Tuesday, April 30, 2013
My next stop on my culinary trip: Turkey
I discovered, that I seem to be on a culinary world trip lately. I started with Thailand (Beef Massaman Curry), went then Egypt (Okra-mince casserole) and today I landed in Turkey.
Our organic market has lately aubergines on offer. It's a vegetable I like, especially the color (I know, it's a bit strange statement), but it's also a veggie I'm kinda scared of. You need to salt them first in order to get the bitterness out, but you must be careful with your salt amount. I managed to screw up my Moussaka a few weeks ago in putting way too much salt on the aubergines, because I wanted to make sure, the bitterness is out. I obviously didn't try the aubergines and so my Moussaka was dreadfully salty.
But I'm not giving up easily, so I ordered the aubergines again and this time I salted the aubergines only little, after I watched Masterchef Australia (again) and watched how a proper Moussaka is done.
But that day I wasn't up for a Moussaka, I think I also didn't have mince in my freezer. I was late with my lunch, so I was looking for something quick, easy but substantial. So I found this recipe and that's my take on
Turkish pilaf with aubergines
Our organic market has lately aubergines on offer. It's a vegetable I like, especially the color (I know, it's a bit strange statement), but it's also a veggie I'm kinda scared of. You need to salt them first in order to get the bitterness out, but you must be careful with your salt amount. I managed to screw up my Moussaka a few weeks ago in putting way too much salt on the aubergines, because I wanted to make sure, the bitterness is out. I obviously didn't try the aubergines and so my Moussaka was dreadfully salty.
But I'm not giving up easily, so I ordered the aubergines again and this time I salted the aubergines only little, after I watched Masterchef Australia (again) and watched how a proper Moussaka is done.
But that day I wasn't up for a Moussaka, I think I also didn't have mince in my freezer. I was late with my lunch, so I was looking for something quick, easy but substantial. So I found this recipe and that's my take on
Turkish pilaf with aubergines
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Seared kingklip with creamed sauerkraut
We haven't had fish for quite a long time, beside the tuna wrap lately. It's funny however, that I didn't categorise it as a fish dish right away. Anyway, let say it like that, we haven't had a proper fish dish for a long time and last time we were shopping I got hold of kingklip again. I really like the fish, as it has a white flesh with firm texture and a slightly sweet taste. It's native to South Africa (and Australia and New Zealand, but is also found on the costs of Argentina and Chile). It's a member of cusk eel family and is also known under that name in Europe and southern America ( source: Seafoodsource.com ).
The idea for the dish came up, because I had cabbage left and I thought, there was once a dish with fish and cabbage I used to make back in Germany. And then I remembered, that it wasn't cabbage after all but creamed sauerkraut. The recipe for the creamed sauerkraut I used here is from the famous German chef Johann Lafer and I found it here (in German language).
I was actually planning to make that dish with bacon. Unfortunately I realised too late, that we don't have bacon in the fridge. But if you have some at home, I would highly recommend to fry your kingklip wrapped in bacon, as it's not only complements with the creamed sauerkraut but also with the fish. If you try it out with bacon, please feel free to leave a comment of what you thought about it.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Tuna wrap
One of our all-time-favourites are wraps. They are not only done quickly, but are mostly light and always delicious. We eat them filled with either chicken and salad, or with mince, corn and beans for the richer version. Or as this time, with tuna. I didn't have the ingredients for my usual tuna wrap (I will post about the next occasion), so I thought I will take a filling, that was initially a salad, inspired by that recipe (in German language).
At this point I must confess, that I didn't do the wraps myself but used store bought wraps. I tried to do them once and it went horribly wrong. But it doesn't mean, I won't try it again, one day. For now the store bought must do it - and they are delicious too.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Beetroot tart with red onion confit, goats cheese and walnuts
The first time I've made that dish, we were growing beetroot in our garden and all the beetroot was ready at the same time, so I was looking for different dishes I could work with. I love beetroot, but the only dishes I could come up with, were salad or soup. I wasn't in the mood for either of those. I knew, I will cook some beetroot and preserve for later, but there was still plenty left. So I stumbled upon that recipe, but decided to use a tart I knew from another recipe I've made several times already. I love that dough recipe, as it's really quickly done and doesn't contain half a cube of butter (as you maybe remember, I'm trying to lose some weight). Also I'm not a fan of puff pastry tarts - I guess it's also the butter content. Don't get me wrong, I love puff pastry, but not in that kind of dishes. Beside, there are so many fantastic tart doughs and using puff pastry is kind of boring, to me at least.
Why am I telling all this, because every time I've made that tart, I thought, it must taste great with goats cheese. So that time my inspiration came from the goats cheese lying in my fridge and of course the glass of ready-to-eat beetroot in my pantry. As I said, the very first time, I've made the tart with fresh beetroot and wasn't that stoked about the outcome. Since I'm using jarred beetroot, I like the taste much more. And that's really rare, as I normally prefer fresh products.
By the way, we don't grow beetroot in our garden anymore, because we are way too impatient and somehow the bugs in our garden seemed to love the beetroot at least as much as we do. So no beetroot anymore, we tried carrots instead. But that's another story.
Let's start with my Beetroot tart with red onion confit, goats cheese and walnuts
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Okra - mince casserole with homemade flatbread
As I already mentioned, we finally found a Namibian supplier of dairy products, that is on top of it organic. We order every week online, not only our milk. Since they work together with other farmers, we also get the chance to order organic vegetables, meat, preserves and all kind of yummy stuff.
Sometimes I stumble upon very familiar products, I know from Europe, but never see them here in supermarkets, but then also upon products I don't know, like wild spinach or at my last order, okra. I saw okra before at a veggie market and my husband and I were wondering, what it could be.
So that time I thought, I'll give it a chance and try it out. It's always exciting to try something new. I found a nice article about cooking with okra and here a nice recipe (German) I used and just modified to my liking and needs.
Out came a very delicious casserole, I definitely will cook again. And okra, well, I'm really glad I gave it a try and I'm looking forward to cook with it again.
But for now, let's get it started with Okra - mince casserole and homemade flatbread
So that time I thought, I'll give it a chance and try it out. It's always exciting to try something new. I found a nice article about cooking with okra and here a nice recipe (German) I used and just modified to my liking and needs.
Out came a very delicious casserole, I definitely will cook again. And okra, well, I'm really glad I gave it a try and I'm looking forward to cook with it again.
But for now, let's get it started with Okra - mince casserole and homemade flatbread
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