Summer Salad with Apple, Pear & Feta Cheese

It is finally warm enough to leave the house in just a t-shirt! Yay!

Summer Salad with Apple, Pear & Feta Cheese
(serves 1)

• 1 handfull baby spinach leaves


• 1/2 small apple


• 1/2 small pear


• 5 cherry tomatoes


• 2 tablespoons bulgur wheat


• 1/4 pack feta cheese


• 3 tablespoons olive oil


• 1 -2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar


• 1/2 teaspoon honey


• 1/2 teaspoon mustard


• salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook bulgur wheat according to packet instructions.


2. In the meantime, wash your veg / fruit and cut everything into bite sized chunks.


3. In a small jar, mix together oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper for the dressing.


4. Once the bulgur wheat is cooked,throw all your ingredients together in a big bowl, pour the dressing on top, give it a good toss and top with crumbled feta cheese.

Risotto!

I've really been craving rice recently so I asked the Leopotamus to cook me a vegetarian rice dish. This is what he came up with!

Risotto with Butternut Squash and Spinach

(serves 2-3)

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes


• 2 handfulls of baby spinach leaves


• 1/2 red onion, sliced


• 2 sprigs rosemary


• 1 clove garlic, finely diced


• 200g ristto rice


• 35g butter


• 500ml vegetable stock


• 150ml dry white wine


• salt and pepper


• parmesan cheese


• olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 200°, place squash and onion on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper and bake for about 20 minutes.


2. Heat up the butter in a large pan, then add the rice once it's really hot. Make sure you stir the rice constantly so it doesn't burn.Once you see the rice turn slightly translucent, add the garlic and fry for about one minute, then add the white wine. Simmer until the liquid has been soaked up by the rice, always making sure you keep stirring to avoid the rice sticking to the bottom of the pan.


3. Add your roast vegetables and a laddle of hot stock. Again, wait for the rice to soak up the liquid and keep stirring. Repeat this process until all broth is gone. You will probably run out of broth before the rice is fully cooked - simply continue adding plain hot water, one laddle at a time, until your risotto is smooth and creamy.


4. Finally add your washed baby spinach (and maybe a tiny bit more hot water) and let it wilt for about 2 minutes, then simply scoop onto plates, top with a little parmesan and enjoy! This is seriously good stuff.

Pasta with Oven-Roasted Butternut Squash and Rosemary

I threw this dish together last night and it turned out so delicious that I forgot to take a picture of it... Creamy Pasta with Oven-Roasted Butternut Squash and Rosemary (serves 2)

• 200-300g spaghetti


• 1/2 butternut squash


• 2 sprigs rosemary


• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced


• 1 clove garlic, finely diced


• 100ml white wine


• 100ml milk


• 100g creme fraiche


• juice of 1/2 lemon


• 1 small handfull of parmesan


• olive oil


• salt and pepper

1. 1. Preheat oven to 200° celsius. Peel, deseed and cube the butternut squash, then place it on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper, then place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until soft and slightly browned.


2. About 15 minutes before the pumpkin should come out of the oven, start boiling your pasta.


3. Next, heat up some olive oil in a large frying pan. Sautee the onion and garlic until fragrant but be careful not to burn them. Deglaze the pan by adding the wine and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the mustard, milk and créme frâiche, then season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Let simmer for another 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and add the pumpin.


4. Drain the pasta and divide onto two big plates. Pour sauce on top and garnish with a little parmesan cheese. Sooo good.

Homemade Pizza

Pizza is such an awesome dish - you get to share it with a bunch of people, and yet everyone can top their slice according to their own taste. We made two racks of pizza, topped with fresh tomatoes, olives, mozzarella & thyme, slices of salami, yellow capsicum, red onions and feta cheese. Leo always makes the base while I prep the sauce and toppings. This is what we used:

Homemade Pizza

(serves 4)

for the base you'll need

• 500g strong white flour
• 325ml water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 leveled tablespoon salt
• 7g dried yeast

1. Heat up the water so it's nice and warm and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt, honey and olive oil and give everything a good stir. Preheat your oven to no more than 50° celsius.
2. Once the water has cooled down a little stir in the yeast, then carefully add the flour and knead until your arms are sore / the dough feels firm and smooth. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and place it on the low rack of your oven - you can turn the heat off now and just wait for the dough to rise in the warm air for about 30 minutes.

in the meantime you can make your pizza sauce:

