Pumpkin,coconut and lime Soup (Solomon islands)

                                                                              Receta en Español

There is not a lot of information about the gastronomy at Solomon islands, I found this recipe in this site dedicated to the soups of the world:
http://soupsofourplanet.com/2014/11/10/solomon-islands-curried-coconut-and-lime-gourd-soup/
They use the typical ingredients of these islands; pumpkin,coconut and lime.

Ingredients:

•   2 tablespoons oil.
•   4 chalotes.
•   2 tablespoons ground ginger.
•   2 cloves of garlic.
•   800 grams of pumpkin.
•   4 cups of broth. (1 liter aprox).
•   2 cups of water. (480 ml).
•   3 tablespoons of ground curry.
•   1 cup of coconut milk (240 ml).
•    lime juice.
•    Salt.

For Broth:

•  Some leaves of spring onions.
•  Some leek leaves.
•  1 clove of garlic.
•  1 chunk of onion.
•  1 chunk of pepper.
•   Salt.
•   Parsley.

   

Method:

1-  We prepare a broth putting the ingredients in a casserole with water.  Put fire on a high heat and bring it to a boil. Once it reaches boiling point, turn fire on a low heat ,then cook for 30 minutes.

2-  Cut the chalotes in little pieces, sauté them in a casserole with oil for 3 minutes until they are golden.

3-  Add garlic cut into slices together with ginger, sauté 1 more minute.

4-  Peel and cut pumpkin into little pieces, Add it to the casserole. Add the cup of broth and cup of water.

Put on a high heat until it reaches boiling point, then turn to a low heat and cook covered for 30 minutes until pumpkin is soft.

Don't forget to add salt.

5-  Make a purée with the help of a blender.

6-  Add curry, coconut milk and lime juice.

7-  Stir well and serve with some basil on the top:



Solomon islands

Austria

"EU-Austria" by NuclearVacuum - File:Location European nation states.svg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Recipes from Austria that I cooked:

käseschoberl soup

Tiroler gröstl (Potatos from Tirol)

Sacher cake





Austria in Internet:
http://www.gutekueche.at/oesterreichische-alle-rezepte
http://www.ichkoche.at/oesterreichische-rezepte/
http://www.rezeptewiki.org/wiki/Kategorie:Österreichische_Küche
http://sobreaustria.com/2008/12/07/la-gastronomia-de-austria/
http://www.schule.at/portale/ernaehrung-und-haushalt-eks/detail/oesterreichische-kueche-1.HTML





Austria

Sacher cake

                                                                               Receta en Español

Sacher cake is an unquestionable symbol from the city of Vienna, worldwide famous.

History tells that the origin of this cake dates from 1832 when Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, a german nobleman and Austria's foreign affairs minister, organized a banquet. He asked his cooks to make a special dessert. That day the chef was ill, it was an apprentice ,called Franz Sacher 16 years old, who invented this cake that dazzled the guests.

After working several years at this nobel's house, Franz Sacher decided to open its own business in Vienna; a delicatessen shop where he sold his cake as well.

Years later, his son Eduard Sacher started to work at the famous cake shop 'Demel', there he improved his father's recipe to obtain the one that we know today.

Finally Eduard Sacher founded ,together with his wife, the Sacher Hotel , there he started to sell his cake.

Eduard's son, called Eduard as well, also started to work at 'Damel' cake shop, where they started to sell the same cake.

Sacher Hotel and Demel cake shop had a legal fight to have the exclusivity on the selling of the original recipe. It was Sacher hotel who won it. At Damel's they sell the cake with some differences.

This cake has a chocolate sponge cake, filled with apricot marmalade and covered with a chocolate frosting.
At Sacher Hotel the cake has 2 layers of marmalade, one in the middle and the other just before the chocolate frosting. This is the recipe that I present to you today. 

Ingredients (for a recipient 23 cm diameter):

•   140 grams butter at room temperature.
•   210 grams sugar.
•   1 teaspoon ground vanilla.
•   6 eggs.
•   130 grams black chocolate (70% minimum).
•   140 grams flour.
•   400 grams apricot marmalade.
•   Yeast.

For the Frosting:

• 200 grams sugar.
• 125 ml water.
• 200 grams black chocolate easy to melt.
• 40 grams butter (optional).

Method:

1-  Separate whites from yolk. Whisk the yolks.

2-  Put chocolate in a bain-marie , once it is soft add the butter and turn off the fire , stir until butter and chocolate mix.

3- Add yolks little by little stirring fast to prevent yolks from cooking, let it get cool. 

4- Once it is cold, add sifted flour little by little, add yeast and vanilla. Keep on stirring.

5- Whisk whites to form stiff peaks, then add sugar little by little  , and keep on beating until you obtain meringue.

6- Add the whisked whites little by little to the bowl where you have the mixture, do it very softly to keep the sponginess.

7- Put some parchment paper on the base of a oven mold, smear some butter on the mold sides too.
Pour the mixture inside the mold. Preheat oven at 170ºC.
Cook in oven for 55-60 minutes. The first 10-15 minutes you should leave the oven's door a little open (as you see in the picture), the rest of the time cook with the door closed.

 8- Let the sponge cake cool for 20 minutes.

9- Cut the sponge cake in two parts. We start placing the lower part.

10- Heat marmalade slightly, put half of the marmalade over the lower part of the sponge cake. Leave the borders without marmalade.

 11- Cover with the other part of the sponge cake. Grind the rest of the marmalade to have a uniform consistency, paint all the surface of the cake with this marmalade.

12- Now it is time to prepare the frosting. First we prepare the syrup: Boil the water together with the sugar for 5-6 minutes and then let it get cold.

13- Melt chocolate in a bain-marie, add some butter to give it some brightness.
Once you see that the chocolate is melted, turn the heat off .Now you can start to add ,little by little, the syrup (step12) ,always stirring.

14- Now you should pour the frosting over the cake. Put something below the cake to collect the chocolate that falls, you can reuse that chocolate to pour later again over the cake. This way you can have a thicker layer of chocolate.

15- Decorate the cake with the letters 'Sacher' with the help of a pastry bag filled of some chocolate. 
Let the cake get cold outside the fridge, it is better if you let it get cold all the night long, and you consume it the following day.

16- Serve accompanied by some whipped cream



Austria