The dessert genius Clement over at the most extraordinary and puristic “à la cuisine!” chose a truly elaborate theme for this month’s IMBB: tasteTEA it is! Wow, I couldn’t have been more exited! On second thought: I’m finding myself entangled in the dreadful, same old dilemma about what to do with the 1000 and more options that are spinning in my head…

We are tea-people. Well, since Harry opened up his little coffee shop gem in our immediate neighborhood, our coffee consumption went not quite through the roof but I’d say increased significantly (who could resist a Cortado based on authentic, single-growing area, single harvest Arabica beans). Nevertheless, we are indeed tea-people. Black tea, green tea, fruit tea, herb tea, any tea, you name it. In the midst of winter, I can drink chamomile tea like others drink water. To the extend that colleagues would sometimes make fun of my office space, rhetorically asking “is there a noticeable whiff of hospital smell” (German hospitals have the tendency to drown patients in chamomile tea). I only need to account for a balanced consumption of black/green tea and herb tea – otherwise I would probably be on a constant theine-high…

Our tea shop of choice in Munich (as mentioned earlier) is the Teahouse, which is said to have one of the largest selections in Germany. What got me hooked, is how they present their variety: Cute little metal tins with tea name stickers on them, so you can browse through (and literally stick your nose in!) hundreds of wonderful tea blends. Additionally, they always have one or two freshly brewed teas prepared, one is invited to try for free – always a great opportunity to discover something new at each visit.

On another note, one of my beloved passions – flea markets – perfectly supports our love for tea. Some of the nicest tea cups (true old-timers) have been discovered there and my collection of tea pots is continuously growing – Somehow I (aka the collector) sense though that a little discussion with O. (Mr. I – don’t – need – to – collect – everything) on slowing down my quirk a tiny bit is somewhat inevitable… :)

Chocolate Earl Grey Truffles

Although Matcha seems to be the tea these days, I opted for our all-time favorite – Earl Grey.

Combine cream and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Add 3-4 teaspoons of Earl Grey tea leaves (or any favorite tea?) and let rest for about 5 minutes.

Chop dark chocolate into smaller pieces or use a grater (or food processor) and transfer it to a bowl. Strain cream through a sieve onto grated/finely chopped chocolate, discarding the tea leaves. Whisk until smooth. Cover ganache and chill for at least 4 hours or even over night (as I did).

Portion ganache teaspoon-wise, dust your palms with cocoa powder and roll each piece of the ganache into a ball. This was the fun part – and messy one, too! I used a good portion of cocoa powder, because it made the procedure much easier. Then drop several balls at a time into the bowl of cocoa and swivel to coat. Store at cool temperature.

Side Notes:
I always thought that grinding chocolate in a food processor would end up in a gigantic mess, the more I was surprised how great it actually works, much much better than doing it manually with a grater.

Additionally, I used some special chocolate couverture (more on that is soon to come), but the truffles almost melted whenI tried to cover them with the molten chocolate. In a last attempt I rolled them in only a tiny amount, which I had dropped onto a plate, and turned them in cocoa afterwards. Those truffles got a nice irregular outfit, a little more work but rewarding in the end (image above). Because of the type of chocolate used, their taste definitely had to grow on me. In contrast to O. who fell for them from the get-go, my tastebuds intial signal was “this is bitter! – a lot“, what soon changed to a “ah, nice tea flavour, verrrrry nice texture…” Nibbling away my first truffle, I got used to the bitterness (I used bittersweet chocolate and no sugar, what had I expected?) and began to finally really enjoy it. Felt like a real grown-up treat, those with an acquired taste might travel miles for ;)

Earl Grey Gelato

A cream-free vanilla gelato had been on my list for ages now, hence I thought about giving the original recipe a little “correction” and swapped the vanilla for – again – Earl Grey tea. Which turned out so good, it made first place of our personal gelato-highlights this year – well, so far! Not too sweet, wonderful light consistency and most importantly, a very distinguished Earl Grey tea flavor.

Combine milk, sugar, Earl Grey tea and heat up over medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar is fully dissolved. Strain and discard the tea leaves.

Beat egg yolks until they take on a lighter color, about 3-4 minutes. Then add the hot (not boiling) milk to the yolks while continuously whisking. Put the mix back on the stove and slowly heat up (do not boil). Continue to stir until mix thickens and covers the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and allow to chill.