• 1 can chopped or pureed tomatoes, depending on your preference
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 shotglass red wine
• 1 teaspoon herbs of your choice, e.g. thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

1. In a saucepan, heat up some olive oil and fry the garlic until fragrant - be careful not to burn it or it'll get bitter!
2. Add the tomatoes, then stir in the honey and red wine. Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened a little. Season with herbs, salt and pepper, then set aside.
3. By now the dough should have risen and doubled in size - take it out of the oven and turn the heat back on, now to 200° celsius.
4. Give the dough another quick knead, then roll out on a floured surface and place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Prick with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming and give it a quick brush with a little olive oil.
5. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the base and top it with whatever tickles your fancy.
6. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

The Sandwich Series, Part II: Beans on Toast...with Tuna & Baby Spinach

One thing I eat a lot more of here in London is sandwiches, mainly because in Germany we didn't have a toaster and I hate untoasted toast...I'm having a lazy Saturday today and couldn't be bothered to cook, so this is what I made for lunch. It may not be the world's fanciest sandwich but it sure was nice.

Sandwich with Tuna, Kidney Beans & Baby Spinach

(serves 1)

• 2 slices of soft wholemeal bread
• 1 small handfull baby spinach leaves, rougly chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons kidney beans
• 1-2 tablespoons canned tuna
• 1 tablespoon salad cream (I have a feeling humus would work great, too...but maybe that's just me and my obsession with humus)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine tuna, baby spinach, beans, salad cream, salt and pepper.
2. Toast your bread, then place the tuna-spinach-bean-mix between the two halves and have a big bite. EASY.

The pretty awesome sandwich that I can't take a picture of right now

I am moving to London in a week and most of my stuff is already packed away in boxes / at my parents' house. This seems to include my camera, so for the time being this post will have to do without an image.

Sandwich with Smoked Salmon, Honey-Mustard-Sauce & Rocket
(serves 1)

• your choice of bread, I think something chewy like a bagel is great
• cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• a couple of leaves of rocket
• 1 tomato, sliced
• smoked salmon

1. In a small cup, combine honey, mustard and dill until you have a creamy sauce.
2. Spread cream cheese on both halves of your bread.
3. Top one half with smoked salmon und the honey-mustard-sauce, then add the rocket, tomatoes and finally the other half of the bread. De-li-cious and healthy.

Pan-fried Fish with Lemongrass & Garlic

This dish was inspired by a recipe I found in Luke Nguyen's book "The Songs of Sapa" - he originally used tofu but I thought it would be great with fish, too and the results where more than satisfactory.

Pan-fried Fish with Lemongrass & Garlic

(serves 2)

- 2 fish fillets (I used Pangasius - you want something that is mild in flavour)

- 6 stalks lemongrass (white parts only), very finely chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped

- juice of 1/2 lime

- 1/2 teaspoon sugar

- pinch of salt

- pepper

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl, then rub onto the fish. Place fillets in a hot, well oiled pan and fry until both sides are golden brown. Serve with rice and a side of chinese broccoli.

Two Way Dumplings

My love for dumplings is eternal. I can eat them any time of the day (or night), 7 days a week. My only problem is - I no longer live in Hong Kong and can therefore no longer make the 10 minute walk into Kennedy Town and pop into my favourite dumpling place for a platter of Jiaozi. Determined to create something better than the frozen dumplings from my local A-mart which left me decidedly underwhelmed, I dug up this recipe on The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook - and with the help of the incredible Leopotamus made a truckload of awesomeness. This is my slightly modified version of Ellen Chou's recipe; I used zucchini instead of cabbage and added some mushrooms. Also, for the sake of variety, we ended up boiling one portion and frying the other, leaving us with two versions of dumplings, both absolutely delicious. I'm hungry now!

Two Way Dumplings

(serves 4)

for the dough:

• two cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 to 1 cuo lukewarm water

for the filling:

• 500g pork mince
• 1 large zucchini
• 5 medium sized mushrooms (I used champigons)
• 5 slim stalks green onion, finely chopped
• 1 heaped teaspoon finely grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons soysauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For instructions on how to actually make the dumplings, I shall send you back over to The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook. I don't have any step-by-step pictures of our dumpling-making session, plus my folding technique, is sufficient enough to keep the filling contained within the wrappers, clearly gives away that I was not born to Chinese parents. All I will say is make sure you really seal the edges of the dumpling wrappers, or your filling will pop out when you boil the dumplings. Get cooking! These are the business.