Rösti, a Valais specialty

So i just came back from a mini vacation in the Valais canton in Switzerland. I spent three blissful days skiing and hanging out at the thermal baths in Leukerbad, a gorgeous alpine village that looks exactly like a Swiss mountain village should look. More about that in my next post, which will be all about Leukerbad.

I'm working the closing shift at the paper tonight, so I don't have much time to dwell on my vacation right now. Still, I want to give you a little taste of the cuisine in Valais. Rösti is one of their signature dishes, something that is very similar to hash brow potatoes, but is served for lunch or dinner with many different toppings that range from pancetta to mushrooms and from ham to tomatoes. My favorite rendition is a simple one: potatoes, ham, fried egg and a little cheese. Heaven on a plate, I tell you.

Makes 1:

1/2 pound of potatoes, boiled in their skins the day before


2 to 3 tablespoons of butter

1/2 medium onion

salt to taste

Raclette (or other salty) cheese

Sliced ham

1 fried egg
Peel the cooked potatoes and grate them through a coarse grater. Slice the onions into thin wedges.

Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan and add the onions and cook them until they look glassy and transparent. Add the grated potatoes and the salt and stir through. Fry while stirring them around in the pan for about 3 to 5 minutes. Press together to form a flat cake and fry over medium heat until there is a golden crust on the bottom.

Place a serving platter on the pan and turn the pan upside down, so the Roesti falls on the platter with the crust on top.

Top with grated cheese, ham and fried egg. Stick under the broiler for 30 seconds and serve.

Egg salad

As you read this, I'm riding a train to Leukerbad, in the Western side of Switzerland, where I'll spend a couple of days skiing and hanging out at the beautiful thermal baths. In case you are wondering, no, I'm not always on vacation, as one of my friends said the other day. It's just a little weekend getaway, which will make the coldest days of the year easier to bear. I know it may sounds a little crazy to go to the mountains during the chilliest week of them all, but I'd rather be cold ina place where nbeing in cold weather is fun, rather than freezing my ass off by the lake, with the humidity killing me and making me shiver to bone.

Before leaving I didn't bothered going grocery shopping, so I had to get a little creative with my lunches. Egg salad sandwich sounded like a good idea - I hadn't had the stuff since I left the U.S. in April of '10 - so I improvised with what I had in the fridge. It turned out great, exactly what I had in mind: to make it low fat, I used yogurt instead of mayo, added some paprika for flavor and capers and for saltiness.

EGG SALAD:

1 hard boiled egg, minced
1 tablespoon of capers, minced
2 small pickles, minced
2 tablespoons minced onion
Salt and paprika, to taste
3 tablespoons of plain low fat yogurt (or more if you need it)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

Healthy habits: Eat more veggies! Vegetable frittata

Since apparently I didn't have enough stuff to do with my other challenge, the Indie travel challenge, I decided to embark in a healthy eating challenge as well. "Cooking Light's 12 healthy habits" seemed like a good option, since it isn't too demanding but at the same time it does push you toward a better way of eating and living.

January's challenge (I know, I'm a bit late, aren't I?) is to eat more vegetables, specifically to "Add 3 more servings of fruits and vegetables to your diet each day". Since I'm intolerant to most raw fruit and I don't really care for cooked fruit, I have decided to add vegetables to my daily diet and call it a day. It isn't too much of a challenge for me, as I really like veggies anyways, but I have decided to concentrate on some good vegeterian recipes that I can take to the office with me and eat for lunch.

Today I brought a nice frittata packed with tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini and fresh herbs. Easy to make, delicious to eat and, most of all, nice and light, so I didn't feel that after-lunch fatigue overcoming me.

VEGETABLE FRITTATA:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon butter
1 small zucchini, cubed
A few cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper

Cook vegetables in a small pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a bowl beat eggs, add salt, pepper and thyme. Add vegetables.

Heat butter in a small skillet, pour egg mixture into it and cook, about three minutes per side, or until desired degree of doneness.

Baked eggs... and a happy new year to everyone!

