Fennel salad with orange mustard dressing

What to do if it’s Sunday evening, all shops closed, and your fridge is frighteningly empty? Get creative with whatever is left in there. Which in my case, was a sad lone fennel in the vegetable drawer. (I may or may not be a little exaggerating about this.) I know fennel has a quite, well, distinct flavour that not everyone likes, but I assure you that even fennel sceptics will love this salad! To make up for my lack of other vegetables to go with this dish, I prepared a delicious orange-mustard dressing that will get you addicted with your first bite. The result was a very tasty, slightly sour and sweet crisp salad with just the right blend of fennel and orange-mustard flavour. Give it a try!

Fame for The Uni Cookbook, a long break and the perfect autumn treat

Hello my cooking comrades – it’s been a very long time since my last post, but a lot has happened in beetween. The main reason for my long break was that since my last post I have moved twice – first back in my childhood home and then into another city for my new university project – my PhD. Yes! I have finished my MA degree this summer and decided to stick to the university world just for a little bit longer.

And while I was busy with squeezing all my stuff in boxes, suitcases and cartons to be shipped from one home to the next, I completely missed a huge event for The Uni Cookbook: My blog was mentioned in this Guardian article by Fiona Beckett on “A new generation of student cooks” among other great blogs like nutmegs, seven by Elly McCausland and Poires au Chocolat by Emma Gardner – two awesome cooking blogs to check out for you, I have already saved them in my favourites and can highly recommend both of them! 

Pasta with hot honey-chili sauce

You need:

• 100g pasta
• 80ml cream
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of cream cheese
• 20g of grated cheddar
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• 1/2 chili pepper (or less if you want it less spicy)
• some leaves of fresh basil
• salt

Cook the pasta with a little salt for about 9 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the cream with the cheese, the hony and the spices and boil it until the sauce starts to get creamy. Now drain the pasta just before it’s done and add it to the sauce. Cook the dish for another 2-3 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and fresh basil. Serve with a fresh salad.

Spicy carrot-apricot soup with honey

You need:

• 2 small carrots
• 5 dried apricots
• 1 small shalott
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1/4 chili pepper
• vegetable oil
• lemon juice
• salt

Chop the vegetables and the apricots in small cubes. Gently roast the diced shalott, chili pepper and carrots in a little vegetable oil. After a few minutes, add the hot vegetable stock, apricots and spices and boil for another 10-12 minutes. Blend the soup until creamy and season to taste with salt and lemon juice.