Fresh Herbs and Green Pesto

Sage

January is a month when you start longing  for fresh greens. The quickest way to freshen and  brighten up  your kitchen are fresh herbs. At this time of the year, unless you have still some in the garden, like bayleave, rosemary, parsely thyme etc, you are dependent on herbs in pots from the supermarket. Nothing wrong with that. But when the weather gets better try to grow your own, if you dont have a garden, use window boxes. You will enjoy "harvesting"  your homegrown  herbs . During the summer I have more than 11 herbs in the garden and I use them in all in my recipes.
The pictures here show herbs growing in my garden.

Rosmary

Parsely

Bayleaf

Oregano 

Today I share with you my simple but quick recipe for
 Green Pesto

You can use the Pesto with any kind of Pasta. We used it with Spaghettoni, these are extra long but fine Spaghetti.

Ingedients for Green Pesto

Ingredients

1 cup of pine nuts ( you can use half pine nuts and half almonds if you wish)
1 cup of grated parmesan
1 cup fresh Basil
3 or 4 cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 juice of lemon or lime
1 cup of Extra Virgin olive oil ( I like to use Italian olive oil from the Puglia region)

Method

Put all ingredients into a dish and blend them until you have the consistency you want.
The flavour depends on the quality of your oil and parmesan cheese!

The result: Green Pesto

Note: This pesto is delicious as a dip. Use fresh crusty bread or anything you like!

Beef Stroganoff

Well, I have been lazy , it is months since I have published a new recipe, despite the fact I have a few "drafts" waiting.
It is exactly a year ago when I first started to write the recipe for Beef Stroganoff. For some reason I did not publish it then. It is amazing that certain dishes are in favour for awhile and then they simply vanish from the menus in restaurants. One of these dishes is Beef Stroganoff, a very popular dish in the Seventies and Eighties. I hadn't cooked it for a long time but  when our eldest granddaughter requested a dinner with something saucy, creamy and mashed potatoes, I remembered the "Stroganoff".
The recipes requires very few but top quality ingredients.

Well hung sirloin or fillet steak, mushrooms, onions,

cream and sour cream, salt and pepper and a dash of brandy.

The dish stands and falls with the quality of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

per person 150 g Beef cut into small strips

250 g mushrooms sliced

150 g onions cut into  small slices

250ml fresh cream and 1 pot of sour cream (150 ml)

1 to 2 measures of brandy

some flour

salt pepper to taste

some rapeseed oil for frying

Method

1. Cut the meat into strips and cover it lightly with flour.

2. Clean the mushrooms and slice them

3. Peel and cut the onion ( if you dont like onions just increase the mushroom or use some leek instead)

4. Fry the meat quickly in the oil and remove from the frying pan.

5. Fry the onions and mushrooms

6. Add the meat and the brandy ( if you want to use it)
Note: If you are using a gas hob, be careful when you add the alcohol.

7. Add the cream and sour cream,  bring to the boil and reduce until you have a thick consistence.
Only when the sauce is reduced to the right consistency, adjust the seasoning.

I traditionally serve the "Stroganoff" with  creamed Potatoes. But if you prefer Pasta, I would suggest Tagliatelle. You can of course serve it with rice as well. It really depends on your personal Taste.

To green the dish, I serve a Green Salad with a straight forward Vinaigrette or a Cucumber salad, or if you are not a salad person, use Petits Pois.

Note: instead of using Brandy, you can use the juice of half a fresh lemon, this would give the dish a fresh taste.

A perfect dish for a rainy day at any time of the year

My Red Pesto

This  is a quick recipe for a red pesto which I created in order to use as a  kind of a dip for a Cordon Bleu pork chop which I wanted to serve with Pasta. I also wanted to put some taste into the Pasta but I did not want a sauce which would run into the pork chop. So the following recipe was the result of these thoughts, which I must admit, I usually get when I am swimming or sitting in the hot tub afterwards.

This is very quick to make.

Note: I did not use dried but fresh tomatoes

Ingredients 

1 red pepper

8 small vine tomatoes, chopped

Or three medium one

1/2 chili the long  mild one no seeds, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped 

Handful fresh Basil, 

50 to 70 g Parmesan, grated

Some olive 0il

Some salt and pepper to taste

Method

Put all ingredients into a bowl and blend until you have a smooth paste. 

