KIS gluten free cake

Hi there,

Cleanup day and I really want to use up the following items:

• Yogurt
• Hasselnuts
• Left over cranberries in limoncello syrup

What to do?
Answer: make a KIS (Keep It Simple) cake - why complicate when you can keep it simple???? :)

Result: a 100% gluten free, moist, and tasty cake, which is quick to make, thanks to my new Thermomix :)

KIS cake

Ingredients: 

70 gr hasselnut flour (30 second blending and my hasselnuts turned into powder - ha, what a powerful engine)

100 gr tapioca flour
50 gr chestnut flour
130 gr greek or natural yogurt (do not use light)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cardamom
100 gr sugar
100 gr vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cranberry limoncello syrup (just substitute with orange juice
1/4 teaspoon kaffir lime zest (strong)
1 teaspoon baking soda

Method: 

Preheat the oven at 180C degrees

Add everything in Thermomix and press on "Turbo 1 Second" and blitz. Repeat 3 times => 3 seconds and the cake batter is ready :)

If using other blender,  it may take longer, do not overmix.

Bake for 45 min

Serving tip: 

Just "as is" with berries, or as genoise covered with chocolate custard :)

Like this recipe? Please donate to my Cycle4Girls Vietnam project

Yum,
Maison Emil Paris :)

KIS cake soaked in chocolate custard

Mix it all together

Dumpling filling recipe

This "multipurpose" filling recipe is suitable for wonton as well as for dumpling. You can also make meatballs and add those in your noodle or macaroni soup. It's quite meaty as there is no vegetables added. I prefer either pure meat or pure vegetable dumpling filling, but you are welcome to mix :)

wonderful smell thanks to kaffir line zest

Ingredients (approx 30 dumplings)

175 gr ground porc

75 gr shrimps (raw, defrozen)

1 tablespoon fish sauce - some fish sauce brands are very salty (I find the "squid" brand not salty) 

1 tablespoon sweet soy - I often use this instead of sugar in filling mixtures

1 tablespoon non-olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Seasonings

1 small shallot

1 clove of garlic - crushed

Ground pepper 

Kaffir lime zest - a bit only (optional) - lovely citrus smell but very powerful 

Coriander (cilantro) - a bit

Piment d'espelette (optional) - 1/4 teaspoon or a good pinch (not spicy)

French pepper

Love the smell of kaffir lime zest (crushed lemongrass as substitute)

Method

• Add meat, prawn, fish sauce, soy sauce and oils in a blender and mix well. 
• If using Thermomix, choose "turbo" 1 second function, repeat 3 times.
• Add the seasoning and blend again. 
• Reason why I add seasonings last is because I don't want to crush the shallot, herbs 

sweet soy, fish sauce, sesame oil

• Let is rest for 15-20 min (so that the flavours are well marinated/incorporated)

ready to fill

Like this recipe? Please donate to my Cycle4Girls Vietnam project

Have fun,

Maison Emil Paris :)

Home made dumpling sheets

home made dumpling wrappers

The first time I had some VERY GOOD dumplings was in Perth, Australia. A friend and a former colleague from Technip, Kym Wong, shared her home-made dumplings in the office, and I absolutely adored them. Thanks for sharing! I still remember the taste, Kimmy :)

A few observations I have made:

• Dumpling wrappers/sheets = high gluten wheat flour, water
• Wonton wrappers/sheets = flour, water and EGG 
• Dumpling sheets are thicker than wonton sheets

frozen wrappers from the store

You can buy the wrappers or make your own wrappers. Obviously the latter is more time consuming, but doable in small quantity. In Paris we are lucky to find good dumpling wrappers, but in Norway they are harder to get. So the below wrapper recipe is dedicated to my friend, Trine Johannessen, in Norway, who's started on her dumpling journey :)

Ingredients (for about 25-30 dumpling wrappers depending how thick you roll them):

• 1dl warm/hot but not boiling water (40-50c degrees)
• 2 dl high gluten wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon non-olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (this gives the familiar dumpling smell & flavour) 

Method

• Mix everything quickly with a spatula & knead with your hands. Dough should be warm and soft. If using Thermomix, use the dough function and mix 1 min.

