Leek tops soup

An easy soup made with leek tops (the green hard top parts), onion, garlic, chili and 2 small potatoes. Simply served with bread and salted butter. The sprinkle of finely chopped leeks makes the whole look much prettier. Yes, pretty food does taste better!

Fırında Sardalya

J'ai la mauvaise habitude d'héberger les restes alimentaires de festivals, mariages ou événements divers, j'avais donc, entre autres, une pile de boîtes de sardines qui traînaient depuis un moment dans mes placards. Sachant que nous avons ramenés de délicieuses sardines marinées de notre dernier voyage à Lisbonne, cela devient difficile de manger les sardines standard achetées en Suisse!

Puis je suis tombée sur une recette pour des anchois cuits au four (Fırında Hamsi), dans le livre Istanbul de Rebecca Seal. La recette originale est avec des anchois frais, mais elle s'adapte très bien aux sardines en boîte. Il faut juste faire attention à bien rincer les sardines, et ne pas utiliser l'huile de stockage, elle n'est généralement pas de très bonne qualité et donne un goût fort.

En bonus, j'ai fait des pseudos rillettes avec les restes, avec un peu de jus de citron et de mayonnaise et servies sur des toasts, c'était encore meilleur!

Je recommande aussi le livre Istanbul, j'en ai déjà testé plusieurs recettes et toutes étaient délicieuses. Soit, il est écrit par une touriste, et non pas par un local, mais cela rend les ingrédients plus facile à trouver. 

*recipe in english below*

Sardines au four

Inspiré par une recette tirée d'Istanbul de Rebecca Seal - pour 4 personnes

1 petit oignon, coupé en demi-lunes

3 CS de persil haché

2 CS de concentré de tomate

1/2 citron coupé en quartiers

jus d'un 1/2 citron

3 CS d'huile d'olive

1 piment rouge (frais ou sec) en fines lamelles

1 poignée de tomates cerises, coupées en 2

1/2 cc de sumac

2 gousses d'ail, hachées

10 olives noires, bien rincées, dénoyautées et hachées grossièrement

4 boîtes de sardines, bien rincées et séchées avec du papier absorbant

1/4 cc de sel

poivre à volonté

Pour servir: 1/2 citron coupé en quartiers et du persil haché

Préchauffer le four à 180°C. Faire revenir l'oignon dans un peu d'huile d'olive dans une petite casserole. 

Mélanger tous les ingrédients sauf le poisson dans un plat à gratin. Ajouter le poisson et mélanger gentiment. 

Cuire 15 minutes au milieu du four, éventuellement griller un peu à la fin.

Servir avec les quartiers de citron et le persil, avec du pain et une salade verte.

Faire des rillettes avec les restes en écrasant le poisson à la fourchette et ajouter un peu de jus de citron et de mayonnaise. Servir sur des toasts.

Tray-baked sardines

inspired by Firinda Hamsi / Istanbul by Rebecca Seal - serves 4

a small onion, cut in half moons

3 TB chopped parsley

2 TB concentrated tomato purée

1/2 lemon cut in wedges

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 TB olive oil

1 red chili finely sliced

a handful cherry tomatoes cut in halves

1/2 tsp sumac

2 cloves garlic, minced

10 black olives, stoned and roughly chopped

4 tins of sardines, thoroughly rinsed and patted dry

1/4 teaspoon salt

pepper

for serving: 1/2 lemon cut in wedges and chopped parsley

Preheat the oven at 180°C. Soften the onion in 1 TB olive oil in a small pan. Put all ingredients in a pan, except fish and mix well. Add fish and toss gently to make sure it is well coated. Bake for 15 minutes. Optional: grill for a few minutes before serving.

Top with more chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges, salad and bread

Fagots d'oignons de printemps gratinés

Finalement une nouvelle recette en ligne! Ces petits fagots sont prêts en un tour de main et permettent d'utiliser les feuilles des oignons de printemps. Bon appétit !

