Poké Bowl

Attention! The sushi grade salmon should be deep-frozen (if your dealer doesn't tell you it has been frozen already) two days in advance, and then moved one day in advance from the freezer into the fridge, so that it can thaw again very slowly and gentle.

Preparation: You'll need: 1 small pot 1 large pan 2 large bowls (caramic or glass) for serving
Ingredients (for the bowl - for 2 persons) 10 large gambas with shells (250 g) 1 salmon fillet (Sushi grade quality, 250 g) 2 spring onions (only the little bulbs are needed) 1 ripe mango 1 ripe avocado ½ iceberg lettuce 20 g pickled ginger ¼ pomegranate 50 g cashews 10 g sesame seeds (you can prepare them togehtkann man mit dem Sesam des Algensalates zubereiten) 125 ml rice vinegar 3 Tbsp. soy sauce 3 Tbsp. Tahini 2 to 3 limes (zest and juice is needed) Small part of the juice is for the wakame salad 2 tsp. honey 2 stems coriander 2 Tbsp. good olive oil
Ingredients (for the Wakame salad - for 2 persons) 15 g dried Wakame seaweed ca. 1 cm ginger 1 clove of garlic 1-2 tsp. lime juice (use the limes for the bowl) 1 tsp. sesame seed (prepare that together with the seeds for the bowl). 1 Tbsp. (a bit less) rice vinegar 1 Tbsp. (a bit less) sesame oil 1-2 tsp. sugar 2 stems coriander 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Clean the shrimps, dry them with kitchen paper. Quick fry in hot oil, 2 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool them off. Wash the salad, roughly chop it, dry it off a bit with kitchen paper and place in 2 large ceramic bowls for serving. This will be the underlay. In a small pot bring to boil 125 ml rice vinegar, 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, 3 Tbsp Tahini, Lime zest (2-3 limes), 75 mL lime juice and 1 tsp. honey. Stir vigorously with whisk until you get a creamy emulsion. Place in fridge. Toast the sesame seeds (10 g for the bowl, 1 tsp. for the salad) in a dry pan until they are getting a nice, not too dark, browning. Set aside separately for bowl and seaweed salad. Peel the shrimps, add to the Tahini sauce. Soak the 15 g dried wakame seaweed in a large bowl with plenty of hot water for about 10 minutes. In the meantime continue with the next steps. Peel the mango, cut the fruit into not too small cubes. Clean spring onions, cut the bulbs into thin rings. Peel avocado and cut into not too small cubes. Add to the ceramic bowls for serving. Caramelise seeds of ¼ pomegranate, 50 g cashews, 2 Tbsp. good olive oil and 1 tsp. honey in pan, set aside in small bowl. For the seaweed salad clean 1 cm ginger, finely chop the ginger and one clove of garlic, put both into medium bowl. Add 1 to 2 tsp. lime juice. Rinse and pluck leaves of 2 stems of coriander roughly chop them. Add to medium bowl together with 1 to 2 tsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. each of rice vinegar and sesame oil, and 1 tsp cayenne pepper. Mix well with a fork. When the seaweed got its 10 minutes of soaking in hot water, pour into colander and let them drip off a bit. Add them to the marinade in the medium bowl. Mix well and let the seaweed marinade for 10 minutes. Cut the salmon with a large very sharp kitchen knife into thin slices. Add 1 tsp. sesame seeds to the Wakame salad and spread one quarter of the whole salad each on the mango/avocado salad in the 2 ceramic bowls. The remaining half is to be placed on the table for self-serving. Rinse 2 stems coriander and pluck the leaves. Spoon some of the lime tahini sauce on the mango salad. Add shrimps, salmon, pickled ginger, coriander leaves, also the caramelised pomegranate seeds and cashews and serve. The remaining sauce you can put in a dish on the table for self-serving.

Phở

Attention! This will take around 6 hours to prepare!

