Spicy Rosemary Nuts

Our next-door neighbour makes the most fantastic chilli nuts but won't reveal his recipe. ;) I've experimented but haven't really managed to come up with a good alternative  - until now! On a German (partly bilingual) blog by Die Raumfee, I saw a recipe that I've adapted and that's worked out really, really well. Thank you Katja!

600-800 g mixed nuts (e. g. almonds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, macademia nuts, pecan nuts, walnuts)
1 egg white
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chilli flakes, ground
1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the nuts in a roasting tray and roast at full whack for 5- 10 minutes until they are golden. The time depends on your oven. (Our gas oven is really slow.)

2. Beat the egg white until stiff and mix in all the seasoning. Mix in the nuts, then return the mixture to the roasting tray. Bake for 30 minutes at gas mark 2/120 °C.  To prevent the nuts from sticking to the tray mix them up after about 10 minutes.

3. After they're fully cooled, store them in airtight jars. They won't last long!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin in Mustard Sauce

As many of you probably know, Germans exchange presents on Christmas eve and in my family we also always had a special meal. I wanted to do something tasty but different now that I'm eating meat again and after much soul searching decided on a pork tenderloin (also known as pork fillet).

(serves 3 - 4)

1 large or 2 small pork tenderloins (approx. 450-500 g in total)
1 bunch fresh thyme
extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
150 ml soured cream
1-2 tsp German mustard or Dijon

1. Season the meat with pepper and salt on both sides. Score with a sharp knife.  Place into a roasting tray folding the thin end under so the meat cooks evenly.

2. Place the thyme (no need to pluck off the leaves) and garlic into a mortar and smash up. Add oil. Keep stirring and grinding with the pestle until the ingredients are well mixed. Pour over the meat and massage into it until the meat is well covered.

3. Roast in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4/175 °C for approx. 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Place the meat on a warmed plate while you make the sauce.

4. If there is a lot of oil pour some out until you have approx. 1-2 tbsp left. Add the soured cream and the mustard to the roasting tray and bring to the boil. Check the seasoning.

5. Cut the fillet into thick slices and serve with the sauce, an apple risotto and a rocket salad.

Ah, yes, we had snails as a starter. :)

Apple Risotto

While researching recipes for the guinea fowl I was planning for Christmas day, I found a recipe from the Hairy Bikers. Though I decided not to make their guinea fowl recipe, I was intrigued by the apple risotto they served with it. And since pork and apple go so well together I decided to try it out or rather my own version of an apple risotto.

(serves 2-3 as a side dish)

150 g arborio rice
150 ml white wine
0.75 l vegetable stock
30 g freshly grated parmesan
a little butter, optional
1 - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
1 apple
butter for frying the apple slices

1. Quarter and core the apples and cut them into approx. 16 slices. Heat a little butter in a frying pan and fry the apples until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the rice. Cook over a low heat until the rice becomes translucent. Add the wine and stir until it is completely absorbed. Over a low to medium heat, start adding the stock one ladle at the time, stirring continuously. Check after about 15 minutes if the rice is cooked. Once it's cooked, season with salt (if required) and pepper. Add the parmesan and a little extra virgin olive oil or butter and mix carefully. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes. Stir in the apple slices and serve immediately.

Tastes wonderful with roasted pork tenderloin or serve with a huge leafy salad.

Oven-baked pasta with guinea fowl, cherry tomatoes and soured cream

A couple of days ago, we had an amazing roast guinea fowl. I wanted to do something tasty with the left over meat and steamed asparagus and this is what we had tonight. It was a wonderfully satisfying meal on a wintry Monday night. You can use chicken for this as well.

(serves 2)

200 g cooked guinea fowl
300 g cherry tomatoes
1 red chilli, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
150 ml soured cream
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
a handful of freshly chopped coriander

200 g pasta

1. Boil the kettle and add the boiling water, pasta and some salt to a saucepan. Cook as per packet instructions.

2. Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the cherry tomatoes. Cook them over a high heat for 3-4 minutes. Turn down the heat and add the chilli and garlic. Season with pepper and salt. Cook for another few minutes, then add the chopped up guinea fowl, soured cream and coriander. Bring to the boil and take off the heat.

