Mango Gazpacho

Everybody knows Gazpacho, the traditional Spanish soup that is usually absolutely delicious. Sometimes one can find as well Green Gazpachos or Almond Gazpachos, but have you ever heard of a Mango Gazpacho?

OK, now you have and let me tell you, it is absolutely delicious. It is the latest addition to our Restaurant 9 A la carte menu. I am looking at the menu every month and dishes which are not performing.....better said are not selling that well, will come off the menu and something new comes. his soup is an absolute runner, it is just flies out like hot cakes. It is made like a Gazpacho, but the tomatoes are replaced by mangoes.....yes that is all, it is not a huge thing to do this soup, you can basically take your normal gazpacho recipe and just replace peppers and tomatoes with the mangoes, but just to make sure, here is the recipe

I like to serve some mangoes, almonds, croutons and cut spring onions on the side, so everybody can add as much as they like. It gives something to the dish that everybody enjoys, it is not just a plain soup, but it is something one can talk about and be individual on how much extra goods one like to have in the soup

Recipe
1 Kg (2.2 lb) Mango, ripe
2 ea Tomatoes, ripe
3 ea Bell Peppers, yellow
1 ea Cucumbers
100 g (3 oz) Bread, white (toast)
150 ml (5 oz) Olive oil
1 Tblsp Sherry Vinegar
Salt, Pepper

Method
Peel Mangoes and cut meat off the pip
Clean peppers from their seeds, cut tomatoes in quarters
Cut cucumber in pieces
Make sure there is no crust on the white bread

Add all ingredients except olive oil in a blender and blend till fine
Then add the olive oil while blending some more
Season to taste

Organic Rocket

Today I like to share a special recipe with you. It is based on our homegrown rocket, something that our guests are talking about all the times. We grow very successfully rocket since many years, it is just plain big rocket, not the fancy baby one but the flavor is just incredible, it is spicy and slightly bitter, but if combines with a great olive oil and balsamic vinegar it is a delicacy.

The other recipe is a cold soup, just simply with blended rocket, without cooking it. As soon as you cook the rocket it will lose a lot of its vitamins and the spiciness of the fresh rocket. To mellow the flavor a bit I am serving the soup with a sorbet, it will just help with the overall look and of course taste

The secret to get it a little thick is one of my fancy powders, when blended it acts like a gelatin, but does not have to be heated, it just thickens the soup gently. One only needs a little bit of it. Of course one can take normal gelatin as well, just soak it in cold water and then press it out gently. Take a little bit of the soup and melt the gelatin over low fire. Then mix it with the rest of the soup. Just before serving stir it up again as otherwise the sou will be more like a soft pudding.

The I make a sorbet with it, this time it is a green apple sorbet, just to give it a different flavor, otherwise the soup will be a bit boring, the apple will give a pleasant sweetness to it

Last but not least, some almonds and olive oil, this just rounds the soup up and as all the rest of the ingredients is extremely healthy 

The recipe is for 4 friends

Recipe
500 g (1 lb) Rocket
500 ml (0.5 pint) Vegetable stock
4 leaves Gelatin
4 scoops Apple sorbet
20 ml Olive oil
36 Each Almonds, peeled

Method
Wash the rocket well, then blend together with the vegetable stock. Use a high speed or thermo blender to get the best result.
Season to taste
Soak and then melt the gelatin, add to the soup and mix well
Just when serving garnish with the apple sorbet and the almonds

Chocolate Soup

Still on the desserts, this time with a chocolate soup, but with a little difference. I am sure you have seen the special chocolate slabs with sea salt in the delicatessen areas of the shops? It is something similar but we will go one step further, we will combine chocolate, sea salt and olive oil into an amazing dessert.

The soup is very easy to do, it is basically cream with a top quality chocolate, I like to use one of the top Valrhona dark chocolates like the Guanaja which has a great flavor and is about 70% cocoa, so dark and intense.

I made a photo from the top, so you can see the salt flakes and the swirl of olive oil. The streusel are normal streusel one uses for cake toppings, just baked without a cake..... It gives great texture to the dish and actually cuts the richness a bit

Recipe
200 G (7 oz) Chocolate
1 L (1 qrt) Fresh cream
 Sea salt flakes
 Olive oil

Streusel
100 g (3.5 oz) Butter
100 g (3.5 oz) Sugar
150 g (5.5 oz) Flour

Method
Heat the cream until 80C and add the chocolate
Cool down completely

Mix the butter, sugar and flour together, make sure you got fairly big crumbs
Refrigerate for a couple of hours
Bake in the oven at 180C till golden brown, which takes only a couple of minutes
Cool down completely before using

Lentil Soup with Rabbit Sausage

Today we do another lovely soup, really perfect for winter, a lentil soup. Lentils are so versatile, they can really be used in so many dishes and apart from tasting really good, they are extremely healthy, just ask any vegetarian or Vegan what they think about lentils.