Preparation You'll need: A large pot (for the rice ribbon noodles) A medium sized pot (for the soup) A small pan 2 or 3 rather large bowls to serve the soup
Ingredients (for 4 persons) 2 thick (cross-cut) beef shanks, ca. 600 grams 3 marrow bones Ca. 400 grams beef fillet 1.5 litres water 2 small star anise 1 cinnamon stick 1 small onion 1 piece of ginger 3 spring onions (stem and leaves) 3 twigs Thai basil 3 twigs coriander 3 twigs mint 150 grams Mung bean sprouts 4 Thai chilis 1 small lime 4 Tbsp Vietnamese Fish Sauce 200 grams Vietnamese rice ribbon noodles
First steps Bring 1.5 litres water to boil in a medium sized pot. In the meantime wash the shanks and the bones, add to the water. Roast in a pan without oil (best would be a wrought-iron pan) the onion and the piece of ginger (only peeled, not cut small) until they start to get black patches. That will take a few minutes. When roastet enough, also add them to the water. Let this boil covered for 5 hours on low heat.
Intermediate steps After 5 hours add cinnamon stick and 2 star anise. Let it cook for another hour. Attention! Check the noodles to see if they have to soak for some time. You can get at that in this last hour, use the large pot. In the meantime you can prepare the rest: Clean 150 grams Mung bean sprouts, the herbs (3 stems of Thai basil, coriander and mint each). Pluck the leaves and roughly chop them. Cut into rings the 3 spring onions and 4 chilis. Wash the lime under hot water and cut it into eight pieces. Cut the fillet into very thin slices, you also might want to cut the slices into small pieces. After that last hour of cooking: Pour the soup through a sieve into a large bowl and set the broth aside again in the pot. Remove star anise and cinnamon stick. Separate the beef from the bones and remove the bones.
Last Steps Preheat the large soup bowls in the oven. Add salt to the soaking noodles and bring the water to boil. They are done as soon as the water starts to boil. If you're doing the soup for the first time, you could prepare all bowls completely and serve them. Otherwise I would suggest to put the ingredients into separate small bowls and place them on the table, so that people can do their own mix. Some don't like noodles so much or want less broth, others don't want so much of the cooked beef... Bring the broth to boil again. Put noodles, sprouts and the cooked beef into the preheated bowls. Add herbs and spring onions. Place the raw fillet slices on top and pour the hot broth over everything. Add some lime pieces and chili. You should place the bottle of fish sauce on the table, too, I for one like do add some more into my own bowl ☺
Keeping it in the fridge You can keep left-overs in the fridge, but it is very important to first remove all the lime pieces. They will make the whole soup very bitter!

Duck Breast with Figs

Attention! A good idea would be to do the first step already on the previous day
Remaining preparation time: 2 hours!

A variation would be sweet potatoes with, or instead of, figs.
Instead of the Parsley Nocken one could take mangold.

Ingredients (for 2 persons)

