celeriac soup with a hazelnut picada - knolselderijsoep met een hazelnoot picada (GF-DF-SF-V)

Last week I made this soup for some friends and we all loved it!

It’s a heart warming soup for a cold day, the hazelnut picada gives it a nice crunch and tangy bite.

The word picada is not precise, the Catalan picada is a similar mixture, made in a mortar, but added to a dish at the end of the cooking time as a binder and some sort of secret touch. But I like the name and the word just popped up in my mind when I was thinking about it and eventually made it. What’s in a name, anyway!

Just make it and see what happens when you take this first bite!

Celeriac soup (4 pers)

1 celeriac, medium, peeled and in 2 cm chunks

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

12 stalks of parsley, chopped finely

1 big leek, in small rings

4 medium potatoes, peeled and in 2 cm chunks

1 l vegetable stock or boiling water

In a soup pan pour some olive oil and sweat the onion, garlic and parsley stalks with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes.

Add the leeks, stir them in and bake for another 3 minutes.

Add potatoes and celeriac, stir them in too for another 5 minutes with the lid on.

Then add water or stock and bring to the boil. Simmer till the veggies are cooked.

Add some more salt and pepper to your taste, blend the soup and serve with this great picada.

Hazelnut picada

60 g brown hazelnuts

zest and juice of an organic lemon

olive oil

pepper and salt

1 big tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Roast the hazelnuts in a dry, heavy frying pan. Let them cool.

Crush the hazelnuts roughly  in the mortar, add lemon zest, freshly ground pepper, salt, 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Grind together, but not too fine, the hazelnut chunks must stay big enough for a good crunch. Stir in the mint, don’t crush it, it will become bitter!

Put a big spoonful on top of your celeriac soup.

Enjoy!

Knolselderijsoep (4 pers)

1 knolselderij, medium, geschild en in blokjes van 2 cm

1ui, fijngehakt

1 knoflookteen, fijngehakt

12 steeltjes peterselie, fijngehakt

1 grote prei, in ringen

4 middelgrote aardappelen, geschild en in blokjes van 2 cm

1 l groentebouillon of kokend water

Verwarm wat olijfolie in een grote soeppan en zweet daarin de ui, knoflook en peterseliesteeltjes ongeveer 5 minuten.

Voeg de preiringetjes toe en bak deze 3 minuten zachtjes mee.

Voeg dan aardappel en knolselderij toe en bak nog eens 5 minuten mee met een deksel op de pan.

Voeg dan water of bouillon toe en breng de soep aan de kook. Laat zachtjes de groentes gaar worden.

Voeg wat zout en peper naar smaak toe, blender de soep en serveer met deze heerlijke hazelnoot picada.

Hazelnoot picada

60 g bruine hazelnoten

rasp en sap van 1 bio citroen

olijfolie

peper en zout

1 volle el verse munt

Rooster de hazelnoten in een droge koekpan met dikke bodem. Laat afkoelen.

Plet de hazelnoten in een stenen vijzel, niet te fijn, ze moeten een bite blijven houden.

Voeg citroenrasp, peper en zout, 1-2 el citroensap en 1-2 el olijfolie toe en meng ze in de vijzel.

Roer als laatste de fijngesneden munt erdoor, niet kneuzen, dan wordt het bitter!

Schep een grote eetlepel op de knolselderijsoep en geniet!

Oeufs en cocotte – eitjes in een pannetje (GF-SF)

First of all I want to thank Roeb for my lovely new banner, I love how he has the patience to transform one of my India pictures into this new feature, I don't ;-)

(By the way, Roeb is my creative soulmate!!)

Oeufs en cocotte, it sounds pretty and quite fancy!

Literally it means eggs in a dish or eitjes in een pannetje, not half as nice as en cocotte, it sounds a bit frivolous, like a summer dress in a breeze.

Although it’s somewhat grey today we already had some really nice spring days, on which it was possible to wear skirts and heels, for a few hours, but ok!

I love springtime, everything is growing so fast, you almost can see the leaves unwrapping. It’s a time of all our senses, it smells good, the birds are starting to whistle already in the early daylight, the new nettles are very, very prickly (ow!) , all these shades of baby green are a joy for the eye and the taste of all these new leafy greens is so strong and poignant and what feels better than the first rays of sunlight on your wintery skin!

