Pasta Porcini

 

serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 45-60 g dried porcini mushrooms 
• 250 ml cream 
• 1 large onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• Parsley
• Dash of white wine
• Boiling water
• 60 g Parmesan cheese 
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Finely cut the onion and the garlic (or use a garlic press). Finely chop the parsley.
Boil some water and soak the porcini mushrooms for about one hour. How much water you use, is up you you, as we will only use a small amount later. After one hour, drain the mushrooms, but keep the water that now turned into broth. Add a bit salt to taste.

Start boiling your pasta, meanwhile heat up a skillet and sauté the onions until soft. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute more. Add the mushrooms and keep stirring for about a minute or two.

Now drop a splash of white wine to the skillet and keep stirring until it dissolves. Gradually start adding the stock (about 1 cup) and keep stirring until some of the liquid dissolves. Now add the cream and stir well to blend. Boil a bit more for the liquid to dissolve, depending on your tastes. Now add the parmesan cheese gradually and keep stirring until the cheese is blended in the sauce. Finely add parsley and stir to blend. 

Keep warm until your pasta is done, serve and enjoy!

Mike & Leda

Tikka Massala

 

serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 600g chicken (thigh) filet
• 0,5 cup Greek yoghurt
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 Thumbsize ginger
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 0,5 teaspoon turmeric
• 0,5 teaspoons cuminpowder
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• 0,5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 0,5 teaspoon salt
• 0,5 teaspoon black pepper

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 thumbsized ginger pieces
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon cuminpowder
• 1 small can tomato puree (40g)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 can of tomatocubes
• 120 ml water
• 3/4 cup cream
• 3 tablespoons almond slices
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Rice/Naan bread

Preparation:

Start by preparing the chicken for marinade first. This is best done overnight, but 2-3 hours will suffice.
Finely cut the garlic and the ginger. Make a marinade of all the ingredients minus the chicken and stir well. Now add the chicken to the marinade bowl, and stir so every piece of chicken is covered. Leave to marinade.

I made the chicken in the airfryer, but originally, the chicken is grilled, or barbecued. If you do the latter, brush some oil on the chicken first.

If you are ready to start the sauce, about 30 to 45 min before the chicken is done, finely cut the garlic and ginger, slice the bell pepper, and finely chop the onion.

Add the oil and butter to a sauté pan or wok and wait for the butter to melt. Now add the onion and cook until the onions has softened. 
Now add the garlic, ginger, garam massala, coriander, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and tomatopuree. Stir well and cook on medium heat until you can smell the spices.

Add the bell pepper, tomato cubes and the water, stir well and bring to boil. When it is boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer until the sauce has thickend to your liking. If you serve this dish with rice, you can start the rice now.

Take the marinated chicken and start baking/grilling/barbecueing/airfrying/frying them. Whatever option you pick, be sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked, but not burned.

When the chicken is ready, add the cream, almonds, sugar and chicken to the sauce and cook for 5 minutes more, before it is ready to serve.

Serve with rice and/or naan bread, and garnish with cilantro, if you like.

Enjoy your meal!

Mike & Leda

Pollo Saltado

 

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 700 g chicken (thigh) filet
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 red onion
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste (Peruvian chili paste) or 1 aji amarillo, sliced.
• Fries
• Optional: rice
• Optional: cilantro to garnish

Preparation:

This is a recipe of my friend Lucky who didn't want to leave until we've tried to cook Peruvian. He was right though, this is delicious!

The original recipe contains both fries and rice, but personally I thought it to be too much carbs, so I left the rice out and added a bit more fries. Feel free to add the rice though!

Cut the chicken in slices and cover with salt and pepper. Mix the chicken stock with the soy sauce and vinegar in a bowl with a whisk. Finely cut the garlic, or use a garlic press. Cut the tomatoes and onions in wedges.

Start cooking your fries. Personally I used the airfryer and frozen fries for convinience.

Heat up a sauté pan or wok on high heat and add the oil. Wait until the oil is hot and add the chicken. Stir fry until the chicken is golden brown on all edges, then add the garlic and onion, stir fry for one minute more. Now add the sauce..

