Author Archives: The Cooking spoon

The best Garlicky Herbs and Cheese Fries

We had these garlicky herbs and cheese fries for the first in New York last year and loved them so much that I knew I had to make them at home.
It’s no rocket science really, just oven fries, with good seasoning and good melting cheese on top, but so good!

For the best crispy home made fries you need to parboil the potato chips first, I know it seems like a lot of trouble but it is totally worth it.

Serves: 4 as a side

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut
2 tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/2 tsp. rosemary, dried
1/4 cup Parmesan grated
1/4 cup strong cheese like cheddar or mature gouda
1/3 cup mozzarella grated.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Peel and cut your potatoes into fries, and rinse.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add a good amount of salt.
Once its boiling, add the potato chips, bring to a boil and cook for two minutes.
Drain well, and place potato chips on a tea towel to dry completely.
Meanwhile pre heat oven to 210 C,
Get a large baking tray out and place the potato chips on it, drizzle with the olive oil and toss to cover each fry. Season with salt.
Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, turn the fries over so the brown evenly and bake for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile mix the grated cheeses with the herbs. Quickly remove the tray from the oven, push the fries a bit to the middle of the tray with a wooden spoon and sprinkle with the herbs and cheese mix. Bake for 20 more minutes until melted and golden.
Eat straight away, these are great with some Aïoli. Enjoy!

If you make this recipe please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you. And please don’t forget to tag me on Instagram so I can see your creations!

Oven baked Falafel with Dates and Pine nuts

4 Replies

Weekends call for easy food, and since it’s almost Friday aka movie night, I like to keep it simple, snack-like food that you can eat with your hands like Soft Tacos, Burgers or Pizza. Either way this recipe ticks all the boxes. You can make the Falafel in the morning and assemble the Pita’s in the evening when you’re ready to stream that movie.
These Falafels are baked in the oven, so virtually fat free, and super simple, also I have added some chopped dates for a little sweetness and toasted pine nuts for extra flavour.

INGREDIENTS FALAFEL;
• 1 small red onion, peeled and chopped fine
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
• 6 dates, stone removed and chopped
• 3 tbsp. Buckwheat flour or oat flour
• 3 tbsp. Almond flour
• 2 tbsp. nutritional Yeast (optional)
• 1 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
• small handful fresh Coriander
• 1 tsp. Himalayan sea Salt
• 3 tbsp. Coconut oil
• 1 egg

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas

Pitas for serving, toppings like tomato slices, cooked beet slices, lettuce etc…

Sauce;
• 1/4 cup Aïoli
• 3/4 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/2 garlic, peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp. pomegranate Arils
• 1 tsp. olive oil

METHOD;
Toast pine nuts briefly for 3 minutes in a dry pan, set aside.
In a food processor add all the ingredients for the Falafel, except the chickpeas and pine nuts.
Pulse a few times and now add the chickpeas. Again pulse a few time, scrap down with a spatula, and pulse a gain. It should be mushy but with bite and a few chunks left for texture. Now mix in the pine nuts with your spatula. Transfer to a bowl.
Meanwhile heat the oven to 220° C / 428° F
Make little ping-pong ball sized balls with slightly wet hands.
Layer them out over a baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper.
Spray generously with olive oil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning them over very carefully half way.
Make the sauce by stirring the ingredients together and sprinkle the pomegranate arils over the yogurt sauce, pour over a teaspoon of good olive oil.
Toast pita bread, split open and spread some dipping sauce over it. Stuff with lettuce and some veggeis and eat straight away.

Enjoy!

Whole Spelt Pizza with Chorizo, caramelized Onions and Basil

10 Replies

Homemade Pizza is one of my favorite foods to cook at home , especially on my Pizza stone. If you bake a lot of Pizza’s at home it is worth buying a Pizza stone and a Pizza peel, it makes life so much easier. An other great method, which is what I used to do before I had all the Pizza baking equipement was, turning the baking tray in your oven upside down, it works great too, I do recommend placing the Pizza on a piece of baking parchment before popping it into the oven with this method so it doesn’t stick. When using a Pizza stone I find that the best non-stick method is to use semolina or polenta for underneath the Pizza when placing on the stone.

The spelt Pizza dough is really delicious and it has this nutty flavour that we love. The combination of the spicy Chorizo with the sweetness of the caramelized onions is pure heaven.

