Lavender Cardamom Scented Flan de la Casa

   

One of the things I enjoy the most is creating a recipe on the spur of the moment. The ideas seem to emerge in my head and I feel the immediate urgency to capture these ideas in a creation.  

Spanish Tortilla with Asparagus, Fennel and Cress

 

Friends come in all sizes, shapes and formats. Some come, others go and only a handful leave an impression in our lives, chiseled in our every sense, for the lifetime to come. Friendships, while some will remain cherished and nurtured, others will break away maybe not forgotten but outgrown or remembered in disdain.

A Chocolate and Raspberry Crème Caramel

 

I have to share another one of my deepest food love affairs with you. Many already know I love panna cotta in all flavors and varieties and that crème brûlée really rocks my sweet tooth. What a few do not know is I have a passionate penchant for flans or crème caramel too. Of course everyone will notice one common factor in all of these desserts - creamy, milky goodness either allowed to set in the refrigerator or gently cooked in a water-bath.

Spanish Flavours: Roasted Pumpkin & Mushroom Salad

Blogging does have so many positive sides to it. I've often said this - it's about the people you meet, the experiences you gather, the motivation and trying out things you would not have dared to before.

Blogging has been all these things for me and much more. There have been times when through blogging I have actually improved certain skills and learned new things, all of which have molded my character a little more. I want to cross boundaries, which normally I might have hesitated to do so. I want to see what happens if I try out new things.

From the very beginning though I knew one thing. I always want my blog to be a place where people have an experience for all their senses.


I want people when they come here to feel comfortable and homey. But I also want to share all the things I have learned or picked up along the way too. I'd like to inform people of what is out there, what is available, what is good and what is not.

In the past I have received a few mails asking me to review this or that. In the beginning I was hesitant. I was not sure how to handle something like that and how it would come across. So I declined. But I am an inquisitive person by nature and always hungry to make new experiences. I decided I would tell people that I would review their products but they would expect the honest truth from me in the reviews and I would only post about something that I thought my readers would benefit from. Some never wrote back and the fact that I have never had a food review on the blog to date tells you enough about what I thought about the other products.

A short while before I left for Dubai I got a mail from David Toro. He too inquired if I would like to do a review about the products they sell online. As I visited Spanishflavours.com I was quite pleasantly surprised. It was like visiting a wonderful Spanish delicatessen. I realized soon that this was the kind of thing people should know more about.

In Weimar we have a delicatessen that sells many products from around the world - at steep prices I might add. I am sure many of you have experienced the same thing or maybe even do not have the possibility to buy such products because you live a little out of town. This is where such websites come into the picture. It gives you a possibility to enjoy exclusive products like wine, cheese, hams etc. without even leaving the home.

I agreed to David and told him the same that he could expect a review if I liked the quality of the products and thought that they might be of interest to my readers.

David put together an impressive package for me and upon my arrival from Dubai I was greeted with a few scrumptious items. Ever since then we have slowly been going through the package.

The first thing I was interested in was how the items are packed. After all, depending where they are headed to, the food needs to be packaged and handled in such a way that they arrive fresh and in good condition. Here I have to say that the packaging was ideal. The hams and sausages were vacuumed sealed and the breakable bottles and jars were carefully bubble wrapped.

What caught my eye straight away, was of course the olive oil. A wonderful full bodied extra virgin olive oil from the Bajo Aragón region. I am the type of person who almost always has at least 2 to 3 different types of olive oil at home. Mostly the oils originate from Greece or Italy. I admit that I very rarely have one from Spain. Shameful actually as I soon realized that this oil had a lot to offer. Hand picked and preserved in a dark bottle to contain all of the flavor, I found the oil to be smooth and full bodied. Perfect for a salad or to dot over on top of a soup.

Last week I made a wonderful salad using some of the products I received. I decided to use the olive oil and some of the gorgeous Serrano ham. We were enjoying the ham on slices of fresh bread, but I thought serving it on the salad would really bring out the rustic flavor. The ham has a powerful taste and smell - unlike any other Serrano ham I have tasted and bought here. It has undergone a curation period of 16-20 months and comes in slices of 150 g, vacuumed packed to preserve that wonderful aroma.

Finally our dessert! And my joy. Gorgeous nougat. I am talking about the Arabic type of nougat made with honey, sugar and egg whites. This nougat was jam packed with whole almonds and wonderfully crunchy. David had also sent us a packet of the softer nougat - but we really took a passion for the crunchier version.



There were a lot of other items in the package like (peaches in syrup, roasted peppers and mussels) and I hope to try them out as the next step. I will inform you about those in a future post.

I hope you enjoy my wonderfully rustic salad using a few Spanish flavors to add an excellent touch. Maybe you might want to drop over at Spanishflavours.com and browse through their incredible delicatessen items. They've also put together a few incredible Christmas hampers that are worth checking out.

Please Note: You will find the delivery conditions, payment methods and shipping costs here.

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Ingredients
Printable version here.




