tofu & mince little pillows of flavor

4 months?

really... has it been 4 months?

wow.

after that long cold winter, and spring that just didn t seem to happen, all of a sudden we had hot hot days of summer, which somehow passed in a blur, and now we re back into that normal rhythm of life again.

so i m back, with a little recipe that ll make your heart sing, well, it did mine, because this is a recipe you can play around with, but i stuck to the Chinese flavorings just to keep it simple.

inspired by a picture i saw on Facebook, i just thought i d have a go, and came up with this combo:

TOFU & MINCE QUENELLES

INGREDIENTS:

300 gr silken firm tofu
300 gr fine grind pork mince
1 tablespoon of dried shrimp, soaked (if you don t have dried shrimp, not to worry, it s not essential)
10 French string beans, finely chopped into rings
2 spring onions, finely chopped into rings
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce (that s a Thai chili sauce, hot hot hot, but you could use 1 tablespoon of really very finely chopped fresh red chili)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablepoon mirin
1 tablespoon of xiao hsing rice wine
1 clove garlic, grated
1 thumbsize piece of ginger, grated
a seriously good grinding of black pepper
cornflour
vegetable oil, for frying

METHOD:

1. in a bowl, mix all the ingredients together except the string beans, spring onions and cornflour until it is almost a smooth paste
2. mix in the string beans and spring onions and combine well
3. if it seems too wet, add cornflour until it holds together and you think you ll be able to make quenelles out of them
4. heat up about a centimeter of the oil in a thick-bottomed frying pan
5. shape your quenelles and drop them gently in the hot oil
6. don t move the quenelles around! be patient, wait until they release from the bottom of the pan, you ll feel that after about 4 minutes they will have a golden crust and you know you ll be able to turn them so you can fry the other side... be gentle, they are very fragile
7. also, don t crowd the pan! take your time, they don t need to be hot, you can serve them warm

i served these with rice and some stir-fried pak-choi, but should you decide to change the flavoring, i m sure you could go for a Thai vibe by adding some green or red Thai curry paste instead of the sesame oil and the rice wine, or go Moroccan with some lemon tagine paste perhaps?

happy eating!

roasted spiced chickpeas... cuz we need some heat

ok, so i was wrong, the sun did peek thru the clouds a few times, and flowers have been stubbornly blooming, but where s the warmth?

guess we just have to make some ourselves, so here s what i did (and yes, i do admit it, the power of the internet showed me some inspiring ideas via Pinterest etc...)

so here goes, i m making it simple now:

take 400 gr of cooked chickpeas (canned is fine), wash and drain:

and now have some fun choosing your own spices; i use 1 tablespoon of this Chili Explosion mix from the Santa Maria brand because it makes life easier (but feel free to make any spice mix you like... cayenne pepper, ground chili, ground black pepper, ground cumin, garam masala, a touch of salt... the combinations are endless) mixed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then toss the drained chickpeas into this spicy oil until well coated.

roast the chickpeas on a lined baking tray in a hot oven (200°C / 400°F) until crispy, that is between 30-40 minutes.

watch out, once you start (and they re great still hot from the oven) it s hard to stop munching on these babies...

spring... finally

where to start...

it has been a long long long winter, but i believe that finally the sun is getting the upper hand and the winter gods have given up in this part of the world.

and just when the nights were warming up little by little, our waterheater decided to blow its last breath... so, there were a few nervous moments trying to find a good plumber (actually pretty hard even tho there s so many around) who also had the time to come as soon as possible to install a brand new heater (i can take a bit of cold, but not going without hot water for too long)!
however, as i write this, they re here... banging away, and hopefully by this evening, i ll be able to have a long hot bath!

meanwhile, food-wise, spring means new young fresh vegetables and lighter dishes.

whereas during the dark months i d happily go for musky woolly mushrooms in a risotto, this time i just had to go for the season s white asparagus combined with little sweet peas.

and when you need some time to clear your head and just contemplate the cooking process, making a risotto can be meditative and relaxing.

RISOTTO WITH ASPARAGUS AND SWEET PEAS

INGREDIENTS:

500 gr white asparagus, stalks peeled and cut into 3 cm pieces, then steamed lightly
280 gr arborio or carnaroli rice
250 gr green peas (thawed if from frozen)
2 banana shallots, finely chopped
1500 ml light chicken stock, kept warm
20 gr unsalted butter
100 ml double cream
70 ml Noilly Prat vermouth
rapeseed oil
salt and pepper
nutmeg
Pecorino Romano cheese for grating

METHOD:

1. using a heavy based casserole, start by gently sweating the chopped shallots in some rapeseed oil
2. add the rice and toast for about 5 minutes
3. add the Noilly Prat and stir until it has been absorbed
4. then keep adding the stock, ladle by ladle, waiting and stirring in between until the stock too has been absorbed
5. add the steamed asparagus pieces halfway through the cooking process
6. at the end of cooking (it will take about half an hour to 40 minutes, working gently) add the thawed peas and warm through
7. finally add the butter and cream and let it all melt in, then season to taste with salt and pepper and a grating of nutmeg (which is unusual but somehow works really well)
8. serve all'onda, meaning slightly loose, with a grating of the Pecorino Romano.

a soft and gentle risotto.

i m ready for those brighter days, bring it on!