To just make the soup a little different I made some rabbit sausages, cooked a bit Puy Lentils and then a little bit Chinese Cabbage. 

The Puy Lentils are one of the best Lentils available on the market, they are rich and flavorful and very dark in color. They get their name from the French city of Puy, where they were originally grown and are still a driving industry. The name is protected and the lentils are sold under the AOC label, meaning Appelation d'origine controlee, a fancy French term saying that they are under controlled production from a certain, clearly demarcated area. The special flavor of the lentils is because they are grown in the volcanic soil of the Auvergne region. So if you see them in a shop, get them and try them out

The rabbit sausage is not a real sausage, I just took the back of a rabbit, deboned it carefully so I have the fillet and the skin nicely together. Then I took a bit leg meat and made a farce, or filling with a little cream, salt, pepper and liver. I added a bit sundried tomatoes to give it a nice color. I added a bit farce next to the fillet and simply rolled it so that the skin is all around. Then I tied the sausage and roasted it in a pan and finished it off in the oven.

Sounds labor intensive? Yes it is and you really don't have to do it, just simply make the soup, and then make the sun dried tomatoes, lentils and Chinese cabbage as a garnish.

So here is the recipe for the soup, if you want to have an exact recipe for the rabbit sausage, let me know and I will happily part with it

Recipe
250 g (9 oz) Puy Lentils
150 g (5 oz) Onions
50 g (2 oz) Garlic
25 ml (1 oz) Olive oil
1.2 l (1.2 quart) Chicken or Vegetable stock
250 ml (9 oz) Cream
Salt, Pepper

50 g (2 oz) Puy Lentils
50 g (2 oz) Onions
50 g (2 oz) Carrots
25 ml (1 oz) Balsamic Vinegar
25 ml (1 oz) Olive oil

1 head Chinese Cabbage
25 ml (1 oz) Olive oil
Salt, Pepper

Method
Cut the onions and garlic in fine dices, then saute together with the lentils in the olive oil, without color
Add either chicken or vegetable stock and simmer till the lentils are very soft
Blend the soup quickly, but don't strain it, you want a bit texture in the soup
Add the soup back in the pot and add the cream

This soup is very versatile, if you are vegan then you just leave the cream away

Season to taste, if the soup is a little too thick, just add some more stock

Cut the onions and carrots in brunoise, blanch
Saute the lentils
Add stock and balsamic vinegar
Simmer till tender
Mix with the blanched vegetables, you should have no stock left

Cut the Chinese Cabbage and just saute quick in  bi olive oil
Season to taste

Chanterelle Cappuccino

It is getting colder in the northern Hemisphere, so it is a good time to do some soups again. I already did quite a few of them, but being a "soupoholic" I can never have enough recipes

This time I am making a Chanterelle Cappuccino with some rabbit fillet and a little salad. This is mainly because the under plates are nice and big and had space for some extra garnish, and it goes really well with the soup.

Chanterelles are wild mushrooms. They are yellow in color and absolutely amazing in taste. They are usually harvested wild in the forests in autumn and go great with game, as a soup or just fried with garlic, onions, butter and herbs and then served on toast

The soup is really easy to make, the mushrooms get quickly washed as they are usually still full of soil and if they are not washed properly you will have all the sand between your teeth and believe me, this is not a nice experience. At the end either top it with a milk foam or a bit soft whipped cream that is seasoned with salt and pepper and if you wish flavored with a little truffle oil. 

