Friday, December 19, 2008
The greek pressure cooker
It looks like the whole country has gone postal back home: SNAFU. I hope it cools down soon.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Returning...
It's been a while since I posted anything, mostly because I haven't cooked anything of interest lately. Usually I get home late from work, and then I'm too tired to feel like cooking, so I just throw together something quick to snack. But, work went well, I got some things finished and out of the way, and I'm going home for almost two weeks, so I'm going to try and blog more now.
For now, I'm just posting a couple of pictures from the Alps that I took on Sunday, on the way to try skiing. The scenery was breathtaking, the pictures don't do it justice.
Skiing was nice too, I'm definitely going to do it again... as soon as my shoulder stops feeling sore. Next time I'll try to avoid nasty falls, though.
For now, I'm just posting a couple of pictures from the Alps that I took on Sunday, on the way to try skiing. The scenery was breathtaking, the pictures don't do it justice.
Skiing was nice too, I'm definitely going to do it again... as soon as my shoulder stops feeling sore. Next time I'll try to avoid nasty falls, though.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A post with no pictures
When we got back from Paris last week, it was well into the night (we got home around midnight), but we were very hungry. Unfortunately, we didn't have anything readily available in the fridge, as I'd been away for 6 days and I had thrown away everything that wouldn't last. There were two eggs, a small unopened bottle of whipping cream that was still OK, a bit of butter, and some shrimp in the freezer. On the shelf I had a couple of potatoes, a bar of chocolate, and a jar of flour. All in all, perfect scenario: tired, hungry, time-constrained and with limited ingredients.
I put a potato in a pot with water and set it on the stove. The shrimp went into a second pot in water, on low heat, to defrost. While I was waiting for the potato to boil and the shrimp to defrost, I used one egg, the small piece of butter and half a bar of chocolate to make the chocolate fondants (see previous post) and put them in the fridge for later. In the mean time, the potato was boiling, and the shrimp water was getting warm on low heat. The potato wasn't done after only 15 minutes of boiling, but we were getting too hungry to wait, so I took it out and finished cooking it in the microwave. Next time I'll do it right, though. After a bit in the microwave, the half-boiled half-microwaved (yuck) potato went outside on the balcony table to cool down a bit for a few minutes. Then I peeled it, mashed it with a fork, put it in a big bowl, along with half cup of flour, salt, a teaspoon of olive oil, and the remaining egg. I mixed and kneaded everything (adding a bit more flour) until it wasn't sticky, but was still a soft dough. Normally you'd let the dough rest for a bit (20 minutes), but no time--too hungry, so I put it in the freezer for 5 minutes. I have no idea if this is equivalent, but I couldn't wait for the 20 minutes it needs to rest, so I thought I'd give it a "nap" instead.
While the dough was in the freezer, I put a bit of olive oil in a frying pan, put it on medium fire, and sprinkled it with some pepper and tarragon. In a few seconds they were warming up and started smelling nice, so I fished the shrimp from the hot water with a straining ladle and added them in the pan. After one or two minutes of sautéing the shrimp like that, I put it out with a bit of liquor (I used French "eau de vie", but you can use raki, or ouzo, or vodka), and then I added a bit of heavy cream, lowered the flame to minimum and let it thicken for a bit.
After that I took the dough out of the freezer, rolled it to about half an inch thick, and then cut it into half-inch thick cubes. I rolled each cube into a small dough ball, and using a fork (on slightly floured table, if it's sticky), pulled the dough-balls into gnocchi. In the mean time, the water I used to defrost the shrimp had come to a boil, so I used it to boil the gnocchi in three batches, for about 2-3 minutes per batch. The shrimp cream sauce had thickened by then, so I split the gnocchi into two plates, added the shrimp with its cream sauce on top, opened a bottle of red wine (I didn't have any white), and started preheating the oven, so that it'd be ready for the chocolate fondants when it was time for dessert.
I think it took about an hour to throw everything together, and it came out pretty good in the end.
