Rabbit Provençal

 

Goes well with Baguette, Fougasse, or Greek flatbread

Attention! Preparation time a little more than 1 hour!

Preparation You'll only need: A large roaster with lid A large bowl to set the veggies aside A small bowl to set the shallots aside
Ingredients (for 3 persons) 1 whole rabbit 200 g shallots 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green) 10 dried apricots (if possible it should be the soft ones, not the completely dried ones) 600 g tomatoes 100 g fennel 2 cloves of garlic 20 black olives 1 Tbsp. tomato paste 1 Tbsp. ricard 2-3 stems thyme (if you use dried crushed thyme: 1 Tbsp.) Salt, pepper, mild paprika Ca. 100 mL water
Preparations Clean the bell pepper, cut into halves, remove all the seeds and the white membranes inside, cut in stripes. Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size. If using fresh thyme, rinse. Finely chop the cloves of garlic. Rinse the fennel and cut into small pieces. Put everything, including apricots aside in large bowl. Peel the shallots and cut them into halves, set aside in small bowl. Rinse the rabbit, pat dry with paper towel, remove head if it's the full rabbit, and cut into several pieces with a cleaver. Rub the pieces with salt, pepper and mild paprika.
Cooking Quick-fry the pieces of rabbit in a roaster in regular olive oil, until they have the desired brownish colour, remove and set aside. Quick-fry the shallots until they are medium brown, around 2 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste (1 Tbsp.), turn heat down to medium, and continue to fry for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add all the vegetables, stir well, season with salt and pepper. Add the rabbit again, as well as 1 Tbsp. Ricard, 100 mL water and 20 olives, and let simmer covered at medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring from time to time, always check for moisture and add water if necessary.

Fish with Citrus Sauce

 

This goes well with baguette or Flatbread Greek style and a cool white wine.

Attention! The recipe takes around 60 to 90 minutes preparation time!

Preparation You'll need: A pan with lid A small pot A potato peeler, such as this one (I really like it).
Ingredients for the Orange Butter Sauce (for 2 persons) 4 medium or 3 large organic oranges (also for the zest) 1 lemon 175 millilitres white wine (dry) 150g butter 1 shallot Salt and ground white pepper
Ingredients for the vegetables (for 2 persons) 1 thin long courgette 1 or 2 medium sized carrots 3 spring onions (it's the leaves that are needed) Around 10 cherry tomatoes (depending on size) 2 boxes of garden cress olive oil salt
The fish 2 salmon loins, Sushi quality (to sweat on just one side), if one doesn't like dry or fried fish, or: 2 steaks of fish (to fry), like (albacore) tuna (ea. around 150 to 200 grams), swordfish (ea. around 250 grams if with bones) or similar olive oil
Starting with the citrus sauce Zest one orange and the lemon completely (around 7 g each), then fillet one half of an orange (remove the skin completely), finally press the remainder of the oranges for the 250 ml juice. Pour 175 ml white wine in a small pot, add zest and orange juice. Finely chop the shallot, also add to the saucepan and start reducing straight away, over a medium heat. Set the orange fillets in a small dish on the side. Put 150 grams of butter in small pieces into a dish and put that back into the fridge.
Reducing the citrus sauce Cook on medium to high heat, reduce to a syrupy consistence. This might well take 30 minutes. In the mean time you can continue with the veggies, but don't forget to stir the sauce every now and then. ;-)
Preparing the veggies Cut 1 or 2 carrots and the courgette into thin slices - you could take the potato peeler mentioned above for that. Cut the green leaves of 3 spring onions into 4 or 5 centimetres long pieces. Leave the 10 cherry tomatoes as they are. Rinse the cress and keep on the side for when everything is on the plate.
Cooking the veggies You can start with this 10 minutes later... First, turn the oven up to 80℃ and put in a medium ceramic bowl (big enough for the vegetables). Put a good amount of olive oil in the pan, switch to medium heat (not higher!). Put in the carrot slices, cover, after 5-8 minutes add the courgette slices and the spring onion leaves, lightly salt. Cover and let the whole thing simmer gently, maybe even go down to low heat. Timing-wise, this roughly fits the finishing of the following sections. Towards the end, test a piece of carrot, the vegetables should be soft, but still "al dente". Then transfer to the preheated bowl and into the oven to keep warm. Now switch back to the butter sauce, but turn the vegetables every now and then.
Adding the butter to the orange syrup (as soon as the citrus sauce is thick enough) Take the butter out of the fridge and stir it in with a whisk in small portions (about one to two tablespoons), stirring constantly over a low heat. The sauce must not boil! This will take about 5 minutes, don't forget to turn the vegetables. In between, salt the vegetables and add the tomatoes.
Prepare the fish When you're done with the butter sauce, turn the heat down to low, season with salt and white pepper to taste, stirring occasionally. Salt the vegetables and put them in a bowl when ready. Put it in the oven at low heat - you can also put the plates to warm them up. Wipe out the pan just briefly with a kitchen towel and then use it for the fish Sweat the salmon Sweat the salmon in some olive oil on medium heat (covered). Sweat only until the top doesn't look complety raw anymore. Do not turn, serve as it is then. Or: Fry the tuna / swordfish Fry the fish on medium heat until it's well done. Salt lightly. When you're done (or the fish), arrange everything a your plates (don't forget the orange fillets ;-), cut the cress with scissors and sprinkle them on top of the veggies. Serve with cold white wine and some fresh white bread.

