Asparagus quiche

get

2 bunches asparagus
200g spelt flour
50g hard mild cheese
100g butter

4 Tbsp olive oil
6 eggs
4 heaped Tbsp spelt flour.
150g hard mild cheese (cheddar, Bergkäse) (grated finely)
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated finely)
boiling water
1 cup spelt-almond milk

do

Break the hard bottoms off the asparagus stems. Wash them well.
Steam asparagus until soft. Cool and drain well.

Preheat the oven to 190°c.

Put 200g flour in a bowl. Mix in 50g cheese. Cut in 80g butter. Mix together with hands. Add drops of water and continue kneading until the pastry holds together. Cool.

Heat the olive oil with 20g butter in a small saucepan. When melted mix in 4 Tbsp flour and allow it to cook a little. Add boiling water bit by bit while mixing. The Flour mixture will absorb the water. Continue adding water until the mixture is a thick paste, then gradually stir in the spelt-almond milk. Add enough to make a very thick sauce. Stir occasionally while cooking for about 10 minutes. Then turn of the heat and continue stirring occasionally as it cools.

Roll out the pastry on a cloth. Form it to a pie shell in a 28cm round baking form. Sprinkle a little cheese on the bottom.

Beat the eggs well until foamy. Gradually add the warmish spelt sauce while beating, starting with a small amount. When it is all mixed in, spoon some into the pastry shell to cover the bottom.
Using scissors cut small pieces of asparagus into the pie shell. Discard any woody bottoms. Save the tips for later. Use half the asparagus. Sprinkle some cheese on top and then add more spelt sauce covering the asparagus.
Cut the remaining asparagus on top as before. Sprinkle with Parmesan and then add the remaining spelt sauce evenly on top. Arrange the asparagus tips on top and sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly on them.

Bake the quiche at 190°C on the second shelf from the bottom for 30 minutes.
When you are ready to serve the quiche, bake it for another 60 minutes at 180°C and serve it hot. Test it with a skewer. It can also be eaten cold later.

Bunya Nut and Macadamia Burgers

get
20 bunya nuts
200g macadamia nuts
80 ml tahini
1 small onion
100g organic spelt flour
filtered water
4 tbsp olive oil

do
Steam the bunya nuts in their shells for 40 minutes.
Peel and chop the onion finely. Place in a large bowl.
Mix in the tahini with a wooden spoon.

Medium grate the macadamia nuts and add to the mixture. Mix.
Cut the hit bunya nuts in half with a serrated-edged knife. Removed the bunya flesh and press through a garlic press into the mixture. Mix after each couple of bunya mash is added. It is important to mix the bunya paste in while it is hot or it becomes too firm to mix in. Do a few bunyas at a time leaving the rest in the steamer to keep warm. When they have all been added, mix well. Add some more grated macadamias if necessary to lighten the mixture.
Cool.

Place flour on a large dinner plate. Put some water in a bowl. Put a large flat spoon in the water. Dip your clean hand into the water.
Scoop some of the mixture using the wet spoon and press it hard onto the palm of your wet hand to form a burger. (You can use 2 wet spoons if you don't like to use your hand). Place the firm burger on the flour and turn it. Leave it on the flour and turn occasionally so it becomes covered in flour. Repeat until you have enough burgers. Cover the rest of the mixture and store in the fridge.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the burgers at a low heat until lightly coloured.

These burgers will become quite crunchy if fried golden. If you prefer them that way, they also taste good golden.

Also recommended cold and on the next day.

I use the tahini from the bottom of the jar when it is too thick for other purposes.

More Bunya Burgers

Macadamia Pesto

Macadamia flowers

get

1 bunch basil 

2-3 cloves garlic

300g raw macadamia nuts

10 tbsp olive oil

all organic

do

Finely chop the basil with a large sharp knife and place in a large bowl.

Add the peeled and crushed garlic.

Grate the nuts with a medium grater. Mix under the other ingredients.

Stir in enough olive oil to make a smooth paste.

Flatten the surface of the pesto and dribble some oil on top.

Serve cool.

The pesto should have a light green colour. If it is dark green add more nuts. This will depend on the size of your bunch of basil. If it seems dry use more olive oil. If you like plenty of garlic, use more.

Serve with pasta or potatoes and a salad. It compliments noodles with tomato sauce very nicely.

 
Coriander pesto

Potato salad

Here are two varieties, one with mayonnaise/ yogurt and the other one with stock:

With mayonnaise &/or yogurt:

GET
1 kg firm potatoes (Bamberger Hoernle potatoes)
200–250 g eggless mayonnaise or
yogurt/mayonnaise mixture
8 pickled gherkins (cornichons)
2 sour apples
1 tsp hot mustard
Some Dorrigo pepper (white pepper)
2 -3 eggs boiled for decoration (optional)
all organic

DO
Steam the spuds and peel after they have cooled down.
Mix mayonnaise and/ or yogurt, add mustard and pepper. Cut gherkins into small cubes add and mix in. Then add the finely sliced potatoes, taking care that they do not stick together. Peel and cube apples and mix under. Let it rest for more than 30 minutes. Peel the boiled eggs, decorate salad with egg halves and serve.