I put a potato in a pot with water and set it on the stove. The shrimp went into a second pot in water, on low heat, to defrost. While I was waiting for the potato to boil and the shrimp to defrost, I used one egg, the small piece of butter and half a bar of chocolate to make the chocolate fondants (see previous post) and put them in the fridge for later. In the mean time, the potato was boiling, and the shrimp water was getting warm on low heat. The potato wasn't done after only 15 minutes of boiling, but we were getting too hungry to wait, so I took it out and finished cooking it in the microwave. Next time I'll do it right, though. After a bit in the microwave, the half-boiled half-microwaved (yuck) potato went outside on the balcony table to cool down a bit for a few minutes. Then I peeled it, mashed it with a fork, put it in a big bowl, along with half cup of flour, salt, a teaspoon of olive oil, and the remaining egg. I mixed and kneaded everything (adding a bit more flour) until it wasn't sticky, but was still a soft dough. Normally you'd let the dough rest for a bit (20 minutes), but no time--too hungry, so I put it in the freezer for 5 minutes. I have no idea if this is equivalent, but I couldn't wait for the 20 minutes it needs to rest, so I thought I'd give it a "nap" instead.
While the dough was in the freezer, I put a bit of olive oil in a frying pan, put it on medium fire, and sprinkled it with some pepper and tarragon. In a few seconds they were warming up and started smelling nice, so I fished the shrimp from the hot water with a straining ladle and added them in the pan. After one or two minutes of sautéing the shrimp like that, I put it out with a bit of liquor (I used French "eau de vie", but you can use raki, or ouzo, or vodka), and then I added a bit of heavy cream, lowered the flame to minimum and let it thicken for a bit.
After that I took the dough out of the freezer, rolled it to about half an inch thick, and then cut it into half-inch thick cubes. I rolled each cube into a small dough ball, and using a fork (on slightly floured table, if it's sticky), pulled the dough-balls into gnocchi. In the mean time, the water I used to defrost the shrimp had come to a boil, so I used it to boil the gnocchi in three batches, for about 2-3 minutes per batch. The shrimp cream sauce had thickened by then, so I split the gnocchi into two plates, added the shrimp with its cream sauce on top, opened a bottle of red wine (I didn't have any white), and started preheating the oven, so that it'd be ready for the chocolate fondants when it was time for dessert.
I think it took about an hour to throw everything together, and it came out pretty good in the end.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Chocolate fondant
Hello, I'm back. After a couple of trips back home, and to Paris, I'm back at work, and finally have some time to write a small blog entry.
A couple of days ago we had a nice dinner with Despoina, and we made chocolat-fondants for dessert. This is an easy and very tasty dessert, the recipe is from Ioanna (thanks!)
I'm not sure about the quantities, I just mixed things until the mix looked proper. I think this is about right.
Here's how it looks when you take the first spoonful out, and the melted chocolate inside appears... It tasted as good as it looks.
A couple of days ago we had a nice dinner with Despoina, and we made chocolat-fondants for dessert. This is an easy and very tasty dessert, the recipe is from Ioanna (thanks!)
I'm not sure about the quantities, I just mixed things until the mix looked proper. I think this is about right.
- Butter and flour the ramekins, and put them into the fridge.
- Melt some (half a bar) of chocolate with approximately 40-50 grams of butter in a bain-marie.
- Beat an egg with a bit (3-4 spoons) of sugar until smooth.
- Combine, and add flour, about 2-3 spoons.
- Pour into the ramekins, and refrigerate for a while.
- Preheat the oven.
- Put them in the oven until the outside is done. This should only take a few minutes, you don't want the whole thing to thicken, just the outside.
Here's how it looks when you take the first spoonful out, and the melted chocolate inside appears... It tasted as good as it looks.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mountains
This is not a cooking post. On Sunday, I went to one of the mountains around the city, and climbed a bit. The view was breathtaking, the city is surrounded by lots of mountains. The little white spot you see very far in the distance is Mont-Blanc, it was a very clear day and it was visible. Awesome, literally, inspiring awe.
This was a 5c route, I think. It should be around a 5.8 or maybe 5.8+ just because of the first move. It was around 20m high, and I saw a couple of small lizards on the way up.