Let your ice cream machine take over…

The news probably came as a shock to the clusters of red currants that were parked next to our fruit plate the last 2 days. We actually had bought them to make some fine red currant & strawberry jam, but in lack of finding a basket of good quality strawberries and with the high temperatures (33 °C/91 °F) I felt like changing plans – trading in a hot job for a cool thing.

All our sorbets are based on the same principles: combining fruit/herb puree (strained) with the right amount of molasses. Sounds easy enough? Once you have made one, there is no way back – it’s highly addictive. In fact the next concoctions are already in the making :)

On the contrary, what’s not easy is trying to capture sorbet at 33 °C on film. O.

Detach berries from the stems and puree with a food processor. Run puree through a strainer (optionally lined with cheese cloth) and set aside.

For the syrup: Put the water, the sugar and the lime zest into a pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 4-5 minutes, then remove from heat and let completely chill.

Combine the juice of one orange with the berry juice/pulp and add syrup. Usually I prepare about 20% more molasses to start with and decide on the fly how much I want to add to the fruit mix depending on the level of tartness I’m after.

Either use an ice cream machine or simply put it the mix in the freezer, but don’t forget to check back with the sorbet every so many hours (depending how cold the freezer is set) and stir well to ensure a uniform texture. A trick I’ve tried for the first time and found it to be working extremely well, is to pour the semi fredo sorbet into the food processor again, blend well and send it back to the freezer. This way all larger ice crystals are crushed and the texture becomes very smooth.

Anything that has an unusual color or shape attracts me. So I had no choice but to give the vegetable stall owner my money and in return walk away with a bag of orange cocktail tomatoes. Regular Joe tomatoes on the other hand seem to continuously become larger and decreasingly tasty – I buy them less and less. Sometimes, depending on the use, I might open up a can of whole tomatoes (not diced); e.g. for self-made pizza. But these little orange fellows are so yummy, they have a valid shot at becoming my new favorite tomato. Barring the mess I made, when I popped the first one into my mouth (unwashed – shame on me…), all bite-happy. This tomato was so juicy, it burst and left me with spots of tomato juice on the counter, the unpacked groceries and – of course – my T. Greedy me.

What happened to regular tomatoes? Not to derail on another nostalgic detour, but good tasting tomatoes always bring up memories of my grandma’s vegetable garden, including her greenhouse. In retrospect, I guess everything was greener, more lush and tasted better, but those tomatoes must have had a lasting impression on me. Since discovering the tiny cocktail tomatoes, I basically ignore today’s regular ones. Well, probably with a few exceptions, but I never enjoy regular ones as much as my loved little friends. On a side note: With these there is no need to cut out the stems, which always meant additional work with regular tomatoes (firstly because those parts don’t taste good, secondly because they contain traces of a poison called Solanine).

One of the more elegant/advanced enhancements to jazz up a sandwich or panino are sun or oven dried tomatoes. However, the ones you can buy are often either TOO expensive, TOO strong in taste or TOO chewy. So why not try to make them myself?
‘Still experimenting with the “right” oven temperature and duration – the good news is, you can’t really screw it up unless you leave them in over night and forget about them the next morning (the aroma in the apartment was great though :) Squeezing Google beforehand didn’t necessarily make things easier, as no two recipes had the same temperatures or durations for roasting/drying the tomatoes. So it was down to us with a pinch of common sense to watch and step in (in case they get too dark and burn). We made those tomatoes about twice a week during last month and always keep a handful in a jar filled with olive oil – they’re that yummy! Always good for a quick panino or simply an out – of – the – glass – straight – into – your – mouth – delight. Hmmmm.

Wash, pad dry and half the cocktail tomatoes. Of course you can also use regular tomatoes, just slice them in quarters (or sixth). Some recipes recommend to discard the seeds, but I don’t see the need to (at least with the smaller tomatoes).

Cover baking sheet or casserole with olive oil and arrange tomatoes cut-side up. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and if you like to, with garlic, dried and/or fresh herbs (like thyme, oregano…).

Dry in the preheated oven at 100 degrees Celsius (210 degrees F) for 4-6 hours. Times and temperature may vary (as indicated) based on your oven, the size of the tomatoes and of course your preference. Just try and find out what works best for you.

Kept in a jar with olive oil they last for days (if not weeks).