Bouchées with Seafood

Duration: Just under an hour

Preparation You'll need: A medium pan Several small bowls
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 2 Bouchées, basically the same as Vol-au-Vent, only smaller. 4 scallops (preferably with the roe) 2 large shrimps (if with shells, remove them) it also goes well with crayfish 80 g cep 1 small shallot 7-8 g flour 7-8 g butter for the flour, plus 3x 1 Tbsp. butter for frying 60 ml poultry stock 30 ml white wine 100 ml cream 1 EL Cognac 2 EL lemon juice Some salt and pepper
First Preparations Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Remove the shrimps from the shell if necessary and gut them. Finely chop the shallot. Cut the porcini mushrooms into thin, not too large slices (they should fit into the small bouchées). Measure out 7-8 g flour and butter.
The Scallops Melt 1 Tbsp butter in medium frying pan and gently sauté Jacobs mussels until no longer translucent - but they should not be browned either. Remove the mussels from the pan and cut into quarters; place in a small bowl. Pour the butter sauce completely (this works well with a silicone spoon) into a medium bowl.
The Shrimps Melt 1 Tbsp butter again in the pan and fry the shrimps on both sides until a little brown. . Remove from the pan again and cut into quarters; place in a new small bowl. Put the butter sauce back into the middle bowl completely.
The Cep Melt 1 Tbsp. butter again in the pan and sauté the shallot until translucent. Add the mushroom pieces and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring again and again. Salt and pepper, put everything in a new small bowl on the side. Wipe the pan clean.
The Sauce Melt 7-8 g butter over a good medium heat. Then add 7-8 g butter. Simmer this roux for 2 minutes. Now add 60 ml chicken stock and 30 ml white wine and reduce by half. Then add the collected butter sauce and 100 ml cream, simmer for a further 2 minutes. (Almost last:) Season with salt and pepper. If you are only continuing the next day, put that in a bowl as well (see next section).
Up to here, you can do it all the day before. ChezTeddy Tip: If you make the bouchées as an entrée for a larger meal, you can make it all the day before, then you have more time for the main course on the actual day. Just cover all the bowls airtight with cling film now and put them in the fridge).
Last steps Either continue here straight away, after the sauce, or start again now, on the second day. Bake the 2 bouchées according to the instructions (in our case, that was 200 degrees and 3 minutes). Meanwhile: In the middle pan, now bring everything together: The prepared sauce, plus now 1 Tbsp cognac, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, plus shrimp, scallops, mushrooms. Simmer everything for 3 (if cold from the fridge: 5) minutes and then season one last time. Using a tablespoon, carefully spoon the ingredients into the bouchées. Place any leftovers and sauce around them on the plates and serve warm.

Gratin with Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower and Ham

 

Duration: Just under an hour

Preparation You'll need: An fireproof oven dish A large pot for blanching A small saucepan or sauce boat for the béchamel
Ingredients (for 2 persons) Approx. 650 g frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower) . Tip: These frozen mixed vegetable bags always have far too many (cheap) carrots. That's why we always take frozen broccoli and cauliflower separately and add them until the ratio is right. Approx. 100 g cooked ham (I like "oven-grilled ham" here) 120-150 g grated mountain cheese 30 g butter 30 g flour 500 mL milk A little salt, pepper and nutmeg
The frozen vegetables Combine frozen vegetables in the desired quantity and ratio of vegetables and blanch in a large pot for a few minutes. Then tip through a sieve and set aside to steam.
The béchamel sauce If necessary, take the 500 ml milk out of the fridge some time beforehand so that it is not so cold. Melt 30 g butter in small pieces in a saucepan over a maximum medium heat. Then slowly add 30 g flour and stir. Stir until the mixture is even and smooth. Now slowly add the milk and cook for 25 minutes on high heat (level 4/5 or possibly 5/5), stirring constantly. The best thing is to have a saucier (see picture) and just do it with that. Same procedure, but less stirring yourself. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Off to the oven Cut the ham into smaller pieces. Grease the oven dish and add the vegetables. Now pour half of the béchamel over it, spread the ham on top. Pour the rest of the béchamel over it, then the cheese on top. Now bake at 180℃ (fan oven) for approx. 20 to 25 minutes. Finally, briefly switch to the grill for the desired browning.

Papas Arrugadas

Preparation time around 45 minutes

Preparation You'll only need: Medium sized pot Kitchen towel
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 300-350 g potatoes (preferably small, same size, rather firm cooking) 60-65 g coarse sea salt
Preparation Clean the potatoes thoroughly. Then put them in a medium pot and pour in enough water to only half cover them. Add 60-65 g coarse sea salt and bring to the boil briefly over a high heat. Now cover with a kitchen towel and simmer over a low to medium heat. Check occasionally to see if the potatoes are starting to soften (this will take 20-25 minutes). As soon as you notice that they are getting soft, pour off the rest of the water and put the pot with the potatoes back on the cooker (without the kitchen towel). Now let the potatoes dry on low/medium heat (4) for another 10-20 minutes. The white salt crust will form and they will become wrinkly as they dry out a little.

Pad Thai Goong (Updated - v2)

Preparation time approx. 1 h

This can be simply served as a salad with shrimps, or, if your hunger is a bit larger, I'd recommend adding rice noodles.
Those usually just need quite some time soaking in water (40 minutes for those that I use).

A variation could be to drop the beans and cucumber, only take 1 Tbsp. sugar and to add small pieces of 2 ripe mangos.

I admit, it doesn't really have that much to do with the Thai dish anymore. The dish is supposed to be stir-fried and with noodles. Here, the noodles are optional (I like them, Carinne not so much) and only the shrimps are fried. It is simply the salad version of Pad Thai ☺.

Preparation You'll need: A large pan 1 or 2 small bowls A sealable bowl for marinating
Ingredients (for 2 to 3 persons) 300-350 g large Gambas without shells (500-700 g, if you bought those with head and shell) 6 Tbsp. light soy sauce 1 generous pinch of black ground pepper 4-6 large cloves of garlic 2-3 red thai chilis 10 stems of Coriander Some coriander root, if available 100 to 150 g mung bean sprouts 1 cucumber 2 limes 2 Tbsp. sugar 5 Tbsp. fish sauce If you like: 75 g rice noodles
First steps If the prawns are frozen, remove them from the fridge. You can even do this 1 hour before cooking. Check that there is white wine in the fridge! The rice noodles need to soak in water for some time before heating (approx. 40-45 minutes, see packaging).
Marinade the gambas If needed, let them slowly thaw, start in advance. Remove head and shell, devein them. Rinse them, dry with kitchen paper and let them marinade in the fridge in 5 to 6 Tbsp. soy sauce and some pepper for at least 20 minutes.
Further preparations In the meantime rinse and peel the cucumber. Cut lengthwise in quarters and these into 5 mm thick pieces. Clean the coriander, pluck the leaves and place them and the stems aside. Cut 2-3 chilis in half and remove the seeds. Wash the mung bean sprouts. Finely chop coriander root, coriander stems, 4-6 cloves of garlic and chilis.
The vinaigrette Mix in a small bowl 6 Tbsp. lime juice, 2 Tbsp. sugar (better: Xylit) and 5 Tbsp. fish sauce. ChezTeddy Tip: If you find fish sauce too salty, let it cook up in a pan for just a moment, then let it cool down. Afterwards pour it into the bowl. You will find salt remaining in the pan. Add the mix of coriander, garlic and chili and mix well.
Fry the prawns briefly, heat the pasta Now heat the rice noodles in hot, not boiling, water for 5 minutes. Heat a little oil in a pan. Tip away the sauce and give the prawns another quick rinse, then fry over a medium-high to high heat, turning frequently, for just 3 minutes until they are red (if they were still raw - otherwise just heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
Arrange everything on the dinner plates First place the cucumber pieces on the plates, then add the rice noodles and the mung bean sprouts. Arrange the prawns on the plates as well. Sprinkle the plucked coriander leaves on top and drizzle with some of the vinaigrette. Place the rest of the vinaigrette in a small bowl on the table, so that everyone can achieve the desired spiciness by adding it.

Fish with mango and veggies

 

This is an easy, quick fish dish, that tastes fresh and light, best served during summer.

Preparation You'll need: A wide surface ofenproof dish with lid
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 2 fish fillets, e.g. pike perch, pangasius, Victoria sea bass, redfish fillets or pollock fillets à 200 g. 70 g leek (⅓ stalk) 90 g carrot (½ rod) 1 flight mango Approx. 1 grapefruit for 5 Tbsp (75 ml) juice A few stalks of coriander greens 8 Tbsp (110-120 ml) coconut milk salt, pepper, 1 tsp curry powder
Preparation Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Salt and pepper the fillets and place them (whole or cut in half) in the oven dish. Cut the carrot and leek into thin strips, peel the mango, remove the core and also cut into strips. Put them straight into the oven dish on top of the fish. It is best to measure out approx. 110-120 ml and 75 ml grapefruit juice together in a measuring jug, mix well and pour over the vegetables. Season everything well with salt and freshly ground pepper, as well as 1 heaped tsp curry powder. Use your hands to mix the vegetables again. Cover the oven dish and bake in a preheated oven at 190℃ for about 25 minutes. In the meantime, you can pluck the coriander leaves. 2, 3 minutes before the 25 minutes are up, place the dinner plates briefly in the oven. Then place the fish fillets and mango salad on the plates and sprinkle the coriander leaves on top.

Strammer Max Deluxe

Stammer Max in the deluxe version with Black Forest ham and a vinaigrette.

Preparation time 15-20 minutes

Preparation You need: A toaster A medium frying pan
Ingredients (for 4 Strammer Max), the vinaigrette 1 small red onion 4 Tbsp red wine vinegar 2-3 stalks of parsley Salt, pepper, 1 pinch of sugar
Ingredients (for 4 Strammer Max), the rest 4 not too large slices of good bread (approx. 20x10 cm) Some butter Sunflower oil 4 eggs 150 g thin slices of Black Forest Ham 3 gherkins
The vinaigrette The first step: Toast the slices of bread in the toaster until golden brown. Place on the dinner plates. Meanwhile... Finely chop the onion. Pluck the parsley leaves and chop coarsely. Mix the ingredients to make the vinaigrette, stir well and set aside.
The sandwiches I make the sandwiches in pairs in 2 steps here, so that one can have the second pair freshly made and warm as well. Crack 2 eggs into the pan and fry slowly over a good medium heat only. Season a little with pepper and fleur de sel. In the meantime... Butter the toasted breads and generously top with ham. Cut the gherkins into thin long slices. Preheat the oven to 90 degrees. Once the eggs are fried as desired (I like the yolk still runny) place on the breads, directly on top of the ham. Then put some more ham on top, 2 spoonfuls of the vinaigrette and some of the gherkins. Once both breads are done, put them in the oven for a short while (3 minutes, that's all).

The more traditional version would be with only slices of cooked ham, some cheese (Gruyere and Edamer for instance) and an egg.