Onion Soup with Red Wine

I had red wine.
I had lots of onions.
I felt like having soup.
So yes, I made french onion soup with red wine instead of the usual white wine.
Will I do this again? I'm not sure. It was a good soup but somehow I prefer white wine version... The recipe was supposed to be quick onion soup but trust me, you need to cook the onions over a low heat for at least an hour because that is the only way you will get them to be soft and sweet.
Here is a little illustration I made with pen and water colour of the BBC recipe ingredients:

Vegetable Potstickers

I set myself a challenge to use up the stuff in my fridge, freezer and cupboard.
This is hard because if you know me then you know how I love to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. I admit that I like buying interesting things... except I tend to forget that I have them.

So this is the result of my challenge.
I had tofu and a lot of cabbage in the fridge.
I had gyoza skins and peas in the freezer.
I had all kinds of sauces which could be used for a dip.
Potstickers here we come!

Of course it turned out to be a bit of effort to make these little treats. - don't underestimate the work involved in sealing and 'folding' the wrappers. It was my first attempt at making these dumplings and it took the better part of an hour. Then again I had two kids screaming and running around driving me slightly crazy. In the end I gave Heidi a few wrappers and she made her own ham stuffed pot stickers, which when cooked she also ate - bonus!

The potstickers turned out to be very tasty - my stuffing included two types of cabbage, onion, a radish from my garden, garlic, peas and tofu. I served it with steamed rice, soya sauce and sweet chili sauce. Very vegetarian and very good. Well worth trying!

I found inspiration for the potstickers on Smitten Kitchen and The First Mess and adapted it liberally to suit my larder.

In short, here is what I did:
Buy the gyoza skins - let them defrost if frozen.
Chop up your vegetables and tofu - very finely.
Stir fry them for a few minutes until tender but with the colours still vibrant - adding the seasoning as per your personal preference (Besides salt and pepper I added a dash of ketjap manis to the tofu for a bit of flavour).
Set the stuffing aside and drain any excess fluid.
Now start the process of stuffing and folding the wrappers (gyoza skins or whatever you are using).
A teaspoon or two should be enough per wrapper since you don't want it too full.
Place the stuffing in the middle of the wrapper then dip your finger in a bowl of water and draw an outline on the wrapper. Fold to seal and slowly make little folds in the wrapper - this is tricky but any shape will do!
Set the potstickers on a baking sheet to rest for a few minutes.
Now heat a little bit of oil in a big skillet and place the potstickers in there one by one - fitting in as many as possible. Let is cook for a minute and then add boiling water to cover two thirds of the dumplings.
Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes, until all water is gone.
The dumplings will become quite translucent when ready.
Enjoy!

Pasta with Ham, Mushrooms and Asparagus

I love asparagus.

Two weeks ago I made a pretty tasty pasta dish with garlic, shallots, ham, mushrooms then I topped it with a sprinkle of parmesan and pan fried asparagus.

Of course that sounds very basic but there was some skill involved and a cup of white wine.

In this foto I applied Florabella's colour pop and ocean actions.

I quite like the subtle effect!

Vegetable Pot Pie

There is nothing better than enjoying a vegetable pot pie in the middle of winter. It is warm and comforting and just makes me happy.

In essence I chopped up a whole lot of veggies, added vegetable stock and let it simmer for a while. Think potatoes, pumpkin, green beans, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, onion and a courgette. Then I stirred in maizena mixed in cold water and let it thicken a little on the heat while stirring. Dish out all the veggies into an ovenproof bowl. Next you need to cover the whole bowl with pastry (see pastry recipe below).

Place it in the oven for about 35 minutes and serve!

I found the pastry recipe on this site.

Here is a copy of the recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
¼ tsp. salt
4 Tbs. cold soy margarine, cut into pieces

Whisk together flours and salt in bowl. Cut or rub margarine into flour mixture until no large pieces remain. Stir in 3 to 4 Tbs. cold water until smooth dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill while making Filling.

Orange Chicken

I had chicken breasts, fennel, onions, mushrooms and some oranges.

What to make, what to make.

Luckily the Internet is full of ideas. 

I love the Internet.

I stumbled across a recipe that matched my ingredients on this website. It turned out to be rather good and very easy (bonus!). It calls for 'herbs de provence' which of course I did not have lying around but that did not stop me from just adding whatever I felt like in terms of herbs and spices. 

Long live improvisation!

Here is a link to the original recipe.

Here is my improvised version.

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 bulb of fennel (top, bottom and outer leaves removed), sliced thinly

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoons herbs (coriander seeds, basil, cayenne pepper, etc.)

salt and pepper

Juice of 2 oranges

Method:

Melt the butter in a deep skillet on medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and just cooked through (about 15 minutes, but depends on the thickness of the poultry).

Meanwhile prepare the mushrooms, fennel and onion.

Remove the chicken from the pan and add the olive oil, heating it for about 1 minute. Add the sliced onions, mushrooms, and fennel. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Return the chicken to the skillet with the vegetables, then sprinkle with the herbs, and salt and pepper. Pour the orange juice on top and adjust the heat so that the liquid is just barely bubbling.

Simmer for 10 minutes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on top of rice.

Tuna Pasta Salad (again)

Yes, I've posted about tuna pasta salads before...

It seems like the moment the weather improves, and there is any chance of eating outside, that I want a pasta salad.

Here are a few photos of this week's pasta salad.

It is dead simple and only the pasta requires any cooking...

I usually use whatever ingredients I happen to have in the house so be creative!

Salad Days

As the season changes I find myself craving salads.

Fresh lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and best of all avocado.

Mix it all, add a dressing, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top...

