urban odds & ends

Preserved lemons are one of the most popular Moroccan condiments and they are used in many dishes like tajines, couscous or salads. They are pickled in their own juice with plenty of salt and different spices and only the peel is used.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons 750mL glass jar

6 organic lemons
coarse sea salt
a few coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 red chilli

Clean the lemons under water and dry them. Cut off the round spot where the stem sat and make two large slices in X shape stopping 1 cm from the bottom. Pack the salt into the incisions, about 1 tbsp per lemon. Put the salted lemons in a clean, large glass jar and add the spices.



Press the lemons very firmly to get the juices flowing. Cover and let stand over night. The next 2-3 days repeat pressing until the lemons are completely covered with liquid. If the lemons aren't juicy enough add a little bit extra lemon juice. After one month the preserved lemons are soft and ready to use. Rinse before using to remove excess salt. They'll keep in the fridge at least 6 months.


Recipes using preserved lemons:
Isreaeli Couscous with Butternut Squash & Preserved Lemons
Preserved Lemon & Spring Vegetable Risotto With Grilled Shrimp
Chicken Tajine With Preserved Lemons, Green Olives & Golden Raisins
Hearty Red Lentil & Preserved Lemon Soup

Monday again... the weekend too short as always. We bought us Final Fantasy XIII on saturday, so we stayed the time after that on our couch in front of the TV (Chocobo is sooo damn cute!) ;) In addition I had to check out two new cookbooks I've ordered at amazon. Both from famous restaurants located in London (.... ooh, I need to spend a weekend there soon ;) ...): Ottolenghi and Moro. Both books feature mediterranean and middle-eastern recipes: tapas, mezze, couscous etc.... the recipes sounds delicious and I hope I can try them soon!

Veggie Burgers yields six big patties
adapted from 101 Cookbooks

 2 1/2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 hand full of parsley and cilantro
1 onion, chopped
Grated zest of one lemon
1 cup micro sprouts - I used a prepacked mix, chopped
1 cup toasted bread crumbs (I dried a whole wheat bun and made crumbs out of it)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Puree chickpeas, eggs and salt until its very thick and still a little bit chunky. Pour the mixture in a bowl and stir in the herbs, onion, lemon zest and sprouts. Add the breadcrumbs and let it sit for around 5 minutes. So the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. If the mixture is too wet add more bread crumbs. Form the chickpea dough into patties. Take a pan with a fitting lid, add the oil and heat it on middle high heat. Add patties and cook with lid on on both sides for around 8 minutes until nicely browned.

I served them on whole wheat buns topped with hummus, micro sprouts and tomato slices. Grilled vegetables like eggplants and zucchini would be nice too as well as avocado or caramelized onions. The variation of sauces are endless, but the next time I make these burgers I'll try baba ganoush or a mango chutney.

We spent some time at the Luisenpark located in Mannheim Good Friday afternoon. We saw spring flowers, farm animals and many people enjoying their day off. While wandering around I left some prepared dough at home for a loaf of the traditional Hefezopf. It's a sweet bread commonly baked at Easter, but the basis recipe I'll show you below is suitable for raising buns etc. too!

Hefezopf one loaf

500g flour
250mL milk
50g sugar
1/2 cube fresh yeast
75g butter at room temperature
1 egg at room temperature
1egg for coating
1 tbsp salt
almond slivers

Heat the milk until lukewarm, pour in a bowl and add the sugar and the yeast and mix with a spoon until combined, let it rest for about 10 minutes. Then add the egg and whisk it together. Sift the flour in a large bowl and pour in the milk egg mixture, add the soft butter and salt and knead the dough until smooth and glossy. This should take about 10 minutes. At this step you can add raisins and other dried fruit, whatever suits you best. Now grab a clean and moistened towel, cover the bowl and put it on a warm and not drafty place. After 2 hours the dough should have doubled in size. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for another 1-2 minutes. Divide the dough in three equal portions and shape each into long strands and form a nice braid. Transfer on a baking rack lined with parchment paper and let it rise for another 30 minutes with the moisted towel atop. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F). After 30 minutes coat the top with a mixture of egg and a pinch of salt and sugar each. Sprinkle with almond slivers and put it into the oven for about 45 minutes, after 25 minutes reducing the temperature to 180°C (350°F).
 
An idea for variation is to flavor the milk used in this recipe. I added a good amount of orange zest, but you can substitute the orange zest for lemon zest. Another variation is to substitute the milk for coconut milk.

I discovered that the hefezopf tasted even better one day old. But a warm slice of it topped with clotted cream and some strawberry jam - oh yum!

Watching the growing flowers with their vibrant springy colors makes me craving for some similar colored fresh food. On the train ride home a broccoli recipe came to my mind whilst thinking about tonights dinner. So it happend that I bought a nice green broccoli head. To make a lighter version of this broccoli slaw recipe and having still some greek yoghurt waiting in the fridge I made a simple yoghurt dressing. This salad tasted pretty good and was thrown together very fast.