High gluten wheat flour for best result (for me)

• Wrap and let rest for 30 min (in room temperature)

wrap and rest for 20-30 min

• Divide the dough in 2. Cover the other half. Roll a long sausage and cut 15 pieces. Or just divide in 15 pieces by pulling without rolling.

divide in 15 pieces

• Cover the pieces you are not rolling under a kitchen towel to keep them from drying

keep them under a kitchen towel

• Roll small round balls. If they feel dry, just wet your fingers with water

roll in small balls

Roll more for a thinner sheet

• Use a rolling pin to roll thin round sheet (the thinner the better)

wrapper ready to stuff with your favourite filling

shrimp and prawn filling

Fill with your favourite stuffing and fold (or try my meaty filling recipe)

I used to do by hand, but found this plastic set (comes in 5 different sizes), which makes my life easier :)

voila

Good luck experimenting Trine!

Like this recipe? Please donate to my Cycle4Girls Vietnam project

Maison Emil Paris :)

Razor clams as snack

Razor clams snack

In Vietnam, we eat so many types of shells and clams, but I only got to know about razor clams in France. Fascinating creatures and tasty too :)

The video below is excellent for those who have never seen a razor clam before to see how people catch them.

Below is my recipe with razor clams as snack on a lazy Saturday afternoon, Vietnamese style:

Ingredients (2-3 snack portions - ha, I ate the whole thing all by myself as it was so tasty):

• Approx. 700-800 gr razor clams 
• 4-5 chorizo slices (optional)
• 0,5 - 1tblspoon nuoc mam (fishsauce) - some people prefere natural taste and don't want to add any salt
• 1 tbl sp butter (or 15gr)
• 1 tbl sp oil
• 1 small shallot chipped
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• White wine for steaming (optional) - fully possible to steam with only water
• Pepper
• Coriander/cilantro
• Piment d'espelette (optional)

1. The clams are full of sand, so soak them in cold water for min 30 min.

razor clams

2. Steam the clams in a bit of water and white wine (optional) until they open so that you can easily remove the meat out of the shells. Do not oversteam.

3. Plunge the clams in cold water to stop cooking. Overcooked and they will taste like rubber :)

4. Remove the gild and dirt, and keep only the white part

I only use the white part but many people fry the whole clam (no steaming)

5. Split in half to discard any excess sand and put aside (keep cold if not cooking right away)

6. Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tblsp oil

7. Add 1 chopped shallot and 1 clove of crushed garlic over medium heat

8. Add the clams and increase to high heat and stir for 1 min

9. Season with 1 tblspoon nuoc mam (Viet fish sauce), pepper, 2 tblsp of white wine

10. Garnish with chopped coriander and piment d'espelette and served immediately

Bon appétit,

My Saturday snack

Like this recipe? Please donate to Cycle4Girls Vietnam project :)

Maison Emil Paris :)

How To Catch And Cook Razor Clams.Seashore To Pla…: http://youtu.be/P1a-hJhyZ8w

Filakia from Greece with love

Autumn chill with rain makes me appreciate Paris in a different light. Walking outside in the rain makes you more hungry and when you see many bistrots and brasseries packed with people, well, you want to join in :)

Filakia, not far from the bustling rue Montorgueil in Paris district 3rd, is a small restaurant that serves fresh and nice Greek fastfood.

The staff @Filakia is friendly and service minded. You get the menu upon arrival and once you have made up your mind, you order and paid at the counter and the food will be served at your table.
Souvlakis skewers in home made pitas are tasty and fresh. Healthy options include home made soup and salad.

Will come back for some more tasty souvlakis (skewers) served on home made pita bread.

Filakia in Greek means kisses, or maybe in this context it could mean "from Greece with love".

