Food trip 2019

Here is overview about Food trip 2019, where we have been and what countries are still waiting for us. 😊

Apricot galette

It is almost summer andjuicy apricots are already available. Today I share with you galette recipe. Preparation is easy.

Dough ingredients:
180 g flour
1 tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt
150 g cold butter
3 tbsp of ice cold water

Filling and cover:
360 g apricots cut into halves
6 tbsp sugar
1,5 tbsp corn starch
1 egg
4 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp sugar for covering

Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Add the diced butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter.
Drizzle with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix gently with a fork until dough just comes together, do not knead the dough.
Form the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least one hour.

Let the dough rest for a few minutes at room temperature. Roll out the dough into a large circle about 0,5 cm  thick, on a baking paper. 
Slice the apricots into halves (take out sstones) and place them in a bowl. Toss with the granulated sugar and cornstarch. Put the apricots on top of the dough, leaving a border around the edges  (ca 5 cm). Fold the dough over the fruit and press gently to seal. Transfer the galette to the freezer for 15 minutes.

Whisk together the egg in a small bowl. Brush the edges with the egg wash, then sprinkle with sunflower seeds and  1 tbsp sugar. 

Bake until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes at 200 C. Let cool, then serve with vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb-elderberry cake with cream yoghurt

Elderberry cordial and rhubarb, what a magnificent combination.😊 It is definitely worth to try. 
Slightly sour cream from yogurt and whipped cream in combination with sweet sponge made from almond flour.

Ingredients

Cake sponge:
55 g butter
100 g sugar
half lemon peel
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 tbsp elderberry cordial
0,5 tsp vanilla extract
50 g flour
50 g almond flour
0,5 tsp baking powder
0,25 tsp baking soda
0,25 tsp salt
65 g cream yogurt

Roasted rhubarb:
200 g chopped rhubarb
1 tbsp elderberry cordial
half lemon peel and juice
70 g sugar

Cream:
200 ml whipping cream
1 tbsp elderberry cordial
50 g cream yogurt

Put rhubarb with elderberry cordial, lemon juice, lemon peel and sugar to baking tin. Cover tin with aluminium foil.Bake at 225 C until rhubarb is soft. Take rhubarb out of oven and let it cool completely

Whip the butter ( in room temperature) with sugar and add lemon peel. Add egg and egg white, and also elderberry cordial. Mix flour, almond flour, salt baking powder and baking soda in bowl. Add flour mix in parts to butter-egg mix and mix until you get the even batter. At last add yogurt and half of roasted rhubarb. 

Line cake tin (diameter 20 cm) with baking paper and fill with batter. Bake at 200 C for approximately 30 minutes. 
Take cake out of cake tin and let it cool completely. Cut it into two discs.

For making cream whip the cream and add yogurt, elderberry cordial, 3/4 part of roasted rhubarb and some teaspoon of rhubarb syrup (you get it with roasting of rhubarbs). Mix gently until you get even cream.

Put one cake disc to cake plate and immerse with rhubarb syrup. Add half of cream and put second cake disc to the cream layer. Immerse the second cake disc and cover with second half of cream. Decorate with roasted rhubarbs and rhubarb syrup.

Keep the cake one hour in refrigerator before serving.

Maqbous

Food trip is in Oman and this is our last stop in Africa. Next time we already in Asia.
In this recipe is used 8 different spices and garlic, onion and ginger. It will take a little more time to make this dish, but it is full of flavors.

Recipe I got here and I have also made some changes in recipes according to availability in our food stores:
https://blog.arousingappetites.com/maqbous-omani-chicken-saffron-chana-dal-spiced-rice/

Ingredients

For chicken marinade: 
8 chicken thighs
1 tsp grounded allspice
1 tsp grounded nutmeg
1 tsp grounded black pepper
1 lime juice
1 tsp salt

For rice and braising stock:
350 g Basmati rice
800 ml chicken stock
6 pcs gloves
2 pcs cinnamon sticks
2 pcs bay leafs
6 pcs green cardamom pods
1 big onion
6 garlic gloves
2 cm piece of ginger
3 sl olive oil

For topping:
40 g raisins
20 g almond slices
100 g Chana Dal or skinned and halved chickpeas - I used canned chickpeas. I skinned and halved these myself.   
a little saffron

Marinating the chicken:
Start by combining all the spices for the marinade in a bowl. 
Place your chicken thighs in the bowl and coat them evenly in the spice mix. Once they're coated, cover the bowl and let it marinate for overnight in the refrigerator.