Of course this soup can be made as well with other mushrooms, Cepes go really well or just plain button mushrooms. I like as well the traditional wild mushroom mix with everything you can find on the market

So here is the recipe

Recipe
300 g (11 oz) Chanterelle Mushrooms
100 g (3 oz) Onions
20 g (0.75 oz) Garlic
50 g (2 oz) Butter
80 ml (3 oz) White whine
500 ml (half pint) Chicken stock
100 ml (3 oz) Cream
Salt, Pepper

4 ea Rabbit fillets
Sesame Seed
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Herbs, assorted
Lettuce leaves
Balsamic reduction

Method
Clean the Chanterelles well in cold water, rinse well and pat dry
Peel and chop the onions and garlic
Saute onions and garlic in butter without color
Add the Chanterelles, saute a little longer
Add whitewine
Bring to the boil, then add chicken stock
Simmer for 20 minutes
Blend and strain
Put back in a pot, add cream and bring to the boil, season to taste

Season the rabbit fillets and fry them in olive oil till nearly done
Roll the fillets in the sesame seeds

This is enough for 6 generous portions

Capsicum Soup

This time I like to share an old recipe of mine, something we did when I was still Executive Chef on "The World" There in the fine dining restaurant we had every week a different menu, just for 3 to four days in the evening. It was a lot of fun creating these menus, all the time with local products, freshly bought on the market.

Over time you will get a lot more of these recipes, it is because I found my old photos from the nearly 2 and a half years on this wonderful ship and I like to share with you a bit about the travels, the exotic destinations we went and of course about the food

This soup we made because I found these most amazing little mini Capsicums, or mini Red Peppers on the market. There were so wonderfully sweet and tasty. We simply roasted them with a little salt, pepper and olive oil in the oven, then opened them in the bottom carefully to get the pips out, then we peeled them and used them as a garnish for the soup, together with a roasted Prawn Tail and some grilled Zucchini.

To prepare the soup is really, really easy. I don't even roast them in the oven, I simply take out the pips, cut the green stalk away and then cook them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper till very soft. Then the whole thing gets blended and strained to make sure there is no skin. Like this you will preserve the beautiful red color of the Capsicum

Recipe
1 kg (2 lbs) Capsicum, red
250 g (10 oz) Onions
50 ml (2 oz) Olive oil
10 g (0.3 oz) Salt
Pepper
100 g (3.3 oz) Butter

10 each Mini Red Capsicum (if you can find them on a farmers market)
50 ml (2 oz) Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

250 g (9 oz) Baby Zucchini or Baby Marrows
30 ml (1 oz) Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

10 each Prawn Tails, peeled
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Method
Clean and cut the Red Capsicum
Cut the onions in small dices
Saute both in a little Olive Oil, without color
Add water that it is just covered
Season with Pepper and Salt
Simmer gently for 30 to 45 minutes
Blend and strain
Season to taste
Just before serving add ice cold Butter and mix the soup up

Mix the Baby Capsicum with Olive Oil and Seasoning
Roast in the oven till soft
Carefully peel and de-pip them

Heat the olive oil, saute the Prawn Tails, season to taste

Cut the Baby Zucchini in fine slices with a truffle cutter or similar, they should look a bit like noodles
Heat the Olive Oils and briefly fry the Zucchini in the oil
Season to taste

For the plating, garnish everything in the soup plate, then serve the soup separate

This should be enough for 10 Friends

Ghana Food: Tilapia light soup

It is somehow embarrassing that I am over one year here in Ghana and I have not yet given one local recipe, not even a hint. This has simply to change and I want to start today with a lovely recipe for Tilapia.

Tilapia is widely eaten here in Ghana, there are Tilapia farms, but most of it is caught wild, and one an taste the difference, it is just nicer, fresher, firmer.

 

The fish is then often marinated and grilled, but as well used in stews or soups. It is dried as well and then used as a condiment in certain stews which gives it this typical local flavor

Just something general about the food here in Ghana, it is spicy, very spicy for most of us, but it is tasty at the same time. The flavors are very different from what I have tasted so far, even in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Here smoked fish is often used in cooking, or dried or both together, so there is often a fishy and smokey flavor to it. Now the funny part is that when we have guests from Nigeria, they think that he food here is not spicy enough, so for the Nigerian guests we need to add extra flavor.....that is when I do not taste the food anymore as I simply can't handle that much spice.

 

We are selling a lot of Tilapia here, about 130 kg per week (290 lb) so we have to buy large. Rose our Tilapia supplier brings them fresh from lake Volta, they are absolutely amazing and really fresh. She takes a taxi for the 2 hour ride (her sons taxi) and brings the fish in big cooler boxes with ice. Usually we close receiving at 3 PM for our suppliers, but because she gets the fish fresh and brings it all the way here, she is welcome at any time and yes sometimes it is around 10 PM, a very long day for her, as she got the fish that morning fresh from the fishermen. Usually I am the one receiving the fish from the elderly lady, of course always a bit complaining about the size of the fish....Ahhhh, too small Rose, I want them big!!!!.......Noooooo, Chef, this is biiiig, very biiiiiig and smell, so fresh, still alive!!!!!!  There are no complaints about her fish, it is big and fresh, but we like to tease a bit. There is no way that I would buy Tilapia from anyone else.

