Switzerland | Page 4 of 16 | The Rambling Epicure

Spontaneous Cuisine: Swiss Easy Fennel and Raclette Potato Salad Recipe

Published by Jonell Galloway + Saturday, July 27, 2013 Permalink 0

Spontaneous Cuisine: Swiss Easy Fennel and Raclette Potato Salad Recipe

by Jonell Galloway

Photo courtesy of Five Prime.

Ingredients

1 large fennel
3 medium-size raclette or new potatoes

Juice of one blood orange or regular orange, if not available

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Country Potato spice* OR aniseed/fennel seeds

Preheat grill or broiler.
Cut stalk end of fennel out, then slice thinly in the lengthwise direction.
Scrub potatoes, but do not skin. Slice thinly.
Spread fennel and potatoes onto a heavy roasting tin, in a single layer. Brush both sides with olive oil.
Grill under broiler until nice and brown. Remove tin from oven, and use a metal spatula to turn them, taking care to still have a single layer.
Put back under broiler. When cooked but not yet brown, add spices. Stir well and put back under broiler. When golden brown, remove from oven.
Put mixture into a mixing bowl. Pour juice of one blood orange over mixture. Mix gently but thoroughly, so that the vegetables absorb the juice.
Set aside for 5 minutes so that all the flavors blend together.
Serve warm, either as a salad or side dish. It is a perfect accompaniment to grilled cod or salmon, and why not chicken?

*Country Potato spice is readily available in Switzerland, but if you don’t have access to it, you can make your own. It’s great on oven fries, chicken breast, and all sorts of other bland dishes you just want to liven up. It is a mixture of curcuma, cumin, coriander, ground manioc, fenugreek, garlic, salt, fennel seeds, chili powder, pepper, paprika, marjoram, ginger, garlic and a touch of sugar.

Introducing our new “TRE Quality Label”

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, July 25, 2013 Permalink 0

Introducing our new “TRE Quality Label”: Healthy, Homemade Meals Delivered to Your Door, Geneva

The TRE Quality Label

Introducing our new “TRE Quality Label”

In this complex world of industrial food, where even organic food is sold by agro food conglomerates, it is important to know the quality and origin of what we eat. Thus the importance of a quality label that has been tested by people like us who are experienced in the real-food business. When we give the TRE Quality Label, we know where the ingredients came from, we know how the food was processed and treated — and most of it is entirely local, allowing you too to eat locally. We also know how it tastes, because we’ve tasted it all.

All the important criteria make up part of the TRE Quality Label: quality, origin, and taste. You can be sure of what you’re buying if it has a TRE Quality Label.

Today, we’d like to introduce the first product to which we’re giving our label: panbeh, a Geneva grassroots operation that makes every attempt to meet all these criteria, and to put something healthy, natural and tasty on your plate.

panbeh‘s meals are delivered straight to your door in Geneva. Most of the ingredients are from Geneva or nearby in the countryside.

It is the perfect solution for those who are home bound and for the elderly, as well as for those who simply don’t have the time to do the shopping required to cook a healthy, well-balanced meal. It’s great for those weeks when your work schedule is heavy, and ensures that you’ll get a home-cooked, healthy meal every day, delivered straight to your door.

Geneva: Healthy, Homemade Meals Delivered to Your Door by panbeh

panbeh describes itself:

panbeh means “pure cotton” in Farsi: the purity of a healthy, home-cooked meal

Panbeh’s very own cotton plant in Geneva, Switzerland

As we all know, what we eat is important for our daily activity and well-being, so we are introducing our new concept: the pleasure of eating healthy, natural, homemade food while fully enjoying the taste of what you eat, delivered right to your door.

No additives and no pesticides, no hormones and no chemicals — only the real, natural flavor of top quality, artisanal ingredients, the origin of which we systematically list. And you benefit from the real taste of the whole, untreated, unprocessed food, prepared fresh every day in a high-fiber, low-fat manner.

Whenever possible, we use only organic ingredients.

We propose a daily lunch menu and will deliver it to you at your home or your office, free of charge. Please find below are our daily menus for the month of July.

Delivery to your home or office
Order the night before (before 6 pm) for next day’s lunch, or order for the whole week
Orders are delivered between 12 and 1 pm

Order by email:
panbeh@servge.ch
or by phone:
076 630 79 56

Free delivery for Petit-Saconnex, Grand-Saconnex, Grand-Pré and Nations.