Fagots d'oignons de printemps gratinés

Inspiré d'une recette de Cuisine de Saison, d'une édition avant 2007
Quantités pour 1 personne ou comme en-cas pour 2 personnes

4-5 oignons nouveaux
1 paquet de tranches fines de poitrine de dinde fumée
4 CS de fromage frais aux herbes & ail (cantadou, boursin, tartare..)
1.5 dl de bouillon de légumes (chaud)
4 brins de thym (optionnel)
1 pincée de muscade fraîchement moulue (optionnel)
poivre

[1] Préchauffer le four à 180°C.
[2] Bien laver les oignons, retirer le bulbe blanc et les extrémités. Fendre la partie verte dans le sens de la longueur puis couper en 2 ou 3 segments. Les segments d'oignons doivent être à peine plus long que la largeur des tranches de dinde. Répartir les oignons dans les tranches de dinde, enrouler et placer dans un plat à gratin.
[3] Faire fondre le fromage frais dans le bouillon de légumes. Ajouter 3 brins de thym, la muscade et du poivre. Verser ce mélange sur les roulades aux oignons. Le liquide doit couvrir le fond du plat, si ce n'est pas le cas, rajouter un peu de bouillon de légumes.
[4] Faire cuire environ 15 minutes au four. Avant de servir, poivrer et garnir du dernier brin de thym. Servir avec du bon pain pour saucer!

Variantes & remarques
* C'est aussi super bon avec des oignons de printemps asiatiques, beaucoup plus petits et plus aromatiques.
* Comme je n'avais plus assez de fromage frais aux herbes, j'ai remplacé 2 CS par 2 fromages kiri, ça allait très bien aussi.

* Le bulbe blanc de l'oignon peut être utilisé comme un oignon normal - en l’occurrence je l'avais déjà ôté pour une autre recette. 

* Je ne l'ai pas encore testé mais je pense que la recette peut bien fonctionner avec la partie verte du poireau - simplement éliminer les feuilles trop dures et couper en fines lamelles.

Overweight cupboard #4: Falafel crumbs plate

To be totally honest, I wanted to do plain normal standard falafel with a pack of ready made mix, where you just have to add water. As I slightly overestimated the amount of water, I ended up with a mixture which could not be rolled in balls but just spread out in the frying pan. Tadaaa falafel crumbs!!

It's actually quite nice, and a great quick meal recipe. You can adapt it to whatever is in the fridge. Replace the tomato by thickly sliced cucumber, iceberg salad, chopped carrots, .. and the curd cheese (séré or quark) could easily be switched against cottage cheese, sliced mozzarella, (greek) plain yogurt, sour cream... you name it.

Leftovers used

1 pack falafel mix

Falafel crumbs plate - makes 1

1/3 pack of falafel mix
2 TB vegetable oil
1 large heirloom tomato, sliced
3 TB curd cheese or cottage cheese
a good squeeze of lemon juice
chopped chives

Prepare the falafel mix according to the package instructions. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add a little water to make the mix more liquid. Cook the mix in the oil for about 5-7 minutes. During that time, slice the tomatoes and arrange on a plate. Mix the curd cheese with lemon juice and chives and season to taste. When the falafel crumbs are cooked, put over the tomatoes and top with curd cheese mix.

Of course, you should prepare real falafel with the rest of the mix. They heat up very well for a 4 AM fridge raid, just make sure you prepared some extra curd cheese sauce to dip into ;-)

Overweight cupboard #3: Chupe de cancha

Cancha is a Peruvian snack, made from maiz chulpe, a sort of corn with large kernels. The kernels are heated in a a pan with oil, toasted and salted. It is mainly sold by food vendors in the street and markets.

We bought some chanca to nibble in the train going from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco. Unfortunately, it was so dry and starchy that it was hardly edible. I still kept the small pack of corn, thinking I could use it as a topping for a soup but it just ended up taking up space in my cupboard.