Now usually the fish is eaten here with either Banku or Kenkey, even so rice is eaten widely, every food has its partner

Recipe
2 kg (4 lb) Tilapia
150 g (5 oz) Fresh tomatoes
130 g (4 oz) Tomato puree
60 g (2 oz) Pepper
80 g (3 oz) Onions
1 cloveGarlic
Salt
60 g (2 oz) Ginger

Method
Wash,and clean tilapia.
Cut the fish in thick slices
Sesaon and keep for 5 mins
Combine water with all ingredients except fish
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes
Add the fish Simmer till Tilapia is cooked
Season to taste Pepper (chili) is also called Kpakpashitor and is very hot

Minestrone

I think a minestrone is the perfect winter soup, it is actually a full meal, with a slice or two of organic farmers bread, it is like being in heaven.

There are many ways of doing a minestrone, when I do it for myself there is always a little bacon in it and I use a very light chicken stock to fill up the soup, but of course one can leave all meats away to make it a truly vegetarian soup, even good for a delicious vegan meal.

The making of the soup is really very easy, just cut all the vegetables together, saute in a little olive oil, add tomato paste, then puree and then some water, season, simmer, add spaghetti and potatoes towards the end of the cooking process as otherwise they would be overcooked and too soft, then at the end serve the soup with Parmesan and pesto....everybody will love it

Recipe
50 G Olive Oil
10 G Bacon Cubes
100 G Onion
150 G Leeks
100 G Carrots
100 G Celery
200 G Cabbage
200 G Potatoes
40 G Tomato Paste
100 G Tomato Concassé
50 G Rice
50 G Spaghetti
50 G Borlotti Beans

PESTATA
100 G Butter
10 G Garlic
1 Bunch Basil
50 G Parmesan

Method
Cut all the vegetables in small dices
Heat up olive oil and roast the bacon cubes in it
Add all the vegetables
Shallow-fry for a couple of minutes
Add tomato paste
Add about 3 l water (chicken stock) and boil for
15 min Add rice, cooked beans and broken spaghetti
Cook for another 15-20 min

Season and add pestata just before serving

Strawberry and Champagne Soup

Good, we have covered the normal strawberries and I hope you enjoyed the combination of vanilla sauce, cream and strawberries. So now we can start with some different recipes. The strawberry and Champagne soup is an amazing dessert becasue I serve the soup with a Rhubarb Crumble. It gives extra texture and the rhubarbe goes perfectly well with the strawberries

The recipe looks a little long, but if you want to leave the rhubarb crumble away, you can just take some top quality vanilla ice cream with it.....or what I did last time have the soup, then the crumble and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the crumble....that is really decadent but delicious

So here is the recipe

Soup
1 Kg Strawberries frozen or fresh
125 G Sugar
100 Ml White wine
0.5 Ea Strawberries, fresh
0.25 Ea Blueberries

Method
Boil frozen Strawberries up with sugar
Blend and cool as quick as possible
Add white wine to season

Rhubarb Crumble
500 G Rhubarb, frozen
100 G Sugar

Boil rhubarbe up together with sugar, then cool quickly

Sugar dough
125 G Butter
1 G Vanilla Essence
250 G Flour
125 G Sugar
1 Ea Eggs

Mix everything together.
Rest in the fridge for 2 hours.
Roll dough out, pre bake a bit

Almond mix
200 G Marzipan
100 G Butter
2 Ea Eggs
10 G Flour
1 Ea Lemon zestes

Mix all the ingredients well

Baste the almond mix on the sugar dough
Top with rhubarb
Top the crumbles on it
Bake in the oven till golden brown

Strawberries

It is Strawberry time, not with us but in Europe. So I decided to have a strawberry promotion, something that reminds us here of Europe. So of course that means that we will hav a whole lot of strawberry recipes.

I love strawberries, I love them in any form, pure straight from the fiels, or marinated with balsamic, as ice cream or as a soup, it really doesn't matter, I always loved strawberries and I am so glad that I don't have an allergy to them, that would be really terrible for me.

So the first blog in this mini series about strawberries is the berries just simply served plain with a bit whipped cream and vanilla sauce. It is so simple but always effective. of course there is a bit sugar as well because there is nothing nicer than dipping the strawberry in sugar and then in the lightly whipped cream and then eat them.....I am already getting hungry again

So what do you need? Strawberries, whipped cream and vanilla sauce. So I give you here my favorite recipe for Vanilla sauce, I have made it so many times int he past 20 years that I can do it nearly blind folded.

