Cucumber, onion and coriander salad

As per request...
If temperatures where you live are set to hit the high twenties this weekend as well, this might just be the perfect accompaniment the the mandatory BBQ you are planning.
It's a simplified version of Yotam Ottolenghi's. It's easy and quick to make so give it a try!

3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar (I used palm)
2 teaspoons toasted peanut oil (the original calls for sesame)
One small red onion, halved and finely sliced (use a mandolin, if you have one)
One large cucumber, halved and finely sliced at an angle
One small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped (haters, use mint instead)
One clove of garlic
Thumbsized piece of ginger
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix the dressing and add the sliced onion. Leave it to stand and mellow for at least an hour.
2. Smash your garlic and ginger with a big pinch of salt to paste in a pestle and mortar or put it through a fine microplane grater. Mix this with the prepared dressing, sliced cucumber and coriander. Season to taste. All done!

Stir-fry of beef with broccoli

This is a very basic template that I often use when doing a Chinese inspired stir fry dish. By template I mean that the specific ingredients can be substituted to taste, seasonality and whatever you have on hand. I love using vegetables that keep a bit of crunch (pak choi, chinese kale, etc.). Otherwise you can use whatever you fancy.

Ingredients for two to three people:
ca. 200 gr. good beef, thinly sliced (steak cuts tend to be good for this)
1 tblsp oyster sauce
1 tblsp soy sauce
a generous pinch of sugar or palm sugar
pepper to taste
Groundnut or vegetable oil to fry
two cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
fresh chili to taste, finely chopped
1 head of broccoli, florets split if they are big, stem parts chopped to equal sized pieces
one glass of water on standby
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
a generous splash of Shaoshing rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 tsp of corn or potato starch dissolved in a little bit of cold water

1. Marinade your meat in a mixture of the oyster, soy, sugar and pepper. Leave it for at least 20 minutes.
2. Heat your wok or frying pan on high. Put in a tablespoon or two of oil and add your beef evenly. Let it sit for a minute or two to brown and then turn over. Take out of the pan and set aside.
3. Wipe out your pan if necessary. Heat it back up and add more oil if desired. Add the garlic, ginger and chili and fry until fragrant (Only a minute or so). Add the broccoli and stir fry for two minutes. Add a splash of water and cover the pan to allow the vegetables to steam for about three minutes.
4. Remove the lid and add back in the beef, the onion and the Shaoshing rice wine. After the wine has cooked off you can add more water if needed for the sauce.
5. Add the dissolved starch at the very end and it will only need a couple of moment to thicken the sauce. Check the seasonings and add more soy or pepper if necessary.
Serve with rice or noodles.

Roast Chicken; Part II aka Banh Mi Sandwich

The roast chicken dinner from my last post left me with two uneaten chicken thighs. As you know I am not a big fan of leftovers as such. I just don't want to eat something that I've already had the night before... But roasting chicken has a big draw for me for an additional reason to that erstwhile meal: Homemade chicken soup! Therefore I never through away chicken bones or carcasses. If I know I will not be able to make the soup in the following days I freeze them and get round to it later on. But that is a tale for a different time.

I took the meat off the bone of those two thighs and froze them separately since I knew I would be out of town for a couple of days. I had seen a recipe of these Vietnamese sandwiches on the foodgawker App and knew this was something I wanted to try. It sounded easy enough except for the pickled carrots. But I soon discovered that this could be made with ingredients found in every household.
This is what I did:

Pickled carrot:
1 cup of hot water
1 tablespoon of vinegar
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
2/3 of a tablespoon of sugar
1 carrot, cut into juliennes

Mix the water, vinegar, salt and sugar so the last two can dissolve. Put the mini carrot sticks into a jam jar of appropriate size, top up with the brine you've just made and put on a lid. It's that easy.
I used red wine vinegar (seriously, who keeps distilled white for anything other than cleaning purposes?), you can use whatever you have or like.

