Filo Pastry filled with Asparagus

Filo pastry without Feta cheese is nearly impossible. I added a good amount of it together with a teaspoon full of homemade wild garlic pesto.

Sooo goood!

The preparation is very simple. The only tedious work is peeling and steaming the asparagus. But when you did it in advance and use the leftovers from the day before, you are on a fast lane.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Cut off a couple of layers of filo dough. Take on on a board and brush it with melted butter, fold it in half and take some scissors to cut it in 2 pieces. Brush the tops again with butter.

The Feta needs to be cut too in small long strips. Try not to break it.

Lay 2 asparagus stalks (about 12- 15 cm long) beside 1 Feta piece and add 2 tsp wild garlic pesto. Fold the filo sheet over and roll it up. Set on baking paper on a baking sheet.

When all are finished, brush the tops with butter and sprinkle black sesame seeds on top.

Bake for 30 min.

I served it on top of purple endive salad with some more crumbled Feta.

Ingredients:

400 g white asparagus, steamed

40 g melted butter

Filo pastry

200 g Feta

Wild garlic pesto

Black sesame seedd

Arancini from a Deli

I went to an Sicilian Deli in a small town about 28 km from home. They have sweet and savoury treats and the arancini are presented in the middle of the large window. 

You can get them warmed up and eat inside or you take them with you and put in the microwave or oven. They should only be warm, not boiling hot.

All tables in the small Deli were occupied. We were longing for a good Espresso, but went for it a couple of doors down the street to the Portugese Deli.

I bought 3 different kinds of arancini. The triangular one was filled with sugo and peas, the round one was with Mozzarella and the last one was vegetarian with eggplant.

This was my least favourite one. It was nearly unseasoned and tasted bland. The other two were good, but they did not reach the ones I ate in Palermo.

Wild Garlic Dumplings

I started this blog nearly 9 years ago because I wanted to show my love for dumplings. Over the years lots of dumpling recipes were collected here.

This is a new one. My BFF made them and brought me a bag of frozen ones. Wild garlic in spring is so synominous for this time of year. When it starts to become available, the asparagus season starts too.

You can serve this dumplings with a creamy cheese sauce and honey carrots, but I ate mine with the red pepper sauce from the last recipe. That worked fine too. 

This dumpling dough needs a bit of resting time. The breadcrumbs and flour needing time to soak up the liquid and gets softer. Only then it is possible to mold them in dumpling shape.

Recipe for 4:

300 g breadcrumbs

300 g blended wild garlic (puree)

200 g flour

3 eggs

150 g grated Parmesan

Some fine soft wheat semonina for the worksurface.

Butter and oil for the pan to fry them or veg stock to cook them. They are easy to freeze and versatile to serve either as a main or side dish.

Bring all ingredients together to a smooth dough. Let that sit covered in the fridge for 1 hour. Sprinkle the semolina on your table and roll the dough in a sausage. Cut off slices and roll them dumpling style.

Heat up salted water and simmer them until they float at the top. Drain and fry them in some butter or oil.

Or just simmer them in veg stock and serve them with a rich sauce.

Asparagus with red Pepper Sauce

I was out in a small wine producing city about 28 km from home and met my BFF there. Our goal was to get some wine, and Portugese and Italian food specialities. There are couple of small shops that sell delicacies in this city.

There is a huge Portugese community there. In the early to mid 1960's lots of workers for 2 large local companies were needed. They hired men from northern Portugal, out of small villages north of Porto. There wives and children came later and the community grew.

After a couple of stops to buy goodies it was time to hit the supermarket there. Fresh white asparagus from a shed in front, lots of red bell peppers and cream cheese later, I was ready to drive home to cook.

The asparagus peeling is a Zen kind of labour for me. I do not mind to peal huge amounts. Since the peeler was still in my hand, I took off the skin off the red peppers too. Better to digest.

The asparagus went in the Thermomix steamer first for 22 minutes. Then I emptied the water and thrown green onion and young garlic in. After a short blast, I added 1 tsp of oil and 1 tbsp of wild garlic butter. Sauteed for 2 min. 

The roughly cut chunks of red pepper followed and got blasted into bits. I added 100 ml veg stock from paste and 3 tbsp of cream cheese. I cooked it 5 min. The seasoning was salt, pepper, herbes de Provence and Italian herbs.

1 tbsp creme fraiche to finish last. That went with the asparagus on the plate. I had some green dumplings, wild garlic pesto and a bifteki with it.

Ingredients:

500 g white asparagus

4 red peppers

4 cloves of young garlic, 1 large green onion

1 tsp oil, 1 tbsp wild garlic butter

100 ml veg stock, 3 tbsp cream cheese

Salt, pepper, herbes de Provence, Italian herbs

Creme fraiche

Holiday Home Foods

When I only stay 3 days in a holiday home, cooking is not the primary thing on my list. 

The kitchen was very good equipped and had a dish washer, but carring all the ingredients and spices with you is troublesome.

I just brought salt, pepper, Italian herbs and some Toscana blend seasoning. Enough to get through 3 days. A tiny bottle of olive oil and some balsamic white vinegar.

The first evening I went out to a restautant, waiting out the snow that came down in mid April. No need to use the kitchen.

The second evening I went for a very easy pasta dinner. I cooked the pasta in some chicken stock from a cube and used some of the pasta water to warm up some tuna fish from a can. 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and all my spices went in too. Combined with the pasta in a bowl it was good to go.

But a couple of cherry tomatoes were still sitting on the kitchen counter. Best way to eat them, just throw them in the pasta bowl.

The 3rd day dinner was easy. The local supermarket had heirloom long peppers, very crunchy and sweet. In store made pumpkin and chickpea hummus. Dipping the peppers in the hummus was all I needed to do.

 

Eating out at Cloister Maria Laach

Snow and rain greeted me this late April morning in the Eifel mountains. The best way to spend the day is visiting a museum and a cloister in the area.

The pouring rain washed me inside a restaurant to wait for a dry spell and I ordered some food. On the day's menu was Herring in cream and onion sauce with potatoes and salad.

A huge plate with a mountain of salad arrived. My least favourite kind - arugula or rocket - was a big part of it. I ate some of it but picked out the bigger ones.

Herring with sauce topping and potatoes were great.

Btw: the museum I visited was the Lava Dome in Mendig. A museum about the vulcanic area here in the Eifel.

Panino Lucia

I am back at the Green Hell, the longest and most dangerous racetrack of the world:

Nürburgring Nordschleife

I arrived in the sunshine today, but the weather deteriorated to storm, rain and later snow. That after 2 weekends with 23 C.

After one lap with my car around the Green Hell, the track got closed due to snow fall. 

That made me rethink my evening plans and I went out to the Lucia restaurant in Nürburg. They only serve organic chicken dishes.

I had a Lucia Gin Cocktail to celebrate the drive and then decided on Toast Lucia.

Chicken breast, grilled aubergine, sundried tomatoes and a fried egg. Their homefries are awesome, so I ordered some too.

The meal started with fresh bread and a herby cheese dip.