AGUA FRESCA - QUE DELICIOSA!

With days becoming hotter, I have discovered a new obsession, the wonderfully refreshing Mexican coolers, the aguas frescas. I love their subtle flavors and the feeling that my body gets an internal moisture boost! My favorite is the cucumber agua fresca. Here's how I prepare it:

AGUA FRESCA DE PEPINO

Makes 4 servings

1 medium cucumber

2 cups cold water

1 cup ice cubes

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Peel and seed cucumber and cut into chunks. In a blender blend cucumber with remaining ingredients until completely smooth and pour into a glass pitcher, chill, covered.  Stir  before serving.

ALPINE BLISS

Dreaming of a rustic meal like 'Aelplermagronen' in an alpine chalet!

http://saeumertaverne.ch/

Aelplermagronen

traditional alpine recipe

9 oz potatoes

salt

9 oz straight hollow noodles

7 oz grated Gruyère cheese

3/4 cup cream

3 Tbsp butter

2 large onions

Directions:

Peel and dice the potatoes. Boil in salted water. Add the noodles shortly before the potatoes are done (read the directions on the package first). The potatoes should be soft. Drain and arrange in alternate layers with the cheese in a deep baking dish. Pour in the cream and place in the hot oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet. Slice the onions and saute until they turn light brown. Spread over the noodles and potatoes.

Serve with apple puree or salad.

Ottolenghi - simply delicious

One of my favorite cookbook discoveries in 2010 was Ottolenghi The Cookbook. Ottolenghi is the iconic London-based restaurant run by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Their simple yet inventive dishes are inspired by their respective childhoods in West and East Jerusalem, and they draw from culinary traditions ranging from Persia to California.

Today I prepared their aubergine*-wrapped ricotta gnocchi with sage butter. A great dish for a California winter evening:

1 small to medium aubergine

4 tbsp olive oil

20 g unsalted butter, melted

15 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Ricotta Gnocchi

30 pine nuts

250 g ricotta cheese

2 free-range egg yolks

35 g plain flour

40 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tbsp chopped basil

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

a good grinding of black pepper

Sage Butter

90 g unsalted butter

20 sage leaves

a pinch of salt

1/2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

1. Place the pine nuts in a small frying pan and dry-roast over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring them occasionally so they color evenly. Transfer to a large bowl and add the ricotta, egg yolks, flour, grated Parmesan, herbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir well, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 180 C. Trim the top and bottom off the aubergine and cut it lenghtways into 5 mm-tick slices; you will need 8-12 slices, depending on how many gnocchi you make. Lay the slices on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and brush liberally with the olive oil. Place in the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, until tender and golden.

3. To shape the gnocchi, wet your hands and scoop out 40-50 g portions (about 3 tablespoons). Roll into 8 or 12 elongated barrel shapes. Meanwhile bring plenty of salted water to the boil in a large saucepan.

4. Carefully add a few dumplings to the simmering – don't cook them all at once or thy will stick to each other. After about 2 minutes, they should rise to the surface. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a tea towel to drain. Pat dry with kitchen paper and brush them with the melted butter.

5. Once the gnocchi have cooled down, take a strip of the aubergine and wrap it around the center of each one, like a belt. Trim the aubergine so that the seam is at the bottom. Place the gnocchi in a greased ovenproof dish and set aside. You can cover them with cling film and keep them in the fridge a day at this stage.

6. When ready to serve sprinkle the gnocchi with the Parmesan and bake in the oven at 180 C for 8-10 minutes, until they are heated through.

7. Meanwhile, quickly make the sage butter sauce, as it needs to coincide with the gnocchi. Place a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the butter and allow it to simmer for a few minutes until it turns a light golden-brown color and has a nutty smell. Remove from the heat and carefully add the sage, salt and lemon juice, if using. Return to the heat for a few seconds to cook the sage lightly.

8. Divide the gnocchi between serving plates, pour the hot butter on top with a few sage leaves and serve immediately. 

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course.

* aubergine = eggplant

convert heat, weight etc.

ONLINE CONVERSION

APPLE DREAM

 

I just read Kevin West's post on his wonderful home canning blog "Saving the Season" about his road trip to the apple-growing community Oak Glen in the San Bernardino Mountains. His bountiful apple harvest brought back memories of the "Crème aux Pommes" - a dessert made with apples - my mom would make. I loved this light, fruity dessert so much that I would eat the whole bowl that was intended to feed our family of four all by myself. Needless to say that they were not amused...Here's the recipe!

2 pounds aromatic apples

1/2 cup water

3 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

1/2 vanilla bean

1 teaspoon confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

zest of one lemon

Peel, core and slice apples approximately 1/4 “ thick. Toss apples in a pan add water and sugar. Cook until tender. Drain water. Purée apples with mixer. Add some drops of lemon juice to prevent browning.

Separate eggs. Put egg whites aside.

Put egg yolks in a bowl. Slice the vanilla bean open and scratch out the seeds (you can use vanilla extract if you prefer), add to egg yolks together with confectioner’s sugar, corn starch, lemon zest and whisk everything together until the egg yolks are frothy. 

Incorporate egg yolk mix to puréed apples.

Beat the egg withes until they form peaks, and carefully add beaten egg whites to the apple mix. Volià!

