Stir fried noodles - japchae

Soak the shitake in water and
cut the vegetables (not spinach).

Spring is here! I know I should cook fresh and crispy food for the celebration of spring but I decided to cook Korean food called japchae, stir fried noodles.

This recipe is for 4-6 people:

200 g noodles (1 or 2 packages)

250 g fresh spinach

2 carrots

1 large onion

8 white mushrooms

8 green onions

1 chili

8 shiitake mushrooms

6 cloves of garlic

300 g chicken

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

Sugar

Pepper

Sesame seeds

Let the dried shiitake mushrooms to soak in water for couple of hours and squeeze the water out from them. Cook the noodles according to the package’s instructions.

Cook the spinach
for 1 minute.

Cut the vegetables (not the spinach), mushrooms and the meat in to slices. Drain the noodles and put in to a large bowl. Cut them with scissors in to small pieces. Pour 2 tbs of soy sauce and sesame oil on the noodles and mix it well.

Boil the spinach for 1 minute in the same water you boiled the noodles. Take the spinach out from the casserole and rinse it 3 times before carefully squeezing the water out from them. Cut the spinach into small pieces and mix 1 tbs of soy sauce and sesame oil in it before putting it on the noodles.

Cook the vegetables
on olive oil.

Cook the carrots on a pan with olive oil for 2 minutes and add it on noodles in the large bowl of noodles. Then cook the thinly sliced onion until translucent before adding them as well on noodles. Cook the white mushrooms for few minutes and add them on noodles. Cook the green onions and chili for 1 minute and add them on the noodles.

Cook the chicken until golden brown, add the sliced shiitake mushrooms and cook some more. Add the minced garlic with soy sauce and sugar and cook for less than a minute. Add the mix in to the bowl with noodles, vegetables and mushrooms. Pour 4 tbs of soy sauce, 6 tbs of sugar, 4 tbs of sesame oil and pepper on the mix. Stir the mix well and add the sesame seeds. 

Cook the meat golden brown
before adding shitake.

Mix everything well before serving.

Enjoy!

Sicilian fish stew

Sprinkle lemon zest and parsley
on top.

Summer is only few months away and my thoughts are in the food that suits for the warmer days. Even though it is only spring I decided to make this delicious Sicilian style fish stew that I served to friends.

This recipe is for 4-5 persons:

2 onions

4 celery stalks
6 garlic cloves
2 anchovies
1 red chili pepper with it seeds
About 20 grape tomatoes
2,5 dl white wine
8 dl vegetable bouillon
2 dl couscous
600 g haddock (or other similar white fish)
Lemon zest from 1 lemon
1 dl parsley

Use fresh white fish
fillets.

Season the vegetables
on medium fire.

Slice the vegetables.

Heat some olive oil in a casserole and add the thinly sliced onions, sliced celeries, sliced garlic, sliced chili and anchovies. Cook the vegetables around 10 minutes on a medium fire, do not let them to go brown. Add the sliced grape tomatoes and cook for couple of more minutes. Add the white wine and bouillon and let it boil for 2 minutes before adding the couscous. After adding the couscous, do not let the stew to boil anymore. Add the fish in to the stew and let the stew be under a lit for about 7 minutes. Remember that you should not boil the fish nor couscous.

Sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley over the stew and serve with good Italian wine.

Cauliflower soup

Decorate with capers and chive
oil.

Cauliflower soup may belong to summer but with capers you get a nice winter touch to it. This is a bit healthier version with no cream or butter in it but you may also add some for special guests. I did not even use any salt or pepper and it was still tasty.

This recipe is for 4-5 persons:

1 large cauliflower

½ broccoli
1 liter of milk (less if also using cream)

500 g shrimps

1 jar of capers
½ dl chive (1 pot)
1 dl oil
Salt
Pepper
(for special guests try also with 2 dl cream and 100 g butter)

Cook vegetables in milk.

Mix the chive with oil
in a blender.

Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into small pieces. Cook them in milk on medium fire for about half an hour. Do not burn the milk! Mix the milk and cooked vegetables with a hand blender.

Fry the capers for a couple of minutes in oil.

Mix the chive and oil in a blender.

Just before serving mix the shrimps in to the soup. Do not boil the shrimps because the structure will become otherwise like chewing gum. Taste with salt and pepper. Serve soup on the plates, add capers and chive oil.

Fry the capers.

After 30 minutes mix
the vegetables and milk
with a hand blender.

Cod with herbs

Klippfiske is a dried and salted cod especially eaten in Norway. I read on Wikipedia that the Spanish saw Norwegians to preserve the fish like this in the 16^th century and started to use this method in Spain and later in Portugal. Of course they did not call it klippfiske but baccalao. This recipe is not the baccalao stew but a pan fried cod with some vegetable and herbs.

400 g dried and salted cod

1 fennel

2 shallots

Sugar peas

1 dl thyme

1 dl parsley

1 egg

Oil

Wash the salt off from the fish and put the fish in to bowl or casserole with 3 liters of water. You need to change the water every 8-10 hours for 2-3 days in order to get the salt out of the fish. When the fish is in the water keep it in the fridge.

After 2-3 days take the fish out from the water and dry it with a paper napkin or similar. Cut the herbs. Mix the egg. Dip both sides of the fish in the egg and then in the herbs. Fry the fish on a frying pan with some oil (about 3 minutes on both sides). During the last minute add the sliced fennel, shallots and peas.

Avocado pasta

I have always thought that it is really difficult to cook a tasty vegetarian meal that is also healthy. Of course butter, cream and cheese do always the trick, but how to make tasty and healthy food?

Try this spicy avocado pasta J

2 avocados

2 garlic cloves

1 small chili

1 lime

Handful of fresh basil

30 g parmesan cheese

30 g sovrano cheese (kind a like parmesan)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Press the garlic cloves and mix it together with sliced chili. Press the the lime juice on it. Cut the avocados in small cubes and add them to the mix together with grated cheese and fresh basil. Mix it well. Add salt, pepper and olive oil.

Cook the pasta and mix it together with the avocado mix. So good J

Caribbean inspired banana-curry chicken

Never tried banana in cooking and always wanted to try something from the Caribbean cuisine. This delicious chicken in banana-curry sauce will take you to totally new spheres.

4 fillets of chicken

2 bananas

1 tsp mustard

2 tsp curry

1 grated zest of lime
3 tbsp butter

Juice of ½ a lime

Coriander according to your taste

0,5 dl of water

Salt
Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 225 ˚C. Mix all the ingredients into a smooth paste. Make deep cuts to the meat and pour the sauce on them. Make sure the sauce also goes in to the cuts. Let the chicken to cook ca 20 minutes. During this time you may cook the rice.

Fresh couscous salad with mint leaves

Healthy option with not meat J

2,5 dl couscous

2,5 dl vegetable bouillon

1 large shallot

Pearl tomatoes

1 cucumber

200 g feta cheese

2 dl fresh mint leaves

1 dl fresh basil

1 dl fresh coriander

1 lime

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Prepare the vegetable bouillon and place couscous in it. Do not let the couscous to boil but just let it be in the hot water for about 10 minutes under a lid.

Cut the vegetables and the herbs and add them with feta cheese in to bowl. Mix it with cooled couscous. Taste the salad with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.