I climbed easy and not-so-easy routes, 5a to 6a. I'm still sore today, but not too much, and I'm definitely going back. Climbing on rock, rocks!
This was a 5c route, I think. It should be around a 5.8 or maybe 5.8+ just because of the first move. It was around 20m high, and I saw a couple of small lizards on the way up.
I climbed easy and not-so-easy routes, 5a to 6a. I'm still sore today, but not too much, and I'm definitely going back. Climbing on rock, rocks!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Weekend cooking
Vegetable Soup update
I made some more soup. Here's how to serve it with a bit of crème fraîche and parsley. The white side is yogurt, more about that later in the post.
And with some baguette, and eggplant salad, here's my all-vegetable lunch.
Yogurt
I woke up at 4am on Friday, and couldn't go back to sleep, so I made yogurt, which turned out to be much easier than I expected. All you need to do is mix a live culture (existing yogurt, from the supermarket) with milk, and keep it warm for a while. I only made a little bit, this being the first time. I took full fat milk, and warmed it up over low heat. I didn't boil it, but it was getting close, the point was to kill all the live bacteria that are in the milk, so that the yogurt culture will have no competition. I let that sit for a while until it was lukewarm, and I could easily hold the pot with my hand, and then I dissolved two full spoons of existing yogurt in it. I got that from the supermarket. Then I put the whole thing in a bowl and in the oven, in the very lowest possible setting, so that it'd be kept around body temperature, or a few degrees more. I let it there for 4 hours, and then moved it in the fridge. Done! My own yogurt.
Being Greek, I prefer strained yogurt, so I strained my yogurt through a cheesecloth. I hanged it to strain, collecting the whey in a bowl underneath and went to work. I stayed at work until late in the afternoon, so it was way too strained when I got home, it looked like a cheese, too solid. So I mixed a little of the whey back in, to make it more like yogurt, and saved it in the fridge. It tastes normal. I didn't throw away the whey either. Why waste protein? I made some bread, and added the whey in the dough instead of water. In theory, the extra protein should make the dough more elastic, but it wasn't that much, so I don't know if it makes a difference. We'll see how the bread comes out.
At first, (thinking it'd be similar to making a bread starter) I thought you could somehow harvest yogurt culture from the air, but it's not like normal yeast. You can't get yogurt culture from nature, it has to be from someone that makes yogurt, I found out. The reason is that people have been making yogurt for a very long time (some millenia), and the original bacteria used have evolved to adapt and can only feed on lactose, no other sugars. So nowadays they are not found in nature, only in man-made yogurt. Creationists, no yogurt for you!
Tarte Tatin
Some time ago I was looking for french food recipes over the net and came across this one, which is a cool idea. Instead of putting the dough first, and then the filling for the tart, you can put the dough on the filling, cook it, and then flip on a plate. I had gotten some apples from the farmer's market, and on Friday I thought about making an apple tart, or "tarte aux pommes." I made the dough, filled up the tart-pan for a normal tart, and there was some dough left. Thus, I decided to try out this idea, and make a Tarte Tatin with the apples instead. The catch here is that you need a frying pan that can also get in the oven. What better occasion to try out the cast-iron frying pan that I got last week, I just hope the oven doesn't hurt the "seasoning" of the iron.
Parenthesis.
Apparently, with cast iron cooking utensils, you need to "train" them at first. At least that's what the manual said (yes, a frying pan that came with a manual). The pan should be oiled at all times, so I oil it after washing it with a napkin, and I re-wash the oil away before using it every time. One should do this for a while, and after a few times the cast iron becomes "seasoned" and you can use it and store it normally.
End of parenthesis.
I made the dough for tart. First, rub the flour with butter.
Then add one yolk, a bit of water (not too much 1-2 spoons) and mix.
Then I used a big jar (for lack of a rolling pin) to make it flat.
Finally, I put it in the tart-pan, punched holes with a fork, and put it in the fridge. Here you can see the leftover dough I used for Tarte Tatin.
