Spaghetti con Barba di Frate

Yes, indeed spaghetti with monk's beard.

Last year I was asked if I would translate a cookbook from German to English. As I wasn't working full time and you all know how I feel about food the answer was pretty obvious to me. It was a wonderful experience and I was already enamored by Donatella Maranta's work, but I have come to an even higher appreciation for her cookbook Rule of Pi.

The cookbook has now been published as an ebook in English and I can't help but feel a little proud to see the (virtual) product of something I helped make.... Go have a look here. 

Two weeks ago I ventured out to the farmer's market for the first time in a very long time and came away as inspired and excited as always. I had found an ingredient that Donatella wrote of with near reverence and I was very enthousiastic to try it out. Barba di frate or monksbeard is a vegetable I would most liken to samphire or "Meeresbohne" as it is sold here.

This dish from Donatella is light, easy to make and was very well received by the friend who came for dinner.

Here is the recipe, with permission, in the words of the inventor herself:

Barba di frata – monks beard – grows on sandy ground near the ocean.

Whenever I see these green bundles I always imagine how the wind moves the plants in gentle waves and makes them glint silver in the sunlight. Salty air and the scent of algae.

One bunch will serve 4 people. Remove the reddish roots and carefully wash the barba di frate.

Fry 1 cm strips of streaky bacon until crisp and put to one side. Pluck the leaves off about three sprigs of flat leaved parsley. It shouldn’t be too much as you only want to add a hint of fragrance.

Cook your spaghetti all dente. Add the barba for the last 3 minutes of cooking time.

Keep back one cup of pasta water!

Drain the spaghetti and the barba and add them into a preheated serving bowl with a few knobs of butter and some good olive oil. Add the cooking water slowly and mix well. Sprinkle over your parsley and the bacon.

This goes well with lots of Parmesan. And if once again I have some ricotta salata I am truly in seventh heaven. 

There you go. It couldn't be easier or tastier. And if you can't find the monksbeard, do give it a try with samphire!

PS: It was so delicious I made myself the exact same thing the next evening! ;-)

 

Warming Winter lentils

Happy New Year to one and all!
I have been quite busy, as impressively demonstrated by the lack of posts.... What is it about the Christmas season that makes it go by in an absolute blurr?
Please let me give you a recomendation as to what your next dinner or appetizer for a round of drinks should be:
Do yourself a big favor and try out the first recipe on this link.

It is absolutely delicious and will make you feel quite virtuous too. It's vegetarian and kind of healthy to boot... I don't think I can add anything to this already glowing review, so please give it a try and let me know what you think.
One adjustment I would consider: My puy lentils weren't quite cooked through after 20 minutes, so give them a try before taking them out of the water...

Winter slaw

This rather random assortment of veggies and a fruit have become a real staple for me in the last month or so. The ingredients are very cheap, they can be stored well and the result is absolutely delicious.

Give it a try.

2 decent servings:
1/4 red or white cabbag, remove the stalk
1 medium to large carrot
1 apple (I like Braeburns for crunch and tartness)

dressing:
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 teaspoons oil of choice
1-2 teaspoons greek yogurt
Fresh herbs, finely chopped (I recommend mint, basil or parsley)
A big squeeze of your favourite hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice your cabbage finely and julienne the carrot and apple on a mandolin or in a food processor. (So it by hand if you feel like a work out. ;-))
2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and add it to your salad. Make sure everything is evenly coated. Serve and enjoy the crunchy, tangy freshness during the colder seasons.

Mackerel and Samphire

Switzerland is just coming off a major heatwave. 30+ temperatures for days on end really gets to you. So I was really pleased to find these two ingredients wandering around the largest Coop in town. they made for a light and refreshing meal.

I have only had samphire once before. I visited my sister and her in-laws in England a month ago and this gnarly sea vegetable was quite the revelation. Funnily enough they are selling it under the name "Meerbohne" (sea bean) in Switzerland.

Mackerel is a fish you don't come across too often in a landlocked country in Europe. But I read about it often in my English cookbooks and it's always praised as a really healthy oily fish. Add to that I would really like to build up my confidence in preparing fish of all kinds so when I saw the lonely last mackerel on the fish counter I decided to take it home... :-)

This meal was really easy and quick to prepare and since I only needed a frying pan the clean up was minimal too.

