Monday 22 April 2013

Wildflower Bruschetta



Yesterday, we went for a walk and I was determined to do some foraging and prepare something wild for our Sunday dinner. And I was successful. We found nettles in abundance but also dandelion flowers, coltsfoot and daisies and were looking forward to a wild feast. Apart from the bruschetta I also made nettle soup and nettle risotto.


When we got home, we were really hungry and it was still nice in the garden so I quickly prepared some bruschetta with the wildflowers.
(serves 2)

4 slices of ciabatta
a large handful of dandelion flowers and buds
4 coltsfoot stems (that's all I found)
a few small vine tomatoes
a small handful of daisies
1 garlic clove
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Wash each type of flowers separately and spin. Peel the garlic clove. Toast the ciabatta. In the meantime, heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the dandelion and coltsfoot for about 3 minutes and season with pepper und salt. Half the tomatoes and season with a little salt to bring out the flavor. Place in a bowl and scatter a few daisies on top.



Rub the toasted ciabatta slices with garlic, divide the fried flowers among them, scatter the remaining daisies over the top and enjoy – outdoors if possible.

Nettle Soup


The second dish I prepared with our foraged food was a nettle soup for Monday lunch.

(serves 4)

500 g stinging nettles
750 ml vegetable stock
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
nutmeg
extra virgin olive oil
150 ml soured cream


Using tongs, place the nettles into a collander and wash well. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan. Finely chop the onion and garlic, add to the saucepan and sautée for about 5 minutes. Add the nettles and mix with the onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-5 minutes before adding the stock. Bring to the boil, season with pepper, salt and nutmeg and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and purée. Check the seasoning, then add the soured cream and serve.

For a slightly more substantial soup, add a handful of breadcrumbs along with the stock.

Nettle Risotto

The third dish I cooked with our foraged food was a nettle risotto based on a recipe from Giorgio Locatelli's fabulous cookbook „Made in Italy, Food & Stories“.


(serves 2)

2 handfuls of young stinging nettles
750 ml vegetable stock
150 ml dry white wine
200 g arborio rice
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
nutmeg
extra virgin olive oil

Wash the nettles and blanch for 30 seconds in boiling salted water, then drain. Keep a few leaves back and purée the rest. Set aside. Finely chop the onion and garlic.


Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion, garlic and celery over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until soften but not brown. Add the rice and keep stirring until it becomes transparent. From here the risotto takes about 15-20 minutes. Now add the wine. Keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed. Then add the stock a ladle full at a time.

After 10 minutes add the puréed nettles and season with some nutmeg. When the rice is to your liking (al dente or just cooked) remove from the heat, season with pepper and (if required) salt. Stir in the parmesan and a glug of olive oil. Cover and rest for 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately scattered with parmesan and the left-over cooked nettle leaves.

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Soured Cream and Dill Dip

The salad dressing for this salad was so good I converted it into a dip/sauce to be served with bread, crudités, meat, fish, roasted and BBQ'd vegetables. And it takes only a couple of minutes to prepare.

150 ml soured cream
1 heaped tsp German mustard
1 bunch fresh Dill
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Fresh Dill


1 cucumber
300 g small vine tomatoes
150 ml soured cream
1 heaped tsp German mustard
1 bunch fresh Dill
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Optionally peel the cucumber. Cut in half and cut the halves again lengthways. Using a teaspoon scoop out the seeds. Cut into 5 mm thick slices and place into a bowl. Quarter the tomatoes and add to the bowl.

Make the dressing and finely chop the dill. Combine and dress the salad. If possible leave to marinate at room temperature for 15 - 30 minutes.

Thursday 11 April 2013

Refreshing Fennel Salad with Dill

I love fennel both sautéd, roasted and raw with dips or in a salad. This is a real summer salad to be served in the garden with a BBQ or a summer lunch. I made it yesterday evening and pretended it wasn't still far too cold for the time of year. And it almost worked. ;)

3 small fennel bulbs
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch Dill
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Trim the top and bottom of the fennel bulbs und cut lengthways along the narrow side of the bulb into 2 mm slices. This way the slices hold together. Scatter in a large bowl. Make the dressing using about 3 to 4 times as much olive oil as lime and lemon juice. Dress the fennel and mix through. Leave for at least half an hour.

Before serving, finely chop the dill and scatter over the fennel salad.

Sunday 7 April 2013

Flammkuchen with Green Asparagus


I've wanted to try out Flammkuchen for a very long time but never had all the necessary ingredients in the house at the same time. During last week's trip to the supermarket I finally remembered to buy some read-made pastry, both filo and puff pastry. Though I generally avoid ready-made products, both these types of pastry are too time-consuming to make at home unless it's a special occasion. And with the puff pastry I opted for the all butter variety so it contains no margarine, no palm oil, no hydrogenated fat etc.