Makes : 3 large Pizzas or 4 smaller ones.

Ingredients:

400 gr / 2.5 cups whole grain spelt
100 gr / 3/4 cups white spelt
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
350 -375 ml / 1.5 – 1 3/4 cups warm water

1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
Salt and pepper

2 cups shredded Mozzarella

1 – 1 1/2 cup Marinara sauce
30-40 slices chorizo approx* SEE NOTE
Fresh basil

Instructions

If you are using a pizza stone, place it in the oven an hour before baking to heat up.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine flour, yeast and salt.
Turn on the mixer to slow and add warm water and olive oil. Add a little more water if it seems too dry or add a little more flour if it seems to wet.
Knead for 5 minutes.
Place in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film.
Let rise until double in bulk, punch down and shape into ball again, place back in oiled bowl and cover.
Now place dough in fridge until ready to use.

To make the caramelized onions;
Heat a frying pan and add the olive oil, add the sliced onions and cook for 5 minutes, add the honey and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the dough from refrigerator at least one hour before using.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface, I prefer to use semolina since this doesn’t stick to the baking stone.
Spread the Pizza base with marinara sauce, cover with a thin layer of the Mozzarella cheese then caramelized onions, and then add some more cheese and divide the chorizo over the pizza. Lightly dust your pizza peel with semolina , gently lift the side of the Pizza and slide it under in one secure movement, transfer to oven. Alternatively, roll out on parchment paper and transfer to oven tray.
Bake at 230 for 10 to 12 minutes, turning the pizza half way. We like our Pizzas dark and crunchy but that is up to you.

*I always buy a whole Chorizo sausage and slice it myself, but do what works for you and depending on the size, you can use either more or less, these slices were small so we used 9 to ten slices on each Pizza.

Enjoy!

Steak au Poivre, Steak in a creamy green peppercorn sauce

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Steak au Poivre or, Steak in a creamy green Peppercorn sauce is a classic recipe that is easy to make at home and everyone loves. My version however is alcohol free, making it suitable for all eaters.
You really don’t have to go to a fancy restaurant to eat Steak au Poivre.
The classic version uses cognac for the sauce but I’ve made this non alcoholic version and so far no one has even noticed. The secret ingredient is the Worcestershire sauce, it’s a great addition of flavor if you don’t want to use alcohol or simply don’t have a bottle of cognac or brandy sitting around in the house.
Cooking Steak is a personal thing and most chefs have their own tricks, I like to sear the heck out of mine to get the most caramelized meat flavor and I add the butter half way thru cooking so it doesn’t burn, but we do want that buttery flavor. If you have a cast iron skillet, use it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 x 250 gr/8.8 oz Steaks, about 3cm/1.2 ” thick (I used Rib-eye)
• 1 tbsp. Black peppercorns, crushed or freshly ground coarse black pepper
• Salt
• 3 tbsp. Butter, divided into three
• a little neutral flavored olive oil for rubbing the meat
• 4 tbsp green peppercorns in brine
• 240 ml/1 cup heavy cream
• 60 ml/1/4 cup beef stock
• 7.5 ml/1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• a few dashes of Frank’s hot sauce or Tabasco

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take the Steaks out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking, so they can get to room temperature.
Crush the black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until medium fine.
Pat the steaks dry and rub them all over with a little oil.
Season the steaks on both sides with the pepper and salt just before cooking.
Heat a (cast iron) skillet to piping hot.
Place the Steaks in the pan and don’t move them, after one minute turn them over and sear for one more minute.
Now sear the sides quickly, add one tablespoon of the butter, turn the heat to medium. Add another tablespoon of butter.
After two to three more minutes add the remaining butter, depending on how you want your steak done, add the green peppercorns. Remove the steaks to a (warm)* plate and cover with foil to rest while you finish the sauce.
Add the beef stock to the pan, reduce by half and add the cream, turning heat to low.
Add the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more ground pepper if you like. Place the steaks on a serving platter or individual plates and cover with some of the sauce.
I always serve the steaks with French fries for mopping up the green peppercorn sauce, it’s so delicious.
*The steaks in the photographs were cooked 3 minutes each side.
** Since I always serve steaks with oven fries, I put the plates on top of the oven to warm up a bit. Serve straight away with some vegetables or roasted Broccoli like in the pictures

Enjoy!