Longest bake ever for the Bread Baking Babes this month!

And it has been nine years now that we first started baking together. And for this anniversary I picked a 'strange' bread. This recipe was stuck in my head for a while. I guess the 12 hour baking time did that. Then I wondered is this a bread? No yeast, but baking powder?! No yeast can still make real bread, think flatbread, wraps and so on. But baking powder is linked to pastry in my brain. Things like banana bread (with baking powder/soda) is called a bread in English, but for me that's a loafcake and absolutely not a bread. So I let it sink in for a while to decide if it was bread worthy or not. It is not sweet, not eaten with sweet things, even if it is a breakfast item. And it's function is a bread... I can see it like that, and so it is, and that's what we're baking.

The bread is from Yemenite Jewish origin. Clever thought out to be able to eat fresh warm bread on the Sabbath, but without having to prepare it or having to turn the oven on (as work and lighting fires is not allowed). It is quite a rich dish, so a little keeps you going a long time.

Traditionally served with hardboiled eggs (those are boiled in the bread pot), grated tomato and Zhug, a spicy hot saus.

It is still eaten in Israel, though not many people make it from scratch anymore. The fat used can be oil or margarine, which make the bread 'parve' which is important to Jews who keep the foodlaws, so it's easier to combine with meat or milkproducts (not both).

For us it's probably more important to know that the oil gives it a less fatty feel (you can use that thinner than smeared butter) and the jachnun will feel 'drier', but butter wil give an extra flavour of course.

The recipe calls for white flour, you can make them with whole wheat too (or half/half), but it will be harder to get the dough really thin.  Maybe this would work better when the fibers in the whole wheat are cut smaller. But it's up to you what fat and flour to use.

And then the overnight bake... you could if you wanted to, eat them for dinner and schedule the making early in the morning and bake during the day, but to have a 12 hour bake, means getting up quite early. I found that it is very easy to bake them whenever you have time and just reheat them in the oven before you want to eat them (makes them a bit crispier too!).
And then about the eggs, they are boiled in the pot for 12 hours, I will place 1 in the pot, just to see how they turn out, but boil the rest the next morning, because I really, really find boiled egg with green coloured rims around the yolks very unappetizing. And indeed that egg was very "well done" and we didn't eat it. TIP: boil the eggs just before you're going to eat the jachnun.

You can easily make the dough the day before, to split up the workload, leave it in the fridge, but let it come to room temperature, otherwise it will tear even more. My dough was a little cold, so I had holes in it, but in the end it really doesn't really matter, by rolling them into a  little log, all holes are gone.

I placed a layer of stale bread on the bottom of the pan, in which I baked the Jachnun. I had some stale shop bought bread, otherwise I wouldn't have used it. I saw that in some video's. It'll be nice to find out how it turns out without the bread, just using parchment paper.

After 12 hours, the bread still looked... well sort of dead somehow. I let it bake for about 3 hours more (maybe my oven wasn't warm enough). I added one egg on top, just to see how that turned out, I took it out after 12 hours.... and it was cooked, slightly green edge around the yolk, not my kind of boiled egg.
So after 15 hours I took the pan with the rolls out of the oven. I peeled off the lid and paper, and it looked very unappetizing, greasy and pale. Not at all like the picture in the book with a crispy golden top. So I place the pan bak in the oven without the lid and baked it for about 20 minutes on 200ºC in a fan oven. Well that improved a lot, the top was now golden and flaky.

We ate them for dinner, with boiled eggs, tomato, Z'hug (with less peppers and without the seeds). And some vegetable soup. I took the rolls out of the pan, the bottom ones were of course still very pale. So I took them apart and let them bake on a baking sheet in a fan oven until sort of crisp. The bread was -as expected- very heavy. A teenage boy can help to get them cleared, but in all honesty I would have preferred freshly baked naan, any flatbread or any bread really. And even if it was a nice thing to do, but I don't think these will be baked again here. Of course we have no problem putting our oven on any time of any day, so we don't have to bake our bread like this. I guess if you have been brought up with this tradition, you can probably appreciate it better.

It is an adventure bake. Wanna give it a go, be Brave and become our Bread Baking Buddy. Shape, bake, sleep, taste, take a picture, tell us about it and sent it to the Kitchen of the month (that's me this time: notitievanlien(at)gmail(dot)com) subject: BBBread february. And I'll send you the Bread Baking Buddy Badge in return, to add to your post if you like ánd I'll add you to the BBB Round-up, which will be on around March first. Deadline 29th of this month. Have fun baking!