Happy 2012 everyone! I hope you had a great New Year's Eve and all that. As for me, I was fighting a cold, so it wasn't spectacular, but other than that I can't complain. 2011 was a good year for me. Lots of positive changes came along, and although it wasn't always easy to stay optimisitc and smile, it wasn't too hard either. I've found a job a like and friends I love, traveled to Sweden, Greece, Czech Republic and Germany... so, seriously, what's not to love?

And here I am again, super excited because the day after tomorrow I leave for a nine day vacation in Paris and London. How cool is that? I can't wait.

Of course I hope I'll find plenty of wi-fi connections so I can keep you posted while I'm visiting the cities and eating all that delicious food... but in the mean time, I want to leave you with a recipe I made on New Year's, a simple, no fuss dish that tastes great and is very comforting: baked eggs.

BAKED EGGS

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Cooking spray

4 (1-ounce) slices French-style country bread, cut into (1/2-inch) cubes

1 thinly sliced onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper, divided

2 tablespoons water

6 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

Dill

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Lightly coat 6 (8-ounce) ramekins lightly with cooking spray. Spread bread cubes in an even layer on a baking sheet, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until bread is crisp and lightly browned, stirring after 5 minutes.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to pan; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in 2 tablespoons water, and cook 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Evenly divide onion among prepared ramekins; top with croutons. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper evenly over croutons.

Carefully break 1 egg into each ramekin on top of croutons; drizzle 2 teaspoons milkover each egg. Arrange ramekins in a roasting pan lined with a dish towel (to anchor them in the pan). Pour boiling water halfway up the sides of the ramekins to make a water bath. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until the whites are almost set. They should be slightly underdone as they will continue cooking in the hot dishes when you take them from the oven. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Pane frattau (Sardinian music bread with eggs and tomatoes)

Again  have disappeared and haven't posted anything in what seems like an eternity. Also, I haven't been able to visit other people's blogs, which is even worse than not posting. The thing is, it seems like there's finally going to be a paradigm shift in my life —I won't say more because I don't want to jinx myself— and I have been hoping and wishing and dreaming too much to concentrate on cooking and writing. Plus, my parents just arrived from the U.S., so we have been going to restaurants a lot and we have been visiting family and friends, so there hasn't been a lot of cooking going on in our kitchen.

Sunday, though, my sister came to visit with her kids and we decided to make a special dish my parents used to eat while vacationing in Sardinia before I was born: pane frattau. Sardinian music bread is very thin and very brittle, which is why you have to dunk it in broth briefly before serving it. It's a very satisfying and yet very light dish... its only problem is once you eat it you want to eat it over and over again. 

PANE FRATTAU

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Half an onion, chopped
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans whole plum tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped (such as San Marzano)
• 4 large eggs
• 4 sheets pane carasau (Sardinian music bread), each broken into 4 wedges
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely grated aged pecorino Sardo
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Vegetable broth 
• • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion to pan, cook 3 minutes or until fragrant, stirring often. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Reduce heat to low. Working with one egg at a time, crack eggs over tomato mixture, about 1 inch apart in pan. Sprinkle eggs with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat.
  • Bring broth to a rolling boil. Dunk pane carasau in broth for a few seconds, until soft. Arrange pane carasau on each of 4 plates; spoon 3/4 cup sauce over each serving. Top each serving with 1 egg, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons grated cheese. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil.

Smoked salmon deviled eggs

Pasquetta (Easter Monday) is kind of a big deal around here. First of all it's a holiday, so everyone loves it. Anything that makes a weekend last longer is a blessing, even when you are unemployed. Because let's face it, it's more fun to play when you have tons of people to play with. Also, when Easter happens to be a late Easter like this year, chances are Pasquetta will mark the first cookout of the season. That's how it was here In Bissone last weekend. It was nice enough out and we had big plans for our first outdoors party of the season. Huge plans that involved grilling pork and chicken at the communal grill, while drinking draft beer (they had 5 liter kegs on sale... too good an opportunity to let it slip by...) and munching on the many appetizers and side dishes I was going to prepare. We were excited, I tell you. Excited and a little scared because the weatherman kept being a freaking killjoy, threatening us with the notion that it might rain. 


