Feel Good Fish Cakes Appetizer



Whenever I hear 'fish cakes' it reminds me of the Asian style fish cakes that my mom used to make.  She would make it into a flat round shape, pan fried it.  Sliced them thinly and added them in choy sum stir fry.  Or cut them into very fine cube and mix them in the fried rice.  They were just delicious.

However, this is a completely different Western style fish cake.  Canned tuna fish chunks mix with mashed potatoes, deep fry or shallow fry.

Here are the ingredients:

300g potatoes, sliced

1 can (140g) tuna in water, drained, squeezed excess water away

2 tsp chopped flat parsley (optional)

1 tsp garlic powder

Zest of a lemon

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper

Sweet chili sauce

Lemon wedges

oil for frying

Serves 2 - 3

Method:
1.  Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until soft, about 15 - 20 minutes.  Drain and then mash.  Slightly mash the tuna chunks.
2.  In a large bowl, add in mashed potatoes, tuna, garlic powder, zest and juice of lemon, parsley, season with salt and pepper.  Mix them gently.
3.  Shape the mixture into 8 - 10 fish cakes.  Dust lightly with some bread crumbs.
4.  Heat enough oil in the pan for shallow frying.  Fry the fish cakes for 2 - 3 minutes each side or until golden brown.
5.  Serve with green salad, lemon wedges and sweet chili sauce. 

Pan Fried Salmon with Dill Sauce, Mushroom, French Bean and Pasta

Salmon, it is delicious whether pan fried, baked, deep fried or as Sashimi.  This popular oily fish is high in protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin D.

The dill sauce in this recipe is a variation from basic Bechamel white sauce.  Bechamel  sauce is one of the five 'Mother' sauces in Western cooking.

Ingredients:

2 pieces salmon steaks (150g each)

200g French beans, blanched

100g brown mushrooms, thinly sliced, (sauteed with 1 tbsp butter, salt and pepper)

2 cakes of tagliatelle, cooked

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp cooking oil 

Sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup warm milk

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp fresh dill, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 2

Method:
1.  Over medium heat, add in 1 tablespoon cooking oil.  Season the salmon steaks with some salt and pepper just before putting in the pan.  Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side of the salmon depending on the thickness.

2.  For the sauce : melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Stir in flour, garlic powder and cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly, stirring  constantly.  Cook for about 1 minute or so.

3.  Stir in milk.  Bring it to boil and stir constantly for about 1 minute.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Lastly add in dill and the sauce is ready.

4.  To serve, place a layer of mushrooms as the base on the serving dish.  Top with pasta and then the fish.  Pour sauce over the fish and serve with the blanched French beans.

Lamb's Lettuce, Bacon, Egg Salad with Lemon and Honey Dressing

Lamb's lettuce, which is also called corn salad (Feldsalat in German) has lots of nutrients.  It has three times as much vitamin C as lettuce, beta-carotene, B6, B9, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids.

I'd never seen this lettuce when I was in Malaysia.  I learned about it a couple of years ago, and since then like it very much.  We can get organic lamb's lettuce here in Germany at a reasonable price.  So most of the ingredients used in this recipe are organic, except the turkey bacon. 

Ingredients:

80g Bio lamb's lettuce

2 Bio eggs, poached or cooked sunny side-up

6 slices lean turkey bacon

some Bio sunflower seeds

Dressing:

Juice squeezed from 1 large Bio lemon

1 1/2 tbsp Bio honey

1 garlic, finely grated

1 1/2 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Serves 2

Method:

1.  Wash, drain and dry the lamb's lettuce.  Pan fry the bacon until crispy and set aside to cool.

2.  For the dressing, mix lemon juice and honey together and stir well.  Add in finely grated garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and stir until combine.

3.  On two serving plates, place the lamb's lettuce as base.  Top with the bacon and eggs.  Drizzle the dressing on the salad and sprinkle the sunflower seeds. 

Asparagus, Cherry Tomato and Brie Tart

Yes, another asparagus recipe.  We're seeing asparagus for sale everywhere and we're eating plenty of them!  And some of the white asparagus are huge!

This tart is made from puff pastry.  Great for a light meal or for snack!

Ingredients:

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed

2 bunches asparagus, blanched

80g brie cheese, sliced

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 egg

2 tsp pure cream

2 tsp mustard

Freshly ground pepper

Serves 2 - 4

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 200C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2.  Place pastry on baking tray.  Using a knife, make a 2cm border around the edges of pastry, making sure not to cut through.  Refer to the picture below.

 3.  Using a fork, prick the centre of pastry a few times.  Bake for 5 minutes or until puffed and a little brown.

4.  Remove pastry from oven.  Press down the centre of pastry.  Arrange asparagus and top with brie.  Whisk egg, cream and mustard together.  Pour over asparagus and brie and sprinkle with pepper.  Bake for another 8 minutes or until pastry is golden.



