black pepper
olive oil
chili powder (optional)
maple syrup (optional)

Preparation: 

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into longish stripes. Finely slice the red chili. Mix both with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a generous amount of sea salt, and some back pepper. In case you prefer your potatoes on the spicy side, add half a teaspoon of chili powder. 

2. Cover a baking tray with some baking paper and evenly spread the potatoes on top. Place in the preheated oven (180°C, fan-assisted) for about 20mins. 

3. Now you have two options: you can either just leave the potatoes in for another 10 minutes at the same heat. Alternatively, you can drizzle the potatoes with some maple syrup (1 tablespoon is plenty, otherwise it will be way too sweet) and place the tray under the grill for about 5 mins. Watch this carefully, it will burn quickly. 

Just to make sure that there are no misunderstandings...these aren't going to be crispy! They contain less starch than normal white potatoes, so unless you fry them (recipe to follow), they are going to remain soft where they are thickest, turning crisp only on the thinner ends.

Ainsley Harriott's Kofta Kebabs with Yoghurt and Greek Salad

The original recipe for the lamb comes from Ainsley Harriott's "Low Fat Meals in Minutes" and has been a firm favorite with my family for years. The combination of minced lamb, mint, coriander, chili and cumin works like a charm, especially when served in warm pita bread with a fragrant yogurt dip and fresh Greek salad. This is a must-do even for those of you who are  not usually so keen on lamb. Trust me!  

Ingredients (serves 4):

700 g minced lamb (shoulder or leg)
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 large clove of garlic
1 handful of fresh mint leaves
1 large red onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 red chili
250 g yogurt
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
1 packet feta cheese
1 large red pepper
1 small packet of cherry tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano
olive oil
salt, pepper

Preparation: 

1. You will need three bowls for this: one medium-sized mixing bowl for the meat, one salad bowl, and a smaller one for the yogurt dip. Have these ready on your work surface before you begin.

2. Chop the onion finely, placing 2/3 in the bowl for the meat and the rest in the salad bowl. Finely chop the coriander, the mint, and the garlic: half of each goes into the meat bowl, half into the dish for the dip.

3. Place the minced lamb in the meat bowl, add the cumin, a generous amount of salt and pepper, the finely cut chili (or half, depending on how spicy you want this to be) and mix well. Form longish shapes, place on a tray and rub with a bit of olive oil. Set aside. 

4. Cut the feta cheese in cubes (or just crumble it using your hands) and add to the salad bowl. Wash the peppers, peel the deseed the cucumber and cut both into 1cm pieces before adding to the bowl. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the mix. Dress with a generous 4 tablespoons of olive oil, the dried oregano, some salt (not too much, the feta can be quite salty) and some black pepper. Mix well and set aside.

5. For the dip, simply mix the yogurt with the herbs, add the lime juice, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Season to taste.

6. The lamb is cooked for 20 mins on the pre-heated barbecue (medium-heat). Toast the pita bread on the bbq or simply use a toaster (leave them in until they begin to puff up, that's when they are ready).

We eat these as you would eat a kebab: the warm pita bread is filled with chunks of the lamb, salad and a generous serving of the yogurt sauce. 

Stir-fried beef and green asparagus

Stir-fries are a must for those of us who are often faced with the dilemma of having to (wanting to!) cook proper meals with little time on our hands. Stir-fries are easy, quick, yummy and healthy! Who wants to eat a ready-made meal if you can have tender beef, crunchy asparagus all mixed with a sauce of teriyake, lime juice, fresh ginger and hot chilis? Give it a try, I promise it's not difficult!

And for those with little or no stir-frying experience: this is all about fast cooking at high temperatures. Think "The Fast and The Furious" rather than "Sense and Sensibility". First and foremost this means that need to have everything ready. You don't want to start chopping ingredients in the middle of this. Also, remember that this is going to be very quick, so if you need to set your table, cook some rice, open a bottle of wine, you should all of this in advance (or, even better, delegate).

