Tabouleh

This traditional lebanese treat is a wonderful summer fixture, no hassle, no heat recipe with ripe tomatoes in season, bursting with refreshing flavours. Also it makes a great part of a mediterranean vegetarian feast that would impress even a staunch carnivours, served along with hummus and falafel. :-) Ideally, prepare it about a couple of hours in advance and let it set for a while, for the flavours to settle and blend in. For a twist, you can use a handful of fresh coriander leaves in place of mint. In a pinch, couscous can be used in place of bulghur.

Tabouleh

150-200g lebanese bulghur
1 bunch flat leaved parsley, washed and finely chopped
3-4 firm red tomatoes, washed and finely chopped
Small fistful of chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 red onion, or 2 spring onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
salt (as desired)
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
a dash of black pepper
a generous dash of zatar, or mixture of thyme, majoram and oregano
1 tablespoon sesame seed
(serves 3-4)


PREPARATION:

Pour boiling water on bulghur just enough to moisten the entire surface.
Cover and let it stand for an hour.
Mix all ingredients except the sesame seed in a bowl.
Let it stand in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavour set.
Just before serving, dry roast the sesame seed and mix into the salad.

Wild Mushrooms and bechamelle sauce

This is a great way to showcase often costly, precious and gorgeous gourmet wild mushrooms, delicious on gnocchi, polenta, pasta of all sorts, mashed potatoes or just scooping it up and eating by themselves. On a pinch the regular button mushrooms (champignon) can be used, but a splurge on more exotic shrooms will be highly worth it. Frozen ones can be used too.
(Above picture shows my latest effort with chanterelle, served over strangolapreti)

Ingredients:
About 500g of roughly shredded wild mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, or mixture), or more as desired.
3-4 shallots, finely shredded (or 1 small onion)
2 garlic cloves, smashed or chopped
2 tbsp butter
about 10 leaves of fresh sage, chopped
dash of salt and pepper
250ml bechamelle
milk, as needed

Sautè the shrooms, shallots(onion), garlic and sage in butter on medium heat, until they are completely softened and the liquid from the veg evaporates, about 15-20 minutes.
While cooking add a dash of salt and pepper. (I go very generous on pepper)
Add the bechamelle, stir it to blend it in. If the bechamelle is too thick add a small amount of milk to thin it slightly.
Heat it through.
Enjoy with your choice of treat (pasta, polenta etc.), or without!!

Strangolapreti (Trentino-Alto Adige)

Every time we come back from our summer holiday in the Alps I get obsessed with their luscious local dishes and specialties, and it takes some time to get over. And this is another example. Tasty gnocchi based on crushed bread and spinach (or similar green leafy veg), its name "Strangolapreti" translates to "Priest Chokers". There is no known sinister/criminal background to this dish however, the origin of the name is supposed that priests in the old days, typically hearty eaters, loved this dish so much and they used to scarf it down to the point they choked themselves. Typical way to serve it is with melted butter with fresh chopped sage. However it goes well with just about any sauce or condiments, and my favourite is wild mushrooms-bechamelle sauce (as shown in the second pic), which I will post separately!

For 2-3 people
150g day old bread, semi-dry, cut in small cubes
milk
150g frozen spinach, thawed
30g trentingrano (or grana padano, or parmigiano reggiano), freshly grated
dash of nutmeg
1 egg
flour

Preparation
-moisten the bread cubes with just enough milk (adding it little by little -- it shouldn't get too soggy), mix it well to even out the milk, let it stand for about an hour. (tossing the mixture a few times)
-microwave the spinach (the frozen spinach contain a lot of water, so no need to add any) for about 7mins, or until cooked. Let it cool.

-Squeeze the spinach very well, and add to the bread mixture, along with the rest of the ingredients.
-Buzz the entire mixture in a food processor, until it becomes a fairly consistent dough (it gets there pretty quickly, a few pulses, then 10-15 second
-roll the dough mixture onto a generously floured surface, knead briefly to give a little more consistency.
-Make several ropes of about 1,5cm thickness, then cut them into about 3cm long pieces.
-Boil a generous amount of water in a big pot, boil the gnocchi, preferably in two batches (it shouldn't be too crowded in the water, and the water temperature shouldn't drop too drastically)
scoop them out as they float into the surface.
Serve immediately with your favourite sauce/condiments.

Grilled Canaderli with Chanterelle mushroom sauce

Canaderli (also called Knodeln in German) is a traditional Tyrolian dish, very tasty dumplings based on bread chunks. Traditionally they are boiled and served in a broth, however I found this new idea in Cucina Italiana magazine a few months back, which quite appealed to me. I added a newly invented sauce with Chanterelle mushrooms, another alpine specialty, which came out a smashing success! Chanterelle mushrooms can be very hard to find, you can also substitute with Porcini (fresh, frozen or dry) or another type of aromatic mushrooms.