Healthy Breakfast Sandwich with Salmon, Rucola and Spinach

A healthy breakfast refuels your body, give your body the energy it needs and having healthy breakfasts are the healthy ways to kick start your day.

This healthy breakfast is easy to assemble.  The vegetables can be washed a head of time and place in the fridge so that they're ready to go in the morning.  Rocket(Rucola) and baby spinach are used in this sandwich, but you can replaced them with other greens as well.  Don't fancy salmon?  Then substitute them with low fat lean ham! 

Ingredients:

A hand's full of rocket

A hand's full of baby spinach

4 slices multi grains bread, toasted

4 slices smoked salmon, sliced into smaller strips

4 slices low fat cheese of your choice

1 large tomato, halved and sliced

1 lemon

Freshly ground multi colour pepper

1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil

Serves 2

Method:

1.  In a medium bowl, place the rocket, spinach, tomato and salmon inside.  Squeeze half or 2/3 of the juice over, add in olive oil, sprinkle with pepper and mix them lightly with the hand.

2.  Place the bread on a serving plate.  Lay a piece of cheese on each bread.  Then arrange the mixed salad on top of the bread.  Your healthy breakfast is ready to serve!

Chicken Involtini with Prosciutto and Basil

Involtini, an Italian dish with the word meaning a thin slice of meat rolled around stuffing and cooked.  Just like a roulade.

This involtini recipe uses chicken, rolled with prosciutto, Italian ham, stuffed with sweet basil leaves and cheese.  The result, it tasted great and looked great.  The chicken breast is butterflied and flatten with a mallet.  If you want to see the photo on how to butterfly chicken breast, please click here.

Ingredients:
4 single chicken breast fillets
12 slices prosciutto
24 large sweet basil leaves
1 small onion, finely diced
6 tomatoes, boiled, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken stock or water
2 thin slices cheddar, or mozzarella
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Serves 4

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180C.

2.  Butterfly the chicken breast fillet.

3.  Arrange 3 slices prosciutto overlapping each other on the worktop.  Place chicken over it.  Top with 3 basil leaves, lay 2 small slices of  cheddar over the basil leaves and sprinkle with pepper.

4.  Roll up the chicken.  Tie with kitchen string to keep its shape.  I know mine were not nicely tied, but hey, it worked. 

5.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large non stick pan over medium heat.  Cook the  involtini until all sides are brown and crisp.  Work in batches of two if the pan is not big enough.  Dish out the involtini and set aside.

6.  Heat the remaining oil in the same pan, add in onion, garlic  and cook until aromatic.  Add in tomatoes, sugar and stock and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thicken.  Season with pepper.

7.  Pour the sauce into a large heat proof dish.  Place the involtini on top of the sauce and bake for 10 minutes.  Then turn the rolls and bake for another 8 minutes.  Serve with pasta or salad.

NOTE: 
It is said that involtini are served with the kitchen string attached and the customers or guests would remove it themselves.

This recipe do not require salt as the prosciutto is already salty enough.



American Hotcakes

Weekends are the only time my kids and I get to sit down together and have some nice breakfast.  Angelica is always more than happy to help setting the table! 

These American pancakes are perfect for a weekend morning or holiday breakfast.  Serve these delicious pancakes with butter, honey, jam, applesauce, Nutella or your favourite toppings and fruits.  They're also delicious with 'kaya', coconut jam, something we are unable to get here.
















Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 medium eggs
1 cup milk
60g butter, melted
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caster sugar
Pinch salt
Oil to brush the pan
Serves 3 -4

   

Method:

1.  In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs, add in milk, melted butter and stir well.  Sift in flour, baking powder.  Then add in sugar and salt. 

2.  Using a whisk, stir until smooth and batter is free of lumps.  Cover with a tea towel for 10 minutes.

3.  Over medium low heat, brush the non-stick pan with oil.  Pour a level 1/4 cup of mixture at a time.  Cook for one minute or until bubbly, turn and cook the other side.  The second side take shorter time to cook.  Transfer to a plate and keep warm with a tea towel.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

4.  Serve with butter and your favourite toppings.

Creamy White Asparagus Soup / Deutscher Spargelsuppe

Germany produces a lot of white asparagus.  Both green and white asparagus are actually the same.  It is just that the white ones are not exposed to sunlight.  This spring vegetable must be peel before cooking or raw consumption.  It is low in calories, with good source of folate, potassium, and its stalks are high in antioxidants.  I would prefer to use the white asparagus for soup and the green ones for roasting, stir-fry and and side.