Vanilla sauce

500 ml Milk

500 ml Cream

8 Egg yolks

2 whole eggs

150 g Sugar

1 Vanilla bean

Bring the milk and cream to simmer, add sraped vanilla bean and let it marinate for 10 minutes.

Take the vanilla bean out, squeeze all the flavor into the milk.

Whisk the eggs with the sugar till creamy

Add carefully the hot milk

Cook over a low fire till the vanilla sauce starts to thicken

make sure it does not get too hot otherwise it wil be curdling

Cool down

White Asparagus Soup

We seldom cook white asparagus nowadays which I feel is a pity because it is so delicious, far more subtle than the green asparagus. I think that many of us are a bit afraid because it is something we haven't done before, so one opts for the easy solution, the green asparagus

Believe me, it is as easy to make white asparagus like it is to cook green asparagus. The first step is the peeling. The asparagus has to be flat on the table and has to be peeled carefully in order not to break. Good, fresh white asparagus is hard and crisp to the touch, but still very fragile

The cooking is fast, 8 minutes tops and the asparagus is cooked, so don't walk away and let it boil for too long.

Now the secret..... I mostly make the soup just out of the stock. White asparagus is costly and you don't want to waste anything, so usually I cook the asparagus and then serve it as a starter, either with a bit melted butter, with Hollandaise sauce or Polish style with cooked and chopped eggs sprinkled on top, all delicious ways of eating white asparagus. Then I just use the stock and make a soup, using any bit of asparagus that has not been eaten as a garnish, so I have a light meal for dinner with a slice of farmers bread......I am getting hungry just writing this blog

Asparagus is extremely healthy, it cleanse the body. You can feel it basically immediately when you go to the toilet, asparagus makes your pee smell funny, so don't be surprised, this is the good of the asparagus cleaning your urinary system.

Recipe
500 G (17.5 oz) White asparagus
100 G (3 oz) butter
100 Ml (3floz) white wine
salt pepper
1000 Ml (1 quart) cream
1000 Ml (1 quart) Water
20 G (0.8 oz) Corn Starch

Method
Peel the white asparagus carefully and cut the end off
Bring water, white wine, butter, salt and pepper to the boil
Add the asparagus and simmer till al dente
Take the asparagus out
Now simmer the peelings for about 10 minutes
Strain the soup
Add the cream, boil up and thicken with corn starch
Season to taste
Cut the asparagus in pieces and use as garnish

I have used some green asparagus just for the looks!!!!

Lobster Bisque

We have just started our Mad about Lobster Week here at the Moevenpick Hotel in Accra and I hope you don't mind me sharing some of our favorite recipes. I am now since one week here and have settled quite well. Of course it is a huge difference from working on a ship to coming here, but so far I truly enjoy the challenge.

We are having just eight nice dishes on the menu, one of them you can find a photo on my Face Book page. I have to say it is difficult for me to choose a favorite, so I start with the Lobster Bisque, an all time classic and favorite. It is actually not difficult to make at all, but one has of course to find the lobster shells first, but here si the recipe

Recipe

1 kg Lobster Shells

2 l Vegetable stock

250 g Onions

150 g Carrots

150 g Leeks

150 ml Whitewine

50 g Tomato paste

1 ea Bayleaf

2 ea Cloves

5 ea Peppercorns black

1 l Cream

30 g Tomato Paste

Salt, Pepper

10 small lobster tails

1 big dash of nice Cognac

Method

Cut the vegetables in cubes

Roast the shells in a bit oil, add the vegetables and roast for another 5 minutes. Make sure nothing burns but it can have a bit color

Add Tomato paste and roast for one more minute, than add vegetable stock and spices.

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes, strain

Reduce a little, add the cream and season to taste

Add the second bit of tomato paste to color the soup a bit more

You should have about 2 litres of Bisque, then the taste and concentration will be perfect

Take one small lobster tail per person, or half a one depending on budget, fry it slightly in a bit olive oil

Just before serving add the Cognac to the bisque, like this you get the full flavor, maybe top with a little whipped cream and serve immediately

Butternut Soup with Cinnamon

Let's say, it is winter....which in many parts of the world it is, and a very cold one on top of it ( I am in mid Summer in New Zealand at the moment and the temperatures are very nice. So now in this cold winter, I like to make a heart warming soup and Butternut or Butternut Squash is a perfect vegetable to make a lovely winter soup.

