Luxurious Muesli – Start fresh into April!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by chefgabi

I now can reveal the recipe for my latest favorite muesli, as shown and created for MBC1 The Green Apple Show, aired recently. View the video sequence here.
By the way, there is more healthy treats to come soon on this channel. Keep watching it.
To easy make and enjoy this perfect morning treat at home, please follow below recipe.
I am sure you will like it as much as I do!

Luxurious Layered Morning Muesli
2 portions

What To Buy
10g Buckwheat
5g Puffed Amaranth (it is easy to puff Amaranth, as shown in the video, if you want to do it yourself as I do it)
10g Oat flakes
10g Almonds with skin
50g Mango
50g Papaya
30g Pomegranate seeds
50g Strawberry
10g Passion fruit pulp with seeds
200ml low fat Yoghurt
5g Acacia honey

How To Make It
Toast the buckwheat, the oat flakes and the sunflower seeds slightly in a non stick pan without any fat. Toast the almonds the same way and crush them roughly. Mix the seeds and nuts with the puffed amaranth.

Peel the papaya and the mango. Dice strawberry, mango and papaya and keep separate.
Spoon the prepared ingredients layered into glasses, so you can display the colorful layers: Some seeds and nuts mix, top with yoghurt, one type of fruit. Repeat the same layers with a different type of fruit.

Serve topped with a drizzle of acacia honey.

Chef Gabi’s Tip
This morning treat is packed with nutrients supporting beautiful skin, shiny hair, strong nails and bones. In the same time it provides you with lots of energy for a fresh start in the day.
p.s. left is one “making of” picture with the presenter Howayda and me, preparing the muesli. In the back you see beautiful Madinat Jumeirah Resort with its waterways, where guests are transported by boats …enjoy something truly inspirational about it here.

Vegetarian Food for Events – a busy March!

Posted on March 31, 2013 by chefgabi

Spreading my health inspired food everywhere …

Our guests with a healthy lifestyle could enjoy some special treats at ART DUBAI in Madinat Jumeirah and at the DUBAI WORLD CUP at Meydan. Enjoy the impressions!

Above the outdoor food stall at Art Dubai in Madinat Jumeirah, the team getting ready to serve……

And here is the Dubai World Cup 2013 at Meydan:

Talise Nutrition on MBC 1

Posted on March 14, 2013 by chefgabi

Our latest filming will be aired tomorrow, Friday, at 9 pm, at the Green Apple Show on MBC1…..very excited, and hope you all watch!

I have been very busy at work the last few weeks. Oh what am I saying, the last few months! No chance for even a short trip abroad to visit my beloved Bavaria, where I come from, to see the winter. Everyone at home is jealous though that I have everyday sunshine and warm weather while they have been freezing and shoveling snow. At least until recently, now finally some signs of spring are in the air.

To cure my longing for Bavaria I cooked some

flavors from home – away from home.

My home grown sweet marjoram (oregano family, but sweeter and milder) is beautiful and just perfect with its fragrant little leaves. Apart from its antioxidative benefits (think eternal youth!) it is a staple seasoning ingredient in Bavarian cuisine. I added it to my very simple but delicious

Potato Vegetable Soup with fresh Marjoram
2 portions

What to Buy
1 carrot, diced
1 parsnip or parsley root (however parsley root is difficult to source here in the Middle East), diced
2 small potatoes, peeled, diced
1 small leek, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 small piece mace
2 tablespoons olive oil
500 ml vegetable stock
salt, pepper
5 sprigs fresh marjoram, leaves picked

How to Make It
Braise in olive oil until golden the potatoes, parsnip and carrot with bay leaf and mace. Then add the vegetable stock and simmer for around 15 minutes on low heat. Add the leek, season with salt and pepper and serve with fresh marjoram leaves sprinkled all over.

Chef Gabi’s Tip:
I add sometimes dried cepes to the soup – they give this simple soup a significant upgrade! Must try.
This is what I cook at home when I feel not like cooking. A really easy to make recipe.

More Healthy Cooking on TV

Posted on February 18, 2013 by chefgabi

Healthy cooking is my passion since I became a chef. Because I believe that the food we eat is playing a major part in how strong, healthy and fit we are. So sharing recipes and ideas on how to live healthy and enjoy delicious food in the same time has become part of my daily work. An exciting part, I have to admit.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a truly amazing film team from MBC, and it was much fun to work and cook with Howayda in our lovely outside kitchen set up at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai with view to the waterways!

I will share with you soon the dates when it will be aired!
Here some impressions from the filming….

Cooking with Love

Posted on February 12, 2013 by chefgabi

Everyone talks about Valentines day! It is, indeed, ante portas…
I was invited again to Studio One with Ash and Tom for the culinary support of their Valentines….week.