It is our right to know where our food comes from:

Bread: Eric Emery bakery, Geneva.
Vegetables, fruits and mountain herbs (organic): Marché à la Ferme de Budé, Geneva.

Cheese (organic) : Casa Mozzarella, Geneva.

Salmon: Wild from Alaska or Scotland, sold by Francesco Drago, Halle de Rive covered market, Geneva.

Tomato sauce (organic): Marché a la Ferme de Budé, Geneva.

Spaghetti (organic): Marché à la Ferme de Budé, Geneva.

Rice & Quinoa (organic): Marché de Vie, Geneva

Olive oil: Greece, sold by Marché à la Ferme de Budé, Geneva

Eggs (organic): Marché à la Ferme de Budé, Geneva.

Chicken (organic) : Swiss origin

Wheat (organic) : Swiss origin

Bon appétit!

MENU for July 2013 (24.00 CHF)

Monday
Mixed salad
Quinoa balls, oven-baked Homemade
panbeh cake

Tuesday
Shirazi salad (tomato, cucumbers, onion, fresh mint)
Indian Tilda rice with safran, berberis (barberries) and chicken, or wild rice with chicken and vegetables
Fresh fruit salad

Wednesday
Potato salad, onion, eggs
Eggplant and tomato sandwich
panbeh homemade crème caramel

Thursday
Tomato & mozzarella & fresh basil
Spaghetti, tomato sauce & mushrooms
Watermelon or melon

Friday
Salad (ricotta & tomato covered with aromatic herbs)
Wild smoked salmon sandwich
Homemade panbeh cake

Large portion of mixed salad: 12.00 CHF

Drinks: kefir, mineral water, or fruit juice.

Order by email:
panbeh@servge.ch
or by phone:
076 630 79 56

‘UN would like Iran in Geneva confab’

Geneva more expensive than Zurich for expats

Switzerland: Brasserie Lipp Geneva: The Brasserie of all Brasseries

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, July 25, 2013 Permalink 0

Switzerland: Brasserie Lipp Geneva: The Brasserie of all Brasseries

by Jonell Galloway

From the archives

The Brasserie Lipp in Geneva even tops the one in Paris. Some may say that’s not difficult to do in a sleepy, provincial town like Geneva, but it is not so simple as that.

It’s l’ensemble, the “package” with all its details, that makes it work to perfection: the top-notch French-style service, the professionalism, the decor, the reliability of the food, the atmosphere, its late opening hours, even on Sunday.

You can watch them in action on their site!

I love their site, which gives you a glimpse of all the qualities above through a short video.

The menu includes classic brasserie fare, such as choucroute, souris d’agneau confite or lamb’s shank – one of the tenderest parts of the lamb, steak with Béarnaise sauce, leeks ravigote and shellfish platters. They offer Gillardeau oysters as well as the usual selection of shellfish found in a brasserie. It is always impeccably fresh.

But unlike many brasseries, they also have a menu that changes with the seasons. It invariably offers an assortment of tartares, cold or hot soups, salads, and dishes that often have North African and Asian accents. One of my favorites that they have been doing for 3 or 4 winters, is the vegetarian couscous. It’s like no other couscous I’ve ever had, a modern, up-to-date “revision” that I never tire of.

Service

If you listen to their video, you’ll understand what I mean about the professionalism of the service. They will never get annoyed with you if you ask questions about the dishes or if you change your mind 3 times. They are old-fashioned, but in the good sense of the term. The servers are always polite and patient.

Club Prosper Montagné’s List of Top Restaurants and Food Shops in Geneva, Switzerland
The Top 10 Restaurants in French-Speaking Switzerland
Le Jardin, Le Richemond, Geneva
Swiss Cheese Fix @ Cafe Du Soleil Geneva
Switzerland: Swiss-style Knepfle Pasta

Culinary Chemistry: The Truth about Soy Sauce and Gluten Content

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, July 23, 2013 Permalink 0

Jenn Oliver, culinary scientist and gluten-free GF specialist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (C)

Food writer, Culinary Chemistry, The Rambling Epicure

Culinary Chemistry: The Truth about Soy Sauce and Gluten Content

by Jenn Oliver

From the archives

Soy Sauce and Umami: Now a Staple in Western Cuisine

Soy sauce has been around as a staple condiment in Asian cuisine for thousands of years, used for flavoring all manner of dishes and foods. It’s prized for the “umami” character it gives to the overall taste of a dish, and can have a wide range of subtle notes beyond the obvious saltiness.