I finally made a soup out of it, which was probably the only way to get rid of the dryness. It turned out pretty good, the toasted corn adding depth in comparison to a normal corn soup. [version française plus bas]

Leftovers used

- cancha

- some rocoto sauce

Cancha soup - makes 1 cup
a handful cancha
1 TB olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 dried chili
50 ml white wine
400 ml vegetable stock (rocoto) chili sauce

[1] Let the cancha soak in water overnight. Change the water 2-3 times.
[2] Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf and dried chili and cook a few minutes until the onion is tender. Drain the cancha and add to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, add the white wine, then the stock. Cook on low-medium heat for 20 minutes. Let cool down.
[3] Remove and discard the bay leaf and chili. Transfer to a mixer and mix thoroughly.
[4] Add a little broth if the mixture is too thick. Season to taste with salt, pepper and rocoto chili paste. Serve warm or cold as a gaspacho.

Soupe de Cancha - pour 1 bol
1 poignée de cancha
1 CS d'huile d'olive
1/2 oignon, haché
1 gousse d'ail, hachée
1 feuille de laurier
1 piment séché
50 ml de vin blanc
400 ml de bouillon de légumes
sauce au piment (rocoto)

[1] Le jour précédent, faire tremper les canche dans un grand bol d'eau.
[2] Faire chauffer l'huile dans une casserole. Ajouter l'oignon, l'ail, la feuille de laurier et le piment séché et faire revenir quelques minute jusqu'à ce que l'oignon soit tendre. Egoutter les canche et ajouter à la casserole. Cuire 1-2 minutes puis ajouter le vin blanc. Laisser évaporer un peu puis ajouter le bouillon. Cuire à petit feu durant 20 minutes. Laisser refroidir.
[3] Ôter le laurier et le piment. Transférer la soupe dans un robot-mixeur et réduire en purée fine.
[4] Si la soupe est trop épaisse, éclaircir avec un peu de bouillon. Saler, poivrer et ajouter de la pâte de piment rocoto selon le goût. A servir chaud ou froid comme un gaspacho.

Overweight cupboard #2: (failed) macarons

Cookie-type macarons are a great way to use up any leftover egg white, as well as coco/hazel/whatever-nuts. The recipe from Betty Bossi says to dry the macarons overnight, but I guess that a couple of hours would be enough. My coconut macarons looked good until I left them too long in the oven, burnt burnt burnt. Things don't always turn out as planned in the kitchen, but at least you can always make another batch (and watch over it while it cooks!). Oh and of course, now find a purpose for the leftover egg yolks...

Leftovers used

- 1 egg white

- 60g grated coconut

Fail!!

Macarons - after a Betty Bossi recipe

3 egg whites

75 g of sugar (1)

75 g of sugar (2)

200 g of grated nuts/coconuts/almonds/hazelnuts/chocolate/...

The day before: Beat the egg whites very stiffly, add sugar (1) and beat again until the mixture shines. Carefully add sugar (2) then the grated nuts (or whatever). Line the baking tray with a baking sheet and form little mounds. Let dry overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven at 250°C and cook the macarons 5 minutes in the upper part of the oven.

Overweight cupboard #1: seafood pasta

I started my cupboard fight with an easy lunch meal packed with flavour: pasta al nero di seppia in a shrimp, anchovy and tomato sauce. It's done in 10 minutes and really tasty. Enjoy it with a glass of San Giovese or Montepulciano.

Leftovers used
- half a pack of tagiatelle al nero di seppia from Cinqueterre, Italy
- chili parsley pasta spice mix from Cataña, Sicily, Italy
- a handful of frozen shrimps
- leftover home-made tomato sauce

Tagliatelle al nero di seppia in tomato seafood sauce - serves 2
400g tagliatelle al nero di seppia
1-2 TB olive oil
5 anchovy fillets
1 TB capers, rinsed
1 tsp chili parsley garlic pasta spice mix (try dried chopped chili)
half a cup tomato sauce
a handful frozen shrimps
shredded basil and grated Parmesan, to serve

[1] Cook the pasta al dente in large pan of salted boiling water.
[2] Heat the oil in a small pan, add the anchovy, capers and chili spice mix. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, warm through and add the shrimp.
[3] Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the tomato seafood sauce. Mix gently to coat the pasta. Top with basil and Parmesan before serving.