Ingredient:

800g white asparagus

400ml chicken/vegetables stock or water

1 potato, peeled and finely diced

2 gloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, thinly sliced

20g butter

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp heavy cream

pinch of ground cumin

Salt and white pepper, to taste

Spring onion, to serve

Serves 4

Method:

1.  Peeled the asparagus.  cut into 2cm pieces.

2.  In a pot over medium heat, heat the butter.  Stir in onion, bay leaf and garlic and cook until aromatic.  Add in the chopped asparagus, potato and cook for about 10 minutes. 

3.  Take out all the asparagus tips and set them aside.  Pour in the stock, add the ground cumin and continue to cook over low heat for another 20 minutes until the potato and asparagus are tender.

4.  Remove the bay leaf, blend the asparagus and potato until smooth.  Return soup to the pot.  Stir in the heavy cream, add salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Serve the soup with the reserved asparagus tips and sprinkle with spring onion.  Enjoy!

Curly pasta, Cheese and Ham Bake

This is for those cheese lovers!  My whole family enjoy this dish.  Instead of using ham, tuna, salami, sausage all go well with this pasta gratin too. 

The pasta should be boiled in salty water until al dente.  'Al dente' is the Italian expression to describe the pasta, rice or bean to be cooked just firm but not hard.  It also describes the vegetables that are cooked to the 'tender crisp' phase.  Keeping the pasta firm is very important as it will be cooked twice.

For us, the best part is the brown crispy cheese on the top.  That's why I had chosen a shallow dish for this pasta gratin.

Ingredients:

500g curly pasta

150g ham, cut

2 cups (500ml) milk

80g butter

3 tbsp plain flour

100g Cheddar cheese, roughly grated

100g grated pizza cheese

pinch ground nutmeg

60g Parmesan, finely grated, (more if you like the brown cheese on top)

Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 5-6

Method:

1.  Boil the pasta until al dente.  Drain, do not rinse, and return to the pot.

2.  While boiling the pasta, heat the milk until just simmering.  In another saucepan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook until foaming.  Remove from heat and whisk in the milk.  Return to heat, add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste and whisk until there is no lump for about a minute.

3.  Preheat oven to 180 degree C.

4.  Pour the sauce over pasta, stir in both cheese and ham.  Grease an ovenproof dish and pour in the pasta mixture.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden.  Enjoy...

Roasted Lemon Chicken pieces

This roasted chicken is marinated with lemon, thyme, parsley and olive oil.  The herbs give this dish a special flavour. 

Ingredients:
1.5kg chicken, cut into 10-12 pieces
125ml (1/2 cup) lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped thyme
2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves
1/2 tsp ground pepper
lemon wedges to serve
Serves 3 - 4


                                                                         For marinate

                                                      

Method:
1.  In a large shallow dish, mix together the lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, parsley and olive oil and pepper.  Add the chicken pieces and turn them until all are well coated.  Cover and marinated for at least 30 minutes, turning the meat occasionally.

2.  Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.  Remove the chicken from the dish, season lightly with salt.  Place chicken in a roasting tin in a single layer.  Roast for 30 -  40 minutes or until cooked through.

3.  Serve with lemon wedges, and mashed potato.  Or other side dish.  I serve mine with asparagus wrapped in bacon.  For the recipe of this side dish, please click here.

4.  If you prefer to cook the chicken without the skin, cover it with foil halfway through the cooking time so that it doesn't dry out.

5.  You can also use 1.5kg chicken thigh instead of one whole chicken.

Asparagus with Bacon and Garlic

April marks the beginning of Spargelzeit, 'asparagus season', in Germany.  While I tend to like more the American's green asparagus, the German prefer the white variety, and most asparagus from Germany is white.

When buying asparagus, freshness is the key to the perfect flavour and texture.  Make sure the stems are firm, crisp and plump, and have the characteristic velvety sheen.  The tip should be intact and firm, a slight purple colour tinge is normal.

The Spargelzeit ends abruptly on June 24.  This is a simple side dish that goes along well with other meat.

Ingredients:
A bunch of asparagus, 16 asparagus
4 slices bacon
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Serves 2 - 4

Method:

1.  Wash and trim the asparagus.  In a pot of boiling water, (with a little bit of salt and oil added), blanch the asparagus for about 3-4 minutes, depending the size of the asparagus.  Drain and place them in cold water with ice.  This will keep them crunchy.

2.  While boiling the asparagus, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, stir fry the garlic until light brown.  Set aside.

3.  Using a slice of bacon, wrap four asparagus.  Heat a frying pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil.  Place the wrapped asparagus in and cook for about 2 minutes until the bacon turn brown.

4.  Dish out the wrapped asparagus on the serving plate,  sprinkle a little salt, some pepper and pour the garlic and oil on top.

Carrot Cream Soup

A simple, weekend healthy soup with ground coriander and ginger.  Serve with your favourite bread, this can be a great starter or a warming supper!


























