wickwar's kuchyně

Tastes of the world from a kitchen in Ostrava, CZ.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Sausages, mash, peas, gravy

English sausages with mashed potato, peas and a red wine and onion gravy.

Simple but perfect. This is all about the ingredients - in this case rare-breed sausages from Suffolk, UK (again, flown out via Ryanair - thanks Mum!). I think we had wild boar, gloucester old-spot and toulouse.

I fried the sausages in oil until brown all over, then finished in the oven at 150 celsius for about 10 minutes to make sure they were cooked through.

Served with buttery mashed potato and some boiled peas.

The gravy went as follows:

After frying, remove the sausages from the pan and add some sliced onions. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly over a medium-high heat until soft and caramelising. Add about 1 tbsp cornflour and stir through (this will thicken the gravy). Add a glass of red wine and simmer until absorbed, then add 1/2 chicken stock cube and some hot water, and stir until thickened. Keep adding hot water and stirring until the gravy is not thickening anymore, but is not too watery. Now it’s ready to serve...

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Scallops, black pudding, mash

Pan-fried scallops on black pudding with potato and carrot mash

This doesn’t really need a recipe, I just wanted to share pictures of this wonderful dish! The scallops were fresh from Makro CZ, and I froze them in small packs. The black pudding is from my Mum & Dad’s local butcher, and flown out here via Ryanair (thanks Mum!)

You will need:

Approx. 4 scallops per person

1 large slice black pudding (or maybe 4 small slices)

Potatoes, carrots for the mash

Butter for frying and for the mash

Oil for frying

This isn’t the healthiest dish. The black pudding was fried in butter and a little oil until crisp and black on the outside. I like my black pudding well done! I think I prefer smaller slices though as they cook more evenly and really crisp up.

The scallops are best done in lots of butter over a high heat, 1-2 mins each side until caramelised. They smell so good. Then they taste even better.

The mash was an after-thought to try and fill up the children. But it worked here, the sweet carrots complementing the scallops. Could have done with some sauce though...

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Ted Beer’s Sauvin Saison

Saison ale brewed with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops.

So, our kitchen is also home to my homebrewing hobby, so I thought I would share details of a brew I did recently. 

This is a Saison-style ale, which originates from Wallonia. It was traditionally low in alcohol, dry and refreshing, but now stronger variants have become more typical. I have brewed 3 saisons this summer, all from a single vial of White Labs’ WLP565 Belgian Saison yeast. The first 2 were much lower in alcohol, and used Pale Ale malt and some different hops - Jester and Huell Melon. This beer recreates a successful experiment from last summer, and features Bohemian Pilsner malt for a very light colour, and Nelson Sauvin hops for an incredibly fruity, white-wine like flavour. This one is strong, with an estimated finishing ABV of 6.5%.

Saisons were originally brewed to be enjoyed during the hot summer months, but I choose to brew them during summer. The main reason for this is I don’t have any refrigeration for my brewing process yet, and as Saison yeasts work happily at higher temperatures than other ale yeasts, I can brew during the summer, typically between 24-27oC. This brings out fruitier, pepper-like flavours from the yeast, which are common in saisons. In fact I have tried saisons with farmyard and old leather flavours, so for some the weirder the better!

For 23L of beer I used:

36 litres tap water, left overnight to allow chlorine to dissipate

5kg Bohemain pilsner malt

250g torrified wheat

220g acidulated malt

1 tsp Irish moss

1/2 tsp yeast nutrient

100g Nelson Sauvin hops

The torrified wheat is to establish a fuller, longer-lasting head on the beer, and acidulated malt to bring the mash pH down to create a more balanced beer (not overly malty or bitter). I did also add some chemicals to alter the water profile, but these are only relevant to my own tap water.

The day before brewing I began by crushing the grains in my new grain mill. This took about 20mins to do by hand. I extended the container for my mill as you can see here...

On the brew day I heated my water to 74.4oC, then transferred 15.4L to my mash tun (a converted cool box). I gradually added the crushed grains and stirred them well so there were no dry clumps left, then put the lid on and left for 10mins for the temperature to settle. I checked the temp after this and, when I was happy it was roughly 64.4oC through most of the mash tun, I put the lid back on, wrapped in a blanket and left for 75mins to mash.

64.4oC and a long 75min mash helps to get lots of sugar from the malted grains, and will create a light body and higher ABV  in the finished beer, which I wanted for this style.

