Chef’s Handyman tip for this week: Easter Menu!
The garden is ready for egg hunting. In between the different egg hunting rounds this great Easter menu will be very welcome. With luck the menu can be served outside in the garden. The last days the weather was sunny and warm. Hopefully this sunny period stays over Easter as well.
The Easter menu with a starter, a main dish and a dessert is easy to prepare. Sommelier Patrizio from Vinoidea (www.vinoidea.ch) has chosen three delicious wines for the Easter menu.
Chef’s Handyman tip as starter: White polenta with smoked ham.
For the polenta, bring 8 cups of vegetable stock to the boil. Add white polenta. Mix well. Reduce to low heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Cover pan. Stir continuously until cooked. Season the polenta to taste with salt, black pepper and oregano. Add 3 tbsp. of coconut ground.
Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Apply polenta on top, not too thin. Dry the polenta for 2 hours. Cut out rounds. Heat olive oil in frying pan. Fry rounds on each side until golden.
To make salad, peel cucumber and remove seeds. Cut cucumber and black olives in small pieces. Place pieces in a bowl. To make dressing, combine 4 tbsp. of olive oil and 2 tbsp. of raspberry vinegar. Season the dressing to taste with salt and black pepper.
Serve polenta rounds with smoked ham and the cucumber olive salad.
Shopping list for 4 persons:
Flour: 13 oz. white polenta
Herbs: 1 bunch oregano
Stock: 8 cups vegetable stock
Spices: 2 pinch black pepper, 2 pinch salt
Baking ingredients: 3 tbsp. coconut ground
Vegetables: 1 cucumber, 8 tbsp. olives
Ham: 200 g or 7 oz. smoked ham
Vinegar and Oil: 4 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tbsp. raspberry vinegar
Patrizio recommends: Ciprea DOP.
Grapes: Pecorino 100%. The color is brilliant, straw yellow with greenish reflexes. The wine has a rich bouquet with flavors of yellow fruits and sage. Cedar, honey and mineral notes do perfect the taste, with a light taste of herbs.
It’s a full-bodied wine with a long finish.
Chef’s Handyman tip as main course: Veal Tenderloin with Whiskey Sauce.
Season veal and sear each side in frying pan. Place tenderloin in oven proofed pan. Add thyme. Cook in oven at 80-90°C (175-200°F) for 60 minutes. (low temperature cooking)
To make sauce, heat olive oil in frying pan. Quench with Whiskey. Add veal stock. Reduce stock. Add butter. Season the sauce to taste with salt and black pepper. Add cream. Sieve sauce with colander.
Sauce should be creamy and soft. If too thick, add 2-3 tbsp. of veal stock. If the sauce is too thin, thick with cornstrach.
Sear veal tenderloin for 1-2 minutes in frying pan before you intend to serve. Wrap in aluminum foil for 3 minutes and then cut tenderloin in pieces.
Serve veal tenderloin with whiskey sauce and green or white asparagus.
Shopping list for 4 persons:
Meat: 1 kg or 32 oz. veal tenderloin
Dairy Products: 8 fl. oz. cream, 1-2 tbsp. butter
Stock: 4 fl. oz. veal stock
Vegetables: 32 oz. asparagus, 1 onion
Liquids: 1 fl. oz. whiskey
Spices: Salt, black pepper
Oil: 2-3 tbsp. olive oil
Herbs: 1 bunch thyme
Patrizio recommends: Riesling Praepositus.
Grapes: Riesling 100%. The color has an intensive straw yellow, is bright and consistent with golden reflexes. The wine is elegant and very aromatic with a large selection of flavors, like pears, broom, honey, anise, herbs, grapefruit and a light note of smoke. The wine has a good harmony with a long finish and is balanced between minerality and softness.
Chef’s Handyman tip for dessert: Orange Chocolate Cakes.
To make dough: Combine 13 oz. of flour, 1 tsp. of salt, 10 oz. of butter (room temperature) and 1 egg. Wrap dough in foil and store in fridge for 1 hour.
Tip: Short crust pastry can be bought in supermarkets as well. Preparation time can be reduced.
To make filling: Combine 2 tbsp. cornstarch, 250 g or 8 Oz. of curd cheese, 2 tbsp. of orange rind, 2 egg yolks, 1 tbsp. of vanilla sugar, 50 g grated white chocolate and 6 tbsp. of sugar.
Apply liquid butter in muffin tins. Dust with flour. Roll short crust pastry on a floured surface to 4 mm or 0.2 inch thick and line the muffin tin. Place the filling in the middle. Press floured cookie cutter into dough. Close cake with stars on top of the filling.
Bake in oven at 180°C or 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until light golden. Cool in muffin tins. When cooled, take the cake out and dust with powdered sugar.
Shopping list for 4 persons:
Baking ingredients: 400 g or 13 oz. flour, 2 tbsp. corn starch, 1 tbsp. vanilla sugar, 6 tbsp. sugar, 60 g 2 oz. white chocolate, 3 tbsp. powdered sugar
Spices: salt
Dairy Products: 300 g or 10 Oz. butter
Eggs: 4
Fruits: 2 oranges, organic
For the dessert, Patrizio recommends: Moscato Solatio.
The color is straw yellow, bright and with a perlage. The taste is intensive, sweet and aromatic. The wine should be served by 8°C.
Have a great time, good luck for the egg hunting and happy Easter, yours Chef’s Handyman team!
Outlook and next posts: Asparagus cooking recipes will be published in the Chef’s Handyman recipe blog!
The veal tenderloin cooking recipe will be published in the Chef’s
Handyman app for iPhone/iPad. The cooking recipe can be downloaded in the
e-cookbook ‘Free trial recipes’. Click on the button on top right in the
category screen than push the update button within the mentioned e-cookbook.
When the app will be downloaded the first time, this cooking recipe will be
already included. The Chef’s Handyman app can be found in the iTunes Store.
