Courgette and leek crumble, champagne and a new toy

I was so eager to try out my new (fake) Le Creuset mini cocotte that I brought courgettes from Rome (zucchine romanesche). I am used to security and airplane staff laughing at my shoulders for the food I bring in the cabin (some flights ago, I had melba toast supply for like six months that wouldn't fit in the upper compartment), plus I wanted to cook a very special dinner to celebrate an equally special night here in Frankfurt. Champagne was already waiting for me :) 

I have to say this crumble was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, but still less amazing than the golden rose champagne!

COURGETTE AND LEEK CRUMBLE

serves 2

3 courgettes roma

1 leek

chilli

50 gr butter

50 gr flour

50 gr parmigiano

pepper

2 anchovies 

fresh mint leaves

In a pan, I cooked the leek sliced in thin slices with 1 spoon of oil EVO until tender, then I placed the leek in a bowl. In the same pan, I cooked the sliced courgettes with 1 spoon of oil EVO and chilli until tender. I mixed the leek and the courgettes, than placed the mix in the cocotte one spoon at time, placing leaves of mint and chopped anchovies.

I mixed the butter, flour, grated parmigiano and pepper in a bowl until sand-like. I cover the cocotte with a layer of this sandy mix. I baked in the oven at 200 degrees until the top layer is golden (~15 minutes)

I have to admit that we eat it with a lasagna made of pane carasau (thin bread from Sardegna), foie gras and mango chutney. You can sort of see it in the third picture. I know, I deeply apologise with all the birds in the planet, foie gras is bad, but if you got it as a present from France, waisting it is even worst..... ;)

Vietnam here we come!

I am committed to increase the visual appeal of my posts. Very committed. Feedbacks are welcome. Monetary incentives too (click the ads! click the ads!)

Oh, Vietnam! We are planning to go to Vietnam next autumn and I am totally into it. I close my eyes and I see pointy hats, small boats crossing Hanoi Bay and tons of noodles everywhere. So I decided to train my palate with these super SUPER healthy vietnamese rolls. I found the recipe in one of my favourite blogs (this) and I am really impressed by the ratio taste/calories: unbelievable (but believe me!)

Actually, the rolls were only the starter of an amazing sunday lunch, which also featured a superb fideuà made by my flatmate. Catalunya meets Vietnam. Spain meets South-east Asia. 

PS

Yes, the fideuà was the best fideuà in the world!

VIETNAMESE ROLLS 

for 8 rolls:

8 sheets of rice paper (asian shops)

mixed salad (red and green)

1 small carrot

1 small celery

2 big spring onion

8 big prawns

8 basil leaves

8 mint leaves

for the sauce:

2 spoons soy sauce

2 spoons water

1 spoon 1/2 white vinegar

1 spoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

2 spoons peanuts

Crush the peanuts in tiny pieces, add the rest of the ingredients and let it rest. Place the rice paper sheets in a bowl with cold water (2-3 at time), cut all the ingredients in sticks and make 8 rolls. As easy as that!

Moroccan night

Or moroccan late morning, as this pic was taken the day after with the leftovers of the dinner that become my lunch (much better light, no hungry people putting pressure on you to end the shooting session)

Now that this plate belongs to the past, I am thinking that the vegetarian version would probably have been even better. If I were to re-do it, I wouldn't use chicken and perhaps I'd add toasted pine nuts. Or dried apricots. Or both. 

But no way I am doing it again in the next days: I have new toys to try out :) today, during the search for the n-th car for my nephew, I found out that there was an entire floor of the mall that I wasn't aware of. When you get excited for such things, it means that you are >30, living in a boring city, happily married, or a combination of the previous. Anyway, I bought some fancy food containers that I am eager to use for doing mono-portion dinners. When you get excited for such things, it means that you are >30, living in a boring city, happily married, AND a foodblogger :)

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH COUSCOUS

2 courgettes

1 carrot

3 potatoes

2 onions

2 shallots

1 garlic clove, crushed

celery

the zest of one lemon

mixed moroccan spices (ras el hanout), or alternatively: casually mix all the reddish spices found in the kitchen, like I did

300 gr couscous

5 chicken tights (or toasted pine nuts)

Fry the chicken tights in a pan with 2 spoons of oil EVO using high fire for a few minutes, then turn off the fire. Chop the onions and the shallots and pan-fry them in a large pot at moderate fire with 3 spoons of oil EVO. Add the chicken, the vegetables chopped in large pieces, the spices and cover with water. Bring to boil and then turn the flame to the minimum heath and let it cook for 30-40 minutes. When ready, prepare the couscous and compose the plate, adding fresh mint to decorate. I took off the lemon zest and I chopped it to decorate.

