Green, greener, broccoli soup

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Cook the broccoli florets and the garlic clove for 7 to 8 minutes, then drain the water from the pot but leave the broccoli in it. Add the vegetable broth and the sour creaEspecially in fall, it seems our body just longs for the homely and cozy feeling that comes when we have a warm soup for dinner. Imagine going on one of those nice autumn walks through the park, stepping on the fallen colorful leaves, while the full shines on your face, yet the air already has a bit of a chill to it. When coming home, you got some nice broccoli soup waiting for you to warm you up afterwards. Preparation time is approximately 15 minutes from start to finish and is easy to prepare in large batches and store in the fridge or freezer for when you feel like it. On top of that, it is also quite healthy, (if you skip having (too much) bread with it. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 7 ounces (200 ml) of sour cream
  • 4 ounces (125 grams) of gruyere cheese (grated)
  • 1 cup (240 ml) of vegetable broth
  • 1 garlic clove
  • ½ cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon of ground pepper

m and use a blender to puree the soup. Add the water and put the soup back on the stove on medium heat. Last add the sesame oil, cayenne and group pepper and let it simmer with the spices for 1 or 2 minutes before serving. As vegetable broth usually tends to contain a lot of salt, there is no intrinsic need to add any on top of that.

If you are one of those many people, who need to chew something while eating to make it a pleasant experience, serve the soup with whole grain garlic bread or artisan baguette (like in the picture). Put the bread in the toaster for one or two minutes, to make it perfect.

 

 

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When it hash to be hearty: Crispy hash brown breakfast

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These are easy to make and thus perfect for breakfast, as they require only minimal thinking. So you can prepare them while you sip on your first coffee of the day and get your brain up to speed for anything that lies ahead. Hash browns rock – they’re hearty and give off a vibe of coziness. You can totally imagine them to be your perfect culinary companion on a chilly fall morning or snowy winter day. The only thing that can ruin this (at least for me) is if they are soggy. No thanks. This recipe makes a generous breakfast for 2. Preparation time, including frying in the pan, is approximately 25 to 30 minutes (if you discount the frying, it’s 10 minutes).

Ingredients

  • 3 medium-sized potatoes (or 6 small ones)
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ¼ teaspoon of ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 4 mini salamis
  • 2 spring rolls

Start by peeling your potatoes. Then shred them through the largest holes on your grater. Place them in a bowl with hot or boiled water for 2 minutes, then pour the shredded potatoes into a sieve and thus rinse off the starch. Then squeeze the shredded potato in a kitchen towel to remove as much extra moisture as possible. This will help achieve a crispier and more evenly brown result. Put the shredded potatoes back in the bowl and add garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and ground pepper, as well as the egg, and mix it all well.

Place half a tablespoon of butter in a pan brought to an upper medium heat. Each hash brown needs a generous scoop, with a tablespoon of the shredded potatoes. Use a spatula to flatten them. Let them fry in the pan for 5 minutes per side. Add further butter to the pan as you see fit. Ideally, however, always before adding a new batch of potato mix to the pan.

While your first batch of hash browns are frying, cut the mini salamis and spring onions into small rings. Once you’re done with frying the potatoes, briefly throw the salami and spring onion rings into the pan and let them cook for one minute, just because this gives them a nice flavor. Drizzle them on top of your hash browns. And… tata… breakfast is ready to be served.

Tip: Add one or two tablespoons of shredded emmentaler cheese on top. It’s absolutely devine.

Keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’: Spinach and ham pizza rolls

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Who still remembers that song by Limp Bizkit from the early 2000s? Even if you don’t, it sets the perfect tone for the theme of today’s snack. Everyone loves pizza and how could you not?! We have also all certainly daydreamed before about how amazing it would be if there was pizza right now, whether it be on a long drive, a picnic in the park or during a walk in the countryside, or even as a tasty school or work lunch or snack. Enter the pizza roll. They are the perfect food companion: delicious, easy to store and carry and simple and quick to make. This recipe makes for 10 rolls of ½ an inch each. Prep time for this beauty is 15 minutes (plus 20 minutes of oven time) and they are perfectly suited for making in advance for the upcoming week.

Ingredients

  • Large square pizza dough
  • 1 1/2 cups of cream spinach
  • 8 slices of beef ham (10 if the slices are smaller)
  • ½ cup of grated emmentaler or mozzarella cheese
  • 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon of salt

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Lay the pizza dough on baking paper and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius. Cook the spinach and add the spices. Spread the spinach on the pizza dough and make sure it’s even and that you leave a bit of space at the edges of the dough, so that the spinach doesn’t spill out when you make your roll later. Place the ham slices on top in a single layer so that they cover the entirety of the dough. Then drizzle the grated cheese on top.

Now let’s get rollin’: gently lift the baking paper at one of the shorter ends and fold the pizza dough about an inch onto the dough part underneath and from there continue rolling up the dough. Use the baking paper, don’t try to fiddle the dough off directly. Thereby you avoid the messy and complicated endeavor of trying to get the dough evenly rolled up. Afterwards, place it in the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes. Wait 10 minutes to allow the pizza roll to cool down a little before cutting it into 0.5 inch/1.5 centimeter slices.

P.S. This snack is ideal for adding your own twists and variations. Why not exchange the pizza with classic pizza tomato sauce or the ham with salami or add slices bell pepper instead of meat? Your options are basically endless.