Oxheart tomatoes
with couscous filling
by Nelson Müller
Ingredients for 4 people:
For the couscous:
250 ml chicken stock, 2 tbsp olive oil, 5 saffron threads, 200 g couscous, 50 g pine nuts, 5 dates, 4 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaved parsley, 4 tbsp finely chopped coriander, 1 bunch spring onions, 3 tbsp currents, A pinch of cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp raz el hanout, Ground salt & pepper
For the tomatoes:
4 oxheart tomatoes (alternative beef tomatoes), 3 cloves of garlic, 3 springs of thyme, Butter for the dish
Method:
Bring the stock to the boil in a pot with the olive oil and saffron threads. Stir in the couscous, take the pot off the stove and let the couscous soak for 5 minutes while covered.
Roast the pine nuts in a frying pan without fat and roughly chop them. Pit and finely dice the dates. Remove and finely chop the parsley and coriander leaves. Cut the spring onions into fine rings. Mix the prepared ingredients in with couscous. Season with cayenne pepper, cinnamon, raz el hanout and salt.
Pre-heat the oven to 160 °C. Cut the top off the tomato, remove the seeds and partitions with a spoon. Season the inside of the tomato with salt and fill with couscous. Put the top back on. Press the garlic with the flat side of a knife. Put the tomatoes, together with the garlic, thyme and removed tomato flesh into a greased baking dish and cook in a hot oven for 20 minutes.
Put the oxheart tomatoes with couscous filling on plates and serve with some stock from the dish drizzled on top. If there is any couscous left over, serve separately.
Grilled halloumi with melon
by Nelson Müller
Ingredients for 4 people:
For the cheese:
600 g halloumi (Greek grilling cheese), 1 clove of garlic, 1 organic orange, 1 organic lemon,
1 spring of rosemary, 100 ml olive oil
For the melon:
1 green chilli pepper, 1 red chilli pepper, 1 small piece of ginger root (2 cm), 4 tbsp honey (e.g. pine honey),
1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice, 500 g sugar melon (e.g. charentais or cantaloupe), 1 fresh spring of thyme, Salt
Also:
50 g pine nuts
Method:
Cut the cheese into 1.5 cm thick slices. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Grate orange and lemon skin into zest. Remove the rosemary leaves. Mix the cheese, garlic, orange and lemon zest and rosemary with the olive oil. Cover the cheese with cling film in a baking dish and leave to marinate for 1 day in the fridge.
For the melon, halve the chilli peppers lengthways, remove the seeds and finely dice. Peel and finely chop the ginger. In a pot, bring the honey and vinegar to the boil over a medium heat. Add the ginger, diced chilli and lime juice and cook for 1 minute.
Divide the melon into four and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Peel and dice the fruit. Remove the thyme leaves. Add the melon and thyme to the honey mixture, cook for 5 minutes then season with a little salt. In a frying pan, roast the pine nuts without fat until golden brown.
Take the cheese from the marinade, let it drain and put on a grill that is too hot grill for around 4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Serve the grilled halloumi on plates with the melon and sprinkle the pine nuts on top.
Smoked sheep’s cheese with onions
Ingredients:
1 packet of sheep’s cheese or feta, Spanish onion, white wine vinegar, olive oil, pepper, salt, moist beechwood pieces, red and green chillies
Method:
Carefully pat the sheep’s cheese dry (it cannot absorb any smoke aromas in a moist state). Cut the onions in thin slices and pat them dry a bit. Place the soaked beechwood in the glowing coals, wait until it begins to smoke, and then place the cheese and the onions onto a grilling pan and onto the grill. The cheese is ready once it begins to get slightly brown and soft. Season the onions with some of the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and red or green chillis to taste, garnish the cheese with the seasoned onions and serve.
Goats’ Cheese on Lamb’s Lettuce with Walnuts
with smoked oil vinaigrette
Ingredients:
For the salad:
4 rolls of goats’ cheese, 50 g each, 8 slices of Serrano ham, fresh thyme, 4 walnuts, 200 g lamb’s lettuce, 1 onion, 1 lemon, smoked oil, sweet-hot chilli sauce, coarse mustard, seasalt, cedar wood board
For the vinaigrette:
The juice of ½ lemon, 2 tbsps smoked oil, 2 tbsps sweet-hot chilli sauce, ½ tsp coarse mustard, a pinch of seasalt
Method:
Sprinkle a small amount of fresh thyme onto the Serrano ham and wrap it around the goats’ cheese. Place the onion and the cheese onto the cedar wood board and grill/smoke for 8-10 minutes at approx. 150°C. Arrange five sprigs of lamb’s lettuce on a plate, mix the vinaigrette, crack and chop the nuts and arrange the cheese on the lettuce. Finally, pour 1 tbsp of the vinaigrette sauce over the goats’ cheese and garnish with the chopped walnuts. Delicious!