Cooking Classes & Quince-Muffins with Pumpkin Seed Brittle - Kochatelier Sankt Augustin & Quitten-Muffins

Last Friday I attended a cooking class, or more specifically, a BBQ cooking class, at the cooking school in Sankt Augustin, called "Kochatelier" - it seemed to me that it was high time that I hone my bbq skills.

Am Freitagabend habe ich einen Kochkurs bzw. einen Grillkurs im Kochatelier Sankt Augustin gemacht - es schien mir höchste Zeit meine Grillkünste in einem Kurs über Herbstliches Grillen etwas zu verbessern.

We were guided through the evening by the kind and knowledgeable chef Robert Rechman - who happily and patiently assisted us in the preparation of the evening´s autumnal bbq menu: slices of duck breast that were marinated in mulled red wine and accompanied by an apple-walnut chutney and served on lamb´s lettuce; followed by mini focaccia with rosemary and chilli-salt; then rainbow trout with roasted chestnuts and pumpkin; wild game sausages with homemade mustard & cranberry ketchup that were accompanied by stuffed mushrooms and a slice of grilled potato bread. And for dessert we indulged in an autumnal quince crumble that was served warm with pumpkin seed ice cream and pumpkin seed brittle.

Unter der fachkundigen und äußerst freundlichen Leitung von Koch Robert Rechmann haben wir im Einklang mit dem Motto des Abend "Herbstgrillen", die Menüfolge des Abends vorbereitet und auch später dann genüsslich verspeist: in Glühwein marinierte Scheiben von der Entenbrust auf einem Feldsalat-Bett mit Apfel-Walnuss-Chutney und Mini-Focaccia mit Chili-Salz und Rosmarin; Lachsforelle und Maronen-Kürbis-Gemüse; Wildwurst mit selbstgemachtem Senf & Preiselbeeren-Ketchup, dazu gefüllte Champignons und Kartoffel-Brotschnitte. Zum Nachtisch gab es Quitten-Crumble mit Kürbiskern-Eiscreme und Kürbiskern-Krokant.

After we had completed our bby cooking class, we were given copies of the recipes that we prepared during the evening. As I was quite taken by the dessert - I took the school´s recipe for Quince Crumble from the BBQ and turned it into Autumnal Quince Muffins with Pumpkin Seed Brittle.

Nach dem Kurs gab es Kopien der Rezepte für alle Teilnehmer - ich habe das Rezept für den Quitten-Crumble vom Grill nachgebacken und den Teig mit dem Streuseln in Muffinformen gebacken und mit dem Kürbiskern-Krokant serviert.

Autumnal Quince Muffins with Pumpkin Seed Brittle Ingredients for the Muffins 100 g soft butter, unsalted 120 g light-brown sugar (such as the one available from Tate & Lyle) 2 eggs (L), organic or free range 150 g wheat flour 50 g almond meal 8 g baking powder 20 g dried cranberries (previously soaked in warm rum for at least 30 minutes) 2 quinces (L) - or use 3 firm pears (M)  juice form 1/2 lemon (organic) a pinch of fine sea salt 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon some freshly grated tonka bean (which can be replaced by pure vanilla sugar)  Preparation of the Muffins Peel the quinces. Core and grate on the fine grates of your box grater. Add 1 tbsp of sugar to the grated quince, together with the freshly squeezed lemon juice and late macerate for about 30 minutes. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg yolks together with the butter, sugar and the spices until the mixtures is light and foamy. Whip the egg whites to almost firm peaks with a pinch of sea salt. Whisk together the almond meal,, the flour an dthe baking powder and add to the butter mixture. Drain the grated quince mixture and add to the batter - fold in the egg whites. Fill your mufiin tins 2/3 full - the batter will be enough for about 14 muffins. Ingredients for the Streusel Topping 50 g butter, unsalted 50 g light-brown sugar (see above) 65 g wheat flour 20 g almond meal 20 g coarse oats Preparation of the Streusel Topping Mix together all the ingredients and add on top of the prepared muffins. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degress Fahrenheit).

