thepassionatecook

Sweet potato & rocket frittata bites with feta and mint pesto

(photograph courtesy of Cook Sister!)

Trawling through folders on my computer that have been lying dormant for a long time, I came across this picture taken at an event I catered for last year. It had the most ecclectic mix of people and some pretty amazing ABBA costumes... not to speak of the delectable canapes, of course ;-)

These frittata bites are incredible for cocktail parties because they're easily made, need next to no work with regards to assembly and they can be made well in advance. I also love this dish in its non-party version, which I often make to get more protein into my diet. Eggs are incredibly good for you of course, dispelling the myth that they raise your cholesterol, studies have shown that it doesn't, in fact, if anything, it raises your good cholesterol and lowers the bad. Not to speak of the minerals, essential fatty acids and vitamins the humble egg contains, especially B-Vitamins, a great source of energy!

This version with red onion and sweet potato is such a healthy treat it's almost unreal - make this on the weekend to serve as a weekday lunch, a quick dinner when you're home late from work and have had no time to shop or enjoy at breakfast - you can even enjoy it in a breadroll if you must! It keeps for a good few days in the fridge and if you pep it up with some feta and mint oil, maybe a salad on the side, you've got yourself a lunchtime treat the whole office will envy you for!

QUICK REMINDER:
The Bistro Food edition of WTSIM is in its last week, please send your contributions to  by the end of the month!

Red lentil koefte

Hello. My name is Johanna and I am a recovering Eurovision addict. Or that's what I thought. I am, in fact, a continuously relapsing Eurovision addict. For much as I growl each year that the voting is rigged, the music is not what it used to be and the whole thing is just farcical, guess where I'll be on the appointed day the following year? In front of some television or other.

We weren't allowed to watch much television when we were growing up, in fact, for large stretches of my life my parents didn't even have a TV... but Eurovision night was when we were allowed to stay up late and watch that abominable show. And it's not even like I could be patriotic and support my own country, because as you may have noticed, Austria only participates about once in a decade (we're just too crap, or maybe our taste in music is too sophisticated... Mozart, Haydn... erm... Falco - you know where I am coming from). So over the years, I have seen some pretty appalling shows, I think I only ever missed one, which was when I was living in Mexico.

I have also experienced these cursed nights in the most surreal of settings: one year, in my early student days, we all dragged sofas out onto the pavement, placed a TV set on a window sill facing outwards (no flatscreen TVs back then, either, it was a whopper of a set which didn't live to see the next morning, as some half-drunk moron tried to adjust the antenna yet again and the thing came crashing down on the pavement) and enjoyed the show al fresco - and tons of passers-by joined in and purused of our generously stocked cool boxes which were, in fact, laundry baskets and cleaning buckets filled with ice cubes.

Another memorable night was in an old, derelict tramway shed transformed into an alternative music venue in a rather seedy part of Vienna - I went there with a friend (female, straight) only to find out (and she might have known that but not let me into her little secret) that it was going to be the largest turn-out of Vienna's gay community. I had the best time of my life: there was a live act of the Geschwister Pfister, a brilliant Swiss comedy act consisting of a husband-and-wife team and her gay brother-in-law... who went on to do the live commentary for the eurovision contest on stage. The whole thing was followed by a dance-off to the hits and flops of past Eurovision years which turned out to be a right hoot!

This year, try as I might, I cannot not watch the event, seeing that we have his royal poofness Graham Norton doing the commentary, plus one of my all-time favourite voices (however much of a waste of talent she will be on that stage) is competing for France... it is, of course, Patricia Kaas. Ever since I found that out, I had long-standing arrangements with my daughter to see the show together, from the comfort of my bed, bag of nachos on my lap, spreading crumbs everywhere (actually, only on my hubby's side because he is a partypo**** and refuses to watch with us). But alas, she has better things to go to, so I will be off to a friend's where my desire to watch the show will not be met with complete disbelief.

The plan is for the two of us to come up with finger food that represents some of the participating countries. While I haven't made my mind up about what I will be making (suggestions welcome), this will be on the menu definitely, as my homage to Turkey. I made these lightly spicy lentil koefte a while back when I started my lofe-affair with Middle Eastern cooking and discovered the beautiful book Turquoise. As for the rest, I am thinking of some mini-quiches (France), a tortilla of sorts (made by my friend who is Spanish), some falafel with hummous (might be able to pass it off as Israeli), some blinis with caviar (Russia), some gravlax with home-made dill & mustard sauce (Sweden)... if you have any suggestions for the more "exotic" countries like Armenia or Lithuania, Rumania or Azerbaijan where, to be honest, I haven't got the faintest idea of their national dishes, please send me some inspiration!!!