Ingredients:
250g carrot
1 onion
2 1/2 cups chicken stock / water
30g butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste
Serves 2 - 3

Method:
1.  Peel carrots, cut them with onion into thin slices.  Heat butter in a soup pot, add onion and carrot.  Stir over low heat until onion is tender.

2.  Add flour, ground ginger, ground coriander and stir until well combine.  Add chicken stock, stir and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes or until the carrot is tender.

3.  Remove from heat, with a hand held blender, blend until smooth.  Alternatively, blend in a food blender.  Return to heat and add in the cream and season with salt and pepper, stir until heated through.  SServe the soup with some cream.

Chicken Schnitzel / Hähnchenschnitzel

It's about time I post a recipe from this region - Schnitzel.  A traditional dish in Austria, very popular in Germany, Switzerland and Romania.  Strangely no one recommended us this dish while we were having all those holidays in Germany.  We came to know Schnitzel when we were living in Bucharest.  It was one of my son's favourite school lunch when he was schooling at the British School of Bucharest.  We also noticed almost all restaurants serve this.  To learn more about Schnitzel please read here.  Instead of just plain breadcrumbs, I've added some lemon rind and garlic powder.  Chicken breasts are used in this recipe and the meat is butterflied then pounded to very thin.  Butterflying is a type of meat cutting method, click here for more details.

As you can see the meat on the left is before butterflying.   And on the right, the meat is pounded thinly with a mallet.

Ingredients:

500g chicken breast (4 small breasts about 120g each)

1/2 cup white flour

1  large egg

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind

Salt and pepper

Lemon wedges

cooking oil
Serves 4

To prepare:

1.  Butterfly the meat.  Lay one piece between two plastic wrap and pound it with a mallet until evenly thin about 1cm thickness.
2.  Line 3 big plates on the worktop with one fill with flour, 2nd bowl with beaten egg, and the 3rd with breadcrumbs mix with the lemon rind and garlic powder.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

3.  Coat a piece of chicken in flour, shake off excess.  Dip in egg mixture, then coat in breadcrumbs mixture.  Place on a plate and repeat the steps with the remaining chicken.

4.  Heat oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.  Cook chicken, one at a time if you don't have a big frying pan.  Cook each side for a minute or two, since the meat is very thin, it doesn't need to cook that long.  Once the meat is cooked or turned golden, transfer to a heat proof plate and place in the oven to keep warm.

5.  When all schnitzel are done, serve with lemon wedges and your favourite salad or potato.

Salmon Fillets with Mango Salad and Basil / Lachs mit Mango-Salat

If you like fruits and would like to add them in your meal, this salmon with mango salad will satisfy you.  This is a healthy dish too!



Ingredients:

1 cup (60g) fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil plus 1/2 tablespoon

1/2 mango, peeled, pitted and diced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cucumber, diced

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

2 pieces salmon fillets (about 200g each)

mixed green salad (I used just corn salad)

lemon wedges
Serves 2 

To prepare: 

1.  Place all except two basil leaves in the food processor and process until very finely chopped.  Or chop them manually.  Add chopped basil to olive oil.

2.  Combine mango, cucumber and tomato in a bowl and stir in lemon juice.  Add half of the basil oil, season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Press a basil leaf on top of each salmon fillet.  Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Cook the fillets top side first for 3-4 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Turn and cook the other side.

4.  Lay each fillet on bed of green salad.  Top with mango salad and drizzle with remaining basil oil.  Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Cottage Pie

It's been a long time since I'd last made a cottage pie, perhaps 4 or 5 years ago.  I've forgotten about this dish until I browsed through my recipe books.  This pie is easy to make, and I like mine with more vegetables. 

Ingredients:
1 cup carrot, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup green peas
500g minced beef, lean meat if possible
1/2 cup of water
1 tsp Knorr beef bouillon powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 tbsp cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese powder
some fresh parsley, finely chopped

For the topping:
10 small floury potatoes, peeled and quartered
50g butter
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4 - 6

To prepare:

1.  Heat the cooking oil in a large pan and cook the onion in medium heat for about 5 minutes or turn brown.  Add the minced beef and garlic ,stir for 3 minutes to brown.  Follow by the carrots and celery and stir for another 3 minutes.
2.  Add the water, beef bouillon powder, tomatoes, tomato paste, green peas and parsley.
3.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce is almost completely absorb, season with salt and pepper.
4.  Preheat the oven to 190C
5.  To prepare the topping, boil the potatoes until soft.
6.  Drain and mash with the butter and milk, season with salt and pepper. 
7.  Spoon the meat into an ovenproof dish.

8.  Then top with the mash potato.
9.  Use a fork to scratch some lines on the mash and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese powder evenly on top.

10. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve immediately.