Batcat nachos

s found a kids comic book series in the library about a character called Batcat (half bat, half cat), by Meggie Ramm - and it really caught his imagination! I think when we first found it, there was only one book, but now there are three. The third one just came out, and it's all about food - Batcat loves to eat, and his roommate Al loves to cook. In the book, Al enters a cooking competition at the Nightfest harvest food festival, and everyone loves Al's entry, especially the griffin kids (and of course Batcat). 

Brilliantly, a recipe was included, so we gave it a whirl... s loves these nachos! And, amazingly, I like them too (I am not usually that into nachos). The genius is in the layers, and in the personalisation of the toppings - s likes his with tons of sour cream (or creme fraiche - we've not yet found sour cream in DK) and some lime, I like mine with toasted pumpkin seeds, skyr, avocado, chopped coriander, lime, and a little bit of hot sauce. Also brilliant is that once the butternut squash is prepped (nb I have been chopping into quite small dice and roasting at 200C for about 30-40 min) you can make as much or as little nachos as you like within about 15 min - so as long as you have all the ingredients including the squash ready to go - so it is perfect for a quick dinner or snack - only downside is that nachos don't really keep. 

Delia veggie moussaka

This was comfort food too. I made this a few times, a long time ago. You can't go wrong with Delia and this kind of thing. It was just as satisfying as I remembered.

10 fl oz / 275 ml veg stock
2 oz / 50 g puy lentils
2 oz / 50 g green lentils
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped into ¼ inch (5 mm) dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 aubergines, each 8 oz / 225 g -> 1 lb / 450 g total, cut into 1/2 in / 1 cm dice
1 x 14 oz (400 g) tin chopped tomatoes, drained
7 fl oz / 200 ml red wine (subbed a bit of soy sauce and some water - wine is rarely open around here)
2 level tbsp tomato purée or sun-dried tomato paste
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
2 level tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

For the topping:
10 fl oz / 275 ml whole milk
1 oz / 25 g plain flour
1 oz / 25 g butter
¼ whole nutmeg, grated
1 x 9 oz / 250 g tub ricotta 
1 large egg
1 oz / 25 g parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C. Pour the stock into a medium saucepan together with the puy lentils (but no salt), cover and simmer for 15 min before adding the green lentils. Cover and cook for 15 min, by which time most of the liquid will have been absorbed and the lentils will be soft.

While the lentils cook, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions until they're soft and tinged brown at the edges (about 5 min), then add the chopped pepper and soften and brown that too for about another 4 min. Add the garlic, cook for 1 min more, then transfer the whole lot to a plate.

Put the other 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan, turn the heat up to high and toss the aubergines in it so they get evenly cooked. When they're starting to brown a little, add the tinned tomatoes and the onion and pepper mixture to the pan. In a small bowl mix the wine, tomato purée and cinnamon together, then pour it over the vegetables. Add the lentils and the chopped parsley, season well and let everything simmer gently while you make the topping.

Put the milk, flour, butter and nutmeg in a saucepan and whisk until it comes to simmering point and becomes a smooth glossy sauce. Season with salt and pepper, remove it from the heat and let it cool a little before whisking in the ricotta followed by the beaten egg.

Finally, transfer the vegetable and lentil mixture to a large ovenproof dish and spoon the cheese sauce over the top, using the back of a spoon to take it right up to the edges. Sprinkle with the parmesan, put the dish in the oven and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour. Rest for 15 min before serving.


It tasted good. I did not miss the wine.

Pao de queijo (vegetarian not vegan)

We found somewhere in CPH selling pao de queijo! Which was exciting... and also reminded me that (1) they are easy to make; (2) I have never made non-vegan ones, which presumably are even easier than the vegan ones I made before; and (3) we were close to the best place I could think of to find tapioca flour.

I read around a bit on Google, and decided to use this recipe, because it was clear and seemed straightforward.

(makes c 24 medium sized ones)

1 cup milk (used oat milk)
1/2 cup veg oil
1 tsp salt
10 oz / 284 g tapioca flour
2 large eggs
1 packed cup grated cheese (used a mixture of parmesan, pråst and jarlsberg... the internet suggests that pretty much any cheese will do - most recipes use either parmesan or a mix of parmesan and mozzarella... pics of the real Brazilian cheese look quite like pråst - perhaps that's a good local sub?)

Heat the oven to 450F / 232C. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Bring the milk, oil and salt to a gentle boil over a medium heat in a medium-large saucepan (big enough to fit all ingredients and mix the dough). Stir occasionally. Remove when you can see big bubbles.

Add the tapioca flour and stir with a wooden spoon until there is no dry flour and the dough is grainy and gelatinous. Beat the dough for a few minutes until it smooths out and has cooled down enough that you can hold your finger against it for a few seconds. There may be a bit of an oily unincorporated bit.

Beat in the eggs one at a time - fully incorporate the first one before adding the second. Beat in the cheese until fully incorporated. It should be a sticky, stretchy, soft dough.

Scoop the dough into approx 2 tbsp sized balls and place on a baking sheet approx 2 in apart (should be 12 per sheet). Try dipping the scoop in water between scoops to prevent sticking.