Wait until the onion gets soft and add the tomatoes and aji amarillo (paste). Add salt and/or pepper if necessary. 

Add the fries to the plate and on top of that add the chicken, garnish with cilantro if you like and serve immediately.

Enjoy your meal!

Mike & Leda

Sushi

 

serves a party or about 3-4 for dinner

Ingredients:

For the rice:

• 2 cups sushi rice (or any shortgrain rice)
• 3 cups water
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1,5 teaspoon salt

For the sushi:

• Bamboo mat to roll the sushi
• A glass of water
• Nori (seaweed) sheets
• Whatever ingredients you like. We used:
  cucumber, avocado, creamcheese, smoked salmon, Japanese omelette and surimi

Preparation:

Wash the rice until the water is clear. This is to get the starch off and is very important for the preparations for sushi. Let it rinse until the rice is completely dry.
Put the rice in a pot, along with the water and bring to the boil. Immediately turn the heat low and place the lid on the pot. Boil until the water is dissolved, even though it is adviced against, sometimes I take a stir so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom.

When it is done, let the rice cool a bit.

Add the rest of the rice ingredients in a cup/mug and stir to blend.
Warm the vinegarmix in the microwave for about 30 - 45 seconds and stir to see if the sugar has dissolved. If it isn't repeat the progress until it is. If you don't own a microwave, you can also do this step with a pot and a stove.

Add the vinegar mix to the rice and immediately stir to cover everything. In my personal experience it works best with a rice paddle, but a spoon works too.

This guide is mainly for maki style sushi, but I've given a few tips below for other styles. 
Now get your bamboo mat and place a nori sheet on top. Cover with rice, leaving a bit space open to close the nori after rolling. On top of the rice, add your topping, in the middle.
Now fold the nori over the middle, and keep rolling towards the end. Now put the tip of your finger in the glass of water and wet the edge of the nori sheet, then roll over with the sushi to close the roll.
Now this takes a lot of practice to get it perfect. Personally I didn't care for perfection, as you can see in the photo, but there are many videos online that shows how to roll different types of sushi.

Now, use a sharp knife and dip it whole in the glass of water. Cut the sushi in parts, keep in mind the first and the last piece usually doesn't look nice.

Tips:

• Use a sheet of plastic kitchen wrap so the bamboo mat doesn't get dirty, or use a silicon mat.
   
• If you want to make a california (style) roll. simply turn around the seaweed/rice combination on your bamboo mat.
  
  
• If you want to make nigiri type of sushi, wet your hands, but not too much, and take some rice with your hands. Form this into a rounded rectangle. Now take your topping and add a bit of wasabi paste to the bottom so it sticks to the rice. I didn't have wasabi, so I used creamcheese, works as good, but doesn't have that distinguished taste wasabi has.
  
  
• Look online for more tips and inspiration!

Fill a plate with your sushi and serve.

Enjoy!

Mike & Leda

Jollof Rice

 

serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions 
• 80 ml oil
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cans tomato cubes
• 1 can tomatopaste (170g)
• 1 habanero or scotch bonnet pepper, add less or more to your tastes.
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon mixed dried herbs
• 3 chicken stock cubes, crushed
• 2 ½ cups rice ( about 500 g)
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetable (150 g)
• 1 ½ cups water (about 360 ml)

Preparation:

Cut the onions in large pieces and add to a blender with the 2 tablespoons of oil. Blend until smooth.

Transfer in a bowl and set aside.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and habanero pepper to the blender, and blend until smooth. 

Set it aside for later.

Heat the remaining ⅓ cup (80 ml) of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the onion puree and cook until the water has cooked out and the puree is starting to brown, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the tomato puree and add the curry powder, garlic powder, ginger, dried herbs, and crushed bouillon cubes. 

Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the stew has reduced by half and is deep red in color.

Add the rice, mixed vegetables, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with foil and a lid. 

Simmer for another 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked through and the liquid is absorbed.

Serve with a salad and a nice piece of meat, or enjoy it as it is!