Jachnun

(makes 6)

(PRINT recipe)

500 g bread flour (you can use whole wheat or half/half, but the dough will be harder to                                                 stretch without tearing)

25 g date syrup (or sugar/honey)

20 g honey

pinch of baking powder

12 g fine salt

± 300 g water (or more to make a springy dough)

60 ml oil (or 100 g margarine or butter)

To add later:

6 eggs

1 large tomato (or 2 smaller ones)

zhug (* recipe below)

dough

Mix the flour, honey, date syrup, baking powder, salt and water together to form a sticky wet  dough and knead for a few minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes to let the gluten relax.

To develop gluten you now start to knead the dough for 5 minutes. Place it in a lightly greased bowl and give it a stretch and fold like this: Lift up the side of the dough and fold it over, turn the bowl and repeat this for about 7 or 8 times. Check by making a window (stretch a piece of dough between your fingers as thin as possible, if it doesn’t tear the gluten have developed as they shoot, otherwise knead or fold some more)

Cover with plastic and leave to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. (you can also leave your dough overnight, it might give more elasticity, but you have to let it come back to room temperature, otherwise it will be hard to stretch it out without too many tears)

prepare the pan and oven

You can use a (ovenproof) cooking pan or springform (about 20 cm in diameter). It’s optional to place some slices of stale bread on the bottom of the pan, this can prevent the jachnun from burning and absorb access fat. You also can place the parchment on the bottom as it is. I used the bread. Fold a long piece of parchment paper lengthwise and place it in the pan, so the ends hang over the rim of the pot.

Preheat the oven to 105ºC/225ºF and place a rack in the lowest position in your oven.

shaping

Divide the dough in 6 more or less equal pieces, shape them into a ball and leave to rest 10 minutes before the stretching begins.

To shape these rolls you have to stretch them using butter, oil or margarine.

Grease your work surface, place one piece of dough on it, grease the top and start working to make it the thinnest possible, while greasing it constantly. It is best to do this by hand, other methods (rolling pin) do not give the thinness.

When the dough is very thin (preferably like filo or strudel dough) fold 1/3 of one side over onto the dough, repeat with the other side (like a business letter). You now have a long strip, keep buttering/greasing the top, while you roll – starting at the narrow edge- the dough in a tight cilinder.

This video will show you how: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oygxy4i3u30

Prepare for the oven

Place three rolled logs next to each other, crosswise over the strip on the bottom of the pan. Place the other three crosswise on top of the first layer.

Grease/butter a double layer of parchment paper on one side and place on top, greased side down.

Now you can place the (raw, uncooked & unpeeled) eggs on top of the parchment paper. (you can also cook the eggs the next morning, to avoid green rims along the yolk, which I really detest)

Take a double layer of aluminum foil, cover the pot, securing the edges of the pan. Use a lid or a sheet pan to place on top of the foil. (or use a lid if available to keep it tight).

Place it on the rack in the oven and bake for 12 hours. (mine took 3 hours longer)

To crisp up the top, take lid and parchment paper off and bake in a fan oven for 20 minutes (200ºC) or until golden.

The next morning you take out the pan, place the jachnuns on a plate and serve it with the peeled eggs around them. Serve with grated tomato and Zhug (hot, spicy and garlicy dipping sauce) for breakfast.

So you now understand you have to plan this… or get up in the middle of the night. You can also bake when you like and just take the rolls out and preheat them on a baking sheet with fan oven (to crisp them up a little too).

*Zhug (traditional accompaniment; a dipping sauce with garlic, pepper and herbs)

3 dried red chili peppers, or 1 fresh red chili pepper (or 1 tsp chili flakes)

1 tsp black pepper, ground

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp coriander, ground

4 medium garlic cloves

Pinch of cardamom, ground

Pinch of cloves, ground

½ tsp salt

30 g coriander leaves (or parsley if you dislike coriander)

Olive oil, enough to make a sauce-like consistency

Place all ingredients in a bowl and crush it to a sauce in a blender or with a stick blender.

Place the Zhug in a clean jar, tighten the lid and keep in the fridge until use.