Sunset quiche and resolutions

Mid-year resolution: I really should get better with food shooting. I have read that this is of key importance for the success of a food blog and I suspect this is one of the reasons why I only earned 1.87 euros so far. Ravioli shop still very far away.

This will probably add to the list of hopeless resolutions like: be kind with people early in the morning, drink 2 litres of water per day, buy less toys to my nephew because love can't be bought. But if I don't buy him toys, how can I persuade that little savage to kiss me and hug me?????

COURGETTES AND RICOTTA SALATA QUICHE

2 courgettes

1 leek

200 gr ricotta salata

5-6 sundried tomatoes

pasta brisè

2 eggs

1 glass of milk

oregano

pepper

Pan-fry the vegetables cut in slices in 3 teaspoons of oil EVO until tender. In the meanwhile, prepare the brisè dough. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin according to the tray shape and place it in the tray, leaving some dough for the stripes. Place the vegetables, the oregano, the grated cheese and chopped sundried tomatoes inside the dough. Beat the eggs with the milk and pour the mix over the vegetables, trying to cover the surface uniformly. Place the stripes and bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180 degrees. Hire a photographer to shoot a decent pic!

Thai take two - the veggie option AKA I hate mondays

Monday is the worst day not only when you need to wake up and go to work, but also when you work from home. In the last weeks I realised that what affects me is not the post-weekend lack of sleep, but the emptiness that is left in me after 48 hours of quality time with quality people. To prove this scientific theory of mine, yesterday I stayed in bed until 9 (ok, 9:30) and when I got up, I still hated the world. See?

BTW working from home sucks. I hate the lack of human interactions so much that I am seriously considering quitting science and open a ravioli shop (click on the ads! click on the ads!). I am grateful to the lady at the supermarket till when she asks me if I have the costumer card with me. In German. And I do not speak German, but nevermind: those might be the only words that a human being speak to me in hours!!!!

All this moaning just to say that yesterday I wanted to turn a bad day into something decent, so I treated myself with some coconut milk plus red curry paste (BTW, great excuse to go talk with the lady at the till). I did a vegetarian version of this, that was really heart-warming:

VEGETARIAN TOM YAM

1 lime

400 gr broccoli

1 sweet potato

spinach leaves

400 gr coconut milk

1 teaspoon red curry paste

150 gr shiitake mushrooms 

3 shallots

2 lemongrass 

3 spoons fish Thai sauce

1/2 chilli

vegetable stock (made with celery, onion and carrot)

sesame seeds and coriander to decorate

In a pot, I brought to boil the coconut milk and the vegetable stock, then added all the ingredients (mushrooms and spinach leaves at the end). Served with toasted sesame seeds and chopped coriander. Easy-peasy :)

Symphony in green

The season is officially started and our BBQ is working its ass off in the weekend. I might destroy years of fights for gender equality, but I want to say it: BBQ is a man's job ;)

I realised it when I followed my flatmate to buy one. I thought we were looking for a regular charcoal BBQ to bring over to the river in days of sunshine, along with a guitar and few beers, but HELL NO!! We got home with the rolls royce of all the BBQs: two grills, four fires, closing lid with thermostat, option to make cappuccino. I guess the point is that men in front of BBQ have their primordial instincts challenged, and they feel the moral need to purchase the largest fire available to take care of all the tribe ;)

Good point is that I can enjoy the sunshine and do a little work. This sunday I did only a tiny bit of pasta alla norma (only 700 grams for 10 people, I am almost ashamed to confess it....), that was really really good. The problem is that all my good recipes containing aubergines really need to be cooked with slowness :)

PASTA ALLA NORMA

for 10 people, a small portion each

5 aubergines

3 cans of crushed tomatoes

3 garlic cloves

basil

700 gr penne

ricotta salata

Cut the aubergines in small cubes and leave a couple of hours in a bowl with cold water and salt. Rinse and dry them, then deep-fry in a pan with oil EVO. Dry them and place in a colander with something heavy on top. Leave to rest overnight. 

In a large pot, fry the garlic with 2 spoons of oil EVO, then add the crushed tomato. After 20 minutes,   take the garlic off and add the aubergines. Cook for additional 10 minutes, turn the fire off and add the basil leaves. Cook the pasta al dente, add the sauce and grated ricotta salata on top. Enjoy!

No pictures, please.

The drawback of doing something so fancy for dinner is that inevitably you end up eating it cold ("let me just take a good picture... another one.... just the last one.... perfect! - wait, the very last one - ok, now one with the mobile for mum" and so on)

Ok I confess: I totally am into oriental cousine. The quest for less boring vegetables often pushes me towards the fridge with the soy sprouts, and then the teriyaki sauce has such a nice packaging.... - but, of course, the wine can only be italian: Falanghina in the background ;) 

The tuna as well has something italian (sicilian, for the sake of specificity) on it: breadcrumbs and pistachios, plus a balsamic vinegar reduction to decorate. Amazing for the eye, amazing (but cold - damn it!) for the palate. 