Cooking the chicken:
Combine onion, garlic, ginger, and olive oil in a food processor, and pulse it into a smooth, non-clumpy paste.
Roast this paste in a braising pan over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add your cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, and cardamom pods into the pan and roast a little, still stirring constantly. Add in your marinated chicken thighs and sear for about a minute on each side.
Pour in  chicken stock to cover the chicken.Raise heat to bring the stock to a boil, and then cover the pot with a lid and braise on a simmering heat for 20 minutes. 
When the chicken is done, pull them out of the stock (which you'll save for the rice) and set them on a  cooling rack to air-dry for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken skins to draw out any excess moisture.

Cooking the rice:
Put the Basmati rice in a large bowl and rinse it under a cold water until the water runs clear. Next, soak the rice in water for 15 minutes and let it sit.
Drain rice and allow the rice to air-dry for 10 minutes.
Place  braising pot back on the heat  and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir in the rice, coating the grains evenly with oil.Add all chicken stock.
Bring the stock to a boil, put the lid on, and then cook for 18 minutes over the lowest possible heat setting.
After 18 minutes, turn off the heat and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, take off the lid and mix the rice gently. 

Assembling the dish:
Preheat oven to 220 C.Arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Soak the raisins in warm water for some minutes, then drain.Next, soak a pinch of saffron threads in boiling water.
Take a pan and heat it over medium-high heat then add a tablespoon of olive oil.
Fry raisins and almonds for some minutes. 
In the same pan, fry  chick peas, adding a tablespoon of the saffron-infused water, then set aside.
Tint the cooked Basmati rice with the rest of your saffron-infused water.
Finally, top the Basmati rice with chick peas, raisins, almonds, and the chicken pieces, and enjoy!

Rhubarb galette

It is spring and rhubarb season. Today I share with you galette recipe.
Preparation is easy.

Dough ingredients:
180 g flour
1 tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt
150 g cold butter
3 tbsp of ice cold water

Filling and cover:
200 g rhubarb-chopped in 1 cm pieces
6 tbsp sugar
1,5 tbsp corn starch
1 egg
4 tbsp almond slices
1 tbsp sugar for covering

Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Add the diced butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter.
Drizzle with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix gently with a fork until dough just comes together, do not knead the dough.
Form the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least one hour.

Let the dough rest for a few minutes at room temperature. Roll out the dough into a large circle about 0,5 cm  thick, on a baking paper. 
Slice the rhubarb into pieces and place them in a bowl. Toss with the granulated sugar and cornstarch. Put the rhubarb pieces on top of the dough, leaving a border around the edges  (ca 5 cm). Fold the dough over the fruit and press gently to seal. Transfer the galette to the freezer for 15 minutes.

Whisk together the egg in a small bowl. Brush the edges with the egg wash, then sprinkle with flaked almonds and  1 tbsp sugar. 

Bake until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes at 200 C. Let cool, then serve with vanilla ice cream.

Pretzels

Pretzels are our family favorites and always when I am in Germany I bring these always also to home. 😊 These are so delicious.
Here is also recipe, so you can make these also in home. 😊

Ingredients:
180 ml warm water
6 g dry yeast
0,5 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
about 250 g flour
sea salt flakes

Soda bath:
1000 ml water
60 g baking soda

Whisk the yeast into warm water. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Whisk in salt, sugar, and oil. Slowly add 250 g of flour. Mix with a  dough hook attached to stand mixer until dough is thick. Add more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. 
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for 5 minutes and shape into a ball. Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. 
Divide dough into six even parts and roll the dough balls into 50 cm ropes. Form ropes into pretzels.
Bring baking soda and  water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1 pretzel into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve pretzels with lingonberry jam.