Recipe XCIV - Carlsbad Dumplings

Who finds it strange that I'm publishing two non-meat recipes in a row? I certainly do. But this week's recipe is as good as having meat or potatoes, and is incredibly tasty, easy to make and is perfect with a nice creamy sauce, whether made of wine, mushrooms, or like I did, fennel and honey with a nice piece of duck breast. The Czechs call this recipe Karlovarský knedlík.

Ingredients:
10 slightly stale white bread rolls (the Czechs use a roll called a rohlík, but half a crusty white loaf will do nicely)
4 eggs
250ml-300ml milk
3 slices of butter
A sprig of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Equipment:
A large round bowl with a handle
A potato masher
Some clingfilm
A chopping board

Instructions:
Put the chopped up bread, including crusts, into a bowl. Put a generous helping of salt on it. Then add the eggs, milk, parsley, butter and pepper.



Get your potato masher and give it a thorough stamping until the mixture is consistent; it should not fall out of the bowl when turned upside-down.



Cut off some clingfilm and spread it over a chopping block. Then scoop the dumpling mix onto it, making sure it's long enough for everything to fit in.



Wrap the clingfilm round the dumpling mix, removing all the air and twist the ends until it forms a thick, sausage-like shape. You might feel more comfortable wrapping two lots of clingfilm round it, so any gaps will be in different places. That's what I did. Steam it for a good half an hour.



Remove the clingfilm and put it on a flat surface. Slice it up into 1.5cm-thick slices and arrange it nicely on the plate.



I made duck breast with fennel and honey sauce to accompany the dumplings, but rabbit, beef, pork or venison would go nicely too.



If you want to play around with the ingredients, I'd recommend sage and onion, or dried apricots and hazelnuts instead. Seasonal ingredients are always fresher and tastier, but go with your instinct as there are so many combinations. However, the Carlsbad version is pretty special.

Recipe XCIII - Carrot and Ginger Purée

This week, we're doing something nice and simple to go with your average meal. I have never seen the reason why people seem to boil the living daylights out of vegetables and serve them as they are, except hot, soggy and bland, especially for kids. You can steam them, fry them, roast them, pickle them, eat them raw or even barbecue them. But if you are going to boil them, at least make them interesting... This one is so simple, yet is really delicious, and the ingredients you wish to use are flexible. The timing is the most important.

Ingredients:
10 medium-sized carrots, or 6 large ones
A teaspoonful of ginger
A teaspoonful of sugar
Some garlic (optional)
Some onions (optional)
A spoonful of butter
10cl cream (optional)
Some Savoy cabbage (optional)
Some new potatoes (optional)
Some chives, chopped (optional)
Some meat - pork cutlets, for example



Instructions:
Cut up your carrots and place them in some lightly-salted water, putting the new potatoes on top to steam and not forgetting to put the lid on.

All this time, you can be gently frying the meat and the Savoy cabbage (See recipe LXXXV). If you just want simple savoy cabbage, fry it in a little butter and olive oil, then once sweated add about 1.5 centimetres of hot water. Salt it and let it reduce on a medium-low heat.



Once the carrots are properly boiled (25 minutes should do it), place them in a mixer. At this point you can quickly sweat an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and put them in, but it is not essential. Add some sugar, some butter, some ground pepper and powdered ginger. Some chives are also welcome.



Blend them well, and add some cream if you prefer it that way.



While they are still hot, put some butter on the potatoes and the chives.



Serve as soon as possible before everything gets too cool.

Recipe XCII - Beef Rendang

I have a list of things I wish to do before I die. Some are probable, some definitely possible, but some are unfortunately both improbable and one is impossible, and quite frankly unspeakable and highly illegal, but such is the nature of our innermost thoughts. However, one of the things on my list is to taste all the great curries of the world, including a Thai green curry, a British tikka masala, a Jamaican goat curry, a Japanese chicken curry, a Lao curry with dill and a Malaysian rendang. But I mean I'd like to be there when I eat it. But that may take a little time and planning. I could always fly them in, but I'm sure there's only one thing better than being there eating it, and that's having it put in front of you on a plate. (Incidentally, did you know the British introduced curry to Japan?)

Anyhow, I decided to go shopping to the Asian shops in town and pick up the ingredients for a rendang and make my own version of it. It's basically everything traditionally in it, except I was unable to find the kaffir lime. But I'll add it to the list of ingredients. It was utterly worth the hard work making it, and I'd do it again tomorrow - my kitchen, indeed the street, smelled divine for most of the afternoon.

Ingredients:
600g-750g diced beef, but that's for MUCH later.

