Healthy Spring Summer Rolls

Have you ever realised that you just go with the flow and you desperately need to stop and stare? This has been my condition for couple of weeks recently until I just couldn't neither sleep well, nor relax. And then I decided it was time to change. Maybe not fully change everything but at least my attitude. Because in the end work is just work and "life is what you miss when you are busy making your own plans", right?

Nowadays, we are victims of a speedy life when time is precious and everything is done on our ways. But the thing is, when we are trying to recall even what we ate yesterday we can hardly remember the menu... Hm... Of course! If a person eats, watches a movie, talks to a friend and checks an extremely interesting Instagram account she has bumped into by chance and all of it simultaneously, the brain does not really concentrate on a particular activity. Which means that our body is actually not really expecting the food we are consuming at such moments and we do not even notice how we eat our daily portion in a bite. 

And therefore another trend gets even more popular. SLOW FOOD. Slow living, slow time, slow food... Whatever you call it. We have to just go back to the basics. Eating and enjoying each bite. Because that is what brings us the most benefit. Add a good company to this, cook your food together and then enjoy it at the big table. That is what a slow life should be like... 

My input in the slow living today is a wonderful recipe of spring rolls. Made in the summer but that does not matter because they taste perfect during any season. Done very quickly. And suitable even for parties.

Ingredients:

yields 8 rolls

8 rice paper sheets (*easy to find in the Asian stores)

200 g fresh salmon

1/2 avocado

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 cucumber

10 cherry tomatoes (*my choice San Marzano)

2 cups salad leaves

1 cup precooked black rice

1 cup precooked quinoa

Philadelphia cheese 

fresh herbs

soy sauce

1 tsp Wasabi

The trick with the rice paper is that you need to soak it in a cold water in order to make it flexible and sticky. So prepare a bowl with cold water and set it aside. Wash the veggies and cut them into pieces (medium size, not turning into mush). Wash salmon loin and cut it into long pieces about 1 cm wide and 0.5 cm thick. Put the first sheet of rice paper into the water and keep an eye on it. The water should just cover it. Wait until it gets flexible and take it out. Put it on a plate and start filling. So just put a salmon string into the middle, Then some rice beside it, add veggies alongside, Philadelphia and herbs. Then fold as shown below.

   

Do the same with the second sheet and continue until you wrap all of them. As you've already understood you can use any vegetables you like and be creative.The original recipe would contain sushi rice but using black rice or red rice, quinoa will be much healthier and more beneficial for you so the choice is up to you :)

Serve the rolls with say sauce mixed with wasabi. Just dip the roll into the sauce and enjoy the taste...

Fro home-made to gourmet. 

XoXo

Anastasiya

Asparagus Soup with North Sea Crabs

Asparagus season is officially open! From April and till end of June is exactly the right time to buy seasonal asparagus here in the north of Germany. And although in Hamburg you will mostly find white or violet asparagus from the region (not the typical green sprouts) it is definitely worth to stop by at the local farmers' market and buy this fresh seasonal product. If you do not know what can you prepare and how is asparagus eaten the very basic recipe of asparagus you can discover here. And this Baked asparagus with ham and cheese with its tenderness of melted cheese and asparagus juiciness will definitely be a pleasant surprise for you.

But today I want to share the recipe that became one of the most favourite soups in my family: asparagus soup with north sea crabs. It is easy to cook, healthy, very tasty and full of flavors. The recipe is adopted from "1000 Recipes for two" by NGV. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we do during the season.

One secret for good soup is a good base, meaning broth. Depending on your preferences it may be made with meat and vegetables or just veggies. In my case, I always leave the broth from the meat I was boiling. A good choice would also be to use the rests of asparagus once peeled to cook a broth. Just add some salt and boil them for 10 minutes. That's it!

Ingredients:

yields 2 portions

500 ml chicken broth

200 g asparagus (your choice)

100 g north sea crabs or shrimps (cooked, ready to use)

2 shallots

1/2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp corn flour

1 small egg

sprinkle of salt,Herbes de Provence and pepper

Bring the broth to boil. Meanwhile wash asparagus and cut it into 3-4 cm long pieces. Put then into the boiling water and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Take asparagus out and set aside. Peel shallot and cut it small. In a pan heat the oil and fry shortly shallot and asparagus for about 2 minutes. Add some salt, pepper and broth. Pour it all into the main broth. Separately mix corn flour with some water into a paste, add it to the soup and stir well. Taste and if needed add more salt, pepper or other spices you like. Beat the egg and pour it gradually into the soup while stirring it with a fork quickly so that the egg threads are created.

Serve it with north sea crabs and a sprinkle of herbs de Provence.

Bon Appétit!

Asparagus: basic recipe

Spring is Asparagus season. That is a tradition in Germany.
April-May is a period of the year, when in every restaurant of Hamburg you will definitely find dishes with asparagus. Supermarkets offer different types of this beautiful spring vegetable: green, white, violet. Imported or German one :) Therefore asparagus is very popular in Germany, as it is grown here. Around Hamburg it is easy to find little farms with family business - Cultivating of asparagus. And real gourmets know that vegetables from region have the highest nutritional value.
So let us also start our own asparagus season with a simple, yet very tasty basic recipe.

Ingredients (2 portions):

2 eggs
8 cherry tomatoes
6 potatoes
300 g asparagus

For Hollandaise sauce:

3 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp butter (unsalted)

First thing we have to start with when cooking asparagus is peeling. Lower part of this cute stick is a bit woody and therefore we peel it a bit and cut about 1-2 cm of the bottom end. Peel potatoes as well. *No special tricks here :)
Boil a big (preferably high) pot with salty water and cook asparagus for about 2-3  minutes. Meanwhile prepare ice cold water. Directly from boiling water put asparagus into cold water. This little trick will ensure crunchy fresh taste. In the same water boil potatoes until you can easily stick a fork inside. Fry eggs on medium-low heat.

Last, but not least - the sauce.
Sauce Hollandaise during this time of the season you can, of course, find in every shop here. But if you want your food to be home-made and cooked with love here is one easy recipe of this magic suitable for asparagus sauce.

Melt butter. Blend egg yolks with salt and lemon juice using low speed in your blender. The yolks have to lighten in color before you add melted butter and blend again at low speed until the sauce is well mixed.

Serve asparagus with tomatoes and fried egg, sauce and potatoes.

And enjoy the season.