About a week ago I received an invitation to promote my food blog. My former colleagues asked me to present some specialties from my blog during the drama week at the BG Babenbergerring, a high school in Austria (www.bg-bab.ac.at). You might not have heard of this drama week, but I can assure you, the performances of the 13- to 18-year-olds are so fantastic, you’d want to watch again and again. They even perform in English and there’s also a lot of music, so, if you have a chance, go and watch them!
As you can imagine, I accepted this lovely invitation, firstly because I can’t wait to see what kind of productions the young students and their teachers have mounted this year, and secondly, I really was very eager to take the chance to promote my blog. Well, once I’d accepted I started to think what I could cook for the event. I decided to bake my orange bundt cake for the people with a sweet tooth. And then, of course, I also had to find something new. And that’s what I’ve finally come up with:
Rocket salad and prosciutto wraps
Avocado mousse and breadsticks
Chorizo and red wine parcels
Indian dhal and chicken saté
Rocket salad and prosciutto wraps
makes about 24
125 g (1/2 cup) cream cheese
1 tablespoon black olives, finely chopped
salt, pepper
½ teaspoon mustard
some oil (preferably the oil from dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil)
1 handful of rocket salad
150 g (5 ounces) of prosciutto
4 tortillas
Mix the cream cheese with the oil, mustard, salt, pepper and the chopped olives. Spread about ¼ of the cream cheese on a tortilla. Put some rocket on the cream cheese, covering only ¾ of the tortilla. Put some prosciutto on top. Roll up the tortilla very firmly, starting with the side that is fully covered with rocket and prosciutto. Cut into 1,5 cm (1/2 inch) slices. You can also fix the little rolls with a tooth pick.
Indian dhal with chicken saté
makes about 20
1 red onion
some olive oil
140 g (3/4 cups) red lentils
½ teaspoon curcuma
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon ground ginger
300 ml (1 ¼ cups) vegetable soup
120 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk
2 chicken breasts
salt, pepper
some hot (or mild) curry powder
some olive oil
20 wooden skewers
Peel and chop the onion. Fry in some olive oil. Add the lentils and the spices. Add the soup and cook for about 20 minutes until soft. Use a blender to puree the lentils. Stir the coconut milk into the lentils.
Soak the wooden skewers in cold water. Cut the chicken breasts into strips (about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and 7 cm (3 inches) long. Thread the strips onto the skewers and sear with some olive oil until well done.
Avocado mousse and breadsticks
makes about 20
2 avocados
50 g (1/3 cups) dried tomatoes, preserved in olive oil
juice of one lemon
juice of one orange
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons crème fraiche or mascarpone
salt, pepper, chili powder
Drain and finely chop the tomatoes. Peel the avocados and remove the stone. Cut into some chunks and put into a bowl. Add the lemon and orange juice, the oil and the crème fraiche or mascarpone. Using a blender to puree the avocados until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder.
Breadsticks
makes about 35
250 g (2 cups) plain flour
½ tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ package (about 4 grams) dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
150-160 ml (about 2/3 cups) lukewarm water
Combine the flour, sugar, salt and the dry yeast. Add the water and the olive oil. Knead with a food processor until the dough gets very smooth and shiny. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for about an hour.
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Cut it into 1 cm (1/2 inch) strips. Cut each strip into 2-3 cm (1 inch) pieces and roll each piece with you hands until you get long and thin sticks. Bake in the preheated oven (220° C, 425° F, gas mark 7) for about 10-15 minutes.
Chorizo and red wine parcels
makes about 20
300 g Chorizo
1 large red onion
¼ l red wine
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 packages puff pastry
Peel and finely chop the chorizo and the onion. Put both into a frying pan without any extra oil and cook for some minutes. Add the chopped parsley. Add the red wine and allow to reduce. Leave to cool completely.
Take the puff pastry out of the package and unroll it. Use a rolling pin to roll it out a bit more. Cut the pastry into 10 equal squares. Put about 1 tablespoon of the chorizo into the middle of each square. Lift the edges and press them together to form a little parcel Bake in the preheated oven (180° C, 360° F, gas mark 4) for about 20 minutes.
And here the recipes for printing:
- 125 g (1/2 cup) cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon black olives, finely chopped
- salt, pepper
- ½ teaspoon mustard
- some oil (preferably the oil from dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil)
- 1 handful of rocket salad
- 150 g (5 ounces) of prosciutto
- 4 tortillas
- Mix the cream cheese with the oil, mustard, salt, pepper and the chopped olives. Spread about ¼ of the cream cheese on a tortilla. Put some rocket on the cream cheese, covering only ¾ of the tortilla. Put some prosciutto on top. Roll up the tortilla very firmly, starting with the side that is fully covered with rocket and prosciutto. Cut into 1,5 cm (1/2 inch) slices. You can also fix the little rolls with a tooth pick.
- 300 g Chorizo
- 1 large red onion
- ¼ l red wine
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 packages puff pastry
- Peel and finely chop the chorizo and the onion. Put both into a frying pan without any extra oil and cook for some minutes. Add the chopped parsley. Add the red wine and allow to reduce. Leave to cool completely.
- Take the puff pastry out of the package and unroll it. Use a rolling pin to roll it out a bit more. Cut the pastry into 10 equal squares. Put about 1 tablespoon of the chorizo into the middle of each square. Lift the edges and press them together to form a little parcel Bake in the preheated oven (180° C, 360° F, gas mark 4) for about 20 minutes.
- 1 red onion
- some olive oil
- 140 g (3/4 cups) red lentils
- ½ teaspoon curcuma
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) vegetable soup
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk
- 2 chicken breasts
- salt, pepper
- some hot (or mild) curry powder
- some olive oil
- 20 wooden skewers
- Peel and chop the onion. Fry in some olive oil. Add the lentils and the spices. Add the soup and cook for about 20 minutes until soft. Use a blender to puree the lentils. Stir the coconut milk into the lentils.
- Soak the wooden skewers in cold water. Cut the chicken breasts into strips (about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and 7 cm (3 inches) long. Thread the strips onto the skewers and fry in some olive oil until well done.
- [b]For the avocado mousse:[/b]
- 2 avocados
- 50 g (1/3 cups) dried tomatoes, preserved in olive oil
- juice of one lemon
- juice of one orange
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons crème fraiche or mascarpone
- salt, pepper, chili powder
- [b]For the breadsticks:[/b]
- 250 g (2 cups) plain flour
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ package (about 4 grams) dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 150-160 ml (about 2/3 cups) lukewarm water
- [b]How to make the avocado mousse:[/b]
- Drain and finely chop the tomatoes. Peel the avocados and remove the stone. Cut into some chunks and put into a bowl. Add the lemon and orange juice, the oil and the crème fraiche or mascarpone. Using a blender to puree the avocados until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder.
- [br]
- [b]How to make the breadsticks:[/b]
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt and the dry yeast. Add the water and the olive oil. Knead with a food processor until the dough gets very smooth and shiny. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for about an hour.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Cut it into 1 cm (1/2 inch) strips. Cut each strip into 2-3 cm (1 inch) pieces and roll each piece with you hands until you get long and thin sticks. Bake in the preheated oven (220° C, 425° F, gas mark 7) for about 10-15 minutes.