"Screw him."


We said that about a million times. And Friday, a friend and I passed the border and went to Italy to buy groceries. They do have grocery stores here in Switzerland, in case you are wondering, but everything is more expensive here, so it's worth the trip, especially when you have to buy meat and alcohol. Needless to say, you are supposed to tell the customs officers that you are bringing meat and alcohol back into Switzerland, but no one does it. Which adds a certain thrill to the whole experience, like you are some kind of much lamer, much tamer rum runner or something like that. 


We went, we bought, we came back. We stuffed another friend's fridge with out loot —he has a real bachelor fridge if I've ever seen one. I mean, he doesn't even have ketchup in it...— then we all went to the bar to celebrate our successful expedition. Saturday and Sunday flew by ina  whirlwind of parties, Easter lunches and trips to several lakes. I actually hung out at three different lakes in three days. But that's another story.


Monday rolled around and we packed all our stuff, ready to party by the lake. The menu included slow roasted tomatoes , potato and arougola salad, cold cuts and, of course, these deviled eggs, stuffed with smoked salmon and dill —two of my favorite ingredients. They were delicious. The meat was delicious. Everything was great and we had an awesome time. But weatherman, that bastard, was right. It did rain. At 4 o'clock, only for a half hour, but violently enough to send us all packing and running for shelter.


Oh well. It was still fun. So screw him. 


SMOKED SALMON DEVILED EGGS
Adapted from Cooking Light

• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 cup fat-free yogurt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ounces cold-smoked salmon, finely chopped
• 16 small dill sprigs (optional)
• • Place eggs in a large saucepan. Cover with cool water to 1 inch above eggs; bring just to a rolling boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold running water until cool.
  • Peel eggs; cut in half lengthwise. Place yolks in a medium bowl; mash with a fork until smooth. Add Yogurt and the other ingredients (through salmon); stir well. Spoon mixture into egg white halves (about 1 tablespoon in each half). Garnish with dill and tarragon sprigs, if desired.

Asparagus and eggs, Milanese style

Two weeks from today, I'll be flying over the Atlantic on a Boeing 767 en route from Atlanta to Milano. The thought, I have to admit, is at the same time exciting and scary, and I'm not referring to the fact that I'm afraid that the cat will decide to poop/pee/vomit several times during the crossing or the fact that I always, always sit next to one of those passengers that hog the armrest and have smelly feet.

The truth is I'm a creature of habit, and although I don't necessarily like most of the habits and routines that I've developed here, I still have this irrational, almost ridiculous attachment to my life as I know it. It's the little stuff, mostly. As I sit here with my patio doors open there's a sprinkler on —the damn thing has been hosing down my patio furniture, ruining it for years— and I find myself thinking that I'll kind of miss it. See? Little stuff. Little, stupid stuff. I like to concentrate on the little stupid stuff because, that way, I don't have to concentrate on the big, important things that would scare me shitless, and rightfully so. See? It's a little trick. Let's think about the sprinkler instead of thinking about the fact that god knows if I'll get a job once I get there. Sheer genius, I know.

Another ridiculous thing I'm concentrating on is cooking out of my pantry and come up with new and different ways to use the overabundance of eggs in my fridge. While most normal people would probably like to eat out as often as possible two weeks away from a transcontinental move, I don't. I want to cook as many meals as possible in the kitchen that has been my kitchen for seven years, so that I can bitch one last time about my electric stove or once more burn my hand in the oven. What can I say? I'm easily entertained.

So here's one of the recipes I've cooked to get rid of the many eggs that are sitting in the fridge. It really isn't much of a recipe. It's just asparagus sauteed in butter, seasoned with salt and pepper, moved to a side of the pan to make room for a few eggs, and everything topped with grated Parmesan cheese. Ta da.