Thinking what to present I came across one of my long time favorites, an hors d’oeuvre, perfect to start a romantic dinner. Simple, quickly done, with impressive aroma. Because who wants to spend the time in the kitchen on Valentines day?

All you need is a slowly reduced tomato relish, a little bit of tapenade (olives and capers paste), and one hard boiled egg chopped and mixed with yoghurt and mustard. For the grissini look here. Watch the sequence here.

Enjoy!

Baking Rediscovered

Posted on February 10, 2013 by chefgabi

Recently I have rediscovered baking. My mom bakes almost every day fresh crispy wholesome rolls and baguettes, and her dark and aromatic sourdough bread is famous! I have done her recipe for gluten free sesame rolls and you wouldn’t believe it they are really lovely. They will be definitely on my hitlist from now on.

GLUTEN FREE SESAME ROLLS
12 small rolls (they turn out crispier, when they are smaller)

What to Buy
50 gm millet flour
100 gm buckwheat flour
20 gm quinoa flour
150 ml water
10 gm fresh yeast
20 gm butter, melted (you can also use olive oil instead)
5 g salt
20 gm wholesome white sesame, toasted

How to Make It
Liquidise the yeast in the water. Combine it with the flours, toasted sesame seeds, salt and butter. It can be that you need to add some more water or a touch more flower. Just bear in mind the dough is rather soft as pictured above.
Preheat the oven at 250 degrees Celsius. Lay a baking tray with parchment paper and spoon the rather soft dough in portions on the paper. Give them an even more rustic look by dusting them generously with some of the flour mix from above ingredients. Allow the rolls to rise for around 15 minutes, then bake them in the oven for around 10 minutes, with an initial spritz of cold water sprayed into the oven before you close the door for baking. This is to create the best crust. For more baking tips please click here.

They are best when eaten slightly warm. I am a big fan of dipping them in quark with herbs, little garlic and diced tomatoes!

Here some information on the flours used in this recipe:
Millet is an excellent source of silicium, good for bones, teeth, skin and hair strength. Its golden color makes all baked goods appear brighter and lighter, even though they are wholesome. However the flour is slightly sandy on the tongue. For this reason I use it mixed with others for bread rolls.
Buckwheat provides plenty of lecithin, good for your heart. It has a very special flavor, a bit nutty in an unusual way (unless you are Russian born and raised on buckwheat based dishes). The flour is slightly grey in color, a reason why I tend to mix it with golden ones for a sunnier look. The lecithin makes it a perfect flour for baking, and doughs turn out smooth and fluffy.
Quinoa is a protein powerhouse supplying all essential amino acids. Its flower is similar bright than millet flour and lifts the color of any baked food even though it is wholesome.

Cold Weather – Hot Tea

Posted on January 19, 2013 by chefgabi

With cold winds chilling even Dubai’s mild winter climate I made my favorite winter tea today. Something I only do back home in Bavaria, when it is “really” cold.
Maybe you also enjoy trying this recipe, regardless your location?

Apple Cranberry Tea
10 portions

What to Buy
4 red or yellow apples
1 organic lemon
5 gm ginger
15 gm cranberries
30 ml agave syrup
3 l water

How to Make It
Cut the apples in chunky pieces, leaving the skin on. Slice the ginger and lemon with their skin. Place the apples, cranberries, ginger, and lemon in a large pot, top with water and simmer on low heat for around 1 hour. Season with agave syrup to taste and strain before serving. You will see the tea being slightly thickened by the apples’ pectine.

Chef Gabi’s Tip
I often make this tea without cranberries, but with additional 1 quince, or some elderberries. Whatever is available. Also I sometimes replace the ginger with cinnamon stick.
Apples are rich in pectine and help to bind and flush out toxins. Ginger is great to strengthen immune power and aids digestion.
To learn more about cranberries please see also here.

Sunchokes and Tomatoes

Posted on January 17, 2013 by chefgabi

Here is the dish and recipe I have cooked on Dubai One. It was fun to be with Ash and Tom on the show as always!

Sun Choke Puree & Crisps
2 Portions

What to Buy
300 gm sun chokes
80 g potato
1 tomato
10 gm parsley
1 organic lemon (grated skin and juice)
20 gm butter
3 ml olive oil
Salt , Pepper

How to Make It
Wash the sun chokes and slice 2 of them very thin. Place the slices on a pergament paper on a baking tray and dry for around 15 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius in the oven. Peel the remaining sun chokes and the potato, steam them until very soft. Crush them and season the puree with salt and pepper. Dice the tomatoes (preferably with the skin due to the fact that the flavonoids are fully available). Chop the Parsley. Mix tomatoes with parsley, lemon juice and grated skin, season with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange the soft puree in deep plates or small bowls. Top with the tomato parsley salad and crispy sun choke chips. Serve warm, not hot.