Of course one can take just Pumpkin, but I prefer the taste of the Butternut, not that it really matters as a soup, but when using it as a vegetable I think Butternut is just a bit finer, more subtle. It is easier to peel as well, the Pumpkin has a very thick skin, the Butternut a bit less, so it does go easier with the peeling

But now comes the first little twist of all the readers who are in hot areas like me, this soup is delicious when served cold, so it is not really just a winter soup. When I serve the Butternut Soup cold, I like to add a little bit of freshly pressed orange juice and zests, just to give it a bit more of a tang.

Then I like to combine a bit sweetness to it, I always caramelize the Butternut (or Pumpkin) with a little sugar, then add some orange and cinnamon, it really gives a warm feeling when the soup is finished.

Recipe
1 Each Butternut
1 Each Onion
50 G Butter
 40 G Sugar
5 G Salt
2 G Pepper
5 G Cinnamon
500 Ml Water

350 Ml Cream

Method

Peel and de-pip the butternut and cut in 1 cm cubes Peel the onion and cut in julienne Saute the butternut and onions with butter and sugar in a pot without color. Add salt, pepper and cinnamon and sautée futher until the water gets drawn out of the butternut. Simmer for 10 min Add the cream and simmer for further 15 min Blend, strain and season to taste. Makes about 1 Liter of soup

Burns Dinner

What on earth is a Cock-a-leeky soup? Now, for that you need to be Scottish because today is Burns day. Burns was a Scottish poet and in his honor there is a very special dinner served on January 25. I am not going more into the man himself, because I am no great fan of poetry and have to admit, I never read one of his poems.

I can tell you more about the dinner, that is no problem, being a chef, that is the interesting part for me. It is actually a very simple 3 course menu, so we just incorporated it in our evening menu especially for the main course, it is a Haggis......now that is really not every-bodies favorite. It is a filled sheep stomach and the filling has all the intestines of the sheep.....like I said, not everybody would go for it. So we actually changed the main course a bit and de-boned a leg of lamb and filled it with a liver stuffing, much nicer and everybody who chose it enjoyed it very much.

Dessert is then a traditional Sherry Trifle, something everybody likes very much.

But now to the soup, as I have the recipe for it, it is really a lovely soup, not too refined, chunky pieces of chicken and cut leeks, these are the main ingredients. So here we go

1 ea Chicken whole

2 ea Leeks

3 ea Onions

3 ea Tomatoes

1 clove Garlic

2 ea Bay leaves

1 ea Cloves

Salt

Peppercorns

50 g Butter

Make a chicken stock with the whole chicken, the leek off cuts, onions, tomatoes, garlic and spices. Simmer for about 2 hours very slow.

Take the chicken out and strain the stock. Pull the meat off the chicken, that will be going back into the soup at the end.

Cut the leeks in fine slices, wash well as often there is still plenty of sand between the leaves

Fry the leeks in a little butter, without color, then add the chicken stock. Simmer till the leeks is tender, season to taste and add the pulled chicken just before serving

Vietnam, Pho and Market in Da Nang

I am doing one of my favorite things again, going on the market and buying local products. The time of the year is not great to buy fish in Vietnam as it is towards the en of Monsoon and all the rivers are having high water, meaning that they are brown and muddy, so fishing is not so good and the variety of fish is not great.

But we went anyway, driving the 20 minutes from the port into Dan Nang. The Market is not huge, but there is a very nice variety of foods, vegetables, meats and fish. I have to admit, the meat did not look very inviting, nothing is chilled and it was hot and humid on the market, so I stayed away from that.

The fish was really fresh and we found some lovely varieties, ended up buying som Squid and Spanish Mackerel which we put on for the guest on our Seafood BBQ, great hit as they love local ingredients.

Of course I got a whole lot of vegetables as well as it was really great and fresh, the Water Spinach, the Morning Glory (great just stir fried with loads of garlic) the fresh and sweet Mangoes, just wonderful!

I have as well a recipe for the "national" soup here in Vietnam, the Pho (say Fo!). I love that soup and culd have it any time of the day. Usually the meat gets cooked in the stock in a big pot, then when the soup is served, the water gets refilled in the pot and simmered again, so one makes endless soups.

Here is some of the meat, it is pork........yummy!

