German style Pork stew

It is getting near to winter, the mornings here in Finland are sometimes below 0, it is windy, raining, just not all that bright. During these times Finns like a good hearty meal that gives them satisfaction even if the outside doesn't. I made this on a particularly wet and overcast afternoon when the missionary sisters were coming to visit. I was inspired by a book I have on German, Russian, Polish and Eastern European cooking. The beer helps flavour and tenderise the meat and is an ingredient often overlooked by many people.

German cuisine has fluctuated from its diverse political and social history, it is known for wholesome, filling foods as well as a large variety. It is a diverse a food place as the 'Greats' such as China, France or Turkey. Germany comes 3rd in the amount of Michelin stars awarded after France and Japan respectively.

To make enough for 6 you will need:-

250g Bacon rashers, sliced
500g Shoulder of pork, cubed about 2.5cm
1 large onion, sliced
1 400ml can of alcohol free beer (see my post on alcohol, cooking and the word of wisdom)
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
500g Cabbage, thinly sliced
50ml Apple cider vinegar
2 red eating apples, cored and sliced (but don't do them until you are going to put them in the pan)
oil
seasoning

Heat up a deep pan (I use my cast iron for this but it is up yours) with some oil and fry the bacon for a couple of minutes then add the pork, brown lightly and then take out of the pan and put to one side. Add a little more oil to the pan and then gently cook the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, take out and put with the pork mix. Now add a little more oil and fry the cabbage lightly for 5 minutes or so, pour the vinegar in and cook for another minute. Put the pork mix into the pan and pour the beer over and season. Bring to the boil, stirring frequently, then turn down to a light simmer and cover for 45 minutes.

Remove the lid carefully and place your apples on top. Replace the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes.Taste for seasoning and check that the meat is tender enough to eat.

I served ours with creamy potato and sweet potato mash and limppu, a tradition Finnish rye bread that is pretty awesome. It is an easy dish, that requires little thought. It is a comforting, warming dish that you need to have for these dark, dreary nights.

Mini banoffee bites

It has been too long since I last posted. Too any distractions and excuses and not enough effective use of my time. Well, no bother.

My son turned 2 the other week and we had a small party for him. We had a mini minion themed party where all our foods were small and bite sized. For one of our sweet ideas, I came up with a mini banoffee bite. It was very simple to make and I think it fitted to the theme of the party very well.

These are great for parties, movie snacks or just for when you have guests round.

To make a 24, you will need:-

120g butter
200g sugar
220g plain flour (plus a little more for dusting)
pinch of salt

1 tin of condensed milk (400g)
100g butter
100g demera sugar

3 bananas sliced
250ml heavy cream
75g chocolate (I used milk chocolate)

Start my beating your sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the salt and flour and mix together to form a dough. Wrap up in cling film and place in a fridge for an hour.

Preheat your oven to 175C.

Take out of the fridge and place on a dusted surface. Roll out until about a cm thick and using a small round cutter (you can make any shape you like) cut out as many as you can. Place on a tray with baking paper and put into the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Take out and let cool on a wire rack for half an hour.

Whilst the biscuits are cooling down, put your condensed milk, butter and sugar in a heavy bottomed pan. Slowly bring to a boil, stir continuously so as not to burn the caramel. It will take around 10 minutes to do, this will tire your arms but you will see it get darker and thicker. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Place your sliced bananas on the biscuit and then spoon the caramel on top. Once you have done them all, place in the fridge until the caramel and cooled completely. Then whip up you cream, place on top and sprinkle some grated chocolate to finish off.

Gluten Free Turkey Meatballs with Thai Green Curry broth

So it is my final day off work and I am experimenting with some bread and reading about Tolkien and his fascination with this amazing country, Finland, and I suddenly realise that I haven't written up a new recipe in a couple of weeks. So now the dough is proving and I have dug into my pictures to see what recipes I have done recently and I came across this one.