After 75mins I removed the lid and checked the temperature, and was happy it had fallen very little throughout the mash. Then I started the sparge. This was a fly-sparge, which involves trickling the remaining water heated to 80oC from the boil kettle onto the grains while simultaneously draining the sugary wort from the mash tun. The aim is to do this slowly and carefully, so you don’t disturb the grain bed and release maximum sugars from the grains. I collected about 30L of wort, and when I checked the gravity it was slightly above my estimated boil gravity at 1.046, meaning the mash had worked well. 

I next had to transfer the collected wort back to my boil kettle. Olga wasn’t around to help me lift the full kettle, and it is a struggle to lift it to the top of my oven on my own. So a bit of brewing inventiveness, and my trusted auto-siphon, helped me complete this task...

Next step was to bring this wort to a rolling boil. I boil with the copper wort-chiller in the pot so I don’t have to add it later, and I use a home-made ‘hop-spider’ which I boil my hops in to keep the gunk contained so it doesn’t block the filter in my boil kettle.

I measured out the hop additions - 2g for 90mins boil, 8g for 5mins and 40g to steep in the wort after I turn the heat off after 90mins. The aim here is to add most of the hop bitterness late in the boil, and extract as many flavours and aromas from these incredible hops as possible. To be honest I don’t go in for overly-bitter beers, and find that as saisons finish dry, the bitterness can get really harsh. So I aimed for about 25IBUs here, which is low-medium for the saison style.

10mins before the end of the boil I added the Irish moss and yeast nutrient. Irish moss is a seaweed, and helps create a clearer beer...

So once the 90mins was up, I turned off the heat, added the last 40g of hops and let it sit for 30mins. As soon as this was up, I started running cold water through the wort-chiller to bring the temperature down as fast as possible to a good range for the yeast - about 24oC. This uses a lot of water. so I collect as much as possible. The hottest water is for cleaning all the brewing equipment. Then I collect a big bucket of water for my fish tank. Then lots of small bottles that Olga uses for watering the plants. Only after I have filled everything I can do I let cold water run back into the sink, as you can see in this picture...

Once the wort is cooled, all that needs doing is to transfer it to the fermenter. This is my first time using my new stainless steel Brew Bucket. I run the cooled wort from the boil kettle tap, letting it splash as much as possible to add oxygen for the yeast. I also use a large stainless steel whisk to stir the wort as well, creating as much foam as possible. I found that 23L is a perfect amount of wort for my 26L fermenter, but the foam was too much, spilling over the sides! Once it had settled a bit though I sealed the lid and let it sit for a moment.

Now all I needed to do was add the yeast. I collected a jar of WLP565 yeast from my previous brew, so I only had to open the fermenter again and pour the yeast in. 

Then I waited for fermentation to start - indicated by carbon dioxide being forced out of the airlock...

So that is the main brew day in some detail. Now the beer ferments until gravity has dropped sufficiently, then is allowed to rest and clear for a few days. When fermentation seems to have finished, I will add 50g of Nelson Sauvin hops to the fermenter to ‘dry hop’ for 4-5 days. This should add loads of nice fresh aroma and flavour from the hops without extra bitterness. This whole process will take about 3 weeks, then it will be time to bottle...

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Chinese pulled rabbit

Rabbit legs cooked in a pressure-cooker in a Chinese five spice sauce with tofu, broccoli, spring onions, Chinese cabbage, peanuts, honey and lime juice. 

So this is something I came up with a while ago, and am finally getting around to sharing. Still perfecting the recipe, and it changes with the ingredients I can get. For example I would always use pak choi over this Chinese cabbage as it wilts down perfectly, but it wasn’t to be found anywhere this week.

I have cooked this with chopped rabbit chunks before, but I find that on the bone it tastes so much better, and is so much more obvious when the meat is tender and flaking off. Unfortunately there are sometimes little bits of bone that come off with the meat, so do be careful.

This was served with jasmine rice and served 4 adults and 2 children.

You will need:

Jointed rabbit. I use the back legs (1 per person) but is also good with the rabbit back etc.

Oil for frying

2 onions, finely chopped

2-3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1-2 tbsp Chinese five spice powder (ground: star anise; cinnamon; fennel seeds; black pepper; cloves). Mine is just from M&S.

1-2 bay leaves

1 block tofu, cut into cubes.

1 vegetable stock cube

Water to cover

Broccoli - florets separated from the stalk. Stalk cut into julienne strips.

Spring onions, sliced

Chillies, finely chopped 

Chinese cabbage or pak choi, cut into long strips

1 small handful unsalted peanuts, ground down to a powder

Whole unsalted peanuts for serving

1-2tbsp honey

Juice of 1/2 lime

Salt & pepper to season

Start by coating the rabbit legs in some flour and frying in the oil for a few minutes until brown all over.