This recipe is enough for 10 friends

4 kg beef knuckle, with meat

1.5 kg beef oxtail

500 g white (daikon) radish, sliced

3 onions, chopped

20 g whole star anise pods

1 cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

black peppercorns

30 g slices fresh ginger root

20 g white sugar

30 g salt

25 ml fish sauce

1.1 kg dried flat rice noodles

500 g beef sirloin

TOPPINGS:

sriracha hot pepper sauce

hoisin sauce

thinly sliced onion

chopped fresh cilantro

bean sprouts (mung beans)

sweet Thai basil

thinly sliced green onion

limes, quartered

1.Place the beef knuckle in a very large (9 quart or more) pot. Season with salt, and fill pot with 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 hours.

2.Skim fat from the surface of the soup, and add the oxtail, radish and onions. Tie the anise pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns and ginger in a cheesecloth or place in a spice bag; add to the soup. Stir in sugar, salt and fish sauce. Simmer over medium-low heat for at least 4 more hours (the longer, the better). At the end of cooking, taste, and add salt as needed. Strain broth, and return to the pot to keep at a simmer. Discard spices and bones. Reserve meat from the beef knuckle for other uses if desired.

3.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Soak the rice noodles in water for about 20 minutes, then cook in boiling water until soft, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Slice the frozen beef paper thin. The meat must be thin enough to cook instantly.

4.Place some noodles into each bowl, and top with a few raw beef slices. Ladle boiling broth over the beef and noodles in the bowl. Serve with hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce on the side. Set onion, cilantro, bean sprouts, basil, green onions, and lime out at the table for individuals to add toppings to their liking.

Clam Chowder in San Francisco

Yes, the blog got a new outfit. I thought after one year it needs a little face lift and I am actually very happy with it. We were sitting in the office trying out new templates and everybody gave me opinions, so that is the new face of the Country Gourmet Traveler. Let me know what you think. I still want to play a little more with it, but that is the start.

After the last Blog I just have to give you my recipe of the Clam Chowder, because I am still dreaming of this delicious soup I had in San Francisco. Sitting outside and enjoying this soup in the crusty sour dough bread was just a dream, so here it is, my Clam Chowder Recipe.

New England Clam Chowder

4 slices bacon, diced

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 cups water

4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

ground black pepper to taste

3 cups half-and-half

 tablespoons butter

2 (10 ounce) cans minced clams

Place diced bacon in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook until almost crisp; add onions, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in water and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.

Pour in half-and-half, and add butter. Drain clams, reserving clam liquid; stir clams and 1/2 of the clam liquid into the soup. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until heated through. Do not allow to boil.

By the way, I have to admit that I am already back in the Caribbean, yes it goes fast. We had a 17 day cruise back to Baltimore and I will tell you a bit more with some photos as well. I love the cruising and especially Panama Canal was amazing, but more about that in the next blog

Boston and Clam Chowder

Oh yes, I love Boston. It has been many years since I have visited this beautiful city last and I am lucky enough that we are paying a visit to Boston while on the way to Bermuda. So there is of course no way that I will stay onboard and do nothing, I have to get out for at least a couple of hours.

I think it is the history about this town that fascinates me, the mix and match of old and new buildings, just the whole atmosphere this town has. I read the book 1776 about the liberation of the United States from England, a great book, so I feel the history here!

We went out to go shopping a little bit and of course to do the touristy thing of going to Quincy Market. Quincy Market is sort of the absolute center of town, it is easy to explore the inner city from there and there are plenty of good restaurants. We actually just ate at Quincy Market in the Food Hall. There is such an abundance of food, the variety, just everything. It is actually difficult to make a choice. We found this absolutely stunning sweet shops and of course went a bit wild in buying these humongous Brownies and Coconut cookies. Then we needed one of these chocolate chip cookie sandwiches……so sweet one can actually hardly eat them.

For the savory we went for a pizza, even so the sausages looked delicious too, the “Quattro Formagi” with 4 types of cheese on it. The bottom was so nice and crisp, perfectly baked, the topping of course beautifully juicy, it was just fantastic. Some of our friends went for Indian food, but being from the country themselves, they were not overly impressed. We loved so every bite from the Pizza.

Now of course the big question, will I give you a recipe of a pizza? No, of course not; that recipe we can do another time. Being in Boston, I have to give you a recipe of a typical Boston Clam Chowder. The recipe is enough for 10 friends. I feel especially with a hearty soup one can always make a little more and warm it up later if required.