Ingredients for the paste:
80g grated fresh coconut, but the packet version will suffice if you have no access to a fresh one
1 tsp of turmeric powder
6 hot red chilis, seeded and roughly chopped (I used half a sweet pepper because they had run out of small ones)
2 tbsp coriander seeds, or the same in powder (the crushed seeds are so much better in terms of flavour though)
1 tsp of cumin seeds, or the same in powder (the same applies here too)
5 shallots or small onions, chopped enough for the mixer
50g peeled ginger, sliced up for the mixer
30g garlic, chopped for the mixer



Instructions for the paste:
Put the coconut into a large, heavy pan and roast for a couple of minutes, continually stirring, until the coconuts turn a golden-brown. Pulverise the coriander seeds and cumin in a pestle and mortar for a long time, or if you have a spice grinder, put it through that.



Put all the above ingredients, including the coconut, into a mixer and give it a really good pulping. The mixture should end up looking something like this:



Put it to one side. You are now ready to prepare the rest.

Ingredients for the rest:
About 200ml tamarind paste + water (2 parts paste, 3 parts hot water)
4 thick pieces of lemon grass - break it with a rolling pin before you put it in
2 sticks of cinnamon - break in half to release the flavour
2 cans of coconut milk
3 spoons of brown sugar
10-12 kaffir lime leaves, chopped or broken up
and the beef, of course
Feel free to add a few vegetables. I didn't, but there's nothing stopping you.



Instructions:
Take your heavy pan and put some coconut oil or vegetable oil in it. When hot, add the beef and seal.
Then put in the paste, cinnamon, lime, coconut milk and lemon grass. Once stirred in and settled, turn the heat right down to simmering level, add the tamarind paste and let it reduce for up to two hours. One and a half hours should be more than adequate. Stir very frequently.



After 90 minutes, it should have reduced.



Serve with some aromatic rice.



I think this was probably the best thing I have ever cooked, although nothing beats the real thing - one day I will get there!

Recipe XCI - Pork Schnitzel

So normally, Wiener Schnitzel is made with veal meat and is deep fried. As you know, I never follow recipes to the letter - why would I? You can find a thousand of the same on the Net. This is a variation, and I must say, I find it somewhat more flavoursome than the original, because it has a few extras in it...


Equipment required:
A meat tenderiser (a hammer with a serrated surface)

Ingredients:
600g sliced pork, about 15mm thick and 10-15cm long
Some flour and a decent amount of ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten and in a wide bowl
Some breadcrumbs, with a lot of finely chopped dried herbs (thyme, oregano, or whatever you want)
Goose fat or butter for frying

Arrange them as below, then you will always follow the correct order.



Instructions:
Take your pork and put it onto a flat surface, preferably not ceramic or glass, for what you are about to do next. Take the meat tenderiser and give your pork a good bashing so that it becomes very thin and twice the surface of its original state. Sprinkle salt over it then roll it in the flour and pepper, and set aside whilst you prepare your vegetables.



Once you are ready to proceed with cooking, dip the meat into the eggs, making sure it is totally covered. You'll be better doing it by hand than with a fork.



Put some oil into a large, flat non-stick pan. I used goose fat because it crisps up the outside very nicely, and fry on a medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes each on both sides. Turn it now and again, but leaving it to its own devices for a few minutes will let it crisp up. I also made some sautéed potatoes and Savoy cabbage.



Austrians also have lemon to add flavour to the breadcrumbs, but if you just add a few herbs to the mixture, you won't need the lemon. Mayonnaise was also welcome!

Recipe XC - Spicy Turkey Fillet Hotpot

It's still really cold here, which means more winter recipes. However this was a tremendously rewarding one, because the smell in the house is utterly divine. It is a little bit of an effort in the beginning but the main part is in a casserole dish, and for that you need absolutely nothing except a hot oven.



Equipment:
1 large sealable casserole

Ingredients:
750g-1200g turkey breast/fillet (chicken does just as well, but the pieces will remain whole or simply be halved.

Vegetables, your choice:
3 carrots, chopped
6 small or medium potatoes, cut into slices
1 red pepper, cut into strips
4-6 small onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves of garlic, sliced in two
Savoy cabbage, finely chopped into strips
1 courgette, sliced
Anything else that takes your fancy.

Spices, your choice:
1 small bowl, mix up some of the following to your own specifications:
cardamom, coriander, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, plus some garam massala, or mild Madras.

Maximum 1.5 litres of hot, salted water

Optional:
Some coconut milk, almonds, sultanas, apples and grapes

Instructions:
Turn the oven on to 170°C. Take your turkey breast and slice it into differently-sized pieces and rub a little salt into them. Take your bowl of mixed spices and spread liberally over the pieces, saving about a third for later.



