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

Every now and then you have to indulge. This is an indulgence pasta dish. There’s nothing light about it, but sometimes that just doesn’t matter one bit: the heart - and belly - want what they want. I like to give in, especially on rainy days. My belly was grateful. Ingredients (serves 2): 120g fettuccini (or other pasta of your choice) 300g shrimp, peeled and deveined. 200g cherry tomatoes 1 tablespoon Cajun spices 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon butter Alfredo sauce 120g cream cheese 250ml whole milk 50g butter 1 cup finely grated parmesan 1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic freshly ground black pepper to taste fresh parsley to garnish Instructions: 1. Cook the fettuccini according to the instructions on the packet. When it’s ready, set aside to use in step 4. 2. Rub the shrimp in Cajun spices, salt and pepper. Melt the tablespoon of butter in a skillet and add the shrimp. Cook for 3-4 min...

I love, love love chocolate chip cookies. In Mexico, where I lived, they sold boxes full of chewy Mrs. Fields cookies where I lived - big, chewy and beautiful. They don’t have those here, but by now there are plenty of stores around that sell their own version of these massive American chocolate chip cookies - at well over EUR 1.50 a pop. Given the cost price of the ingredients and how good they are when they’re just freshly baked, it’s worth making your own. The last time I made a batch was on New Years’ eve, when I used a recipe by Tasty. They did so well that by popular request, I’m posting this blog post with the recipe in honour of completing my 90 days, 90 blog post adventure :). Ingredients (makes 12 - 14 cookies - that’s quite a few cookies, I know, but you can freeze leftover cookie dough for up to three months so it’s worth making the whole batch): 100g granulated white sugar 165 packed brown sugar (you can use light brown or dark brown sugar, or a mix of both. I...

Radishes are a vegetable I’d always filed directly in the ‘resistance corner’ of my brain. I think, maybe, because I associated it with bitterness. When I read that cooking - sautéing, roasting or stir frying - softens the taste, I thought it worth a try. And what do you know, it’s true - stir fried radish tastes nothing like fresh radish and is actually quite refreshing. This dish makes a lovely side dish - not just surprising, but also and easy. Serves 2-4: 2 bunches radish both ends cut off, then halved 2 shallots, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon ginger, grated 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon honey handful fresh cilantro, chopped Instructions: 1. Pour the sesame oil in a wok pan and add the radish, shallots, ginger and garlic. Stir fry over high heat for 3 minutes. 2. Add the soy sauce and honey and stir fry for another minute. 3. Serve warm topped with fresh cilantro.

It sounds strange, but Mexico has great sushi. Some of the best I’ve ever had, I think. Lots of fresh fish and best of all, they use cream cheese as an ingredient. Pretty fantastic. Salmon and cream cheese make a great pairing. Also, it turns out, when you exclude the ingredients that makes them ‘sushi’ - the rice and the nori (seaweed). Like this version, that fits right into the low-carb, high fat Keto diet. Ingredients (makes one good-size roll): 150g smoked salmon 120g cream cheese 1/2 avocado, sliced 1/4 red onion, halved and sliced 1-2 teaspoons white sesame seeds 1-2 teaspoons black sesame seeds few sprigs of fresh chives * This works really well with a combination of cucumber and carrot too. Or mango. Just make sure they’re cut into long thin strips and line them up along the centre with the avocado. Need: A sheet of plastic foil and a sushi rolling mat Instructions: 1. Spread a piece of plastic foil over a sushi rolling mat. Take the salmon and spread it, ...

Ready made gnocchi is just about the fastest dish you can make. That’s what’s so amazing about it - it’s fast, and almost always good. I have a couple of white sauce gnocchi recipes up on this site - like my pastas I have a penchant for cream-based over tomato-based sauces, but today I decided it was time for a red sauce. So I made this gorgeous, super easy chorizo mozzarella gnocchi. Ingredients (serves 2): one 125g ball mozzarella, torn into shreds 60g chorizo, diced 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 300g gnocchi 400g tomato sauce 1 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon sugar freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon fresh mozzarella and oregano, chopped, plus a bit extra to garnish Instructions: Preheat the top grill function of your oven. 1. Toss the onion and garlic in a saucepan together with the olive oil and heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the chorizo and cook for another 5 minutes. 2. Add the tomato sauce, sugar and...