Fry the chopped onion and garlic in the pressure-cooker over a medium heat for a few minutes until soft, then add the five spice and bay leaves and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the rabbit, and continue to cook for a couple of minutes to coat the rabbit with the seasoning. Then add the stock cube, cover with water and cook under pressure for about 45mins (I usually do in 20min stages to check there’s enough liquid).

By this stage the meat should be starting to come off the bone, if not return to pressure for another 10mins or so. Now add the broccoli florets and stalks and cook under pressure for another 5mins. 

Then add most of the sliced spring onions, the tofu and Chinese cabbage and cook under pressure for another 5mins.Now the meat should be really flaky, and vegetables cooked. Add the ground peanuts and continue to cook, uncovered, for a few minutes which will help thicken the sauce. Add honey, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the chillies, remaining spring onions and whole peanuts scattered on top.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Goat leg with courgette risotto

Roasted goat leg, potato, shallot and garlic in red wine sauce with courgette, mint and feta risotto-filled baked ball courgettes

It’s our son Ted’s 4th birthday today. When we asked him what he would like to eat on his birthday, he said chocolate cake, with chocolate. I took that to mean goat with courgette risotto, with chocolate cake for dessert. Olga took care of cake duties, and I set about creating his dream birthday meal.

The goat we have had in the freezer for a couple of months now, and I was looking forward to cooking the leg. With a visit from babi a děda (Czech grandparents) I finally had the occasion to cook it. And, with the ever-growing abundance of courgettes, I decided to do a courgette risotto and stuff it into some of our enormous ball courgettes.

For the risotto-filled courgettes:

1 ball courgette per person, or 1 large between 2 people

1  regular courgette, grated

Risotto rice

1-2 large onions, finely chopped

2-5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

25-50g butter

Olive oil

White wine

Chicken or vegetable stock in water heating in a separate pan

Feta or balkan cheese cut into small cubes

Goat’s cheese crumbled

Fresh mint leaves, chopped

Grated parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper

Start by cutting the tops off the ball courgettes, and hollowing them out, retaining enough flesh at the edges to hold the shape. Discard the centre flesh that is full of seeds, keeping any good flesh for cooking. Top it up with whole grated courgette.

Cook the ball courgettes in some hot water, or steam over boiling water, for about 5 minutes to soften a little. I put them in the stock pan for a few minutes.

Melt the butter in a large pan, and add the olive oil. Slowly cook the onion and garlic until soft, then add all the courgette. Over a high heat, cook to soften the courgette and steam off some of the excess water. Add the risotto rice and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Add a good amount of white wine (I’d say to cover the rice + a bit extra. For 1kg rice I used 750ml wine!) and cook until the wine has evaporated. Then start adding the stock, a few ladle-fulls at a time. For 1kg rice I used about 3l of stock. Cook until rice is just soft, but still a bit crunchy. Turn the heat right down, and add the feta or balkan and goat cheeses, chopped mint leaves and some extra butter. Stir through, then turn off the heat and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Fill the ball courgettes with the risotto, and top with the grated parmesan. Bake in the oven at 200oC for about 30mins, then brown the top under a hot grill.

For the roast goat and vegetables:

I found this to be a really simple and honest way to cook the goat to bring out the most of its natural flavour. It really is delicious, not at all like lamb like some would expect - maybe closer to beef?

1.5kg goat leg

2 bay leaves

100ml olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

A handful of fresh oregano and/or marjoram leaves

A few medium sized baking potatoes, with skin on

10 shallots, skin on

1 bulb of garlic cloves, skin on

Red wine

Salt & pepper to season

Blend the bay leaves, olive oil, lemon juice and herbs together, and use to marinate the goat leg for 1 hour. I did this in a plastic food bag in the fridge.

Remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature. Place the goat leg and some of the marinade in a roasting tray, surrounded by the potatoes, shallots and garlic cloves. Roast in an oven at 200oC for 15mins, remove and add a cup of red wine. Return to the oven and roast for another 60mins, basting the goat in the juices every 15mins or so. Add more red wine if needed to keep things juicy. When the potatoes are soft, remove them and the shallots and garlic and continue to cook the goat for another 30mins or so until nicely browned. Sprinkle the leg with some salt and allow to rest at room temperature for about 10mins.

Slice the goat and serve with the vegetables. Drizzle the juices from the pan over as a gravy.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Harissa prawns and chargrilled courgette salad with avocado milkshake.

Spicy prawns in harissa sauce, with a bulgar, mint and chargrilled courgette salad and an avocado milkshake.

The wife asked for something spicy tonight (nothing to do with having a hangover whatsoever) so I obliged with this. Plus we have a ridiculous abundance of courgettes and I decided for once instead of moaning about them I would cook them as I enjoy them most - burnt!