Grilled canaderli
for 6(super size)-8(smallish) canaderli

160g day old bread, semi dry, cut into small cubes
120ml milk
2 shallots, finely chopped
2-3 slices of speck, finely shredded
30g of grated trentingrana (or grana padano, or parmigiano reggiano)
handful of parsley
1 egg
pepper

-cook the chopped shallots in butter, until they are tender.
-soak the bread cubes in milk, mix well to coat each pieces evenly, and let it stand for half an hour, remixing occasionally.
-add everything else to the bread, mix thoroughly and knead well.
-make 6-8 patties in hamburger-like shape. (don't worry if they are quite soft, they will solidify as they are grilled)
-spread a thin layer of olive oil on a hot plate, and pre-heat.
-when the hot plate is hot, place the patties, cook until it takes on the "grilled" colour* (4-5minutes on each side)
*if they are too limp or sticky to flip, let them cook further until the bottom side is solid and

easily slide on the surface.

Mushroom sauce
500g roughly chopped/stripped chanterelle or porcini mushrooms**
1 small onion, chopped
1tbsp butter
25g powdered fondo bruno mix (msg-free version is recommended), or enough for 300ml of liquid according to the package instruction***
200ml white wine
200ml water
1 bayleaf
150ml bechamelle
**or as little or as much as you like... I can never get enough of shrooms I tend to use even more...
***if you have real fondo bruno in stock, please do use it instead of the mix, naturally...


-sautè the onion and mushrooms in butter, until onions are tender, about 10 minutes.
-stir the fondo bruno mix in the water, mix well.
-Add the fondo bruno liquid, wine and bayleaf into the onion/mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil and let it simmer, until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
-Stir in the bechamelle, mix thoroughly and keep on cooking until the sauce is completely blended, another few minutes.

Apfeltaschen with walnuts

This is a quick, easy yet tasty variation from the traditional apple strudel, which requires a painstaking effort in making its proper pastry sheet. Lightly roasted walnuts gives additional flavour boost, but you can also substitute them with a handful of sultanas. This can be made in smaller sizes, bite sizes even, by cutting the pastry sheets in sections for party treats or get togethers, however I prefer making a larger log as it holds more filling this way :-) Addition of a big pile of whipped cream or ice cream will further enhance the enjoyment when serving!

Apfeltaschen with walnuts

1 sheet of puff pastry, 250-300g
2 firm fresh apples
20g butter
60g walnuts, roughly crushed
60g brown sugar
1tsp ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg(optional)

-peel, core and slice the apples into thin wedges
-in a skillet cook the walnuts in melted butter.
-after a minute or two add the apple slices, sugar and cinnamon, continue to cook until the mixture is lightly caramelized, tossing and mixing thoroughly. Apples need NOT be fully cooked, just well coated by the butter-walnut-sugar mixture. Let it cool to the room temperature. (it will be much more manageable to handle the filled pastry when the filling is sufficiently chilled)
-roll out the puff pastry sheet on a lightly greased baking tray (or lined with silicon sheet).
-pour out the apple mixture lengthwise at the centre of the pastry sheet, leaving unfilled about 3-4cm at the end.
-fold over the top and bottom left empty from the filling (to avoid the filling from spewing out).
-then fold over the both side towards the centre, at this point filling should be completely covered with the pastry.
-press rightly to secure, then turn quickly to bring the seamside at the bottom.
-with a sharp knife make several diagonal slits on the surface.
-if desired brush the beaten egg lightly & evenly over the surface.
-bake in the oven at 200°C for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Creamy Cup o' Green Peas

This is a very nice comfort dish for wintry evening, you can serve them as a light meal, or alternative to pasta or risotto, as it is reasonably substantial. This can be modified anywhere from mashed potato like texture to a more soupy consistency, depending on the amount of broth added (or omitted). Also for a vegetarian variation, substitute the bacon with a shredded carrot, to be sauteed with shallots!

Creamy cup of green peas

For 3-4
800g frozen green peas
200g cooking cream
4 shallots, finely chopped
100g chopped smoked bacon
vegetable broth (as needed/prefered)
extra virgine olive oil
salt
white pepper

Boil green peas in lightly salted water for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not mushy.
In a sauce pan fry the bacon and scallion in olive oil, until bacon is crisp.
Put the hot peas in a mixer until they become a puree.
Add the puree and cooking cream into the sauce pan, dash of salt and white pepper.
Stir well until they are thoroughly heated.
If you prefer thinner (soupy) texture, add some vegetable broth to bring it to preferred consistency.
Serve with fresh baked courton or toasted baguette.

Macadamia Oatmeal Crisps

Inspired by the highly addictive Havreflarn from Ikea Food section, this all butter thin crisp biscuits gear up their goodness yet another notch, with a generous addition of macadamia nuts. It's a good idea to make a multiple dose as they are sure to disappear very quickly!! However make sure to allow the room for each biscuits to spread when you bake them, as they need to be on the thin side and crunchy!

Macadamia Oatmeal Crisps

120g butter (softened at room temperature)
120g brown sugar
120g sugar
1 egg
a few drops of vanilla essence
135g all purpose flour
3g baking soda
a pinch of salt
70g rolled oat flakes
110g whole macadamia nuts, crushed

Preheat the oven to 175°C
Cream together the butter and 2 sugars.
Add the egg and vanilla, mix vigorously until smooth.
Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix in thoroughly.
Add the oat flakes and the crushed macadamia nuts, mix well to distribute them evenly.
On a lightly greased baking tray, drop small balls of the dough -- space them well and do not over crowd, as a dough ball of about the size of a wallnut will spread into about 8-9cm diametre.
Bake them for 10-12 minutes or until golden, let them cool down to the room temperature.