Herb and Barley Broth

Herb and Barley Broth

Just one more barley soup before winter turns into spring. :)

Herb and Barley Broth

Adapted from the kitchen diaries by Nigel Slater

Ingredients:

2-3 Tbsp goose fat
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, cut into rough chunks
2 leeks, cut into rough chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
100 g pearl barley
chicken or vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 waxy potatoes, cut into rough chunks

Method:

In a soup pot, melt the duck fat and fry the onions on medium-low heat until translucent. Add the carrots and leek and fry for some minutes more. Add the garlic, barley and enough sock or water to cover. Bring to the boil, add the herbs and potatoes and simmer until the potatoes and barley are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Oven-baked Lemon-Potatoes

Oven-baked Lemon-Potatoes

At IHCC we're encouraged to eat more citrus this week, so I went for this easy and very tasty potato dish.


Oven-baked Lemon-Potatoes

Adapted from Griechenland in meiner Küche / Food from many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros

Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes, peeled
juice of 1 lemon
6 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 heaped tsp dried oregano

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the potatoes into about 1/4-inch slices. Put the slices into an oven-proof casserole and drizzle with the oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano. Add 500 ml water to the casserole without washing the spices off the potatoes. Put into the oven for about 90 minutes until very tender and nicely browned.

Wild Rice with Sweet Potato Croutons

Wild Rice with Sweet Potato Croutons

Wild rice is one more thing on my must-try list. Even though I cooked it for 10 minutes longer as directed in the recipe, it didn't turn all that tender. But it's still good eating if crunchy food is your kind of thing. ;)

Wild Rice with Sweet Potato Croutons

Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swansson

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
3/4 tsp curry powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red onion, diced
1 cup wild rice
1 sweet potato, cut into 1/4-inch dice
salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp shoyu
1 can coconut milk

Method:

In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of butter, add the curry powder, garlic and onion and fry on medium-low heat until the onion starts to soften. Add the wild rice and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the rice becomes tender, about 40 minutes.

Heat the remaining butter in a frying pan, add the sweet potato and a pinch of salt and fry on medium heat until the sweet potato turns crispy. Stir frequently to fry on all sides. Transfer to a paper towel and set aside.

Add the turmeric, sugar, shoyu and coconut milk to the rice. Bring back to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve th wild rice with some croutons on top.

Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny

I made this dish on New Year's Eve because it features in the sketch "Dinner for One" by Freddie Frinton and May Warden, which is traditionally put onto heavy rotation in German television on that day.

The actual dish is a lot more soupy than in the picture above, but I didn't want to drown all the colourful ingredients in coconut milk.

Mulligatawny

Adapted from Indien - Küche und Kultur by Tanja Dusy and Ronald Schenkel

Ingredients:

300 g chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 onions,diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
knob of ginger, grated
2 carrots, diced
400 g (1 can) diced tomatoes
3 Tbsp butter or ghee
1/2 tsp each of chile, turmeric, ground coriander seeds and garam masala
600 ml chicken or vegetable stock
100 ml coconut cream
salt, black pepper


Method:

Heat the butter and fry the onions and carrots on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken, garlic, ginger and all the spices and fry for 30 seconds. Add the stock and let simmer for 45 minutes with a lid on. Stir in the coconut cream, cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on rice.

Pasta with Carrots and Feta

Pasta with Carrots and Feta

An easy pasta dish for the time of year when no fresh tomatoes are around.

Pasta with Carrots and Feta

Adapted from Annemarie Wildeisen's kochen 12/2011-01/2012

Ingredients:

500 g carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
olive oil
200 ml white wine
200 ml vegetable stock
salt, black pepper
500 g pasta
150 g feta, diced

Method:

Heat some oil in a skillet, add the onion and carrots and fry on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes. Add the thyme and white wine and let the alcohol cook off. Add the stock and simmer with a lid on until the carrots are tender. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with the sauce. Serve with some feta on top.

Bear's Paw Tofu

Bear's Paw Tofu

The crisp tofu looks like the skin on bear paws which are no longer (legally) eaten in Asia, which makes this dish one of the rare occasions were, in my book, tofu should be considered a meat substitue instead of a food in it's own right.

Bear's Paw Tofu

Adapted from Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop


Ingredients:

200 g tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice
peanut oil
2 Tbsp chile bean paste
3 cloves garlic, sliced
knob of ginger, sliced
bunch of scallions, diagonally sliced
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce

Method:

Heat some oil in a skillet and add the tofu dice in a single layer. Turn the heat to medium-low and fry until the tofu turns crispy on the surface. (This takes a couple of minutes. Fry until the tofu turns loose easily. Don't stir the tofu too early or the dice will break apart.) Turn the tofu and continue to fry until it is nicely browned on all sides. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
Add some more oil to the skillet. Add the bean paste and fry until fragrant. Add the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant. Add the stock and tofu and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for a couple of minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in the sugar and soy sauce. Add the scallions and cook for some minutes more. Serve on rice.

Pasta with Peppers

Pasta with Peppers

Pointy bell peppers can sometimes be difficult to get, but if you are lucky you should try them in this pasta dish.

Pasta with Peppers

Adapted from Die frische Küche by Andrea Karrer

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
100 g smoked pork belly, diced
3 Tbsp butter
4 pointy bell peppers, deseeded and sliced
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
250 g dried pasta
1 tsp paprika (sweet)
1 tsp paprika (hot)
freshly ground parmesan or gruyère

Method:

Melt the butter in a skillet and fry the pork belly until nicely browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. Fry the onion and peppers in the remaining butter and pork drippings on low heat for about 8 minutes. Add the cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with the peppers. Sprinkle on the paprikas and mix well. Serve with some grated cheese on top.