With stock, vinegar and oil:

GET
1 kg firm potatoes
1/4 l vegetable stock
1 onion
8 pickled gherkins (cornichons) 
3 Tbsp. Mirin or vinegar
olive oil
Some Dorrigo pepper (white pepper)
chives
parsley
all organic

DO
Steam the spuds and peel after they have cooled down.

Chop onion finely, fry in oil till translucent, set aside. Add hot stock, vinegar, pepper and some oil. Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes and drop into the (still warm) dressing. Cut the gherkins into fine slices and add. Let it rest for more than 10 minutes. Decorate with some gherkins, cut chives and parsley.

Potato salad should always be prepared fresh and be served at room temperature. One day in the fridge is also possible.

The Bamberg potato cannot be harvested by fossil fuel powered machines, hence it is an endangered vegetable.

Bunya Potato Salad

Images:
Vincent van Gogh, Still Life: Potatoes in a Yellow Dish, 1888
Max Liebermann, Potato Harvest, 1875

Torta di Mandorle - Almond Cake

250g spelt flour
125g butter
7 eggs separated
3 ½   heaped tbsp honey

350g finely grated almonds
4 tbsp Apricot jam
all organic

Place flour in a bowl. Add in the middle 1 tbsp honey and 1 egg yolk. Mix into the flour with a wooden spoon. Add the butter in flakes. Mix then knead to a pastry. Cool covered with a tea towel.
Grate the almonds using a hand grater or an almond mill. Do this 100g at a time to avoid fatigue.*
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Roll out the pastry and make a pastry shell on the bottom and sides of a 28cm round baking form with it. Cover it with grease-proof natural paper and place weights on the paper (e.g. 6 Walnuts).
Bake for about 8 minutes, until the pastry starts to lift off the baking form bottom. Remove from oven. Remove paper.

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat them well for a couple of minutes. Add 1 tbsp honey and continue beating until it is integrated into the egg white mixture.
Beat the egg yolks until very smooth and creamy for a few minutes. Add 1 ½ tbsp honey and continued beating until it is very creamy.
Carefully lift 150g almonds in small amounts under the egg yolk mix using a wooden spoon.
Spread the apricot jam evenly over the baked pastry shell bottom.
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the shell on top of the apricot jam. Smooth the surface.
Bake for about 8 minutes until the egg yolk mixture starts to become a little golden on top.
Remove from oven.
Beat the egg white mixture again for a short time to refresh it. Gradually add the remaining almonds and lift them under.

Add the egg white mixture to the cake on top of the partially baked egg yolk mixture. Smooth the top. Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the top is lightly golden. Turn off the oven and leave the door open with the cake inside for another 30 minutes.
Remove the cake and cool.
Remove it from the cake form.

Torta di Mandorle is a layered almond cake reflecting the colours of the egg. Serve it with tea or coffee. It is an ideal cake for a picnic.

* Almonds need to be grated to get the right texture. Do not put them into a food processor. A hand grater is laboursome but worth the effort. It is good excercise and you keep control over your ingredients.

Hummus and Tabbouleh

GET
Chickpeas
1 cup organic washed chickpeas
3- 6 cloves of garlic
200 g organic hulled tahini
4 lemons, lemon juice (do not use preserved lemon juice!)
cooking water, to make a paste
Olive oil

Tabouleh
1 cup of organic Bulghur
2 bunches of flat (organic) parsley or more
6-7 medium organic ripe tomatoes
3 sprigs of mint, (round leaf for tea)
3-4 cloves of organic garlic
1 lemon
Olive oil

Bread
Flat bread or organic white sesame bread - all toasted

DO
Chickpea Hummus
Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain, add a lot of fresh water and cook. It can take longer than you think for them to get soft. When they can be squashed between your fingers, they are ready. Drain and keep the cooking water.
Put half of the slightly cooled peas into a large bowl.
Prepare the lemon juice, 3 Tbsp. of olive oil, the garlic and the tahini.
Add half of that mixture to the chickpeas and mash ( I use a puree stick, food processors probably do the trick too) Then add the rest of the chickpeas, the tahini mixture and mash.
Should it be too stiff, add some of the left-over boiling water, as if making a mayonnaise. There should be no chunks, just a smooth cream.
Most people add salt here, I prefer to leave it up to the eaters to add. Flatten in a bowl or two, sprinkle with olive oil. Refrigerate. Should you want to eat it immediately, leave one bowl out, as it tastes much better at room temperature. Before serving, stir, add some parsley or tomato wedges etc to decorate.

Tabbouleh
Soak bulghur in cold water for at least 30 min. Drain well and sprinkle with some lemon juice. Chop the parsley, not too fine. Cut the tomatoes into fine cubes. Cut the mint leaves fine. Mix it all gently together. Mix olive oil, lemon juice and minced garlic. Pour over 'salad' and mix.

This ancient Middle Eastern dish is excellent for hot days or picnics. In Lebanon it is served with Falafel, but nut burgers are ok too. Mint tea also goes well with it.

Images:
August Macke, 'In the Bazar' and 'Turkish Cafe', 1914, via Zeno