À la Dankertier

Two weeks ago, we bought an eggplant. It was on special and I though: why not make a moussaka. André wasn't excited about this prospect and it just so happened one of our YouTube channel was showing a recipe that looked just amazing using an eggplant (see here ) and grilled halloumi. We decided to try it and did not regret it (I mean, look at how good it looks!!). Serves 4. Peel and thinly slice 2 red onions . Heat a medium-big saucepan over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil before adding the onions. Fry roughly 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add one tablespoon of tomato puree and one tablespoon of harissa paste (to adjust depending on your taste for spicy food, could be good with a bit less too). Mix and fry for a minute or so. Add 4 portions*** of wheat, bulgur, oat, rice or couscous and fry a couple of minutes, until fragrant. On the channel, they are using "freekeh", which we successfully replaced by "matvete" (wheat berry), but I ...

We looooove sautés. This one is no exception. It comes from a french Canadian magazine, published several years ago, but it is still as good. Here, I doubled the quantity of sauce as we looooove the sauce and increased the cashew content. Serves 4 people. Prepare the sauce by mixing 75 ml of soya sauce (low sodium, if possible), 2 tablespoons of sugar , 2 tablespoons of water , 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and a splash of Tabasco . Add 40ml of cornstarch and mix well. In a wok or a big pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil on high heat and add 500gr of chicken breast (without bones and skin) cut in cubes (bite size) . Cook until golden and put aside. Add another tablespoon of oil and quickly fry one cup of sugar snap peas (could be also any other peas or even broccoli), one sliced big red (or any other color) bell pepper , half a cup of cashews , one clove of garlic and one thinly sliced piece of ginger the size of a thumb (skin removed). Fry for 3-4 minutes, then add back t...

In Sweden, it is recommended, nej, encouraged and assumed that people eat fish. Like 3-4 times a week. We are not big fish eaters, but we have a few recipes we really like and this is one of them. The recipe is good for 4 big fish cakes (4 portions). The original is here . Start by preparing a tartare-style sauce. Mix: 125ml of mayonnaise , one tablespoon of roughly chopped capers , one teaspoon of creamed horseradish (we put a pea of wasabi ), one teaspoon of Dijon mustard , one small very finely chopped shallot  and one teaspoon of parsley, finely chopped . Put 450g of cod or haddock (if available, you can buy frozen pieces of fish (not filé) which makes pretty cheap) and 2 bay leaves in a frying pan. Pour over 150ml of milk and 150ml of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Take off the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 mins to gently finish cooking the fish. Meanwhile, peel and chop 350g of potatoes (the kind suitable for a ma...

Every time we go to Montreal, we have bagels on the first morning, thanks to my lovely sister :) In fact, no trip in Canada would be complete without it! I found this recipe years ago, when me and my friend Jenny wanted to make bagels "just because" on a Sunday afternoon when we both lived in Sherbrooke. I found many other recipes after, but this one stuck because the bagels are so easy and fast to make, on top of the fact that they are really close to the "real deal". Authentic Montreal bagels are smaller, thinner, sweeter and denser than others as well as heavily covered with seeds. The original recipe is for 12 bagels, but if you want "normal size bagel", you can easily make 16, as the quantity of dough is really a lot.  Stir together 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast and 415mL of lukewarm water . Let stand for a couple of minutes. Whisk in 5 tablespoons (60g) of sugar , one beaten egg , 45mL of oil , 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of ...

This is a simple and fast version of the classic (yeast) German plum cake. We have made it already quite a few times. It has been great help to get through all the plums we harvested at a friend's house! The original is here . Butter a 26cm (10 in) round spring form and preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Cream 50g of soft butter with 50g of sugar . Add one egg and beat. In another bowl, mix 150g of flour and 5g (1+1/4 teaspoon) of baking powder . Mix with the wet ingredients, add 125ml of buttermilk *** and mix well until smooth. Spread into the cake form. Half and de-stone 500-600g of washed plums and spread over the dough in the form. They should be lightly tucking vertically so they are sticking out. Plums can be fresh or frozen/unfrozen (water removed). Use enough to cover the surface. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. During that time, prepare the crumble by mixing 50g of flour , 35g of grounded almonds , 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 35g of sugar . Add 50g of cold...

This recipe is very close to my heart: I cooked it the first time many years ago and was amazed how simple and fast it is done. Once made, you won't forget it due to its simplicity. It came always in handy, no matter if I wanted to join a quick pot-luck with friends in Canada or serve a nice dinner for Sophie having some easy transportable left-overs for next day's lunch. As many recipes, I also adopted this one from Jamie Oliver, but I cut all the crap ;) All you need is some squash ( 1 medium size butternut goes well and is not too big), which needs to cook cut-open in the oven or microwave until it is soft (microwave is fastest, maybe 20-30min ). While it cooks, you can prepare 1 risotto base , preferably a bit on the dry site (before al dente). When the squash is soft enough, remove the hard skin and mix the pulp with the risotto. Re-heat everything, add salt, pepper, chili and cinnamon to taste and wait that the rice absorbs the remaining liquid - then add more water...

Any good risotto, if it's spinach, pumpkin or mushroom, can be made from the same base. This can be made even in advance and kept in the fridge or freezer until you want to cook up the final risotto for eating. Once you read the base recipe, you will most likely not forget it and you are able to whip up a quick risotto anytime anywhere. Prepare 1l of bouillon (vegetable or chicken) - I usually just fire up the kettle and use the boiling water to desolve some instant bouillon. In the meanwhile, fry up 1 big onion and some celery (leek or spring onions are a great alternative too) in a bit of oil or butter . When the onion and celery starts to get color, add 600g of risotto rice and fry everything together for a minute . Then, add a cup of  white wine and stir until the wine is absorbed and the alcohol boiled off. Similarly, continue to add the bouillon a ladle at a time and let the rice absorb it completely, before adding the next one. The risotto will start to get a  nic...