All Posts By Farmy

englishRecipesStories

Watercress – the leafy veggie with a unique flavor

Posted on 2 min read
Close-up of cress in a small bowl with more cress in the background

Watercress is often known as a garnish. People in the old days couldn’t imagine dishes without it – a buffet with no cress wasn’t complete. It would also give a certain aesthetic appeal to sandwiches and mayo salads.

However, times have changed. Today cress salad is seen as an integral part of a dish. Or it can take center stage. Eventually, people got a taste for watercress and its unique flavour.

Cress has small, dark, rounded leaves that look really beautiful and taste so refreshing. Eat it raw in salads with daikon. Or pound into a pesto. Or blend into smoothies with pumpkin seeds.

Watercress with a peppery bite or more blend

Watercress has a peppery bite and grassiness. That makes it ideal for many dishes. This leafy vegetable is a member of the mustard family, hence its sharpness.

However, bear in mind that once cooked, the pepperiness of the salad decreases. It leaves only a distinctive vegetable note.

So if the tingling sensation is what you are after, then watercress is better eaten raw. Also, note that cultivated watercress is available all year round. But it’s less spicy than the wild, the one that appears with the first days of spring.

Cress for the mustardy feel

Let’s whip up a simple salad. You’ll need

  • a large heap of cress
  • 1 peeled and chopped orange
  • 1 sliced avocado
  • 2 tbsp of dried cranberries

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 2 tbsp lemon juive
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey

For the dressing, mix all ingredients together – it’s all you need for your divine dressing! Then add the other ingredients above to make a refreshing salad.

Cress without the peppery bite

Don’t like the mustardy spirit of the watercress? Not a big problem! You can always cook it away in soups or stir-fries.

Speaking of which, let’s introduce you to a common Chinese dish. It uses only a couple of ingredients but brings so much joy to the table.

Peel and smash with a knife 3-4 cloves of garlic. Heat a big skillet or a wok (if you are a proud owner of one). Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and warm it up a little.

Add the garlic and sauté it for 2-3 minutes. Then throw in the cress (two bunches will be enough). Wait until wilted and stir it until it’s fully cooked. Serve as a side dish on top of warm bread.

Buy the ingredients

Share

By
englishRecipesStories

Leafy greens come in various names

Posted on 2 min read
Leafy greens in bowls

Edible leaves of plants may have different names. Casually we call them “pot-herbs”, and normally “salad greens”. But more officially, “leaf vegetables” is the worthiest name for them.

As culinary vegetables, these leafy greens include more than 1000 different species. Can you imagine a salad with this many ingredients?

Of course, most of them wouldn’t be enjoyed by us humans. That is because of the high fiber content. No one wants to munch on a pile of grass with clover and alfalfa. On the other hand, a good sauce might fix it. But let’s turn to more traditional ways of cooking the greens.

Our greens are not only for salads

Firstly, we need to face one thing: we don’t know what to do with our greens! More often than not, our poor leafy vegetables slowly wilt in a crisper drawer. We watch them die shyly, averting our eyes from them as we reach for another piece of chicken or a tomato.

But we must change our relationship. First of all, leafy vegetables are not only suitable for salads (though it’s admittedly one of the best options).

Take rocket as an example. It’s a great peppery, sharp addition to your lunch. But it can also be chopped and added straight to your creamy pasta or tomato bruschetta.

What about cabbage leaves? Usually, we chop, salt, and mix them with shredded carrots to get sauerkraut. But there’s so much more to it.

The famous Russian specialty

Not only can you add cabbage to soups or stews, but it can be stuffed. Let us introduce the famous Russian dish called golubtsi. Stuffed cabbage leaves with onion, rice, and mincemeat. It is served with hot sauce and sour cream.

This hot cabbage prep can knock you off with the flavour and taste.

Other leafy greens are waiting in your fridge

Another frequent guest on our fridge drawers is lettuce. There are different subspecies with thin, crisp, curled, or serrated leaves folded into a head. Mostly they are eaten raw but can be used in many other ways. Try to sauté them with olive oil and garlic. Or stir fry with sesame oil, rice wine, soy sauce, sugar and spices.

