Meat | Anyone 4 Curry & Other Things

– what the doctor once ordered became a little treat for me –

When I was a child, so my mother told me, I was diagnosed with “mild Anaemia” – which luckily lasted only for a short time.

I cannot remember if and what kind of medication our Doctor prescribed – but two things for sure I do remember until this day: I was supposed to eat liver and drink a glass of red wine with a raw egg !!! A number of you might think this would put me off totally of all those three items, but no, I began to like liver dishes prepared by my mother – the red wine/egg thing was something else. Don’t get me wrong I do like red wine and I do love eggs, but not together in a glass !!!!

So today I like to share one of my favourite liver dishes, it will only take 40 minutes from start to finish – this includes soaking the meat for some 20 minutes in milk.

I used the following:
Some beautiful calf’s liver, cleaned and cut finely into slim slices

2-3 x onions, thinly sliced
½ x a tray of Champignons, wiped with a dry paper towel and sliced

Some flour
Some milk for soaking the liver
Bouillon using 1 x Knorr Beef- (or Vegetable-) cube
Some cream
3 x Tbsp good Vegetable oil
2-3 x tsp of grainy mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Before starting to prepare onions, mushrooms etc., soak the liver in some milk for up to 20 minutes (there is no scientific basis for doing so, my meat smelled and looked beautifully fresh, the reason might be, because my mother always used to do this).
After this, rinse the meat and pat dry.

In a wide pan heat half of your oil and on medium heat brown your onions. Add the Champignons, mix and continue. Remove from pan onto a plate, add some salt and pepper and keep aside.

Now add the remaining oil into the pan and when hot add the dried slices of liver – sprinkle some flour over this and stir everything gently for a minute before adding onions and Champignons and mustard and again stir. Pour some of your bouillon and bring quickly to a boil for a few seconds. Switch flame off and carefully add cream, mix gently and check once again on pepper and salt.

That’s it – ready – enjoy.

Guten Appetit,

Namaskaram
Carina

Yes, it’s that time of the year again – my birthday will be tomorrow! Happy Birthday to me.

So I used this occasion to treat myself to yet another dish my ‘Mutti’used to make so well.

My late mother was born in a small town in Oberschlesien (Upper Silesia) which after the Second World War in 1945 became part of the Republic of Poland.

Sadly I do not have as many recipes from her old country as I would like, but, although today’s recipe is one I do remember well from my time growing up in Bonn, it is not easy to make this one here now, simply because it is very very difficult indeed to get those large succulent and tender Pork chops. (In fact because of this difficulty I have in the past used veal or chicken frequently instead of pork).

Ingredients for 2

2 x pork chops (or tenderloin slices)
Some garlic, finely chopped, or garlic powder
Some dried marjoram
Some breadcrumbs
Some plain flour
1 x egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 x Tbsp each of butter and oil

Place your chosen meat between 2 layers of cling film or parchment paper and bash this for a few minutes until the meat has become considerably thinner.

Line up 3 x plates, dip your meat into the beaten egg, then into the flour to which I had previously added the spices, then once again into the egg and now into the breadcrumbs, to which I had added some finely chopped parsley (optional).

Cover a plate with some cling film, then add the prepared meat and uncovered! Keep in your fridge for maybe 30 minutes or so (the coating on the meat should now stay on).

Heat pan on medium heat, add a knob of butter and a Tbsp of oil and when hot enough, carefully add the meat straight from your fridge. Gently turn this a couple of times when cooking.

When ready – keep warm.

APPLE RED CABBAGE
½ X Kg of red cabbage, very finely shredded
2 x slightly tart apples, peeled, quartered and cut into small pieces
1 x large onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 x cloves
2 x bay leafs
Some vegetable broth (from a stock cube)
Little vegetable oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Some red wine vinegar
And finally either some cranberries or red currant jelly (very little, must not become too sweet)

Method to cook:
Heat oil in large pan on medium heat, add onions, cabbage, apples, cloves and bay leafs, stir and bring to a light boil just for a few minutes. Add vegetable stock, salt and pepper, stir, and cover with a tight lid.

Reduce heat if needed and cook for some time – check after 30 minutes or so. When you are happy with the cooked cabbage add red wine vinegar and the jelly. Keep tasting – remember, the cabbage should not be too sweet – but should have just the right amount of “sweet tartness”.

PS This red cabbage freezes well.

Serve with either just boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes or with my favourite: Kluskis = potato dumplings (this recipe will be posted another time soon)

That’s it – Guten Appetit

Namaskaram, Carina