Schweinsöhrchen

2 sheets of puff pastry (best to buy frozen)
sugar

Either roll out the puff pastry into sheets of about 20 to 30 cm square, or buy them as sheets. In Manila (Santis has them in frozen packs of 6 sheets) and and most German supermarkets, they are available in sheets.

Thaw them for 20 mins. Lay them flat on a work surface. Sprinkle sugar generously and evenly on the first sheet, then place the second one on top of it. Now sprinkle sugar, also generously and evenly, on the second one. Use a rolling pin to make them stick together. Fold the left side to the centre, then the right side, with a 1 cm gap between them. The fold the sides once more. Cut into 1 cm width (cross section), arrange them on a tray leaving enough space between each piece so that the Schweinsöhrchen do not touch when they have expanded with the baking.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220 deg. C. for about 10 to 12 mins until the bottom is brown. Remove the tray from the oven, turn the pastries to brown the other side and return the tray into the oven to bake for another 2 to 3 mins.

Beef gulasch

Recipe for 4

600 to 800 gm lean beef cut into cubes
2 big onions, diced
1 red capsicum (paprika), diced
1 big carrot, diced
1 tablespoon capsicum/paprika powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
100 ml red wine (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoon wheat flour mixed well with 100 ml water for thickening gravy

Heat olive oil in pot. Add diced onion and fry till slightly brown. Add meat cubes. Fry till half done. Add capsicum powder and diced capsicum. Stir, mix well, and add a cup of water. Cover the pot and cook till beef is tender. Add diced carrot, cook till carrot is soft. Now add the tomato paste, red wine, salt and pepper. Thicken the gravy with the wheat flour mixture.

Serve with dumplings (knoedel), boiled potato or rice.

Kürbis Cremesuppe/ Pumpkin cream soup

Recipe for 4

1 carrot, peeled, cut into small pieces to reduce cooking time
1 onion, peeled, cut into wedges
800 gm pumpkin, peeled, core removed, cut inot small pieces to reduce cooking time
1/2 litre chicken broth/ vegetable broth (can be made from
1/2 teasp. cayenne pepper
4 tbsp creme fraiche or Schlagsahne
Salt and pepper to taste


Make the broth with fresh ingredients or add a tablespoon powdered broth to boiling water. Add onion and carrots, simmer 10 mins. Then add pumpkin and let simmer again till all is soft. Mash the vege with a potato masher to desired fineness. Add the cayenne pepper (or pepperoncino), salt and pepper. Add cream last. Serve with croutons or bread.

Marshmallow rice crispies

50 gm butter
100 gm marshmallows
130 to 150 gm rice crispies

Melt butter and marshmallows in pan. If you're a novice, use a non-stick pan. Remove from pan from heat. Add rice crispies, mix well with the melted butter and marshmallows. Scoop the gooey stuff into a form to set. It takes less than 5 mins for it to set. Once set, cut the mass into squares. Enjoy!

Nudeln in Sahnesosse / Pasta in cream sauce

Recipe for 4

300 gm dried pasta (fusilli-spirals, farfalle-butterflies, etc.)
300 gm cooked ham, sliced and cut into small squares
1 big white onion, diced
1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

For bechamel sauce:
30 to 50 gm butter
2 heaped tablespoons wholewheat flour (Vollkornmehl)
400 ml milk
50ml to 100 ml creme fraiche or whipping cream

4 hard-boiled eggs
parmesan cheese

Bring enough water to boil in a pot for cooking the pasta. When the water boils, add the pasta. Cook till soft enough. Drain and put aside.

Make the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan (kasserole in German). Add the flour, mix well with the butter. Add the milk, stirring all the time with a whisk to prevent the sauce from getting clumps. Then add the cream, stirring till well mixed. When the sauce is done, reduce heat. Add the diced onion and ham. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.

Serve with hard-boiled egg and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Spicy tomato condiment

This goes well with couscous and ugali. I got this recipe from the Fumes, a Togolese family.

2 big tomatoes
1 small white onion, cleaned
1 chilli, seeds removed
salt to taste coriander leaves for garnishing

Scald the tomatoes with hot water so that the skins can be removed easily. Then remove the seeds as well. Grind the tomatoes, cleaned onion and chilli together. It does not have to be very fine. Add salt to taste. Garnish with the coriander leaves.

Ugali / Kenyan maizemeal

What do you do if you live outside Africa and can't get maizemeal? Polenta is basically the same thing, but made from yellow instead of white corn. I'm not a connoisseur, so it does me fine.

We usually have it with roast lamb (goat is more difficult to get) or chicken, a gomen ferenj / Ethiopian vege and a spicy tomato onion condiment.

Recipe for 4

250 gm polenta
1 litre water
little salt

Bring water and salt to boil. Add maizemeal, reduce heat immediately and stir with a whisk all the time for about 10 mins. to avoid clumps forming. Done!

Gomen ferenj / Ethiopian vegetable dish

Recipe for four

Cabbage, washed cut into 3 cm squares, about 800 gm
1 big carrot, peeled and cut into slices or sticks (can be substituted with others, although I find carrot, slightly sweet, goes best))
1 onion, cleaned and cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, remove skin
1 cm piece ginger, peel off skin
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
Vegetable/olive oil - 5 tbsp

Pound together the garlic and ginger. Leave aside.

Heat oil in deep pan. Fry onion wedges till brown. Add carrot and cabbage. Fry in pan for 2 minutes, add half to one cup water, cover to let cook till cabbage is soft. Add turmeric and the garlic ginger mixture. Stir till spices are cooked, add salt to taste.

Stuffed sqiud with tumeric rice

Recipe for 2

2 biggish squids (or more small ones), cleaned but left whole, rub a little salt all over
1 cup rice, cooked with 11/2 cups water
olive oil
turmeric

Mix cooked rice with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, half teasp. tumeric powder and salt to taste.

Chop the squid tentacles into 1 cm lengths, add a tablespoon of olive oil and cook in microwave for just 2 minute. It should be done.

Mix half the tumeric rice to the cooked chopped squid. Stuff the whole squids with the rice.

Heat 3 tablesp. oil in a pan till very hot. Place squids in pan and fry till done and brown on both sides. The time required will depend on the size of the squid. Remove squids from pan and place them on serving plates.

Add 200ml cream and half teaspoon turmeric powder to the pan with leftover juice from the squids to make the turmeric sauce. Salt to taste.

Serve squid with remaining turmeric rice and sauce.