200 g Hokaido pumpkin - sliced and cut into bite sized pieces
6-8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - Olive oil G.O.
150 g brown button mushrooms - sliced
1 medium red onion - finely chopped
Handful of parsley - finely chopped
200 - 300 g mixed green lettuce and greens - I used rucola, argula, raddichio, frisee etc.
2 tablespoons Crema di Balsamico
A few slices of Serrano ham - Serran Ham G.O. Teruel
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
Juice of half a lime
Salt and fresh black pepper

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Method



Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. In a mixing bowl place the pumpkin slices and then add the lime juice 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat the pumpkin with the marinade. Place the pumpkin slices on a baking tray and roast for 10-15 minutes or until the pumpkin has become slightly softer and turned a wonderful golden color.

In the meantime sauté the onions and mushrooms in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare your salad greens by placing in a large salad bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the roasted pumpkin. Sprinkle some more olive oil on the salad and top off with the Crema di Balsamico. Toss well and place on individual plates.

Sprinkle each plate with some pumpkin seeds and place a few slices of the Serrano ham on top of the salad. Enjoy with a rustic bread and a glass of wine.

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Verdict

It's a fantastic salad bursting with incredible flavors. Each ingredient adds it's own special note making it a perfect starter for any feast. I love the limey flavoring of the roasted pumpkin drizzled with the olive oil. The effect you get when paired with the Serrano ham in simply outrageous.

Here's a list of ingredients I used from Spanishflavours.com for this salad and a few other things I have tried and would like to recommend.

• Serran Ham G.O. Teruel
• Olive Oil G.O.
• Soft and Crunchy Nougat
• Lomo - Cured loin of pork

I'd also like to mention that I have not accepted any monetary payment from Spanishflavours.com and am doing this review as a means to inform my readers about the availability of products that might be of interest to them.

I am now packing up this salad and my party mood to visit Peabody who is having a Housewarming Party in her new home. Pea, thanks for the invitation and hope you have many grand baking, cooking and family moments in your new home.

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Reminder!



Come join me for a Traditional Feast this month. Bring along your favorite dish to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanuka or Diwali.

Details can be found here.
Deadline: December 3rd.

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Technorati Tags: salad, starter, pumkin, mushrooms, lettuce, serrano ham, olive oil, Spanish, food, recipe, photography, nikon d70s

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All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2007 Meeta Albrecht unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

Zucchini and Fennel Frittata -Perfect picnic alternative

When the June weather is so perfectly warm and the days are nice and long, there is nothing we like doing more than getting on our bikes and taking a tour along the Ilm river. Of course, the bicycle tour would not be complete with a long stop at an idyllic place on the river banks underneath a huge oak tree. And certainly not complete if I had not packed a scrumptious picnic basket.

Oh yes! I would have to hear the complaints from my two men! Both would not mind the simple sandwiches and raw vegies and dip picnic, but there are times when I like to take a special treat and surprise them with it. It still has to be simple enough to carry in a backpack on the bike but a little more exclusive than the ham sandwich.

I think a nice spongy frittata is a perfect alternative to take on picnics. A chilled white wine for the adults and some cool lemonade for the kids and a nice crispy baguette - a picnic hit all around.

I like experimenting with different types of fillings for the frittata and this time I found great recipe in one of my very old magazines that I collected during my pregnancy leave. It used green asparagus. Unfortunately green asparagus was not available at the market and I had to re-think my plan! I decided for a different combination of vegetables and herbs.

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Ingredients:

300g Zucchini - cut in half lengthwise then in slices
200g fennel - thinly sliced
1 medium onion - finely chopped
2 garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 cup chervil - finely chopped
8 eggs
150 g cream
salt and pepper
100g parmesan - grated
2-4 tablespoons olive oil

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Method:

Pre-heat oven at 150°C.

Whisk the eggs and cream together. Add the chervil and 40g of the grated parmesan to the mixture and whisk further. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a large frying pan sauté the onions and garlic in some of the olive oil. Add the vegetables and sauté for a further few minutes - approx. 3-4 minutes.

Grease a casserole dish with the rest of the oil and spread the vegetables evenly. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and sprinkle with the remainder of the parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

Allow to cool and cut in cubes.

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Verdict:
"Nice one mum!" was Soeren's comment with a mouthful of the frittata. I know fennel is not everyone's favorite vegie, but somehow Soeri was not complaining in any way. Tom was happy that I had come up with a great idea as he actually was not in the mood for sandwiches. He really enjoyed the fresh herby taste the chervil gave the frittata. Chervil is a great herb and I do admit one that I use to seldom in my cooking.
I had made a fairly large casserole dish and was very glad that the container was empty, when I got back on my bike ;-)

As I found this to be a perfect picnic dish I thought it would make a perfect entry to the theme of the Weekend Cookbook Challenge # 6 Picnic.

Furthermore, a nice herby recipe to enter to the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time being hosted closer to my shores - in France at Absolutely Green.

Entry also for Cate's great ARF 5 A Day Tuesday.

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Just a quick reminder to everyone: This month's Monthly Mingle theme is Big on Barbecue. The deadline is July 8th. Get those barbecues hot, sizzling and give me your best recipe!