Back to the Tarte Tatin. Preheat the oven, I have no idea in what temperature, I used a 5 on my oven's non-linear scale to 8. Peel and chop the apples, each apple in half, each half in three. I coated the pieces with lemon, so that the first pieces wouldn't oxidize and go black until I was done with all the apples.
Put some butter in the pan, melt it, take it away from the flame, and sprinkle 2-3 spoons of sugar on the butter. Then put the apples in. Return to a low flame and caramel-fry the apples until the sugar is caramelized (brown, not too dark) and the apples are also slightly caramelized (but not too much, they shouldn't be done).
Take away from the flame, and let sit for 5 minutes. Roll the tart-dough on the frying pan, and push it down near the sides, around the apples. I did that quickly so I wouldn't burn my fingers.
Then I put the whole thing in the oven, and waited. About half an hour later, I took it out, and flipped it on a plate.
The dough had hardened (as it wasn't touching any liquids) and was biscuit-y, and the caramel was running thick, downwards on the apples, which looks quite appetizing.
It makes for a nice "show-off" dessert, and it's easy too. Some apples were left stuck on the frying pan, and I used a spatula to put them back on the tart, and also to scrape off the extra caramel from the pan. It'll be nice with vanilla ice-cream. I'm keeping this recipe.
While waiting for the Tarte Tatin, I made the filling for the other tart, which was the reason for having leftover dough in the first place. I didn't have many apples left after the impromptu Tarte Tatin so I decided to make two kinds of fillings to make up for the loss. I chopped the two apples left into small bits, and put them in a saucepan.
I added a spoonful of honey.
This was a strong honey, too sweet, made from lavender(!). It is white, and doesn't look a lot like normal honey, but it smells unbelievably. Unfortunately it's too sweet, so next time I'll use half or less than what I used now. I added a bit of cinnamon, a drop of lemon, and set the pot over a low flame. After a while the apples were soft, and caramelized but not like with sugar, it wasn't as burnt. The apples gave out their juice, which mixed with the honey and gave a thick sauce. It smelled nice, but the lavender honey dominated the apples, unfortunately.
In a separate pot I put pieces of lemon. I used the whole lemon, chopped, similar to the apple. I wanted the yellow color from the skin, and the sour taste from the inside.
Unfortunately, I didn't add only those two, I added the whole thing, which also includes the white, bitter part between the peel and the juice. This made it a little too bitter, but I'll know better next time. So, I boiled the chopped lemon in water with a bit of sugar for quite a while, until the liquid was yellow and a little thick. I used a sieve to take out the lemon pieces, and threw them away. I then mixed flour and corn starch in a bowl with cold water and poured it in the hot lemon-liquid to thicken it more.
I emptied the two saucepans on the cold dough, across from each other, and smoothed them to resemble a yin-yang shape.
I thought that the two sauces had similar colors, and it wouldn't show, plus I was just having fun with it, so I decided to stress the separating s-shaped line. I needed something dark to draw that line between the yin and the yang, and chocolate is the closest thing to Zen I can think of! I tried scraping a piece of chocolate with a knife, and using the bits to draw an "S" between the two sauces, but it wasn't very successful. Next time I should have some ganache, and use agarnish-thing (not sure how it's called) or an empty ketchup/mustard bottle to draw a thin, continuous chocolate line.
OK, I stopped fooling around at that point and put it in the (preheated) oven. After about half an hour I took it out and let it cool down overnight.
The next morning I put it in the fridge, and Saturday afternoon I had a piece. It was OK, but, sadly, not exactly what I was going for. The dough was good, but the apple side had too much honey, and the lemon side was a bit bitter. Oh well, lesson learned. At least the apple Tarte Tatin was good. I feel like trying again, but I still have a lot left, there's only so much I can eat, and I don't want to throw it away. I need a roommate to help with the eating, any volunteers? Thano, help!
Samedi soir: sauce au poivre
I was experimenting with a beef and pepper sauce today.