Lasagna (Real Italian Recipe)

 

Recipe coming from Laura Lai ☺

ChezTeddy Tip: I always do a double portion and freeze one lasagna.

To make sure that the second lasagna tastes just as good as the first one, mind this:

1. Don't put cheese on top, before you freeze it! Put the cheese, freshly grated on top before you put it (unfrozen) into the oven.
2. Freeze wrapped airtight in clingfilm, take care that there's as little as possible air between the lasagna and the film (push the film).
3. Don't take the lasagna out of the freezer and throw it into the oven. Take it out one day in advance and put it into the fridge. Let it thaw slowly.
4. After grating the cheese on top, put the lasagne into the not pre-heated oven and bake it at 160℃. After half an hour you can turn the heat to 200℃ erhöhen, depending on the browning of the cheese.

Attention! This will take over 3 hours to prepare!

Green salad goes well with this.

Preparation You'll need: A medium sized, or large (for 2x lasagna) pot A small pot Medium sized casserole dish Mine has the width and length to fit one pasta noodle.
Ingredients for the tomato sauce (for 2 persons) For an additional portion to freeze, double the ingredients 250 grams minced meat (beef) ½ onion (medium sized) 1 large thai chili, if you feel like it (I do) 1 small carrot ½ to 1 celery stalk A slug of white wine - for the sauce, not to drink (ᵔᴥᵔ) 1 Tetra Pak sieved tomatoes (500 mL) ½ tea spoon salt, a bit ground pepper ½ rosmary twig
Ingredients for the bechamel (for 2 persons) For an additional portion to freeze, double the ingredients 30 g butter 30 g flour 300 mL milk A bit salt and nutmeg
Other ingredients If an additional portion will be frozen, you don't have to double the cheese. The cheese for the frozen Lasagne mußt be bought when that one goes into the oven. 6 or 7 lasagna noodles 50 grams grated Emmentaler or Gruyère cheese, and 50 grams grated Parmesan cheese Green salad, if you feel like it.
Cooking the tomato sauce Fine dice the onion, carrot, celery (and the chili if you want) and sweat them in hot oil in the medium/large pot for a few minutes. Add the minced meat and fry on medium to high heat until the meat starts to stick to the pot and turn brown. Only then add the slug of white wine, the sieved tomatoes, ½-¾ tsp salt, some pepper and Rosemary (chopped). Let it simmer on low heat for up to two hours. With the Bechamel you could start a quarter or half an hour before the two hours are over.
Cooking the bechamel Take the 300 ml milk out of the fridge a bit earlier, so that it is not so cold. Melt 30 g butter in small pieces (medium-low heat). Slowly add 30 g flour while stirring. Stir until smooth. Slowly add the milk and let it cook for 20 to 25 minutes on high heat (level 4/5 or maybe 5/5) while continuously stirring. Or you've got a Saucier (see picture) and do it the easy way. Same procedure, but not having to stir yourself. Season with salt and nutmeg.
Putting everything together Preheat the oven to 160℃. Take the casserole and put a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom, place a lasagna pasta on top, then do one layer of bechamel, add another pasta. Keep doing that until the stuff is used up, or the dish is full ツ. Finally grate plenty of Parmesan and Emmentaler/Gruyère cheese on top and put it in the oven. After 20 minutes you may turn the heat up to 200, if the cheese isn't getting brown.

Aubergine with Pomegranate and Tahini

 

I've found an interesting recipe on SPON (Spiegel Online) (in German), and wanted to see if it tastes as good as it seemed. And, indeed, it's great. I adjusted the amounts to our tastes but didn't change that much. The recipe is by the Israeli Yotam Ottolenghi and the Palestinian Sami Tamimi, who have met in London as chefs.

