Shish Kebab

I have to say from the start, this is my dear father's most loved recipe.  The smell of this kebab means home to me.  I know it's a very classical Turkish dish but before you start yawning let me tell you,  once you taste this, then you can tell the difference between a real kebab and the ones you ate so called kebabs here and there.  I made this one last weekend, because it was such a lovely weather and we decided to grill.  We generally eat this back home with some green salad, grilled vegetables and cacik (garlic, cucumber, yogurt mix).  Of course, with some lovely Turkish flat bread to wrap it up.  ( Instead, I made my mother's potato salad with the kebab and I will be writing its recipe in my next post.)  The secret of this kebab is the marinade sauce, which gives meat the appetizing smell and taste.  Here is what I've done different this time, I used beef instead of lamb, because that is what I had at home.  However, I'm going to write you the recipe with both because the original kebabs use lamb, but if you prefer beef that's absolutely fine and still very tasty. 

Shish Kebab

(Makes about 6)

700-800 g lamb or beef (from the leg or tender cuts like loin) - cut into cubes

6 skewers (metal or wooden)

Marinade:

1 clove of garlic - crushed

1 tablespoon of tomato pure

1/2 tablespoon of chili paste

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of crushed chilies (optional)

To prepare the marinade, crush your garlic with garlic crusher or a mortar and pestle.  Put it in a bowl and add all other ingredients for the marinade.  When it's all ready rub the mixture on the meat and leave the meat to marinade for 2 hours in the fridge.  You can also prepare this a day before and leave it over the night.  Once ready, thread the meat on skewers and cook them on a preheated grill until the meat is brown on the outside.  Repeat the same on all sides of the meat until it's brown on every side.  Make sure not to overcook it, otherwise the meat will not be tender.  Enjoy it on some warm Turkish bread, if you can find some, otherwise some Naan or Arabic bread will do as well. 

Easy Flammkuchen

Flammkuchen (French call it tarte flambée) is actually something I have had first time in Switzerland, so it has been a Swiss dish for me from the start.  I never tried it in France or Germany.  It's basically like a very thin pizza, but it feels much lighter to eat than a pizza.  This version I made is an easy version because I used a ready puff pastry, not even a usual pizza base or a dough.  If you want to make the dough yourself, there are few different recipes out there, however I hardly recommend to make this version with puff pastry because it's delicious.  I got this idea of using puff pastry from my dear neighbour R. and I made it many times since.  The real taste of flammkuchen is not just its dough, but the crème fraiche (sour cream) that is spread to the base of it.  The original version has some bacon and onions on top, however you can replace the meat with other kinds or try to put leeks instead of the onions.  I have tried several versions of this and it tasted good each time.
I cooked this one last weekend, because my daughter wanted to eat pizza for lunch and she was very hungry.  I only had some ready puff pastry in the fridge, so I decided to make a quick flammkuchen with minced beef.

I made only one flammkuchen but if you want to feed 2 adults, then double the recipe below.

Easy Flammkuchen

1 round puff pastry (33cm - app. 13'')

100 g créme fraiche (about 1/2 cup)

150 - 200 g minced beef ( about 1 cup)

1/2 of a medium tomato - diced

1 small onion - chopped

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

Salt and pepper

Start with preheating your oven to 180° C(356° F).  Put the pastry on your baking tray and make holes on the pastry by using a fork.  You need to do this in order to prevent the dough to rise too much.  Then spread the crème fraiche over the pastry and put your onions, meat and tomatoes.  I don't recommend to put too much tomato on it, because it will make the pastry too juicy and then the flammkuchen won't be crispy enough.  Last step is to sprinkle the parsley on top and season with some salt and freshly milled black pepper.  Put it in the oven for about 15-18 minutes until the pastry is looking nice golden brown color.  Serve it warm.  Enjoy!