SICILIAN TUNA WITH ORIENTAL VEGETABLES

I placed one thick tuna slice in the freezer for about 1 hour and then I cut it in stripes. I "massaged" it with some oil EVO and then rolled it in mixed breadcrumbs and pistachios. In a hot pan with one teaspoon of oil EVO, I cooked the tuna stripes ~40 seconds for each of the four sides, and then sliced it. I served it with two spoons of balsamic vinegar and one teaspoon of honey, cooked for a couple of minutes in a pan. 

For the vegetable salad, I cut one red pepper, one broccolo and 100 gr shitake mushrooms in small pieces. I have pan-fried the vegetables in the wok for some ten minutes, with 2 spoons of sesame oil, two spoons of teriyaki sauce and some chilli pepper to season. At the very end, fire off, I add the sprouts and some toasted sesame seeds, stir and serve in the fancy plate. Enjoy!

Lasagne, aka the taste of my childhood

I warn you, this post has a high emotional content :)

If I were to recall the best taste my mouth ever tasted, no doubts: the lasagne made by my babysitter. Besides being an amazing cook, she is also an incredible woman that over the years has become a second mother for me. I basically grew up above her kitchen table (literally: above the table. I liked to lie on the wooden table, no chances of moving me to the bed), watching her cooking. I am sure my love for food started back then (I was 11 months old!)

She makes the best lasagne in the world, seriously. She doesn't follow the original recipe, so her lasagne are not made with the ragù (bolognese meat sauce) but totally vegetarian.

I am sure many people could be disappointed by this choice, but not me, I actually think that the vegetarian version is lighter, softer, as opposed to the stone brick consistence that generally the traditional one has :)

I have never tried to reproduce that taste until last week. I was feeling inspired & nostalgic of that creamy taste that melts inside the mouth, and I decided to give it a try. Well, we were 9 and we almost finished all the two big trays that I made (with substantial help from my housemate)

LASAGNE
(2 trays)

for the pasta:
5 eggs
500 gr flour
a pinch of salt

for the tomato sauce:
a lot of good tomatoes (if it's too much tomato sauce, keep it for tomorrow's pasta)
3 garlic cloves
4 spoons oil EVO
basil

for the besciamella:
50 gr butter
50 gr flour
1 l milk
nutmeg

to assemble:
mozzarella cut in thin slices
parmigiano

First, make the pasta dough by mixing the ingredients until solid and elastic, then leave in the fridge to rest. Peel the tomatoes (30 seconds in boiling water will make the job easier), chop them in pieces and cook them with the garlic and the oil EVO. When ready, add salt, pepper and basil leaves.
Make the besciamella: melt the butter in a large pot, turn the fire off, add the flour and mix. Turn the fire on, start adding the milk while stirring. When it is boiling, turn the fire off, add nutmeg and salt.
Make the pasta layers with a pasta machine and, when ready, boil them for one minute in water. Assemble the lasagna on the tray: one layer of pasta, tomato sauce, alternating mozzarella/besciamella and parmigiano on top. Repeat it until ~2 cm close to the border of the tray and make the last layer with only pasta, besciamella and parmigiano. Some oil EVO on top. Bake for 45 minuter at 200 degrees + 5 minutes grill. Enjoy!

Tom gnam!

On-the-spot recipe, written while my stomach is still processing it :)

Some time ago I wrote that cooking exotic food is not my cup of tea due to lack of background. Now, I still think my Tom Yam was only a pale westernized imitation of the real Thai soup, but truth is, I have only eaten Thai food in Europe, and compared to my standards it was f**** amaaaaaaaaziiiiiing !

"Knowledge comes at great costs": I pbly won't be able to eat this anymore after a trip to Thailand, but in the meanwhile..

TOM YAM

1 lime

Coriander

8 prawns + mixed fish (1 calamari, 1 pangasius fillet, 1 mullet fillet)

400 gr coconut milk

1 teaspoon red curry paste

200 gr shiitake mushrooms 

2 shallots

2 lemongrass 

3 spoons fish Thai sauce

1/2 chilli

I peeled the prawns and used the heads to make fish stock (~600 ml). I mixed the stock with the coconut milk, the red curry paste and the fish sauce. I added the shallots in thin slices, the lemongrass, the mushrooms chopped in small pieces and after 5 minutes, all the fish (with the prawns at the very end). 

I served with slices of lime and chopped coriander. Gnam!

PS: according to the world wide web, it should only be made with prawns, but they were too expensive and the desperate housewife in me decided to dilute them with less lavish fish ;)

...also, the stock should be chicken stock, but I am fish-etarian during business hours!