Herbstliche Quitten-Muffins à la Kochatelier Sankt Augustin Zutaten für den Teig 100 g weiche Butter, ungesalzen 120 g hell-brauner Zucker (z.Bsp. von Tate & Lyle) 2 Eier (L), Freiland oder Bio 150 g Weizenmehl 50 g gemahlene Mandeln 8 g Backpulver 20 g getrocknete Cranberries (in warmen Rum eingelegt, zirka 30 Minuten) 2 Quitten (groß) oder 3 feste Birnen (M) Saft von 1/2 Zitrone (Bio) eine Prise feines Meersalz 1/4 TL Ceylon Zimt etwas geriebene Tonka-Bohne (oder 1 1/2 TL Bourbon Vanille-Zucker) Zubereitung der Muffins Die Quitten schälen, Kerngehäuse entfernen und fein raspeln. Mit 1 EL Zucker und Zitronensaft marinieren, gut durchkneten und 30 Minuten stehen lassen. Dann die Eier trennen und die Eigelb mit der Butter, Zucker und den Gewürzen schaumig schlagen. Eiweiß mit Salz halb-steif schlagen.  Das Mehl mit Mandeln und Backpulver mischen und zur Butter-Ei Masse geben. Wasser von den Quitten abgießen und zuletzt die Eiweiß unterheben. In Muffin-Formen füllen - das Rezept ergibt zirka 14 Muffins. Zutaten für die Streusel 50 g Butter, ungesalzen 50 g brauner Zucker (siehe oben) 65 g Weizenmehl 20 g gemahlene Mandeln 20 g Haferflocken Zubereitung der Streusel Zutaten vermengen und auf den Küchlein verteilen. Bei 180 Grad Celsius (356 Grad Fahrenheit) Ober-und Unterhitze ca. 15 bis 18 Minuten backen

Ingredients for the Pumpkin Seed Brittle 30 g pumkin seeds (try to get the dark-green Styrian ones from a good source) 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tbsp butter a good pinch of Ceylon cinnamon Preparation of the Pumpkin Seed Brittle In a non-stick pan, roast the pumpkin seeds until they are warm and fragrant - do so by shaking the pan occasionally. At the same time, put the sugar in another heavy skillet or saucepan and melt - taking care not to stir the pan but to only swirl the sugar around until it melts properly. As soon as the sugar has turned a light-brown, slowly add the butter - tilt the pan and do no stir until the very end. Add the warm pumpkins to the warm caramel and then stir with a wooden spoon. Very carefully spread out the mitxure on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let the brittle cool and add some cinnamon (optional). Break the brittle into large pieces and serve alongside the quince muffins. Or chop and stir into homemade vanilla or pumpkin ice cream.

Zutaten für den Kürbiskern-Krokant 30 g Kürbiskerne (wenn es geht aus der Steiermark) 1 EL Zucker 1/2 EL Butter etwas Ceylon-Zimt Zubereitung des Kürbiskern-Krokant Die Kürbiskerne in eine beschichtete Pfanne geben und unter häufigem Rütteln rösten, bis sie duften. Gleichzeitig den Zucker karamellisieren. Dabei nicht im heißen Zucker rühren sondern nur die Pfanne bewegen und den geschmolzenen Zucker verlaufen lassen. Sobald der Zucker hell-braun ist, die Butter hineingeben und langsam schmelzen lassen. Die heißen Kürbiskerne in den heißen Karamel hineingeben und vorsichtig verrühren, am besten mit einem Holzlöffel. Vorsichtig das Karamel auf ein mit Backpapier ausgelegtes Backblech geben und völlig auskühlen lassen - auf Wunsch mit etwas Zimt verfeinern. Das Krokant in Stücke brechen und mit den warmen Quitten Muffins servieren. Oder das Krokant zerkleinern und in selbstgemachtes Vanille-oder Kürbiskern-Eis geben.

Finally, I owe a big Thank You to the kind team at the Kochatelier cooking school for a lovely evening, delicious food, kind company and many priceless cooking and bbq tips and tricks and recipes! I already have my eye on the next cooking class I would love to attend...but in the meantime I shall practice my bbq skills at home... For more informatiom on the cooking school (they also offer classes in the lovely English language in the cities of Bonn, Duesseldorf and Bergisch Gladbach) - please consult their comprehensive website here: https://kochatelier-sankt-augustin.de

Herzlichen Dank an das Kochatelier-Team für einen wunderbaren Abend, leckeres Essen, liebe Gesellschaft und wertvolle Tipps, Tricks und tolle Rezepte! Ich habe mir da schon Mal den nächsten Kurs rausgesucht...in der Zwischenzeit übe ich noch etwas an meinem Grill... Für mehr Informationen über das Kochatelier Sankt Augustin (übrigens eine Dependance des Bonner Kochateliers - weitere gibt es in Düsseldorf und in Bergisch Gladbach) bitte hier schauen: https://kochatelier-sankt-augustin.de

In an Ottolenghi State of Mind

A few years ago a friend of mine invited me over for dinner. When I arrived at her house it smelled absolutely wonderful. All those aromas wafting at me and I was sitting comfortably in her kitchen enjoying myself and taking it all in.