450 g (1 lb) Clam meat
1 l (1 quart) Clam juice
1 l (1 quart) Cream
450 g (1 lb) Potatoes
250 g (0.5 lb) Leeks
250 g (0.5 lb) Onions
125 g (4 oz) Celery
300 ml (10 oz) White Wine
60 ml (2 oz) Pernod
Chives

Cut all vegetables in small dices.
Heat the butter till foaming, but not brown
Add the vegetables and sweat till onions are slightly translucent
Add the diced potatoes, then clam juice, white wine and Pernod
Simmer till the potatoes are nice and soft, the soup will thicken.
Add the clam meat, simmer for another 5 minutes, thicken if needed with a little corn starch or rice flour

Fresh Pea Soup in St. Lucia

Hello everybody, life had been busy here on the ship. Especially days at sea are always full of F&B events, which is of course nice for the guest, but puts a lot of pressure on the crew. There is just so much they can do, from galley tours to cooking shows, wine seminars, whisky tasting and demonstrations of what we serve in the individual restaurants. Of course it is the same with all the other departments, there is a lot happening to keep 2000 passengers happy. Never mind that there are still a lot of them just lying around the pool and getting slowly roasted….
Miami was cold again, the second cold spell they had and it was nice to get back to the Caribbean in the warmth. We just spent some time in Castries, St. Lucia. What a beautiful Island, one just needs to take a taxi and drive out a bit. Town itself has really not much to offer, the usual, loads of shopping and quite a few restaurants, bars and pubs. It is all a bit poor, quite dirty and dilapidated and unfortunately I had not enough time to drive out a bit, never mind, one day I will.

In many parts of the world it is summer right now, nice and hot whereas in other parts it is freezingly cold, so I thought that it would be nice to have a soup that goes well in both parts of the world, the hot and the cold one. So, there we go, a fresh pea soup. If you are stuck in winter you serve the soup hot and think of summer and if you are in a hot area, just serve it chilled and cool down with this lovely refreshing soup.

Green pea soup for 10 friends

600 g (21 oz) Green peas
1 l (1 quart) Vegetable stock
500 ml (17 floz) Heavy Cream
400 g (13 oz) Potatoes
Salt, pepper
200 g (6.5 oz) Brioche
100 g (3 oz) Streaky Bacon
150 ml (5 oz) Crème Fraiche
Chive for garnish

Blanch peas in plenty salt water till very soft.
When cooked put them immediately into iced water
Bring chicken stock, potatoes and cream to a boil
Simmer till potatoes are very soft
Add peas, season well to taste and blend the soup.
Strain the soup through a chinoise and cool as fast as possible

Cut the brioche in 0.2 inch cubes
Toast them in the oven till golden brown
Cut the bacon in 0.2 inch cubes
Fry in very hot pan without oil till crispy, but not too dark

Re-heat the soup carefully and pour piping hot in soup bowl
Top with Crème Fraiche
Garnish with crispy bacon and croutons

Valentines cooking

Yes I am back cooking and having fun. With all the other work, the training, the checking the walking through the ship and making sure all the food is looking good, we still have time to cook.

At the moment we are concentrating on Valentines, as it is just around the corner and I will give you a couple of examples. Now imagine we always make the recipe for 100 people, and usually make easy up to 600 of one portion, but no worry, I have changed the recipes that one can cook them for 2, especially for Valentines.

By the way, we are at the moment in Barbados, so far I had only time to pop out quick in St. John, Antigua as we are a bit busy at the moment with the photos and I need to get settled into the job, but there will be soon photos from the different ports.

Baked Potato and Lobster Soup

150 g (5 oz) Potatoes
60 g (2 oz) Leeks
60 g (2 oz) Onions
10 g (0.5 oz) Olive oil
400 ml (13 oz) Vegetable stock
120 ml (4 oz) Cream
Salt, pepper

1 ea Lobster tail

Puff pastry sheet

Peel and cut the potatoes in dices, wash the leeks and cut the same, peel the onions and cut in dices.

Heat the butter and fry the vegetables on low heat till onions become translucent.

Add vegetable stock, season lightly

Simmer till potatoes are very soft, add the cream and bring to the boil

Blend the soup and strain.

Poach lobster tail and cut in small dices

Pour the warm soup in soup cups, top with lobster pieces.

Cut the puff pastry in discs big enough to cover the soup cup.

Paint with egg wash and bake in the pre-heated oven at 180 C (350 F) till puff pastry is golden brown and crispy.

Enjoy the soup with your loved one and a glass of Rose Champagne, a good start for a great Valentines!

Next entry will be concentrating on main course, something special is waiting!