Recipes

<title>Recipes</title>
<h1>Recipes</h1>

Some of my recipes. My favorite cooking books include Marcella Hazan's
Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking.  Madhur Jaffrey's Vegetarian
World.


<h2>Avocados in Balsamico-Soy dressing</h2>

<em>
This dish has interesting contrast in the creamy taste of avocado and
the spicy dressing. If you have very good (very expensive)
balsamic vinegar, you may want to substitute it partially by 
black rice vinegar.
</em>
<p>
<ul>
<li> 1 large ripe avocado
<li> 1 tbsp pine nuts
<li> 0.5 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
<li> 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
<li> 1 tsp dark soy sauce
<li> 1 garlic clove
<li> 1 tsp sesame oil
</ul>

Mix soy-sauces, vinegar, sesame oil. Lightly crush the garlic clove
with a knife, and add to the sauce.  Steep for 20 minutes.  Taste and
correct for vinegar/soy-sauce balance.
<p>
Roast pine nuts in a skillet or under the broiler.
<p>
Divide the avocado in half, and take out the stone.  Scoop out the
flesh in one part using a spoon.  Cut in strips, and arrange fanwise
on the plates. Remove garlic from the dressing. Dribble dressing over
the avocado and sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve immediately, as the
avocado will turn brown if left too long.
<p>
<em> Serves 2</em>

<p>

<h2>Saffron  Riz-au-lait</h2>


<p>
<em>
This is the saffron-fetishist version of rice boiled in milk.
</em>

<ul>
<li> 0.75 liter of full-fat milk
<li> 1 pinch saffron threads (10 to 20 threads)
<li> 3 strips of lemon skin (only the yellow part)
<li> 1/2 tsp salt
<li> 1/2 cup Arborio rice
<li> 1/2 cup sugar
</ul>

Put the milk in a pan with thick bottom.  Add saffron, salt, sugar and
lemon strips and bring to a moderate boil.  Add rice and stir
quickly. Turn down the heat to the laziest simmer available.  Let it
cook until the grains of the rice have almost dissolved. The mixture
should be very thick but not mushy.  This will take about 2 to 3
hours.  Be careful: at the end of the  cooking period the mixture will
easily burn.
<p>
Leave to cool. Use some uncooked milk to thin the dessert until its
consistency and sweetness are to taste. Serve with a little cinnamon
on top

<em> Serves 4-6</em> 

(more to come) 

<h2>Pears with blue-cheese</h2>

<ul>
<li> 1 Pear, not too ripe
<li> honey
<li> lemon juice
<li> sugar
<li> good blue cheese, e.g. gorgonzola piccante, roquefort or cabrales
de picos, in thin slices, at room temperature.
<li> corn starch
</ul>
<p>
Peel and quarter the pear. Cut out the core, and cut into thin
slices. Make a syrup using honey, sugar, lemon juice and some water.
Put on medium heat and add pears. Cook until the pears look glazy.
Arrange the pear slices and cheese slices on plates.  Cook the syrup
until the desired sweetness is reached, and add some starch to
thicken. Pour sauce over the pears. Serve directly.
<p>

Serves 2
<p>

<H2>Yoghurt-semolina pudding</h2>

<em>
Een dessert  that I invented when I didn't have enough milk for a
regular pudding. The yoghurts adds a delightful fresh taste to the
pudding.

</em>

<ul>
<li> 1/2 l milk
<li> 100 g coarse semolina
<li> 75 g sugar
<li> 1/2 l yoghurt
<li> optional: good balsamic vinegar or amarena  cherries on syrup.
</ul>

Heat the milk in a sauce pan. When it is boiling, add sugar and
semolina, and simmer for three minutes on low heat. Take off heat, mix
in the yoghurt, and put into a bowl. Serve when thoroughly cooled
down, optionally with some drops of balsamic vinegar or cherries.

<p>
Serves 5