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.