(Fridge shelf life about 2 weeks, with a small layer of oil on top)

(inspired/adapted by/from: “Breaking breads” – Uri Scheft and “Cafe Liz” (

http://food.lizsteinberg.com/2011/02/08/jachnun-yemenite-breakfast/)

Ethiopian dishes

(Nederlands? scrollen ↓↓)

And here are they: to serve with the "Authentic Ethiopian Injera".

Some Ethiopian dishes to serve with the Injera

(PRINT recipes)

Niter-Kebbeh (spiced butter/oil used in some dishes)

2 sticks butter (16 ounces), unsalted

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ginger, grated,peeled,fresh

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

4 cardamom seeds, crushed

1 cinnamon stick

2 cloves, whole

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek

1 tablespoon fresh basil or dried basil

In a small saucepan, gradually melt the butter and bring it to bubbling. When the top is covered with foam, add the other ingredients and reduce the heat to a simmer.Gently simmer, uncovered, on low heat for about 45 minutes or until the surface becomes transparent and the milk solids are on the bottom.Remove from heat and pour the liquid through a cheesecloth into a heat-resistant container. Discard the spices and solids. Covered tightly and store in the refrigerator. Niter Kebbeh will keep for up to 2 months.

Note: A good quality olive or other oil may be substituted for the butter.

Berbere (a spice mixture used in some dishes)
Note: This is the "heat" in all recipes. If you don't like it really spicy, reduce red chili pepper flakes to 1/8 cup. Or you can leave it out all together to make it not spicy at all.

1/3 cup red chili pepper flakes
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Store mixture in an airtight container.

Ayib Be Gomen (vegetable dish)
1 1⁄2 lbs. collard greens, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 lb. cottage cheese
1 1" piece peeled and sliced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp. Niter-Kebbeh
1 small yellow onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add greens. Cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain in a colander; press with bottom of a ladle or measuring cup to extract liquid. Finely chop greens; set aside.
Put cottage cheese into a strainer over a bowl; let drain.
Combine ginger and garlic in a mini food processor with 3 tbsp. water; purée. Set paste aside.
Heat Niter-Kebbeh in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, 6–8 minutes. Add ginger–garlic paste; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 3–4 minutes.
Add greens and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until hot. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool; stir in cottage cheese.

Wot/Wat (stew) (main dish with meat or vegetarian)
This is the base recipe for any type of stew you want to make: chicken (Doro), Beef (Key), lamb (Yebeg), Lentil (Yesmir), or Vegetable (Yetakelt) Serves 4

Stew Base:
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons berbere
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
2 tablespoons niter kebbeh
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 16oz can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
salt
black pepper

variations:
For Doro (chicken), Key (Beef), or Yebeg (Lamb): 1 lb meat, cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
For Yetakelt (Veggie): 1/2 cup green beans (cut into thirds), 1/2 cup carrot chopped, 1/2 cup potato cubed, 1/2 cup tomato chopped, 1/2 cup cabbage roughly chopped.
For Yesmir: 1 cup red lentils, rinsed

Directions:

In dutch oven or stock pot: Saute the onions, garlic, berbere, and paprika in the Niter Kebbeh for 2 minutes.
Add the meat or veggies, continue to saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Skip this step if making Yesmir Wot (Lentil Stew)
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, and the vegetable stock (and Lentils if making Yesmir Wot)
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are tender and the stew is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Ethiopian Lentils with Yam (vegetarian)
Note: This is a very mild dish

1 small onion, diced
3 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 small sweet potato or yam, diced
1/2 red sweet bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoon niter kebbeh
1/4 cup lentils (split red), rinsed
1-2 teaspoon tomato paste
1 cup water
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and black pepper

Directions
Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and yam in niter kebbeh at medium heat until the onions are almost translucent. Add the red bell pepper and saute for an additional minute. Add the lentils, tomato paste and water. Bring water to a boil.Add the paprika, coriander, allspice, fenugreek and ginger.Lower heat slightly and allow the stew to simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender and all the water absorbed. Add salt and black pepper as needed, and serve.


Eggplant Salad
2 medium eggplants, peeled, diced
Salt, Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cup cooked black-eyed peas
2 teaspoons sugar

Place the diced eggplant in a bowl. Mix the salt and lemon juice together and pour over the eggplants. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle on the oil and toss well. Gently stir in the garlic, beans, and sugar. Season with black pepper.