The fresh vegetables and mint in the salad help temper the heat from the harissa a bit, and the avocado milkshake soothes and delights...

For the prawns:

Harissa paste (recipe here)

Enough raw king prawns to feed a small army. Shelled and deveined of course.

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Coriander leaves, chopped and whole

Olive oil for frying

Marinate the prawns in the harissa paste for an hour or so...

Heat the oil in a frying pan, and fry the shallot and garlic over a low heat until softened. Add the prawns and all the harissa paste, and continue to cook until the prawns are pink and cooked through, and before they start to shrink too much. Add the chopped coriander leaves and stir through off the heat. Serve decorated with the whole coriander leaves.

For the salad:

Bulgur wheat prepared to the packet instructions

1 tomato, chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

Fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

2 courgettes, thinly sliced lengthways with a mandolin

Begin by chargrilling the courgette slices on a very hot griddle pan. Mix the chopped tomato, shallot and mint leaves with the cooked bulgur wheat. Serve the bulgur with courgette slices on top, and top with fresh mint leaves.

For the milkshake:

1 ripe avocado, skin and stone removed

500ml milk

1tsp honey

Blend the avocado flesh, milk and honey together in a blender until smooth. Serve in a glass, or cup, or something like that.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Slow roast lamb breast with sweet tomato jam

Slow roast lamb breast rolled with mint/basil pesto and harissa, served with sweet tomato jam and cous-cous.

I threatened/promised another lamb recipe, and this uses another new cut for me: de-boned breast of lamb. This can be stuffed, rolled and slow-roasted. 

I made 2 different pastes to fill the lamb with, a mint/basil pesto and hot harissa paste. This was served with some cous-cous, and fed 2 hungry adults and 2 surprisingly keen children.

For the pesto:

Handful each of mint and basil leaves

Handful of raw non-salted cashew nuts, toasted for a minute or two in a hot pan

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Grated parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper

Combine the mint and basil leaves in a mixer with the garlic and pan-toasted cashew nuts.

Blend together while slowly adding the olive oil until loose and blending smoothly. Keep it fairly thick though as you don’t want lots of oil oozing out of the lamb. Add some freshly-squeezed lemon juice, grated parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.

For the harissa:

60g chopped dried chillies, or chilli flakes.

1tsp dried mint

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground caraway seeds

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

60ml olive oil

Pour boiling water over the chillies and leave to soak for one hour, then drain. In a blender combine the herbs and garlic, and the chillies. Process for about 20 secs, and scrape the side of the bowl down. Then process again, gradually adding the olive oil, until all mixed and loose.

For the lamb:

Approx 800g de-boned lamb breast

Homemade pesto (recipe above)

Homemade harissa paste (recipe above)

Pre-heat oven to 150oC.

Lay the lamb open, spread with pesto/harissa (or both), roll and tie together. If you find at the last minute you don’t have any string left, just sew it together with a skewer like I had to do!

Heat a griddle pan hot, and fry (or grill) the lamb for a few minutes until brown all over.

Then transfer the rolls to an oven tray and bake in the oven for about 90 minutes, until cooked through. Slice the lamb to serve.

For the sweet tomato jam:

This time cooked by my beautiful assistant Olga:

1.5kg fresh ripe tomatoes tomatoes - halved, seeds squeezed out and flesh grated with a cheese grater. Discard skins.

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cinnamon stick

1 brown onion - peeled and grated with a cheese grater.

2 garlic cloves - crushed

1 tsp ground ginger

Pinch saffron threads

Salt and pepper.

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Fry the onion for 5 mins. then add cinnamon stick, garlic, ginger, pepper and cook for 1 min. Add the saffron and tomatoes and ½ tsp salt. Simmer on a medium-low heat for 45-60 mins. stirring often so it doesn’t burn. At the end, stir in honey and ground cinnamon. Season to taste.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Lamb breast with roasted cauliflower

Lamb breast slow-cooked in moroccan spices with whole cumin-roasted cauliflower.

This is from a recently-butchered lamb, and a cut I haven’t really tried before. Basically it’s the top end of the ribs cut from the rack, with layers of meat and fat on the bone. 

I decided to cook this in a pressure cooker, but the same meal could be done in an oven with about +2 hours cooking time. Cook until the meat falls off the bone.

With some extra boiled cauliflower and potatoes, this served 2 adults and 2 fussy children.

For the lamb:

Approx. 1kg lamb breast on the bone

1tbsp Moroccan spices (I used some pre-mixed from Marks and Spencer, but otherwise mix ground: cumin; coriander; ginger; chilli)

2 carrots finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed but whole

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

Whole coriander stalks

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

Oil for frying

Water to cover

Salt and pepper to season

Begin by browning the lamb breasts in oil with the crushed garlic cloves until brown all over.