It started when we invited my brother in law and his girlfriend (I'm sure he is ok with me telling the world) over for dinner. She is lactose intolerant and so had to prepare something that was within the bounds of her allergy and the time constraints placed upon me by work, life etc. I had some turkey mince lying around and thought that making some meatballs in a sauce would be quick, easy and tasty. I wanted to make it a little different and so scourged the internet for ideas and after looking at more than a dozen meatball recipes I thought that a Thai style one would be the difference I wanted. I also thought about how I hadn't deliberately made a gluten free food before and so decided to make it both friendly for lactose, gluten and milk intolerant people.

To make enough for 4 people, you will want:-

350g turkey mince
75g rolled oats
1 egg
2 green chillies, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tsp ground ginger
Juice and zest from 1 lime
1 tsp sugar
400ml coconut milk
100ml water
3 tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 red pepper, sliced
1/2 aubergine, cubed
4 tbsp fresh parlsey

Put the rolled oats into a food processor and blitz until a powder, pour into a mixing bowl and add the mince. In a pan, sauté the chillies, garlic andonion until soft in some oil, then leave to cool for a few minutes. Add to the mixing bowl and also the egg, ginger, all the zest and half the juice of lime, sugar and seasoning. Mix all together until thoroughly combined and then shape into balls (I got 20 out of this mixture but it all depends on the size you want). Put on a baking tray and cooking in a preheated 150C oven for 15 minutes.

In a saucepan lightly sauté the aubergine and red pepper in some oil then add the curry paste, after a couple of minutes pour in the coconut milk rest of the lime juice and water and bring to a simmer. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes, give it a taste and correct the seasoning.

Take the meatballs out and serve with the sauce and your choice of accompaniment, some boiled rice or pasta is great for this dish. Sprinkle the parsley on top for decoration and refreshing herb flavour.

This dish can be knocked up and out in 30 minutes, making it ideal for a weekly dish for those busy days.

NOTE: Check your oats, some oats cannot be guaranteed to be gluten free because of the way they are grown or processed. If you are not gluten intolerant then it won't be a worry.

The Classic Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is a traditional French classic that everyone has at least heard off, if not tried. It is simple but in true French style is rich in flavour. It consists of a rich, smooth  custard flavoured traditionally with vanilla and then served with a crispy caramel topping.

The recipe goes back to the mid 1600's but took off as a round the world dessert in the late 1800's with the mass emigrations of people to other parts of the world. I have eaten creme brulee in various parts of the UK, France and Finland and have seen it being served in other places making this a truly international dish.

The plus side to this recipe is that it is a cheap, easy dessert to make. You can wow your dinner guests with your grasp of French cuisine by serving this up at the end of your dinner party. I wow'ed my family this past Sunday with it as my wife had gave me a butane torch for my birthday.

To make enough for 6 people you will need:-

5 large egg yolks
600ml double cream
2 vanilla beans
3 tbsp sugar
about 6 tbsp demerara sugar

Preheat your oven to 150C. Put your cream in a heavy bottomed pan, add the sugar and then split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the insides with the back of a knife, add both the insides and the bean to the cream. Place over a medium heat and gently bring to a simmer, don't let it boil. Take off the heat.

Place your egg yolks into a mixing bowl and place on a towel. Then with a whisk in one hand, pour the cream mixture on top of the eggs whilst whisking. Once all the cream is in, whisk for a little longer and then strain into another container.

Now assemble your ramekins in a baking dish and pour the mixture into each one, leaving space at the top for the sugar. Now pour hot water into the baking dish until it comes up half way of the ramekins. Place into the oven and cook for anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Test them before you take them out, you are looking for a nice jiggle, not a liquid one but a jelly like one. Once this has been achieved, take out of the oven and place on the side for 5 minutes. Then put into the fridge for at least 2 hours but it is better overnight.

Take out an hour before you want to serve (traditionally creme brulee is served at room temperature but you can serve straight from fridge), sprinkle a tablespoon of the demerara sugar on top of each one and shake off the excess. Use a butane torch to caramelise the sugar or put under a high heat grill until caramelised. Serve immediately and watch your guests take delight in cracking the crispy sugar and spoon the combined custard and sugar in.

