RPG Vienna Cooking Non-Blog^^

[Darthbinks]

since someone was asking me, what I cooked before homeoffice-times:

三杯鸡 (San Bei Ji; Three Cup Chicken)

Taiwanese summerdish, which I typically eat in the winter
the name comes from using a ratio of 1:1:1 of sesame oil, soya sauce and rice wine
the original version uses one cup each … hence the name
(for a vegetarian/vegan version see below)

• chicken meat; cut in biteable chunks; 250g per person
• red chillies; chopped (see my second post regarding spicyness)
• garlic; peeled, but not sliced; 1/2 per person (yes whole garlic … not garlic cloves^^)
• ginger; sliced (see my second post regarding spicyness)
• sesame oil (ideally tosted sesame oil, if you can find that)
• soya sauce
• rice wine
• honey
• (optional: starch or maltose to thicken the sauce)
• basmati rice
• fresh basil; chopped (Thai basil would be ideal, if you are able to get that)

put sesame oil into a wok or pot on low heat
sear your ginger slices and garlic cloves
when the garlic cloves get soft, add & sear your chicken meat chunks on medium-high heat, till all sides are brown
pour the rice wine into the wok/pot
add soya sauce
add the chopped chillies (in the dish from the picture above I used Habaneros, 'cause I’m insane^^)
add a hint of honey
turn your wok/pot to low heat
cook till the meat is tender
(optional: add starch [diluted in water] or maltose to thicken the sauce)
take your wok/pot away from the heat
now add the chopped fresh basil
mix everything well
serve in small bowls on top of rice from the rice cooker

- DONE -

P.S.: a very good video can be found here

P.P.S.: for a vegetarian version use saitan or smoked tofu instead; if you use tofu, do not forget to press it first (here is a metal video, how to do that);
for a vegan version also exchange the honey with a small amount of sugar;

[Darthbinks]

Seafood Paella

the basics of this spanish dish are simple … although getting the caramalized bottom right is quite tricky

• olive oil
• 1/2 onion; diced
• 4 garlic cloves; pressed
• 1 red bell pepper; 3/4 of it diced; 1/4 sliced as topping
• 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika powder
• a few dried tomatoes, diced
• safron-seeds
• salt
• black pepper
• (optional: a bit of cayenne pepper … see my second post regarding spicyness)
• 1/4 l arboreo risotto rice
• 5/8 l vegetable broth
• 1/8 l tomato sauce
• seafood/shrimps as topping
• lemons; siced as garnish
• (optional: fresh cilantro; chopped)

pat down seafood / shrimps with a papertowel … they should be rather dry
put olive oil in a large sautée pan (if you have a paella pan more power to you) on medium-heat
add the diced onions to the pan

2min later:
press the garlic cloves into the pan
add diced tomatoes and the diced bell peppers and the paprika powder and mix everything until well combined
now add the tomato sauce and season everything with salt & black pepper (as well as optional a bit of cayenne pepper)
now add the vegetable broth and safron seeds and give everything a quick mix
when it comes to a boil … let it boil for about a minute (so that the safron infuses itself with the broth)

1min later:
now add the rice
stir everything once, so that the rice is evenly distributed
After this step do not mix the rice again … it would disdurb the way the rice cooks
(you could give the pan a short shake now and then … but do not stir!)

6min later:
add the shrimp/seafood topping on top of the rice
add the red bell pepper slices topping on top of the rice

2min later:
reduce the heat to low-medium and let it simmer

~5min later:
(there should be almost no broth left)
turn the heat back to medium-high and go for about ~60-90 sec
this will create the socarrat (that is the caramalized rice underneath)

60-90s later:
remove the pan from the heat and cover it with aluminum foil
cover everything with a dishcloth and let it rest

5min later:
now your paella is well rested & is ready to serve
serve with fresh lemon-slices
(optional: add a bit of fresh chopped cilantro)