Fry the chopped onion, garlic and carrot in a pan for about 10 mins, until soft. Add the spices, bay leaf and cinnamon stick and fry for 2 mins. Add the fried lamb breasts and whole coriander stalks (tied together in a bunch if possible). Cover with enough water so it won’t dry out, and pressure-cook for about 40mins (or transfer to a covered oven-proof dish, and bake at 180oC for about 2 hours). The lamb meat should be falling off the bone by this point, if not then return and continue to cook for a bit longer. Remove the lid (or transfer to a pan) and finish cooking over a medium-high heat for about 10 mins, to thicken the sauce slightly. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Roasted cauliflower:

I found something similar to this online, and adapted the spices to fit the Moroccan influence of this meal. I think from now on I will only roast cauliflowers whole!

1 whole cauliflower, loose florets and leaves removed, and stem chopped neatly near the base

25g-50g soft butter (depending on size of cauliflower), 

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp toasted and crushed coriander seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by boiling the whole cauliflower in salted water for about 5 mins to soften it before roasting. Drain and let it cool for a few minutes. Mix the spices, salt and pepper into the butter to make a paste, then spread over the cauliflower. 

To cook, simply bake in the middle of an oven at 220oC for about 40 mins, until brown all over. 

To serve, plate up the cooked lamb still on the bone (or pulled if you wish). Slice the cauliflower through the stem into large wedges (or just in half). Top with the Moroccan-spiced sauce from the pressure cooker, and sprinkle over some chopped coriander.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

wickwar’s kuchyně is back.

So, after 2 years and one week since my last post, I’ve decided to resurrect my food blog! 

I certainly didn’t stop cooking in the last 2 years. But with second child, promotion at work and time-consuming hobby home-brewing beer I convinced myself I just didn’t have the time.

But I’d like to try again, and if you find the time to follow (and maybe even try some of these recipes and let me know how they work for you) I’ll give it a shot.

My recipes will probably be quite lamb-focused for a while, as that is what we have a freezer full of. Also as we have lots of friends buying lamb from us now, I wanted to offer some ideas of what to do with it.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Cod and cauliflower two ways

Fried cod in a panko, sesame and onion seed crumb, served with cauliflower puree and cauliflower & coriander 'couscous.'

Olga wanted to cook cod and cauliflower salad tonight, which inspired me to basically take over completely and make this. Hope she doesn't mind me always taking over in the kitchen, I mean who can complain about having this cooked for them? But then you should have seen the washing-up I left for her! (which I then did out of pity)...

For the cod:

The cod is dipped in flour, then egg, then a mixture of breadcrumbs (normal & panko), black onion seeds, sesame seeds and salt & pepper. Then fried in sunflower oil on both sides until golden. I detailed it better here.

Cauliflower and coriander 'couscous':

So this is not, and does not use, couscous. Instead, you cut up the ends of the cauliflower florets until it resembles couscous. So cool. So tasty.

1 cauliflower

25-50g butter

Some olive oil

Coriander leaves, chopped

Cut the cauliflower florets from the stalk, then try to cut mostly just the ends of the florets off. Save the floret stalks for the puree, and put all the fluffy heads in an electric mixer.

Mix for a couple of minutes, in short burts, until it looks like grains of couscous.

Now, it can be eaten like this (crunchy) or cooked for a few minutes in butter and oil until it softens a bit, whcih I did. Finally stir through the chopped coriander leaves.

Cauliflower puree:

Leftover cauliflower florets from the 'couscous'

A knob of butter

Cream, full or half fat

Lemon juice

Salt & pepper to season

So you have the florets left without the fluffy heads. Put these in a pan of boiling water and simmer until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Put the cooked cauliflower and butter into a blender, and start blending while adding cream, until it becomes a smooth puree. If you don't want it too creamy, then add the reserved cooking liquid. You want it smooth and not too wet. Finally blend through some lemon juice and salt & pepper to taste - the lemon juice gives it a bit of acidity that balances out the creaminess, but don't overdo it.

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Mustard and curried rabbit řízky

Řízek (or řízky as we usually mean more than one) are more commonly known to the English as Schnitzels or Escalopes. My opinion of them wasn't that high until I realised how popular they are here in CZ and how good they can be! They are a kind of staple meal in most pubs and restaurants, and are usually served with Czech potato salad. These řízky were just served in buns with some mango chutney.

