Leek flower stalk heart

leek flower buds

English neighbour planted leek, onion, garlic and broad bean last winter but now being locked down in England. So I help in looking after their house and land, in return for enjoying the harvest of all these produce. 

Unfortunately with the exceptional sunny warm weather in March and early April, the plant have grown big, but probably thought that summer has arrived and so instead of storing food in the bulbs or growing leaves, they decided to grow flowers early to form seeds for future propagation.

Leek flower stalk

So I now face a field of leek, onion and garlic, nearly all have flower buds. It is the first time I see leek flower stalk, it is very thick, 1cm in diameter, and surprisingly sweet. 

Leek flower stalk heart

The bottom part is pure crunchy sweetness like a fruit, the upper greener part is sweet with progressively more pungent leek flavor.

stir-fry leek flower stalk heart

 

I use the bottom leek flower stalk heart to make salad, or quick stir-fry, and the upper part in grilling, seasoned with soy sauce, delicious.

grilled leek flower stalk heart

grilled leek flower stalk heart

Dumplings using pasta dough

Dumplings using pasta dough

With the left over dough from making tagliatelles, I used the hand pasta machine to form thin round pieces. Cooked a veg meat filling and use the round disc to make dumplings, instead of raviole. The result is good, the skin is thin and has a slippery yet firm texture. 

pasta dough dumpling skins

1. Divide pasta dough into small portions, flatten by hand into round discs, use the pasta machine to progressively flatten to the second thinnest setting. Turn direction 90 degree in each rolling to keep the form as round as possible.

Dumplings using pasta dough

2. Cook the filling, I used dried shrimp, cabbage, pork and fennel fond, need to be very dry, let it cool down.

3. Form dumplings like half moons, cook in a pot of boiling water until the skin is soft to eat, around 2 minutes.

2 persons pizza lunch

Could not invite friends over during confinement, but still wish to have pizza, so had it for lunch, and did not need any dinner! 

- Pizza with fennel, calendula petals and marinated anchovy

- Pizza with zucchini, mint, red bell pepper and blood sausage

- Pizza with leek and goat cheese

Home made tagliatelles with foie gras cream sauce

Home made tagliatelles

Home made tagliatelles with foie gras cream sauce

Once in a while I like a good tagliatelles, with a cream sauce, very rich and tasty, but have to say hard to digest.

1. Made pasta dough using 1 egg, around 90 -100gm pasta flour, pinch of salt.

2. Use the pasta hand machine to form sheets then cut into tagliatelles.

Home made tagliatelles

3. Make a cream sauce with single cream and cooked foie gras, Grappa, season with salt and white pepper.

4. Stir-fry vegetables, cut into thin strips (carrot, zucchini etc).

 foie gras cream sauce and stir-fry vegetable

5. Cook pasta in a pot of salted water, then add to cream sauce, mix well.

Steam eggplant with lamb and leek

Steam eggplant with lamb and leek

I like the taste of steamed eggplant, it has absorbed the flavor of other ingredients, and yet stayed quite white, more pleasing to the eyes.

1. Roughly mince fatty lamb meat, season with salt, soy sauce, pepper, corn starch and liqueur, mix with red bell pepper.

2. Cut eggplants into cubes, toss with salt and pepper, place in baking dish, lamb mixture on top, steam until cooked, around 20 minutes, mix well. 

Steam eggplant with lamb 

3. Sweat leek, cut into thin shreds, place on top of steamed eggplant for colour and fragrant.

Grapefruit rum tonic

Grapefruit rum tonic

When spring is sunnier and warmer than usual, it is great to have an alfresco evening drink. 

Gin tonic (the tonic with quinine) seems a good choice, but found the combination to mild. So experimented with adding fresh orange juice (extra vitamin C), lovely orange drink but a bit too sweet. 

So use grapefruit juice instead and is a better choice. 

Also tried using rum instead of gin, even better, there is more aroma in a good rum than gin, cheers!

