Geri's Food - starters

Green Asparagus, Bacon & Egg

Geri — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 13:36:50 +0000

Green asparagus, bacon and egg is such a classic Easter dish. We have enjoyed it as a light starter, marveling how quickly we’ve managed to clear the plates. Traditionally, during the family Easter lunch I am serving my mother-in-law’s recipes of German White Asparagus Soup or Flemish Asparagus in Egg & Butter Sauce. Both are absolutely delicious! However, this time I am opting to lighten up the menu, serving a green asparagus starter instead.

Green asparagus don’t take long to cook. I prefer to steam them for a little while before adding butter and season with salt and pepper. As a result, they remain vibrant green, perfectly solid, yet wonderfully soft in a bite. There is no denying, crispy bacon fits green asparagus very well. But to add an extra texture to the dish I am adding crispy Asian fried onions as well. Topped with a perfectly boiled egg, with a yummy yellow center, the dish is a pure delight.

Is there a secret to perfectly boiled eggs? A little trick I have learned through the years claims that adding a tablespoon of olive oil to the water while boiling the eggs, helps the oil to penetrate through the shell and make the eggs easy to peel. In addition, I always put the boiled eggs to cool in cold water. As a result, when I am ready to serve, the shells are indeed easy to peel and the egg retains its perfect form.

The little touch of Champagne Vinaigrette adds a level of luxury to the dish. We take a bite, we smile, we crack a joke and before we know it is time to serve the main course – a succulent and moist Rosemary-garlic Crust Rack of Lamb, served with creamy white wine sauce, green salad and croquettes. Delicious and festive home food at its best!

Ingredients

For the Asparagus:

20 green asparagus
4 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
125g bacon
1/3 cup water
30g butter
50g Asian crispy fried onion
Salt
Black pepper

For the Vinaigrette:

2 tsp olive oil
½ tsp Champagne Vinegar
½ tsp Dijon mustard

For Decoration:

Spring flowers

Method

1. In a medium-size pot bring plenty of water to a boil. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and gently place in the eggs. Boil for 7 minutes. Take the eggs out of the pot and place in another dish, filled with cold water. Late them cool completely before taking out and peeling.

2. Trim the hard edges of the asparagus. Place them in a large sauce pan with 1/3 cup of water. Cover with a lid and let them simmer for 5-10 minutes. Pierce the edge of the asparagus with a fork, if it enters easily the asparagus are ready. Add the butter and season with salt and black pepper. Mix well.

3. Chop the bacon in small pieces and add in a large sauce pan. Cook for 10 minutes over a medium-high heat until the bacon turns golden brown.

4. Make the vinaigrette by mixing together olive oil, Champaign vinegar and mustard.

5. Serve by arranging the asparagus on a dish, cover with crispy bacon, crispy Asian fried onion, drizzle with the vinaigrette, place the egg in the center and season with extra salt and black pepper. Optionally, decorate with spring flowers.

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New Year’s Eve Canapés

Geri — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 18:34:44 +0000

Before the clock strikes twelve… anything could happen. Music, dance and cheers. Family meals or party with friends. Time for retrospect and being alone or time to launch yourself into the New Year with fierce determination and absolutely no regrets. Whatever the mood and however the entry, every New Year’s Eve deserves sparkling start.

We like to start the party, decorating the table with all kinds of canapés and small bites. These puff pastry muffin tin baked gorgeous creations are so extremely easy to make. A disk cookie cutter, muffin tin, ready made puff pastry, red pesto, and store bought salami. The rest is just a kitchen play until the tins are filled and set to bake. What a better way to start the party than a glass of champaign and a flaky mouth watering bite?

Ingredients

1 puff pastry roll
50g dried red tomato pesto (Bertolli Pesto Rosso)
12 thinly sliced salami disks

Method

1. Roll out the puff pastry.
2. Using a round disk cookie cutter, cut the pastry into disks.
3. Grease the muffin tins. To make the canapés spread one tea spoon of red pesto over a puff pastry disk and top with a salami. Roll the disks into a tube. Once you have made three tubes, hold them tightly next to one another and cut in the middle forming two pasty canapés. Place the canapés in the muffin tins and repeat until all tins are filled.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 200C and bake the canapés for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold, as desired.

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Cottage Cheese Canapés

Geri — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 13:15:29 +0000

It is a late summer afternoon and just like that we feel like having something. Not too much, so we do not spoil our dinner, not too sweet so we keep a healthy lifestyle… Something tasty, something light, something to keep the little hunger away while still delighting all the senses. Something closely resembling the famous English high-teas with freshly baked scones and cucumber sandwiches. Yes, I admit, I am watching too much Pinterest. But there is hardly too much of a good thing, and when it comes to things bringing joy and happiness it is usually a good thing to indulge.

Too lazy to make scones, all my attention goes to the cucumber sandwiches – little toasts of cottage cheese, topped with perfect round circles of cucumber, cherry tomato and radish slices, sprinkled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds and garnished with fresh oregano. This is our high-tea English heaven!

The cottage cheese is something special, grainy and soft, it usually does not have much taste on its own and goes well both with savoury and sweet. It resembles very much crème fraîche, but is a way more healthy option. It is the perfect accompaniment to a toast and the star ingredient of our canapés today – something little, something light, tasting sublimely great!

Ingredients

2 slices of square bread (cut diagonally)
125g cottage cheese
cucumber
cherry tomatoes
radishes
sunflower and pumpkin seeds
salt
black pepper
fresh oregano leaves

Method

1. Cut the slices of bread diagonally into even triangles. Toast them for a couple of minutes until golden brown.
2. Spread evenly spoonfuls of cottage cheese on each toast. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the cucumber, tomatoes and radishes into even circles.
4. Arrange on top of the cottage cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves and sprinkle sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

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