Turkish "Spoon salad"

Finally the time has come to reveal my first experiments with Turkish food. You should think that growing up in Austria, a country which has become a second home to many emigrated Turks, I should be a tad more familiar with the cuisine, but I am not. I have spent years ignoring doner kebab, to be honest, I can't stand the smell and tend to hold my breath when I walk through that part of Vienna's Naschmarkt. When I was pregnant with my second child, I had to walk from the train station to the ad agancy where I worked in Camden and on my way back, I would always walk a side street to avoid the Kebab bar... you get the idea.

I have eaten at a few Turkish restaurants back in Vienna, but it never stuck in my memory, maybe because they just weren't memorable or because I wasn't the foodie I am today and still walking around with my eyes closed when it came to exploring any cuisines that sounded more foreign than Italian or Chinese. Since living in London, I have become more aware, I guess, and more curious - but Turkish food doesn't feature much here compared to other, more exotic temptations.

For the past few weeks, my couch table has been dominated by a brilliant new tome: "turquoise" by Greg and Lucy Malouf. I am not sure how to classify this book as it is so much more than yet another cookery book - it has tons of recipes, yes, and very tempting ones at that, but also takes you on beautiful journey of discovery. History, architecture, people - you sort of want to jump in there, despite the fact that their whole journey happened in the winter time, so no glossy pictures of tourists lined up like sardines in a tin, roasting on the (no doubt beautiful) beaches, but snapshots of the real people, the real life. No make-up artists or set preppers either. I like that. A lot.

With regards to the food, I'll repeat that I have had virtually no exposure to Turkish food, so I am not one to judge the book by its authenticity. But so far, everything I have made out of it - and believe me, there are still dozens of earmarked pages to go through - was absolutely brilliant. The first time I cooked from it, I decided that rather than spending hours devising a perfect course of dishes from amuse-bouche through to coffees, I would just cook whatever took my fancy and we'd consume it, tapas-style, all at the same time.

This "spoon salad" basically combines all the flavours of a gazpacho: cucumbers, onion, beautifully vine-ripened tomatoes, red peppers, chilli, fresh herbs and some Turkish condiments. As I haven't made it to a Middle Eastern deli yet, I had to play around a little: where "hot Turkish red pepper paste" was required, I used harissa (I was slightly suspicious when I bought a Sainsbury's own-brand, but was pleasantly surprised by the "fruitiness" of it and the fact that it seemed to contain red peppers, which made it perfect for the occasion), I used sherry vinegar instead of red wine vinegar and I didn't have any pomegranate molasses, so just skipped that part... I still very much liked the result, it's a beautifully versatile dish located somewhere between a salad, a dip and a salsa that was equally delicious eaten on its own with some flatbread as well as accompanying a pistachio-crumbed chicken breast (recipe to follow).

Definitely a keeper. And I know I'm sometimes obsessed with authenticity and I wouldn't be seen dead in most Mexican restaurants in Europe or Austrian eateries here, just because it doesn't taste like "home", but if anyone were to tell me that the recipes from turquoise are not authentic, I'll respond that I couldn't care less because they taste pretty darn amazing and that's certainly good enough for me.

Asian-style prawn salad bites

It's blog party at Dispensing Happiness today... and the theme is "Tiki Party". For much that I tried, I could not find my Polynesian outfit, but the reality is that I am doing you a favour be remaining fully clothed, anyway. Christmas indulgence is to blame.
The theme Stephanie chose is perfect, as I've been wanting to reveal some more recipes of our finger food extravaganza anyway. This is another one inspired by "Asian Bites": grilled king prawns, shredded and seasoned Asian style (think fish sauce, brown sugar, lemongrass), a bit of a kick with some chopped chilli and spring onions, then served on a lettuce leaf which takes the edge off a bit.
Incredibly easy to make, incredibly forgiving as it will taste even better made a day ahead and just needs to be spooned onto some washed and dried gem lettuce leaves. Nothing easier than that!

