Focaccia

The recipe I want to share with you today is a favorite of mine. Even though the cookbook it has originated from has gone MIA for some time now, it hasn't stopped this tasty bread from being made.

It started out as a tongue in cheek nod to the tradition of bringing a loaf of bread and some salt when someone moves in. I brought this to a friend who was moving apartments and it was very well received by the tired, hungry and desolate person in question.

As the preparation is really simple and well worth the effort, I since brought this to a couple of gatherings with friends. It always got me points!



ingredients:

350 gr flour
1 packet (7 gr) instant yeast
1 teaspoon of salt (I like the bread dough to be salty. If you prefer it more neutral only add half)
210 ml lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
Toppings:
olive oil
sea salt
Whatever suits your taste: Herbs (rosemary, sage, marjoram, oregano, thyme, etc), sliced onions, olives... The possibilities are endless.

1. Mix the dry ingredients before adding the water and oil. Knead until it forms a pliable and coherent dough. Spread a splash of olive oil onto some plastic wrap and use this to gently cover your dough. Put the dough into a warm place and let it rise for an hour. (It should double in volume.)

2. Spread a baking sheet or a 26 cm pie form with olive oil. Get out your dough. Kneed it gently for about 15 seconds, just to knock the air out. Roll it out into your form (2-3 cm thick) and cover it with the oiled wrap. Let it rise for another 20 minutes.

3. Use your finger tips to press dimples into the dough. These will hold small pools of olive oil later on. Cover again with the same plastic wrap and let it rise for the last time for 10 minutes.

4. While the dough it resting for the final time preheat your oven to 180°C. Prepare your topping for the foccacia. I went with; sliced onions, sage and marjoram this time.

5. Get your dough. First pour on olive oil all over it.(I'm guessing about four tablespoons as a minimum.) I use my hand so make sure it covers everything. Sprinkle with sea salt. Add whatever you like. If there are some chunky items (olives, onions) remember to press them into the dough a bit. They tend to fall off during or after baking.

6. Shove into the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes until it has a golden brown color. Let it cool before serving.

Glorious Orange and White Asparagus Soup

Have you been enjoying the fresh tastes of Spring as much as I have?
Strawberries with sugar... cress and boiled egg sandwiches... Asparagus with Parmigiano and melted butter.
In that case; SAVE YOUR ASPARAGUS WATER!!!!

This along with a couple of leftover spears will give you a delicious meal and one of my favorite soups (of all time, I have to add).

This recipe is made with white asparagus. I think it pairs better with the sweetness of the orange juice and the delicate sharpness of the zest than its green siblings...

It's a rich, velvety soup that packs enough calorific punch to leave one satisfied as a meal on its own. It is unusual in taste as it combines the sweet aroma of the fruit with the savory freshness of the spring vegetable. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.



ingredients:
(serves two or four, if served as a starter)

2 Tablespoons/30 grams of butter
2 Tablespoons of flour
one Orange, zest and juice separately
one litre/4 cups of asparagus cooking water
a couple of leftover asparagus spears (if on hand)
125 ml/half a cup of whipping cream
one egg yolk

1. Melt the butter over medium heat and toss in the flour. Mix with a whisk. After a minute add the orange zest. Let this mixture fry gently until it turns the slightest bit brown in colour. The smell should change towards nutty.
2. Pour in the asparagus water slowly while whisking the mixture constantly. (If this isn't done well, you will risk ending up with a lumpy soup.) Turn up the eat, whisk every couple of minutes and let it come to a gentle boil. I wouldn't recommend leaving the room as this mixture "likes" to boil over.
3. Let it boil gently for at least five minutes to thicken and get rid of any residual floury taste.
4. If you have the asparagus spears at you disposal you can either cut them into bite size pieces and put them into the soup at this stage to warm up. Or you can blend them with a little bit of the soup and add them to the dish like this.
5. In a separate bowl whip the cream into gentle peaks. Beat in the egg yolk. Beat the orange juice into this mixture slowly.
6. Take your soup off of the heat. Spoon one ladle of hot soup into the cream mixture and whisk well. Repeat two times. Add the whole mixture back into the hot soup and whisk well again. (This step is called proofing and, while slightly cumbersome, will prevent you from having scrambled egg soup.)Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. (If you didn't put salt into the asparagus water, you will have to through in an astounding amount now...)

Serve with good bread.

Homegrown tea

Surviving the first week of a challenging new job seems to have a similar effect as surviving grueling exams back at university. An illness of some ilk is sure to follow.

So while I am feeling utterly miserable, the few advantages of being sick in spring, and not in the depths of winter, are not lost on me.
I could, if bundled up to a sufficient degree, sit outside and let the sunshine, smells, sights and birdsong work some healing magic. (Not feeling particularly inclined at the moment.)
But what I definitely will do is take advantage of the first harvest of the 2010 growing season!


I have a special affection for herbs that can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. Mint is probably the most widely used of these. I love making sweet drinks and desserts with it. But think it is even better in salads like Tabbouleh.*

As you can see in the pictures this plant reemerges from apparent death after even the coldest of winters. It is basically a weed and therefor an easy plant to keep in a pot on a window sill. Some people will even discourage you from planting it in your garden without proper boundaries. I've always been convinced you can never have enough of it though!

Fresh mint tea is probably the simplest way I use this herb. And probably the most often. Depending on the strength of your plant you pick enough leaves.

Bruise the leaves (twist and turn a little) to release the oils and put it into a mug with sugar to taste (the darker the better).

