Vietnamese Pho with Duck (the quick version)

It's been dreadfully cold, wet and gray around here lately. This made me all the more thankful to my friend Anna for teaching me how to do one of my favorite restaurant dishes at home. It's simple, easy and healthy, not to mention it tastes divine! Give it a try and you won't be disappointed. Promise.

Ingredients for two:
1 l beef stock
3 cloves
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 generous tablespoon of fish sauce
ca. 4 cm. fresh ginger, sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
ca. 150 gr. rice noodles
one duck breast (without the skin) or ca. 200 gr. of beef steak
bean sprouts
spring onions
Thai basil or fresh coriander
optional: fresh chilies or hot sauce

1. Let your beef stock and the aromatics (everything up to and including the onion) come to a boil over high heat. Turn it down and let it simmer for ca. 45 minutes.
2. When your stock is done and smelling wonderfully fragrant, prepare your rice noodles according to the packet instructions. When they are done make sure to blanch them under cold water.
3. Wash your bean sprouts, pick your herbs off the stems and chop your spring onions. The duck or beef needs to be cut very thinly (it will only be cooked by the hot broth being poured over it). My duck was frozen, so I just defrosted it for a short while and pulled off the skin. It was very easy to cut afterwards.
4. From this point on it is simply a task of assembly. Layer the cold noodles over the meat and pour over the hot (boiling!) soup. The aromatics, except for the onion, can be discarded. Let every person add their own sprouts, herbs and spring onions. I like adding a bit of chili. Enjoy!

Variations: I am sure this would be delicious with halved prawns or sliced fish too. You could also leave the protein out completely.

Merci Anna!

Scaloppine al limone (Veal escalopes with zingy lemon sauce)

With one or two notable exceptions the last couple of weeks have been very gray in Zurich. I was lucky enough to find some veal escalopes that were marked down at my local grocery store. I often shop for my protein this way because it has the added bonus of making be notice cuts I wouldn't usually go for...

This is such a simple dish to prepare and the result was so delicious. I will be making it again for sure. With a simple salad of rocket it makes a wonderful light meal.

Ingredients for one person:
Veal escalopes (I had four small ones)
2-3 tablespoons of flour
Oil or butter to fry
Half a lemon, juice and zest cut off &chopped with a paring knife
1 small glass of white wine or 1/2 of stock
Ca. 20 grams of cold butter, cut into pieces
A few sprigs of flat leaved parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

1. Place your flour on a flat dish and season with salt and pepper. Dredge both sides of the escalopes in them making sure to pat off any excess.
2. Preheat a non stick frying pan to medium high heat and add your fat of choice. Fry the escalopes on both sides until just done. This should take 2-3 minutes on both sides and they should be slightly browned. Take out of the pan and keep warm.
3. Put the pan back on the heat, add your juice, chopped zest and the wine or stock and deglaze the pan. Let the alcohol cook off and the sauce reduce for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the butter and adjust the seasoning.
4. Add your parsley at the last minute (if using) and pour over the warm escalopes to serve.

Salmon steak with sweet potato and pea mash

Hi everyone! I am back from my one month on Africa's other end. It was fabulous and hot. But I am ready to get back into the kitchen.
I present to you my dinner yesterday evening. I never used to like cooked salmon. Only when I tried to prepare it myself did I find out that it was because I don't like the texture it gets when it's well done... too rubbery. So I tend to almost undercook it at home. It stays nice and tender that way.

This was a simple meal, rustled up in about a quarter of an hour. It was actually two meals considering I mashed all the leftovers and fried it into a little Rösti to serve with a fried egg on top for lunch...

Ingredients:
one salmon steak (without without skin, according to your preference)
one sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
two handful of (frozen) peas
(optional: a little stock)
salt and pepper
lemon juice, to serve

1. Boil your sweet potato in just enough water or stock to cover. This should only take about ten minutes. Add your peas and cover with a lid to let them cook. You can turn the heat off or down to medium while you prepare the fish.
2. Preheat a non stick frying pan on medium to high heat. Season your salmon with salt and pepper and put it into your frying pan. You can add a little oil if you'd like. Fry until you have a golden color. This will take two to three minutes. Flip over carefully and fry on the other side for a further two to three minutes or until done to your liking.
3. Save about half a cup of the liquid you boiled your potatoes and peas in. Pour off the rest. Put the pan back onto your stove for a couple of minutes to dry the vegetables properly. Mash and season. Add some liquid back if needed. Serve with your fish on top and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Easy as that.


 This is what lunch the next day looked like: