Greek Pasta

Preparation: You'll only need: A pan A large pot
Ingredients (for 2 persons) Approx. 250 g spaghetti 4 cloves of garlic 200 g cherry tomatoes 70-80 g rocket salad 175-200 g Feta 40 g walnut or mild pine nuts Olive oil Salt and pepper
Preparation Check that there's Rosé in the fridge! Firstly, heat the pan well and toast the walnuts or pine nuts over a high heat until lightly browned. Bring 2.5 litres of water to the boil in a cooking pot, add 2.5 tsp salt. In the meantime, continue with the rest. Finely dice the onions and garlic. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. Wash the rocket, spin dry and chop very roughly. Prepare 175-200 g feta. The spaghetti also needs about 10 minutes (depending on the type) and can now be started. Once the seeds have browned, place in a small bowl. Leave the pan to cool a little. Preheat the pasta plates in the oven at 90℃. Now heat approx. 4 Tbsp of simple olive oil in the pan, which is still a little hot, and sauté the onion and garlic at a medium temperature until translucent. Add the cherry tomatoes and fry briefly. If the spaghetti is not quite ready, you can take the pan off the heat briefly. As soon as the spaghetti is ready, tip through a sieve and drain well. Then add to the pan and keep warm again for 1-2 minutes over a medium heat for the final steps: Mix everything well; add the rocket, feta and nuts. Mix well again and season with salt and coarse pepper. To serve, arrange everything in the preheated plates and place salt, pepper mill and good olive oil on the table for self-service.

 

Pointed Peppers with Cream Cheese Peaches

Will take approx. 75 minutes.

For two persons

Here is another very similar recipe recipe

Preparation You'll need: a large bowl to mix the stuffing a casserole dish
Ingredients 3 red pointed peppers (depending on the size) 4 or 5 spring onions (stems and leaves) 1 to 2 Thai chilies (or 1 heaped teaspoon of chili flakes) 100-150 g mozzarella 2 to 3 ripe yellow peaches 300 g cream cheese approx. 50 ml white wine 80-100 g cooked ham (thin slices) 1-2 tsp. curry powder, salt, white ground pepper Cress to sprinkle on top, if you like
Put the peppers in the oven Wash and halve the peppers. Remove all cores and the white walls. Then, with the cut surface facing upwards, place in the oven mould and place in the oven for 20 minutes at 180℃. Meanwhile you can prepare the cream cheese and peach cream.
The Cream Cheese and Peach Cream Cut the spring onions and peaches in small pieces. Also cut 100 g ham and 1-2 chillies into small pieces. Put everything into the bowl and add 300 g cream cheese and 1-2 tsp. curry powder. Season to taste with salt and white ground pepper and mix everything well.
Into the oven After 20 minutes, remove the peppers from the oven and leave the oven on. Pour away any water that may have collected in the halves. Using a kitchen knife and fork, cut the pepper strips in the oven dish into pieces that are not too small. Add the cream and mix well. Pour over approx. 50 ml white wine and place the thinly sliced mozzarella on top of the mixture. Bake in the oven at 180°C for approx. 30 minutes. If you like, you can cut some cress over the pepper halves before serving. I really like that.

A light dish for spring and summer - with a chilled Rosé.

 

Gratin with minced beef, Brussel sprouts and potatoes

Preparation time: A good hour

Preparation You'll need: A fireproof oven dish A medium pot for cooking potatoes and Brussels sprouts A large pan for the minced meat
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 250 g minced beef 500 g medium potatoes, waxy 300-350 g frozen Brussels sprouts 1 medium onion 100 g Emmental cheese 100 ml milk 100 g Crème Fraîche 150 ml chicken or vegetable stock, or just water 1 Tbsp flour A little butter, salt, pepper, nutmeg
First Steps Bring approx. 1 litre of salted water (1/2 tsp salt) to the boil. Peel 500 g waxy potatoes and cut into 3-5 mm thick slices. Finely dice 1 medium onion. Measure out 100 ml milk and 150 ml water/stock. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Grease the oven dish with a little butter. As soon as the water boils, pre-cook the potato slices and 300-350 g frozen Brussels sprouts for 5 minutes. In the meantime, melt 1 Tbsp butter in a pan and fry the onion and 250 g mince until no longer red, then stir in 100 g crème fraîche. Coarsely grate 100 g Emmental cheese. As soon as the 5 minutes for the Brussels sprouts/potatoes are up, tip them through a sieve and leave to steam.
The Gratin As soon as the mince is no longer red, add 1 Tbsp of flour and mix well. Then deglaze with milk/stock and bring to the boil. Season well with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Now place the potatoes/ Brussels sprouts in the oven dish first, then spread the mince mixture on top. Finish with the Emmental cheese and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

 

Korean Pork Fillet

Preparation time: about one and a half hours (or longer if you have the time to marinate the meat for longer)

Preparation You'll need: A small pot for the rice A small pan for the sesame seeds An airtight container (made of glass) for marinating the meat A larger ovenproof dish
Ingredients (for 2 persons), marinade and meat Approx. 400 g pork fillet 4 Tbsp red fermented chili paste from Korea 2+1 Tbsp sesame seeds 3 Tbsp maple syrup 3 Tbsp soy sauce (I like to use light soy sauce) 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce 6-8 cloves of garlic 2 or 3 stalks of Thai basil
Ingredients (for 2 persons), sides 2-3 red pointed peppers (approx. 250 g) 2 medium red onions 1 medium yellow onion Basmati rice
Marinate the meat Firstly, toast 3 Tbsp of sesame seeds in a small pan until brown (you might need a lid here - popcorn effect). Meanwhile, cut the pork fillet into approx. 3 cm thick slices. Place these ingredients for the marinade in a sealable container: 4 Tbsp chilli paste 3 Tbsp maple syrup 3 Tbsp soy sauce 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce 6-8 cloves of garlic (chopped) Some Thai basil leaves (plucked and chopped) Finally, add about 2/3 of the toasted sesame seeds. Put the rest to one side in a small bowl. Mix everything well, then turn the pork medallions in it and put the container in the fridge with the lid on. If you continue straight away, this will allow about 50 minutes to marinate. If you want to marinate the meat for longer (I like to do about 2 hours), just start earlier and you now have a break.
Prepare the vegetables and place in the oven Preheat the oven to 200℃ top and bottom heat. Roughly dice the onions and cut the pointed peppers into bite-sized pieces. Place in an ovenproof dish with a little sesame oil and mix well. Once the oven has reached 200°C, place the dish in the oven (middle shelf) and roast for 40 minutes.
Add the meat to the vegetables As soon as the 40 minutes are up, remove the vegetables from the oven. Spread the pieces of meat and marinade on top and put the dish back in the oven for another 40 minutes. After 25 minutes, start the rice (if, like us, you are using parboiled basmati rice with 10 minutes cooking time). Place the small bowl with the remaining sesame seeds on the table for self-service.

 

Kidneys and Spätzle

 

Attention, the kidneys must first be soaked for 2 hours before cooking!

I've only done this once so far, and will certainly change a few things, also the photos don't quite fit.

Preparation You'll need: A large pan A medium or large pot with lid
Ingredients kidneys (for 2 people) approx. 500-600 g pork kidneys - it is best to have them prepared by the butcher, as the skins have to be removed and especially the tubes. Then he can also cut them into small pieces. If you can't have them cleaned (or not properly cleaned) then have a look at this page. 4 shallots 1 large carot 1 large leek 1 large piece of celery and/or (if you happen to have it and want to get rid of it) parsnip / parsley root 1 Tbsp tomato puree 1 Tbsp flour 150 mL red wine 150 mL cream 1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 3 French cornichons or 1 large gherkin
Ingredients Spätzle (for 2 people) (Complete recipe) 3 eggs (L or M) Approx. 180 g flour (also depends on the eggs) just under 1 tsp salt
First of all 2 hours before you want to start cooking, you need to soak the kidneys. You will need a large bowl and a large sieve (so that the kidneys fit comfortably and the sieve fits into the bowl). Place the kidneys in the sieve and rinse briefly. Place in the bowl with the sieve and fill up with cold water. Put to one side. 1/2 hour later: briefly remove the sieve from the bowl and stir the kidneys briefly by hand so that there is no more water in the sieve. Tip out the water in the bowl. -> Now repeat everything three more times, then you can start cooking; the typical unpleasant odour of fresh kidneys should have disappeared. In the meantime, you can continue with the other preparations, see below.
Further steps Bring a pot of water to the boil, add 2 tsp salt, switch off again, this is for the spaetzle. If you have a good cooker, you can save yourself the trouble. Roughly chop 4 shallots, 2 large carrots, 1 large leek and a suitable amount of celery/parsnip/parsley root. Prepare 150 ml red wine. Cut 3 cornichons into slices and set aside separately.
Preparation Heat a little olive oil in a pan. Add the kidneys and fry over a slightly higher heat until they are no longer raw. As the kidneys release a lot of water, tip them into the sieve used and then put them to one side in a bowl. Season generously with pepper, lightly salt and stir briefly. Now bring the pot of water for the spaetzle to the boil (again). Roast the vegetables in the pan over a high heat until the first dark spots appear. Sprinkle over 1 Tbsp of flour and stir. Deglaze with red wine, add 1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar. Boil down the sauce considerably, it reduces relatively quickly. In the meantime, prepare the spaetzle. As soon as the sauce has reduced considerably, pass through the sieve (press the vegetables against the sieve with a spoon, get all the flavour out of the sauce ツ). Park the spaetzle in a bowl in the oven at 50°C together with the plates. Briefly fry 1 Tbsp of tomato purée in the pan, then add the gravy, gherkins and 150 ml of cream and bring to the boil. Pour in the kidneys and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then place the spaetzle in the bowl on the table for self-service, divide the kidneys between the plates and serve. A red wine or non-alcoholic beer goes well with this.

Snacks with Toast Bread

For people in a hurry: Done in 5 minutes and not your usual snack.

Ingredients (for 2 persons) 4 slices of white bread 100 g farmer cheese or cream cheese 1 large Tbsp. creamed horseradish 1 pack sliced smoked salmon (ca. 100 g) Some cucumber
Preparation Mix the cheese and horseradish well. Spread on the bread. Cut several thin slices of the cucumber and put on two of the four slices. Put the slices of smokes salmon on the other two. Finally cut all slices in quarters.

 

Lamb Carré with Vegetables (Updated - v2)

Attention! Preparation time around 2 hours!
Before cooking, take the lamb out of the fridge about 1 to 2 hours beforehand and 60 g butter (put in a medium bowl) 20 minutes beforehand.

It goes very well with rösti (make it yourself or I find the ones from McCain surprisingly good). I'm using frozen roestis here - it's best to cook them in a small or medium pan with a little butter (I don't find them so good with oil).

Preparation You'll need: A medium sized bowl A large pan with lid for the vegetables A large frying pan to sear the lamb carré pieces
Ingredients for the Carrés (for 2 persons) 2 Lamb Carré each with 7 or 8 bones, around 800 g 40 g breadcrumbs 8 g finely grated Parmesan cheese 60 g butter, at room temperature! 4-5 cloves of garlic 2 twigs rosemary ½ bunch thyme 3 to 4 twigs parsley 7 large leaves of sage Salt and pepper Sunflower oil
Ingredients side dish (for 2 persons) 1 long thin courgette (or one half each in green and yellow) 2 medium-sized carrots 10 to 12 cocktail or cherry tomatoes 2 to 3 cloves of garlic Salt and pepper A good deal of olive oil If you like: Rösti (3-5 pieces, the ones from McCain are good)
1) Roast the Carré If needed, remove tendons and skin from the Carrés. Cut the racks into pairs. Heat up sunflower oil in pan and sear the Carrés very hot on all sides until nicely brown. Remove from pan, lightly sprinkle salt and pepper, let it cool down.
2) Herb butter Pluck all herbs, and chop very fine with 4 to 5 cloves of garlic. Grate 8 g parmesan cheese. Put the herbs, Parmesan cheese, 40 g breadcrumbs and 60 g butter (room temperature) into a medium sized bowl. Season with salt (3 or 4 pinches) and pepper. Knead the ingredients well until you get a homogenious dough. Form a ball and place in refrigerator.
3) Prepare the vegetables Cut 1 or 2 carrots and the courgette into thin slices - you could take a potato peeler for that. Leave the 6 to 8 cherry tomatoes as they are. Chop the 2 to 3 cloves of garlic.
4) The Rösti Slowly fry 3 to 5 Rösti in 1-2 Tbsp of butter in a medium pan at medium heat. That will take its time and they should be ready around the time the rest is done, too. In the meantime continue with the rest...
5) Preparing the Carrés for the oven and frying them Preheat oven at 150℃. Place the carrés on a baking tray and carefully cover the meat in herb butter, around 2 or 3 millimetres thick. Place the lamb into the oven (middle rack) and fry for approx. 9 minutes (large racks with approx. 500 g: 11-12 minutes). After that switch to top grill at around 250℃ and continue to fry for another 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure that the crust is getting a bit brown, but doesn't burn!
6) Sauté the vegetables Pour a good amount of olive oil into the pan and switch to a medium heat. First add the carrot strips to the pan, cover and simmer for approx. 3-4 minutes. Then add the courgette strips and the garlic. Continue to simmer gently, possibly even reducing the heat to low. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the vegetable stripes from time to time. It should be done around the same time as the previous section - the lamb in the oven. 1 or 2 minutes before the end, add the small tomatoes. Check a piece of carrot in the end, it should be soft, but still "al dente". Add a bit salt and place the pan with the veggies on the side until everything's ready.

 

Chicken Tajine with Sweet Potato

Goes best with Couscous, but rice and flatbreat fits, too.

Attention! Doing the recipe will take around 2 hours!

Preparation You'll need: A Tajine or cooking brick A medium sized pot with lid A large bowl with lid to marinade the chicken legs A small pan
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 2 chicken legs For the marinade: 180 mL sunflower oil 3-4 garlic cloves 4 Tbsp. coriander leaves 1 Tbsp. sweet paprika 2 Tbsp. turmeric Saffron For the Tajine: 150 g carrots (around 2 medium ones) 500 to 550 g tomatoes (large, they have more juice) 1 small onion 200-250 g sweet potato 1 moroccan salt lemon ca. 1/2 tsp. salt 250 mL chicken broth 1 cinnamon stick Ground pepper 18 black olives Plenty of coriander ChezTeddy Tip: Two things should not be missing with these Tajine dishes: To have the food more spicy, one should always place a tube of Harissa on the table. I would, if available, take 'Le Phare du Cap Bon' Harissa. That one tastes really the best. Also you should always place plucked coriander leaves on the table, so that everyone can serve himself. If you don't have harissa available, try this: Approx. 1 Tbsp tomato puree 4-5 cloves of garlic (chopped) Approx. 2 or 3 Thai Chilis (chopped) 1/2 tsp paprika powder Some salt and pepper
First steps In a medium sized pot bring enough water to boil to cover the tomatoes. When water boils, add the tomatoes, remove them with a ladle after 15 to 25 seconds (depending on ripeness and kind of tomato). Quickly rinse with cold water. Put aside. Then cook the chicken legs in enough water for 15 minutes. Then pour the water away, and let the legs sit aside in cold water for a few minutes. Finally, remove the skin.
Preparation of the marinade Chop 4 cloves of garlic, rinse and pluck some coriander stems (to get 4 Tbsp leaves). Give 180 mL oil, garlic, coriander, 1 Tbsp sweet paprika powder, 2 tsp. turmeric and saffron into a bowl. Mix well, add the chicken legs and rub generously with the marinade. Put bowl for half an hour into the fridge.
Preparation of the Tajine First peel the tomatoes. Now thinly slice carrots, tomatoes and onion. Only the peel is needed of the salt lemon. First quarter it then remove the pulp with a knife. Cut the peel into small pieces. Rougly dice the sweet potato. You'll have to do several layers in the Tajine now: The first layer is the carrots and the sweet potato. Then add the tomatoes, lemon peel and onion rings as the second layer. Season with salt and pepper. Take the legs out of the marinade, lightly wipe the marinade off them (back into the bowl) and place them on the veggie layers. Lastly put the olives on top and pour the marinade and the chicken broth over everything. Add half a cinnamon stick and bake covered in the ofen at 150℃ for 45 minutes. Then go to 200℃, continue for another 20 minutes.
Last steps Rinse and pluck coriander, put leaves in a small bowl on table. Roast 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds in pan on medium to high heat until dark brown. Also place in a small dish on table. Everyone can have them to one's liking.

Shrimps Tandoori Style

Goes well with Naan bread or Chapati.

Attention! The shrimps have to marinade 1 to 4 hours!

Preparation You'll need: A large bowl A wok or pan
Ingredients (for 2 persons) ca. 400 g large shrimps 8 Tbsp. plain yogurt 4 green chilis 3 cm ginger 4 cloves of garlic 2 capsules of black cardamom 1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds 2 small tomatoes  1/2 tsp. turmeric 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. chili flakes 1 Tbsp. ghee or oil Lime cut in halves or lemon wedges
Preparation Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Preheat dinner plates at 60℃ in oven. Chop the chilis and ginger, press the garlic, peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and purée them. Grind the cardamom seeds (remove from the capsules), cumin, chilis with a pestle. Give everything together with salt turmeric and yogurt into a large bowl and mix well. Remove the shell of the shrimps (if necessary) but leave the tails. Also add them to the bowl and stir well. Close the bowl and let it marinade in the fridge for 1 to 4 hours. Heat up ghee in wok. Take the shimps and roughly remove the marinade. Quick fry them on both sides in the wok until the gain a nice colour. Set them in preheated plates aside. Now bring the marinade in wok to boil, put in a bowl. Serve all together with a cool white wine or beer.