Broccoli Salad serves 2

1 large head of broccoli
4 tbsp thinly sliced almonds, toasted
1 small red onion, finely chopped

Dressing

125 g greek yoghurt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt
pepper

Trim broccoli, seperate the broccoli flowerets and cut into thin slices. Toss the broccoli, the almonds and the onions in a bowl. In a seperate bowl whisk the ingridients for the dressing. Pour the dressing over the broccoli and mix until everything is coated and add salt and pepper to taste.


More broccoli recipes:

Spice and roasted broccoli
Chicken and broccoli
Roquefort roasted broccoli
Broccoli soup
Broccoli calzones
Pasta e broccoli
Mac & Cheese with chicken and broccoli

Wow, the recent weeks were pretty stressful. First I had within my second course specialisation in technical chemistry a course called "Plant Design". Beginning with an "omfg two weeks without sleep" I rather enjoyed this course at the end. I've learned much about teamwork and it's amazing what we've developed. By the way: our plant wouldn't be economical ;) The next big thing was my last written exam I had last week, which I passed successfully :) Total relief!

Last week was also the first week with temperatures above 15 °C. I loved it, I even didn't need to wear a jacket! But now, the temperatures are dropping fast and it is rainy again. Hopefully the Easter weekend is going to be nice.

Last week I made Pasta alla Norma, a traditional sicilian dish, which was a long term item on my "to cook" list. It is absolutely easy to make and, like most easy dishes, it is pretty delicious. As I hadn't ricotta salata at hand, I substituted it for the good ol' parmesan.

Pasta alla Norma serves 4
adapted from Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Great Italien Escape p. 104

500g Spaghetti, cooked and some cooking water reserved
800g Whole Tomatoes, canned
2 Eggplants
4 Gloves Garlic, thinly sliced 
1 Tbsp Oregan, dried
1 Red chilli, finely minced
1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 Hand Fresh Basil, stalks chopped and leaves coarsly chopped
1 Hand Freshly Grated Parmesan


Quarter the eggplants lenghtwise and cut it into fingerthick stripes. Heat a large pan with olive oil on medium high heat, add the eggplants and toss until fully coated with oil, sprinkle with oregano and roast until golden brown in two batches. Put all eggplants together and add garlic, chilli and basil stalks. Add the vinegar, tomatoes and a dash of water and simmer for about 30 minutes. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water with a good amount of salt until done. Drain and reserve some of the cooking water.



Season the sauce with salt and pepper until taste and add the parmesan and basil. Now add the cooked spaghetti and 2-3 tbsp of the cooking water to the sauce. Buon appetito!

After craving for something chocolaty without having a chocolat bar at hand respectively the will to go out and buying something, I found a very easy to prepare and delicious recipe for chocolat pudding. Hmmmm.

Easy Peasy Chocolat Pudding serves 2 

40g Cornstarch
3 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa
4 Tbsp Sugar
0.5L Whole milk
Optional: chocolat sprinkles, whippes cream... what you prefer!


Mix the cornstarch and the cocoa with about 200mL of the milk and stir until dissolved. Heat the remaining milk with sugar until it boils. Now add the cornstarch mixture wisking continuously for about a minute. You will notice that the mass thickens after a few seconds. Pour the pudding in, with cold water rinsed, bowls and let cool at least for 2 hours.

I had some oranges at hand, so I flavoured the boiling milk with orange zest and topped the finished pudding with slices of orange. But there are no bounds and you can play around whatever you like: chocolat sprinkles, whipped cream, fruits (hmmm... when starts strawberry season? ;) )...

The photo above is from Katie Solokers lovely blog ColorMeKate, a freelance photographer and street artist living in Brooklyn. Love the colors. :)

There's nothing nicer to take a sunday afternoon walk under a bright blue sky and a landscape topped with freshly fallen snow.



White Bean Chilli
adapted from from The Pioneer Woman Cooks



2 Chicken thights
1 Medium onion, diced
2 Gloves garlic, finely minced
1 Can green chilies, chopped
2 Red chilis, finely minced
250g Dried white beans, rinsed
1 Litre Chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Cup whole milk
1 tbsp cornflour
Cheddar chease, grated
Cilantro, chopped
Salt & pepper to tase
Optional: Sour Cream
Optional: Corn Torillas


In a medium pot cover the chicken with cold water and cook for 20-30 minutes, put it on a plate and let cool a little. Then remove the meat from the bones with your fingers and set aside. In another pot add a little olive oil and cook the onions, red chilis and garlic for about 2 minutes. Add the chopped green chilies and the white beans, add the chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper and cumin and cook with the lid on for about 2 hours or until the beans are done. After 1 hour it's time to add the chicken.
When the beans are done, mix milk with the cornflour and pour into the chili for thickening the sauce. After 10 minutes season to taste and add the cayenne pepper,paprika, cilantro and cheddar cheese while stirring until melted. I served it with warm tortillas. Enjoy!