She lived in Thailand for about fifteen years and she had brought back all those wonderful recipes. Thai cuisine is her favorite cuisine and when she invited a group of us over for dinner that evening, Thai cuisine it was.

Back then Thai food was uncharted territory for me and I was curious – after the first bites, I fell in love with the way it tasted and when I turned around to tell her how much I enjoyed her food, she smiled at me and answered „you know of course that Thai food is addictive, my dear!“.

Over the years I have often thought about that sentence and while I have quoted it many times on many different occasions, I must say that many years have passed and things have changed a lot since. I have dived with utter gusto into Italian, French, Dutch, Belgian and German cuisine. I have attended more cooking events and classes than I can count, I have collected so many cookbooks and magazines over the years that I have considered renting a place with just shelves.

I have come to grips with the fact that it is not possible to embrace one cuisine and please all those happy taste testers at home all the time – there is a definite need for variety at our place – over the years I have always searched for another cuisine that would stick with me like another addiction, like the Thai food – to this day I leave that cuisine up to the experts like my friend.

I was as pleased as can be to be cooking along with the French Fridays with Dorie group and introduce my family and myself to French cuisine, family-friendly delicious French cuisine and I took pleasure in seeing our kids taste everything from mussels to pâtés. I have also  happily turned my family into part-time vegetarians while cooking my way through Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstalls River Cottage Veg Everyday and watch our kids dive into everything from lentil soups, pearly barley salads and oven-roasted veggies – their lunchboxes are stuffed with left-over ratatouille and not peanut butter sandwiches. The Cottage Cooking Club is a wonderful outlet for all our daily vegetable inspirations.

My kitchen heroes hail from many different countries, I have a definite soft spot for those British cooks, have extensively reviewed traditional and non-traditional German cookbooks, I still enjoy cooking from my North-American cookbooks aand I do feel reasonably comfortable about translating Italian and Dutch recipes and making them my own. It is fun and it is educating to say the least – knowing a few languages does help, even today.

And let´s not forget about that blogging thing and the fact that I constantly ask people about recipes and ways they prepare a certain food – always looking for that extra something special. I cannot say that I have gotten very far though – for some inexplicable reason collecting cookbooks and recipes and magazines and watching endless cooking shows does not mean people are cooking more, let alone decide to experiment in their kitchens more. A collection of recipes does not make you a good homecook I guess.

The other day I talked to my friend again on the phone, she lives a few hundred kilometers from where we live (for Germans that is still a lot) and I asked her about her now famous sentence – it still makes her laugh when I talk about it and I told her „you know, I have found another addictive cuisine“  - „you must have heard about Yottam Ottolenghi, we all have“. She agreed, we have all heard about him or adore his recipes and have collected a few of his books  I know, I know. „But how many of his recipes have you actually gotten around to cooking?“, I asked. There is a new cookbook that was published two days ago, on September 10th, it is called NOPI:The Cookbook and includes over 120 of the most popular dishes from Yotam's innovative Soho-based restaurant Nopi.

„It's written with long-time collaborator and Nopi head chef Ramael Scully, who brings his distinctive Asian twist to the Ottolenghi kitchen. Whether you're a regular at the Nopi restaurant and want to know the secret to your favourite dish or are an Ottolenghi fan who wants to try out restaurant-style cooking, this is a collection of recipes which will inspire, challenge and delight“.

During the last two days, I have managed to make four of the recipes from his new book called "NOPI"and one from his book „Plenty“ and one fron his book "Jerusalem" – considering that Ottolenghis recipes can be considered somewhat „involved“, not too bad at all.

The first recipe I tackled while waiting rather impatiently for the delivery of the new book, was the Very full Tart from Plenty – a fantastic Mediterranean feast, full to the brim with roasted vegetables.

Pre-bake your homemade shortcrusty pastry base and then continue with delicious roasted vegetables including fennel, sweet potato, courgette, aubergine, red and yellow plum tomatoes….

… and a filling with goat´s cheese, cream, eggs and fresh thyme. The recipe is easily adaptable to different vegetables according to season (leeks, aubergines, broccoli, mushrooms) and you can keep or omit the cheese if you want – I would not though.