Now it’s Kale’s turn. This green often appears in smoothies and chips. Kale has that aura of ‘greenness and rawness’. And one of the best ways to eat it is actually cooking it in a pan.

Cook the greens in some olive oil, sliced garlic, and red pepper flakes until the kale starts to wilt. At this stage, add the chicken stock and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Then pour a splash of cream into the hearty broth. That is truly one of the greatest ways to have your kale.

Discover leafy greens

Share

By
englishRecipesStories

Osterchüechli – the traditional Swiss Easter treat

Posted on 3 min read
4 Osterchüechli in front of pink and white ranunculus

While Easter is almost round the corner, bakeries, cafes, shops and patisseries all get busy decorating windows with chocolate eggs, chicks and bunnies in all colours and sizes.

Yet, some will crave more traditional treats that can be found during this festive season across the globe. Simnel cake and hot cross buns from the UK, colomba di Pasqua from Italy, kulitch from Russia and Osterchüechli from Switzerland, to name but a few. 

A rare regional delicacy

Osterchüechli literary translates as “Easter cake”. Today, it seems, the name is used for all sorts of sweet baked goods – like carrot cake, chocolate rolls or muffins – as long as they are decorated for Easter festivities.

However, traditionally, this is a sweet pastry torte baked with a milky-rice filling and various other ingredients. These include raisins, jam, amaretto, semolina, almonds and lemon zest. The recipe originates from 16th-century Basel.

Osterchüechli is enjoyed mostly in Switzerland and sometimes Germany, making it a rare regional delicacy to look out for. So, if you feel like surprising your guests with this not-so-common cake this Easter, try this recipe.

Make your own Osterchüechli

Osterchüechli can be either cooked as a single tart in a 24 cm / 9 inch diameter tin, or as 4 smaller tarts in 10 cm / 4 inch diameter tins. Certainly if you feel like making life easier, use the pre-cooked pastry tarts. Otherwise, make the dough prior to baking. 

Ingredients

For the dough

  •  200 g / 1 ¼ cup flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 100 g / ¼ cup soft butter
  • 40 g / ½ cup sugar
  • zest of ½ lemon
  • 1 egg

For the filling

  • 500 ml / ½  cup of milk
  • 60 g / ¼ cup of sugar
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 120 g / ⅔ cup of long-grain white rice
  • a pinch of salt
  • 50 g / ¼ cup of soft butter
  • 40 g / ¼ cup soft raisins, pre-soaked
  • 20 g / ¼ of cup ground almonds
  • 3 egg whites
  • 3 tbsp apricot jam

Method

For the dough

  1. Mix the flour, salt, butter, sugar, lemon zest and egg.
  2. Knead the dough until smooth.
  3. Butter the tin.
  4. Roll the dough and place it inside the tin, gently pressing down with your fingers so that the dough follows the shape and its edges.
  5. Poke tiny holes into the dough with a fork. This will help your pastry base stay nice and flat since the trapped air escapes through the holes while baking.
  6. Chill the tin with the dough in a fridge.

Meanwhile you can prepare the filling for the Osterchüechli.

For the filling

  1. Bring a pan with the milk and sugar to a boil.
  2. Reduce the heat, add lemon zest and vanilla extract. Then add the long-grain white rice to the hot milk and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring while cooking.
  3. Add a pinch of salt, soft butter, pre-soaked soft raisins, ground almonds. Stir and let the milky-rice mixture cool. 
  4. In a separate bowl, whizz egg whites into a stiff peak.
  5. Fold the egg whites into the milky rice. Doing this in batches and stirring gently will keep the fluffy and airy texture of the mix. 
  6. Remove the tin with the dough and spread 3 tablespoons of apricot jam over the base of the tin.
  7. Carefully spread the milky rice filling into the tin, making the surface of the cake even, and bake for 30 minutes at 200° C / 400° F or 40- 45 minutes at 180° C/ 350° F.

