greek vegetable stew

greek vegetable stew
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

This stew is very comforting. Cut one eggplant into longish strips, do the same to one zucchini, one red pepper, and 5 to 6 potatoes. Start frying the eggplant in some hot oil until nicely browned and take out, you might get rid of some of the oil by putting it into a colander to drain. Likewise, fry up the zucchini, the potatoes and some garlic, then add one tin of plum tomatoes and let simmer for half an hour or more. Careful not to burn, add some water if needed. I think I even put in some doufu crumbs instead of mince (which is very nice too!). Put on plates and sprinkle on some pine nuts, parsley, and put a dollop of yoghurt on the side. Very nice summer food.

chocolate strawberry brittle

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Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

This dessert looks pretty impressive, doesn't it? Well the truth is it was a downright failure. At a potluck party I tasted something really nice: a brittle made with caramel and some granola-like grains (a very thin layer), then dipped in chocolate, with halved strawberries on top. It looked great and tasted great, too, crunchy and cocolaty and sweet from the strawberries. When I wanted a second piece they were all gone! I tried to make it at home, but you know what they say: don't try this at home LOL - So I used some granola, decided to toast them, then add sugar. But the whole caramel turned out a little bit too thick and it set very quickly. So I waited for it to cool and poured melted chocolate on top. And some sliced strawberries as the picture shows. However.. it turned out too thick and hence too hard for any teeth to bite into. So.. in the end I scraped off the chocolate and strawberries and had those. And the carambel brittle I put into the food processor and with the most horrible sound processed it into sugar again. With a lovely caramel and chocolate taste. Very nice to put over a bowl of yoghurt....

eggplant involtini

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Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

Eggplant (aubergine) rolls with filling. A nice starter or side dish. First, cut one eggplant into long slices, sprinkle with salt and let sit for half and hour or so. Dip dry with kitchen towels. When the eggplant is sitting and losing its bitter flavour, mash up some feta cheese, some cut up mozzarella cheese and some chopped fresh herbs like basil, mint and dill. Mix trough the mixture, add one egg yolk, some olive oil and breadcrumbs. Add salt and pepper to taste and if you like, some chili flakes. Add loads of grated parmesan and make little rolls of the eggplant slices with the mixture in. I was a little rush for time so I put the plate in the microwave and waved for about 5 minutes on not too high a setting; after that I put it under the grill after adding on extra olive oil and breadcrumbs. Take out when golden and serve ...

pasta with beef and ricotta

pasta with beef and ricotta
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

Bow-shaped pasta with a sauce of slowly simmered beef. Fry some cut onions, 2 cloves of garlic, celery stalks and carrot in some olive oil. Then cut up the beef in chunks and fry along with the vegetables. Add a tin of plum tomatoes in juice and bring to a simmer, add salt, pepper and a tablespoon of sugar. Leave to cook for preferably 2 hours. When it is time to eat, cook some bow-shaped pasta or another shape of pasta. When cooked, drain and put on plates. Add a large ladle of sauce on each plate, toss with the pasta. Put some chunks of ricotta on top, scatter with basil leaves and parsley, and add extra parmesan for flavour. Drizzle on some olive oil. On the side a simple green salad will do. Enjoy!

cucumber and huiguorou

cucumber and huiguorou
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

This is a variation to the "huiguo rou" (Back In The Pan) theme. The name refers to the fact that the main ingredient for this Chinese dish, fatty striped pork, is first boiled, then cooled, and ends up being put back in the pan and fried. So: boil about 300 grams of pork (speklap) in water and a slice of fresh ginger for about 40 minutes on a low fire. Take out the pork and leave to cool; this can be done ahead of time. You could even freeze the pork until later use. Well, cut the pork thinly into square slices and marinate briefly in soy sauce and rice wine. Meanwhile, cut one red pepper or, preferably, a green pepper into chunks. Fry in oil until done, take out. Then put some extra oil in the pan and fry the pieces of pork. They will splatter or sometimes seem to explode, take care! I usually have a lid at hand to stop the oil splashes from going all over the stove top. When nice and crispy, get rid of the oil and add chopped ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar and some water. You could add hot sauce to your liking, or add a red chili pepper in slices. Add the pepper, stir all together, and serve with a cucumber salad over rice.

spaghetti with salmon, cream and dill

spaghetti with salmon, cream and dill
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

A simple meal for hot days: pasta with salmon, dill and cream. Buy freshly smoked salmon from the market or a good fishmonger, cut it in small pieces. Meanwhile, boil water for pasta, spaghetti or other pasta kinds will do. Chop up fresh dill, boil wine, cream and a little garlic in a pan. Reduce the cream and add three quarters of the dill. Cook the pasta until al dente and put in a large pasta bowl. Add cream sauce, toss with the pasta. grind some pepper to your liking. Arrange all the uncooked salmon slices on top and add the rest of the dill. Very nice with chilled white wine and a green salad. Enjoy !