What to eat today?

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Germknödel

After a morning on the slopes, Austrians head into the mountain huts of Tyrol, Salzburg and Styria for one thing: a Germknödel the size of a fist, steamed until pillowy and split open to reveal dark plum butter. It comes drowned in melted butter, or in vanilla sauce, under a thick snow of ground poppy seeds and icing sugar, and it is eaten as a whole meal. The dough is soft and slightly sweet, and the powidl inside is tart and jammy. A common mistake is lifting the lid while they steam; the dumplings deflate and turn heavy. Chef's tip: seal each dumpling with the seam underneath and let them prove a second time on squares of baking paper, so you can move them without denting them.

50 min

Austrian Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kalimotxo

Kalimotxo contains alcohol (red wine), so the classic version is for adults only; an alcohol-free version is given below. The story goes that it was mixed in 1972 at a fiesta in Algorta, near Bilbao, when the wine bought for the stall turned out to be poor and cola was added to save it. Today it is the drink of every Basque summer fiesta, from Bilbao's Aste Nagusia to village squares, poured into big plastic cups. A common mistake is mixing warm wine and flat cola, which tastes heavy and sweet: both should be fridge-cold and the cola freshly opened. Chef's tip: pour the cola slowly down the side of the glass so it keeps its fizz.

5 min

Spanish Drinks

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Leitão à Bairrada

Along the old Lisbon–Porto road through the Bairrada, around Mealhada, restaurant after restaurant roasts suckling pigs whole in wood ovens, and people drive for hours for a Sunday lunch of it. This contains pork (suckling pig and lard). The inside is rubbed with a fierce paste of lard, garlic, black pepper and bay, while the skin roasts to a glassy, crackling sheet. It is served cold or warm with sliced oranges, crisp potato chips and a green salad. A half or quarter pig from a specialist butcher fits a home oven. Chef's tip: keep the skin completely dry and paste only the inside, as any fat or water on the skin stops it crackling.

210 min

Portuguese Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kabab barg

Kabab barg is the prized kebab of Tehran's old chelow-kababi restaurants, ordered for celebrations and served on a mound of buttery-looking saffron rice with grilled tomatoes and a raw egg yolk for those who like it. The name means 'leaf kebab': lamb loin or beef fillet is pounded into thin sheets, marinated overnight in onion juice and saffron, then threaded flat on wide sword skewers and grilled fast over hot charcoal. It is tender enough to cut with the edge of a spoon. A common mistake is leaving onion pieces in the marinade; they burn on the grill, so use only the juice. Chef's tip: score the meat lightly in a criss-cross with the back of a knife; it stops the strips curling and lets the marinade in.

40 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gondi

Gondi is the Friday-night dish of Tehran's Persian Jewish families, served at the Shabbat table before the main course or as a light lunch after. Big, soft dumplings of minced chicken, grated onion and roasted chickpea flour, scented with cardamom, are poached in a clear turmeric broth with chickpeas, and each bowl gets one or two with plenty of broth, fresh herbs and flatbread. The texture should be tender and slightly crumbly, a little like a dense matzo ball. A common mistake is using raw chickpea flour; buy roasted chickpea flour (nokhodchi flour) or dry-toast plain gram flour first, or the dumplings taste raw. Chef's tip: chill the mixture for 30 minutes before shaping so the dumplings hold their shape in the broth.

90 min

Persian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kabab torsh

Kabab torsh, the 'sour kebab', comes from the green, rainy province of Gilan on the Caspian, where roadside grills around Rasht and Fuman sell it with smoky kateh rice and fresh herbs. Cubes of beef are rubbed with a thick paste of ground walnuts, pomegranate molasses, garlic and crushed dried mint or wild herbs, left overnight, then grilled until the paste turns into a dark, sticky crust. It is tangy, nutty and quite unlike the saffron kebabs of Tehran. A common mistake is grilling over fierce flames; the walnut paste scorches before the meat is done, so use steady medium coals. Chef's tip: keep back a few spoons of the paste and brush it on in the last minute for a fresh, glossy finish.

40 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Morgh-e torsh

Morgh-e torsh is everyday Sunday cooking in Rasht and the villages of Gilan, where gardens overflow with herbs and the cooking leans sour rather than sweet. Chicken pieces are browned, then braised with a mountain of chopped coriander, parsley, mint and garlic chives, ground walnuts and sour plums, finished with verjuice or lemon until the sauce turns a deep olive green. It is eaten with kateh, the simple Caspian rice. A common mistake is adding the herbs raw to the pot; fry them first until dark and fragrant, or the sauce tastes grassy. Chef's tip: a beaten egg stirred in at the very end is how many Gilani grandmothers thicken and enrich the sauce.

80 min

Persian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Koofteh Tabrizi

Koofteh Tabrizi is the pride of Tabriz in Iranian Azerbaijan, a meatball so big that one feeds a person, made for guests and for cold winter evenings in the north-west. Lamb or beef mince is kneaded with rice, yellow split peas and lots of herbs, then wrapped around a hidden heart of hard-boiled egg, prunes, walnuts and barberries and simmered in a tomato-saffron broth. At the table the broth is ladled over bread first, then the koofteh is cut open. A common mistake is under-kneading: the mixture must be worked until sticky, or the ball splits in the pot. Chef's tip: lower the meatballs into broth that is barely trembling, not boiling, and don't touch them for the first 20 minutes while they firm up.