Then finally the wait was over and the long awaited cookbook arrived - onto my first recipe from the NOPI cookbook, the utterly delightful Corn Cakes with Feta - as suggested by Ottolenghi for that "restaurant look" I used the corn husks (rather than baking parchment) to line the muffin tins. They look lovely, like little bamboo baskets and are filled with lots of incredibly wonderful ingredients such as fresh corn, banana shallots, garlic, fennel seeds, ground cumin, celery seeds, tarragon leaves, good unsalted butter, farm fresh eggs, a bit of flour, Greek feta (you could also use a Dolcelatte here instead of the feta) sea salt and a rather good grinding of black pepper.

My second NOPI recipe was the very seasonal and colorful Butternut Squash with Ginger Tomatoes and Lime Yogurt. This is one of the most delicious salads that I have ever eaten. My kind of soul food, my kind of addiction.

With roasted wedges of butternut squash, and plum tomatoes that get roasted for a two hours (!) with fresh ginger, red chilli, garlic cloves, and dark muscovado sugar and a cooling drizzle of Greek yogurt boldly flavored with ground cardamom, lime zest and juice as well as a finish of fried banana shallots, it is impossible to resist!

My third NOPI recipe the Celeriac Puree with spiced Cauliflower and fried Egg was simply amazing. The puree works well on its own as an alternative to hummus, but, combined with the other elements, makes a substantial starter or even a meal in itself if served with warm, crusty bread or white pita.

The Celeriac Puree is made with onion, garlic, bay leaves, a fresh seasonal celeriac, homemade vegetable stock, tahini paste, lemon juice, ground cumin and coriander, sea salt, black pepper and a sprinkling of Spanish sweet smoked paprika.

For the Spiced Cauliflower topping that will forever spoil you taste buds, you will need a good olive oil, a large onion, three garlic cloves, my current spice obsession „ ras el hanout“ which is a spice mix from North Africa (the name is Arabic for "head of the shop"  and implies a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer), a coarsely grated cauliflower (a new technique for me),  finely diced preserved lemon, toasted and chopped almonds, and lots of fresh Italian parsley. This dish is a true revelation!

My fourth recipe from the NOPI book was Pearl barley risotto with watercress, courgettes and pecorino – Ottolenghi comments this lovely green dish with the following remark „Risotto made with pearl barley has a bite and texture that work very well with this smooth, leafy puree“.

First cook the pearl barley, then make the green puree with watercress and fresh spinach. Fry some portobello mushrooms and some leeks and make a side salad of asparagus ribbons (or courgettes as the asparagus is not in season anymore) and shaved Pecorino Romano. Then serve a dollop of the incredibly green pearl barley risotto and top the dish off with the delightfully tangy salad that you should prepare just before serving so it keeps its crunch - which is a nice contrast to the creamy risotto.

And last but not least, Savory Sesame and Fennel Cookies (Ka´ach Bilmach) from "Jerusalem, A Cookbook", by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Ottolenghi recipes open up a whole new world of flavors and combinations and textures and spices that you will not encounter anywhere else. Once you have gotten over the "involved part" of his recipes and set aside enough time for the shopping, prep work, and the cooking and when you keep in mind that this is NOT an everyday kind of cuisine, and once you have gotten into the rythm of his recipes, you are very likely to fall head over heels for his cuisine.

Now I have another problem - I need to move to a place with more spice racks AND book shelves...And although I still love my friends cooking, there is another addiction that I indulge in these days – I am definitely in an Ottolenghi state of mind!

Blushing Maiden - Errötendes Mädchen

We are at the beginning of September and before we dive into those autumnal desserts, now seems to be the perfect time to post one more late summer dessert. Last time I blogged about those lovely Fruit Jellies & Vanilla Custard Sauce, this time I am posting a recipe for a so-called "Blushing Maiden" - a dessert that is said to have originated in the North of Germany.

Anfang September gibt es nochmal ein leckeres Dessert. Letzten Monat habe ich Götterspeise mit Himbeeren & Vanillesauce gemacht und heute gibt es einen Nachtisch, der „Errötendes Mädchen“ oder auch „Errötende Jungfrau“ genannt wird. Das Rezept für diesen leckeren Nachtisch hat seine Wurzeln wohl eher im Norden von Deutschland.

My grand-parents lived in Northern Germany and my beloved grand-mother used to make a lot of different kinds of puddings and custards, my favorite one was her caramel pudding - the one that she served with an ample supply of freshly whipped cream. Although I cannot remember having enjoyed a summery dessert like the Blushing Maiden with berries, buttermilk and cream in her lovely kitchen, I am quite sure that she would have loved this dessert quite a bit - especially if served with the fresh red currants, strawberries and blackberries from her big garden, as well as a homemade vanilla custard sauce.

