Greetings from Bella Italia

June 1st, 2018 | main dishes

The temperatures keep up with Bella Italia, the bright colours of this Italian Minestrone soup make you happy. When snipping all the fine vegetables you can almost see him in your mind’s eye: Luigi, who rattles with his red Vespa on the Tuscan country roads. Close your eyes and dream a little bit about Italy… A light meal for those hot days, a feast for all the senses.

Italian minestrone

(serves 4)

4 spring onions

4 celery stalks

1 kohlrabi

400 g potatoes

1 big carrot

1 red pepper

cut vegetables into rings or cubes

1 handful of Brussels sprouts

cut in halfs

4 TS olive oil

heat, sauté the vegetables in it

2 ts brown vanilla sugar (see tip below)

sprinkle over the vegetables, caramelize

100 ml white wine

deglaze

600 ml chicken broth (preferably homemade)

add, simmer for 10 minutes

4 TS pesto

½ bunch of basil, cut into strips

ciabatta or baguette bread

arrange the soup with one tablespoon of pesto per plate and strips of basil, serve with the bread

and this is how the wife of the captain does it

I spice up a lot of dishes with vanilla, because vanilla does not only fit in desserts, but is also a very delicious spice with hearty treats. I put each scraped vanilla pod in a tin box with brown sugar, which quickly assumes the wonderful vanilla flavour. A teaspoon of this sugar is often the icing on a dish.

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April 27th, 2023 | main dishes

Asparagus salad with snow peas and orange dressing

Finally spring. Finally asparagus time. Actually, asparagus is a light spring vegetable, BUT what happens when it is eaten with hollandaise sauce, potatoes and ham? Well, my recipe for an asparagus salad with snow peas and orange dressing is much lighter.

December 8th, 2017 | bread & pastries

The Christmas Stollen Project

Christmas Stollen never played a role in my childhood. We rather preferred Hamburg brown cookies or spekulatius for our Christmas baking. Anyway, without Christmas Stollen Christmas in some places of Germany is not even imaginable…That’s the reason, why I found it always exciting. A heavy yeast dough with candied fruit, raisins and a dash of good rum. The Stollen must traverse several weeks (minimum two weeks) before you eat it – if you do manage to defend it against the family. Attention: This weekend is your last chance to bake a Stollen, which can be served “well matured” at Christmas on your coffee table. Otherwise, you must wait another year…