150 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dolmeh-ye beh

Dolmeh-ye beh is autumn food in Tabriz and across Iranian Azerbaijan, made in October and November when golden quinces pile up on market stalls. The quinces are hollowed and filled with lamb or beef mince, rice, yellow split peas and cinnamon, then baked in a syrup of sugar, vinegar and saffron until the fruit is soft enough to cut with a spoon and its flesh turns pink. Each person gets a whole quince with bread and yogurt on the side. A common mistake is cooking the shells for too long before stuffing; they should only soften slightly or they collapse in the oven. Chef's tip: rub the cut quinces with lemon at once, as they brown within minutes.

120 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Clootie dumpling

The clootie dumpling takes its name from the cloot, the cotton cloth it is boiled in, and it is the birthday and Hogmanay pudding of Scottish grannies from Fife to the Borders. It is a dense, dark, spiced fruit pudding with a sticky skin that forms when the floured cloth is dried in front of the oven. Leftover slices are fried for breakfast. Traditional recipes use beef suet; this one uses vegetable suet so it stays vegetarian. Chef's tip: dust the scalded cloth thickly with flour before filling it; that flour is what forms the famous skin.

270 min

British Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bacon and cabbage

Bacon and cabbage is the Sunday dinner and the everyday dinner of rural Ireland, cooked in farmhouses from Tipperary to Mayo long before corned beef became the emigrants' version. A joint of cured pork, usually collar or loin bacon, is simmered gently, then the cabbage is cooked in the same salty, porky water, and both are served with floury potatoes and a white parsley sauce. Chef's tip: soak the bacon joint overnight in cold water if it is very salty; ask your butcher, as some cures are milder.

135 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Full Irish breakfast

The full Irish, or simply 'the fry', is the big weekend breakfast served in B&Bs from Donegal to Kerry and in Dublin cafés before the match. It differs from the English breakfast in its back rashers, black and white pudding, and fried soda bread or potato bread to mop up. It contains pork: sausages, rashers and puddings. Chef's tip: cook in stages in one large pan and keep each item warm in a low oven, so everything reaches the plate hot together.

40 min

Irish Breakfast & Brunch

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dublin lawyer

Dublin lawyer is an old Dublin restaurant dish, said to be named because lawyers were rich and fond of drink: lobster meat is cooked in butter, flamed with Irish whiskey and finished with cream, then served back in the shell. It is a special-occasion dish for anniversaries and birthdays. This recipe contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free version replace the whiskey with 2 tablespoons of apple juice and a squeeze of lemon. Chef's tip: buy cooked lobster from a fishmonger if you are unsure about preparing a live one, and add it to the sauce only to heat through.

50 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cork spiced beef

Spiced beef is the Christmas meat of Cork city, sold in the English Market in December and served cold in thin slices on St Stephen's Day with brown bread and chutney. A piece of brisket or silverside is rubbed with salt, brown sugar, allspice, cloves and juniper and turned in the fridge for a week, then simmered slowly and pressed. The meat comes out deep pink, tender and fragrant. Chef's tip: keep it in the fridge the whole week of curing and turn it every day so the cure reaches every side.

270 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Crubeens

Crubeens are boiled pig's trotters, once sold hot from stalls at fairs and in Cork and Dublin pubs as a salty, sticky snack to go with a pint. They are pork, and very gelatinous: simmered for hours until the meat almost falls from the bone, then crisped in the oven with a mustard and breadcrumb coating, which is how many cooks finish them today. Eat them with your fingers, with brown bread and pickles. Chef's tip: ask your butcher for split, cleaned trotters, and singe off any stray hairs with a kitchen blowtorch before cooking.

220 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kerry Dingle pies

Dingle pies are small, round mutton pies made in west Kerry for the Puck Fair in Killorglin, for fishermen going to sea, and for farmers at the mart, often reheated in a bowl of the mutton broth. A firm hot-water-crust pastry holds a peppery filling of lamb or mutton, onion and carrot, so they travel well and are eaten by hand or with gravy. Chef's tip: shape the pastry while it is still warm; hot-water crust cracks and won't mould once it cools.

120 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dublin Bay prawns in garlic butter

Dublin Bay prawns are not prawns at all but langoustines, the small orange lobsters landed at Howth and Clogherhead and once sold off the boats along the north Dublin coast. Seafood bars in Howth serve them split and grilled under a sizzling garlic, lemon and parsley butter, with brown bread to mop the plate. Chef's tip: they cook in minutes, so take them out as soon as the flesh turns from translucent to white.

25 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bantry Bay mussels in cider

The sheltered waters of Bantry Bay in West Cork grow rope mussels that end up in pots in every harbour pub from Glengarriff to Kinsale. Here they are steamed in Irish dry cider with leek, garlic and thyme, then finished with a spoonful of cream, giving a sweet-sour, apple-scented broth for dipping brown bread. The cider contains alcohol, which mostly cooks off; for an alcohol-free version use cloudy apple juice with a teaspoon of cider vinegar. Chef's tip: the mussels must be alive when cooked, so check every one before they go in.

30 min