- DONE -

P.S.: very good seafood paella videos can be found here, and here as well as here and here

[Darthbinks]

Quzi

a popular dish from Iraq, but you can find it in variations in all the Arab states of the Persian Gulf (e.g.
in Oman it’s called shuwaa)
the original recipe is filling a whole lamb with rice … from that serveral home-cook versions developed
(this is a Basra-style version)

• lamb meat (ideally from the leg aka “Stelze”) in thick slices … 1 slice per person
• baharat (an Arabian spice mix … see below)
• garlic cloves; one handfull; peeled & smashed (I used a handfull per 2 persons)
• salt
• basmati rice
• potatoes; peeled & diced in small quarters
• raisins (I used a handfull per 2 persons)
• almond splinters (I used a handfull per 2 persons)
• fat (I used duck-fat)
• humus
• (as sidedish: salad & bread)

for the baharat mix the following spices in a mortar:
allspice, black peppercorns, cardamom, cassia, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin, grinded nutmeg, turmeric, saffron, ginger and a bit of paprika powder (plus add dried red chili peppers, if you like it more spicy … see my second post regaring spicyness)

brown your lamb slices in a pot with fat on high heat
reduce the heat and fish the slices out of the pot

pour water into the pot
now add salt, baharat and the smashed garlic cloves into the pot
add your lamb slices again and simmer them for ~90min

meanwhile:
cook the basmati rice in a rice cooker
take a pan and sear your quartered potatoes in fat on medium-high heat till they are done
salt them a bit

at the end:
sear raisins in a pan in fat (you could re-use the same pan from before) on medium-high heat and add the almond splinters ~ 2min later
be careful, that nothing burns

to serve:
put rice on a plate
pour the potatoes and the raisin/almond-mix over the rice
add a lamb slice
add humus
(salad & bread as sidedish)

DONE

[Darthbinks]

Peposo

a dish from Tuscany, Italy
one story goes that this was invented by mercenary soldiers during the wars of the Italian states (mid 14th to 16th century) … btw that is great setting for a RPG-campaign
another story goes, that this dish was invented by tericotta tile workers during the Renaissance

note: the joghurt-mint sauce is not traditional, but fits perfectly in my optinion

• beef meat in big chunks … you don’t want them to be too small (bone-in beef short ribs would be ideal)
• salt
• 1-2 onions; halved & peeled
• cloves
• olive oil
• butter; only a little
• salt
• garlic paste; lots of
• black pepper corns; freshly crushed; lots of
• (optional: add even more pepper^^)
• rosemary
• bay leaves; a few
• salvia leaves; a few
• strong red wine with high acidity (I used a Chianti)

first salt the meat chunks on all sides and let them rest for ~30min
then brown them in a big bot with olive oil on high heat
take them out again and let them cool down

crush your black pepper corns
use your garlic paste and give the meat a good coating
now stick the crushed black peppercorns on the meat chunks

pin cloves in your onion halves (see picture above)
(I call them “hedgehog”-onions)

take a bit of butter and melt it in the same pot on low heat
put in the hedgehog-onions
give them a short time to release their flavours
take the out again

now put the meat chunks back into the pot
put in the onions again
add roosemary
add red wine
add salvia and bay leaves
add all the black pepper that did not stick to the meat
(optional: add even more black pepper … see my second post regarding spicyness)

bring the pot to a simmer
(the temperatuure should be as low as possibe, it should still boil though)
and let it cook for at least 210min
test if the meat is tender … if not give it more time

DONE

P.S.: I served it with a joghurt-mint sauce, that fitted this dish nicely (just add chopped mint leaves to joghurt)

P.P.S: I only showed the onions on the pic to illustrate how to make the “hedgehogs” … they would be too spicy to consume

P.P.P.S: a good video can be found here (my braising technique is a bit different, and he uses no “hedgehog”-onions)

[Darthbinks]

Vegan Fesenjan

for @Alrik & @lopo
a classic Persian dish
(for a non-vegan version see below)

for the dressing:

• soy joghurt
• mint, fresh & chopped

for the rice:

• basmati rice
• cloves
• salt
• (optional: raisins, a handfull)
• (optional: rose oil & safron)

for the stew:

• saitan or smoked tofu
• pomegranate juice or pomgrenade syrup (the latter makes it a bit sweeter)
• cashew nuts, roasted (roast them yourself if needed; if they are salted or not, does not really matter)
• pistachios, peeled, roasted (roast them yourself if needed)
• a bit of ginger, peeled & diced
• a onion, diced
• several garlic cloves, peeled, but not chopped
• olive oil
• walnut, grinded, lots of
• cardamom
• cinnamon
• coriander seeds, grinded
• turmeric
• nutmeg
• pepper, black
• salt
• (optional: walnuts and/or pomgranade pieces as garnish)

LET’S START

(should the cashew nuts and the pistachios not be roasted, roast them yourself in a small pan)

dressing:
add the chopped mint to a bowl filled with soy joghurt
mix it well and let it rest in your refrigerator for later

rice:
cook basmati rice with added cloves in your rice cooker
when done fish the cloves out again
(optional: afterwards take a handful of raisins and mix it with the rice)
(optional - if you want to impress someone: … dillute safron in a bit of rose oil and mix it with the rice)

stew:
put ginger dices and garlic cloves into a pot with olive oil on low heat and sweat them till the garlic cloves get soft
afterwards add your diced onion to the pot and sear everything a bit

now add in the saitan or smoked tofu
(if you use smoked tofu, cut it in small cubes before … you should try to preserve the shape of the tofu)
and season everything with a healthy dose of tumeric
sear everything on medium heat for only a short duration
reduce the temperature again

add LOTS OF grinded walnut
again sear everything a bit, while carefully stirring (take care that nothing burns!!!)
now pour in the pomgranade juice (or syrup)
after that season with a healthy dose of cinnamon & cardamom, and a bit of grinded coriander seeds
add the roasted cashew nuts & pistachios and add grinded nutmeg
also add a bit of salt & black pepper

bring everything to a boil again
put the lid on your pot and let it simmer for ~15min (~till the rice cooker is done^^)
afterwards taste for salt & black pepper

the finale:
take a deep plate or small bowl (depends on your hunger^^)
put in some rice
pour in the stew next to it
take a bit from the dressing and pour it over the dish
(optional: add walnuts and/or pomgranade pieces as garnish)

DONE

P.S.: a none-vegan version uses poultry (duck would be best)

P.P.S.: the joghurt-mint sauce for my peposo (see above) was inspired by this dish

[Darthbinks]

Coq Au Vin

French dish of chicken braised with mushrooms & bacon in red wine & Cognac
did this last year for a garden RPG-session

the original recipe uses rooster, modern ones (like this one) use chicken instead
so if you find an old french cook book, keep in mind that the cooking times for chicken should be shorter

this dish is a bit more complicated and takes some preparation

• chicken pieces, deboned (thighs “Oberkeulen” are best), 250g per person
• red wine (I used a Burgundy)
• 1/2 a onion or a shallot per person, sliced for the marinade
• 1/2 a onion or a shallot per person as garnish
• 1/4 of a carrot per person, peeled & sliced
• 1-3 gargic cloves, peeled & smashed
• thyme
• 1-3 bay leaves
• a few dried juniper berries
• a bunch of parsley, fresh
• a few black peppercorns
• Cognac
• olive oil
• chicken stock
• starch dilluted in water
• salt
• butter for caramazing the onions/shallots
• brown sugar (1/2 as much as you used butter)
• bacon, diced, 50-75g per person
• mushrooms, sliced, 50-75g per person

marinade first:
take a big bowl and place in half of the sliced onion/shallots and sliced carrots inside
followed by placing the chicken pieces on top
now add the rest of the vegetables on top of the chicken pieces
season everything with thyme
add black peppercorns, parsley, bay leaves, and the smashed garclic cloves
now fill everything up with red wine
add a healthy splash of Cognac
add a healthy dose of olive oil
seal it airtight and put it into your refigerator for at least 12h

it should look like this:

>12h later:
take the chicken pieces out of your bowl and pat them dry with paper towels

it should look like this:

followed by taking out the vegetables and also patting them dry with paper towels

now use a sieve and pour the marinade into a pot [A]
prepare a second pot [B] with chicken stock in pot
let both of them reduce
also add starch dilluted in water to thicken them
remove inpurities (e.g. fat) that form on the top of the pots [A+B] by sieving

prepare a big pot [C], that would survive an oven (see below)
add a bit of olive oil into the pot and brown all chicken pieces on all sides on medium-high heat
take them out again
now put the vegetables back in and sear them a bit
followed by readding the chicken pieces into the pot [C]

flambé:
put pot [C] on maximum heat
(it must be super hot, otherwise this won’t work)
add a splash of Cognac
and set it on fire

here you can see my kitchen set-up with the three pots:

after the flames have gone away, reduce the temperature to medium heat
now sieve in the wine marinade from pot [A] into pot [C]
and let it reduce again for ~ 10min

afterwards sieve in your thickened chicken stock from pot [B] into pot [C]
until it barely covers the ingrediences
season with salt
and put it into your 200°C pre-heated oven for 30min

while the chicken is in the oven:
first caramalize onions/shallots with brown sugar & butter in a sauteé pan or small pot

also sear your bacon dices in a second pan until they are slightly crispy
when done add & brown your mushroom slices in the same pan

serve:
you have some options here
I prefere to put 1 or 2 chicken pieces on a plate, and pour a bit of bacon-mushroom mix over them
and strategically place a caramalized onion/shallot on top
(mashed) potatoes are a great side dish as is toasted bread
finally garnish it with some fresh parsley

DONE

P.S.: awesome video for making the marinade can be found here, and for cooking this dish here

P.P.S.: I took pictures while doing the flambé (see above), but they do not look as awesome as in real life sadly^^

[K-the-fox]

Personal favourite of mine! If you like eggplant and Moroccan food, you are in for a treat.
(Got more if you’re interested…)

Serves 4 - I think

[Darthbinks]

sounds great

btw. I can recommend roasting an eggplant
that also workes very well
(just avoid eating the skin)

-> link to cooking vegan black metal video

[K-the-fox]

If you are feeling real fancy this one is also an absolute winner!
(Eggplant recipe thread? - - jks)

[Darthbinks]

awesome will try that one next week or so
(have all the ingrediences at home, except the eggplant )

[Darthbinks]

Malabar Chicken Biryani

note: I cut the chicken in biteable chunks, the original uses whole chicken pieces

for the marinade:

• chicken meat; cut into biteable chunks; 200-250g per person
• salt
• pepper
• ginger & garlic paste
• lime juice
• peanut oil; a bit

for the layers A:

• peanut oil
• onions; diced
• garlic; diced
• fresh chilly; chopped; 50% green & 50% red for the colour (see my second post regarding spicyness)
• tumeric
• cardamon
• cumin
• garam masala
• Sriracha chilly sauce
• feta cheese

for the layers B:

• basmati rice from the rice cooker
• a few cloves
• garlic cloves roasted in peanut oil

for the layers C:

• cashew nuts (equal to the amount of raisins)
• raisins (equal to the amount of cashew nuts)

for the layers D:

• coconut milk
• fresh cilantro leaves (double the amount of mint); chopped
• fresh mint leaves (half the amount of cilantro); chopped
• a bit of ghee

note: buying ghee is expensive … you can easily make it at home from butter … just be careful that it doesn’t burn

LET’S START

First make the marinade by seasoning the meat pieces with salt & pepper, followed by coating them in ginger-garlic paste. Then put them in a tupperware box filled with fresh lime juice, give it a shot of peanut oil, and let them rest in the refrigerator for a few hours / overnight.

a few hours later
Start making basmati rice in the rice cooker.

