Christmas baking – that’s why we know and love it. But vanilla, cinnamon and anise can do much more than biscuits and sweets, as our dishes show. Here we briefly introduce our heroes to you.
VANILLA
This type of orchid grows mainly in Madagascar, Mauritius, Mexico and India. The capsule ferments after harvest and develops its aroma depending on the soil: sometimes the vanilla tastes earthy like liquorice, sometimes sweet like tobacco. Use the scraped seeds and the whole pod. Both are suitable for poultry and fish dishes.
CINNAMON
The stick is a piece of bark from the cinnamon tree that curls up as it dries after harvest. The best cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka. China also grows cinnamon, but it tastes less aromatic and is usually sold ground. The intense, sweet-woody taste of cinnamon goes well with poultry dishes and curries.
ANIS
The grains, which have fine hairs, are not seeds but the fruit of an umbel flower that mainly grows in the Mediterranean region. The spicy-sweet taste is reminiscent of liquorice and also gives pastis, raki and absinthe their unique aroma. Anise goes well with fish dishes, vegetables and curries.
STAR ANISE
The fruit from the tropics usually contains eight seeds and is used in its entirety. Its aroma is sweeter, stronger and woodier than that of anise – a must in Asian cuisine! But it also tastes great with poultry and tomato dishes.
For 4 people:
800 g beetroot
Salt
1 unwaxed orange
4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp aniseed
2 tbsp olive oil Freshly ground
pepper
100 g dried figs
1 tbsp sesame butter
250 g Greek yoghurt
1 tsp honey
200 g flatbread
1. Cook beetroot in salted water for about 25 minutes until al dente. Drain, let cool and peel. Peel the orange (keep the peel!). Halve and squeeze the fruit. Peel garlic. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (180 degrees for a fan oven).
2. Place the beets in a casserole dish with the garlic and orange zest. Mix orange juice with anise and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the beets. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
3. Dice the figs into small pieces. Mix sesame butter with yoghurt. Stir in honey and figs. Season with salt and pepper. Season the beets with freshly ground pepper. Serve with fig dip. Briefly bake the flatbread in the still hot oven, cut into pieces and serve with it.
ca. 40 Minutes – per Person 410 kcal, Fat: 15 g
For 4 people:
400 g lamb 1 tbsp .
honey
1
tbsp _ _ _ _ _
1. Rinse the lamb, pat dry and cut into cubes. Mix 1/2 tbsp honey with olive oil and 1 tsp each of turmeric and cinnamon. Mix the meat with it and let it marinate.
2. Halve the chestnuts. Clean the mushrooms and chanterelles, wash if necessary. Cut radicchio. Clean arugula. Wash both and shake dry. Squeeze lime. Peel shallot, chop. Whisk together the shallot juice, remaining honey and 1 tbsp walnut oil. Spice up.
3. Thread meat onto skewers. Fry in a hot pan until crispy. mix salads. Fry the mushrooms and chestnuts in the rest of the walnut oil. Spice up. Mix with salad and dressing. Serve the skewers with the salad.
ca. 40 Minutes – per Person 320 kcal, Fat: 17 g
For 4 people:
50 g brown sugar
3 star anise
250 g quark
200 g mascarpone
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 piece of vanilla bean
4 grapefruits
3 oranges
1. Boil brown sugar with 100 ml water and star anise in a saucepan. Cook for about 10 minutes. Let cool down. Mix the quark with the mascarpone and maple syrup.
2. Halve the vanilla pod and scrape out the pulp. Halve and squeeze a grapefruit. Stir the juice with the vanilla pulp into the cream.
3. Peel the remaining grapefruits and oranges, removing the white skin . Cut the fruit into slices and arrange on plates. Drizzle with the anise syrup. Serve fruit salad with vanilla cream.
ca. 30 Minutes – per Person 320 kcal, Fat: 16 g
For 4 people:
100 g red lentils
salt
300 g carrots
500 g chicken breast
300 g aubergine
1 vanilla bean
1 tbsp olive oil freshly ground
pepper
50 g raisins
100 ml vegetable stock
250 ml coconut milk
1. Cook the lentils in a little salted water for about 10 minutes. pour off. Peel carrots and cut into pieces. Rinse the chicken breast, pat dry and cut into strips. Wash, quarter and chop the eggplant. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the pulp.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry the chicken breast in it. Spice up. Add carrots and aubergines and fry. Add vanilla pulp, raisins, vegetable stock and coconut milk.
3. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Add lentils to curry. Cook in it for about 5 minutes. Taste the curry and serve.
ca. 35 Minutes – per Person 340 kcal, Fat: 5 g
For 4 people:
300 g nutmeg pumpkin
3 shallots
2
tbsp olive oil 250 g risotto rice
1 cinnamon stick
800 ml vegetable stock
250 g cherry tomatoes
200 ml white wine
Salt
Pepper from the mill
300 g organic prawns (without shell)
1 small piece of ginger
1 tbsp honey
30 g parmesan
1. Peel, deseed and dice the pumpkin. Cook in a saucepan with 100 ml of water for about 10 minutes. puree. Peel shallots, dice. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the shallots and rice in it. Add cinnamon and pumpkin puree.
2. Gradually add vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Let the rice swell over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Wash tomatoes, cut in half. Add with wine. Cook for another 10 minutes. Spice up.
3. Wash the shrimp, pat dry. Peel ginger, chop. Mix shrimp with honey, ginger and remaining oil. Heat a pan. Fry shrimp. Spice up. Rasp cheese. Taste the risotto. Serve with shrimp and cheese.
ca. 50 Minutes – per Person 470 kcal, Fat: 10 g
For 12 rolls:
1 vanilla pod
1/2 cube of fresh yeast
400 g wheat flour
salt
1 tbsp aniseed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
75 g ready-made sourdough
1 tbsp walnut oil
100 g walnuts
1. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the pulp. Mix yeast with 200 ml lukewarm water. In a large bowl, combine wheat flour with vanilla pulp, 1 tablespoon salt, spices, sourdough, yeast and walnut oil.
2. Knead everything with the hand mixer (dough hook) to a smooth dough. Let the dough rise for about 60 minutes. Roughly chop the walnuts. Knead under the dough. Shape the dough into rolls, dust with a little flour and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (180 degrees for a fan oven). Place the buns on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper). If desired, cut a little with a knife. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve it still warm with pear and potato soup, for example.
approx. 2 hours – 160 kcal per piece, fat: 2 g
For 4 people:
150 g spelled flour (type 630)
100 g brown sugar
2 eggs (size M)
125 ml milk
1 unwaxed lemon
1 small piece of vanilla bean
300 g apples
250 g low-fat quark
1/2 tsp anise, ground
50 g flaked almonds
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1. Put the flour in a bowl with 40 g of the sugar. Add the eggs and milk and mix everything with a whisk to form a dough. Let the dough swell a bit.
2. Grate the zest from the lemon and squeeze the fruit. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the pulp. Wash, core and dice the apples. Put the lemon juice, 50 ml water, vanilla pulp and 2 tablespoons sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stew for about 10 minutes.
3. Mix the quark with the rest of the sugar, lemon zest, anise and almonds. Preheat oven grill. Heat oil in a small pan. Bake thin crêpes from the batter. Spread with quark cream and roll up. Pour into a casserole dish. Grill for about 5 minutes. Serve with apple compote.
ca. 40 Minutes – per Person 470 kcal, Fat: 13 g
For 4 people:
700 g sweet potatoes
2 onions
400 g pears
1 vanilla bean
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper,
freshly ground 800 ml vegetable stock
200 g sour cream
1. Peel potatoes. Set aside a quarter of the potato and cut the rest into cubes. Peel and dice the onions. Wash, halve, core and chop the pears. Halve the vanilla pod and scrape out the pulp.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan. Sauté onions, potatoes and pears in it. Spice up. Add the vanilla bean, pulp and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Take out the vanilla bean.
3. Slice the rest of the potatoes into thin slices using a vegetable peeler. puree soup. Stir in the sour cream. Taste again. Heat the rest of the oil. Fry the potato slices in it. Serve the soup with it.
ca. 30 Minutes – per Person 360 kcal, Fat: 13 g
