Christmas Holidays + Ginger Carrot Soup Recipe

To be honest, it’s good to be back in Finland. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time! Especially being at my Mamma’s place was really nice, (particularly the every day brunch sessions with my family were so, so awesome!) Also, in the first two weeks the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. We felt quite sweaty when we arrived in Switzerland (no wonder, it was a temperature difference of 20°C). For the next 2 weeks the sun was shining almost every day from 9 am to 4.30 pm and the temperatures (starting at 17°C) very slowly dropped to around 0. PB and I woke up the first day and we both though it was noon, when in fact it was onl 9.30! So we both took advantage of the weather and stayed outdoors as much as possible. PB went skiing with my “little” sister twice and I just lay on the terrasse soaking up the light. So I hope our vitamin D is stocked up.

Going For a Walk – this is in front ouf our house in Switzerland

We had rather funny Christmases at both my Papi’s and Mamma’s places with one Granddad each evening. New Years’ Eve was also fun, spent with my sister’s friends (PB enjoyed being the only guy immensely!). On the 2nd of January I introduced him to a local custom, the “Harder-Potschete”, where the old year’s demons are chased away with scary masked people (the “Potsche”) and a lot of noise:

The Potsche – I used to be so scared of them when I was a kid!

Trychler – That’s where most of the noise comes from

I also got to be Queen for a day, thanks to this custom:

King cake – determines who gets to reign for 1 day

And I met quite a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a while (even before leaving Switzerland). The last week of our three week holidays we were home alone, my sister’s gone to Norway for an exchange semester, my brother went to Merano for a week, and my Mamma had to work. So PB and I just relaxed, fixed some issues with the really crappy bank (CS…), and cooked.

One night I started to feel ill and wanted to cook something warm and comforting, but not too elaborate. So I came up with a simple, but still very spicy carrot soup. Sorry for the crappy picture, it was just too delicious to make a long photo session:

Ginger Carrot soup – nothing too special, really, I just wanted to remember the recipe (It’s delicious!)

Ginger Carrot Soup (serves 3-4)

Ingredients
1 Tbs butter or oil
1 onion, diced
5cm of ginger, diced
500g carrots, diced
1tsp curry powder
1dl orange juice
1dl white or rosé wine
6dl broth
1dl cream or sour cream (optional)

Preparation
Shortly sauté (what a fancy word!) the onion, ginger and carrots in the fat. Add the curry powder and continue until it smells nice and spicy. Add the liquid ingredients, bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, until carrots are soft. Blend with a stick blender or food processor (careful, it’s hot!), add the cream if desired. Serve with bread.

Why is it good to be back? Well, our little nest has become our home now, and it’s always nice to be home.

Some More Bye Bye Food

By popular demand IRL, I’m putting up these two recipes. Again, they are very easy and fast(ish) to make. The first one is a dish that helped win over my PB’s heart:

Hummus!

This truly is easy and fast, with very good results. It’s slightly adapted from a recipe I found on the recipe database of Betty Bossi.

Ingredients for a smallish bowl
1 can chickpeas (ca. 450g), drained, 3/4 of the liquid saved
1 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Cumin powder to taste
1 clove of garlic
Salt

Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a blender, blend well. A stick blender works best.

The next one was an extension of the winning over of PB:

Babaganush / Mutabal

So, I know this as babaganush, but in the cookbook I got this recipe from it’s called mutabal. Sometimes it’s also known as aubergine / eggplant caviar. It’s not as fast as the hummus above, but equally easy.

Ingredients for a smallish bowl
1 big aubergine / eggplant (ca. 500g)
1 small clove garlic, squeezed
4 tablespoons (ca. 70g) sesame butter (or tahini)
150g natural yoghurt (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
Salt
Cumin powder to taste

Preparation
Heat oven to 230°C. Cut the aubergine / eggplant in half lengthwise, place in the oven (cut side facing up) for about 45 minutes (until peel is brown / black). Scoop the flesh with a sharp spoon into a blender. Blend well with the other ingredients. A stick blender works best.

The cookbook I got this from is “Safran & Kardamoom” by Rita Henss. It contains beautiful photos and graphics. I got it as a birthday present in 2009, and it’s been on display on my bookshelf ever since. Thanks, Heidi, for the great present!

Risotto Milanese

This is a recipe I learned from my mum. She in turn learned it from her Italian Nonna (my great-grandma).

Risotto Milanese – the way my family makes it

During my studies, towards the end of most months (because wages arrived end of month and I usually ran out of money around mid-month), I very often made this risotto. Rice, dried funghi porcini, Parmesan cheese and safron were usually available at my home because they keep very long (the cheese of course in the freezer) and I usually buy in bulk. Now, whenever I eat at a catering event and the vegetarian dish is risotto, I am a little disappointed about the “poor people cuisine”… Very snobbish, I know.

(Just recently a friend pointed out that it was extremely ironic that I cooked a dish that contained the probably most expensive spice there is (safron) whenever I ran out of money…)

Anyway, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients for 4 people
20 g dried funghi porcini
1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, pressed
400 g risotto rice (Vialone, Arborio, St. Andrea)
4 dl white wine
1 l vegetable broth
Safron to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste
Butter (optional)
Salt, pepper

Preparation
Soak the drie funghi in warm water for about 15 minutes. Heat the olive oil in a medium size pot, add onions and garlic and glaze. Add the rice and glaze that too. Add the wine and wait until it is completely avaporated. Add broth and let simmer half covered for about 18-20 minutes, until rice is al dente. Add safron and cheese (maybe butter) to taste. Season and serve while still hot.

Usually, in our family, nothing remains. However, I like to make a big batch (keep the intentionl leftovers well away from the hungry people…) and make rice burgers the next day, to take to the office for lunch. That recipe is for another post, though.