For people who're unfamiliar with blog party, I was supposed to bring along a drink, too. May I suggest a wonderful tamarind margarita, as enjoyed recently at Wahaca, a restaurant in London which serves Mexican street food. Combine two units of  Tequila with one unit each of triple sec, tamarind concentrate and lime juice, shake with ice cubes and pour into a tumbler with a salt rim. Heaven. So much so that the only picture I could muster was incredibly blurry (ah, yes, I'll admit I had more than one!!!) This cocktail will become a staple in my house, though, wo I shall add a photo as and when.

Happy Blog Party, everyone!

Smokey aubergine dip with crudités

As I was commenting to some friends the other day, living abroad as well as maintaining a food blog has opened a whole new culinary spectrum to me and I find it thrilling to discover new flavours, new ingredients and new ways of combining familiar foodstuff every day. For instance, my ignorance vis-a-vis aubergines (or eggplant or melanzani or whatever they might be called in your neck of the woods) has over the last couple of years turned into a bit of a love affair, although I have not yet reached the level of confidence that would allow me to engage in weird and whacky kitchen experiments.

This humble vegetable has recently made a star appearance in my house which I'd like to share with you, if you let me. As I have mentioned before, we established new food traditions for Christmas last year and, albeit less stringent in its execution than some folks are with their stuffed beast and brussel sprouts (which they will make year after year without fail despite the fact that the family doesn't even like it) we stuck to our theme at least. Christmas Eve, therefore, saw large platters of finger food arranged before heading off to church, which we then slowly polished off throughout an evening of unpacking presents and singing carols, ever more boldly as the evening went on, with the courage gained with some glasses of wine and champagne.

Having tried my hand at quite a few catering events over the years, my finger food repertoire is vast and I know exactly which items lend themselves to advance preparation and which don't. I still take pleasure in trying new things and find myself leafing through cookbooks just to find myself wondering how each individual dish could be translated into a canapé of sorts. It is therefore hardly surprising that I should try out quite a few new ideas over the holidays, in the safety net that is my family - there's nothing worse for your nerves than making something for the first time for a crowd of people who you don't know and who expect only the best from you. This time, I took much inspiration from a brilliant book I discovered a while ago, without using it much until now. It is called Asian Bites and covers little dishes (not really finger foods, but I find most of them can easily be converted) from Asia, spanning the whole of the continent from Turkey to the Far East. What a bounty of exotic flavours... absolutely amazing. Luckily, everything I have tried so far uses ingredients that are readily available around here or easily substituted, and everything has worked brilliantly.

This here was a great addition to the platter of crudités and hoummus that has become a staple around here, simply because my children prefer to eat some vegetables raw (especially carrots and peppers) and also because it's healthy and wholesome - making up for all the foie gras and truffles and other indulgences we're known to consume over the festive period. It is easy and straight-forward in its preparation and tastes even better prepared a day or two ahead, allowing the flavours to develop their full potential. Smokey and smooth, but also refreshing in flavour, this is one dip that I have made many times since, it's also great served alongside an omelette in the morning or to accompany fish and meats, as well as serving as a healthy spread in a lunch-time pitta or wrap. A true allrounder and a very tasty one at that!

Other aubergine recipes on thepassionatecook:
Salmon on aubergines and slow-roast tomatoes (April 2005)
Caramelised aubergine tartare with curried nuts and almonds (April 2005)
Aubergine parmigiana (July 2006)
Red pepper, aubergine & scamorza terrine (January 2008)
Aubergine, tomato & pine nut croustades (October 2005)

Scallop ceviche spoons with avocado & mango

At the start of the new year, the word most people have on their lips is the dreaded "D-word"... whether that means diet or detox is irrelevant, but everybody seems to overdo it over the holidays - not surprisingly, it's like you suddenly have time on your hand and the first thing you think of is food. Also, I always buy far too much, no matter how well I plan it - my typical shopping lists for the three Christmas days and the one for New Year's are both usually 2 A4 pages long and by the time I hit the shops, I never quite know what each ingredient is for (especially much-used items that might appear in various dishes, like herbs, onions, garlic...), so am unsure about quantities... and as a result, we're still eating leftovers of our New Year's dinner well into January.