Preparation You'll need: A tajine or casserole dish with lid A medium-sized pot Several small pots A pan A flour sifter
For the figs (Step 1): 4 or 6 ripe figs I would recommend getting one more. I often find one over-ripe by the tme I am starting. 25g brown sugar 200 mL red wine 2 cloves 2 lemon slices 1 Tbsp starch
For the duck breast (Step 2): Ca. 500g breast of a Barbary duck 40 g Onion 25 g Carrot 30 g Fennel 1 clove of garlic 15 g Prosciutto (Parma ham) Olive oil (regular and extra-virgin) 10 g tomato purée (1 heaped tsp.) 100 mL red wine 30 mL balsamic vinegar 2 bay leaves ½ twig thyme ½ twig rosemary 350 to 400 mL calf or duck fond
For the Parsley Nocken (Step 3): 3 bunches of Italian parsley (around 75 g) 180 mL cream 15 g butter Nutmeg Salt Ground Pepper
The preparation in several steps
Step 1: Preparation of the figs (On the previous evening or in the morning) Caramelise 25 g sugar. Deglaze with 200 mL wine and cook until dissolved. Add the cloves and the lemon slices, boil up and pour into a bowl. Add the four figs and put it covered on the side until cool, than place it in the fridge.
Step 2: Preparation of the duck breast Dice 25 g carrot, 40 g onion and 30 g fennel finely. Press the clove of garlic. Cut 15 g parma ham into small pieces. Sear the duck in regular olive oil on both sides, only 20 to 30 seconds each. Place the breast into the tajine or casserole dish (skin side up), pour the oil away. Sauté veggies, garlic and ham in extra-virgin olive oil. Deglaze with 100 mL red wine and 30 mL balsamico vinegar. Add 10 g tomato purée, boil up again. Pour the fond from the pan into the Tajine, add vegetables, herbs (2 bay leaves, ½ twig of thyme and rosemary each ) and 350 to 400 mL calf or duck fond. Put covered into the oven at 180℃ for 35 minutes. You have to remove the Tajine after the 35 minutes immediately and set the duck in a plate on the side. In the mean-time continue with step 3!
Step 3: Preparation of the Parsley cream Pluck the leaves of the parsley and blanch the parsley for around 30 seconds in salt water. Refresh in cold water and dry carefully. Chop finely. Bring in a small pot 180 ml cream, 15 g butter and spicees (a bit of salt, pepper and nutmeg) to boil, and reduce. Add the parsley and reduce until it's not liquid anymore, but creamy. Put the pot on the side.
Step 4: The duck breast After 35 minutes immediately take the duck out of the oven. Remove the meat, pour the fond through a sieve into a small pot. Set the vegetables in a small dish on the side, remove the twigs of thyme and rosemary. Put the duck back into the casserole/Tajine (skin side up!), set aside. Reduce the fond to a quarter. In the mean-time continue with step 5!
Step 5: The figs Put the figs in a plate aside. Remove lemon slices and cloves. Pour the fig stock into a small pot, add 1 Tbsp of starch and reduce. Attention: The starch really has to be sifted, or you will get lumps; quickly stir with a fork, too. Reduce to a viscous consistency. Pour with a spoon over the figs.
Step 6: The Parsley Nocken Prepare with two table spoons two "Nocken" out of the parsley cream. This is done as seen in this video here. Just that it's not getting cooked anymore. Set each Nocke on one plate.
Step 7: Last step for the duck breast After reducing the duck fond, add the veggies and let it cook for one more minute. Season to taste with a bit of salt and pepper. Pour around the meat into the Tajine. Switch to top grill and wait until it's hot. Put the Tajine without lid into the oven (middle rack) and grill the duck for a few minutes until skin is crispy and brown.
The final steps Cut the breast in slices. Arrange together with the figs on the plates. Add a bit of the duck fond with the vegetables, put the rest in a bowl on the table.

Goes well with a full-bodied red wine, e. g. a Rioja.

Tagliatelle Alfredo with Shrimps

You can do that with any kind of pasta that you like (the original calls for Fettucine).

Preparation You'll need: A large pot A pan
Ingredients (for 2 persons) Pasta (160 to 180 g), I love Tagliatelle 350 g shrimps w/o shell, not too large ones 2-3 cloves of garlic ½ small onion 75 - 100 ml white wine, dry (e. g. Gavi di Gavi, Chablis, Aragosta from Sardinia) 350 ml cream 30 g Parmesan cheese 1 stem parsley Salt (ca. ¼ TL) Parika (ca. ¼ TL) Some pepper, olive oil, butter
First steps Very finely dice ½ small onion. Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic. Measure out 75 to 100 ml white wine. Finely grade 30 g Parmesan cheese. Pluck leaves of one parsley stem and roughly chop. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, in the meantime continue with the next step.
Preparation Pour some regular olive oil into pan, bring to high heat. Add ¼ tsp. salt and paprika and some ground black pepper. Mix and quick fry the shrimps (raw shrimps: 2 to 3 minutes on each side, precooked ones 1 minute per side. Remove from pan and set aside. Add some butter (around 1 Tbsp.) to the still hot pan and fry the onion on medium heat. Keep stiring, if needed add some good olive oil. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown. Add garlic and continue for another minute. Side quest: Throw pasta into boiling water (my tagliatelle need 6 minutes). Place pasta plates into oven at 80℃. Add 75 to 100 ml white wine and reduce to one quarter. Stir in 350 ml cream and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add parmesan cheese (attention: the cream must not cook anymore!), mix well and let it simmer gently for 1 minute. Finally season to taste wtih salt, paprika and pepper, add pasta and shrimps, mix well. Let it simmer for another minute. To serve, place into the preheated pasta plates and sprinkle some parsley over it.