Mike & Leda

Vietnamese Bahn Mi

 

serves 4, double the meat and bread for more people

Ingredients:

• 400 g meat (I used chicken thigh filets)
• Mayonaise
• Maggi (optional)
• Sriracha (optional)
• Jalapeño, sliced (optional)
• Cucumber
• Coriander (optional)
• 4 breadrolls
• Pickled vegetables

For the picked vegetables:

• 1 large winter carrot, cut in matchsticks and about 7 cm long
• 1 daikon/rettich, cut in matchsticks and about 7 cm long
• 1 - 1/4  (300ml) vinegar
• 1 cup (240ml)  warm water
• 2 teaspoons + 1/2 cup (105g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Pickled vegetables:

Put the already cut daikon and carrot in a seive and cover with the teaspoons salt and sugar. User your hands to massage the vegetables for about 3 minutes, or until everything is coated. A good indication is to try bending the daikon, if it is flexible (both ends can touch eachother) the coating is done.

Now flush under streaming water and drain the liquid well.
Meanwhile add the rest of the ingredients (sugar, water, vinegar) to a bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved.

When the vegetables are drained add them to the brine and mix well before finally closing the lid.
Keep refrigerated. These pickles you can save up to 1 month.

Sandwich:

Prepare the meat in any way you want to. I always go by some of the recipes in "The Banh Mi Handbook: Recipes for Crazy-Delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches" by Andrea Nguyen.

Personally I am a fan of chicken, so usually I go with that.

Season the chicken any way you want to (you can find a recipe online f.e.) and fry/grill the chicken until done.

Now cut the bread lenghtwise until the edge, but do not cut through.

Remove some of the inside for the filling to hold better, but it is up to you how much.

Start with adding mayonaise on both sides of the bread, be sure to cover every edge. On top of that a few drops of maggi, if you want Then a bit of sriracha if you like it spicy.

Then add the meat, the pickes, the jalapeño, cucumber and coriander, in this order.
Leave out what you don't like, and close the bread.

Cut in pieces if desired and roll in aluminium foil so the filling doesn't fall out.
Enjoy your sandwich, it sure is one of my favourites!

Mike & Leda

Gyoza

 

This recipe makes about  50 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 package gyoza wrappers (find them in the frozen section of an asian supermarket, or google an online recipe)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 

Meat:

• 350 g minced meat (pork/chicken) 
• 3 cabbage leaves
• 2 scallions 
• 2 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 clove garlic 
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger

Seasoning:

• 1 teaspoon sake 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt  (half the amount for table salt)
• freshly ground black pepper

Dipping Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Preparation:

Put the meat in a large bowl.

Heat the cabbage leaves in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes so they go soft. It is easier to cut this way. Remove the core of the cabbage.

Finely cut the vegetables (scallion, shiitake, cabbage) and add to the meat. Finely cut the garlic and add it too. Peel the ginger and grate it over the meat.

Add all the ingredients of the seasoning to the meat. Start mixing everything by kneading it until the mix becomes pale. Set aside.

Now, you might want to google for wrapping instructions on how to fold the gyoza. Down below I will provide a link to where I found this recipe.

Here you can also find how to make your own gyoza wrappers if needed.

Take a wrapper and put it in your non dominant hand. Use a teaspoon to scoop some of the filling in the center.

Dip your finger in water and circle it around the edges of the wrapper.

Fold the gyoza according to the instructions that you found, but feel free to use your own way. Place them on a baking sheet to rest while you 

prepare the others.

When everything is done, heat up oil on medium heat in a sauté pan, or any non sticky frying pan that can hold a lid.

Add the gyoza in a circular shape, but don't let them touch eachother.

Fry for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown. Now add the water to the pan, but be careful and use a lid not to burn yourself.

Immediately cover the pan and steam for about 3 minutes, or until most of the water is evaporated.

Remove the lid to evaporate the rest of the water, then add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and fry until the gyoza's are crispy on the bottom.

Mix the ingrediants of the dipping sauce and serve along with the gyoza.

Now it is common that you might want to save some of the gyoza for another time. You can easily freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet on a tray and put them in the freezer until the outside is frozen. After this you can add them in a zip lock bag. This is so that the dough won't stick together.

The source of this recipe can be found by clicking here

I hope you like this recipe and enjoy!

Mike & Leda