Weekend Cooking

Thursday cooking: Thai green curry.

As promised, BF made tiramisu! Prep started last night so it'd be ready today.

chocolate shavings, which melted quick in our 25-plus-degree kitchen

Friday's less-than-glamorous eggplant parm

tonight: Flammkuchen! an Alsatian/Black Forest sort of white pizza with creme fraiche, (turkey) bacon, onions and nutmeg as the traditional toppings.

You can also add shredded emmenthal, mushrooms, spring onions, or whatever you like.

And tiramisu for dessert.

We also have a friend in the US Embassy who knows a lady that hooks people up with fresh, pasteurized milk (not the UHT shelf-stable stuff!). We got our first gallon tonight, so we're having cereal and real lattes in the morning to celebrate.


Apologies for the terse and imprecise recipes. I'm so tired!


Green Curry Recipe:

2 tbsp or more green curry paste*
garlic
ginger
protein of choice (chicken, tofu...)
1 can coconut milk
Other vegetables as available (bell peppers, eggplant, chickpeas, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, whatever you got)
lemongrass


*this TOTALLY depends who makes your curry paste, though. We had a real Thai one that was a knockout with just one tbsp, till it got knocked out when we realized it contained shrimp. Now we use a vegetarian one from Ireland which is suited to the bland Irish palate and need to use at least three times as much.

Dice up the garlic and, if using, ginger. Fry with the curry paste and a bit of oil. When the aromatics are fragrant, put in the protein and let it brown for a few minutes. When done cooking, pour in the coconut milk. Bring it to a boil, and add the other ingredients. Bring back to a boil, then simmer for a while - anything between 10 and 30 minutes.

Add lemongrass to taste. Serve with rice and mint leaves; squeeze lime juice over the top of it.


Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

3 small eggplants
2 eggs
breadcrumbs
cheese (mozzarella, Cheddar)
tomato sauce
fresh basil, to garnish


Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Slice the eggplants and sprinkle both sides of each slice with salt; this will remove bitterness. Leave them to sit for 10 minutes.

After they've been salted, pat them dry with a paper towel. Now dip in egg, then breadcrumbs. Place slices on a greased/sprayed baking sheet for 5-10 minutes each side, until they are crispy on both sides.

Spread tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish you want to use. Layer in eggplant, cheese, sauce until your stocks are finished.

Bake 30-45 minutes or until it looks bubbly and delicious.

Tiramisu

via allrecipes

ingredients:

6 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese
1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
2 (12 ounce) packages ladyfingers
1/3 cup coffee flavored liqueur
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

NOTES: BF used 2 shots of espresso in addition to the liqueur and only one package of ladyfingers (around 60 fingers). This came out really sweet so I'd cut down on the sugar next time.

directions:

Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon-colored.
Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.
Split the lady fingers in half, and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl. Brush with coffee liqueur. Spoon half of the cream filling over the lady fingers. Repeat ladyfingers, coffee liqueur and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa and chocolate curls. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.

Flammkuchen Teig (Dough)

ingredients:

500g flour
1 tsp yeast
1 egg
250ml milk These two should be at room temperature or warmer.
1-2 tbsp of olive oil

Mix ingredients; let rise, covered, for at least 5-6 hours (anything up and probably past 12 is okay).

directions:

Preheat the oven to 375.

Roll the dough out to make a very, very thin sheet to cover your baking sheet. Make sure the baking sheet is greased, then add the dough. Spread creme fraiche on top; sprinkle with minced onions, chopped bacon and nutmeg.

Optional toppings: garlic, salt, piri piri chilis, spring onions, grated Emmenthal, mushrooms... the sky's the limit!

You can also use the same dough to make sweet flammkuchen with cream in place of creme fraiche, and with apples, Calvados, cinnamon, Nutella, or whatever you want.


happy cooking!