Prunes with Almonds and Raisins (dessert)
1 lb. (450 gr.) soft prunes, pitted

2 cups dry red wine

½ Cup sugar

2 oz. (50 gr.) each peeled chopped almonds and seedless raisins

1 ½ t cinnamon3 whole cloves

In a saucepan mix the prunes, almonds, raisins, cloves, wine, cinnamon and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring regularly. Reduce the flame and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture thickens. Remove the cloves and transfer the other ingredients to a medium sized dessert dish. Place the dish in the center of the table and serve hot with small dessert spoons so that each guest may help him or herself. Ideally served with mint tea or strong Turkish coffee

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Enkele Ethiopische gerechten om te serveren met de "Originele Ethiopische Injera"
(recepten PRINTEN)

Niter-Kebbeh (specerijen boter/olie die in sommige gerechten gebruikt wordt)

230 g boter, ongezouten
4 el ui, gehakt
2 teentjes knoflook, gehakt

2 tl vers geraspte gember

1/2 tl kurkuma

4 kardamom zaden, gekneusd

1 kaneelstokje

2 hele kruidnagels

1/8 tl nootmuskaat

1/4 tl gemalen fenegriek

1 el verse of gedroogde basilicum

Laat de boter langzaam smelten in een klein steelpannetje en breng het net aan de kook, Voeg alle ingrediënten toe en zet het 45 minuten op een laag vuur. De vaste melkbestanddelen zakken naar de bodem en de rest wordt transparant.
Verwijder van het vuur en giet het door 2 lagen kaasdoek in een hittebestendig bakje (of jampotje). Gooi alles wat eruit is gezeefd weg. Sluit goed af, laat afkoelen en bewaar het dan in de koelkast. Niter Kebbeh blijft min. 2 maanden goed. Ook erg lekker om je gewone vlees eens in te bakken.

NB: Je kunt in plaats van boter ook een goede olijfolie gebruiken.


Berbere (een kruidenmengsel dat in sommige gerechten gebruikt wordt)
NB: Dit is de 'hitte' in alle recepten. ALs je niet van pittig houdt, verminder dan de chilli vlokken tot 2 el. Je kunt het er ook helemaal uit laten, als je het helemaal mild wilt hebben.

5-2 el rode chili peper vlokken
2 1/2 tl knoflook poeder
1 tl gedroogde uienvlokken
1 tll gemberpoeder
1 tl kruidnagel, gemalen
1 tl zout
1/2 tl gemalen komijn
1/2 tl gemalen fenegriek
1/2 tl kaneelpoeder
1/2 tl gemalen kardamom
1/2 tl gemalen zwarte peper

Meng alle ingrediënten goed door elkaar. Bewaar in een goed afsluitbaar potje.


Ayib Be Gomen (vegetarisch gerecht)
700 g snijbiet, harde nerven eruit gehaald en gehakt
450 g "hütten käse (cottage cheese)
2,5 cm verse gember, geschild en in dunne plakken
3 teentjes knoflook
2 tl Niter-Kebbeh
1 kleine gele ui, gehakt
zout en vers gemalen zwarte peper naar smaak

Doe de snijbiet in kokend water en kook tot ze zacht is. Giet af en druk er zoveel mogelijk vocht uit. Hak het fijn.
Laat de hüttenkäse uitlekken in een zeef.
Meng de gember en knoflook in een hakmolentje met 2 el water en pureer.
Verhit de Niter-Kebbeh in een zware pan over medium vuur. Bak de uien tot ze glazig zijn. Voeg de gember/knoflook puree er aan toe en bak al roerend ongeveer 4 minuten.
Voeg de groente toe en breng op smaak met peper en zout. Roer het door tot alles goed heet is. Doe alles in een schaal om af te koelen. Roer er tot slot de kaas door.

Wot/Wat (Stoofgerecht) (hoofdgerecht met vlees of vegetarisch)
Dit is een basis recept voor alle soorten stoofgerecht dat je kunt maken: kip (Doro), rund (Key), lam (Yebeg), Linzen (Yesmir), of vegetarisch (Yetakelt). Voor 4 personen.