Put the baking sheets in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F / 177C. Bake for 15 min, then rotate top-bottom and front-back. Bake 10-15 min more, until puffed, outsides dry, and golden brown on the bottoms (mine only needed 10 more min). Cool a few minutes and eat while warm.


I shaped them in the afternoon and let them sit for an hour or so, then baked half of them for dinner. The other half I put in the fridge for a couple of days and then baked, and they were good too. I wanted to try baking from freezing but the freezer was too full.

They were good! And simple and quick (for a bread). I kind of want to go back and try the vegan ones again - I remember them being really good too, and thinking you don't really need the cheese - the texture and savoury deliciousness is all you really need...

Also! I think potato starch might be easier to find and give a similar texture, and so I want to try making some with that instead of tapioca - I found a recipe, I'll add it when I've tried.

Tamales

We'd agreed, before we left for California, that we should eat lots of Mexican food there. I'd also discovered that I had, totally by coincidence, booked a hotel for our first three nights in Monterey right opposite a Whole Foods in a little outdoor mall type thing (and, by the way, a farmer's market the day after we arrived in the parking lot - double stroke of luck!)... We have previous for doing most of our eating on road trippy type American adventures out of Whole Foods markets.

So when we arrived, having flown 11 hours with our 7 month old baby and driven for two straight off of the flight, getting in about 8pm, we made as fast a turnaround as we could and went straight over to the Whole Foods to see what we could scavenge for dinner... We got there about 10 minutes before closing so it was a bit of a supermarket sweep, but included guacamole, salsa, and microwavable vegan tamales... We'd made sure to book a motel with a microwave in the room (and a pool), to make life with baby easier. The tamales turned out to be delicious (and microwavable in 3 min!), so we ended up eating loads of them during our trip. We also made it to two awesome Mexican restaurants during our trip - (1) vegan Mexican El Cantaro in Monterey; and (2) veg-friendly Obelisco in Fruitvale, Oakland.

When we got home, S found this recipe and convinced me to try it while he took care of baby S. It was quite a project and took a while, but kind of fun... I made them with sweetcorn, monterey jack cheese, sweet potato and a bit of chili inside - our fave ones from Whole Foods were with butternut squash, corn, and a little chilli and cheese. Luckily our local Irma just started stocking various Mexican goodies including masa harina (I guess we have Hija de Sanchez to thank for that).

(makes 12-20 depending on size of corn ears/husks)

3 ears fresh sweetcorn in their husks
1 3/4 cups masa harina mixed with 1 cup plus 2 tbsp hot water, then allowed to cool
4 oz butter, cut into 1 cm dice and slightly softened
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 mild chili, finely chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1 cm dice (or use butternut squash)
monterey jack cheese, amount to taste, chopped into 1 cm dice

Corn and Husks:
Cut through the ears of corn just above where the cob joins the stalk. Carefully remove the husks without tearing, and put into warm water. Remove and discard the corn silk. Slice the kernels off the cobs and set aside 2 cobs' worth for dough and 1 cob's worth for filling.

Dough:
Put the kernels from two corn cobs into a blender and blend to a medium-coarse puree. Transfer to a large bowl, then add the masa, butter, sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix with wand blender and wooden spoon til well combined.

Form and steam tamales:
Sort the husks: keep the best ones (large and whole) for the tamale outer layers; tear thin strips off any non-whole large ones for tying tamales; and use any remaining small/broken ones to line the base and top of the steamer. Set up the steamer and line it with husks. Then take one large husk (or two overlapping medium ones - but start with large ones), and spread about 1/4 cup of the batter into about a 4 in square, leaving at least a 1 1/2 in border on the side toward you and a 3/4 in border along the other sides (with large husks, the borders will be much bigger). Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tbsp of the filling down the center of the batter. Pick up the two long sides of the husk and bring them together (so the batter surrounds the filling). Bring the borders together and roll both sides in the same direction around the tamal. Finally, fold up the empty 1 1/2 in base of the husk (to form a tightly closed “bottom” leaving the top open), and secure it in place by loosely tying one of the strips of husk around the tamal. As they’re made, stand the tamales on their folded bottoms in the prepared steamer. Don’t tie the tamales too tightly or pack them too closely in the steamer - they need room to expand. If your husk-wrapped tamales don’t take up the entire steamer, fill in the open spaces with loosely wadded aluminum foil (to keep the tamales from falling over). Top with additional husks, cover and steam over a constant medium heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Watch carefully that all the water doesn’t boil away and, to keep the steam steady, pour boiling water into the pot when more is necessary. Tamales are done when the husk peels away from the masa easily. Let tamales stand in the steamer off the heat for a few minutes to firm up. For the best textured tamales, let them cool completely, then re-steam about 15 min to heat through.

Birthday mohnkuchen; and birthday pasta cake

 It was S's birthday yesterday. I had decided weeks ago upon his cake: mohnkuchen. I'd bought the poppy seeds even longer ago, in Germany, and had been meaning to make mohnkuchen ever since. Seems like I make cakes less and less often... But birthday cakes are essential!