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 spring onions

2 tablespoons of finely fresh chopped ginger

2 cloves of garlic

1 red chili

5 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce

2 tablespoons of soya sauce

1 tablespoon of dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon of lime juice

1 teaspoon of cornstarch
2 teaspoons of sugar

350gr rumpsteak

500gr green asparagus

salt, pepper, extra sesame oil

Preparation: 

1. Clean and finely slice the spring onion. Peel the garlic and chop finely. Cut the chili in rings (I tend to leave the seeds in to add that extra spice). Remove the fat from the steak and slice diagonally into 1/2 cm stripes. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus and cut into 2-3cm pieces. 

2. Mix the ginger, garlic, chili, teriyaki sauce, soya sauce, sesame oil, sugar, lime juice and blend in the cornstarch. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok to high heat, add a bit of sesame oil and fry the asparagus. After about 2 minutes start adding spoonfuls of water one at a time (4-5 in total), each time allowing the liquid to boil away before adding more. The asparagus should still be quite crunchy. Remove the wok from the heat.  

4. Heat a large frying pan to a very high heat, adding a tablespoon of sesame oil. Once the pan is searingly hot (don't worry if it starts to smoke a little) fry the meat very briefly, just until it starts to brown slightly. The idea is not to cook the meat through (it will only end up getting tough), so just leave it in the pan for about 15 seconds on each side (I recommend you do this in batches). Remove the cooked meat and place it in the wok.

5. Once the meat is all done, return the wok to the stove and heat everything up (don't be shy on the heat, you want this to be sizzling). Add the sauce. mix well and wait until it starts to bubble away. The cornstarch will make the sauce thicken slightly and it will stick to the meat and the asparagus. This should start happening after a few minutes. Sprinkle with some spring onions and serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from: www.esssen-und-trinken.de

Delicious Rhubarb!

Rhubarb makes for great dessert: it tastes lovely but isn't too sweet. It's fantastic in crumble, but for those with little time on their hands, I recommend this, much quicker and simpler, recipe. The combination of the compote and cream is perfect, and the addition of the meringue adds a lovely crunch. 

Ingredients (serves 4): 

500gr rhubarb
30gr sugar (the original recipe used 50gr but that's way too much)
40gr meringue
250ml whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 tablespoons of white wine


Preparation: 

1. Peel the rhubarb and cut into 2cm pieces. In a saucepan mix the fruit, white wine and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for a few minutes until the rhubarb is soft (rhubarb has a high water content, so this goes very quickly). Allow to cool off completely,


2. Roughly chop the meringue. Whip the cream, adding the vanilla sugar as you go. 


3. Fill 4 glasses with the rhubarb, cream, and meringue. Serve immediately. 

Fillet of pork stuffed with spinach, feta cheese and dried tomatoes

I have a somewhat ambivalent view on pork, probably a result of the many meat scandals during my youth. Back then it became fashionable to pay a farmer to raise your very own (presumably organically fed) pig, which my parents duly did. I think my mother never realized that she was expected to partake in the slaughter of said pig! As it happens, she "overslept" on that particular day and only arrived once the deed was already done :-)

But while I normally prefer chicken, beef, veal or lamb, I do occasionally feel a craving for a nice fillet of pork. The meat is very tender (prepared properly at least) and not as fatty as some other cuts of pork. In this case I elected to stuff my fillet with feta cheese, spinach, and dried tomatoes. As side dishes I served roast sweet potatoes with feta cheese and some spinach.

Ingredients (serves 2-3): 


1 fillet of pork (400-500gr)
1/2 packet of feta cheese
1 handful of sundried tomatoes

500gr fresh spinach
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
salt, pepper, nutmeg, olive oil

Preparation: 

1. First of all, you need to prepare the meat - your aim being to create a large surface which you can then fill and roll up. This is best done by first placing a long cut along the middle of the fillet (taking care not to cut all the way through) and folding the two sides outwards as far as possible. In order to flatten the two sides of the fillet, repeatedly cut into the meat (lengthwise) always making sure not to cut too deeply. Finally, pound the meat using a rolling pin in order to create as large a surface as possible. If you are unsure how to do this, ask your butcher to do it for you.