Basis van de stoofpot:
1 grote ui, fijn gehakt
1 teen knoflook, fijn gehakt
1 1/2 tl berbere
1 1/2 tl zoet paprikapoeder
2 el Niter kebbeh
2 el tomatenpuree
1 blik gehakte tomaten
350 ml groentebouillon
zout en zwarte peper

variaties:
voor Doro (kip), Key (Rund) of Yebeg (Lam): 450 g vlees, in blokjes.
voor Yetakelt (Vegetarisch): 20 sperciebonen in drieën gesneden, 1/2 winterwortel, gehakt, 1 grote aardappel in kleine blokjes, 2 tomaten in blokjes, een handvol gesneden kool.
voor Yesmir (linzenstoofgerecht): 120 g rode linzen, afgespoeld

Werkwijze:
In een stoofpan (bakpan) bak je het vlees of de groenten in de Niter-Kebbeh (voor Yesmir sla je deze stap over) rondom
voeg de tomaten, tomatenpuree en bouillon toe (en als je Yesmir Wot maakt de linzen). Breng dit aan de kook en laat het 15 minuten stoven (of tot de groenten zacht zijn en de saus wat dikker is) voeg zout en peper naar smaak toe.


Ethiopische linzen met zoete aardappel (vegetarisch)
NB: dit is een mild gerecht

1 kleine ui, gehakt
3 tenen knoflook, fijn gehakt
1 tl vers gehakte gember
1 kleine zoete aardappel, in blokjes
1/2 rode paprika, in blokjes
2 tl niter kebbeh
14 el rode linzen, afgespoeld
1-2 tl tomatenpuree
240 ml water
3/4 tl paprikapoeder
1 tl gemalen koriander
1 tl gemalen piment
1/2 tl kaneelpoeder
1/2 tl gemalen fenegriek
1/2 tl gemberpoeder
zout en zwarte peper

Werkwijze:
Bak de ui, knoflook, gember, en zoete aardappelstukjes in Niter Kebbeh op een medium vuur tot de uien glazig zijn. Voeg de paprikablokjes toe en bak nog een minuutje zachtjes door. Nu de linzen, tomatenpasta en water erbij doen. Breng het aan de kook. Voeg paprikapoeder, koriander, piment, fenegriek en gemberpoeder erbij en roer door. Zet het vuur laag en laat het 20 minuten zachtjes stoven, tot de linzen gaar zijn en het water geabsorbeerd is. Voeg naar smaak peper en zout toe en serveer.


Aubergine salade
2 medium aubergines , geschild en in blokjes
zout en peper
sap van 1 citroen
80 ml olijfolie
2 tenen knoflook, gehakt
gekookte oog-bonen (gemeten in een maatbeker 700 ml)
2 tl suiker
zwarte peper

Meng de auberginestukjes met zout en citroensap en laat 30 minuten staan. Giet de olie erover en meng goed. Roer de knoflook, bonen en suiker erdoor. Breng op smaak met zwarte peper.


Pruimen met amandelen en rozijnen (dessert)
450 g zachte onpitte pruimen

450 ml droge rode wijn

100 g suiker

50 g gehakte amandelen
50 g rozijnen

1½ tl kaneelpoeder

3 hele kruidnagels

Meng alle ingrediënten in een pan. Breng het al roerende aan de kook. Verlaag de temperatuur en blijf roeren tot het mengsel dikker wordt. Haal de kruidnagels eruit en doe de rest van het mengsel in een schaal die je in het midden van de tafel zet. Geef iedereen een lepel en gaan eten. Lekker geserveerd met muntthee of sterke Turkse koffie.

Lemon day

(Nederlandse versie? Naar beneden scrollen!)

Another event from Zorra: Lemon Day. Sounds nice doesn't it, that's what I thought. Several options passed my mind, lemon sorbet, lemonade, lemon bread, lemon cake... ah so much to choose from. Finally I decided on the combination with fish, which has always worked and always will. And where else was I supposed to get inspired than in my little book titled "Limoni". Well that says is all doesn't it.

We don't get the beautiful Amalfi or Sicilian lemons here, let alone the Meyer lemon that keeps coming up when I read blogs from the States. Sure wish to try those one day! But for now I'm happy enough that I can buy organic lemons from the health shop that work very well. This is an easy dish and excellent for parties or as a starter. If you seal the salmon spread with clarified butter, you can make it a few days in advance too. That can come in handy when you're throwing a party!

Salmon spread with lemon

(PRINT recipe)

350 g salmon, cooked (baked or steamed) skinned and boned
150 g butter (divided: 100 + 50), softened
juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 heaped TBsp fresh dill, chopped
80 g almonds, blanched and chopped
salt
black pepper from the mill

Combine the salmon, 100 g butter, juice and zest of a lemon, half of the dill in a bowl and mix them well. You could do this in a mixer of foodprocessor, but works just as well doing it by hand with a fork.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the chopped almonds (if you did all by hand, you could add them right at the beginning as well) and mix well. Scoop it in a small bowl for serving.