Řízky are more commonly made with deboned chicken or pork, but my mother-in-law introduced me to the wonders of rabbit! They don't need cooking for long and come out wonderfully juicy and tender. I developed my own recipe for the crust - mustard, that traditionally goes with pork, and curry powder if you like that sort of thing :)

For this version you will need:

2 rear rabbit legs, de-boned, cut into largish pieces and flattened slightly with a kitchen hammer (which also tenderises the meat)

Flour for dusting the meat

1 egg

1-2 tsp curry powder

1-2 tbsp mustard (I used a slightly sweet and grainy Czech one)

Breadcrumbs - a mixture of regular and panko works nicely

Salt & pepper to season

Oil for frying

If you can de-bone the legs without cutting up the meat, all the better, then you can cut into a few large chunks. Otherwise cut off the bone in large bits. The following pictures show the legs, after de-boning, then after tenderising with kitchen hammer:

Lay out three bowls or plates in a row. In one pour some flour. In the next break in the egg and mix with curry powder and mustard (balance it out so not too dry or too liquid, it needs to stick to the meat and hold the breadcrumbs). In the last add the breadcrumbs and some salt & pepper.

Heat a frying pan with oil. These are probably better done in a deep-fryer, but if you half fill a frying pan with oil it helps.

Dip the meat in flour first, then the spicy egg mixture, then the breadcrumbs, making sure it's all coated. When the oil is hot enough (but not too hot so they burn rather than cook) place the řízky in, cook until the breadcrumbs are golden, then flip over and repeat. Cut one open slightly to make sure the meat is cooked through.

That's it really. Remove to a plate with some kitchen paper to drain off some of the grease. Serve with potato salad or in bread with sauce. SImple and delicious!

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Rabbit liver and kidney 'topinky'

Spicy rabbit offal and vegetable 'topinky' (toasts)

Topinky are a bit of a Czech pub specialty. Usually consisting of meat and vegetables cooked in a sauce and served on deep-fried bread with grated cheese on top. Some places do it with chicken, some with pork. One of my favourite places to eat topinky is quite a unique pub and restaurant in Ostrava called Pivovarska, where they serve 'Ďábelské topinky' (devil's toasts) with a spicy liver topping.

Olga's parents bought us a box of fresh rabbit livers and kidneys yesterday (god knows how many rabbits had gone into it!) and fresh vegetables, so I decided to try topinky. I improvised with the sauce ingredients, and added some generic Thai sauce from the fridge, but you could substitute with something similar. The main thing is to make sure the meat and vegetables are finished off and thickened up in some sauce.

You will need:

Rabbit ivers and kidneys, cut into strips

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 onion, sliced thinly

3 tomatoes, chopped small

Peppers e.g. red and green, sliced into strips

2 tbsp sauce such as thai, plum, sweet & sour etc.

1 tbsp tomato puree

Something to add heat, such as a chill pepper with seeds, some harissa paste, or cayenne pepper

Butter and olive oil for frying

Chopped parsley leaves

Start by heating some butter and olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat, and cooking the slices offal until brown on the outside but still a bit pink inside. Remove to a plate, keeping the oil for the vegetables.

Add the garlic and onion and fry until softened, then add the pepper strips and continue to cook until they are softer. Add the chopped tomato, spice and sauce and some water and cook until reduced. Add the offal near the end to finish cooking. Best consistency is not too watery, but not sticky either.  Stir through some chopped leaves such as parsley.

Serve on toasted bread, with salad leaves. Top with grated cheese for true Czech authenticity! (I forgot to add it for my pictures!)

[wickwarskuchyne-blog]

Fried cod with pea puree, asparagus and poached egg

Fried cod in a panko, sesame and onion seed crumb, served with pea puree, chargrilled asparagus and poached egg.

A second sea-fishing adventure has bagged another freezer-load of cod! This is amazing if you use panko breadcrumbs - a Japanese breadcrumb that comes out amazingly crispy. Can be bought in Globus in Ostrava.

For the delicious crust you will need:

Enough panko breadcrumbs to cover the fish

1-2tsp sesame seeds

1-2tsp black onion seeds

salt & pepper to season

A plate of flour for coating

1-2 eggs, beaten

First coat the cod fillets in flour, then dip in the egg. Mix together the breadcrumbs, sesame and onion seeds, then coat the fish in this mixture.  Heat up enough sunflower oil in a frying pan to shallow fry the fish, then fry for 3-4 minutes each side, so the fish is cooked and the batter browned but not burnt.

For the pea puree:

Frozen peas

1-2 garlic cloves, chopped

butter 

salt & pepper to season

I love pea puree, and have even converted an American friend who says he doesn't like peas, but liked the 'green thing' I made him!! You can add fresh mint leaves if you like.

