i'd like to be under the sea
i am still recovering from a bad case of sinusitis that kept me occupied during the last two weeks. lucky as i am, it started just when summer finally decided its time had come and the temperatures began to rise drastically.
in other news, i have added two more books to my collection:
jamie's italy and the unprejudiced palate. if you haven't already read them you really should. both of them have proved very inspiring. it's interesting to see other people's approaches to cooking and good food (but please, never ever leave away the saffron when making risotto alla milanese unless you want to make me very unhappy!). i have already tried ten recipes from jamie's italy and have gotten very positive feedback.
also, i am very proud to announce that for the first time i have prepared kochsalat from the scratch and not merely defrosted it - it was absolutely worth the mess i produced in the kitchen.
for three hungry persons you need about 2 pounds cos lettuce. wash the leaves and then throw them into a big pot with boiling water. they take longer to cook than other leafy greens because of the rather tough ribs, the old fork-pricking-test comes in very handy here.
when cooked al dente, drain lettuce leaves in a colander, place under cold running water until cool enough to touch and squeeze out as much water as possible. next, cut into 5mm strips and chop them into smaller pieces.
make white roux (butter, flour, milk and/or broth), add chopped lettuce leaves, season with salt, pepper, a little garlic and nutmeg (plus a little instant bouillon if no broth is used in the roux).
serve with fried eggs and erdäpfelschmarrn: cook and peel potatoes. chop one large onion per pound potatoes and fry in a little oil. as soon as it begins to take on colour, take a potato and cut into slices, dumping them directly into the pan. proceed in the same manner with the rest of the potatoes, stirring in between.
the idea is to let a crust build up and then loosen it before the next potato is added. the slices will fall apart partly during this process and stick together a little. you should end up with potato slices, sticky matter and crust mixed. if not, turn the heat up towards the end. season with salt to taste.