It's ready to eat right now, but if you want to keep it for the next days, you clarify the remaining butter (50 g) by heating the butter* and pour it on top, that you need to level first with a spatula. Let it cool and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Sprinkle with the remaining dill before serving.
Spread on crackers, toast or baguette as a starter. Makes great party food too!

*To clarify butter (you can also use shop bought Ghee instead) , heat the butter so it melts, let it stay on the heat -but without browing it- and scoop off the "foam" that will float on top of with a spoon> This foam are the impurities of the butter. The solids of the butter will sink to the bottom of the pan. Pour of the 'butter oil' that is on top in a bowl, careful not to get the solids in as well. You can store the clarified butter in the frigde for several days. Clarified butter is great for sauces but also to brown meat, it won't burn as quick as normal butter and you'll still have the great buttery taste.

(From: "Limoni - ricette d'autore")

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Citroen

En weer een blogevent van Zorra: Lemon Day, oftewel citroendag. Nou dat klinkt toch goed niet! Er flitsten allerlei opties langs, citroensorbet, citroenlimonade, citroenbrood, citroencake... ach te veel om op te noemen. Uiteindelijk kwam ik bij het aloude duo citroen met vis... of vis met citroen, net wat je wilt. En waar kon ik beter mijn inspiratie vandaan halen als uit mijn boekje "Limoni"(Citroenen), dat kan niet missen.

Natuurlijk hebben we hier geen prachtige Amalfi citroenen of citroenen van Sicilië en ook geen Meyer citroen, waar ik zoveel over lees op buitenlandse (vooral VS) blogs. Die zou ik graag ook een keer willen proberen! Maar voorlopig stel ik me tevreden met de biologische citroenen die ik bij de Natuurwinkel kan kopen.

Het is een eenvoudig recept en perfect als hapje op een feestje of bij de borrel. Ook als voorafje is dit heerlijk. Bovendien ook nog een paar dagen van te voren te maken als je de zalmboter afsluit met een laagje geklaarde boter en dan is altijd handig niet waar?!

Zalmboter met citroen

(recept PRINTEN)

350 g zalm, gaar (gebakken of gestoomd) zonder vel of graten
150 g zachte boter (verdeeld in 100 + 50 g)
sap en rasp van 1 citroen
1 flinke el gehakte verse dille
80 g amandelen zonder vlies, gehakt
zout
vers gemalen zwarte peper

Meng de zalm, 100 g boter, sap en rasp van de citroen, de helft van de dille in een kom. Je kunt dit ook in een keukenmachine doen, maar met de hand en een vork gaat het net zo handig. Voeg zout en peper toe naar smaak. Roer de gehakte amandelen erdoor. (als je alles met de hand mengt kan dit ook al meteen erdoor). Schep het in een mooi kommetje om te serveren.

Het is nu klaar om te eten, wil je het wat langer bewaren kan je een laagje geklaarde boter erover schenken. Hiervoor gebruik je de resterende 50 g boter. Verwarm de boter en laat het smelten zonder te bruinen. Schep het schuim dat zich bovenop verzamelt eraf (dit zijn onzuiverheden uit de boter). Je ziet nu een laag (boter)olie en onderin de pan een laag onopgeloste bestanddelen (dit zijn de melkbestanddelen). Giet voorzichtig de olielaag eraf, zonder de onderste laag mee te nemen. Van de geklaarde boter (de olie) schenk je nu een laagje van 1/2 cm over de zalmboter(wel eerst de bovenkant glad strijken). Laat het afkoelen en je kunt het nu minstens 5 dagen in de koelkast bewaren.

Smeer het op crackers, toastjes of baguette en strooi de resterende dille erover als garnering. Eet als starter (met bijvoorbeeld wat sla) of borrelhapje.

(bewerkt naar: "Limoni - ricette d'autore")

Have a smoke..

(voor Nederlands naar beneden scrollen )

O yes, I have kept it for deadline-day.. again. I just can't seem to get a move on lately. Of course it's busy and I'm tired, but isn't that always the case? This post was planned in december as a lovely snack thing during the holidays. It was snacked, but not posted. Luckily there came an event about smoked goodies (aka "Smoking allowed") by Zorra, that made me finally post it.

