Strammer Max on potato rösti

For 4 persons:
4 large potatoes
Sea salt, pepper
oil for frying
4 eggs
4 slices of cooked ham
freshly cut chives for garnish

Besides:
Blini pan or small frying pan (10 cm Ø)
Cutting ring (10 cm Ø)

Peel, wash and coarsely grate the potatoes. Squeeze out the superfluous liquid well with your hands, salt and pepper lightly. Preheat the oven to 100°C (fan oven). Heat some oil in the pan, add a quarter of the grated potato and press flat. Fry one side of the rösti until crispy golden yellow. Then turn it over, add more oil and fry the rösti from the other side until crispy, too. Remove the rösti from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in the oven. Bake three more rösti in this way.

Heat some oil in a large pan over medium heat, break the eggs into the pan and fry over low heat to make fried eggs. Season with sea salt and pepper. Heat the ham in a second pan without adding oil. Place the rösti on four plates and arrange the warm ham on top. Remove the fried eggs from the pan, cut them into a perfect circle with the ring cutter and place on the rösti. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

 

Mini tartelettes with creamy scrambled eggs and caviar

For 4 persons:
Tartelettes:
250 g flour
160 g cold butter
1 egg
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of sugar
1 tbsp milk

Scrambled eggs:
2 tbsp cream
10 g butter
2 eggs
smoked salmon, caviar and chives to garnish

Besides:
4 tartelette tins (6 cm Ø)
Cutting ring (8 cm Ø)
Butter for the tins
Flour for working

For the tartelettes, quickly knead the flour, butter, egg, sea salt, sugar and milk into a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for an hour. Preheat the oven to 150 °C (fan oven) and butter the tins. Divide the dough into four portions. Roll out one portion of the dough thinly on the floured work surface and cut out four circles the size of the tins (freeze the rest of the dough in portions). Line the tins with the dough circles and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until light brown. Then remove the tartelettes from the tins and let them cool on a cake rack.

For the scrambled eggs, heat the cream and butter in a saucepan. Break the eggs into the pan and keep stirring until set. Divide the scrambled eggs in the tartelettes. Garnish the tartelettes with a roll of smoked salmon, a spoonful of caviar and chives and serve.

 

Chicken stew with vegetables and rice

For 4 persons:
1 carrot
1 leek (light green part)
1 clove of garlic
1 l chicken stock
2 tbsp rice
1 boiled soup chicken
Sea salt, pepper
freshly chopped parsley

Peel the carrot and chop fine. Clean the leek, wash carefully and cut into small rings. Peel the garlic and chop fine. Put everything in a large pot. Add the chicken stock, sprinkle in the rice and bring to the boil. Simmer the stock over a low heat for 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked.

Meanwhile, skin the cooked chicken, remove the meat from the breast and thighs and cut into small pieces. Stir the chicken meat into the stock and heat briefly. Season the stew with sea salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

 

Bouchées à la reine – creamy chicken vol-au-vents

For 4 persons:
1 boiled soup chicken
40 g butter
40 g flour
½ l chicken stock
150 g cream
Sea salt, pepper
1 dash of lemon juice
4 vol-au-vents (bought ready)
200 g small white mushrooms
2 tbsp whipped cream
freshly chopped parsley

Skin the cooked chicken, remove the meat from the breast and thighs and cut into small cubes. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour with a whisk and brown lightly over low heat while stirring. Add the stock slowly, stirring all the while, and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Fold in 100 g cream and season the sauce with sea salt, pepper and lemon juice. Preheat the oven to 80°C (fan oven) and heat the vol-au-vents for about 10 minutes. Leave the oven door a crack open.

While the vol-au-vents are in the oven, wipe and clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth. Bring the mushrooms to the boil with 50 g cream in a saucepan, season with sea salt and a little pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir the mushrooms and the chicken meat into the sauce and heat it up. Finally fold in the whipped cream and pour the ragout into the hot vol-au-vents. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

 

Flat chicken

For 4 persons:
1 kitchen-ready poulard (approx. 1.6 kg), soft butter to rub the skin
Sea salt, pepper
olive oil
1 bunch of thyme
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
3 cherry tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan oven). Rinse the poulard under cold water, remove any remaining feathers and dab the chicken dry with kitchen paper. Remove the spine with sharp poultry scissors and spread the chicken flat. Brush the skin side generously with butter and rub in. Then season the chicken with sea salt and pepper.

Heat the grill or a grill pan until very hot, place the chicken with the skin side on top and sear. If the chicken arches up, press it down flat with a pan. Turn the chicken on the grill by 90° and continue grilling until a grill pattern is formed.

Grease a large, flat stew pan with olive oil and spread the chicken flat inside with the grilled skin-side facing upwards. Wash the thyme, shake dry and distribute around the chicken, add the garlic cloves with peel. Cook the chicken in a hot oven for about 30-40 minutes.