It’s the time of rejuvenation, of leaving behind old skin, and starting afresh, a new life, a new beginning, light!

This dish perfectly fits in the idea of a light and healthy starter.

Eggs are full of protein, vitamins A, B11, B12, E and D and contain phosphorus, iron and selenium.

Although they contain cholesterol, there is now a lot of evidence that it’s not the cholesterol in eggs that increases your cholesterol, but it’s the intake of saturated fats and trans-fats from all kinds of junk food and processed foods.

I am not going to make propaganda for eating more eggs but I do want to insist on using Organic Eggs. In short: they taste better because the chickens get better food and have a much better life; did you ever see a battery cage?  

O.k.  let’s go on to the recipe:

Oeufs en cocotte (4 pers)

4 organic eggs

4 tbsp crème fraîche

4 tbsp grated goat’s cheese

4 tbsp white wine (optional)

2 gluten free crackers or slices of bread, crumbled

Butter

2 tbsp of freshly chopped herbs, like cress, chives, chervil, parsley etc.

4 ramekins

Pre-heat the oven on 180 ˚C.

Put on the kettle for boiling water.

Butter the ramekins very well.

Break an egg in every one.

In a bowl mix the crème fraîche, cheese and white wine with some salt and pepper and divide it over the eggs.

Divide the cracker- or breadcrumbs over the four eggs and some small knobs of butter.

Put the ramekins in an oven tray and pour in the boiling water gently till halfway of the ramekins.

Put the oven tray carefully in the middle of the oven and bake the eggs about 20 minutes, till they feel firm on the touch.

Sprinkle the herbs on top and serve!

Happy eggs!

Oeufs en cocotte (4 pers)

4 biologische eitjes

4 el crème fraîche

4 el geraspte pittige geitenkaas

4 el witte wijn (kan je weglaten)

2 glutenvrije crackers of sneetjes brood, verkruimeld

Boter

2 el versgehakte kruiden als bieslook, tuinkers, kervel, peterselie, etc

4 ramequins

Verwarm de oven voor op 180 ˚C.

Zet een ketel water op.

Beboter de ramequins goed en breek in ieder een eitje.

Meng in een kom de crème fraîche, kaas en witte wijn met wat peper en zout en verdeel over de eieren.

Verdeel ook de cracker- of broodkruimels over de 4 schaaltjes en wat botervlokjes.

Zet ze in een ovenschaal en vul deze tot halverwege de ramequins met kokend water.

Zet de schaal voorzichtig in de oven en bak de oeufs 20 minuten tot ze gaar aanvoelen.

Bestrooi met de verse kruiden en serveer deze heerlijke eitjes!

Coconut macaroons with a chocolate drizzle – kokosmakronen met een chocolade drizzle (GF-DF-SF)

I was craving for a cookie and wanted to make those so good-looking French macarons, but reading on the internet I came across the “old-fashioned” coconut macaroons, which I used to make at home with my mum.


So easy to make, so flavorsome, naturally gluten-free and ready in a sec!

When they were in the oven I made a lovely chocolate glaze, also without adding sugar, I give them 3 MMM!


Coconut macaroons (8 pcs)

75 g shredded coconut
60 ml agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 organic egg white
1 pinch of salt

Pre heat your oven on 180˚C and prepare a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper.

Beat the egg white with the salt till it forms soft peaks.
Fold in the coconut, agave syrup and vanilla extract carefully.

With your hands form 8 small balls which you flatten softly into 8 flat cookies.
Bake your macaroons lightly golden in the middle of the oven, not too brown, the agave will turn bitter then.
Let them cool completely and drizzle with the chocolate glaze.


With the left-over egg yolk you can make this great aioli or you can freeze it to use later.

Chocolate glaze (GF-SF)

35 g chocolate chips or chopped bitter chocolate
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp butter
1 tsp brown rice syrup
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Melt everything except the vanilla extract au bain-marie and mix till it forms a beautiful shiny glaze. Take from the heat and stir in vanilla extract. That’s it, easy and delicious.

Kokosmakronen ( 8 stuks)

75g geraspte kokos
60 ml agavesiroop
1 tl vanille extract
1 biologisch eiwit
snufje zout


Verwarm de oven voor op 180 ˚C en bekleed een bakblik met bakpapier.