Serve with Pasta and/or with any quick fried meat, especially Pork and chicken

Southern Comfort ( Pork Chops)

I had written the story of this creation a few weeks ago and was quite happy with the result and then something or somebody took my attention and I forgot to save it. So here I go again. I do not know if the second version will be as interesting as the first, but I give it a try.

I could have called the pork chops Rocky Mountain chops as well, as I first made this dish in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was my first attempt of cooking at this altitude and the reason for using the Southern Comfort was simple, I like it, but I underestimated how alcohol reacted with me at such a high altitude. So I decided it was better to use it for cooking as the alcohol would eveporate!

On top of that I was challenged to create something tasty with very few condiments. The pictures show how few incredients there are. I decided to marinate the chops in a liquid made up of Southern Comfort, chicken stock, some freshly ground pepper and chopped up garlic.      

Ingredients

1 to 2 pork chops per person

2 cloves of garlic

150 ml chicken stock/broth

some fresdhly ground pepper

2 measures of Southern Comfort

some oil for frying

Method

Marinate the meat in the mixture for preferable 24hrs (in the refrigerator)

but at least for 3hrs.

Fry the pork chops until they are golden brown, put them into an oven proof dish, then

pour the marinate over the pork chops and bake for 30 minutes at a medium hot oven.

the finished result

Note: serve with mashed potatoes (my favourite) or Pasta with a green or mixed salad

I wish to thank Janet, Dave and Martin for being willing "guinea pigs". We had wonderful days together in Breckenridge

Original French Crêpes

I was in the middle of making the batter for the crêpes this morning, when I thought, maybe some of you would like an orginal French recipe for making pancakes. So I decided to share the recipe which I have used for ever for our pancakes on Shroves/Pancake Tuesday.
It is quick, easy to make and the pancakes are light and delicious.  You can fill them with anything you like, sweet or savoury or simply eat them with sugar and lemon.

Ingredients

150 g plain flour

3 medium to large eggs

1 cup of milk

1/4 cup of water

1/2 tsp salt 

3 tbsp butter melted and cooled

Method

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until you have a smooth batter.You get best results if you let the  batter rest for at least of an hour in the fridge.

To make the crêpes, heat a little butter and oil in a pan, if you have a special crepe pan all the better. Use approx 2 tbsp of batter , pour into pan and swivel the pan so that batter covers the pan.

After about a minute turn the crêpe and cook further min or until slightly brown.

Best eaten immediately.          Bon Appétit 

PS this is probably the quickest I have put up a recipe on my blog!

Liver pâté ( turkey )

It is Advent, the Christmas season is upon us and with that all the wonderful culinary treasures this season has to offer us.
Last year I shared with you my recipes for the Turkey, the Goose and the Baked Ham. Now it is time that I let you into the secret of my home made Pâté .
It has been  part of our tradional Christmas Eve Dinner for as long as I can think back and it has become a firm favourite not only with the family but also with friends. I always ask the butcher, where I buy the free range turkey, to make sure that I get the liver, as some do not include the giblets. This request has sometimes been to my benefit as I would find more than one liver in the giblets bag. This of course gives me the chance to make enough Pâté  to give as presents to the nearest and dearest.
When you get the liver make sure that it has not been contaminated by the green gall bladder juice which would make the liver bitter. Should you detect even a little green discoloration, just cut it off and discard it. Make sure to get rid of any veins and sinuses as well. Some recipes call for putting the liver into milk the night before, I do not do that. I prefer to gently sauté the liver in butter, until it is just coked.

If you buy a frozen goose, it usually has all the giblets inside. One goose liver should give you enough to make a small pot of Pâté . Just half the ingredients below. You can of course use chicken liver as well.  The consistency and taste will be a little different. 

Our family prefers a Pâté which does not taste too "livery"! That is the reason for using half liver and half pork meat. I think Pâtés are like stews, casseroles etc. you will find the ratio of the mixture that will suit your taste buds.

I use a normal household food processor to mix all the ingredients, which will take a little time and patience!

