A Modern Rose – Light Meals and Weekend Treats from an English Woman in Berlin

Pappardelle with Pork and Sage Meatballs in a Creamy Nutmeg and Spinach Sauce

February 20, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

Some days all you need is a bowl of pasta. I feel a little sorry for pasta these days. The ‘clean eating’ crowd have made it almost a sin to enjoy this much loved easy and simple ingredient. These guys have more or less put pasta under the same category of bad foods as frozen ready-meals. But pasta has been serving the Italians, and Mediterranean diets, perfectly well for a very long time. For me this is a key ingredient, it crops up on my meal plan once, or twice, a week as it is so versatile and is perfect for a quick yet delicious meal. This Pappardelle with Pork and Sage Meatballs…

White Chocolate and Berry Cheesecake

February 13, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

I love cheesecake but hardly make it when it is just the two of us! I always try and save it for when we have a dinner party or a group of friends over. It was over Christmas that one of my husbands Aunt’s made a delicious white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake that I became inspired to spruce my own cheesecake recipe up a bit. The white chocolate is beautiful with the cream cheese and it is actually quite a light and smooth flavour. You can definitely taste the chocolate but it isn’t overpowering and is such a nice delicate taste that it makes this dessert feel rather special and a bit of a treat!…

Salt and Pepper Chicken with an Oyster Sauce

February 8, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

With Chinese New Year coming up next week I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the year of the dog than with this delicious Salt and Pepper Chicken with an Oyster Sauce. I am a huge fan of Chinese food but in particular Cantonese style that produces some of the best spicy and hot dishes. Typically known as the Doctrine of Five Flavours, Chinese food is grouped into five key elements – spicy, sweet, sour, bitter and salty. From the heat and spice of sichaun pepper to the sweetness of honey or hoisin sauce to the sourness of limes and rice vinegar,…

Mussel and Saffron Risotto

January 31, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of mussels! I can only really get hold of them during actual mussel season here in Berlin. I love bringing home a big pack of mussels and their shells clinking away as you pour them into the pan. My popular go to dish is Mussels in a White Wine Sauce with Garlic Butter Ciabatta. You just can’t beat scooping up that delicious broth with some crispy garlic bread. And I think with mussels it quite often is all about that sauce or broth that they were steamed in. For a little extra kick I love a big bowl of Coriander and Harissa Mussels that has a delicious Eastern Mediterranean feel to it….

Pork Belly Roast with Baked Apples

January 26, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

There is something so indulgent about this Pork Belly Roast with Baked Apples. This recipe perfects that beautifully soft and juicy flesh under that crisp and crunchy layer of crackling. And yet it is a meat that is still relatively cheap and so easy to prepare. It does require a little cooking time but what I like about it is that you can simply shut the oven door and sit back for most of it, while the meat roasting away will fill your kitchen with that beautiful home cooking smell….

Goats Cheese, Red Lentil and Rocket Salad

January 16, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

In the past I have found lunch the most trickiest of meals to plan for. While I have mentioned in my previous blog post the all too often temptation to eat out in the evening after a long day in the office, I actually find the eating out at lunchtime far more tempting. The first issue has always been that I have mostly worked in central Berlin. I am often surrounded by plenty of restaurants and cafes to go out for lunch and my colleagues have always felt the same, resulting in me wanting to go out not just for the delicious food on offer but also to socialise and not be left in the office alone…

Big Batch Tomato Sauce

January 9, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

I think that a good tomato sauce is the first thing that every cook should learn. It is incredibly useful! When I first went to University (a very, very long time ago now …!) I couldn’t cook a thing. I would constantly buy those ready made jars of tomato sauce to throw over some penne or spaghetti. Thinking about it now this was a lot more expensive than me simply making my own and I could have probably saved myself a small fortune considering how often I actually ate tomato pasta! I soon came to start making my own sauce and I have never looked back….

Mini Toad-in-the-Holes

January 4, 2018 By amodernrose Leave a Comment

For all my non-British readers I should straight away clarify exactly what Toad-in-the-Hole is! Simply put it’s sausages cooked in a thick batter (similar to a Yorkshire Pudding). It is a true British classic and one of my favourite comfort foods. It is also an incredibly cheap meal to make and is perfect for using up all those odds and ends in the cupboard and fridge. Which brings me onto the main theme of this blog post – Happy New Year!

Last year when I wrote my first Happy New Year blog post of the year I said how I wanted my blog in 2017…

Skip links

Main navigation