Once baked, let Osterchüechli cool before you decorate them. Traditionally Osterchüechli are dusted with some powdered sugar. To make a cuter version of this, cut out bunny shapes from paper and place on your cake before dusting. Carefully remove the paper bunnies to keep the powder in place and the edges sharp.

Frohe Ostern!

Get the ingredients!

Share

By
deutschFarmypostNachgefragtRezepte

Brunnenkresse – das Blattgemüse mit einzigartigem Geschmack

Posted on 2 min read
Close-up of cress in a small bowl

Brunnenkresse wird oft als Garnitur bezeichnet. Früher war es aus Gerichten nicht wegzudenken. Ein Buffet ohne Kresse war nicht komplett. Und sie verleiht auch Sandwiches und Mayosalaten einen gewissen ästhetischen Reiz.

Die Zeiten haben sich jedoch geändert. Heute gilt Kresse als fester Bestandteil eines Gerichts. Oder sie kann im Mittelpunkt stehen. Schliesslich kamen die Menschen auf den Geschmack der Brunnenkresse und ihres einzigartigen Aromas.

Kresse hat kleine, dunkle, abgerundete und sehr schön aussehende Blätter, die so erfrischend schmecken. Iss sie roh in Salaten mit Daikon. Oder mach ein Pesto daraus. Oder aber mixe sie mit Kürbiskernen zu einem Smoothie.

Brunnenkresse mit mehr oder weniger pfeffrigem Geschmack

Brunnenkresse hat einen pfeffrigen und grasigen Geschmack. Das macht das Kraut ideal für viele Gerichte. Dieses Blattgemüse gehört zur Familie der Senfgewächse, daher seine Schärfe.

Beachte jedoch, dass das Kraut nach dem Kochen weniger pfeffrig ist. Es hinterlässt nur eine ausgeprägte Gemüsenote.

Wenn du also auf das Prickeln aus bist, solltest du Brunnenkresse besser roh essen. Beachte auch, dass kultivierte Brunnenkresse das ganze Jahr über erhältlich ist. Aber sie ist weniger scharf als das wilde Gewächs, eines der ersten Frühlingsboten.

Kresse für das senfartige Gefühl

Lass uns einen einfachen Salat zaubern. Du brauchst:

  • einen grossen Haufen Kresse
  • 1 geschälte und gehackte Orange
  • 1 Avocado, zerkleinert
  • 2 EL getrocknete Cranberrys

Für das Dressing:

  • 2 EL Orangensaft
  • 2 EL Zitronensaft
  • 2 EL Olivenöl
  • 1 TL Dijon-Senf
  • 1 TL Honig

Vermische alle Zutaten für die Sauce – mehr brauchst du nicht für dein göttliches Dressing! Füge dann die oberen Zutaten hinzu, um einen erfrischenden Salat zuzubereiten.

Kresse ohne den pfeffrigen Biss

Magst du den Senfgeist der Brunnenkresse nicht? Kein grosses Problem! Du kannst diesen mühelos in Suppen oder Pfannengerichten wegzaubern.

Apropos, wir möchten dir ein gängiges chinesisches Gericht vorstellen. Dafür werden nur ein paar Zutaten benötigt, zaubert aber so viel Freude auf den Tisch.

3-4 Knoblauchzehen schälen und mit einem Messer zerdrücken. Erhitze eine grosse Pfanne oder einen Wok (wenn du stolze*r Besitzer*in von einem bist). Gib 2 EL Olivenöl hinein und erwärme das Ganze ein wenig.

Füge den Knoblauch hinzu und brate ihn 2-3 Minuten lang an. Dann wirf den die Kresse hinein (zwei Bündel reichen aus). Warte, bis sie welk ist, und rühre alles um, bis sie vollständig gekocht ist. Als Beilage zu warmem Brot servieren.

Zutaten kaufen

Share

By
englishRecipes

Juicy-sweet lamb cake for Easter

Posted on 1 min read
Easter lamb cake surrounded by pink tulips

The Easter bunny distributes the eggs in the garden, while inside the fine lamb-shaped cake is already in the oven – that sounds like a fantastic Easter morning!