Make a curry, by first sweating diced onions & garlic in peanut oil on medium heat, then add the meat including the marinade, season with tumeric and and brown all sides. Afterwards add the chopped chilly, season with cardamon, cumin and garam masala and sear everything a bit. Put in the feta and also add a healthy dose of chilly sauce.
Stir carefully so that nothing burns while cooking the meat till tender.

While doing so sweat some garlic coves in oil till they are soft.
Mix those garlic cloves and some cloves with the basmati rice.

Chop the mint & cilantro leaves. Mix them well and put them into a bowl.

Set aside the curry, the rice and the leaves bowl for later.

Afterwards
Take a BIG pot and put in 1/2 of your curry.
Spread it evenly, so you cannot see the bottom of the pot anymore. → Layer A
On the top put 1/2 of your rice, also distributed evenly. → Layer B
On the top put 1/2 of your mix of cashew nuts & raisins. → Layer C
Pour coconut milk over the top, followed by putting 1/2 of the mix of chopped mint & cinantro leaves on top. Give everything a dose of ghee. → Layer D

here is how the layer’s looked in my kitchen:
Layer A

Layer B

Layer C

Layer D

Now build a second set of layers A, B, C & D on top of it, using the same order.

this was my final layer
Layer D2

Put a lit on the top and damp it for 20min on low heat.

20min later
Give everything one good stir, while fishing out the cloves.
Serve in small bowls.

DONE

P.S.: still feel a bit nostalgic about this since that was my first homeoffice/lockdown dish I made last year

[Darthbinks]

Chinese Pork in Honey-Pot

This was the first garden RPG dish I made this year
(I was dm-ing a Star Trek Adventures: Klingons game and we pretended it was Targ)
a classic homeoffice recipe … its pretty simple, just takes time^^

• pork meat; shoulder would be ideal; with fat layer
• salt; for wet brining; 120g salt per 1.4 kg meat
• water for wet brining; 1l per 1.4kg of meat
• ginger
• Sriracha chilly sauce
• honey; lots of

For this dish you need a big cooking clay pot, called “Römertopf” (since this is the name of the ceramic company) in German, that has the advantage the all the liquids you normally would loose in
the oven, are preserved.

brining:
First you need to cut in the fat layer of the meat with a very sharp knife, so it looks like a chessboard.
Cut through the fat, but do not hurt the meat.
Then you need to brine the pork meat for 1 day in salted water.

1 day after that:
Before you start, you need to fill the clay pot as well as the lid with water, and let them rest for 10min. This is super important.

Pour away the water and put in your brined pork meat, fat side up.
Put in thick ginger slices, I call them “stakes”, and put them inside, so that they fix the meat in the middle.

Pour Sriracha chilly sauce on top of the meat and use a spatula or fish knife to distribute it evenly. Make sure that it hits the chessboard-like cuts you made earlier.

Now fill the pot up with honey ,
by starting to pour it over the meat.
Close the lid of the clay pot. You can hear it when it rests in.

Put the clay pot into the cold oven.
Yes, this needs to start cold - This is super important!

Turn the heat to 175°C and let the magic work for ~1h per kg of meat.
Do not open the lid while it cooks!
Afterwards, carefully (it’s super hot) take the pot out and remove the lid. Do not turn off the temperature yet.
Then take a spoon and carefully (yeah … it’s still hot) pour some of the liquids over the meat and put it back into the oven without the lid for additional 5-10min to make it extra crispy.

Take it out again, cut the meat in big slices and put everything on a big plate.
Pour some of that delicious liquid over the meat slices as a sauce.

Serve:
… with Tangerine-Fennel-Salad (see below; I will post that next^^)

DONE

P.S.: For cleaning the clay pot use only water!
If some spots are more difficult to clean, you can add a bit of vinegar to the water.
Never use dish soap to clean the clay pot!