Meine Großeltern stammten aus Nord-Deutschland und meine geliebte Oma hat sehr gerne und regelmäßig Pudding und andere Süßspeisen zum Nachtisch serviert – mein Lieblings-Pudding was damals ihr Karamell-Pudding mit frisch geschlagener Sahne. Ich erinnere mich zwar nicht mehr, ob ich bei meiner Oma je so eine sommerliche Crème wie das Errötende Mädchen bestehend aus Beeren, Buttermilch und Sahne genossen habe. Aber ich mir ganz sicher, dass ihr dieser Nachtisch sehr gemundet hätte – besonders mit frischen Johannisbeeren, Erdbeeren und Brombeeren aus ihrem großen Garten und etwas selbstgemachte Vanillesauce dazu.

This lovely dessert has a rather poetical name -  "blushing maiden" is meant as a reference to the fact that the different kinds of berries used for this recipe lend a delicate "blushed" or pink hue to this creamy dessert. When I researched this post, I came across a whole lot of variations of this dessert. One of the most interesting ones being a layered type of dessert which resembles the British trifle in appearance only as it is made with fresh farmers cheese, pumpernickel (a typical German heavy, slightly sweet rye bread traditionally made with coarsely ground rye), rusks, or cookie crumbs and fresh fruits. Instead of serving this dessert with fresh raspberries, strawberries and red currants, you can also serve it with other types of fruit such as chopped fresh apples or peare, cherries or seedless grapes (always depending on the season).

Der hübsche poetische Name dieses schönen Desserts „Errötendes Mädchen“ stammt von der Tatsache, dass die verschiedenen frischen Beeren die dafür verarbeitet werden, diese Buttermilch-Sahnespeise vornehm „erröten“ lassen. Von diesem relativ schnell gemachten Dessert gibt es eine ganze Reihe von Varianten. Ich habe Rezepte für „Errötendes Mädchen“ auch schon als Schichtspeise aus Pumpernickel (ein Vollkornbrot aus Roggenschrot, das ursprünglich aus der westfälischen Küche stammt), Zwieback oder einfach Keksbröseln, und Obst mit Quark gesehen. Statt mit Himbeeren, Erdbeeren und Johannisbeeren schmeckt dieser Nachtisch auch zum Beispiel mit kleingeschnittenen Äpfeln oder Birnen, oder mit entsteinten Kirschen oder kernlosen Trauben, eben das Obst, welches gerade Saison hat.

Blushing Maiden Ingredients 50 grams fresh red currants 200 grams fresh strawberries 50 grams fresh raspberries juice of 1 lemon (organic) 80 grams seedless mixed berry jam (preferably homemade) 12 gelatine sheets (for those in the US: 17 g/ 3 tbsp + 1/4 tsp. gelatin powder or 2 1/2 pouches such as Knox unflavored gelatine) 250 ml fresh buttermilk (preferably organic) 250 ml fresh creanm (preferably organic) about 60 grams of superfine sugar (depending on the sweetness of the berries used) 2 tbsps pure vanilla sugar (or use homemade vanilla sugar)

Errötendes Mädchen Zutaten  50 g frische rote Johannisbeeren 200 g frische Erdbeeren 50 g  frische Himbeeren Saft von 1 Zitrone, (Bio) 80 g Beerenmarmelade, ohne Kerne, am besten selbstgemachte 12 Blatt Gelatine (für die USA: 17 g oder 3 1/4 TL Gelatine Pulver oder 2 1/2 Tütchen von Knox unflavored gelatine 250 ml frische Buttermilch (am besten Bio) 250 ml frische Sahne (am besten Bio) ca 60 g feinster Zucker (je nach Süße der Beeren) 2 TL Bourbon-Vanillezucker (oder selbstgemachter Vanille-Zucker)

Preparation Prep all your berries (wash the red currants, then, holding the stalk sweep a fork down its length) and together with the lemon juice and jam, purée them in a food processor. At this point, you can force the fruit purée through a sieve if you prefer a seedless dessert. To a bowl with cold water, add the gelatine sheets one by one, making sure they do not stick together. Add 4 tbsps of the fruit purée to a small saucepan. Add the buttermilk to the the remaining fruit purée. Whip the cream, slowly adding the sugar and vanilla sugar as you go. Take the soaked gelatine sheets out of the cold water, then gently wring to remove excess water. Add the gelatine to the saucepan with the fruit purée and heat gently until all the gelatine has dissolved. Using a whisk, quickly add the tempered gelatine mixture to the buttermilk mixture.  Finally, add the whipped cream to the buttermilk-fruit mixture. Then pour the dessert mixture into one large glass bowl, or several small dessert molds or one large pudding mold.  Cover and place in  the refrigerator for at least six hours to chill and set. Unmold the cream onto several small dessert plates or one large plate - place the molds briefly in hot water before unmolding. Decorate with more seasonal berries, whipped cream or homemade vanilla custard sauce recipe can be found here).

