Arancini, a green risotto with silverbeet and stracciatella, and Frankfurter grüne soße for spring
And I’m back again, about bloody time too! With another double helping of recipes. It’s been a very busy month (more on that in a week or two). I’m relishing the opportunity to finally sit still for a moment and get some recipes out to you!
I’m down in New Zealand for spring, which as a season is hell for a food writer since there’s bugger all produce really - besides asparagus - and the best asparagus preparations don’t really require a recipe. It’s not quite salad season just yet, but the appearance of green makes all the difference I reckon.
Lush green treats for a lush green time of year - including one of my favourites from Germany. Sometimes, just every so often, you will come across a dish that is so incomprehensibly good that you find yourself exclaiming aloud with the sheer delight and surprise of it.
On paper, a dish of spuds, green sauce and boiled eggs sounds borderline ordinary, almost quaint. In reality, it’s astonishing. The first time I had it, I squealed.
Grüne soße, which translates as green sauce, is a very traditional dish/condiment/solve-all hailing from Frankfurt in Germany. A green sauce pops up in most corners of the world; salsa verde, pesto, chimichurri, sauce verte, mint sauce; all perform the same kind of function. Essentially, they’re all indispensably delicious.
Local legend in Germany has it that the recipe was invented by Goethe’s mother. This is more than likely utter nonsense but apparently he was very fond of the sauce. Tradition dictates that less is more, so you’re not going to see much in the way of fancy accompaniments to this dish. The sauce is the hero. Spuds and eggs. Perhaps a bit of roast meat. Schnitzel.
The weather looks absolutely ghastly for Labour weekend, so get into the kitchen instead and have a toy around, to get into the mood for warmer weather ahead.
Happy cooking, as ever.
S xx
ARANCINI
Obviously the best thing you can do to a carb is to deep fry it and make it greater still. You may want to double the amount of risotto you’re making. Fill them with whatever you like; my idea below is just a guide. But you can never go wrong with cheese.