Preparation Time: approx. 40 min

Ingredients

250 to 300 g turkey liver (goose or chicken can be used as well)

125 g smoked streaky bacon

250 g minced pork or pork pieces

1/2 medium finely cut onion

2 cloves garlic

250 g butter

1 tsp majoram

Salt and pepper to taste

I measure of good brandy ( cognac)

Method

1. Gently fry the bacon and onions in some of the butter, put aside.

2. Add more butter to the pan and add the liver, gently sauté it until it is just cooked
3. Fry the pork gently in a separate pan

4. Put liver, bacon, onion, pork mince  into a food processor, add the remainder of the butter
5. Add garlic, majoram, brandy, pepper and whisk the ingredients into a smooth Pâté .

Depending on your processor it might take 10 to 15 min before the Pâté  is smooth.

6. Adjust the seasoning .
7. Put Pâté into a small dishes with a lid.
8. Melt some butter and pour it over the Pâté , add some sprigs of fresh Thyme and put it into the
Fridge to set. Once set the Pâté  will stay fresh for a week. At this stage you could freeze it, if you   want to keep some for later.
 

Note: Best eaten with water crackers or really fresh crusty bread. As it is Christmas our usual tipple with the Pâté  is a glass of bubbly!

      

                                               

Happy Christmas , Frohe Weihnachten, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Feliz Natal, God Jul

                          

                                                   Happy Holidays

My Thai ( Pork or Vegetables)

The last week has been a fight against a tummy bug. This was  tough enough , but what was tougher was that I had lost my appetite. During my morning swim I was thinking what would be a nice tasty dish to activate the taste buds. Ginger and coconut came to mind. By the time I was finished swimming I knew how the dish  was to taste. Our eldest granddaughter who happened to visit and  my husband were to be the perfect guine pigs. And the result made us all happy!

As I did not want to go shopping I decided to use what I had in the house. A little trick I use on myself when I want to create a new dish.

Well, I always have a tin or two of coconut milk in the larder (store cupboard), just in case. The same goes for fresh ginger, garlic, onions, red peppers, fresh basil, lime, lemons and of course rice. I was lucky to have a pork steak in the freezer and I happen to have a jar of red curry paste, waiting to be used.

I have to admit that I am a bit of a food hoarder. The minute I use up groceries I renew them at the next shopping, so that whenever I get an idea, the "just in case" ingredients are to hand.  My family is convinced I could feed us for two weeks without doing any additional shopping. I think that is a little exaggerated, but I do think that a well stocked cupboard is essential, if you like cooking. 

With regard to the meat, I think you could use free range chicken breast as well, but the pork steak is not called tenderloin for nothing, besides Fillet steak (beef), it is the most tender meet we have.

If you are vegetarian  use  potatoes or a mixture of sweet and normal potatoes, or any vegetables you like.

You will notice that I did  not use fish sauce, an ingredient which is added to most Thai dishes. I am honest I am not a great friend of it at the best of time and with my tender stomach issue, I decided to leave it.

Ingredients

Some rapeseed/sun flower oil

1 Tsp red curry sauce

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 medium onion

I red pepper

2 -3 cm piece of fresh ginger, grated

1/4 teaspoon Chili 

2 tins of coconut milk

Juice and rind of a fresh lime

Juice and rind of a fresh lemon

300 g pork steak/pork tenderloin or any choice of Vegetables

1 Tbsp corn flour 

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp fresh Basil

Method

1. Gently fry the crushed garlic, grated ginger, diced onion, diced red pepper, Chili  and the red curry paste for a minute or two.

2. Add the coconut milk, lime and lemon , some black pepper and a little salt ( be careful with the salt,  I only added less than 1/4 teaspoon)

3. Cut the pork steak into small strips, discarding fat and sinuses

4. Coat the meat with the corn flour, which you seasoned with a little salt and pepper.
Note: if you are using vegetables omit the coating with the cornflour

5. Add the meat to the coconut milk mixture.

6. Simmer for approx 10 min, while the rice is cooking.

Note 1: be sure just to simmer the mixture.

Note 2: instead of meat or vegetables you can of course use any kind of fresh white fish

By the way, I had the leftovers the next day and as usual it tasted nearly better than the day before!