Apfelmus

Hi there!
In case you were wondering where I've been over the last weeks - the "evil flu" got to me at the beginning of last week. So I was in bed for two days with a horrible headache and had several versions of colds for the rest of the week. I hope this doesn't sound familiar to you!!!

So I haven't been doing much.

Well, this is not true. Since I've been at home at lot, I've taken lots of photographs of what I've made. Only I've succumbed to sleep in the evening instead of writing. I hope you're forgiving me ;-)

So, to get back on track: Right now I've got a Schneckennudel dough rising next to the heating and . . .  *insert-the-sound-of-some-drums-here* . . . an apple filling waiting for tomorrow morning in the fridge.

I know I told my friends I'd make an original German nut filling the next time, but I was so tempted by the apples today. I'm sorry! The nut filling is still to come!

The apple filling is an Apfelmus or apple puree, just like you would use it for pancakes, Schupfnudeln or Kartoffelpuffer. Am I confusing you there?

"Apfelmus" is the German word for apple puree. "Apfel" means "apple" and "Mus" means "puree".

I don't know what you'd have apple puree with here in England, but where I come from it is common to have with the above mentioned dishes.
Pancakes I'm sure you all know one way or another.
Schupfnudeln are longish shaped potato dumplings which have pointed ends. They are cooked and then usually pan-fried and served with honey-braised Sauerkraut or with Apfelmus.
Kartoffelpuffer are, as Wikipedia tells me, called potato pancakes in English. Maybe you could compare them to hash browns. I have to admit that I've never liked them, but maybe I haven't found the right recipe yet.

In any case apple puree is versatile and you can use it, like I am planning to, as a filling or simply as jam or to have with anything you fancy!

Apfelmus

inspired by Ella Woodward's Apple Puree from her new book (Woodward, E. (2015). Deliciously Ella: Awesome ingredients, incredible food that you and your body will love. Hodder & Stoughton, p.19)

for 1 small jar / 1 Schneckennudel filling
2	apples
1/4 tsp	cinnamon
	water

• Core the apples and roughly cut them up. Place the pieces in a small pot and add a bit of water, so that the bottom of the pot is covered.
• Bring to a boil and cook the apples uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Add more water as necessary. In the end there shouldn't be a "soup" left, but the apples should not have burnt.
• Having added the cinnamon, pour the apples into a blender or use a stick blender. Blend until very smooth.

Keep in the fridge.

You can adjust the seasoning to your liking. Vanilla or cardamom might be interesting options! If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Banana Bread Rolls

I have been baking again this week as you might guess!

Besides, I've been tackling my list of saved recipes this week! The result so far is: I have actually tried three new recipes in three days. None was a disaster, one was fantastic, one quite good and one...not bad, but not on the list for making again.
I am happy about how this went this week. Usually I save so many recipes and at some point I decide that I have to do a clear-out, because I can't find anything anymore =P
So in case you are curious - the one that was fantastic (honestly! I think I haven't tried anything that nice in quite some time!) was this version of Shepherd's Pie from Edible Perspective.

But back to what I've been baking! Banana Bread Rolls!
And no, they're not muffins, even though I always make them in a muffin pan - the dough is quite sticky and soft, that's why.
They don't require any artistic talent in case you didn't want to make the Schneckennudeln because of that ;-) These rolls are not like a typical cake or muffin recipe. They're made with yeast and resemble a typical yeast roll that is a bit heavier and has a subtle taste of banana and cocoa that is not overwhelming, though.

Banana Bread Rolls

Time required: about 30 min + waiting + 30 min + waiting + 10 min + 30 min for rising + 25 for baking

	for 9 rolls	for 12 rolls
	335 g (34 g nuts	445 g (44 g nuts)	Cashewmilk
	6-8 g	8-10 g	fresh yeast
OR	3 g	4 g	dried yeast
and in that case	1 tsp	1 tsp	honey
	335 g	445 g	whole wheat flour
	335 g	445 g	whole wheat flour
	2 tsp	2 ½ tsp	cinnamon
	1 tbsp +1 tsp	2 tbsp	cocoa powder
	1 tsp	1 1/3 tsp	salt
	300 g	400 g	banana, mashed
equals	2 large	3 normal sized	bananas
	2 2/3 tbsp	3 ½ tbsp	honey
	54 g	72 g	butter, melted

•  Grind cashew nuts and blend with water  to make cashewmilk. Pour a part into a jug and, in the same blender, blend the remaining milk with yeast and (if using dried yeast, honey).  In a bowl, mix flour, yeast-milk and remaining milk. If using a electric machine, use the paddle attachment. Using a spatula, try to fold in the sides to give the dough a bit of tension. Let rest covered for at least 3 hours at room temperature.

• In a second bowl mix second part of the flour, cinnamon, cocoa and salt. Add mashed banana, honey, melted butter and the flour mixture to the dough. Knead into a dough. This will not become smooth, but will remain very sticky. If using a machine, use the dough hook attachment. If the dough seems quite hard add some water. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 8 hours at room temperature.