This serves 3-4 people. We ate it with a salad made with oak leaf lettuce, sautéd pear and mushrooms and buffalo mozzarela.

350 g packet of ready-rolled puff pastry
300 ml crème fraîche
1 bunch of flat leaf parseley
300-400 g green asparagus
1 handful of freshly grated parmesan
olive oil
1 garlic clove
nutmeg
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Start by heating a griddle pan without oil for about 5 minutes until it is screaming hot. Meanwhile prepare the asparagus by bending each spear until it snaps. Discard the woody bits or set aside to use in a vegetable stock. Slice the asparagus lengthways, drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to lightly coat all the asparagus. Using tongs place in the griddle pan and cook until the asparagus is lightly charred.


2. While the asparagus is cooking place the puff pastry onto a baking tray. My pastry was ready-rolled on a sheet of grease-proof paper and could be placed straight onto a baking tray.

3. Chop the parsley, grate the parmessan and combine with the crème fraîche. Season with pepper and salt and a little freshly grated nutmeg.  Spread onto the puff pastry. Add the asparagus, season with a touch more pepper and salt if desired. Bake at 200° C for 20-30 minutes. Tastes best served hot.




Salad of oak leaf lettuce, sautéd pear and mushrooms and buffalo mozzarela


I got the idea for this salad from fellow blogger Ghislana of the German blog Jahreszeitenbriefe. Ghislana used lambs lettuce and some other ingredients. This is my take on her recipe.

(serves two)

1/2 head of oak leaf lettuce
200 g mushrooms
1/2 abate pear or 1 conference pear
1 small (125 g) buffalo mozzarella
20 g butter
olive oil
juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
balsamic glaze
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Roughly tear the lettuce leaves, wash, spin and set aside.

2. Wipe or peel the mushrooms and slice them. Dice the pear. Heat the butter and a little olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms and pear together. Add a little balsamic glaze and cook until they're nicely nicely browned. Season with pepper and salt.


3. Drain the liquid off the the mozzarella and tear into bite-sized chunks.

4. Add the lettuce to a bowl, scatter the mushrooms and pear, top with the mozzarella and squeeze the lemon juice over everything. Drizzle on a little more olive oil. Serve immediately.

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Pasta with chickpeas, aubergine, spinach and sundried tomatoes




As we eat huge quantities of vegetables, this recipe serves just two people. By increasing the amount of pasta it can easily serve four, thoughn.

200 - 250 g pasta
1 aubergine
1 tin of organic chick peas in water (no salt or sugar added)
250 baby spinach
6 - 8 sundried tomatoes
1 onion
1 whole bulb garlic
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated parmesan (optional)
1 tsp herbes de provence
extra virgin olive oil

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Dice the aubergine. Wash and spin the spinach and roughly chop. Cut the sundried tomatoes into strips and drain the chick peas.

2. Heat some oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion, garlic and herbs. After about 5 minutes, move the to the side of the pan or remove completely to prevent them from buring. Add more oil and brown the diced aubergine all over. Lowert the heat and keep frying the aubergine. for a few minutes. Then, add the chickpeas, spinach and tomatoes. Season with pepper and salt, put a lid on and cook over a low heat until the aubergines are tender. If necessary add a glug of white wine, stock or water to prevent the vegetable mix from sticking to the pan.



3. Once the vegetables are in the pan, cook your pasta al dente. Serve with a little parmesan and/or a drizzle of olive oil.


Pasta with morel mushrooms and tarragon




Last week, we found fresh morels at the health food shop. Since they only grow on sandy soil in the wild they are very expensive. Luckily, you don't need a lot to transform an ordinary pasta dish into something special. This recipe serves two.


200-250 g egg pasta, e. g. tagliatelle
100 -125 g morels
1 shalot
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp fresh tarragon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
20 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Depending on the cooking time of your pasta you may want to put them on first in plenty of salted water.

2. Grate the parmesan and chop the tarragon. Set aside.

3. Finely chop the shalott and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes at a medium to low heat in the butter and olive without browning.

4. Wash the morels really well to get rid of the sand. Cut into thin slices and add to the pan. Sauté at a medium heat taking care not to brown the shalott and garlic. Season with pepper and salt. When the morel slices are done after 5-7 minutes, add the tarragon to the pan, mix and turn off the heat.

5. Drain the pasta and return to the saucepan or pour into a warmed dish. Mix in the morels and half the parmesan. Serve immediately sprinkled with a little more parmesan.