Boil the peas in a pan for 2-3 minutes until softened, but not wrinkled. Meanwhile fry the chopped garlic in a knob or two of butter in a pan until golden. Drain the peas, reserving some of the cooking juice. Put the cooked peas, and garlic/buter from pan into a blender. Blitz until really smooth, adding an extra knob or two of butter for richness, and some of the received cooking liquid to keep it moist but not runny.

Finally, chargrill some fresh green asparagus on a griddle pan, and poach some eggs. For me, 4 and a half minutes in a pan of simmering water with a bit of vinegar is perfect - with a very runny yolk and just-set white. 5 minutes will set everything a bit more.

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Rabbit braised in mushroom sauce

Rabbit braised in mushroom, white wine and star anise sauce with potato puree.

Haven't cooked rabbit for a while, and it's definitely time to make some freezer space before the next delivery! Here the rabbit is browned in a pan, then cooked in a sauce in the oven until tender. I found some star anise while clearing out the spice rack, so thought I'd try it as an extra spice - and Olga and I both agreed it worked. With the mushroom soaking liquid, and sage leaves, it created a really meaty, sweet-savoury flavour. I recommend only 1, or half, a star though as the flavour is strong!

Ingredients:

2 large rabbit legs

4 shallots, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, crushed

cider or white wine vinegar

white wine

Dried mushrooms (e.g. porcini/cep) rehydrated in about 1L hot water for half an hour, with a vegetable or chicken stock cube. Sieve out the mushrooms, reserving the liquid.

1 star anise

2 bay leaves

Few peppercorns

Bunch of fresh sage, thyme and rosemary

Butter for frying

Start by heating a large knob of butter in a pan until melted and sizzling. Add the rabbit legs, and fry until browned on both sides. Remove to a plate.

Add the chopped shallots and garlic, and fry until soft. Add 1tbsp of the vinegar, and cook over a high heat until reduced, then add a glass of white wine and repeat the process. When most of the liquid has reduced, add the mushroom stock, bay leaves, peppercorns, star anise and fresh herbs. Bring to boil, and cook for a few minutes to reduce slightly. Lastly add the mushrooms to the sauce.

Put the rabbit legs in an oven proof pan, then pour over the sauce. Cover with a lid or tin foil, then place in an oven at 180oC for 1.5-2 hours, until the meat is coming off the bone.

When it's cooked, heat the pan on a hob for a few minutes to thicken the sauce a bit more. Serve the leg with some pureed potatoes, and spoon over plenty of the sauce.

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wickwar's kuchyně turned 1 today!

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Rabbit 'many ways' with apple relish & sautéed sweet potato.

Rabbit loin fillet wrapped in bacon, rib rack, breaded liver & kidney, and marinated spare ribs with apple relish and sautéed sweet potato cubes.

Olga's Dad bought us over a bag of freshly butchered rabbit, so I decided to go all out and try lots of things in one meal. I butchered the body down further to 2 loin fillets, 4 french-trimmed racks, and spare-rib-style ends of ribs. The back legs I de-boned and made into řízky (Czech schnitzels) which I'll post a recipe for soon :)

Loin fillets wrapped in bacon:

2 Loin fillets of rabbit

1 tbsp french mustard

4 rashers smoky bacon

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

Large knob of butter

Rub the loin fillets in mustard to coat, season with salt & pepper, then wrap the rabbit in the bacon. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium-high heat and melt the butter in, then fry the wrapped fillets in the fat for about 5-7 minutes, turning regularly to brown the bacon all over. Remove to a baking dish and pop in an oven @ 50oC to rest and keep warm.

Rack of ribs:

4 five-rib racks

Oil & butter from frying the loin fillets

After you remove the loin fillets from the pan, add a bit more butter then fry the racks in the fat for 2-3 minutes on each side, until brown all over. Remove to the tray with the fillets.

Breaded liver & kidneys:

Liver & kidneys from 1 rabbit

1 tbsp french mustard

Breadcrumbs

Oil & butter from cooking previous cuts of rabbit

Rub the offal in the mustard, then coat in breadcrumbs. Add some extra butter to the pan if needed, then fry the liver & kidneys over a medium-high heat for a minute or two each side, until brown and crisp but still a bit pink inside. Transfer to the tray in the oven to keep warm.

Marinated spare ribs:

4 small spare ribs from the belly end

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp honey

1 tsp chilli sauce

Mix together the marinade ingredients, and coat the ribs in it. Refrigerate for an hour or two. Place into a separate pan or griddle over a medium heat and fry each side for a couple of minutes, until the sauce has caramelised. There won't be much meat on these, but they add an extra flavour to the meal.

