Cuisine: Vegetarian

Spaghetti Trapanese „Office style“

Spaghetti alla Trapanese

We do a lot of cooking in my office. We are a group of maybe 6–7 people, who enjoy eating together and therefore we rotate with the cooking. Today I decided to create an office version of the classic dish „pasta alla trapanese“. We are not really well equipped in our office kitchen (at least we have one … I guess that is luxury), so if you cook this at home you could use a food processor to do most of the chopping :-)

Ingredients

  • 100g almonds, roasted
  • 100g sundried tomatoes (dry or oil packed, use whatever you have)
  • 1–2 cloves garlic
  • 500g tomatoes (again: any kind you have)
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil
  • salt, chili powder & pepper to taste
  • 2 good handful basil
  • 700–800g spaghetti (whole wheat, spelt, whatever you like, and depending on how much you eat)
  • parmesan (for the non-vegans)

IMG_4586First put the almonds and the garlic in a pan without oil to roast them. Because I don’t like raw garlic very much, I roast it together with the almonds. If you are fond of raw garlic, skip that part and use it without roasting.
Move the pan from time to time, that the almonds catch colour on all sides and don’t get burnt.
Put the pot for the spaghetti on the stove and heat the water.
Chop the tomatoes into 1/2 cm chunks, the sundried ones can be a bit smaller.

Put in a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper.
Roughly chop the Basil or rip it into small pieces, add to the tomatoes.
Now it’s time to cook your pasta according to packet instructions. Today I used whole wheat spaghetti, which is not always a favourite, but I thought the strong flavours of the pesto can compete with the pasta.

IMG_4588As soon as the almonds are nicely browned, put them in a food processor or (like I did) in a deep jug and whiz with an immersion blender. This wasn’t so easy, but after a while I managed to have small almond crumbs. You don’t want big chunks, but you also don’t want almond meal, so try to get a texture in between, like coarse breadcrumbs.
Now mix all the ingredients for the pesto together, add about 4 Tbsp olive oil, and season with salt, petter and chili powder to taste.
Your pasta should be done by now. Drain, reserving a cup of cooking water, and toss with the pesto.
Add some of the cooking liquid, if you think the pesto needs some more. Also add more oil if you like.
And if you aren’t a vegan, put some parmesan on top.

Spaghetti alla Trapanese

Balsamico-lentils with sweet potatoes

Balsamico-Linsen-Salat

This is a classic dish in my family. My mother made this salad with regular potatoes. I like the combination of crispy potatoes with  lentils and spring onions, and therefore I cook it often. Today I tried sweet potatoes, which ist nice, but if you only have „regular“ ones, use them, it’s delicious anyway.

This salad feeds 2–3 hungry persons or makes a nice starter for 6.

Ingredients

  • 500g puy or beluga lentils
  • 1 big or 2 medium sweet potatoes oder potatoes
  • 1 shallot
  • 4 spring onions
  • 2 Tbsp oil for frying
  • 8 Tbsp balsamico
  • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 10 Tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 good handful parsley

First of all put the lentils on the stove. Boil them according to packet instructions in a large amount of water, do not salt the water.
As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat to a minimum and let the lentils simmer. Check on them after 20 min to see if they are done, don’t overcook them, because they’ll get mushy and taste watery. The lentils are perfect if they still have a bit of a bite. (Ok, here I am struggling with my english …)

Peel the potatoes and cut them in cubes of approx. 1 cm. Fry them in 1–2 Tbsp oil, tossing occasionally to brown on all sides.

IMG_4447Chop the shallot and parsley finely and put them in a big bowl.
Halve the spring onions and cut them in 3 cm pieces.
As soon as the lentils are done, drain them well and put them in the bowl with the parsley and the shallot, season to taste with salt and pepper, mix with the wine vinegar, 6–7 Tbsp Balsamico and about 8 Tbsp olive Oil. If you like more balsamico or olive oil, add some more.
When the potatoes are crispy put them also in the bowl.
Fry the spring onions gently in a little oil and finish with 1–2 Tbsp balsamico. Drape nicely on the salad and tuck in.

Hmmm.

 

 

Balsamico-Linsen-Salat

crumble cake (Streuselkuchen)

Streuselkuchen

IMG_4259Whenever I harvest loads of fruit, I bake lots of cakes, muffins, tartes, etc, the delicious fruit has to be made into even more delicious pastries.
Today it’s time for my all-time favourit: Streuselkuchen (again I don’t really know how to translate the name …).
I bake this cake for a very long time, you can use almost every fruit you want, e.g. plums, apple, but it is also very nice without any fruit.

Recently I started to veganize the cake using margarine instead of butter and egg replacer instead of the eggs, and the milk can be replaced with any kind of diary free milk, I used almond and oat. Turned out very well, so feel free to make whatever version you want.