Sauter l' oignon en trois cuillères d' huile d' olive, epuis ajouter le beuf, coupé en petits pièces, et aussi demi cuillère de poivre gris. Stir, or shake the pan, until slightly browned, and add the cognac/brandy. I tilted the pan a bit and the brandy caught fire, satisfying the pyromaniac in me. It doesn't make a difference in taste, it only adds to the effect. Then I added two glasses of water,
and one cup of chicken broth (the one that I have left). I capped the pan and let it simmer for about an hour (depending on how tender your meat is, this could be less), until it reduced a lot, becoming a thick sauce with bits of meat. I wanted more sauce, so I sprinkled half a spoon of flour on it, and mixed. Then I added the rest of the chicken broth (about half a cup) and it thickened fast. I mixed in 2 spoonfuls of crème fraîche, and I got a grey-brown thick sauce with
bits of meat, that smelled and looked good. I had a bit with bread (the bread I made using the whey from the yogurt, it was good) for dinner, but I think it'd be best served alongside a risotto, or on a base of basmati or maybe couscous (without crème fraîche for couscous). I could filter the bits of meat out of it, and then maybe use it to escort a steak, I think. Mushrooms would be fantastic in
this sauce but I didn't have any, unfortunately. I should get some from the farmer's market next time, I think this is the best season too, it's quite humid, and still not too cold. They have a big variety, but I don't know enough about mushrooms yet to know the right ones.
Variation: Then I got too decadent, and chopped a bit of raclette cheese (emmental would also be nice) in small pieces, and added them to the pan, where it melted. Sinful. I think this variation would be best on pasta, probably linguini or fresh papardele. I'll save this recipe for cold winter days...
I made some more soup. Here's how to serve it with a bit of crème fraîche and parsley. The white side is yogurt, more about that later in the post.
And with some baguette, and eggplant salad, here's my all-vegetable lunch.
Yogurt
I woke up at 4am on Friday, and couldn't go back to sleep, so I made yogurt, which turned out to be much easier than I expected. All you need to do is mix a live culture (existing yogurt, from the supermarket) with milk, and keep it warm for a while. I only made a little bit, this being the first time. I took full fat milk, and warmed it up over low heat. I didn't boil it, but it was getting close, the point was to kill all the live bacteria that are in the milk, so that the yogurt culture will have no competition. I let that sit for a while until it was lukewarm, and I could easily hold the pot with my hand, and then I dissolved two full spoons of existing yogurt in it. I got that from the supermarket. Then I put the whole thing in a bowl and in the oven, in the very lowest possible setting, so that it'd be kept around body temperature, or a few degrees more. I let it there for 4 hours, and then moved it in the fridge. Done! My own yogurt.
Being Greek, I prefer strained yogurt, so I strained my yogurt through a cheesecloth. I hanged it to strain, collecting the whey in a bowl underneath and went to work. I stayed at work until late in the afternoon, so it was way too strained when I got home, it looked like a cheese, too solid. So I mixed a little of the whey back in, to make it more like yogurt, and saved it in the fridge. It tastes normal. I didn't throw away the whey either. Why waste protein? I made some bread, and added the whey in the dough instead of water. In theory, the extra protein should make the dough more elastic, but it wasn't that much, so I don't know if it makes a difference. We'll see how the bread comes out.
At first, (thinking it'd be similar to making a bread starter) I thought you could somehow harvest yogurt culture from the air, but it's not like normal yeast. You can't get yogurt culture from nature, it has to be from someone that makes yogurt, I found out. The reason is that people have been making yogurt for a very long time (some millenia), and the original bacteria used have evolved to adapt and can only feed on lactose, no other sugars. So nowadays they are not found in nature, only in man-made yogurt. Creationists, no yogurt for you!
Tarte Tatin
Some time ago I was looking for french food recipes over the net and came across this one, which is a cool idea. Instead of putting the dough first, and then the filling for the tart, you can put the dough on the filling, cook it, and then flip on a plate. I had gotten some apples from the farmer's market, and on Friday I thought about making an apple tart, or "tarte aux pommes." I made the dough, filled up the tart-pan for a normal tart, and there was some dough left. Thus, I decided to try out this idea, and make a Tarte Tatin with the apples instead. The catch here is that you need a frying pan that can also get in the oven. What better occasion to try out the cast-iron frying pan that I got last week, I just hope the oven doesn't hurt the "seasoning" of the iron.