Now you can serve the “Crème aux Pommes” in cups or glasses and add a dollop of whipped cream.

PAPPARDELLE!

After my better half has been complaining about the fact that I never use our pasta machine (a Marcato Atlas), I carried with me from Europe, I took the chrome plated, antique looking pasta maker out of one of my kitchen cabinets, and gave it a try. After all, nothing beats fresh, hand made pasta! I fiddled around with different flours (bread, all-purpose, Italian 00, semolina) to create the best dough possible, and came up with the following recipe:

3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup of semolina flour

5 large eggs

1 generous teaspoon salt

I mixed the two flours and the salt together, poured it on a working surface, and made a large hole with a spoon right in the middle. I broke the eggs into a a bowl, whisked them together with a fork, and then poured the eggs into the hole. Then I slowly added flour from the edges onto the egg mix  and carefully started kneading, then continued to knead more forcefully, until the dough was smooth and elastic, which should take about 10 minutes. Of course, you can use a food processor, but I love the sensuality of working with my hands.

I formed a ball, wrapped it into plastic and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Then I cut the ball of dough in 1/4, covered and reserved the pieces I wasn't immediately using to prevent them from drying out. I dusted the counter and dough with a little flour, pressed the dough into a rectangle and rolled it through the pasta machine, starting at the widest setting, that would be No. 1 on the Marcato Atlas, reduced the setting to No 2 and cranked the dough through again. I repeated the procedure up to paper thin No. 8 (you can go up to No 9 if you like your dough super, super thin). I dusted the sheets of dough with flour as needed. Since I love pappardelle, large, broad, almost an inch wide, fettuccine, I first cut the edges of the dough sheets straight and then into pappardelle stripes. That's really easy to do. 

Now, what's really IMPORTANT is that you have a pasta drier rack ready (see picture above) to be able to hang your pappardelle to dry. This is really crucial, because that way you prevent your freshly made pasta from sticking together, and trust me, once they stick together, you won't be able to separate them, and all your hard work would be in vain.

Once properly dried I toss them into salted boiling water for a minute or two, until al dente, and serve them with a simple home made heirloom tomato sauce or with olive oil, shaved truffles (or truffle oil) and Parmiggiano!

PRESERVED APPETIZERS

It seems that nowadays everybody is crazy about preserving food. So you probably know how to make jams, pickles and sauces. I am not going to bore you with another of those typical preserves. While in Europe, I came across a recipe for preserved zucchini rolls with a soft goat cheese filling. I love the idea of having something instantly ready for your guests coming over for a glass of wine or as an appetizer before you serve dinner.

2 small zucchini

salt, pepper

1 cup olive oil

half a bunch fresh thyme

3/4 pounds soft goat cheese

half a teaspoon coarse pepper

1 teaspoon mild paprika

2 tablespoons sesame seeds  

Slice zucchini lengthwise with a mandolin - make them as thin as you can. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté them in a olive oiled pan at medium heat until tender. Add thyme leaves and let cool.

Put soft goat cheese in a bowl. Mix in coarse pepper, paprika and sesame seeds. Place cooled zucchini slices on a clean work surface, spread goat cheese mixture on top, and roll. Rinse a glass jar with very hot water, dry it, and snuggle the zucchini rolls into the jar. Fill with olive oil until covered. Seal with the lid.

Bon appétit!

CHILLED BUTTERMILK CUCUMBER SOUP

This is one of my favorite summer recipes. It's deliciously light and super refreshing:

3 cucumbers

2 cups of buttermilk

12 basil leaves

3 slices of smoked salmon

4 teaspoons pumpkin seed oil

 a dash of lemon juice

a pinch of sugar

salt, freshly ground pepper

Peel the cucumbers, cut lengthwise in half and take the seeds out. Cut them into small cubes. Let the cubes rest for about an hour, drain. Pour Buttermilk into a bowl, season with a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper to your liking  and add a dash of lemon juice. Add the drained cucumber cubes and blend in a mixer. Taste and adjust seasoning. Let it cool in the fridge. Tear some basil leaves into pieces and cut smoked salmon into slices. Pour the chilled cucumber soup into cooled bowls or soup plates, decorate with basil leaves, salmon and drizzle a little of the dark green and nutty pumpkin seek oil on top. Serves 4.

MOULES MARINIERES, FAST GLAM FOOD

I love simple, good food that can be prepared in no time when I have lazy day or guests over and rather would like to spend time with them than at my stove. Moules Marinères are perfect for such purposes, it's  easy, light, delicious and - very glamorous!

The Recipe

5 pounds clean mussels

1 onion, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, diced

1/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup dry (important!) white wine

1 bay leaf

1 handfull of flat parsley stalks, leaves reserved and chopped to garnish

Sauté onion, shallot and garlic in olive oil until transparent. Add  bay leaf, parsley stalks and wine (dry, don't forget) cook one minute. Add the mussels, cover and cook over medium heat (shake occasionally) until shells are open (about 5 minutes). Do not overcook. Remove unopened mussels.

Ladle into  bowls, sprinkle on the parsley leaves, and serve with pepper and the best, crispiest baguette you can find (drive all across town, if needed).

Serves 4