Lamb cutlet with mustard thyme sauce

A good sauce to go with lamb and easy to prepare. 

 

Lamb cutlet with mustard thyme sauce

1. Quick sear lamb cutlets at high heat until both size golden, rest on a plate.

2. Add sour cream, mustard, fresh thyme, in the pan, season with salt, when bubbling, return lamb cutlets with the juice that came out to warm up before serving.

Double yolks egg

Double yolks egs

Recently bought 2 dozen eggs from an organic shop, of normal size, what a surprise to find all of them have double yolks. So cute, the yolks are smaller than normal but it is the first time to find so many double yolks eggs in a box.

Double yolks eggs

Mix vegetables rosti

Mix vegetables rosti duck bresast

This is a lighter version of rosti, more colourful and healthier, goes well with lightly baked duck breast.

1. Shred potato, carrot and turnip, season with salt and pepper, rest for 15 minutes. 

Mix vegetables rosti

2. Squeeze out excess juice (to use in soup), mix with oil, form flat rosti on baking paper, bake at 180˚C until golden, around 20 minutes.

Pickled smoked haring

Pickled smoked haring

Bought a few packs of smoked raw haring as stock, unlike smoked mackerel which I like to bake to refresh, smoked haring has a denser meat and is far saltier to eat as such. Hence pickling is a good way to enjoy it, reduce the saltiness and convenient to keep as a quick bit.

1. Bring to boil and simmer 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water, season with brown sugar, ginger, garlic, star anise, chili, peppercorns, for 15 minutes.

raw smoked haring

2. Rinse smoked haring with a little liqueur, place a filet at a time into simmering pickling liquid for a few seconds, rest on a plate.

3. Re-boil pickling liquid and let it cool down. 

Pickled smoked haring

4. Cut haring into bite size pieces, pour cooled pickling liquid, marinate for at least a day. Cooling the liquid first will not over cook the fish and the meat will retain more moisture. Keep in the fridge.

Steamed eggplant with bacon and mushroom

Steamed eggplant with bacon and mushroom

Simple to make one pot dish mostly vegetable with some meat (optional), that goes well with rice.

1. Cut mushroom into slice, season with salt, pepper and oil.

2. Cut bacon into small pieces, or use minced meat (season with salt, pepper and oil).

Steamed eggplant with bacon and mushroom, before steaming

3. Cut eggplant into cubes, season with rice wine, salt, pepper, oil and sesame paste (optional, for a richer thicker sauce).

4. Place eggplant in baking dish, place fresh thyme on top, than mushroom and bacon/meat, steam until cooked, around 25 minutes. Mix well before serving.

Ginger Grappa braised quail

 

Ginger wine braised quail

Saw this recipe for cooking chicken, adapted for quail, which is a good size portion for one person, with a bit of all types of texture. It is fast to cook with juicy meat, very fragrant from the liqueur used.

1. Season quail with salt and white pepper for at least 2 hours.

2. Roll the bird part by part on the frying pan to colour the skin. 

searing the skin of quail

3. Place a thick slice of ginger below the bird, add 50gm Grappa or rice wine and 50gm water into the pan, without touching the bird.

4. Cover with lid, bring to boil and turn to medium heat to braise/steam cook, around 10 minutes.

Carrot, fennel and fig salad

Carrot, fennel and fig salad

It is a warm spring, warm enough to be eating outside, having salad for lunch.

1. Use peeler to slice or cut carrot and fennel into thin slices, keep fennel fond for the flavor.

2. Add dry figs, cut into pieces, season with salt, white pepper and lemon juice, mix well and rest for half an hour for vegetables to soften.

Spring onion mix seeds Yorkshire pudding

Spring onion mix seeds Yorkshire pudding

The last playing on this theme, spring onion and mix seed savory snacks, this time with the addition of eggs, become light, fluffy and crispy Yorkshire pudding. 