I used the same recipe as before, without veganising it this time. I made it the day before, and it was delicious on the day and he loved it. BUT it was the ugliest cake ever. I mean, black poppy seeds don't make for the most beautiful cake to start with, but on top of that the mohn mixture rose up in a wall all around the edges like crazy. This didn't happen before and I don't understand why it happened this time. Perhaps I didn't put the streusel mixture thick enough on top? Anyway, I trimmed that bit back down so it didn't look quite as bizarre, and it tasted great. It meant it was a bit more sunken in the middle and the mohn layer wasn't quite as thick as it should have been, but it held together well and I can't really complain.

We had a good day - a good balance of making plans and being spontaneous, and being lucky. Cake and presents for breakfast; bus over to the sauna, some sunny sauna action; up to Papirøen for good food (the best pizza place has gone completely vegetarian, including many vegan options - wahoo!); bus back in time for S to watch Dortmund, who won, and it started raining as soon as we got back... While S watched football and then spoke to his mum, I decided to cap his day off by making his this spaghetti pie for his dinner - I had seen the recipe a few weeks back and it had his name written all over - pasta, cheese, crispy pasta, more cheese... This was a perfect opportunity to make it!

butter for greasing springform
8 oz broccoli rabe, chopped into few-inch segments
1 lb dried spaghetti
1 1/2 cups milk
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp coarse salt
8 oz aged pecorino cheese, grated, divided
8 oz fontina cheese, grated, divided

Heat oven to 425F (220C, 200C fan). Butter a 9 in springform baking tin and wrap the outside tightly in foil. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli to the pot and boil for 1-2 min, until just tender. Fish out with a large slotted spoon and drain well. Set aside.

Add spaghetti to boiling water and cook until 2 min short of done (i.e. very al dente) as the spaghetti will continue cooking in the oven. Drain well and let cool slightly.

Wring all extra moisture out of the broccoli and blot on paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. Chop into very small pieces.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk together with salt and pepper. Stir in all but 1/2 cup of each cheese and chopped broccoli. Add spaghetti and toss to coat.

Pour mixture into prepared tin and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake for 50+ min (mine took more like an hour and a half), until the top is brown and there is no runny egg in the centre. If the top browns before the center is set, cover with foil for the remaining cooking time.

Cut around the springform ring to loosen, then remove ring. Run a spatula underneath the pie to loosen the base and slide onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.


The mixture only just fits in the tin, but doesn't rise up so that's OK. It is huge, and very filling, so definitely serves many people or makes lots of leftovers. It took ages to cook: definitely not something to make in a rush or when hungry! It also messed up the springform quite a lot. I won't be making this often but it had a lot of impact for a special occasion for a pasta lover! He was pretty excited!

Veg onion soup

It's been a busy few weeks. We got our new place, we moved, got furniture, all of that. Then three weeks after moving in, there was a big storm with lots of heavy wet snow. It snowed all night and when we went out in the morning we found several huge (approx 80 cm diameter) branches broken off a tree in our yard. One was blocking the small road beside our place. So then we have been busy clearing that up and sorting it out - finding a tree surgeon, then dealing with all the fallen wood - we've been chopping it for next year's firewood.

Yesterday we finished tidying up (stashing needly bits in the bushes), then started stacking the wood and chopping it. S with an axe, me with a saw. It got dark but we carried on chopping in the garage. At some point he suggested I go in and make french onion soup instead. We'd bought a whole lot of onions at the best and biggest Turkish supermarket in town (Istanbul in København NV), and that had given him an idea... I went in and got going, using the recipe from trusty Delia's veg collection. What we hadn't realized before was that it takes about 3 hours to cook. So it was about 21:00 by the time we got to eat. But it was good.

1 lb 8 oz / 700 g onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 oz / 50 g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp sugar
2 pints / 1.2 l veg stock
10 fl oz / 275 ml dry white wine
salt and pepper

for the croutons:
6-8 1 inch / 2.5 cm diagonal slices of French bread (used bits of pumpkin seed bread as that's what we had)
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 oz / 225 g Gruyère, grated (used blue cheese instead as that's what we had)

Heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 350F / 180C. Prep the onions.

Place a large heavy-based saucepan on a high heat and melt the oil and butter together. When this is very hot, add the onions, garlic and sugar, and stir occasionally until the edges of the onions turn dark – about 6 min. Reduce the heat to low and leave the onions to cook slowly for about 30 min, until the base of the pan is covered with a rich, nut brown, caramelised film (bake croutons during this time - see below). After that, pour in the stock and white wine, season and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the base of the pan well. When it comes to a simmer, turn the heat to low and leave to cook gently without a lid for about 1 hour.

To make the croutons drizzle the olive oil on to a baking sheet, add the crushed garlic and spread the oil and garlic all over. Place the bread slices on top of the oil and turn over each one so that both sides are coated with oil. Bake for 20-25 min till crisp and crunchy.
 
Sprinkle the grated cheese thickly over the croutons and grill until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling. Put soup in bowls to serve, with a crouton or two on top of each.