Today, I am posting a few pictures of two dishes that I prepared following the recipes that were posted by one of the participating cooks of the Cologne Trade Fair last week.
The first recipe that I prepared is a type of Pizza Bianca, Focaccia or Flatbread (that´s what the cook who created this recipe calls it) with a delicious topping of very thinly sliced white potatoes, a layer of crème fraîche, fresh rosemary, herb salt and freshly ground black pepper.
This recipe by cook and cookbook author Christina Richon is called “Kartoffel-Rosmarin-Fladen mit Heidelbeer-Thymian-Sirup” which can be translated as "Potato-Rosemary-Flatbread with Blueberry Syrup".
Carefully slice the potatoes very thinly (about 2mm) for the topping. In order to get the thinnest slices possible, you are well advised to use a good mandoline slicer.
Cutting the potatoes into paper-thin slices will result in a delicious topping with some lightly browned and crunchy bits that are essential to the wonderful rustic taste and look of this Flatbread.
The freshly baked Flatbread gets a delicious and fancy finishing touch of a Blueberry Syrup which consists of blueberries (you can use frozen ones if they are not in season), a bit of white sugar, fresh thyme and fragrant rosemary.The baking of the Flatbread and the preparation of the Blueberry Syrup will fill your entire kitchen will incredibly wonderful smells.
While I had baked a Pizza Bianca or Flatbread topped with thin potato slices before, it certainly had never occurred to me to top the baked Bread with a few drops of a homemade delicate Blueberry Syrup which tastes ever so slightly like the herbs that it was infused with. Absolutely delicious! And certainly worthy of numerous repeat performances!
And even the kids devoured this wonderful savory and pretty appetizer - love the fact that they will try just about anything, even Potato Flatbread with Blueberry Syrup.
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The second recipe that I am featuring today was also written by cook and cookbook author Christina Richon. It is called “Butterkuchen mit Äpfeln und rosa Pfefferbeeren” which can be translated as "Buttery Cake with Apples and pink Peppercorns".
This is a deliciously moist cake with lots of apple slices using the wonderful baking apple “Boskoop”. This apple was discovered in the Netherlands around 1863 and is still a favorite with bakers around here. While this winter apple tastes somewhat tart it was just right as part of the topping for this cake.
In addition to the apple slices, you will add freshly ground nutmeg and cinnamon, some white sugar, butter and slivered almonds to the topping. It smelled so good while baking...a real comfort style of a cake and a wonderful wintertime treat.
We really enjoyed this wonderfully moist cake and ate it with some decadent Crème Fraîche alongside. It still tasted wonderful the day after I baked it, just make sure to wrap it well.
And if you are an adventurous taste tester, do not forget to add the beautiful Pink Peppercorns as a finishing touch to this cake – let me assure you, this is one very memorable taste experience! If you rather not venture down the somewhat unknown route of pairing sweet cake with mildly spicy pink peppercorns, just do not use them as part of the topping, the cake is absolutely delicious without them too as well.
Pink peppercorns technically are not really peppercorns at all because they come from a different plant but they certainly add a wonderful rosy hue and peppery touch to your baking or cooking. Dried pink peppercorns can be found in some supermarkets and spice stores. They have a delicate warm pepper flavor, just crush them in a pestle and mortar to get that peppery aroma going. You can also use them combined with white, black or green peppercorns as a seasoning for savory dishes or mixed into a salad dressing.
Following are the links to the original recipes. If you need a translation, do not hesitate to contact me at andrea@thekitchenlioness.de
Potato-Rosemary-Flatbread with Blueberry Syrup by Christina Richon:
(http://special.neff.de/kochwelten/index.php?content=content/news/detail&id=40).
Buttery Cake with Apples and pink Peppercorns by Christina Richon:
(http://special.neff.de/kochwelten/index.php?content=content/news/detail&id=47 ).
Andrea, both recipes are gorgeous! Thin slices of potatoes on top of a flatbread is such a great thing, I make focaccia with potatoes, walnuts and blue cheese and it´s amazing. I can imagine how crunchy this flatbread is! I´m definitely going to try pink peppercorns over apples, what an intriguing thing.
ReplyDeletePaula, thanks for the nice comment - the recipes that were presented at the show were really quite interesting taste experiences and certainly worthy of many repeat performances! It is always one thing to be served these delicious little morsels at a cooking show and then try to re-create them at home but these recipes actaully do work in very delicous ways!
DeleteBoth recipes look fabulous!! The foccacia sounds delish and is so beautiful. I can't say enough how gorgeous your photos are.
ReplyDeleteCathleen, really enjoyed your comment - thanks so much. I just thought that cooking a few of the delicious things that I tasted at the Trade Fair would be fun and also help me memorize the different tips and techniques that I learned while being there.
DeleteTwo magnificent recipes! I'm going to make focaccia over the weekend and hope it turns out half as lovely as yours! And I'm a huge fan of any baked good with apples...so I'm drooling over your cake....mmmmm. And, yes, your photos are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLiz, thank you so much for the wonderful comment. Apple Cake is also our favorite cake of all and we have discovered a new appreciation for blueberry syrup as well.
DeleteI've never made focaccia but I love to eat it!! the blueberry syrup sounds to die for!
ReplyDeleteMary x
Mary, to make a Foccacia is really a breeze and you can actually creative as far as the toppings are concerned. And it is family approved fare at our house.
DeleteBoth recipes look beautiful and sound wonderful. I'm sure the chefs would be pleased with both of your dishes. Karen
ReplyDeleteKaren, thank you, I liked baking the Apple Cake and the Focaccia and trying out recipes with "a twist" such as the Blueberry Syrup and the Pink Peppercorns - they both tasted wonderful and special.
DeleteIn Japan we use potatoes as ingredient for some bread but here in the US I rarely see. So your potato rosemary flatbread made me a huge smile. I like that 2mm advice. It gets a little crunchy and I'm sure this is fabulous! The blueberry syrup is the interesting part. I really want to eat this!
ReplyDeleteNami, you know I am sure that you would like this Potato Flatbread with Blueberry Syrup - we all did, the kids could not get enough of it and already asked me to make it again. I will gladly oblige.
DeleteThe blueberry syrup and potato combination sounds so interesting! And I love the pink peppercorns in the cake. Beautiful photos of such interesting recipes.
ReplyDeleteElaine, yes, the bluebeery syrup tasted so good on this focaccia - who would have thought. And the pink peppercorns were great in combination with the tart apples.
DeleteI've made a potato flatbread before and really like it. Blueberry syrup would take it to a whole new level! And, the apple cake looks wonderful. Pink peppercorns with that is very intriguing.
ReplyDeleteBetsy, potato flatbreat is wonderful, we love it. It has a rustic and delicious look to it and is a breeze to prepare. The pink peppercorns are worth trying out, adding them to apple cake is quite a taste experience.
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