Zubereitung Die Johannisbeeren von den Rispen zupfen, die Erdbeeren putzen und mit den Himbeeren, dem frisch gepressten Zitronensaft und der Marmelade fein pürieren. Wahlweise durch ein Sieb streichen  um ein kernloses Dessert zu erhalten. Die Gelatineblätter in kaltem Wasser einweichen, dabei darauf achten, sie einzeln in das Wasser zu legen. 4 EL von dem Beerenpüree in einen kleinen Topf geben.  Das restliche Beerenpüree mit der Buttermilch verrühren.  Die Sahne steif schlagen, dabei den Zucker und den Vanillezucker einrieseln lassen. Die eingeweichten Gelatine-Blätter trocken ausdrücken und in den Topf mit dem Fruchtpüree geben. Unter Rühren erwärmen, bis sich die Gelatine gelöst hat. Mit einem Schneebesen rasch in die Buttermilch-Fruchtmischung rühren.  Die geschlagene Sahne portionsweise unterheben. Die Crème entweder auf kleine Portionsförmchen verteilen oder in eine größere Pudding-Sturzform oder auch einfach eine große Schüssel füllen. Zugedeckt im Kühlschrank mindestens 6 Stunden durchkühlen und erstarren lassen. Die Crème aus der Form auf Teller oder eine Platte stürzen, dazu die Form oder Förmchen nur kurz in heißes Wasser tauchen.  Mit weiteren Beerenfrüchten dekorieren und wahlweise mit frisch geschlagener Sahne oder selbstgemachter Vanillesauce servieren (hier geht's zum Rezept).

As we all know there is quite a variety of berries available from mother nature. And around here red currants, strawberries and raspberries are counted among the most popular ones. Raspberries have a sweet as well as slightly tangy flavor. They go so well with other fruits and berries, are totally no-fuss and always available at farmers markets all summer long. The red currants lend a wonderful color and a slightly tangy aroma to this dessert which is a wonderful contrast to the sweet and aromatic ripe strawberries - all taken together these three types of berries harmonize in the most delighful of ways in this creamy buttermilk dessert.

Die Vielfalt an Beeren in der Natur ist ja bekanntlich enorm. Und Johannisbeeren, Erdbeeren und Himbeeren zählen zu den beliebten Beerenklassikern in der Küche. Himbeeren schmecken süß und leicht säuerlich zugleich. Sie passen gut zu anderen Früchten, lassen sich ganz unkompliziert verarbeiten und machen sich hervorragend in diesem Nachtisch. Die roten Johannisbeeren bringen Farbe und ein angenehm säuerliches Aroma in diesem Nachtisch, ein geschmacklich ganz wunderbarer Kontrast zu den süßen und aromatisch-fruchtig Erdbeeren – zusammen lassen sich diese drei Beeren-Sorten hervorragend in der Buttermilch-Sahnecreme kombinieren.

So, before the berry season is officially over, let´s indulge in one more incredibly delicious and rather elegant berry dessert. If you do not have time for an intricate homemade tart or multi-layered cake, make a Blushing Maiden - this tempting dessert does not compromise on flavor and wow-factor, it is impressive and delicious and makes the most out of a few seasonal ingredients. No need to invest a lot of time in order to create this fancy look, just add a few more berries on the side and then you are all set to enjoy the last berries of summer and share with family and friends!

Also, bevor die Beerensaison ganz offiziell vorbei ist, schnell nochmal diesen unglaublich leckeren und elegant anmutenden Nachtisch mit dem wunderbar poetischen Namen „Errötende Jungfrau“ zubereiten, denn er sieht ja nicht nur toll aus, sondern lässt sich gut vorbereiten und schmeckt fruchtig-leicht. Zudem bildet er perfekten Abschluss für ein schönes Spät-Sommermenü. Dann mit Familie und Freunden genießen! So lassen sich die letzten wirklich warmen Tage doch gut aushalten.