Spring onion mix seeds Yorkshire pudding, before baking

1. 75gm flour, 2 eggs, 100gm water, 1/2 tsp salt, spring onion, mix seeds (sesame seed, flax, caraway etc), rest for at least 2 hours for seeds to swell up. 

Spring onion mix seeds Yorkshire pudding

2. Pre-heat oven to 220˚C, drizzle some oil in muffin tins (more oil will be crispier), heat up in oven for 2 minutes, then quickly place a spoonful of mixture in each tins, return to oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Braised duck breast

Braised duck breast

An easy way to cook duck breast to a pink middle with a tasty sauce.

1. Remove skin, season duck breast with salt, pepper and 5 spices powder for an hour. 

Braised duck breast, before baking

2. Place fresh thyme at the bottom of baking tray, then lay duck breast on top, add remaining thyme, pour 50 ml Grand Marnier and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake at 130˚C for 15 minutes, rest in the oven with door ajar for another 10 minutes, before cutting into slices.

Mapo tofu

Found soft tofu in the organic shop, made with Nigari, very silk smooth. This is a mild version of the chili hot traditional Mapo tofu, so that it can be eaten with just a little rice.

1. Cut tofu into cubes and pour boiling water on top to tighten the texture, will still be soft but lesds easy to crumble during cooking, for 15 minutes.

2. Sweat onion, bacon or minced pork, add vegetables (carrot, khol rabi, red bell pepper), stir-fry at medium heat until soft, add tomato puree, season with soy sauce, chili and brown sugar.

3. Mix in drained tofu gently and serve.

Lamb Navarin

My version of lamb Navarin, in my mind, is basically lamb in a sauce with vegetable. I used cutlets here but can use other parts suitable for longer cooking. 

1. Sear cutlets at high heat to have both sides golden, take them out to rest.

2. Sweat onion and garlic, then vegetables, I used sweet potato and turnip here, cook until soft, add tomato sauce, season with soy sauce, pepper and brown sugar.

3. Place cutlets in the sauce to warm up, add some green leaves/herbs just before serving.

Spring onion mix seeds biscuit

Spring onion mix seeds biscuit

Having made pancake and cookie using these ingredients, both well liked, I thought of making biscuit, the type like Grissini, that can be kept in airtight jar for that lovely dry crispiness.

1. Make a yeast dough with 150gm flour, 100gm water, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, yeast, mix seeds(sesame, flax, caraway etc), spring onion. Knead well and rest in a warm place for half day to double in size.

Spring onion mix seeds biscuit, before baking

2. Knead again to knock out air, add flour if the dough is wet. Take a small piece, roll to round and flatten on a non stick baking sheet, as flat as possible, repeat with the rest of the dough. Rest in a warm place for half an hour.

3. Bake at 200˚C for 10 minutes, reduce to 80˚C to dry completely for an hour.

Asparagus in mustard lemon sauce

I have been having a couple of asparagus meal every week since February. Stepping into April, which is the usual time for asparagus to pop up, there is an increase in quantity, happy that they are not exhausted yet.

1. Peel the bottom tough skin off asparagus, bake at 180˚C for 10 minutes. This is the best way to cook asparagus and can appreciate the natural sweetness.

Asparagus in mustard lemon sauce

2. Make a dipping sauce using a nut paste(sesame, peanut etc), mustard, lemon juice and brown sugar.

Mackerel floss fried rice

Yet another meal using smoked mackerel, this time it is stir-fried in its own oil into nearly floss, then used in fried rice, delicious.

 

Mackerel floss fried rice

1. Remove skin from smoked mackerel, cut meat up into pieces, stir-fry at medium heat, break up the flesh into smaller pieces, cook until golden and nearly dried up.

Mackerel floss 

2. Sweat vegetables (carrot/fennel etc) until soft, season with soy sauce and turmeric, mix in cooked rice to warm up then add mackerel floss.