P.P.S.: The reason I wrote “… per 1.4 kg meat” is,
that the average pork shoulder piece weights around 1.3 kg to 1.5 kg.

[S_journ]

@Darthbinks

(I was dm-ing a Star Trek Adventures: Klingons game and we pretended it was Targ)

Let’s just forget about the dishes for a second and admire the most-nerdy-reference-filled-recepies ever!
(also thanks @Darthbinks, I’ll have to share this thread with my wife soon)

[Darthbinks]

Tangerine-Fennel-Salad

This was the main side-dish to the Chinese Pork in Honey-Pot (two posts earlier).
They work perfectly together.

• tangerines; peeled & chopped; lots of
• fennel; chopped roughly; almost the same mass of tangerines used
• avocato; peeled & chopped; about 1/8 of the mass of tangerines used
• dill; fresh; chopped finely; lots of
• mustard
• black pepper
• salt
• olive oil

Put your fennel pieces as well as the chopped avocado and tangerines into a big bowl.
Mix in lots of finely chopped dill and season with pepper and salt.
Add a few tablespoons of mustard.
Give everything a big dose of olive oil.
Mix everything well … in a way that the tangerine piecers get a little crushed, so that they can release their juices.
Let it rest in your refrigerator for a while.

DONE

P.S.: I also served Semmelknödel (Austrian/Bavarian bread dumplings) as a sidedish to the pork

[Darthbinks]

prawns, pineapple pieces and noodles are hidden underneath

Laksa Lemak

awesome Malay dish (can also be found in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand in variations)
served that yesterday for an Icewind Dale garden rpg-session
“lemak” is Bahasa for “fat” in English - in a coulinary term it means the creaminess of coconut milk
This dish is a bit more complicated, but totally worth it!

for the soups:

• chicken bones
• the scales of the crabs/shrimps you used for the rampah (see below)
• fresh Daun Kesum … that is Viatnamese cilantro … use regular one, if you can’t find it
• water
• salt to taste

for the rampah:

• shrimp or crab meat (I used the latter), blended
• candle nut, blended
• dried chillies, blended
• lemon gras, blended
• galgant, blended
• garlic, blended
• shallots or onion, blended
• shrimp paste
• sesame oil or peanut oil
• curcuma powder
• cardamom powder
• cinnamon powder
• cloves powder, a bit
• safron
• coconut milk
• sugar & salt to taste
• tofu cut in big dices, boiled tofu puffs, or fish balls

topping examples:

• 1/2 of an boiled egg <- this in mandatory!
• mie noodles or rice noodles
• prawns, seared or boiled
• mangosteens <- I those, but almost impossibe to get here, so I used tangerines instead
• pineapple pieces
• pomegranate pieces
• lychees
• thin cucumber slices
• thin radish slices
• sambal
• peeled, quartered lime slices
• a mint leave
• whatever else strikes your fancy … noone is stopping you

LET’S START

Make a chicken stock from chicken bones and water.
Make a fish stock, by first using oil to extract the flavour of the scales of the shrimp or crabs you used for the rampah. Add first water followed by the Daum Kesum.
Let both soups boil for at least 30min to extract the flavours.

Take a pan and toast the shrimp paste.
Now put everything, that has to be blended as well the toasted shrimp paste into a blender.
Now take a big pot on medium heat and put in some oil.
Pour in the ingredients from the blender and season with curcuma powder.
Roast everything a bit, till it starts to change colour.
Be very careful that it does not burn.

After it has change colour, sieve in the two soups into the pot.
(The liquid of the two soups should be equal to the amount of coconut milk used later, each.)
Season with cardamom powder, cinnamon, a bit of cloves powder, and add the safron.
Let it boil for about 10min.

10min later pour in the coconut milk.
Let it boil a bit to allow everything to mix and taste for sugar & salt.