Bœuf Bourguignon

Goes well with Baguette and a rich red wine, e. g. a Rioja.

The recipe by Julia Childs is, after I made a few changes, now one of my favourite dishes. ☺
 

Important! This takes four to five hours to prepare!

Preparation You'll need: A clay pot roaster or a Tajine or something similar A small pot A medium-sized pot A pan (I use the same pan for all the steps and don't clean it in between).
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 400 g lean beef (e. g. a shoulder piece) 50 - 70 g bacon in one piece 350 and 75 millilitres red wine - preferably a good burgundy wine with lots of tannin. 350 millilitres beef broth As side dish potatoes, Spätzle or pasta - here I am using potatoes: 250 g small potatoes 1 small carrot 1 small onion 6 shallots (or pearl onions, but I prefer shallots) - whole 1 shallot (only 1 Tbsp finely chopped needed) 200 g button mushrooms Herbs: one stem of parsley, 2 small bay leaves, some thyme 2 cloves of garlic ½ table spoon tomato purée 2 table spoons butter some flour Salt, pepper
Preparing the pearl onions / shallots and further steps Heat up 1 table spoon of butter and some oil in a pan then add the peeled pearl onions, and sear them on all sides until they start to get brown. Then stew them on low heat for several minutes, turn them frequently until they are completely brown. Set the pan on the side for a few minutes until it is not too hot anymore. Then add the 75 millilitres red wine, and the herbs (parsley, one bay leaf and some thyme (up to one tea spoon). Let it simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, until all the liquid has disappeared almost completely. Place the onions/shallots with the rest of sauce, but without the herbs, in a bowl on the side. In the meantime: Clean the mushrooms and half or quarter them. Chop the shallot. Cut the skin of the bacon and put it on the side. Cut the bacon in 4 centimetres long stripes. Cook both parts in a small pot in one litre water for around 10 minutes. Pour the water and keep the bacon in the pot. Cut the beef into cubes (around 2 to 3 centimetres). Cut the small carrot into small pieces, chop the onion, set aside together.
Stew the mushrooms Heat up the pan and add 1 table spoon butter and a good deal of oil. As soon as the butter stops foaming, add the mushrooms and 1 table spoon of the shallot and quick fry for around 4 minutes, keep stiring. Then let it stew for another 2 minutes on low heat. Then place the mushrooms in a small bowl on the side, this will be needed at the very end.
Frying the beef Preheat the oven at auf 240℃. Fry the bacon (not the skin part) at medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes in oil, then place it in the casserole. Dry the beef in kitchen paper and quick fry it on all sides (if there's after 2 or 3 minutes too much water in the pan, pour it out), then add it to the bacon. Fry carrots and onion in the pan, set the pan on the side. Season beef and bacon with salt and pepper, toss in flour (1 to 2 table spoons). Place the casserole (without lid) in the oven, for around 4 minutes, then turn the meat and put it back for another 4 minutes. The beef will get a bit roasted that way. Then take the casserole out and turn the heat down to 160℃. Now bring to boil in the pan with the carrot and onion: 350 milliliters each of red wine and beef broth, tomato puree (½ table spoon), some thyme, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, small bay leaf, the skin part of the bacon. Then pour all together with the pearl onions (shallots) with that sauce into the casserole with the beef and place it covered into the oven. Now there is enough time to peel the potatoes and maybe cut them in half. Fry them in some oil in the pan until all sides are nicely brown. After half an hour turn down the heat to 130℃, add the potatoes and let it stew for a further 2½ hours.
The final steps When the meat is soft, pour the content of the casserole through a sieve into a pot, if the sauce is still too liquid. It should be rather thick. Then reduce it at high heat until it reaches a good thickness. In the meantime put the meat and vegetables back into the casserole and add the mushrooms. Cover with lid and put it back into the oven to keep things warm. When the sauce has the right thickness, season with salt and pepper, pour it over the meat again, mix well, and if necessary put it back into the oven for a few minutes. When everything is set, put the casserole on the dining table, together with some bread, so that everyone can help himself.