Happy Friday,

Maison Emil Paris :)

Hai Kai on Canal Saint-Martin

Beautiful discovery @Haï Kaï on Canal Saint-Martin, a nice neighbourhood in Paris known with artists and alike.

A tasty lunch set (starter, main and dessert) for only 22 euros (weekdays). Highly recommended :)

veal carpaccio with goat cream cheese

tender beef with ... no it's not foie gras - it's marrow (delicious)

crushed potatoes with pomelo grapefruit

relaxed and cosy atmosphere

Oh, and I spotted the classic Thermomix model (TM31) in the back of their kitchen. Butternut puree is ultra smooth, a familar texture with Thermomix :)

Happy discovering Paris,

Maison Emil Paris :)

More on Canal Saint-Martin, click here

Apple orange cinnamon crumble

Halloween is upon us, meaning the autumn has come for real in Paris, at least colourful leaves can be seen on the trees :) It's time for my favourite easy-to-make dessert, CRUMBLE :)

nothing like a nice warm crumble on an autumn day :)

Recipe for apple orange crumble (6 portions):

Crumble:
125 gr flour
60 gr brown sugar
80 gr butter in cubes
1 teaspoon salt

Garnish:

Zest from 1 orange
5 apples - peeled, seeds removed and chopped (coarsely)
1 orange - segment and then chopped
15 gr butter (approx 1 tablespoon)
60 gr brown sugar (if you use sour/green apples, then increase to 80 grams)
1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon - to avoid the apples turning brown

Tools

Blender (optional)

Pan

Method: 1. Butter the pan and keep cold
2. Mix the crumble 1 min in the blender and keep cold. 

By hand: mix sugar and flour with your hand, add butter cubes and work quickly until sandy. If your hands are too warm, just chill the crumble and mix once again before baking

3. Preheat the oven @180 c degrees
4. Melt the butter over medium heat, add chopped apple, orange, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook while stiring for 5 min.
5. Pour the apple mixture on the pan
6. Cover with crumble
7. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown, approx 25-30 min

8. Serve warm, with out without vanilla ice-cream :) Next day tastes even better according to my family member :)

Like this recipe? Please donate to Cycle4Girls Vietnam project :)

Happy baking,

Maison Emil Paris :)

Autumn in Paris

Cycle4Girls Vietnam by Plan Netherlands

Yes, I am challenging myself to help Plan Netherlands fight for better living conditions and give girls in Vietnam the education they deserve. I will cycle along coastal roads and paddy fields, and I will meet the sponsor children and their families in traditional villages.

Photo courtesy Plan Netherlands

Photo courtesy Plan Netherlands

About Cycle4Girls project by Plan Nederland:
"Faced with the daily realities of widespread poverty, violence and discrimination, one in every three girls is denied the education she deserves; one in every four girls is sexually abused by the time she is 18 and all girls are three times more likely to suffer from malnutrition than boys.

Girls are subjected to child marriage and gender-based violence, suffer poor reproductive and sexual health through the lack of sexual education and hygiene, and experience daily gender discrimination in school. With your support, however, Plan Netherlands can challenge the structural barriers to gender equality in developing countries.

The 2013 Plan Australia Cycle4Girls raised €78,000, and their 2014 departure raised a further €80,000. As part of the Plan Netherlands Cycle4Girls, the funds each participant raises will sponsor a girl in a developing country for three years. With your help, this girl will benefit from improved health though Plan programs focusing on reproductive health and hygiene, and enjoy greater access to free, quality education."

Learn more how you can make a difference:
https://www.pifworld.com/en/people/TramCl/16251/blog/6961

I have four months to raise money and to get fit for a 300 km bike ride throughout Vietnam.
4 days cycling, 2 days project visit.

Day 1 cycling distance: 80km, Huong Hiep-Dong Ha
Day 2 cycling distance: 100km, Dong Ha-Dong Hoi
Day 3 cycling distance: 90km, Dong Hoi - Minh Hoa
Day 4 cycling distance: 30km, Minh Hoa-Donh Ha 

Take care, and thanks in advance for making a difference too.

Maison Emil Paris :)