Beef Wellington

The first time I made this I was a little bit afraid, because I really thought that it was a bit too gourmet for me.  The fact is, when you have a ready-made puff pastry and you don't use the fancy ingredients, it all becomes very easy.  You can make various dishes from ready puff pastries that looks like gourmet food anyway.  I have never tried to make a real puff pastry at home, although I have probably made all other kinds of pastries.  There are even organic ones available in the supermarkets if you want the healthier option.  For this version of Beef Wellington,  I don't use the pâté de foie gras (chicken liver paste), which is called in the original recipes.  This one I have, is an adapted version of a recipe from my good old Swiss Betty Bossi cookbook Fleisch Küche.  I don't think there is an English version available, but I love this book.  It was recommended to me by my dear friend V. and I learned how to cook nice meat dishes from this book. 

Beef Wellington

600-700 g beef fillet

1 round or square puff pastry (you may need to cut bits out or trim it according to the size of your fillet- I used a round one here-33cm)

1 egg white - beaten

1 egg yolk - beaten together with a tablespoon of water

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Filling

300 gr of mushrooms - finely chopped. 

1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of mild chili powder

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Start to make your filling by sautéing your mushrooms in a frying pan with the olive oil, salt and lemon juice.  When it's done, take it off the heat and add the chili powder and chopped herbs and leave it to cool.  

In another pan with a tablespoon of oil, cook your fillet for about 5 minutes on all sides until it forms a nice crust on the outside.  Take it out and leave it to cool for a while.  While the meat and your filling is cooling, prepare your pastry.  You can trim the ends if you have too much pastry like I had and then decorate your pastry parcel later on with these left over pastry bits.  Open the pastry on a baking paper.  It will make it easier to transfer on a baking tray later on.  If you are using a large try you can open the pastry directly on the baking tray.  

When it's ready, first spread the filling over your pastry and then put your meat on it.  Brush the ends of the pastry with the egg white so it can stick together when you wrap it up.  After this, wrap the meat up, turn the the parcel on its other side so that the folded part is at the bottom.  Move your parcel onto a baking tray.  Brush the top of the parcel with egg yolk and put it in the pre-heated oven on a bottom shelf at 220°C for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180°C and roast for another 15 minutes.  In my case this resulted in medium to well-done meat.  If you like medium-rare then roast it for about 10 minutes less.   

For serving, I recommend some green salad and a glass of red wine.  Enjoy your meal! 

Venetian Liver

This is one of my favorite liver recipes. I have two favorite ones and the other one is a Turkish recipe.  Next liver recipe I write will be for sure the Turkish one, but this time I am writing about the Venetian liver.  Venetian liver recipe is a classic and you can find in many Italian restaurants.  This is a recipe that I adapted from a German version that I found somewhere.  I used veal liver to make this one.  In the meantime I found some other versions on the web. This one on the Epicurious site here looks like a good one too but I haven't tried it yet.  If you want to give it a go please let me know what you thought of it.
I made some rice with this one but you can have it also only with some bread, because it tastes really good. 

Venetian Liver

500 gr liver from veal, sliced.
2-3 medium size red onions, sliced
1-2 sage leaves
50 ml Balsamic vinegar
20-30 ml red wine
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of chopped parsley

Make sure you have everything ready before you start, because you have to cook everything really fast over high heat.
Start with heating butter and olive oil in a pan over high temperature. When it's hot enough, put in the liver and stir-fry it for about a minute.  Take it out and put it on a plate.  Don't worry if it's not cooked, it is supposed to look still red and raw.  If you want the liver to stay soft do not ever overcook it.  After you take the liver out of the pan, put in the onions and fry them until they are soft and slightly brown.  Add the balsamic vinegar, wine and the sage leaves.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook it for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the liver back in and cook for another minute or two.  Add some salt and pepper before you taste.  Liver should stay soft like this and it will be cooked enough.  Before you serve it sprinkle some chopped parsley on top.  Enjoy it with some rice or bread.