After that add the tofu puffs, tofu dices, or fish balls.
Bring it to a boil again.

TO SERVE

You can really go crazy here.

Here is what I like to do:
I take a small bowl and put in rice noodles or mie noodles in the middle.
Now I lay an outer ring of prawns as well as a second ring of pineapple pieces on top of the prawns.
After that I pour in the rampah.
I typically decorate it with 1/2 of an boiled egg, as well as two thin cucumber slices, a few tangerine pieces and/or lychees ('cause I have no mangosteens), and whatever comes to my mind at the time^^.
Finally I place a single fresh mint leaf on top.

DONE

P.S.: a very good video can be found here

[Darthbinks]

Hi all

So the following will be the last recipe for a while.
Should there be a lockdown again in the future (I hope not … but you never know),
I will necro this thread …
… or maybe I will post some recipies during the winter-holidays
(depends on in which country I will be).

Thanks for the recipes others pm-ed me and esp. to @K-the-fox, who posted some here

sorry for making you all hungry

As the “finale” I always had planned to post an Austrian dish …
so without much further ado:

Filled White Cabbage

This Austrian dish is really complicated.
So if you try that at home for the first time having another pair of hands ready won’t hurt.
Made this as a birthday present for an old Viennice rpg-friend, who I haven’t been able to see for a looong time.

• a small white cabbage (“Weißkraut”; regular cabbage would not be tough enough)
• minced beef; 330g-375g
• thin bacon slices; 140g
• bread crumbs or potate starch to bind (rice would also work); 1-2 handfull
• cumin
• rosmary
• thyme
• black pepper
• salt
• cloves
• pork fat webbing (ask for “Schweinsnetz” at the local butcher)
• strong beef stock (ideally made from beef bones)
• (to serve: sauce tartare)

LET’S START

Prepare a strong beef stock, big enough to hold your whole cabbage.

Take a very sharp knife and cut a mark at one side of the plant stem and let’s call that “North”.
Then cut straight down a deep circle around the plant stem.

Take big pot, put in the white cabbage in, fill it with water, and bring it to a boil.
Now the leaves should fall off one by one. (sometimes you have to help a little)
Collect the leaves and put them aside IN ORDER.
Also divide them on which side the leaves were (“north, east, south or west”)
… yes will put that back together later …

Continue till you reach the white cabbage heart / no more leaves fall off.
Take the white cabbage heart out of the boiling water and let it, as well as the leaves, cool down a bit.

Mix the minced meat with the binding material (e.g. rye bread crumbs) and season it with thyme, salt, pepper as well as lots of cumin and a little bit of rosmary.
Set the thin bacon slices aside.

Now take the white cabbage heart and put the leaves back IN ORDER,
as you fill every leaf with 1-2 thin bacon slices and also add more and more of the seasoned minced meat as you progress to the outer layers.
Give the last layer stability by sticking in lots of cloves as pins.

That’s how it should look:

Now wrap it up in pork fat webbing to give it even more stability.

That’s how it should look:

Put the wrapped up filled white cabbage into a big pot.
Now fill that up with the strong beef stock.
Then put the lid on top and let everything boil for ~5h.
The heat should be as low as possible … but it should still boil.

~5h later:
Very carefull take the filled white cabbage out of the pot and put it on a big soup plate.
Cut it like a cake.

DONE

P.S.: serve it with sauce tartare (parsley potatoes are also a great side dish)

P.P.S.: do not throw away the soup - now it has even more flavours than before

[Darthbinks]

@Darthbinks

Should there be a lockdown again in the future (I hope not … but you never know),
I will necro this thread …

casts animate thread

plan to make you hungry again

[Darthbinks]

“cooking with Kinga” Part I:

Butternut Squash with Ginger-Tomatoes on Lime-Yoghurt

modded recipe I got from @K-the-fox
(mostly changed the steps to reduce work involved)
Made this for Halloween
also wanted to cook that for a RPG-session the upcoming saturday … but well …
for two persons:

• 1/2 butternut squash
• 3-4 plum tomatoes
• olive oil; 3 tablespoons
• salt; 2 tablespoons
• ginger; freshly grated
• chilly powder
• garlic cloves; pressed
• brown sugar
• 1/2 lime
• greek yoghurt (120g)
• cardamom powder
• cilantro; fresh
• spring onions
• black pepper
• (optional) a handfull of cashew nuts; splintered

Preheat your oven (220°C).
Slice the butternut squash into big wedges.
Take a big bowl and put the oil and salt inside.
Use this to season the wedges. Keep the bowl for later.
Put the oiled-salted butternut wedges into your preheated oven for 35-40min, 220°C.
Afterwards take the wedges out and let the cool down.

While they are resting,
half the plum tomatoes.
Season the inner side of the halves by using the leftover inside your seasoning bowl from before
Reduce the heat of your oven to 150°C.
Put the oiled-salted plume tomatoes into of your oven, skin side down, for 80min.

Meanwhile you prepare the seasoning:
Take a small bowl and mix the pressed garlic, grated ginger, chilly powder and brown sugar into a paste.

After the tomatoes were in the oven for 80min,
take them out and distribute your seasoning-mix on top of the plum tomatoe halves.
Put them back into the oven for another 40min, still 150°C.

Meanwhile
grate the peel of 1/2 a lime into another small bowl filled wiith the greek yoghurt.
Also put the juice of said lime half into the small bowl,
and add a solid amount of cardamom powder.
Put the small bowl into your fridge till the plum tomatoes in your oven are done.

When everything is done,
put the butternut squash wedges on a plate.
Decorate it with lime yoghurt.
Place the ginger-tomatoes on top.
Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top and add a few spring onion slices.
Give everything a dose of freshly grinded black pepper.

(Optional: you can also add splintered cashew nuts … supposed to make it crunshier … it doesn’t … but looks nice … so you can still do that if you are feeling fancy)

DONE

[Darthbinks]

Marroccan Okra in Pomgranate-Tomato-Sauce

modded recipe from an Australian-Marroccan cookbook

• okra; a handfull per person
• sieved tomatoes
• pomgranate juice; same amount as the sieved tomatoes
• a few garlic cloves; thinly sliced
• olive oil
• chilly powder
• cumin powder
• black pepper; grinded
• salt
• brown sugar
• almond splinters
• pine nuts
• cilantro; fresh
• (optional: baking soda OR vinegar)

take a pot with olive oil on low heat, put the sliced garlic cloves inside and sweat them a bit
next pour in the sieved tomatoes and the pomgranate juice
add chilly powder and a solid amount of cumin powder and pepper
add salt and a bit of brown sugar
cook - still on low heat - for 15min or so and taste for salt, pepper and sugar

put the okra inside and cover the pot with a lid
let them cook - still on low heat - for another 15min or so till they get soft
stir only carefully

carefully take the okras outside to serve, so that the okras are not breaking apart
garnish your plate with almond splinters and pine nuts on top, as well as fresh cilantro

DONE

P.S.: serve with safron-rice

P.P.S.: adding baking soda into the pot raises pH to a more alkaline level, which strengthens the natural binding effect okras have - letting the okras rest in vinegar for 30min before cooking this dish makes them less slimy and also tones them, as well as the tomatoes, down;

[S_journ]

A bit off-topic here, but I just found on the site of PlanetHarry, a
Call of Cthulu - themed cookbook exist!

The Necronomnomnom: Recipes and Rites from the Lore of H. P. Lovecraft: Slater,...

I’m curious, how our forum members with culinary skills (like @Darthbinks, @Siobhan) would find these.

On the other hand, by reading the top review:

"Be very careful buying this if you have kids. Made some of the recipes from this last night. Absolutely delicious but the food ate the children. We still don’t know where the dog is! "

…maybe it is not such a good idea.