Pour over just boiled water and let it stew for a couple of minutes.
Easy as pie.

Coupled with a laptop and a dvd of choice it's my idea of regenerating.


*The other one I always think of strait away it basil. Have you ever put some into a vodka cranberry? Good stuff.

A new job...

... seems to have temporarily sucked up all my energy and (culinary) creativity.

Dear reader(s), I hope you had great Easter festivities. I did.

Please excuse me whilst I try to get my bearings with the new responsibilities and a commute. (I have never had to commute in my life.)

Regular posting to resume soon. I promise!

L

Lamb cutlets

Yesterday was spent recuperating from a great night out two days ago (! that's how good it was) and cooking for various sick family members in the house. This produced a couple of soups and a lot of grated apple. The Orange and White Asparagus Soup will definitely be made again.

But not having foreseen the blight of sickness, I had already done the shopping in anticipation of being able to cook something a little different. I went ahead with this plan for dinner and was not disappointed. The results of this recipe will have me raving like a lunatic for some time yet.

It is, to me, the perfect finger food. The cutlets can be enjoyed without cutlery and I will definitely make this for the next party, that deserves a bit of effort.
These crunchy, juicy morsels of meat had the perfect texture for the creamy yogurt sauce. The cumin and the fresh coriander gave it the perfect hint of Asia.
Can you sense that I LOVED this? And I was not alone.

Please excuse the lack of appropriate photo-documentation. This is one instance in which a thousand raving words will have to do instead of the perfect picture. (Hope to change that soon.)

This recipe is adapted from Bill Grangers Everyday book.

12 french trimmed lamb cutlets
1 egg
1,5 tablespoons milk
flour
80 grams of fresh bread crumbs
one small handful of finely chopped flat leaved parsley
1 generous tablespoon of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 teaspoon lemon zest
half a teaspoon of ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying

Fill your flour into a flat, deep plate or bowl. In a second dish beat together the egg and milk. In the third mix together the breadcrumbs, herbs, zest and cumin. Then season to taste.
Take your lamb cutlets and beat them gently with the broad side of a chopping knife or a rolling pin. A classic meat hammer would probably tear them to shreds in seconds...
Dip the pieces of meat first in the flour (shake off excess), then in the egg and lastly into the crumb mixture. The general goal is to get as much breadcrumbs to stick and turn these beauties into crunchy delicacies when fried up.

Heat a frying pan to medium-high heat, add olive oil and fry the cutlets in batches for about two minutes per side. Keep them warm in the oven until you want to serve them.

Herb Yogurt Sauce
125 ml greek yogurt
2 tablespoons flat leaved parsley chopped
2 tablespoons coriander chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
salt to taste
a pinch of crumbled dry or finely chopped fresh chili, if desired

Very simply mix all of the above together and serve with your warm lamb cutlets.

*Advice on buying the meat in Switzerland: I found the cutlets sold at the local Coop to be slightly on the thick side. I chose to buy lamb racks instead and cut them up at home.

Hooray for Spring and hooray for Soda Bread

The trees may be bare and the grass not yet green, but spring is definitely approaching! It's nearing is proclaimed by the first snowdrops and daffodil shoots, the birdsong which is noticed more than at any other time of the year and my personal spring fever which lead to purchase and potting of these beauties:


And not to be forgotten: The fact, that I am blogging from our veranda enjoying the sights of all of the above. Yes, I might still be in a light fleece while doing so. But I no longer need to don mittens, a scarf and a hat in the attempt. :-)

Today is St. Patrick's Day. This is not of any consequence in Switzerland. You can go everywhere without being confronted with the color green. We go from Carnival decorations strait to the Easter stuff.

Through reading blogs I adore from all over the world I am aware that this day has a lot of food connotations in other countries. And since I didn't want to dive in with corned beef or green beer, I thought I would try my hand at making a Soda Bread


The recipe can be found at smitten kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/irish-soda-bread-scones/

I made some slight changes:
Since I had some cranberries in the pantry I added a mixture of currants and those. I like the tartness they added.
With no baking soda or cream of tartar (don't think you can even get that here) in the house, both were substituted with baking powder.

I love the result, especially with lots of cold butter. I am not sure however, if I might not have kneaded the dough enough....
I will definitely make this again but will probably try out a savoury version next.
Any suggestions?

That kind of day...

Have you ever had to take three tries to cook an egg?

And I am not talking about some fancy poached number. (I know they're supposed to be easy. The skill of their preparation just eludes me.) I am talking about a plain and simple soft boiled egg.

First try; (And I HATE when this happens.) The egg shell cracks a couple of seconds after you let it slide into the boiling water with the utmost delicacy.
Second try: To save you breakfast (and face) you decide to make a simple oeuf en cocotte. So you save the cracked egg from the boiling water and put it into one of those ramekins with a splash of cream, salt and pepper. The ramekin goes back into the pan with the slightly murky water and you give it an extra minute.
At the end of the allotted time you take it out carefully and unscrew the top to see if the egg is done. Of course not! So you put the bugger back into the water, but because you didn't screw on the top correctly, the whole thing falls out of your hand and empties its contents into the already murky water. Aaaargh!
Third try: You clean out the pan, put new water to boil, get a new egg out of the fridge and put the warm egg yolk (the only part of your prior experiments you were able to save) onto a piece of toast, which you devour as you wait for your egg to boil.
Congratulations! Third time lucky!

Some days have hardly begun and you already can't wait until they're over.
I'm glad this one is.