Easter lamb cake surrounded by pink tulips
Easter lamb cake surrounded by pink tulips
Juicy-sweet lamb cake for Easter
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Rezept drucken
All animal products can be replaced by plant-based alternatives.
Servings Prep Time
3 small moulds or 1 big one 1 hour incl. backing time
Servings Prep Time
3 small moulds or 1 big one 1 hour incl. backing time
Easter lamb cake surrounded by pink tulips
Juicy-sweet lamb cake for Easter
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Rezept drucken
All animal products can be replaced by plant-based alternatives.
Servings Prep Time
3 small moulds or 1 big one 1 hour incl. backing time
Servings Prep Time
3 small moulds or 1 big one 1 hour incl. backing time
Ingredients
Servings: small moulds or 1 big one
Units:
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to about 160 °C fan and grease your lamb cake tins.
  2. Cream the butter or margarine, then add the sugar, vanilla sugar, salt and lemon until smooth.
  3. Gradually add the eggs, stirring them in for about 30 seconds at a time.
  4. Mix the flour and baking powder and add them as well. Stir in briefly with the milk.
  5. Pour the mixture into the lamb dishes and bake for about 40-45 minutes.
  6. After the baking time, let the lambs cool before removing them from the tins!
  7. Sprinkle with icing sugar or decorate as desired.

Share

By
AnecdotesfrançaisRecettes

Des Pâques pas comme les autres

Posted on 3 min read
White eggs being coloured in bowls

Pâques va de pair avec le printemps, le beau temps et, bien sûr, notre désir d’en profiter. Cette année encore, nous voulons faire de notre mieux pour que cette fête symbolise vraiment le renouveau et une nouvelle vie. Nous avons donc rassemblé pour toi des contenus intéressants, à la fois culinaires et divertissants. Nous espérons qu’ils te réchaufferont le cœur !

N’oublie pas de nous montrer comment tu prépares et célèbres Pâques ! Tague-nous dans tes stories Instagram avec @farmy_ch.fr

L’origine des œufs de Pâques

Les œufs de Pâques sont probablement les éléments les plus symboliques de cette fête, mais connais-tu vraiment leur origine ? Dans de nombreuses cultures du monde entier, l’œuf représente le début d’une nouvelle vie, tout comme Pâques. Traditionnellement, de vrais œufs de ferme étaient cuits et décorés pour les personnes les plus pauvres, tandis que les riches avaient des œufs dorés.

Aujourd’hui, en Suisse, le lapin de Pâques apporte des œufs aux enfants (à l’origine, c’était le coucou). La légende raconte qu’une vieille dame, trop pauvre pour acheter des bonbons à ses enfants, a décidé de peindre des œufs de ferme et de les cacher pour qu’ils puissent s’amuser à les chercher. Au début de leur recherche, les enfants ont remarqué un lapin et ont pensé qu’il avait apporté les œufs. Le lapin figurera toujours dans le mythe qui rend les enfants heureux !

Le savais-tu ?

À l’époque, il était interdit de manger des œufs pendant le Carême. Par conséquent, les gens faisaient cuire les œufs afin de les conserver pour une consommation ultérieure. Afin de les distinguer des œufs frais, ils les coloraient pendant la cuisson en ajoutant des herbes aromatiques.

Des Pâques interactives

Il existe de nombreuses recettes liées à Pâques. Certaines personnes célèbrent cette fête avec un repas généreux, tandis que d’autres préfèrent un bon brunch. Ce qui suit sont des liens vers de délicieuses recettes que tu peux préparer avec toute ta famille et créer l’ambiance parfaite.

Après Pâques, nous nous retrouvons toujours avec un surplus de chocolat et nous ne savons pas toujours quoi en faire ! Voici quelques idées pour de fabuleuses friandises !

Activités pour les enfants et les adultes

Apporte de la couleur dans ta maison avec ces jolis dessins à imprimer ! → lien dessins

Te sens-tu créatif ? Voici une liste (non exhaustive) d’activités que tu peux essayer pour ravir toute la famille !

Achète des friandises de Pâques

Share

By