Glorious salad days!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Salad

It was the usual question.
What am I going to make for dinner.
I had chicken breasts, I had asparagus and I had a lime.
Of course I had a whole lot more than that but I really wanted to use the chicken, asparagus and the lime!

I browsed the Delicious Magazine website and stumbled across two potential recipes. I improvised and used a bit of this one and a bit of that one.

I was happy with the results and so was my husband!

Ingredients:

3 skinless free-range chicken breasts
Juice of 1 lime and lime zest
½ garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika powder
½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 courgette, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
12 - 15 asparagus spears
2 cups arugula lettuce
60 gr couscous

Method:

Place the chicken breasts between sheets of cling film and carefully flatten with a rolling pin until they are 10mm thick. Place in a dish with the lime juice, the lime zest, garlic, dried spices and one table spoon olive oil. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for an hour or two.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the chopped courgette, carrots and onions into an oven proof dish, season and drizzle some olive oil on top. Roast in the oven for approximately 40 minutes.

Prepare the couscous as per the instructions on the packaging.

Trim the asparagus and drizzle with olive oil.

Heat up your grill (I use an electric grill which looks a little like a George Foreman Grill!).
Now place the asparagus on the grill and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
Next cook the chicken breasts on the grill - it shouldn't take long, but it entirely depends on your grill.

Combine everything, including the arugula, and enjoy a very healthy and tasty salad!

Butternut, Spinach and Caramelized Onion Pasta

This pasta dish turned out to be just lovely.

It started off with me having some fresh spinach and not knowing what to do with it.
Then I remembered something which I saw on pinterest (you just gotta love pinterest!)
It was a lasagna with squash, onions and spinach.
Since I did not have most of the ingredients, I improvised.

My recipe below is for one very hungry person, but can easily be adapted for more.

I roasted a medium sized butternut, while at the same time caramelizing one onion. The idea was that they should be done within 40 minutes and the timing worked out well.
Halfway through cooking the onion I added half a clove of crushed garlic.
Oh the smell... it was mouthwatering.
I cooked my spaghetti (100grams) and also sauteed two big hands full of spinach.
When everything was done I used about half the butternut and saved the rest for another day.
Then I poured 100gram demi creme fraiche onto the spaghetti, mixing it well and to this I added the onions, butternut and spinach.
Lastly I grated Parmesan cheese over the pasta.
Yum.

A Quick Tuna Pasta Salad

Quickly.
That is how I try to make all my dinners.
Unfortunately I don't like eating the same thing twice in a row or else I would just make everything double. Luckily some ingredients can be cleverly disguised.

I made a standard vegetarian pasta and decided to cook a little extra pasta to keep ready in the fridge for a pasta salad.

A can of lovely white tuna, one cup of cooked cold pasta, half a small cucumber finely chopped, a big juicy tomato, one red onion, half a bag of rocket leaves, lemon juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and ground black pepper.

(Notice how I resisted temptation and did NOT use any mayo with the tuna...)

Mix it all together and enjoy a very healthy dinner or lunch!

Kids Food #3 - Vegetarian Pasta

This pasta dish is a real hit with the kids.
It is ever so simple and they get lots of veggies in this way!

All you basically have to do is make a pasta sauce with a little bit of olive oil, a diced onion, a diced courgette and sliced mushrooms. Add some sieved tomatoes and let it simmer away for 15 minutes. I usually add a little bit of salt and a teaspoon of sugar as seasoning.

In the meantime go ahead and get the pasta going.
I use Dora pasta since the kids love the little shapes... either way, it takes about 10 minutes and the pasta is done.

Now the big trick is to blend the sauce with a hand blender until nice and smooth.
Cover the pasta with the sauce and mix well.
Dish up and sprinkle a tablespoon or three of grated cheese on the top.

Serve to hungry kids.

The pasta sauce is in principle enough to serve four people so I decided to freeze the remaining sauce. I am sure it will come in very handy!

French Onion Soup

I bought a big bag of onions for less than a euro.
The first thing that came to mind was onion soup.
Not that I've ever made it before, but I've always been good at ordering it in restaurants.

So I searched the Internet for French Onion Soup recipes and found many, too many.
Luckily I came across this recipe from Nigel Slater.
What I like about it was the short list of ingredients and the clear instructions.
It worked like a charm.

Here is a copy of the recipe, I followed it step by step, except I found that I had to cook the onions for about an hour which is slightly longer than suggested in the recipe. I also used Parmesan cheese instead of the cheeses below.

The recipe

Serves 4-6

700g onions
40g butter
2 tbsp flour
1.75 litres beef stock
1 glass of white wine
Baguette to toast
Gruyère or Emmenthal

Peel and thinly slice 700g onions, then leave them to soften in 40g butter and a small glug of olive oil over a low to medium heat. Stir them regularly. They are ready when they are soft, sticky, sweet and deep gold in colour. Some add a pinch of sugar at this point to help the onions caramelise. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of flour, cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in 1.75 litres of boiling beef stock and a glass of white wine. Partially cover with a lid and leave to simmer for a good 45 minutes.

Season, ladle into deep, heatproof bowls, place several thin slices of toasted baguette on to each, then cover with thinly sliced Gruyère or Emmenthal. Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes or grill until the bread is toasted and the cheese has melted but not browned.

The magic

The trick to getting this soup right is that the onions caramelize – they must cook for at least 35-40 minutes over a low to moderate heat. Only when the onions are soft enough to crush easily between finger and thumb can you add the flour and stock.

The twist

Contemporary versions can involve roasting the onions in the oven to give a more concentrated sweetness. Red onions produce the sweetest version of all, so you might like to add thyme and bay as a balance. Parmesan in place of Gruyère produces a less fatty but just as tasty crust.

Thank you Nigel Slater!!