The Cottage Cooking Club - August Recipes

The month of August marks the sixteenth month of our international online cooking group, The Cottage Cooking Club. As a group, recipe by recipe, we are cooking and learning our way through a wonderful vegetable cookbook written in 2011 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, entitled „River Cottage Everyday Veg".

The Cottage Cooking Club is meant to be a project aimed at incorporating more vegetable dishes into our everyday cooking, learning about less known, forgotten or heritage vegetables, trying out new ways to prepare tasty and healthy dishes, and sharing them with family and friends.

One of the declared aims of our cooking group is to make a decided effort to use as much regional, organic and also seasonal produce as is reasonably possible.

Since I cooked nine of the ten August recipes, I will write about each dish in the order in which I prepared them.

My first recipe for this late summer post was the colorful and very inviting Summer spelt salad (page 72), from the chapter "Hearty Salads“, this recipe is a variation of the Spelt salad with squash and fennel that we prepared back in January 2015 - I have made that recipe many times since then (you can take a look here).

Our kids are drawn to these kinds of salads, it seems that I can never make enough of them. As usual, I used a medium-size pearl barley here instead of the pearled spelt. Pale brown in color and resembling wheat berries, barley is believed to be the oldest cultivated cereal. And it is extremely versatile. Around here, we love adding pearl barley to soups and stews but by now, I believe our family is addicted to pearl barley salads with grilled vegetables and lots and lots of fresh herbs.

To make a long story short, what is not to like about this beautiful salad with grilled cubes of aubergine, yellow summer squash, zucchini, fresh peas and French beans, with tons of added Italian parsley, green as well as purple basil and chives. Definitely my kind of recipe that leaves a lot of room for personal and seasonal interpretation.

The second recipe that I prepared was Broad (French) beans with herbed goat´s cheese (page 316) from the chapter „Mezze & Tapas“. Always game for trying out some new variations of preparing a topping for all kinds of breads that we enjoy, I was quite sure that we would love this recipe and we did.

The first time I made this I used broad beans, and piled the cheesy, herby bean mixture on top of toasted, garlic-rubbed country bread. The second time I made this recipe I could not find any more fresh broad beans for the life of me and used French beans instead. I was torn at first between adding peas or French green beans and decided to go with the later. I chopped up the beans after blanching them to make them more convenient to eat and serve. So, the second time around, I ended up serving this as a late summer appetizer on mini rounds of lovely, dark and sweet German Pumpernickel - a little bit 70´s style.

I must admit to being rather partial to the contrast of flavors here. The tangy fresh goat´s cheese and the creaminess of the Greek yogurt, those herbs and just the right hint of garlic, taken all together, made my day.

My third recipe for this month was the Tomato and mozzarella risotto from the chapter (page 272) of „Pasta & Rice“ – although this recipe was a tad bit more involved, I loved making it. I started out with preparing the Roasted tomato sauce (page 366) in the morning – this is pretty much a no-brainer. Take lovely summer tomatoes, cut them in half, add garlic, thyme, and marjoram, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and pass the results through a sieve (or, in my case, a vintage food mill - always love an excuse to pull that lovely old kitchen utensil out of the cupboard). Measure about 300 ml and you are all set for the risotto.

Risotto rice is easy to come by and we all know how to prepare a risotto and are forewarned not to leave the kitchen whilst preparing a risotto which can be considered as somewhat of a difficult or moody side dish to prepare. Add your tomato sauce or passata di pomodoro at the end, then add cubes of buffalo mozzarella for a real treat. If you love the creaminess of risotto and melted cheese in addition to the taste of a wonderful homemade herby passata – then this is a recipe for you.

For the fourth recipe, I chose the delightfully summery Leek and cheese toastie (page 202) from the chapter "Bready Things". Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall describes this leek-based, cheesy topping as „the simplest and most midweek-friendly“ of his leek toppings and right he is.

The delicious and easy topping consists of but a few ingredients, namely some good quality butter, sliced fresh leeks and fragrant thyme - cook gently for about 10 to 15 minutes and then all that is left to do is to stir in some double cream, simmer some more, fold in some grated cheese such as Cheddar, add sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, then toast a few slices of sourdough bread (or other bread that you prefer), spread with the still warm topping and top with more cheese, then grill until golden - pure midweek deliciousness if you ask my family and me.

Thyme grows in my garden, fresh leeks can be easily found locally, the bread is from my favorite bakery nearby and the cheese I used was Emmenthal. We were all more than pleased with this with its sweetness from the leeks, creaminess from the cheese and cream and just the right amount of woodsy herb flavor from the fresh thyme.