Wash the rosemary and shake dry. Wash and halve the tomatoes. Place rosemary and tomato halves in the pan 5 minutes before the end of cooking and cook briefly. Remove the chicken from the oven and serve with white bread.

 

Îles Flottantes – floating islands

For 4 persons:
Egg custard:
1 vanilla pod
½ l milk
100 g sugar
4 egg yolks

Snow dumplings:
4 egg whites
1 dash of lemon juice
50 g sugar
½ l milk

caramel threads
100 g sugar

For the egg custard, slit the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the pulp. Bring the milk with 50 g sugar, vanilla pod and pulp in a saucepan to the boil and remove from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a bowl until creamy. First stir two ladles of hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, then stir the egg yolk mixture into the remaining hot milk. Put the pot back on the stove and gently stir the egg yolk mixture over a low heat until it thickens. (Do not boil, otherwise the custard will curdle.) Remove from the heat, remove the vanilla pod and allow the custard to cool at room temperature.

For the snow dumplings, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until stiff, slowly adding the sugar. Bring the milk or alternatively water to the boil in a saucepan. Use a tablespoon to remove small portions of the meringue mixture and carefully drop them onto the boiling liquid. Allow to simmer for a few seconds, then turn over and repeat process. Remove the snow dumplings with a skimmer and drain on kitchen paper.

For the caramel threads, heat the sugar with 2 tbsp. water in a pot and caramelise until light brown. Remove the caramel from the heat (be careful, it is very hot!) and allow to cool briefly, stirring with a fork. Then dip the fork into the caramel, swing it back and forth quickly over a sheet of baking paper to spin wafer-thin threads.

Arrange the vanilla cream in four bowls, place the snowballs on top and decorate with some caramel threads.

 

Giggerl or chicken in soy sauce

For 4 persons:
1 chicken (Giggerl), ready to roast
75 g butter
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 piece ginger (4 slices)

Cut the Giggerl into 4 pieces, heat the butter in a pot and seal the Giggerl briefly. Add the soy sauce and continue to seal on all sides. Add the ginger to the meat.
No salt, no water! Put the lid on and leave to simmer for about 1 hour, turning frequently. Serve with rice. Also tasty cold.

 

Fast Thai curry with chicken, peppers and subtle peanut flavor in red curry coconut milk sauce

For 4 persons:
500g chicken breast fillet, cut into fine strips
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 ginger root, fresh, about the size of a thumb, peeled, finely chopped
1 tbsp curry paste, red, or less
1 tbsp peanut butter
400 m coconut milk, unsweetened, creamy
2 peppers, red, diced into fine strips
3 spring onions, diced into fine strips
1 small jar bamboo shoots, in strips, well drained
10 baby corn cobs, from a jar, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp palm sugar, alternatively brown sugar
1 tsp lemongrass, paste or finely chopped
1 tbsp Thai basil, fresh
500 g jasmine or fragrant rice

Toss the meat in 1 tablespoon each of oil, soy sauce and ginger and marinate for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, clean and cut the vegetables. Seal the meat in a coated pan and put aside. Sauté the curry paste in 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large pan with a high rim. Stir in the peanut butter and let it melt. Deglaze with coconut milk, add the vegetables and simmer for about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the rice and let it steam.

Shortly before the end of the cooking time (the vegetables should still be al dente) add the meat and heat briefly. Flavour with palm sugar, fish sauce (use salt if necessary) and lemongrass paste (do not boil this). Sprinkle with Thai basil and serve with rice.

The composition of the vegetables can be varied/supplemented according to taste and availability, e.g. finely chopped water chestnuts for even more bite, a few small broccoli florets or some mange-tout peas (cut diagonally, briefly blanched or sautéd) as an additional dash of colour. Altogether there should be approx. 4 – 5 handfuls of vegetables (measured after cleaning and dicing).

Lemongrass paste is grated lemongrass marinated in some vegetable oil. It is best to store the opened jar in the freezer compartment.

 

Tuscan chicken bake

For 4 persons:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp cranberries (from a jar)
3 tbsp ketchup
800g potatoes, small
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
500g chicken fillets
3 tomatoes
3 sprigs rosemary
1 sprig thyme
250 ml chicken broth
Olive oil for frying and for the dish

Mix the first six ingredients for the marinade and add the rinsed and dried chicken fillets. Marinate for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
Peel potatoes, halve larger ones and fry in olive oil for about 10 minutes until brown on all sides. Peel and chop the garlic. Peel and halve the onion and cut the halves into rings. Wash and chop 1 sprig thyme and 1 sprig rosemary. Place the fried potatoes in an ovenproof dish greased with olive oil. Brown the onions, garlic and chopped herbs in the frying fat, then spread over the potatoes.
Distribute the meat with the marinade over the potatoes and bake in the oven at 200° C for about 15 minutes.
Then pour in the hot chicken stock, distribute the tomatoes and two sprigs of rosemary in the casserole and cook for another 30 minutes in the oven.