For example, Japanese tamari is often wheat free (I stress, not always). Still, most of the soy sauces available on store shelves contain wheat. While there is some debate as to exactly how much gluten from wheat survives the fermentation and processing, the Celiac Disease Foundation Foundation does list soy sauce as a food that may contain gluten and needs to be verified. The Mayo Clinic also states that soy sauce should be avoided unless otherwise labeled. There is also considerable anecdotal evidence of experiences of people being “glutened” by soy sauce (my husband included). Therefore, for those who must eat gluten free, soy sauce immediately becomes a food that requires attention and is a complicated topic.

Switzerland: Valais Apricots and 10 Things You Can Do with Them

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, July 19, 2013 Permalink 0

Switzerland: Valais Apricots and 10 Things You Can Do with Them

by Jonell Galloway

Height of season for Valais apricots, considered best in Switzerland

It is the height of the Valais apricot season, I thought it timely to offer you a few ideas for using them while they’re ripe and ready.

Choosing your apricots

apricots_valais_tree_switzerland_suisse_geneva

Photo courtesy of Ellen Wallace.

The first and most important thing is to buy tree-ripened apricots. By definition, this means local ones, since ripe apricots are soft to the touch and do not travel well.

If you plan to eat them fresh, they should be soft, but not blemished or bruised. The riper they are, the more flavorful they are.

If you are using them for cooking, the riper the better, and you can even get by with blemishes as long as they are not rotten-looking. As a general rule, the softer the sweeter.

You will often see crates of extra-ripe apricots discounted in farmers markets. Look them over, and if there are not too many black or rotting ones, they are actually the best for cooking purposes, especially for jams, cakes and sauces.

Recipe ideas for apricots

Note: With all apricot recipes, the amount of sugar used depends on the acidity of the apricots. The acidity depends on the ripeness, origin and variety. With so many factors coming into play, taste tests are indispensable and the quantity of sugar should be determined by taste, using the quantities given here as a guideline.

Continue Reading…

10 Things You Need to Know before You Start Gourmet Cooking

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, July 17, 2013 Permalink 0

10 Things You Need to Know before You Start Gourmet Cooking

by Jonell Galloway

From the archives

Cooking is just applied physics and chemistry, with a little creativity thrown in.

1. Heat and temperature

Heat and temperature are important at every stage in cooking.

When browning or grilling meat or fish, oil should be very hot before adding it. This seizes it, thus preserving all its natural juices, which are where the flavor resides.

Slow cooking at low temperatures is best for tough, sinewy or fatty pieces of meat, while high temperatures are best for lean meats such as filet, where it is necessary to seize it, since it has no fat to keep it from drying out.

2. Juices

No matter what the ingredient, the flavor resides in its natural juices. That’s why fresh is always better than frozen. When you thaw food, part of its natural juices are lost.

There is an appropriate way to cook every ingredient, depending on its nature.

Recipe: Trofie alle Castagne: Chestnut Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Published by Jonell Galloway + Monday, July 15, 2013 Permalink 0

by Rosario Indelicato

Recipe: Trofie alle Castagne: Chestnut Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

2 jars of Genoese pesto for 500 g of chestnut Trofie pasta
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into thin Julienne strips
75 g of French-style green beans, ends cut off and cut in half
Fresh Parmesan cheese to taste

Continue Reading…

Eating Like the Ancient Romans in Switzerland – Opera Festival in Avenches

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, July 4, 2013 Permalink 0

Amy Eber of World Radio Switzerland did a very good podcast about the Roman ruins in Avenches in the canton of Vaud. She even talked about how the Helvetii‘s and Romans’ food was influenced by the trade routes. Click here to listen.

Roman Feast, creative common photo by http://news.richarddenning.co.uk/?cat=24

Ancient Roman Feast

The Aventicum Roman museum is located on the site of the ruins. Both the museum and the site are open to the public. Click here for more details. The ampitheatre is still used for large events, including operas and concerts.

The 19th edition of the Avenches Opera Festival featuring Giuseppe Verdi’s famous “Nabucco” starts tomorrow night and runs through the 13th. “This immensely successful opera festival has become a unique platform for renowned international artists performing in high-quality productions with superb sets that attract thousands of opera lovers each year,” says the Avenches Tourisme site.

Schedule:

Friday, 5 July 13 / 21:30 CET – Tuesday, 9 July 13