Cake House

Trim the woody ends of 16  green and 4 purple asparagus , then steam the green spears for three to four minutes, until tender to the tip of a knife and the purple for just 1 min. Meanwhile, put 75 ml olive oil in a nonstick pan on a medium-high heat, until it starts to shimmer. Add 2 free range eggs and fry until the whites are bubbly and crisp at the edges but the yolks are still runny. Remove with a spatula and pat their bottoms dry on a sheet of kitchen roll. Arrange the asparagus on two warmed plates, top each portion with an egg and 3 slices of  Serano jamón , then drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and scatter with flaky sea salt and black pepper.   Brush thick slices of Turkish bread with olive oil and panfry in a hot griddle pan. Sprinkle over some chives , decorate with the purple petals of a chives flower and serve  as a  lovely starter or light lunch. (Here José Pizarro's original recipe) PS In the end I decided to panfry some more Serano slices and the

Start early to have time to marinate and cool the cabbage. Bring 1/2 l water to the boil, with 1 dl white wine , 1/4 l rice vinegar , 1,5 tbsp caster sugar , 1/2 star anise , 1/2 cove and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer for 5 mins. In the meantime grate 0,125 white cabbage and put in a bowl, pour over the hot marinade, cover with clingfilm and cool for at least 1 hour Cut the green from 3 spring onions (keep the rest in the fridge for later use). Stack the green leaves and slice into very thin long strips, put in ice water and keep in the fridge, where they should curl nicely. Mix 2 tbsp mayo , 1/2 tbsp yoghurt , a pinch of curcuma , a pinch of curry, finish with lime juice. Start plating with circles of sliced smoked duck breast (ca 15 slices pp) Sieve the cabbage, remove the star anise and the cove, drain well. Drain the spring onion curls and mix with the cabbage, drip with sesame oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp black sesame seeds . Mix well Put some cole slaw in the center o

Defrost a frozen lobster . Put a big pan of  water  on to blanch the lobster, 1 min per 30g weight.  Then rinse under cold water to stop the boiling process. Remove the tail meat from the shell and place in the fridge.  Take the claws out of the water and remove the meat from the shell In another pan sweat a  large onion , 4  carrots,  2 cloves of  garlic , 3  celery sticks  and a  leek  in  olive oil  until soft. Add 2 tbsp  tomato purée  and cook a little longer. Crush the lobster bones. Add the lobster shells to the veggies and cook until the protein has started to set Add 5 tbsp brandy and reduce. Add just enough water to cover the bones and add 6 sprigs of thyme . Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add 6 sprigs of fresh tarragon and cook for 3 minutes Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for a couple of minutes. Then pass through a fine sieve into a small pan, bring back to the boil and put to one side For the sauce take 200ml of lobster stock and ad

Heat oven to 200C/190C fan/gas 4.  Toss a roughly diced aubergine in 1 tbsp of the oil until well coated. Pour into a large roasting tin, then push to the sides of the tin to make a space for 2 poussins . Rub some oil onto the skin of the poussins, sprinkle with pinches of allspice* , salt and lots of black pepper , pop a bay leaf inside each bird, then roast for 45 mins. (When it's 10 mins in the oven you can start the pilaf so they are ready at the same time.)   To make the pilaf, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a medium pan and fry 1 halved and then thinly sliced onion for 5-8 mins until golden. Tip in the 100g Basmati rice and 2 tbsp pine nuts , stir for about 1 min, then add   3/4  tsp allspice . Pour in 200 ml chicken stock , stir in 2 tbsp currants , then cover the pan and cook for 7 mins. Take the lid off the pan, add 1 chopped tomato , 1 tbsp chopped mint and 1 tbsp chopped dill , then cover and cook 2-3 mins more until the stock has been absorbed and the ri

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C Peel 2 red onions and halve them horizontally, then cut of the ends to finish with 2 cm high parts. Bring a splash of water to the boil with 20g caster sugar and caramelise, as soon as the caramel is golden brown add some more water to stop the process, then add 20g butter. Once the combination is nicely bubbling ad the onions and stew for a couple of minutes. Butter some ramequins, add a bottom of caramel, them put in the onions, broad side down. Use a serving ring to cut out 2 discs of puffed pastry, slightly bigger then the ramequins. Brush them with egg yolk and put over the onions, push down the ends into the caramel. Make a hole in the center and bake in the hot oven for 30 mins. Mix 50g fresh goat's cheese with a splash of double cream , add a tsp of finely sliced thyme  and basil leaves. Add 1/2 tbsp runny honey and a splash of lemon juice. Tast and season with salt and pepper. Season 2 tbsp of parsley leaves with walnut oil