Fry them in butter or oil for five to ten minutes until sealed and place them in the casserole.
Take your onions, garlic, peppers and carrots, and give them a short period in the pan to sweat. Pour over half of the remainder of the spices and add more oil to stop the ingredients scorching. Then put this into the casserole. Add the cabbage and do the same. Mix up the vegetables making sure your meat remains at the bottom and the top is flat enough for the potato level. At this point you can place any fruit (dried or fresh) and nuts.



Finally, place your potatoes on the top to cover it all. Pour over the remainder of your spices, or add a little more to the top, to give it a brownish hue. Fill the casserole with the salted water up to the level of the potatoes but no higher, and cover it. You can add the coconut milk at this point, but it really isn't necessary as the whole thing will remain quite moist with the lid on.



Place it in the oven for between 90 minutes and 2 hours. This will give everything enough time for the flavours to run. When you remove it from the oven, leave it for a few minutes before serving.



It would go well with a nice sweet white wine.

Recipe LXXXIX - Puff Pastry Pies

I took a little break last week to go away for some well-needed recuperation and socialisation, so I have prepared a double-header for you this week. When talking about puff pastry, there are two ways to do it - you can either spend ages and ages rolling the stuff out until it's perfect, or you can just buy a couple of rolls from the supermarket and spend more time on the contents. Guess what I chose...

STEAK PIE
 
Ingredients
min. 450g puff pastry
450g-550g chopped beef or lamb
250ml-350ml beef stock
Carrots, roughly chopped
Mushrooms, whole, halved or quartered
Shallots, whole or halved
Cloves of garlic, sliced
Apples, in chunks
Plain flour
Thyme
Pepper & salt
Butter for frying and for greasing the pie dish
A little water for closing the pastry
1 egg for glazing the top



Instructions
Roll your meat in a bowl containing flour, salt and pepper, then put it in a high-sided pan to fry gently in the butter.



After some time, add the vegetables and continue frying for a while until it is all nice and coated in the oil of the pan. Add the thyme and garlic for a couple of minutes before you pour in the beef stock. Allow it to simmer for a good hour on a medium-low heat.



Take the meat off the cooker and allow it to cool. Grease the inside of a decent-sized pie dish. With a roll of your puff pastry, line the inside of the pie dish. Pour the meat into the middle of the pastry-lined pie dish and splash the outside with some water to help the top close properly. Take another roll and place it over the top to make a "roof". With some of the remaining pastry, make some vague decorative shapes and don't forget to pierce the pastry top a few times to let the heat escape. Glaze it with an egg and a brush.



Put it in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the pastry rises and goes nice and brown.




MINI APPLE PIES

Ingredients:
2 apples
Cinnamon
Brown sugar
Sultanas
1-2 cloves
A small glass of water
The rest of the egg for glazing the pastry
(a spoonful of honey - optional)
(brandy, schnapps or port wine - optional)

Instructions:
Cut up the apples and roll them in cinnamon, then put them in some water. Add some more cinnamon, followed by a clove and some sugar. Heat it up gently until it is near boiling point, then simmer it for a good half an hour, or even more. Taste it to see if it needs anything added - more sugar, or maybe a little alcohol. Let it cool down for a while.



Line some tart moulds with the remaining pastry and blind bake them for a few minutes. I didn't, as I like stodgy pastry. Put the filling into the moulds and arrange the remaining pieces of pastry on top. Glaze it with the remaining egg and sprinkle some white sugar on the top to give it some sweetness.



Bake it in the oven for 13 to 18 minutes, or until the pastry turns golden brown.

Recipe LXXXVIII - Apple and Cinnamon Sponge Cake

This is one of the easiest and least time-consuming recipes you can find. It is perfect as an offering at a party, to sell at a village fête, or like I did, take to a celebratory end-of-semester lesson. It is very tasty, and the measurements are so easy to remember that you'll never be able to forget it.

Ingredients:
180-200g fine sugar
180-200g softened butter
180-200g self-raising flour
2 eggs
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 braeburn apple, roughly chopped

Equipment:
1 baking tin with removable base (see far left in the photo)
1 electric mixer
1 set of scales
1 large bowl



Instructions:
Turn on the oven to 180°C. Cut up your butter and put it into a bowl, then put the sugar in and mix it up. Crack the eggs, and give it a go with the mixer.



Add the flour, and carry on mixing it. It will quite quickly turn into a cement-like consistency. Then add the pieces of apple, and mix them nicely in so they are in all parts of the mixture.



Take your cake mould and grease the inside, then pour in the mix, and spread it out to make a roughly flat surface.



Put it into the oven for between 30 and 45 minutes. You will know when it is ready because a knife inserted into the top will come out clean.



Don't peel the apple - the outer layer gives the cake a tangy flavour. Serve with whipped cream and a cup of tea.