Barbecued Bananas with chocolate and peanuts

It is still barbecue season here in Finland, no matter what the weather decides it is doing. Have you done a BBQ and then wondered what you are going to make for dessert? No? Well then clever you but have you tried barbecuing banana with chocolate inside? It is great and I mean it is fruit so it is healthy and all.

I have made this several times this year for friends and family and every time it has been a resounding success. It is cheap, easy and quick to do. You don't even need a barbecue to make it, so you can just add it to your list of desserts. I think it goes great with some vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce but that part is up to you.

To make enough for 4 you will want

4 bananas
100g white chocolate, broken into squares
100g milk chocolate, broken into squares
200g salted and roasted peanuts

Lay the  bananas flat and then slice then three-quarters of a way through. Put a square of milk chocolate in the end and then next to it a square of white, repeat until it is all full (I got three squares of each). Wrap in some tin foil and put on the barbecue for 5 minutes. Open up and serve with a sprinkling of peanuts on top.

It is simply delicious and you'll find this becoming a summer favourite.

Salami and Potato Tortilla

Tortilla Espanola, otherwise known as Spanish Omelette, is a really simple dish that is great hot or cold, for breakfast, lunch or dinner, on its own or with accompaniments. Traditionally it is just prepared using vegetable oil, eggs and potatoes and served as a tapa (picnic dish) cut into bit sized pieces.

Legend puts the origins of the Tortilla as being created by General Tomas Zumalakarregi Imatz, during the seige of Bilbao, as an easy, fast, nutritious dish for his troops. It hasn't been confirmed whether this is true, it is known that the Tortilla gained popularity and spread throughout Spain during the early Carlist wars.

Today many variations exist ranging from just the addition of onions, garlic and mushrooms to chorizo, peppers or ham. You can practically put anything you want into your tortilla.

This will serve 4-6 people depending on hunger

6 tbsp oil (I used olive oil but any kind of veg oil will do)
450g potatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
50g salami, thinly sliced
6 eggs, lightly beaten

Start by heating the oil in a pan, one about 18cm is good. Add the potatoes, onions and garlic and stir together until thoroughly coated in the oil, cover with a lid. Gently cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes (the potatoes should be firm but soft). Season.

Turn on your grill to a medium high heat. Add the Salami to the pan and stir round. Season your eggs and then pour over the potato mixture. Turn up the heat to a medium high for 5 minutes or until the edges start to brown and the egg is about three-quarters set. Put the pan under the grill and brown the top. Take out and place to one side.

Leave to cool slightly (about 2 minutes) then carefully loosen the tortilla around the edges and underneath with a knife, cut into desired serving portion and serve.

The whole process takes about 20-30 minutes from start to finish. This makes it ideal for a quick lunch. It is also great cold, so you can make it beforehand for picnics or pack lunches.

Skewered Satay Chicken

Satay is a dish of seasoned skewered meat that is then grilled and served with a sauce. In the West it has become very commonly associated with chicken skewered and served with a spiced peanut sauce. It is a national dish of Indonesia but is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and in former Dutch Asian colonies.

I first learnt how to make this dish when I got a job in a Malaysian owned Cantonese and Malay Restaurant when I was 13. It became a favourite dish at our home and as I got to bring food home after every shift, I would often bring this for myself and family to share.

I hope that you really enjoy this dish as much as I do.

To make enough to feed 4, you will want to have:-

800g Chicken breasts
1 egg white
10ml rice wine vinegar
1tbsp corn flour
8 skewers soaked in water for an hour
150g peanut butter (You can use some from this recipe)
2tbsp Soy Sauce
2 cloves of garlic
1 red chilli
200ml coconut milk
1tbsp honey

Star by mixing together in a bowl the egg white, rice wine vinegar and corn flour. Then chop your chickens into strips and put into the egg white mix, mix until thoroughly covered and place in fridge for an hour.

For the Satay sauce place the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chillis, coconut milk and honey into a food processor and turn on until all combined. Place into a pan and cook for a minute.

Take your chickens out and thread onto the skewers and then grill on a medium-high heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Serve with the peanut sauce warm sauce.

The leftover sauce goes great as a sauce for noodles.