I had a craving for fruits, for lightness and freshness today. This dessert met those needs perfectly - four kinds of fruit and just the right amount of bite. Oh yeah, and it’s no work and still looks pretty cool. Ingredients (serves 2): 1 big round slice watermelon, about 1.5 cm thick 2/3 cup Greek yoghurt 1.5 tsp maple syrup 1 cup mixed berries 1/2 passion fruit a bit of honey Instructions: 1. Slice the watermelon into wedges diagonally. 2. Mix the yoghurt and the maple syrup. Spread on top of the watermelon, leaving a bit of the outer rim yoghurt-free. 3. Top with the berries and passion fruit. Drizzle the honey over and serve immediately.

Pytt i Panna is a Swedish one-pan dish made of meat, onions and potatoes - traditionally served with beetroot and a fried egg. It’s a classic leftover dish, and a great use for your leftover boiled potatoes. I used to have it a lot - a friend once served it to me on one of my visits to Sweden and I came to appreciate the hearty flavour combination - and the fact that this makes a great hangover meal. My local IKEA used to sell it in big bags in its frozen food section, which made it even more effortless than it already is. When one day my IKEA stopped selling it, I started making it from scratch myself. Ingredients: 240g potato, peeled and boiled and diced 2 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped medium-fine 200g smoked bacon, diced 2 small pre-boiled beetroot, sliced 2 eggs knob of butter or dash of olive oil Instructions: 1. If you’re particularly lazy like I was this evening, you’ll not only use pre-boiled beets, but pre-boiled potatoes. It saves you some time, but it’s n...

Sunday is brunch day - and this Sunday I’m having eggs. I’ve been eating an insane amount these last days, so I opted for a low carb, bread-free version today. Ingredients (serves 1): 1 avocado 2 eggs few slivers of smoked salmon  fresh dill and chives salt and freshly ground black pepper dash of olive oil  Instructions: 1. In a bowl, beat the eggs with some salt and pepper.  2. Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan and add the eggs. When the outsides are starting to set, stir. Repeat this a few more times until the egg is nearly all cooked, then turn off heat.  3. Cut the avocado in half and remove the seed. Pour some scrambled egg on top of each half and the remaining egg on the plate beside them. Top with salmon and fresh chives and dill. 

A couple of days ago, I bought a big head of Chinese cabbage. My intention when I got it was to make dumplings, but I’m missing most of the ingredients I need and so needed to find a new purpose. And then I found a recipe from London chef Margot Henderson in the Wallstreet Journal. She now owns for potato, cabbage and chorizo soup. It was a dish that dated back to the days she worked at The Eagle, a place she describes as London’s first gastro pub. A place that made generous food with love, in a tiny space. A soul food kind of dish. That sounded pretty damn good to me, so I thought I’d try it with my Chinese cabbage. No regrets :) Ingredients (serves 2): 2 waxy potatoes, cut into bite size pieces 1/2 Chinese cabbage, cut into thin strips 1 small yellow onion, sliced 50g (about 1 link) Spanish chorizo, sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 800ml chicken stock 1 bay leaf 1.5 tablespoon olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper Instructions: 1. Pour the olive oil in a medium-...

Cherries!!! The season is beginning and fruit and vegetable shops are starting to fill up with them - red, shiny and irresistible. For those days when you - like me - cannot resist and are looking for something different to do with them than eat them raw (which pretty awesome in itself), try this recipe for a feel-good brunch. Or dessert. Or whatever :) This photo was taken a while back at a vegetable market in Timisoara, Romania. Look at me being happy about all those heaping piles of cherries... 🍒 Ingredients (serves 4): cherry compote 500g sweet ripe cherries 4 tbsp lemon juice 100ml orange juice 2 tbsp red wine 1 vanilla bean 70g sugar 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon crepe batter 125g flour 2 eggs 300ml milk 20g melted butter 1 tsp rum (optional) pinch of salt cream cheese filling 200g cream cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 30g (1/4 cup) powdered sugar Instructions: 1. Start with the compôte. Stone (de-seed) the cherries and remove the stems. If you lik...