2. Wash the spinach. Finely chop the shallots and the garlic and heat some oil in a pan. Gently fry roughly 1/3 of the garlic and shallots until they just start to brown, then add 1-2 handful of the spinach. Once the spinach is cooked (this takes only a few minutes), season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool off. Don't rinse the pan, you are going to need it again later on.


3. Season the pork from both sides and spread it out on your work surface. Fill with the cooked spinach, the feta cheese and some roughly chopped sundried tomatoes. If you want to, you can also add some roasted pine nuts. Once the filling is in, carefully roll up the meat and tie it up using some kitchen string (in case you haven't done this before, take look at this video: Tying a roast). 


4. Once the pork has been filled and tied up, place it on the pre-heated  barbeque (medium heat) for 25-30 mins. During this time, fry the remaining shallots and garlic in your pan and add the rest of the spinach. Season generously with salt, pepper and some nutmeg. 

5. Once the meat is done, remove from the barbeque, cut off the string and slice before serving.

BBQ Chicken with grilled vegetables

Spring may be slow in coming, but the BBQ seasoned has been officially opened chez Marten. And as usual at the beginning of the season, most things I fancy eating end up being chargrilled. This chicken is a firm favorite with my family and has the added charm of being easy to make AND being easy to shop for. The chicken is wonderfully tender and the marinade can be adjusted to suit your individual taste.    

Ingredients (serves 4): 

800 gr chicken breast (without skin) 
Note that this dish can also be made using chicken wings, the only thing that changes is the cooking time - chicken wings will take about 20mins on the bbq.


For the marinade: 
1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato concentrate
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
1/2 tablespoon hot paprika powder
1 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 cloves of garlic
black pepper
(1 tablespoon of grated ginger or some chopped red chili are optional)

2 red peppers
2 zucchini
1 pack of long-stem broccoli
1 teaspoon rosemary
salt, pepper, olive oil


Preparation: 

1. Place all ingredients for the marinade in a blender and mix until you obtain a smooth paste. Cut the chicken into 2cm stripes (lengthwise). In a freezer bag mix the marinade and the chicken and place in the fridge for about 2-3 hours. Remove from the fridge a good half hour before you start cooking.

2. Wash the vegetables and cut the peppers and zucchini into wide stripes (see picture below). Mix vegetables with some olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

3. Heat the barbecue. Once heated, place the vegetables on the grill (it's best to use a grilling tray). Allow the vegetables to roast for about 10-12 mins before adding the chicken. Since the pieces are quite small, the meat should need no more than 4 minutes on each side.

I serve this with some yoghurt dip (herbs and garlic) and some bread or oven-baked potatoes.

Lamb Köfte with Coriander, Chili and Feta

My daughter's class recently undertook a so-called "food exploration", in which the kids were encouraged to try new things - not always an easy task, I am sure. My daughter initially chose somewhat boring dishes to bring: sausage rolls and meatballs. So in order to make things a bit more "interesting", I decided to make at least the later a bit more interesting. I ended up with a dish that I will surely cook again in the future: lamb meatballs with a feta-cheese center, flavored with fresh coriander, ground cumin and chili.

Ingredients (for approximately 12 meatballs):

600gr  minced meat (I recommend you use lamb)
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander
1/2 red chili
1 medium sized onion
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 egg
2 tablespoons of bread crumbs
1/2 packet of feta cheese (cut in 12 cubes)
salt and pepper


Preparation:

1. Finely chop the onion, chili and coriander and place in a large bowl. Add the minced meat, the egg, bread crumbs, cumin, a generous amount of salt and some black pepper. Mix using your hands and (if you dare) taste to check the seasoning. If you don't, you might want to take a small amount of the mixture and quickly fry it in a pan to ensure that you have enough salt. Or you can just trust our instincts and hope for the best :-)

2.Divide the mixture into 12 portions and form meatballs, placing a piece of feta cheese at the center of each.

3. Fry the meatballs over medium heat (alternatively you can put them on the BBQ) for about 10-15 mins until cooked through.

Serve with some greek salad, yoghurt dip with herbs and some pita bread.