Met een handmixer mix je het eiwit met het zout tot ze zachte pieken vormt.
Voeg kokos, vanille en agavesiroop toe en spatel alles voorzichtig door elkaar.

Vorm 8 balletjes met je handen en leg ze op de bakplaat, terwijl je ze zachtjes platdrukt.
Bak je makronen in het midden van de oven tot ze licht goudbruin zijn, bak ze niet te bruin, dan kan de agave bitter gaan smaken.

Laat ze afkoelen en drizzle(?) de chocolade glazuur erover heen.

Met de overgebleven eidooier kin je deze heerlijke aioli maken of vries hem in voor later gebruik.

Chocolade glazuur (GF-SF)

35 g chocolate chips of gehakte bittere chocolade
1 tl kokosolie
1 tl boter
1 tl bruine rijststroop
¼ tl vanille extract

Smelt alles, behalve de vanille extract, in een pan au bain-marie. Roer tot een glanzende saus ontstaat. Haal van het vuur en roer de vanille extract erdoor.
Zo simpel!

coconut chutney from Tamil Nadu - tengai chutney (GF-DF-SF-V)

Today I want to share with you the coconut chutney I mentioned yesterday.


In South-India it is eaten almost every day, I think, as an accompaniment to the breakfast dishes dosa, idli and vada. Sometimes the coconut chutney is served very watery, sometimes thick and spicy, it depends of the region and the cook.

All recipes in the South-Indian cuisine are using fresh coconut meat, but here in Europe it’s not so easy to buy and I don’t know which one is a good one. The dry, hairy ones I see here, are used in the temples, but not as much in the kitchen.

A good substitute is frozen coconut meat, which I buy in the asian took.
Using dry desiccated coconut is an option; the best thing to do is to let it soak in warm water for a short while, so the flavors can come out.

Just try it and adapt to your taste and possibilities!


Tengai chutney

1 cup grated fresh coconut or fresh frozen coconut
¼ cup roasted chana dal (Bengal gram)
1-4 fresh green chilies, chopped fine
1 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 cm ball of tamarind or some lime juice
½ tsp salt

tempering;
1 tbsp coconut oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp urad dal(the split, husked one)
1 pinch asafoetida
1 dried red chili
some curry leaves, fresh or dry


I dry-roast the chana dal in a heavy frying pan till they color red-brown, let them cool slightly before grinding. Don’t omit the dal, it gives such a great flavor to the chutney!

Combine all ingredients for the chutney and grind to a smooth consistency, gradually adding ¼ - ½ cup of water till you have a thick paste the way you like it.

Heat the coconut oil in a heavy frying pan. Add the ingredients for the tempering, in the given order and stir. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, remove the pan from the heat and add the content in one time to the chutney. Mix well. Serve at once or chill in the fridge. You can dilute it a bit when it’s too thick with water or lime juice, to your taste. It keeps well in the fridge for some days when stored in an airtight box.

mung bean dosa - pessarattu (GF-DF-SF-V)

Making a dosa is not as easy as making a pancake.

A dosa needs soaking, needs fermenting, needs time. I love to eat a perfect dosa when I’m in India, it is so good, it never bores, also after 3 or 4 weeks I can eat a dosa every day.

Making a dosa in Holland in the winter is really a challenge, I am not going to bother you with it, but instead give you this perfect site and a recipe for an easier dosa, made from soaked mung beans, you know these beautiful green beans?

When you sprout them, they become taugé or sprouted soy beans they are called. They are very nutritious and in India they are eaten whole or husked in dals or sweet in deserts. Cellophane noodles are also made of green gram or mung beans.

In this recipe you soak them for a night, so before you go to sleep put some under the water and make your dosa first thing in the morning.

Mung bean dosa – Pessarattu (8 pcs)

1 ½ cup mung beans

½ cup fine rice flour

1-4 green chilies

½ inch fresh ginger root

pinch of salt



Soak the mung beans overnight in plenty of water.

Next morning drain and rinse the mung beans and grind with the the chilies and ginger to a coarse paste. Add salt and rice flour and as much water till you have a smooth but thick batter.

Heat a tava or a non-stick crepe pan and oil it very lightly.

With a ladle scoop the batter on the pan and from the middle stir the batter quickly around. See the above link about the perfect dosa.

They taste great as they are, but are really delicious with coconut chutney or tomato chutney.