Sauteed sweet potatoes:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large knob of butter

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan, then add the cubed sweet potato. Fry over a medium heat for about five minutes, until cooked though and golden. 

White wine sauce:

Pan & fat from cooking the loin, racks and offal.

1 large glass white wine

1 tsp apple vinegar

150ml vegetable stock

1 large knob of butter

Add the white wine & vinegar to the pan over a high heat. Scrape all the caramelised bits of meat from the pan while the wine & vinegar reduce. Add the stock, and keep cooking to reduce down, then finally stir through the butter until melted and combined.

Apple relish:

1 small onion or shallot, finely chopped

1 apple, chopped

1 tsp apple vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

Fry the onion or shallot in the oil until soft but not brown, and add the apple. Stew for a couple of minutes, then add the vinegar and sugar. Cook to reduce the vinegar and soften everything up, and adjust quantities of vinegar and sugar to suit your taste. Sharpness and sweetness both work with the rabbit, so try to get it balanced.

To serve:

Plate up the rabbit portions - carve the bacon-wrapped loin into 1cm slices, halve the kidneys to reveal the slightly pink inside, serve the racks and fried liver whole. Spoon on some apple relish, and sweet potato cubes. Drizzle the white wine sauce over everything.

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Mushroom, squash and lentil lasagne

Roasted wild mushroom and squash, puy lentil, and wild garlic pasta lasagne.

Okay, having some problems naming this one adequately! Basically the filling is roasted mushrooms - ceps & bolettes - and hokaido squash, with puy lentils in a tomato sauce. The wild garlic pasta sheets are home-made. Topped with a white sauce and grated cheese.

This makes a medium lasagne for a hungry couple!

Wild garlic lasagne dough:

So this is made with wild garlic leaves, but it is basically a green pasta dough usually made with spinach leaves.

50g wild garlic, or spinach leaves, blanched in a little water for 5 mins and drained thoroughly.

300g '00' flour

3 medium eggs

pinch of salt.

Place the flour on a board, or in a mixing bowl, and add the other ingredients. Mix for a moment - it will end up quite crumbly. Form it together into a ball in your hands, and knead for approx. 10 minutes, until smooth and silky. Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge until needed.

When ready, cut into 4 portions - this meal may only need about 1/4 of the pasta you made, so save the rest for another day :)

Pass the pasta dough through a pasta machine, from the thickest setting down, until it's about 1mm thick. Cut into lasagne-shaped pieces. Place in salted boiling water for about 1 minute, so it's softened a little before it goes into the lasagne.

Lasagne filling:

Approx 750g wild mushrooms , such as ceps and bolettes - large ones cut roughly, small ones kept whole.

1 medium squash, such as hokaido or butternut - cut, deseeded then sliced into large wedges.

4 garlic cloves, whole in skins.

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper, to taste

100g puy lentils - boiled in salted water for about 20 minutes, until soft.

1 onion, finely chopped

400g skinned and chopped tomatoes

1/2 glass red wine

Mix the chopped mushrooms and squash together in a large baking tray. Cover with about 3 tbsp oilve oil, and some salt & pepper. Finally place the whole garlic cloves on top, and bake everything in an oven @ 250c for about 35 minutes, until soft and brown.

Meanwhile heat a little oil in a pan over a medium heat, and fry the onion until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Finally add the wine and reduce that down as well. Mix in the garlic from the roasting pan - it should squeeze out of the skin like a paste!

Mix together the roasted vegetables, cooked puy lentils and tomato sauce, and set aside.

Bechamel sauce:

This recipe is for a really basic white sauce, but you can flavour as you desire. A pinch of nutmeg works well!

30g butter - cut into cubes

30g flour

Milk

1 bay leaf

Heat a pan over a medium heat, then add the butter cubes. Let melt, but not burn. Add the flour, and stir in, still over the heat. Keep cooking and stirring until it's a nice 'roux' and starts to brown a little. Then add the bay leaf and some milk, a little at a time, and keep stirring with a whisk until thick. Eventually it stops thickening too much, but should be thick enough to spread over the lasagne.

Constructing the lasagne:

Mixed roasted vegetables, puy lentils and tomato sauce

Lasagne sheets

Bechamel sauce

Cheese, e.g. mozarella roughly cut, grated cheddar etc

Grease a medium-sized baking tin, and on the bottom spread a layer of the roasted veg & tomato sauce. Top this with lasagne sheets, then add another layer of the veg. Top with a final layer of lasagne, and spread the bechamel over the top, making sure it covers everything. Top with the cheese, and finally bake in an oven at 180c for about 30 minutes, until golden on top.