Again, this is like a different kind of bruschetta and Hugh´s recipe brings out the mild, sweet flavor that leeks have and showcases it so well. Make sure to use your favorite country-style, rustic bread like a lovely sourdough.

Onto recipe number five the Stuffed peppers with new potatoes, feta and pesto (page 349) from the chapter „Roast, Grill & Barbecue“. This is definitely a fun recipe - you could use different varieties of peppers here and use store-bought or homemade pesto, depending on your schedule.

I believe that it is a true pleasure to cook this Italian-style vegetarian dish of colorful stuffed peppers in late summer, when home-grown red peppers are at their sweetest. Just make sure to roast them for an adequate amount of time.

The somewhat unusual filling in Hugh´s recipe not only calls for cubed boiled new potatoes, but also for feta cheese and homemade pesto (page 256) – as we have eaten a lot of pesto lately, I decided to opt for a delightful Walnut tapenade instead. Good choice. This dish is a bit different and combines flavors that I would usually not serve in this combination but glad I did when I made it.

Recipe number six ranks as my personal favorite this month, the Aubergine and green bean curry (page 29) from the chapter of „Comfort Food & Feasts“.

The first step in this recipe requires you to make a curry paste of shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, green chilies, ground cumin, coriander and turmeric. What a fragrant paste. Next you fry the aubergine, then the curry paste. Add the aubergine to the warm curry paste, add homemade tomato sauce and coconut milk, then some French beans, and simmer until they are tender – which takes about 5 to 10 minutes. I decided to go with yellow string beans here as opposed to the ever present green variety at our house . I believe that the yellow ones are sweeter than the green ones which makes for a nice contrast in this somewhat spicy dish.

As a side dish, I served some lovely basmati rice with black and yellow sesame seeds and topped with fresh cress. And I put out a plate with fresh lime wedges for everyone.

This dish is a late summer/early autumn dish, richly flavored with just the right amount of heat – who would have thought that tomato sauce, coconut milk, spices, aubergines and French beans all put together can work their magic on your palate. No doubt in my mind  that I will be making this dish again soon.

The recipe that I chose as my seventh one this month was the Cheat´s cauliflower cheese (page 378) from the chapter „Side Dishes“. Made individual portions for the kids in those cute mini cocottes and they loved it - a nice way to serve that cauliflower and flavorful enough. Definitely a nice variation of the traditional English "Cheddar cauliflower cheese gratin" and not as rich either. Serve it as an accompaniment to a main course or even with a seasonal salad and maybe some homemade bread and butter or steamed summer greens.

Onto number eight. The Summer garden lentils niçoise (page 237) from the chapter „ Store-cupboard suppers“. For the lentils I chose the french Le Puy lentils, a variety of lentils that I enjoy quite a bit – they have great flavor, wonderful color and they hold their shape so well after cooking and when mixed into a hearty salad like this one.

Flavorwise, this salad is basically a lentil salad dressed up as a salade niçoise – and true to „the original salade niçoise,  apart from the lentils, you will need cooked French beans, shallots, black olives and cherry tomatoes – plus some soft-boiled eggs on top. If the yolks are still soft, they mix rather nicely with the mustardy vinaigrette – another immensely popular hearty salads at our house. We loved, loved this one and I know that it does keep well because I made way too much for us to eat in one session.

The last recipe I prepared from this month´s line-up was the Tomatoes with Thai dressing (page 121) from the chapter „Raw Assemblies“.

So. what´s not to love about a variety of the freshest tomatoes avaiblable (including zebra, yellow, orange and red cherry tomatoes and some beefsteak tomatoes from Belgium) – the dressing consists of chili, garlic, balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, sesame oil and honey – to that I added freshly grated ginger – plus lots of chives (instead of the mint) and Italian parsley. Quite delightful.

In summary, another month full of wonderful vegetable dishes – this month we were delighted to enjoy a number of late summer recipes for lunch, dinner and, best of all, for relaxed al fresco dining. What can possibly be better than to cook with fresh ingredients at this time of year.

Please note, that for copyright reasons, we do NOT publish the recipes. If you enjoy the recipes in our series, hopefully, the wonderfully talented and enthusiastic members of The Cottage Cooking Club and their wonderful posts can convince you to get a copy of this lovely book. Better yet, do make sure to join us in this cooking adventure! There is still time!

To see how wonderful all the dishes from my fellow Cottage Cooking Club members turned out this month, please visit here. They would all appreciate a visit!