Samosas

Sweet Chili Sauce or a Yoghurt sauce goes well with this.

I first learned about Samosas many years ago in Kenya and liked them quite a lot. Finally I got around to making them on my own, after looking at several recipies and videos. Most helpful about them Samosas themselves (how to do the dough and how to shape them), I found this video of an Indian Cook, whose web site I like to visit every now and then. His videos are well made and the food always looks so tasty. If you are into Indian food, you should stop by at his site, too.
Here's the video about the Samosas.
The stuffing with minced meat I came up with on my own. Certainly you can stuff them with everything you feel like - potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, fish, shrimps ...

Preparation You'll need: A pan
As an appetiser, you should calculate 3 or 4 per person, for a main course 8 samosas per person. Ingredients for the dough (for 4 samosas) 150g flour ½ tea spoon salt ½ tea spoon cumin seeds 50 millilitres water 50 millilitres sunflower oil
Ingredients for the stuffing (for 4 samosas) Stuffing with minced meat and chickpeas. 80g minced meat 3 table spoons chickpeas ½ small carrot 2 stems Italian parsley ½ spring onion 2 cloves of garlic ½ tea spoon Garam Masala ½ tea spoon turmeric ¼ tea spoon ground coriander ½ tea spoon chili flakes A few pinches of salt Sunflower oil
Ingredients for the stuffing (for 4 samosas) Stuffing with shrimps and feta cheese. 60g small shrimps 2 green Thai chilis 6 or 7 mint leaves 1 lime ½ small onion 2 cloves of garlic 40 g Feta cheese A few pinches of salt and pepper Sunflower oil
First steps First prepare the dough: Give all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. The dough should be not too soft. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes. Set it aside for half an hour. The minced-meat stuffing: Cut the carrot in small pieces, pluck the leaves of the parsey and chop finely. Cut the full spring onion into small pieces. Mash the chickpeas with a fork. Press the garlic or chop it finely. Add 5 table spoons of sunflower oil into the pan, plus all the ingredients of the stuffing, but the spices. Fry until the minced meat starts lose the pinkish colour. Add the spices, mix well and set aside. The shrimps stuffing: Sauté two table spoons of finely chopped onion with the chopped garlic in a small amount of oil. Put in a bowl. Add chopped chilis and mint leaves, 1 tea spoon of lime juice, a bit lime zest and the crumbled Feta cheese. Mix well. Set aside together with the shrimps for the samosas. Making the Samosas Separate the dough (should be around 240 to 250 grams) into six equal parts (ea. 40 grams). Form into small balls and process each as following: Put a piece of dough on your work top (no flour!) and spread it very thin. It should get to a diameter of around 20 centimetres, in a more oval shape. Cut through the middle (along the short axis) for two Samosas. Wet the rim of such a half disc with a little bit water so that the dough gets sticky. Fold it and glue the straight edges togehter so that you get a cone. Hold this cone in your one hand and fill it with around two table spoons of stuffing. While filling, push it down with your finger to make it compact and get more into the cone. Finally press the left and right thirds of the remaining open upper edges together, and shift them together, so that the middle third gets closed, too. Best is, to watch the video of the Indian cook, that I linked to on here. Generally, Samosas should be deep-fried in oil. Since I am not such a big fan of deep-fried things, I put them in the ofen at 200℃ for 15 to 20 minutes until they start to get brown.