• Cut out squares of baking paper (do not use - under no circumstances - greaseproof paper - this will only give you lots of grief! ... I've done that) and, smoothing them over a small glass turned upside-down, turn them into moulds. You can also use non-stick muffin tin liners (but only if they're non stick). If you only have paper versions, rather just grease the muffin tin very well.
• Knead the dough again. With wet hands pull the dough into pieces and place them in the moulds. This doesn't have to look nice. Just rip the dough in pieces and make sure it's all in the moulds. Put the muffin pan in a warm place where there is no draught and let the rolls rise for about 25 minutes.
• If your oven needs preheating, preheat to 210°C.

• When the rolls have risen, place them in the oven and bake for 22-24 minutes.

• Remove them from the tin directly after baking and place on a cooling rack. If you used any paper for lining remove this. If you'd like to freeze any rolls, freeze them in sealed plastic bags directly after baking when hot (this way they retain the moisture). For thawing let them thaw in a plastic bag at room temperature for 4-5 hours. If you have the possibility you can reheat them for example on a toaster rack.

As always: If anyone tries this I'd love to hear from you!
Also I'm happy about any wishes and comments :-)

Rich & Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Hi there on Sunday night! Do you have some time to spare for cooking something nice tomorrow? Or do you have a butternut squash you don't know what to do with?
Stay with me then until the recipe is revealed ;-)

In fact I did not have a plan today for what to make for dinner....
But since my housemate went to the market today and brought home lots of things - which is great, Thanks! :-) - I just decided to go for what looked like it needed to be eaten first.
In that case it was a butternut squash.

Have you tried it before? Butternut is a quite sweet-ish sort of squash. It has much more flavour than the usual Halloween pumpkin, which doesn't taste like anything to me if I'm honest. It was even my favourite squash before my housemate brought home some green squash for the first time. Unfortunately I don't know the name of that one right now, but it really is delicious!

In this sauce though, butternut squash works just fine!
You could use Hokkaido, which is probably the most popular pumpkin in Germany. The sauce will taste quite different, though, since Hokkaido does not taste anywhere as sweet when cooked. Sweet potato, in my opinion, is kind of too sweet. Carrot alone I haven't tried yet, but carrot mixed with squash is quite good as well!

The recipe I started from I found a few years ago here on Oh She Glows.
Since then me and my Mum have changed it a couple of times and the following is the current version ;-)

Due to the nutritional yeast the sauce tastes a bit cheesy and not at like "healthy vegetables" ;-)
It is rich and creamy and is a perfect comfort food for wintery or rainy days.
There are a lot of similar recipes out there on the internet. They often describe the sauce as a "Mac'n Cheese Sauce". Since I've never tried that I cannot tell you if it does indeed taste like that. So if you try this and you know traditional English/American Mac'n Cheese then I'd love to hear what you think about that comparison!

for 3 people
450 g	butternut squash, in cubes
	olive oil
	salz
	pepper
1tbsp	butter
26 g	cashew nuts
200 g	water
1-2 tbsp	flour
2-3 tbsp	nutritional yeast
½ tsp	mustard (vinegary & tangy, not sweet)
1	garlic clove, grated
	salt
	pepper
	nutmeg (best is freshly grated)
300 g	pasta
250 g	spinach, fresh (cut) or thawed

• Cut up the squash. I find it easiest to cut it into rounds (or half-rounds if you're on the part where you scoop out the seeds) and then to cut the peel off the rounds instead of trying to peel the whole thing.
• Place in a baking tray and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle on olive oil. Put into the oven and roast at 220°C for 40 to 60 minutes, so that it is slightly browned.
• In the meantime make the sauce:
• Grind cashews in a blender until they are as fine as they get. Add water and blend again.
• Melt butter over low heat in a medium-sized pot. Have a for or whisk at hand. Pour cashew milk into the pot and add flour. Whisk until smooth. Turn heat up slightly. You want the mixture to simmer over low heat. Add in nutritional yeast, mustard, grated garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Whisk. Make sure that the sauce bubbles slightly and, whisking frequently, let bubble uncovered for about 7-10 minutes. Let stand until squash is roasted.
• Heat pasta water and cut or thaw spinach.
• When the squash is roasted, put it into the pot with the sauce. With a stick blender blend up the sauce. Alternatively you could do this is a blender or food processor. If you have neither I think it should work if you mash up the squash with a potato masher as fine as you can and then whisk the sauce. I haven't tried that though, but I'm quite confident it will work.
• Taste and season as desired.

• Cook pasta. Reserve some cooking water in a cup. Drain pasta. Place drained pasta along with the spinach into the pot with the sauce. Thin out with pasta water as desired. Let pasta simmer on very low heat in the sauce for about 3-5 minutes. This will let them absorb the sauce better and will let spinach wilt (if it is fresh).
• Enjoy!

The sauce (at the stage where you've just blended it, before you add spinach) also freezes well!