Since I've had my smoking toy, I've used it several times for meat, veg, salt or fish. As it is for outdoor use, it can be quite cold keeping an eye on it, so for my next smoke I'll wait 'till it gets a bit warmer outside. Chicken is very good, but the tastiest for me is smoked fish. It's so succulent and wonderful flavoured. It's good just like it is, but you can play around with it too; like smoked fish-pie or quiche. I made a simple but delicious spread with it... that 's what was left after our first taste session.

I've been smoking trout, which is really nice. I'm not very good with taking out the bones, even though I had a new fish-debone-gadget, that looked like a fish itself. But I'll get better at it I'm sure.

I smoked the trouts scaled, cleaned and whole, both seasoned with salt and pepper, one with some lemon and thyme in the cavity and the other one with lemon and dried wild fennel flowers (bought in Italy) and let it smoke for about 20 minutes. This depends on the smokyness you prefer and your smoker or wood used. If you don't have a smoker, you can buy smoked trout in the supermarket or your fishmonger.

Smoked trout & cream cheese spread

(PRINT recipe)

1/2 - 1 smoked trout, filleted

± 250 g cream cheese

2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 TBsp fresh chopped flatleaf parsley

1 TBsp fresh finely chopped chives

salt

freshly ground black pepper

* Don't take the amounts too precise, if you love chives you can use more, ecc. ecc.

Take the skin of and all the bones out very carefully and flake the fish. Put aside 1/4 of the fish flakes. Mix all the other ingredients with care into a spread and add salt and pepper to taste. Once mixed fold in the fish pieces that you kept aside, so they don't break up too much.

Serving suggestions:

- on a cracker, bagel, baguette...

- a Tbsp full in a fresh date or on a piece of sellery stick as partyfood

ENJOY!

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Even een rokertje...

Ja natuurlijk weer gewacht tot de dag van de deadline. Ik kan de laatste tijd een beetje moeilijk op gang blijven. Het is druk en ik ben moe... maar ja dat is toch altijd zo, dus hup. Dit bericht was bepland in december als een heerlijk idee voor een feestelijk borrelsnackje. Er is gesnacked, maar nog steeds geen bericht van gemaakt. Gelukkig kwam er toch nog een stok achter de deur in de vorm van een event over gerookt voedsel (of wel "Roken toegestaan") door Zorra, die er uiteindelijk voor zorgde dat ik nu zit te tikken om het stukje vandaag nog op het net te krijgen.

Sinds ik mijn rookoventje heb, is het al diverse keren gebruikt, voor vlees, groenten, zout en vis. Omdat het voor buitengebruik is en het nogal koud kan zijn om het in de gaten te houden, zal de volgende rookronde waarschijnlijk pas plaats vinden als het weer wat warmer wordt. Kip is erg lekker, maar het lekkerste vind ik zelf toch gerookte vis. Het blijft zo heerlijk sappig en de smaak wordt verrukkelijk. Je kunt gerookte vis natuurlijk zo eten, maar ook gebruiken in gerechten, denk eens aan een gerookte vis quiche of een visschotel met aardappelpuree. Ik heb deze keer een heel simpel, maar niet minder lekker, smeersel gemaakt, dat het onder andere goed doet als borrelhapje.

Ik heb er gerookte forel voor gebruikt en dat is gerookt erg lekker. Ik ben niet zo handig om al die graten eruit te peuteren, zelfs niet met mij nieuwe gadget: een gratentangetje dat er zelf ook nogal vissig uit ziet. Ik heb denk ik gewoon meer oefening nodig.

Ik heb de forellen in hun geheel gerookt ongeveer 20 minuten (zonder schubben en ingewanden), beiden met zout en peper bestrooid, één met citroen en thijm in de buikholte en de ander met citroen en gemalen gedroogde wilde venkelbloemen (uit Italië). De tijd hangt een beetje af van hoe 'rokerig' je ze wilt en welke houtmot je ervoor gebruikt (sterker of neutraler). Als je geen rookoventje hebt kan je ook altijd gerookte forel vinden in de supermarkt of bij de visboer.

Gerookte forel & roomkaas spread

(recept PRINTEN)

1/2 - 1 gerookte forel, zonder vel of graten
± 250 g roomkaas (mon chou, philadelphia e.d.)

2 tl vers citroensap
2 el verse (platte) peterselie, gehakte
1 el verse bieslook, fijn gehakt
zout
zwarte peper, vers gemalen

* Neem het niet te nauw met deze hoeveelheden, het is een kwestie van smaak.