This jar should be left for three to five days.

The sandwich:
One baguette sliced in half, a little bit of mayonnaise, the leftover chicken, sliced cucumber, your pickled carrots, some slices of spring or red onion and some fresh coriander*. I won't give any quantities as it comes down to your taste and sandwich making abilities (i.e. how much can you fit in). The finished composition is fresh and satisfying. I will be eating this again for sure.

*Dear people-who-hate-coriander, don't whine, substitute! It's a recipe, not the European Convention on Human Rights. You are allowed to adapt and diverge. Use any fresh herb you fancy: Basil, parsley, chives... I would especially recommend mint.

Fresh Winter Salad

Hello everyone!

Please excuse my prolonged absence! A challenging new job and an apartment hunt in a city that is notoriously difficult does take its toll... But things are looking up, so let's get back to business!

This delicious salad I just made is a fusion of the wonderful and unanticipated combination of oranges & raw beets (with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt) and the citrus & green olive salads that seem to be quite the rage these days (check out Mark Bittmans version on the New York Times homepage).

Inspiration struck today (three oranges lying around from making orange vodka like here) and I tried this version:

(ingredients for a light dinner for two)
three oranges
one raw beet (red ones make for a stunning color combination)
a handful of green olives (de-stoned for convenience)
one small red onion
good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Start by cutting the peel off the oranges and slicing them, about half a centimeter thick. Spread them on a large enough serving platter.
2. Peel and slice the beet as finely as possible. Supposedly a little olive oil on your hands prevents them from taking on too much color...) Spread them over the oranges.
3. Chop your olives roughly. I cut mine lengthwise into slivers. Sprinkle over your oranges and beets.
4. Peel and slice your onion into half moons and spread over the platter.
5. Drizzle over your olive oil and add seasoning to taste.


The combination of the juicy fruit with the crunch, the sharpness and the saltiness is unbelievably good. I know it may be a bit late to try to get people to go for a winter salad, but if you try this one you will be looking for these ingredients long after the first local strawberries are being sold... Don't take my word for it. Try this one out for yourself!

Awful Offal?

Spring is just around the corner. It must be!
At least that's what I tell myself to keep from going crazy. I might be a little bit over-optimistic, but I already cut back all of the woody herbs and my indoor chili plant...
And then I found this little beauty underneath everything else. This will have to tide me over until warmer days arrive.


Later the same day I cooked something with the same herb. And let this be a fair warning to anyone who isn't similarly inclined. I cooked myself some lovely Fegato alla Veneziana, or in plain English Chicken Livers with Sage, Marsala and Onions...
Thank you, please come back and visit soon. (This will not be a recurring topic. I promise)




I will presume that the only people still reading are those who can also handle corresponding pictures.
First of all: I am unsure if this is the original composition of the Venetian Chicken Livers. My father dubbed this dish and the name has stuck.

Ingredients:
Fat for frying
Chicken livers
Marsala
Fresh Sage leaves
One small onion, red or white
Salt and Pepper

First of all you want to marinate the cleaned livers in a generous lashing of Marsala and add a couple of (can be roughly chopped) fresh sage leaves. Leave this standing at room temperature for 20 minutes or half an hour. In the last couple of minutes take a small onion and slice it not too finely.


Heat a frying pan to high heat and fry the livers only in a little clarified butter or oil of choice. Turn them over after a couple of minutes and cook them until they are just done. Put them aside.
In a bit more clarified butter or oil fry off the sage leaves until crispy. (These could be put aside and sprinkled over the finished dish.) In the sage infused fat, fry the sliced onions to taste. I like them to still retain a bit of crunchy texture. Add all of the Marsala used to marinate and let it reduce and cook of the alcohol. Add back the livers and cook them in the sauce for one or two minutes. Adjust the seasoning.
Serve with a couple of slices of crusty bread to soak up the sauce with.


E Guete!