Search the Net, straight from here

Custom Search

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Cold or Warm Cabbage Salad

Grilling Season is here and 4th of July Celebrations are only a week away, so I thought I'd post a recipe from Austria, that will give you an alternative to the true and sometimes tired Cole Slaw everyone serves with BBQ.

A "Krautsalat" or Cabbage Salad is something you would find everywhere in Austria, maybe even Bavaria and it just goes great with any kind of grilled meat, but especially well with ribs and sausages. You can even prepare it a day in advance and it's going to be even better.

Krautsalat, is somewhere in between a Cole Slaw and a Sauerkraut, it's not entirely raw, but also not cooked fully. Its still crunchy! It's slightly tangy, but not sour like Sauerkraut, it has a refreshing taste and isn't loaded with Mayo! I think you'll have to try and you will love it.





Here is what you need:

1 1/4 lbs of finely cut white cabbage
3 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
6 TBSP Vegetable Oil
1 TSP Cumin
1 TSP Salt
2 fl oz water

Bacon bits (optional)

Place the finely cut cabbage in a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and mix well with your hands (kinda knead it a bit like a dough), let stand in the fridge for about an hour.

Then again, using your clean hands, squeeze out some of the liquid and drain the excess water.

Mix the water, vinegar and cumin and bring to a boil. Then pour the vinegar mixture over the cabbage and add the oil, mix well and maybe add some pepper if you like. Or toss in some bacon bits and serve with your favorite BBQ.

 You can make this the day before and just do the marinade the day of the BBQ.

A variation to this is a warm version, it differs from it in the way that the cabbage is blanched/boiled. And it definitely calls for the bacon.

You'll need:

1 1/4 finely cut white cabbage
3 oz of smoked bacon cut in small cubes
4 oz water or soup stock (any kind you like)
3 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
3 TBSP Vegetable Oil
1 TSP Cumin
Salt

As in the previous recipe, add the cabbage to a bowl, sprinkle with salt and knead. Set aside. Bring the stock or water, the cumin and vinegar to a boil, then add the cabbage and let cooking the covered pot at a rolling boil for about a few minutes. Remove and drain the excess liquid.

While it is boiling, render your bacon in a pan, then pour all of it (even the fat) over the cabbage, add the vegetable oil and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste and serve!

Delicious!



Monday, June 11, 2012

Gluten Free Crepes ~ Savory and Sweet



I love Crepes, who doesn't? As Children we would often eat them for lunch or dinner. Mostly the sweet variety. Spending summers at my Grandma's in Austria, we had the all the time, because they were easy to make and she would let us eat them with our fingers.... Ah she was so quick making them too.....

In and out of the pan, filled and in our hands in 3 minutes flat.... and the leftover ones, were kept plain, cooled down, cut in thin strips and then added to a broth the next day or so...... Delicious. "Palatschinken" is what we call them in Austria!

Here's what you need for the gluten-free version:

1 1/4 cup rice flour (I use Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour from Koda Farms)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter (or you could probably use coconut oil too)

Put all above ingredients in a blender and blend well, or you can do this in a mixer too, then let the batter sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It thickens a bit!

For the savory filling I used:

1 large leek, cut in rings
8 oz chopped mushrooms
2 shallots minced (you can use chopped onion)
3 cloves garlic minced
dash of gluten free soy sauce (try Kikkoman)
salt & pepper
red pepper flakes

 In a lightly oiled pan, sautee the minced shallot and garlic, add the mushrooms and the leek, and sautee until the mushrooms are cooked, if it gets to dry add a little white wine or broth. Season with salt & pepper and a dash of soy sauce, add the red pepper flakes if you like it spicier, turn down the heat as far as you can to just keep the filling warm.

Make your crepes. Its best to use a flat crepe pan, as its easier to flip your crepes, but you can use any nonstick pan you have. Heat the pan with just a little bit of oil and pour in a little bit of batter, swirl it around so you have a very thin layer of batter. Let cook until the crepe batter has no more "liquid" spots and the edges look golden brown, then flip over and let cook on the flipside.. once cooked transfer onto a warm plate.... do so with all of the batter.

Once you are done, fill the crepes with the prepare filling, transfer on dinner plates, garnish and serve.

For dessert I filled mine with Nutella and Raspberries! Yummy!




You can fill these with anything you like, all veggies, meat, chicken, tofu or any kind of preserves, applesauce, fruit, whatever.... the variations are as limitless as your imagination.