Overweight cupboard

I have the nasty habit of bringing back food whenever I travel - I love recreating the foreign tastes in my kitchen when I get back. However, as my travel rate increases, I find myself standing in front of an overflowing cupboard, where the various preserves and leftover baking ingredients from a wedding last year compete to turn the shelves into obese whales.

My worst nightmare is to wake up in the middle of the night to a huge BADABOUMCRASH, as the shelves finally submitted to the mass of food. So, it's high time to do something about it!

First step, the list:

Wild rice

Wieners

Cornichons

Pailleté feuilletine

Jalapeños

Flour tortillas

Falafel mix

Crozets aux chanterelles

Tagliatelle al nero di seppia

Black pasta with basilicum

Udon noodles

Peruvian ready-made sauces

Black chocolate for cooking 2x

White chocolate for cooking

Rice flour

Poppy seeds

Strange dried corn from Peru

Canned rhubarb

Pickled red beet

Microwave popcorn

Pear saffran compote

Rhubarb cherry compote

Kefir lime leaves

Conchiglioni rigati

Rollmops

Dried plums

Vegetable broth

Parmesan crusts

Jerusalem artichoke soup

Sushi rice

Nori sheets

Old müsli
Shrimps
Chocolate slivers

Meringues

2x canned asparagus

Dried porcini

Maizena

Salmon eggs

Candied lemon peel

Coconut flakes

... and maybe some other stuff well hidden...and tons of spices and alcohol, but that's another challenge!!

So, now the goal is set, I can follow the steps of Zach and Clay and start cooking!

Okra fried rice

Sometimes you randomly buy a bunch of okra at the Pakistanese store. You find an "okra fried rice" recipe in a carribean cookbook. It matches perfectly the leftovers in the fridge. You cook, you eat. You cry because that small wrinkled orange chili pepper from Naschmarkt in Vienna is stronger than you.
♥ food

Okra fried rice - serves 2

Inspired from The Caribbean Central & South American Cookbook

1 TB olive oil

1/2 TB butter

1/2 garlic clove, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

a big handful of okra, sliced thinly

2 TB chopped red bell pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 fresh chili, rinsed, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 tsp 5-spice powder

1/2 vegetable stock cube (bouillon)

1 TB soy sauce

1 tsp fresh coriander

1 bowl cooked long grain rice

[1] Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan. Add the garlic and onion and cook until soft. Add the okra and chillies, cook gently for 6-7 minutes.

[2] Add the bell peppers, thyme, 5-spice. Cook for 3 minutes then add the stock cube in crumbs.

[3] Add the soy sauce, chopped coriander and rice. Heat through, stirring well. Season to taste. Serve hot with extra coriander.

Autumn nibbles

Roasted pumpkin and onion chutney crostini - serves as many as you want
Inspired by an add from the Australians of Always Fresh

Slice of fresh pumpkin
Olive oil
Bread (ciabatta or baguette would be best)
Cottage cheese or any natural cream cheese spread
Onion chutney
--
[1] Slice the bread and toast it.
[2] Cut the pumpkin in thin triangles, a little smaller than the bread slices. Place on a baking sheet. Brush the triangles with a marinade of olive oil and whatever spices you feel like. I used crushed sage leaves, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 180°C for about 10 minutes.
[3] Spread a teaspoon of cottage cheese on each toast, top with half a teaspoon of onion chutney. Top with the warm pumpkin triangles and serve immediately.

PS. My sweet onion chutney is from Peppers (thx Charlotte!). If you cannot find any, I'm pretty sure sweet caramelized onions would be great.