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 200 g butter/margarine
  • 200 g cane sugar
  • 250 g all purpose flour
  • 100 g starch (corn or potato)
  • 4 eggs/egg replacer
  • 1 sachet vanilla sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ca. 1/4 l milk (diary or non-diary)
  • ca. 500 g fruit of choice
  • from here: ingredients for the crumble
  • 250 g butter/margarine, melt
  • 1 sachet vanilla sugar
  • 200 g cane sugar
  • 400 g all purpose flour
  • 1/2  tsp salt
  • 1/2-1 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 190°C.
For the cake batter, beat the eggs, sugar and butter until light and creamy.
It’s always best if all ingredients are at room temperature.
Now mix in the remaining ingredients, except the milk, you want to have a smooth batter.
Add the milk until the batter ist gooey.
Prepare a baking tray (approx. 45 x 30 cm), I usually grease it well, but I guess you can also use a sheet of baking parchment.
Spread the batter on the tray and scatter the washed and drained fruit evenly on the batter.

For the crumble, mix all ingredients together until they form a crumbly mass. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the tray an pop into the oven.
Bake for approx. 45 min at 190°C. If your oven distributes the heat unevenly, you might want to rotate the tray after 25 min.
As soon as a wooden skewer comes out clean, the cake is ready.

Streuselkuchen

Katy’s red fruit jelly (Rote Grütze)

red fruit jelly

ObstausbeuteBeing able to have a garden is a great thing, but it brings also the necessity to use all the produce, as soon as it’s ripened.
Most things that are growing purposely in my garden are edible. Makes it easier for me to take care of them :-)

Today I picked for the first time a very big bowl red and black currants, and also some strawberries (better: what the slugs and wood louses left for me, they are so fast when it comes to eating strawberries …) And the bushes are still loaded.

So one thing was clear: today we will eat red fruit jelly!
Well, actually it’s Rote Grütze, and I am not really sure if fruit jelly translates it well, but I didn’t find another translation.

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1,5kg mixed berries (e.g. red & black currants, strawberries, cherries, raspberries)
  • 300g sugar
  • 500ml water
  • 150g tapioka pearls (the small ones)

Topf mit ObstWash and drain the fruit and halve or quarter the larger pieces, to make sure that everything ist about the same size.
Bring the berries together with the sugar and the water to a boil in a heavy bottomed pot and cook for 3 minutes. Now strain the berries through a fine sieve and put the juice back on the stove. As soon as the juice cooks again, whisk the tapioca pearls into the liquid and reduce the heat to the absolute minimum. Let simmer for about 30 min, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Be careful, that the tapioca doesn’t stick on the bottom of the pot, that happens very easily.
The tapioca is done as soon as it is completely clear and no white center can be seen in the pearls. Maybe it will need longer than 30 minutes.

As soon as the pearls are clear, add the berries to the pot and give it a stir.
Now you only have to bring it to the boil one final time and your fruit jelly is finished.
Pour in one big bowl or divide between small ones. Let cool to room temperature and put it in the refrigerator until set.
You can enjoy it in the classic (german) way with vanilla sauce or with plain yoghurt.

 

Rote Grütze

japanese inspired noodle bowl

Japanisch inspirierte Nudelschale

Japanisch inspirierte NudelschaleThis is real comfort food. You can throw it together in no time, you can use whatever in your fridge looks like growing a pair of legs in a short while and tastes unbelievably good.

Usually I end up cooking these noodles on rainy sunday afternoons, when the main goal is to cuddle up on the couch and watch some episodes of my current favorite series.

I start with the sesame-peanut-sauce. In this recipe I use the US cup measurement, but don’t worry if you don’t have cups, I also added the quantities in ml.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients sesame-peanut-sauce

  • 3 Tbsp tahin
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 3/4 Tbsp fresh ginger (size of a thumb)
  • 1 1/2 tsp chili paste
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 Tbsp peanut butter or roasted peanuts
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cups hot water (60-120ml)
  • 2 spring onions, cut in rings (optional)

Put everything in a small food processor or blender, except for the water, and whiz until it forms a coarse paste. Now start with adding 1/4 cup of water, whiz again. If you think it’s still to thick, add more water. You want a creamy, but not to runny sauce.

Now it’s time to start with the noodles and vegetables.

You can use alsmost anything you like. I usually choose, what needs to be eaten fast, before turning bad. You can cook it with any kinds of green beans, like Edamame, sugar snaps, runner beans and also peas. But also Sweet potato, celerie and mushrooms. For the protein you can substitute the tofu with seitan or tempeh or leave it completely. You see, it’s very versatile this recipe, and you can always use less different vegetables. Just check your fridge and use what’s there.

