Low-gluten flour is always used in making delicate crispy tempura, along with baking powder and sparkling water. I’ve never seen actual cake flour (in the US, Swan’s Down brand) in Europe. The starch idea is also used in some Scottish shortbread recipes, which use corn flour.
My husband does both on a regular basis.
His fish and chips are incredible and very much like the British batter. I’ll ask him how he makes the batter.
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Tempura would never be used to make battered cod, that just wouldn’t be right at all.
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I didn’t mean to suggest that…just discussing how to lighten up the rather dense German 405 flour. I survived an entire summer in England on fish & chips in the 60s…happy days.
I wait.
me too, @Slammer 
Well it doesn’t look like much, but in these nights of minus 15, comfort is needed. Cut a large fennel bulb in thick slices and poach in milk to crisp-tender. Sauté a couple of crumbled salsiccia. Make a bechamel of butter, flour, and milk seasoned with Maldon salt, nutmeg, and freshly ground pepper. Add a handful of parmesan finely grated. Put the fennel into a baking dish, sprinkle with salsiccia, pour over the bechamel. Top with slices of fresh mozzarella di buffala, and blitz in a 200C oven for 20 minutes until golden. Wow. And yes, I’m still washing the dishes in the cold cellar. Ugh.
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I kove this kind of stuff, real cold weather food.
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For a lighter version (and more energy-efficient cleaning), I cut the fennels in thick slices, mark them on the pan with some olive oil, and put them on top of a hand-made mutter-teig pizza dough, with the customary cover of tomato paste, with olives, cappers…and cheese. Add some thyme and you can feel the Provence…
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Take two red bell peppers (capsicum) and blister them under the broiler, then skin. Sauté a large minced shallot in oil with a teaspoon of smoked pimentón, then add the chopped peppers, salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, and simmer until the peppers are soft. Blitz. Stir in a tablespoon of butter and a splash of Jerez vinegar. Wonderful pooled under a veggie flan, such as fennel, mushroom, or butternut.
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Pizza time…
Ran out of flour, so I used my stash of mexican corn flour, rye flour and polenta.
Came out nice and crunchy but the base got a tad hard.
And dessert… mmmmm…!
Sprinkled a pinch of “herbs” on one half. That worked, very well
And dessert… mmmmm…!
Buttered banana vasa with maple syrup..
The challenge these frigid nights: How to provide warm comfort food whilst atoning for the excesses of the holiday season. I took it up, using my old recipe for cauliflower gratin but reducing the fat calories. First I took a pound of bite-sized pieces of cauliflower, carrots, and fennel and roasted them at 220C (replacing the previous recipe’s olive oil drizzle with white wine) until they went crispy around the edges and lost most of their liquid. Meanwhile I made parmesan sauce with only 30g of butter (instead of 60g), a chopped leek, 4 tablespoons of flour, and 200ml of whole milk plus 200ml of light milk (as opposed to all whole). Stirred in 60g of finely grated parmesan and seasoned it with nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Took the veggies out, layered them with the sauce, sprinkled with more cheese, and returned to the oven at 200C until brown and bubbly (about 30 minutes). It is still very good and rich, and the whole shebang comes in under 1,000 calories. Served with a little tomato salad, it made a satisfying dinner for two. The hyacinths are for the soul.**
**If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And of thy meager store,
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
— Saadi, Persian Sufi poet, in Gulistan (The Rose Garden), 1258
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I must stay I was a little bit disappointed with the choice of crockery, yet…is that tablecloth vintage of European origin? if so…WOWOWOWOWOWOW
p.s. my choice of these type of gratins are now made oriental style, with garam masala spices, some tomate concentrate, and a (fake) bechamel that contains coconut milk thickened with some maizena. I know, I know…but I’m already in ‘operation bikini’ (the film, not the militar manouvres)
200ml of whole milk plus 200ml of light milk has 240 calories.
400ml of whole milk has 260 calories.
Go for light milk if you have high cholesterol problems otherwise taste should really be the deciding factor.
@izzy, you are correct. It’s an enormous 1800s Point de Venise I found at an estate sale 30 years ago. There are several on Etsy if you are interested. The baking dish is my old blue Emile Henry from years ago when we lived in Alsace…a good size for two servings.
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OH doesn’t like eggplant–his half of the moussaka has to have potatoes instead. But he likes this. It is my favourite way of preparing Asian-inspired aubergine, and I’ve been cooking it for decades. When I saw aubergine yesterday for 70 cents each for heavy firm shiny slim fruit, I couldn’t resist. It starts with peeling, slicing, and degorging the slices with salt for an hour. Squeeze dry and marinate in a mixture of coconut milk, sesame oil, mango chutney (Patak), fresh grated ginger and garlic, chopped coriander (cilantro), hoisin, curry powder, sriracha, and mirin. Leave for 8 hours, drain and saute on medium-high heat, gradually adding the marinade as it is absorbed into the eggplant. It turns soft and a lovely golden caramel brown. Spicy, tender, oh, my. Served tonight with (strangely) sushi. The ideal accompaniment would be jasmine rice and bok choy, but we ate it all last night.
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I still rather use the old method of strolling around flea markets on the unbeaten path. Highly recommendable the ones around Lyon - and of course, central Europe.
Unfortunately, the old flea market at the Naschmarkt (Wien) has professionalized, and is full of fakes, deep pocket tourists and the less-than-desirable odd pickpockets.
Better late than never, sorry for the long wait.
He uses 150g of self raising flour ( he usually makes his own by sifting plain flour with baking powder) and around 150ml of ice cold water plus a pinch of salt. Add the water slowly to the flour while whisking continuously until you get a smooth lump free batter. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Coat the fish and deep fry in very hot oil. It’s important to make sure not to put too much fish in the fryer at the same time as it cools the oil down too much according to him, it’s better to cook in small batches if you’re cooking a lot.
We always use cod filet rather than cod loin.
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Ahhhh, a challange has been made.
Wow!