Parenthesis.
Apparently, with cast iron cooking utensils, you need to "train" them at first. At least that's what the manual said (yes, a frying pan that came with a manual). The pan should be oiled at all times, so I oil it after washing it with a napkin, and I re-wash the oil away before using it every time. One should do this for a while, and after a few times the cast iron becomes "seasoned" and you can use it and store it normally.
End of parenthesis.
I made the dough for tart. First, rub the flour with butter.
Then add one yolk, a bit of water (not too much 1-2 spoons) and mix.
Then I used a big jar (for lack of a rolling pin) to make it flat.
Finally, I put it in the tart-pan, punched holes with a fork, and put it in the fridge. Here you can see the leftover dough I used for Tarte Tatin.
Back to the Tarte Tatin. Preheat the oven, I have no idea in what temperature, I used a 5 on my oven's non-linear scale to 8. Peel and chop the apples, each apple in half, each half in three. I coated the pieces with lemon, so that the first pieces wouldn't oxidize and go black until I was done with all the apples.
Put some butter in the pan, melt it, take it away from the flame, and sprinkle 2-3 spoons of sugar on the butter. Then put the apples in. Return to a low flame and caramel-fry the apples until the sugar is caramelized (brown, not too dark) and the apples are also slightly caramelized (but not too much, they shouldn't be done).
Take away from the flame, and let sit for 5 minutes. Roll the tart-dough on the frying pan, and push it down near the sides, around the apples. I did that quickly so I wouldn't burn my fingers.
Then I put the whole thing in the oven, and waited. About half an hour later, I took it out, and flipped it on a plate.
The dough had hardened (as it wasn't touching any liquids) and was biscuit-y, and the caramel was running thick, downwards on the apples, which looks quite appetizing.
It makes for a nice "show-off" dessert, and it's easy too. Some apples were left stuck on the frying pan, and I used a spatula to put them back on the tart, and also to scrape off the extra caramel from the pan. It'll be nice with vanilla ice-cream. I'm keeping this recipe.
While waiting for the Tarte Tatin, I made the filling for the other tart, which was the reason for having leftover dough in the first place. I didn't have many apples left after the impromptu Tarte Tatin so I decided to make two kinds of fillings to make up for the loss. I chopped the two apples left into small bits, and put them in a saucepan.
I added a spoonful of honey.
This was a strong honey, too sweet, made from lavender(!). It is white, and doesn't look a lot like normal honey, but it smells unbelievably. Unfortunately it's too sweet, so next time I'll use half or less than what I used now. I added a bit of cinnamon, a drop of lemon, and set the pot over a low flame. After a while the apples were soft, and caramelized but not like with sugar, it wasn't as burnt. The apples gave out their juice, which mixed with the honey and gave a thick sauce. It smelled nice, but the lavender honey dominated the apples, unfortunately.
In a separate pot I put pieces of lemon. I used the whole lemon, chopped, similar to the apple. I wanted the yellow color from the skin, and the sour taste from the inside.
Unfortunately, I didn't add only those two, I added the whole thing, which also includes the white, bitter part between the peel and the juice. This made it a little too bitter, but I'll know better next time. So, I boiled the chopped lemon in water with a bit of sugar for quite a while, until the liquid was yellow and a little thick. I used a sieve to take out the lemon pieces, and threw them away. I then mixed flour and corn starch in a bowl with cold water and poured it in the hot lemon-liquid to thicken it more.
I emptied the two saucepans on the cold dough, across from each other, and smoothed them to resemble a yin-yang shape.
I thought that the two sauces had similar colors, and it wouldn't show, plus I was just having fun with it, so I decided to stress the separating s-shaped line. I needed something dark to draw that line between the yin and the yang, and chocolate is the closest thing to Zen I can think of! I tried scraping a piece of chocolate with a knife, and using the bits to draw an "S" between the two sauces, but it wasn't very successful. Next time I should have some ganache, and use agarnish-thing (not sure how it's called) or an empty ketchup/mustard bottle to draw a thin, continuous chocolate line.