When I saw this recipe I was intrigued, because it sounded... rather strange. But it tasted great, so I share it with you Pre-heat the oven to 130°C and soak 1 tbsp yellow raisins. Take 100g Fourme d'Ambert cheese from the fridge to serve at room temperature Quarter a Cavaillon melon , remove the seeds and drip a tbsp olive oil over 2 parts and put in the hot oven during 20 mins. In the meantime prepare a small salad of basil , rednerved sorrel en olive oil Dust the melon with curry powder, pepper and fleur de sel , fill with raisins Serve a shown (Here Chiara van Emriks original recipe in Flemish) from simple food, looking good Melon with Fourme d'Ambert Recipe from Sweet Cake Melon with Fourme d'Ambert Recipe https://sweetteabiscuits.blogspot.com/2023/05/melon-with-fourme-dambert-recipe.html

Peel a celeriac, halve and use a mainline to make 6 very thin slices. Bring a pan of water to the boil with salt. Then poach the celeriac slices during 30 sec.  Remove them into ice water to cool, then dry on a fresh tea towel Peel a small potato and boil in the same water for 19 mins and 1 egg for 7 mins. Then poach 100 g plaice in the same water. Put the potato and the plaice in a blender, with the juice of a l ime and turn into a smooth paste. Peel and hack the boiled egg, mix with the fish paste and season with salt and pepper. Place 2 A4-sized leaves of clingfilm on your worktop and on each of them 2 or 3 overlapping slices of celeriac. Then smoked salmon and finally some fish paste in the middle. Roll them up (see video) and firmly close the cling film on each end. Put in the fridge to firm up. For the dressing mix 1 tbsp mayonaise, 1,5 tbsp apple juice, 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp apple vinegar, 1 tsp  walnut oil , a pinch of curry powder and a pinch of curcum

Rinse 50g sushi rice under cold water, add to 100ml water  and some salt. Bring to the boil, softly boil for 10 mins. Then leave under the lid for 15 mins. Roast a leaf of nori in a dry pan Make a may in the blender from 1 egg yolk , 1/2 tbsp sushi ginger, 1 tsp wasabi , some salt, 1 tbsp water and (bit by bit) 150 ml  grape seed oil. Finely slice 1/4 red chili and 1/2 leaf of nori, add to the mayo with the juice of 1/2 lime and blend again Transfer the rice to a bowl and mix with 1/2 tbsp sushi vinegar and some salt, cover with clingfilm and keep in the fridge Peel 1/2 cucumber and remove the seeds. Slice lengthwise into thins strips. Mix with 1 tbsp sushi vinegar and 1/2 tbsp fish sauce Season 250g  sword fish with salt and pepper, lightly oil and briefly grill in a very hot grillpan on both sides Make golfballs from the cold rice, roll them in Panko and panfry them in hot oil. Mine fell apart, so I used them as crumble Slice the fish and brush with ponzu  Se

Boil 100 g fregula al dente in salted water in 9 mins and cool under cold water. Add 1 tbsp f inely sliced  mint leaves and 1 tbsp coriander leaves . Put the meat of a ripe avocado in the blender with 1 tbsp sushi vinegar, 1/2 tbsp olive oil , 1/2 tbsp  ginger syrup , the juice of a lime, 1 tbsp mascarpone , 25 ml double cream , salt and pepper. Turn into a creamy sauce. Add 4 tbsp of this avocado creme to the fregula. Serve as shown, with thinly sliced raw tuna, a slice of avocado and a chive on top. A bit of soy sauce adds a nice touch (Here a video in Flemish with Jan Tournier demonstrating this recipe) from simple food, looking good 'Sushi' from fregula, avocado and tuna Recipe from Sweet Cake 'Sushi' from fregula, avocado and tuna Recipe https://sweetteabiscuits.blogspot.com/2023/05/sushi-from-fregula-avocado-and-tuna.html