Let me indulge you in a mean and lean fingerfood then - the basis of the recipe is from Nicky's fantastic book delicious:days. I've had numerous conversations with her over the years where we discussed the format the ultimate cookbook should take, analysing the ones we loved and hated... and I have to say that I find hers perfect in every way, except, maybe, that it's not 1000 pages long. But there's more where this one came from!

I modified and simplified her recipe slightly, as she has two types of fish cured in different marinades - I just put them all together and it worked a treat. Also, I used mainly scallops and only a little halibut, just because I love scallops for ceviche and because a little indulgence never hurts (except, maybe, the balance sheet). If you decide to serve this as a starter instead, arrange the ceviche in martini glasses or bowls. The first times I ever had ceviche was when I lived in Mexico and it was always accompanied by good-quality tortilla chips. I wouldn't have it any other way.

A beautiful and healthy way to see in the New Year - may it bring you everything you wish for (and more)!

Foie gras truffles rolled in gingerbread crumbs with spiced apple compote

(photography courtesy of Cook Sister! who assisted me on the night)

And with some festive cheer we ring in the Christmas season... not without presenting you with a seasonal recipe!

It may have been a quiet December in terms of posted recipes on thepassionatecook, but only because for once in my life, I have been terribly organised... almost frighteningly so. I guess that's what you need when you bring up three children and are a full-time student at the same time! So I find myself the day before Christmas Eve (which is our "big day", for the kids at least, for the adults it's more like three big days in a row with a massive Christmas Day dinner and a Boxing Day lunch party) - and unlike all those years before, we do have a Christmas tree waiting patiently in the garage to be decorated by the "Christkind" tomorrow while we're at church, all the presents are wrapped and securely hidden somewhere on the premises and most of tomorrow evening's canape extravaganza is prepared as well. No shopping to do in the morning except pick up pre-ordered items at the fishmonger's and butcher's and that's it, we should be able to celebrate the day without tears and last-minute tantrums.

So I leave you to enjoy your days as much as I will, wishing you a very merry Christmas and some valuable time spent with your loved ones. Spoil them with some foie gras rolled in gingerbread crumbs, topped with spiced apple compote and a sliver of cranberry. I made these for a cocktail party I catered in November and they were the fastest-going fingerfood that night... if you like foie gras, try them, you won't be disappointed.

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On another note, if you've been wondering what this month's WTSIM will bring, we've decided to have a special celebratory round where the hosts choose a past theme for each other and try out one of the recipes the participants have come up with. If you'd like to take part (and there is no obligation to) you can email me or leave a comment and I can choose a round for you as well! Details for this "waitertryout" over at spittoonextra!

So (and too lazy to care about accents and tremas), joyeux noel, feliz navidad and frohe Weihnachten to all of you loyal readers out there, as always, it's been a pleasure to have you 'round!

Chicory "boats" with marinated chestnuts & parma ham

At the risk of boring you to death, I will have to state again that I am absolutely in love with Skye Gyngell (despite the fact that I have never really been introduced to her and the best I got to was to exchange a few glances through the kitchen counter from which she serves her spectacular fare a Petersham Nurseries, which happens to be my local). It's not just her, it's her cookbook which has been accompanying me for about a year, become a trusted inspirational source and the recipes in which have never, ever failed me.

About six months ago, we hosted a lunch for my parents and my host brother from Australia (he spent a year with my parents on an AFS inter-cultural exchange) and his girlfriend, who we hadn't met before. Now, I never make the mistake of not asking what somebody's food likes and dislikes are beforehand, especially if I don't know them - but even if you do, sometimes people are not being honest and you end up making something they eat, if only reluctantly. To make things even more challenging, his soon-to-become-wife was pregnant at the time as well, which ruled out quite a few options: seafood, unpasteurized cheese, raw/rare meat/fish, nuts, etc. What to choose, what to choose?

Again, I reverted to A Year in My Kitchen and found a perfect combination of flavours unlikely to offend even the pickiest of guests - and even if there was an ingredient they didn't like, I could always wing it by saying I had specifically chosen something created by a fellow Aussie... Everybody loved the salad and it's been featuring in many a dinner/lunch party since. Indeed, I found the flavour combination so perfect, yet uncommon, that I wrecked my brain as to how I could possibly convert this into a finger food and serve at my next catering gig.

