Salmon-Eggplant-Cardamom cakes and a French prize

After a long week of holidays of sort, nothing better than a blog post to put the schedule back on tracks.
Almost 10 days ago I started my trip to France to present (and defend) my creations (#1 and #2) at the 2012 Science et Cuisine competition.
This being my main goal, I headed directly to Nantes where the competition final was held. The trip was uneventful, but not much so were the few days that preceded it. Stressed out for the presentation I had to hold, I spent the 3 days preceding the departure in a sleepless walking coma. I did manage to test my speech though, being it in French I couldn't just rely on my admirable qualities of orator, could I? I was rather happy to notice that despite all the "Ahem...", the "Mmmm...", the "Alors..." the speech was still within the 10 minutes I had at my disposal.

Kaffir-lime risotto with saffron mussels and roasted hazelnuts

It slipped almost unnoticed but our little baby just turned 3.
It doesn't look like right? Still so small and full of promises, rough around the edges but with a softy heart.

It came to life amongst the street of Paris between a narghile pipe and a chai, between wild chemistry talks and calm heart-pouring sessions between friends.

In 3 years it found many friends and supporters to make its parents proud of its stumbling through the virtual life. Still uncertain of where to go, a fall every now and then, a seldom cry for help or out of frustration.

Green, Magenta and a wicked screen

Lately I have been eating quite light meals, trying to avoid meat when I can. This is quite hard when I keep on dreaming of juicy, steaky beef cooked in tomato sauce with vegetables like a ragú would. I would so gladly live on beef or pork products cooked in tomato sauce with celery, carrots, onions, garlic, white wine and potatoes, wouldn’t you?
Fish is my meaty outlet; few days ago it was the turn of salmon, but how to cook it?

Matcha Madness #2: Cod mousseline disk with nigella seeds and matcha foam

As continuation to the Matcha Madness cook-off, it is now time for the cod mousseline. What is a mousseline? It is simply a farce, a mixture of protein (mostly fish) and cream used in classical French cuisine for quenelles (dumplings) or to make terrines.
It is a very simple and versatile preparation that can even produce elegant and delicate sausages; a perfect ingredient for a dinner party.
What is Matcha Madness  you ask me now? Matcha Madness is a recipe contest that Catty from The Catty Life started for the month of July. We were asked to produce something featuring matcha green tea to win a tin of Teapigs’ matcha powder . If you want to know a bit more about matcha read my previous post.
I decided to cook something savory and after fighting with something like 10 different dishes I chose three of them:

Chocolate Calamari soup: weird is good

Few days ago I wanted to experiment a bit with calamari. I had in mind two dishes to work on for dinner. The first didn't turn out as I wished so you will have to wait to try it for yourself, but the second was delish!
Not really much to write about this dish, the fact that it includes chocolate should be sufficient to stimulate your imagination.
Chocolate and calamari? You would say; yep they go quite well together too!

Try it and let me know...

I have also tried a new style of photography.

Bluefin Tuna "alla Siciliana" with grilled Saffron Polenta wedges

Again today it was ugly and gloomy, less rainy than yesterday at least. Daddy was on his way to the fish market in Syracuse quite early this morning and brought back nice treats for our weekly meals. He found some more fresh sardines, some calamari and a special treat, fresh Mediterranean tuna steaks.
Mommy doesn't eat much fish but fresh tuna is among the few she likes, especially cooked the way I am going to show you.
It is a traditional way of cooking meaty fish like tuna and it uses the best of the sun gifts: fresh tomatoes and basil. We don't eat this dish very often, at most twice a year, tuna is rare thankfully since it is an endangered specie; the days of the old "Mattanza" are over...

As side, I needed a starch (since I am in a no bred period) and spotting an half used package of polenta cornmeal, while reaching for it I saw also that mom had bought some saffron. So my side dish was set: grilled saffron polenta wedges.
Back to the recipe, are you ready with your tissue papers? You are going to have a watering mouth, I advised you ;-)
Here we go!

Bluefin Tuna alla Siciliana (aka in fresh tomatoes and onion sauce)

Sun bathed Sardines

Oh the sun... I came to Sicily with the hope to see more sun than I would staying in Germany but, I was wrong. At least so far... On almost 8 days that I arrived in my home town, we have had only 3 days of sun; at least one was Easter. 
Tonight I was in the mood for some sun, the day has been gloomy all the way through and rainy. A look in the fridge and I realized we still had few fresh sardines that my father had bought at the fish market; we never run out of oranges around here and this is the period of blood oranges so bride and groom ready, time for the wedding to take place.

Sun bathed Sardines

Easter & the Sea

For this Easter lunch we decided to visit our favorite seafood place by the sea shores. The little, family run restaurant “I Malavoglia” is located in the once fishermen village of Aci Trezza near Catania. The restaurant takes its name from a novel of Giovanni Verga; a father of Italian literature who placed in this village his stories depicting the everyday struggle with poverty of a fishermen family whose only hope for survival is to rely on the holy Providence.

We are on the cliffs of Mount Etna. Behind us lines of villas inhabit the inhospitable but fertile grounds, orange, lemon and loquat trees. The ground consists mainly of lava stones of different nature reddish and sharp high on the cliffs and smoothed by the continuous flushing of the sea waves at the shores. The sea is dark blue and clear. The horizon is pierced by the dark jagged silhouettes of the Faraglioni; big boulders of lava stone racing for the grade of hills which, following the tradition, are the last surviving vestiges of Odysseus’ visit to the giant Polyphemus living inside the volcano. It is said in fact that the choleric giant threw Odysseus’ ship these stones after having had his unique eye blinded by a wooden pole.

Dining with a foot in China and another in Sicily

It is already a couple of months ago that an Italian friend of mine returned to Bonn to pay us a visit. We met up in the local vegetarian restaurant for a coffee and some catch up talk on our busy lives. Between a gossip, a complaint on our social life or our studies, she mentioned that she was guest at a couple of good friends and old colleagues. To thanks them for their hospitality, she asked me to prepare a traditional Sicilian dinner for the four of us.
I put together a very simple menu that required minimal cooking to do ahead of time and showing fresh and fragrant flavours typical of my island and, as it is traditional in Italian cuisine, I have divided the starch from the protein course.
The result was a summery four courses menu:

• Fried eggplant rolls with parsley and orange peel & Zucchini rolls with mint and lemon peel;
• Pasta alla Norma;
• Codfish gratiné with an almonds, thyme and black olive crust served with a fragrant orange salad;
• Mini cassata cake with home-made pistachio marzipan.