Ingredients:
One mackerel
Salt
Pepper
A small sprig of rosemary, leaves picked
One small garlic clove, crushed in its skin
Butter
Samphire (I had ca. 150 g)

1. Start by rinsing your fish quickly under cold running water and making sure it's clean inside (yes, that happened). Pat it dry with a paper towel, then take a sharp knife and make deep cuts, ca. 1 cm apart on both sides right down to the bone. This will help any flavorings you use penetrate the flesh and also make the fish cook more quickly. I then sprinkled both sides liberally with salt and pepper (and some lemon zest, but don't think this element was worth it in the end result). Rinse your samphire under cold running water in a sieve and let it drain well.
2. Heat your frying pan to medium high heat and add a small amount of vegetable oil. Place your fish in the hot pan and then LEAVE IT ALONE. Fish does not like to be hassled. After about three to four minutes you can check to see if the underside has gone brown and crispy. If so, turn it over carefully with a fish slice or spatula. Add the rosemary and garlic to the pan for a bit of aroma, give the pan a shake and leave it to finish cooking. Transfer it to you plate after another three minutes or so.
3. Reheat the same pan (you could wipe it clean with a paper towel, but don't have to) and let a nice knob of butter melt. Then add your drained samphire. Gently toss or stir it and let it warm through. It should be ready in about three minutes. Only add some pepper. No salt as it is very salty in itself and no lemon juice, as acidity will make it loose its brilliant color.
Enjoy.

Next time I will try flavoring the mackerel by rubbing it with either five spice or garam masala.

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!

Vietnamese fried mincemeat

This is a dish I had in a Vietnamese restaurant on an early summer evening. We analyzed its components over dinner and decided it must be quite easy to replicate.
I tried it at home recently and was so pleased with the result, I ate variations of it for the remainder of the week. It is a perfect template recipe in the sense that lots of the ingredients can be substituted for similar things you might have on hand. No rigid list of ingredients so to speak.
If you plan on serving it with rice, make it a bit saucier by adding stock or a splash of rice wine that you let cook off a bit. I liked it with just the protein and the veggies, kind of like a warm, rich salad.

Ingredients:
Minced meat of choice (mine was half pork and beef), ca. 100 gr. per person
Splash of oil (optional)
One garlic clove
Chili to taste
A piece of ginger, the size of your thumb
    all minced
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
    to taste
Chopped veggies (Chinese broccoli, asparagus, pak choi, broccoli are all good options. Maybe add the leafy part after frying off the stem bits.)
Fresh herbs (spring onions, mint, coriander, chive, parsley...?

1. Heat up your frying pan to medium high heat. Add the oil and fry off the meat until evenly dark brown. Stirring every now and then helps.
2. Add the chili, garlic and ginger and fry until nicely fragrant and evenly distributed.
3. Add your veggies and fry off for a couple of minutes. If it is quite a hardy vegetable add a splash of water and cover your pan for 2-3 minutes so they can steam through.
4. Take off the lid, season with soy and fish sauce and add your fresh herbs just before serving. The spring onion is especially nice.

Spiced meatballs with Tahini sauce

Yotam Ottolenghi meets Gordon Ramsay.... At least in the culinary sphere.
I still had a lot of the meatballs from this post lounging in my freezer. It would seem that I am just not a big enough fan of spaghetti with meatballs to use them up in a decent time span. But low and behold I have found a use that has made my stash disappear practically over night!  I spiced up my very decent but standard meatballs before frying with a spice mixture adapted from this recipe.
Meatballs

A big pinch each of allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, all ground

A little oil to fry

A couple of sprigs of flat leaved parsley, roughly chopped

2 tblsp tahini

One tablespoon lemon juice
a little bit of crushed garlic (optional)

Salt 

A couple of teaspoons water
Sweet paprika

1. Let your meatballs thaw, if frozen. Sprinkle them evenly with the spices and fry in a hot pan with a little oil.
2. While they are frying stir together your tahini sauce. Add enough water in the end to make the tahini mixture usable as dip and adorn with a dash of parpika to brighten it up.
3. Sprinkle the fresh parsley over your meatballs, plate them up with your sauce and serve with toothpicks for dipping.