Artichoke hearts with frozen tomato mousse and tomato confit - Artischockenböden mit geeistem Tomatenmousse und confierten Tomaten

2 large artichokes

6 medium-sized tomatoes

4 Tbs. olive oil

6-8 rosemary sprigs

2 cloves of garlic

50 ml Noilly Prat

100 ml soja milk

1 tsp. agar agar

Fleur de sel, white pepper, chili powder

Cut the skin of the tomatoes crosswise. Put them in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. After a few seconds (5-10), put the tomatoes in cold water. Peel off the skin. Cut them in quarters, take out the seeds and cut the flesh in cubes of about 1/3 inch. 

Put half of them in an oven-proof bowl, cover with olive oil, add rosemary twigs and garlic cloves (unpeeled is ok). Place the bowl in the oven at about  80°C for some 3-4 h.

Put the other half of the tomatoes in a pan, blend, bring to a cook, deglaze with Noilly Prat, add soja milk and agar agar and cook according to instructions (ca. 2 min). Add salt, pepper and chili powder. Let it cool down and put in the freezer for at least 4 h.

Cook the artichokes for 35-40 min. Cut off the stem and the non-edible parts and the outer petals (you can eat the fleshy ends of the petals with a dip). Discard the fuzzy inner part. Pour some oil on the artichoke hearts to avoid them getting dark.

To serve take out the “tomato ice cream” 10-15 min before eating. Arrange the artichoke hearts on a plate, put the ice cream on top, sprinkle with the tomato confit. Decorate with rosemary sprigs and fleur de sel.

Yellow peppers Gazpacho - Gazpacho von gelber Paprika

1 large yellow bell pepper

½ small cucumber

1 medium sized tomato

¼ red onion

1 Tbs. vinegar (white wine) or 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

tabasco, salt

1 tsp. roasted whole cumin seeds

½ tsp. roasted whole coriander seeds

2 small slices baguette, cut into small cubes

1 handful of coriander greens

1-2 tsp. olive oil

Peel the bell pepper, cucumber and tomato and cut them in 1 inch pieces. Blend with the onion and add about ½ l water (or vegetable broth), vinegar/lemon juice, tabasco and salt. Roast the cumin and coriander seeds in a pan without oil, grind them in a mortar, season the soup with it, put it in cups and add bread and coriander greens. Sprinkle with some olive oil.

Soya big steaks with porcini sauce, carrots and peas, gnocchi - Jägerschnitzel mit Erbsen, Möhrchen und Kartoffelnocken

Well, "Jägerschnitzel" (escalope chasseur) is quite an ambigous dish... In the former West of Germany, a Jägerschnitzel is a fried pork or veal steak with a mushroom sauce. In the former East a Jägerschnitzel used to be a special kind of sliced pork sausage fried coated with breadcrumbs. As you can see, here the Western style recipe is copied...

1 cup of red wine

2 cups of vegetable broth

½ cup of soya sauce

2 soya “big steaks”

1 onion

1 Tbs. oil

200 g porcini mushrooms or champignons

1 cup of soya milk (or cream)

1 handful of fresh sage leaves, some for decoration

salt, white pepper

300 g fresh peas (with shells)

5-6 small carrots

100 g gnocchi

oil to fry the big steaks

Combine the red wine, vegetable broth and soya sauce in a pan, bring to a boil and add the big steaks and cook for 2-3 min. Cut the onion into small cubes and the mushrooms into small pieces. In another pan heat the oil, fry the mushrooms and the onion until golden brown, add the soya milk, salt, pepper and sage leaves. Cook for some 4-5 min and pour the sauce on the big steaks in the other pan.

In the meantime shell the peas, cut the carrots and cook both for about 5 min. Cook the gnocchi according to instructions.

Take out the big steaks of the marinade and fry them in oil until they are golden brown (4-5 min on each side), reduce the sauce.

Serve.

Grilled peach with black currant ice cream - gegrillter Pfirsich mit Brombeereis

Recipe to follow...

Fried potatoes with porcini – Bratkartoffeln mit Steinpilzen

I love summer – although this one has not been very summery so far. The only good things coming out of it and all the rain are loads of mushrooms, especially porcini. I love to go mushroom hunting in the nearby forests but I have to confess today's ones are not self-picked.