OK, I stopped fooling around at that point and put it in the (preheated) oven. After about half an hour I took it out and let it cool down overnight.
The next morning I put it in the fridge, and Saturday afternoon I had a piece. It was OK, but, sadly, not exactly what I was going for. The dough was good, but the apple side had too much honey, and the lemon side was a bit bitter. Oh well, lesson learned. At least the apple Tarte Tatin was good. I feel like trying again, but I still have a lot left, there's only so much I can eat, and I don't want to throw it away. I need a roommate to help with the eating, any volunteers? Thano, help!
Samedi soir: sauce au poivre
I was experimenting with a beef and pepper sauce today.
Sauter l' oignon en trois cuillères d' huile d' olive, epuis ajouter le beuf, coupé en petits pièces, et aussi demi cuillère de poivre gris. Stir, or shake the pan, until slightly browned, and add the cognac/brandy. I tilted the pan a bit and the brandy caught fire, satisfying the pyromaniac in me. It doesn't make a difference in taste, it only adds to the effect. Then I added two glasses of water,
and one cup of chicken broth (the one that I have left). I capped the pan and let it simmer for about an hour (depending on how tender your meat is, this could be less), until it reduced a lot, becoming a thick sauce with bits of meat. I wanted more sauce, so I sprinkled half a spoon of flour on it, and mixed. Then I added the rest of the chicken broth (about half a cup) and it thickened fast. I mixed in 2 spoonfuls of crème fraîche, and I got a grey-brown thick sauce with
bits of meat, that smelled and looked good. I had a bit with bread (the bread I made using the whey from the yogurt, it was good) for dinner, but I think it'd be best served alongside a risotto, or on a base of basmati or maybe couscous (without crème fraîche for couscous). I could filter the bits of meat out of it, and then maybe use it to escort a steak, I think. Mushrooms would be fantastic in
this sauce but I didn't have any, unfortunately. I should get some from the farmer's market next time, I think this is the best season too, it's quite humid, and still not too cold. They have a big variety, but I don't know enough about mushrooms yet to know the right ones.
Variation: Then I got too decadent, and chopped a bit of raclette cheese (emmental would also be nice) in small pieces, and added them to the pan, where it melted. Sinful. I think this variation would be best on pasta, probably linguini or fresh papardele. I'll save this recipe for cold winter days...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Vegetarian soup
On Tuesday I made vegetable soup.
I might try to serve it to other people next time for feedback. I think a nice presentation will be to put the soup in cups, add a spoon of crème fraîche in the middle of each cup, and a bit of fresh parsley on top of that. I poured the soup left into an empty wide-neck orange juice bottle, capped it an put it in the fridge. Took it to work the next day, it was a nice lunch, and very nice for the chilly weather, too. I'll have to find something to do with the boiled leek that is left, I didn't want to blend it with the beet and potato. I think I might use it as a filling to make a pita (as soon as I get a roller to make phylo).
A funny detail: I poured the soup in the bottle while it was still hot, and capped it. That caused the metal-cap security seal went inwards as the soup cooled down, and the next day it went "pop" as I uncapped it, as if it was bought. Heh.
- 1 beet
- 1 leek
- 1 potato
- tomato purée
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1tsp salt, pinch of pepper, curry
- 2tbsp olive oil
- water
I might try to serve it to other people next time for feedback. I think a nice presentation will be to put the soup in cups, add a spoon of crème fraîche in the middle of each cup, and a bit of fresh parsley on top of that. I poured the soup left into an empty wide-neck orange juice bottle, capped it an put it in the fridge. Took it to work the next day, it was a nice lunch, and very nice for the chilly weather, too. I'll have to find something to do with the boiled leek that is left, I didn't want to blend it with the beet and potato. I think I might use it as a filling to make a pita (as soon as I get a roller to make phylo).
A funny detail: I poured the soup in the bottle while it was still hot, and capped it. That caused the metal-cap security seal went inwards as the soup cooled down, and the next day it went "pop" as I uncapped it, as if it was bought. Heh.
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