Ingredients vegetables & noodles

  • 200-250g japanese somen noodles (you can use any kind of asian noodles)
  • 1 green or red pepper, cut into 1 cm pieces
  • 1 small carrot, julienned
  • 6 mini-corn cobs, cut in ca. 1 cm pieces
  • 5 medium button mushrooms, cut in 6 wedges
  • 1 cup china oder white cabbage, cut in 1 cm
  • 1 cup fried tofu, in 1 cm pieces if using a big block, or those  little fried pieces
  • 1/2 cup ponzu-sauce (120ml) (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil, roasted
  • 1 Tbsp neutral oil, for example peanut oil
  • 1–2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1–2 spring onions, green and white parts cut in small rings

IMG_4136

Roast the sesame in a thick-bottomed pan without oil on small to medium heat until the seeds start to pop. Put aside until you need it.

Now I usually heat a big pot of water, to cook the noodles in, but before that, I cook the tofu in it for 1–2 min, to get rid of the oily film on the surface.
You don’t need to do that. Now cut the tofu in 1 cm blocks if you have those little fried tofu pieces. Mariante the tofu in the ponzu sauce until everything else is ready to use. I keep the cooking water to cook the noodles in it.

Fry the vegetables in 1–2 Tbsp oil according to the time they need to soften. Start with the carrots, after 2 min, add the baby corn and the pepper. Now remove the tofu from the ponzu sauce, keeping the sauce, and add the tofu together with the mushrooms.
Depending on the noodles you use, you want to cook them now. Of course according to packet instructions. When done, rinse with cold water, to get rid of all the starch.
To finish everything, add the cabbage and the ponzu sauce, mix everything and let the cabbage wilt a little bit.
Now everything ist ready. I usually add the noodles, and mix them with the vegetables, before dividing between to big bowls. Spoon the sesame peanut sauce on top, sprinkle the toasted sesame and the spring onions over everything. That’s it.

Japanisch inspirierte Nudelschale

quick antipasti dinner

Antipasti

This is a weekday standard.
I am often very hungry, when I come home from work, but to lazy to prepare dinner.
That is the moment when I start opening a few cans of beans and squash them to a nice purée, add sundried or fresh tomatoes, olives, little bit of cheese. The amount is easily scalable to fit your appetite.

This is what I had today:

Ingredients

  • 2 cans borlotti beans (pinto beans), drained
  • 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped coarsely
  • 1 good handful cherry-tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • 2 Tbsp basil leaves, chopped or torn into pieces
  • 1 small handful black olives, with stones
  • 1 small handfull Scamorzetti (little smoked cheeseballs)
  • 1 Tbsp pickled Chilies
  • lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, salt
  • good balsamico to drizzle

Start with draining and rinsing the beans. Heat in a little saucepan a good lug of olive oil and warm the beans through. You can already start with mashing the beans with a fork. No need to do it too thoroughly, it’s nice if the texture remins chunky.
Season with lemon juice, olive oil (loads), pepper and salt. Add the chopped parsely and give it a final stir.

Now you only have to drape everything nicely on a big plate.
First spoon the beans to form a pile, group the other ingredients around it. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, top with a little bit of basil. Finish with a drizzle if good balsamico (or crema di balsamico).
Already done.
Antipasti

Chickpea Rucola salad

The perfect match for a nice summer day – like today – is a fresh and tasty salad.
Todays choice is a salad with chickpeas. I wanted to make one for so long, so today is the day :-)
The result is inspired by a bean salad recipe from the LEON cookbook.

RucolaSince I planted two rucola plants in my garden two years ago, there is always enough. Now I have rucola growing in almost every corner of the herb garden.

The ingredients are plain and the salad is thrown together in no time. It is just important to let it sit for a few moments, so the flavours can develop.

Kichererbsen_Rucola_Salat
That’s what the finished salad looks like.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 shallot or small red onion
  • 4 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1–2 15 oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 handful of rucola
  • 1 handful cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • 8 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tsp lemon zest
  • 2 Tbsp parsley, minced coarsely
  • sea salt, fresh black pepper

Zwiebeln marinieren in Zitronensaft Kichererbsen und Tomaten

First of all, cut fine dices of the onion/shallot and put these with the lemon juice in a bowl.
Marinating the onion makes it sweeter.

In the meantime prepare all the other ingredients, meaning cutting the tomatoes in half, drain and rinse the chickpeas, etc …

Finished with all the preparations, put the tomatoes and the chickpeas in the bowl together with the onion. Add pepper and salt to taste and mix well. Let it stand for 5–10 minutes so the flavours can meld.

Now add all the other ingredients, check seasoning, grate ssome lemon zest on top and tuck in.