Breek de visfilets in stukjes en leg 1/4 van de vis apart. Meng de andere ingrediënten -zout en peper naar smaak- door elkaar met een vork en vouw tot slot de apart gehouden stukjes erdoor, zodat die niet helemaal stuk gaan.

Serveer suggesties:
- op een cracker, bagel, baguette.....
- een el in een verse dadel of op een stukje bleekselderij....

Things you can do with Blackberries

(only in English this time)

It's been almost a week since my last posting, but I've haven't been doing nothing you'll see.

A few posts back I talked about the Blackberries that my father gave me. I decided to make my own privat round-up about the things I made with them. I still have some frozen in my freezer left, so I'll be able to use them during the coming months. Foodies talk about using fresh and seasonal, and I agree completely. But when the abbundance of the season is in my freezer, and I use it a few months later, it doesn't make me feel like I'm trespassing any foodlaw. I always get a bit annoyed when the food-police (on the web and elsewhere) try to "arrest" people about these things! So if you don't have blackberries frozen, you can always try one of the recipes next year!

So lets sum things up here:

We had our Blackberry Pudding, which was really yummy. I'll make that again soon.

I made lots of Blackberry sorbet (over 2 liters), we really do love our ice cream here...

Then the Blackberry and Cinnamon cake, from the book "La Dolce Vita".

Thanks Tanna for suggesting the Blackberry smoothie, my daughter and I enjoyed that a lot. We used 200 g frozen blackberries, 250 g yogurt, 1 small banana, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tsp honey. It was really quick, thick and luscious.

I also made some Spicy Blackberry Chutney. I found the recipe here. It had to cook a lot longer than the recipe said, because it was way too thin and I added 1 tsp of mixed spice. And I'm still not really sure if I like it or not, it was a bit too much vinegar and bit too less spicy for my taste.

And because you can get lots of apples now from cheap sources, I made the Loggin Road Blackberry Apple Pie from Haedrich's book "Apple Pie perfect".

There is only one picture from the pie in the tin just after baking. Why? Well let's put it this way; never try to turn a hot pie with boiling apples and blackberries on a plate, not only to prevent burns, or a kitchen full of sticky red boiled fruit, but also if you don't want to eat pie with a spoon out of a bowl... Still it was very good!

Aranka suggested to make Blackberry liquor with the berries and my friend Joke (this is not funny but a dutch name pronounced "Yo-kuh") even provided me with a recipe for Crème de Mures. That already tasted good after making it, but as the recipe said it gets better with age, we'll leave that for a while. I'm looking forward in using it in ice cream, or a shot in spiced poached peares or something.... (I also am preparing the Creme de Cassis, that was also on the same recipe page, but that takes a little longer)

Yesterday I baked a Blackberry and apple loaf from "101 cakes and bakes" and that was very lovely too.

And finally I made some Blackberry and Lemon curd from "Sue Lawrence's book of baking". And because this was such an easy and quick way to make it in the microwave, I'll share this recipe with you.

Blackberry and Lemon curd

(makes two 350 g/12 oz jars)

(PRINT recipe)

150 g/1 cup blackberries (fresh or frozen)

100 g/1 stick unsalted butter, diced

200 g/1 cup granulated golden sugar

grated zest of 3 unwaxed (organic) lemons

175 g/3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 large eggs (free range), beaten

Purée the (defrosted) blackberries in a blender and push them through a sieve, add the eggs, give a whisk and set aside. Place the butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a (microwaveable) bowl and cook, uncovered, on High for 4-5 minutes, stirring halfway. The butter has to be melted and the sugar dissolved. Remove and cool.

Stir both together in one bowl and microwave for 5-6 minutes. Take it out of the microwave and whisk like a maniac every minute (otherwise it will scramble!). It starts to thicken after a few minutes and should have the consistency of lightly whipped cream.

Sterilize twoo jars and put the curd in hot. Close with a metal lid, place it upside down for 5 minutes and let cool completely. The lids should be airtight (You can test that by pressing on the top, it shouldn't say 'click' nor move anymore. Stick on some kind of label to make it look pretty (makes a great gift too!). After opening store in the fridge.

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That's all for the time being, I'm still planning on making a Blackberry vinaigrette, blackberry soufflé and an apple and blackberry strudel and then the blackberries of this year will probably be finished.