Fortunately, on the way to the famous ‘pick-yourself-a-bouquet’-field there is a stand on week-ends, situated right beside a somewhat desolate looking “établissement”, selling white asparagus and strawberries in spring, cherries, currants, blueberries, chanterelles and porcini in summer.

Simple Sunday dinner

4 new potatoes

200 g porcini mushrooms

1 onion or 2 spring onions

50 g smoked tofu

2 Tbs. oil

salt, pepper

a handful of arugula

green salad

a handful of small cherry tomatoes

basil

1 Tbs. linseed oil

1 Tbs. raspberry vinegar

salt, pepper

Slice the potatoes, clean the mushrooms with a brush and slice them too – very thinly. Cut the onion in small cubes (or the spring onion in rings). Cut the smoked tofu in cubes.

In a pan heat the oil to medium, fry the potatoes for some 8 min, add the porcini, fry another 8-10 min, add the tofu and onion fry until it is golden brown. This may take another 5-6 min.

Then season with salt and pepper. Add some chopped arugula.

Serve with a green salad with linseed-raspberry vinegar dressing.

Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto - Pfifferlingsrisotto

In my favourite vegan forum there is this wonderful thread called something like “what is in your pot today”. Inspired by a beautiful young dreadlock-lady’s post I was thinking of this recipe the whole day…

Just for me and myself today (should do for 2 as a primo)
3 Tbs. oil (olive oil e.g.)
250 g chanterelle mushrooms
3 spring onions
1 cup of risotto rice (Arborio, Vialone, Carnaroli or the like)
1 glass of white wine
400 ml mushroom stock (self-made or bought)
Fleur de sel, freshly ground white pepper
parsley

Heat the oil in a pan. When it is very hot, put in the cleaned and chopped chanterelles and fry them until they turn golden brown. This takes at least 5 min. Then add the chopped spring onions, stir and put in the rice. Turn down the heat to medium and fry for 3 min. Then deglaze with the white wine. Stir constantly.
When the wine has evaporated, add some of the mushroom stock. There are different “schools”. Some people prefer to divide the stock in three parts, others prefer to add it little by little.
You'll have to find out for yourself.

If you ask me, the most important thing is the quality of the rice. Never buy parboiled risotto rice, if you have a heart (=liking) for risotto… Promise, please. You will never experience this exciting moment when the rice turns from al dente to just about right – and the be-careful-not-to-let-it-get-too-sloggy-paranoia. Takes away all the fun of cooking risotto!

When the rice is ready, add fleur de sel and freshly crushed white pepper to taste. Decorate with chopped parsley.

I’d prefer an alternative recipe with tarragon – but then I would omit the spring onion and use shallots instead.

(What you see on the photo is about half of what was in the pot).

White currant tarte - Weiße Johannisbeeren Tarte

This tarte will certainly look much nicer with red currants but "my" two favourite and most charming elderly market ladies only had white currants the other day...I was immediately reminded of my childhood when my grandmother would grow all kinds of currants and I still remember how fascinated I was - and put off at the same time - by their flowery, tangy and extremely sour taste.

For the short crust

200 g flour (I used spelt flour, German Dinkel, quite similar to farro)

100 g vegan margarine

5 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. soya flour mixed with 2-3 Tbs. water

1 pinch of salt

For the vanilla cream (custard)

400 ml soya milk

5 Tbs. semolina

1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp. vanilla

5 Tbs. sugar

¼ tsp. cinnamon

400 ml soya yoghurt

1 g saffron (optional)

peel of one lemon

For the white currant sauce

300 g white currants

2-3 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. agar agar

Knead the ingredients for the short crust, form a ball and put it in the fridge for one hour.

In the meantime, cook the soya milk and stir in the semolina. Cook for 5 minutes and add vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. 

When I tried this, the cream turned out to be rather thick I added soya yoghurt – and I quite liked the sour taste. Maybe the lemon peel is overdoing things a little bit on the sour side but I find it yummy.

I disliked the muddy grey colour, so put some saffron to make it look a little yellowish.

Then cook the white currants with the sugar and add agar agar. Boil for 2 minutes and set aside to cool.

Roll out the crust very thinly and blind-bake for 20 min at 200° C with some dry beans or other pulses. Turn off the oven, take off the beans and let the crust sit in the oven for some 5-8 min.

Take out the crust and let it cool down. Then put the custard and the white currant sauce on top and put the tarte in the fridge for at least one hour.