You can keep the batter for some days in the fridge or bake and freeze these green babies!

Egg curry with idiappam (GF-DF-SF)

What can I say?

Amazing, breathtaking, colorful, delightful, enjoyable, energizing, festively, grateful, heartbreaking, inspirational, irresistible, juicy, kindly, lovely, magic, notably, open-heartedly, peppery, soupy, tasteful, unbelievable, variety, wonderful, yummy and zealously. A lot of words and still, it’s not enough to describe India. Just go there, again and again, and then , bit by bit , maybe, I will understand a little bit of this great country. I loved it! Again!

Only 3 weeks, but plunging into summer in such a new world where, everything and everybody lives on the street, eats on the street and works on the street. Life is very outward, people like to express themselves, greet you, talk to you, take the time for a moment to meet you. Also in this gigantic metropolis Mumbai, with it’s more than 16 million people (the whole population of Holland!), there is a time and space for everyone. It’s a very vibrating, living and inspiring surrounding. Coming back to Holland is a big step, here it is neat, calm, a little boring, organized, grayish, most people are very inward. They don’t greet me anymore, they are not curious who I am, they watch the pavement instead of meeting my eyes. It takes some time to adapt;-)

Coming back means also cooking again!

I bought some cook books with Kerala recipes and more Southern Indian cooking. It is a very different taste and approach to cooking than the North of India. It’s very fresh, using a lot of coconut milk and oil. It takes a lot of preparing, making spice pastes, fermenting, juicing, etc. but it's worth it!
I also bought some tools, because without them it’s really difficult to recreate them: idiappam press, appachatti and my Preethy wet and dry grinder.

Breakfast in the south of india consists of hearthy dishes like steamed idli with sambar and coconut chutney, vadas, pongal, dosas, appam or idiappam. These dishes are made of fermented rice batters (with dal and spices) and as such, very healthy, but in our climate not so easy to make. Fermenting takes time and warmth. Using stove and hearth and a lot of warm towels helps.

And as you can guess for us people with celiac disease it’s great, rice and pulses are the staple food in this part of India. They have so many types of rice:

Coming weeks I will be posting some recipes and links of great South-Indian food, starting with this lovely egg curry with idiappam, a great breakfast dish.

Idiappam with egg curry
Making idiappam requires a press and an idli steamer but somewhere I read that you can use a potato ricer too, the holes are a bit wider. You can also decide to eat the curry with rice.

Sieve 2 cups of very fine brown rice flour.
Bring 3 cups of water to the boil with 1 tsp of oil and a pinch of salt. Stir in the rice flour till it comes together in a ball. Turn of the heat, let it cool slightly and spread it out on a big tray. Cover with cling film and let it cool completely. Make balls and put them in the idiappam press. Grease the idli moulds, press in heaps of the dough and steam for 5-8 minutes.

Egg curry (2-4 pers)

4 organic eggs

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 dried red chili
1 tsp mustard seeds
1-3 fresh green chilies, incised lengthwise
1 heaped tsp of freshly chopped fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 tomato, chopped
1 ½ cup thin coconut milk
1 tbsp lime juice
1 potato, in small cubes
½ cup thick coconut milk

Masala paste:
1 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp black pepper
2 ½ cm cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 cardamoms

Tempering:
1 tbsp coconut oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp chopped onion
12 curry leaves

1. boil the eggs 10 minutes, cool, peel and halve them, set aside.

2. grind the masala paste very fine and set aside.

3. chop all veggies, onion, ginger etc. and put everything ready.

4. heat the coconut oil on medium heat and bake the mustard seeds and red chili till the seeds start to splutter. Add the masala paste, stir and bake softly for 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, green chilies and ginger and bake together for 5 minutes. Then add the tomato cubes, 2 more minutes, add the thin coconut milk and lime juice and bring to the boil, cook softly for about 5 minutes. Then it’s time for the potato cubes, cook till they are done. Stir in the thick coconut milk, taste and add salt to your tasting, put in the egg halves and heat everything together for another 4 minutes.
5. make the tempering: heat in a small pan 1 tbsp of coconut oil, add mustard seeds, onion and curry leaves, till the mustard seeds splutter and throw everything in the curry. Stir in carefully.

Ready to serve with the idiappam, hot rice or rice pancakes.
Namaste!