The answer lay in the ingredients. The salad uses chicory, if I remember well (please excuse the vagueness, it's Saturday evening and I have had a glass too much, I think, but am too hyped to go to bed), so I tried to spoon it all onto chicory leaves and have them serve as my edible cutlery. They're time-comsuming to put together and you can only assemble them last-minute, but the flavour is so worth making them... I bet even Skye would approve!

Courgette & thyme croustades with parmesan cream

When Jeanne of Cook Sister! announced this month's theme for the ever-so-popular event "Waiter! There's something in my..." which she, SpittoonExtra's Andrew and myself have alternately been hosting for almost two years, I was wrecking my brain over what to make for a few very busy days only to browse through my picture folder this morning and realise that the answer had been right in front of me all this time... I had tried out some canapés for a cocktail party I am catering in two weeks' time and these beauties not only were an absolute winner, but also fall smack bang within the category of Cucurbitaceae!

Crispy croustades (find Rahm's mini croustades in your local supermarket like Sainsbury's and Waitrose here in the UK, order online or pick them up on your next trip - advance commiserations! - to Ikea) filled with "caviar de courgettes" - a moist and herby "ragout", for want of a better word, of zucchini seasoned with thyme, topped with a velvety cream of parmesan - this is perfect finger food for vegetarians, easily prepared and the individual components keep for days in the fridge, minimising the headache on the big day. This also works really well without the croustades, especially when served in shot glasses as a stylish amuse-bouche. If you opt for the latter, omit the parmesan shavings and you might want to thin out the cream (with milk) just a little to allow for frothing just before you assemble - they will look like gorgeous little cappucchino's (at least to the colour blind ;-))

And don't forget you've got a couple more days to participate in this month's round of "Waiter, there's something in my..." where the theme is cucurbitaceae. Details for participation here.

More recipes featuring members of the cucurbitaceae family on thepassionatecook:
Courgette flowers stuffed with goat's cheese, drizzled with honey (Sept 2005)
Pumpkin, coconut & blood orange soup (Nov 2006)
Pumpkin & chestnut strudel with taleggio and sage (Oct 2006)
Pumpkin quiche with blue cheese & thyme (Oct 2006)
Pumpkin & gorgonzola tarte (Sept 2006)
Roast butternut squash bites with pumpkin seed pesto (Oct 2005)
Chestnut risotto baked in kabocha squash (Nov 2005)
Melon & prosciutto salad (June 2004)
Cucumber canapés with smoked trout mousse (Oct 2005)
Sesame-crusted tuna carpaccio with cucumber & mooli salad (June 2004)

Herbed cream cheese radishes rolled in pumpkin seeds

I know the autumn can be a bit dreadful, but once I've jumped the hurdle of taking my winter coat out of the attic (just as a figure of speech. We don't have an attic. And I can't for the life of me remember  where my bloody coat is!), things start to look up. After all, the cold season also bring me endless hours in front of the fireplace (and endless questions of how Santa could possibly squeeze through and land in the flames and even if, wouldn't he be carrying all that soot around the house which is certain to upset mummy?), comfort food and mulled wine. And it is the party season!

I usually start the party season off with a catering I am doing for some good friends of ours and their parties are always something to look forward to. You see, they have friends who actually eat. They love to eat, they love to try out new things and I can devise a finger food menu that is not only varied, but also a bit more adventurous than what you would get from M&S. They don't ask me to do cocktail sausages or pork rolls, they don't limit their options by being incredibly picky ("uh, no I don't actually like quiche and X doesn't eat fish and oh, is that goat's cheese in there? Actually, maybe don't serve anything with cheese or fish or meat... ham's fine, though! Ah, and pork pies!)

Always on the lookout for some eye catchers, I stumbled across a press release for a new book by some wonderful fellow bloggers which was just published in France - and I couldn't resist playing around with the teaser recipe. Now, try as I may, I could not enhance the recipe enough to make any sense of the now completely blurred letters, so I just stole the idea and created my own. I love this little number because for once, there's a healthy and wholesome canape - I love my mini blue cheese quiches with confit onion and foie gras truffles rolled in gingerbread crumbs topped with apple compote (recipe to follow) as much as the next person, but seriously light and refreshing finger food is hard to come by. A simple radish, cut in half and filled with herbed gervais, then rolled in chopped pumpkin seeds is just the ticket and bound to please any vegetarians in your party or those friends who're renouncing themselves the joys of bread... unimaginable as that may be. Who said party food couldn't be healthy?