3. Drain the pasta when ready. Pour into an oven-proof dish, pour over the sauce and mix. Bake in the oven at gas mark 5/ 200°C for 15 minutes.

"Franzose" - Spiced hot apple wine with calvados

This is a nice alternative to mulled wine in the winter and pre-xmas season.

(serves 4-5)

1 bottle of still apple wine or French cider (4-5% alcohol)
1 large (15 cm) cinnamon stick, cut into 3-4 pieces
5-6 star anise
8 cloves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
6 cardamom pods, cracked
2 tsp honey or to taste
70 ml calvados

Place all the spices on a piece of muslin, gather the muslin and wrap with a piece of string to make a bag.

Add all the bag of spices, apple wine and honey into a saucepan and heat very slowly. Steep for 15 minutes but don't boil. Just before serving add the calvados and heat throught. Serve in warmed tea glasses or mugs.

Lamb ragù with fennel seeds

I love a good ragù, or bolognese as most of us would call it. And I now know that the quick way we tend to do it is not the tastiest way. Try and let it simmer for at least an hour-and-a-half, longer if you can. Normally, you'd add water to make sure the meat stays moist but I made this easy by adding 2 tins of chopped tomatoes to just 250 g of mince. This should serve 4 - 6 people. As there are only two of us, we had dinner for two nights: stuffed aubergine and couscous on Tuesday and pasta with ragù on Wednesday.

250 g lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
1 whole bulb garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
2 tins of chopped tomatoes in thick sauce
good glug of dry white wine
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp brown sugar

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, e. g. Le Creuset, heat some olive oil and sauté the onions, garlic and fennel seeds for about 5 minutes without browning. Add the mince and sauté until lightly browned all over. Add the tinned tomatoes, wine and sugar and season with pepper and salt. Simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with pasta and sprinkle with freshly ground parmesan. Alternatively, stuff halved peppers and aubergines. Bake for 30-45 minutes at 200 °C.

Red wine, mushroom and pancetta risotto

Having cooked this three times now, twice just for the two of us and once for a larger group at hour friends' in Holland, I have to say that it is currently my favourite risotto. It looks a wee bit strange, i. e. pink, but don't let that fool you. It is tasty as get out. And it only takes about 30 minutes to make, in total.
Unfortunately, British supermarkets don't have a good selection of mushrooms so I've only used ordinary mushrooms and oyster mushrooms so far. I'm dreaming of using a mix of wonderful wild mushrooms, chanterelles in particular, and perhaps a tiny wee amount of dried porcinis and the soaking juices of those... If you want to prepare a vegetarian version of this, I would definitely recommend using porcinis.
(serves 2)
200 g arborio rice
1/2 red onion, very finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 celery stick, very finely chopped
175 ml full-bodied red wine
1.2 l vegetable stock
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
50 g freshly grated parmesan
1/2 packet of pancetta
250 g mushrooms

1. First of all, heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the mushrooms and pancetta until crisp and golden. Set them aside.

2. Heat a couple of lugs of olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and celery over a medium heat for about 5 minutes without them browning.
3. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until it starts to look a little translucent.
4. Add the wine and stir until it's been absorbed by the rice. Then add a ladle of stock at the time and keep stirring. You want the rice to bubble but not boil so adjust the heat as necessary during this step. The rice will take about 15-20 minutes.

5. Once the rice is done it shouldn't be completely dry but still have some nice liquid left. Now season with the black pepper (I don't use salt because there is enough in the pancetta, stock and parmesan) and add the mushroom-and-pancetta mix.
6. Next, mix in the parmesan and a little olive oil. Put the lid on and leave for a couple of minutes. Then serve.