Preparation You'll need: A few small bowls Brush A mortar A small pan
Ingredients (for 2 persons) One large Aubergine 1 Pomegranate 4 Tbsp. pomegranate sirop 100 ml olive oil 150 g Greek or Turkish Yoghurt (e. g. Süzme) 1 clove of garlic 1 Tbsp. Tahini ½ tsp. coriandre seeds Some cilantro Salt and White Pepper
Preparation Whisk Sirop, olive oil and ⅓ tea spoon salt in a small bowl Cut the Aubergines (if you want, peel them first) in slices (around 1 to 2 centimetres thick). Dab both sides with the sirop and roast them on baking paper in the convection oven at 200℃. Turn them after half the time and if necessary, dab the upper side again with some of the remaining sirop.
Further steps while the aubergine is in the oven: Whisk 150 g Yoghurt, 1 Tbsp. Tahini, 1 clove of garlic (chopped), 2 pinches of salt and 1 pinch of pepper. Remove 20 g of seeds from the pomegranate (that's maybe just one quarter) and clean them. Clean the cilantro and pluck the leaves (don't take too many). Fry the coriandre seeds in a pan and grind them just a bit in a mortar.
Place it on a large plate. Place the slices on a large plate, they should overlap a bit and it shouldn't look too orderly. Put the yoghurt on them with a spoon and sprinkle the pomegranate and coriandre seeds over them. Decorate with the cilantro leaves.

Duck breast with sweet potato

 

 

Attention! Takes around 1.5 hours to prepare.

Ingredients (for 2 persons)

Preparation You'll need: Casserole dish Medium-sized pot Two small pots A pan
For the duck breast: 450-500 g breast of a barbary duck 1 small onion 1 scant Tbsp. brown cane sugar 150 mL red wine 300 mL duck stock 1 small carrot 1 celery stalk 80 g leek or celery bulb 2 tsp fermented Pondicherry pepper 25 mL port wine 2 Tbsp honey Normal salt and fleur de sel Sunflower oil
For the port onions: 150-200 g red pearl onions (shallots also work, but are not optimal) 150 mL port wine 4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar Salt Sunflower oil
For the sweet potato purée: 500 g sweet potatoes 3 tbsp sweet cream Salt and coarse pepper Nutmeg
Preparation in several steps
Step 1: Preparing the duck breast and sauce Rinse the duck breast and carefully pat dry.Cut into the skin with a sharp knife in both directions - taking care to cut into the meat itself as little as possible. Rub the fat layer with fleur de sel, then place in the centre of an ovenproof dish (skin side up) and set aside. Chop 1 small carrot, 1 celery stalk and 80g leek stalk (not the leaves) or celery bulb and set aside in a bowl. Dice 1 small onion and sauté in sunflower oil in a large pan over high heat, sprinkle with just under 1 tbsp brown cane sugar and sauté until caramel forms (under 5 minutes). Deglaze with 150 mL red wine, add remaining vegetables and reduce over medium heat until only a little liquid remains.Tip into small saucepan, add 300 mL duck stock and simmer gently, covered, for 15 minutes. In the meantime, continue with step 2!
Step 2: Preparing the port wine onions Skin 150 to 200 g of pearl onions/shallots and sauté over a rather high heat (medium heat if shallots) in a pan, with a little sunflower oil, stirring frequently, until dark brown. Preheat the oven to 160℃. Deglaze with 150 mL port, reduce greatly, stirring frequently, to about a quarter. Now add 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar, salt a little and glaze over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.
Step 3: Duck breast in the oven Pour the stock (with vegetables) around the duck in the ovenproof dish. Cook in the oven for about 30-35 minutes (fan oven, 160℃, no lid). After 30 minutes, continue here, in the meantime you can make the sweet potato puree.
Step 4: The sweet potato puree Rinse the sweet potatoes and boil them unpeeled in a medium pot until soft (15 to 20 minutes). Then rinse in cold water, peel with your hands (this is very easy) and return to the empty pot. Add 3 tbsp sweet cream, some grated nutmeg, 2 pinches salt and some coarse ground pepper. Mash with a sturdy mash with a sturdy fork or potato masher. Set aside in the pot.
Last steps After a total of 30 minutes in the oven, check the core temperature of the duck breast; it should have reached 60 to 65℃. If so, park the duck breast on a plate for a short while and continue with the sauce. Otherwise, put it back in the oven for a few minutes. You can also check the sauce now, if it is too dry, you can add some more duck stock (50 to 100 mL), but it should be fine. Tip the sauce through a coarse sieve into a large bowl. Discard the vegetables. Now bring the sauce back to a strong boil in the saucepan for the last few minutes, reducing it slightly. Coarsely grind 2 Tbsp pondicherry pepper. In a small saucepan, briefly bring 25 mL port, 2 Tbsp honey and the mortared pepper to the boil, then simmer gently for 2 minutes. Set the pot aside. Put the oven on top grill and wait until the grill coil is very hot. Meanwhile, return the duck breast to the empty oven dish (skin side up). Brush the skin with the honey pepper. Next, put the oven dish back in the oven (middle shelf). As this is now done quickly, you can warm up the dinner plates and 2 medium ceramic bowls for sauces underneath. Roast the duck breast for a few minutes until it has browned as desired; remove from the oven, cut into thick strips. Briefly reheat the puree. Arrange some of the duck, sauce, puree and shallots on each plate and sprinkle some of the remaining honey pepper over them. Place the rest of the puree and sauce in the warmed bowls on the table.

Goes well with a strong red wine, e. g. a Spanish Rioja.