Chef Gabi’s Tip
The sun choke is one of the finest source dietary fibers, especially high in oligofructose inulin, which is a soluble dietary fiber. Inulin should not be confused for insulin, which is hormone. The root flesh provides 1.6 mg or 4% of fiber. Inulin is a zero calorie, sweet inert carbohydrate and does not metabolize in the human body, which make the root an ideal sweet snack for diabetics and dieters. They are very good source of minerals and electrolytes especially potassium, iron, and copper. 100 g of fresh root contains 429 mg or 9% of daily-required levels of potassium. Potassium is a heart friendly electrolyte; helps reduce blood pressure and heart rates by countering effects of sodium. 100 g of fresh sun choke contains 3.4 mg or 42.5% of iron, probably the highest quantity among edible roots and tubers.

Heirloom Tomatoes and Sumac – a perfect match

Posted on October 30, 2012 by chefgabi

Switching from cooler autumn weather in Munich to Dubai’s still summery temperatures with every day sunshine and a perfect blue sea in the close vicinity, I rediscover my love for light, vitamin rich, raw food.
Arabian flavors are a new favorite of mine – recently I incorporated more and more of the traditional ingredients and tastes into my cooking, thanks to the Jumeirah Munich Culinary Week I was proudly part of.
Try this easy to make salad I am now indulging at home quite often, being a fan of pomegranate since ever, this is really delicious and light. We had a similar dish in Munich served to the guests of Designreisen Deli and journalists alike:

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD with Sumac vinaigrette
2 portions

What to Buy
6 Heirloom tomatoes
2 spring onions (green part)
2 sprigs fresh zaatar
1/2 bunch basil leaves, picked
1/2 pomegranate
1/2 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or acacia honey
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
1 teaspoon sumac powder

How to Make It
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into wedges. Pick and wash the aromatic basil and zaathar leaves. Slice the spring onion green into very thin stripes and place them for 5 minutes in ice water. Strain them after they have curled up. Open the pomegranate and release the ruby red kernels. Peel the garlic clove and mash it with the salt using the flat side of a knife. Mix balsamic vinegar, agave syrup, sumac, olive oil and garlic mash to a vinaigrette. Arrange the tomatoes on plates, garnish with the aromatic leaves, spring onions, and pomegranate. Drizzle generously the dressing over the salad, sprinkle some extra sumac over it and enjoy!

Chef Gabi’s Tip
Sumac is a red powder with a taste resembling of citrus fruits. It is made from the fruits of shrub called rhus and a very popular ingredient in Middle eastern cuisine. It is perfect in salads to add that special fruity fresh note.
Zaatar is a strong aromatic herb from the oregano family. I love to use it fresh in salads and in dishes with potoes and green beans! It supports digestion, has antiseptic properties and provides chlorophyll.

By the way …. In Munich we met Bavarian institution, Chef Alfons Schuhbeck in his famous place “Das Platzl”, where guests can indulge in an extensive speciality tea shop, well stocked spice shop, very special chocolates, home made ice cream (with fancy flavors like lichee pepper pistachio or Wies’n beer – which I gave a try of course – yum), a relaxed coffee shop and his famous gourmet restaurant and cookery school. I am now even prouder to have had the chance to cook twice next to him at Germany’s well known Friday night cooking show “Lanz kocht” !

A long overdue update

Posted on October 28, 2012 by chefgabi

Sometimes all exiting things come together…. I have been quite busy at work.
So now finally after a while away from posting blogs let me share with you some impressions of my latest activities – between Dubai and Bavaria, again!

Recent filming at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray on The Palm for Studio One….

Here the sunset opposite the hotel when I arrived for the filming, packed with ingredients and some inevitable kitchen utensils I can’t live or cook without -
My favorite dish, with deep purple colors had to be featured, of course: Purple potato mash

topped with Miso Beetroot and almond foam – delicious, light, vegetarian food!

Then The Caterer ME Chefs and Ingredients Forum held at Madinat Jumeirah took place where I had the honour to be amongst the speakers.

After that I prepared for the Jumeirah Munich Culinary Week, 10 fantastic days in my beloved Bavaria, filled with meeting great people, cooking good food, and bringing arabian flavors and the unique hospitality of our Jumeirah hotels spread across the globe to Germany.
Of course extra soft and delicious dates from Dubai were a must! Our luggage was filled with baklava, sumac, arabic coffee ingredients and many things more we believed we wouldn’t get in Bavaria in the desired quality…

Talise Nutrition

Madinat Jumeirah's wellbeing Chef shares her passion about healthy cuisine!

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