Ilse's Kitchen - culinary adventures of a girl who loves to eat

Fresh, tangy and easily made at home. Until I tried it, I never would have guessed - but once I did I’ll think twice about about buying prefab lemon curd. Willing to bet you will, too... Ingredients: 3 large eggs 150g granulated white sugar 80mL fresh lemon juice 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature 1.5 tablespoon finely shredded lemon zest Instructions: 1. Start by grating the zest from your lemons. This is MUCH easier to do if you do it before, rather than after squeezing them.  2. Set the zest aside and juice the lemons. 3. Combine eggs, sugar and lemon juice in a heatproof, stainless steel bowl that is big enough to stand on top of a pan of boiling water. 4. Bring the water to a simmer and leave the heat on low. Place the stainless steel bowl on top (so that the bottom of the bowl only just touches the water) and stir to combine the ingredients properly. Keep stirring constantly while the mixture ‘cooks’ to prevent it from curdling. ...

Sometimes, you need food that tastes like summer - especially when it’s cold and dreary outside. So I grabbed a head of chicory and tried to turn it into something light and summery. And for a moment, in my kitchen, I was able to trick myself, and it smelled (and tasted) as if winter wasn’t approaching. One point for me. The weather will catch up again eventually ;) Ingredients (serves 1): 1 head chicory (sometimes referred to as a 'Belgian endive') 100g turkey filet 30g chick pea sprouts 30g spring beauty (we call it winterpostelein, if you can't find it just alternate with another type of lettuce) 2 radishes, sliced 1/4 cucumber, sliced 2 mandarin oranges (*if you want to serve this with an orange vinaigrette, you will also need 5dl orange juice and 1dl mild flavoured olive oil) Cut the chicory in half, lengthwise. Heat some butter in a skillet add the chicory, cut side facing down. Squeeze half a mandarin orange over and sautée for about 5 or so minutes...

Sitting next to the fireplace in a country cottage in Franschhoek, South Africa and leafing through an old local edition of "Woman and Home” left behind by some previous passer-by, I came across a fabulous recipe for pork in little gem lettuce. I loved it so much I just had to share. This is more or less it, in a slightly altered version. Ingredients (serves 2-3): 1 little gem lettuce 150g minced meat (50% pork 50% beef) 1/2 red pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped 2 tsp fish sauce 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp fresh mint leaves 2 tsp fresh koriander (cilantro) leaves dash of vegetable oil 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp sesame seeds (white, black, or mixed) + an extra dash Instructions: 1. Pour a dash of vegetable oil into a skillet and fry the minced meat until it is no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside, leaving as much of the oil as possible in the pan. 2. In the remaining oil, lightly sautée the red pepper (2-3 minutes) on medium heat,...

If you’re ever in the mood for more time-consuming cooking and are looking for a good, wintery dessert that can feed a table full of people, try this apple strudel recipe from a Delicious Kookschool cooking course I followed years ago. I thought it tasted pretty authentic, although I can’t judge it as a real German might. Be careful with the dough - it's the hardest part - but other than that this is easier than it looks. Ingredients (makes 1 large strudel as photographed): Strudel dough: 500g flour 325g water 25g powdered sugar 10g salt 100g melted butter. Filling: 600g apple (Goudreinette), cut into small pieces 25g raisins soaked in warm water Dash of cinnamon 50g orange marmalade Vanilla sauce: 250 g milk 3 3gg yolks 75g sugar ½ vanilla stick Instructions: 1. Mix water, powdered sugar, salt and butter. Last, add flour. Make dough, push it flat and wrap in plastic, and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours. 2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Cel...