Gabriele works as Chef de Cuisine at the newly opened Magnolia Restaurant at the Madinat Jumeirah resort in Dubai. Magnolia is the first fine dining well-being restaurant in Dubai and Gabriele being a vegetarian herself, will be sharing her experiences of living and working in Dubai in her monthly blog.
One of my favourite seasoning tools are scented oils. They are easy to prepare and keep for a while, so that they are always on hand when I need to give a dish the final touch.
Here are two of my favourites:
MAGNOLIA’s
Black Olives Oil and Passion Fruit Oil
Ingredients:- (10 portions each)
Black Olives Oil
25 gr black olives (deseeded)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 chili, deseeded
Seasalt, pepper
250 ml olive oil
Passion Fruit Oil
50 ml passion fruit mark
50 ml acacia honey
150 ml olive oil
Methods:-
1. Blend all ingredients for the olive finely and keep chilled and dark.
2. Cook passion fruit and honey for 15 minutes, chill and mix with the oil. Keep chilled
Chef’s tip
Black Olive Oil is wonderful to garnish a Summer Vegetable Salad or Grilled Summer Vegetables.
Passion Fruit Oil I use to give my Radish Carpaccio with Wasabi Avocado Mayonnaise a sweet counterpart. (See next blog recipe)
Chlorophyll is a natural ingredient found in plants, which encourages the cells in the human body to absorb more Carbon Dioxide. Cucumbers are a fine example of a food that is rich in chlorophyll, as well as distilled water, and assists the cells in absorbing the gas.
Enjoy a fresh green dish with a very low calorie content, lots of vitamins and a great summer taste.
Shavings of young Cucumbers with Coriander, Mint and Oat flakes ‘Muesli’
Ingredients: (serves 10)
1 red chilli, finely cut
1 walnut-sized piece of fresh ginger, diced finely
8 young cucumbers with the skin, thinly sliced lengthwise
½ bunch of mint leaves
½ bunch of green coriander leaves
50ml olive oil
20ml lime juice
100g oat flakes
20g roasted pine kernels
80ml lemon juice
Sea salt and pepper
Method:
Gently mix gently the chilli, ginger, cucumbers, mint, coriander, olive oil, lemon juice and some salt together and arrange them like a carpaccio.
For the ‘muesli’, mix the oat flakes, pine kernels, lemon juice, salt and pepper and use as a garnish for the cucumber salad.
Vegetables are available in every colour, with each colour representing specific contents; a yellow colour represents a source of beta-carotene for example. To ensure that the body is getting all the nutrients required, it is recommended that people should eat as ‘colourfully’ as possible. Eating colourful foods maintains a constant supply of anti-oxidants to the body, which will assist in keeping dangerous free radical formation to a minimum.
In addition, people can also stimulate digestion by sight, rather than simply smell or taste.
Try this bright yellow soup, which also has a very intensive taste, and see how refreshed you feel afterwards.
Yellow Pepper Soup with Ginger
Ingredients: (serves 10)
1 red chilli
1 walnut-size piece of fresh ginger
5 red capsicums
2 sticks of fresh lemon grass
5 strips of saffron
2L vegetable stock
250ml cream, whipped
Sea salt
Methods:
Cook all of the ingredients except the cream and salt and let simmer covered for 20 minutes. Remove the chilli, blend all the remaining contents and strain finely. Season with salt and cream.
Warming and healthy, pumpkins are the traditional December and January food! Very healthy as well, they support your kidneys.
They need a little bit of seasoning – they like it hot with chili, or as well they like it fruity with orange for example. And they balance the bitterness of endives, like you can taste in the following dishes, which are definitely my most loved ones with pumpkin:
Orange Braised Endives with Pumpkin Puree
Ingredients: (10 portions)
1 red pumpkin (Hokkaido, not need to peel), cut into chunky pieces and steamed
40 gm butter
1 table spoon acacia honey
20 ml olive oil
20 ml orange juice
A little bit orange rind
Sea salt
5 endives cut into halves
Methods:
Blend the hot steamed pumpkin with butter, add a little bit of garlic and fresh ginger if you like, season with salt and keep warm.
Braise the endives 3 minutes in olive oil, honey, orange juice and rind, season with salt and serve together.
Pumpkin Pizza Bread
Ingredients: (10 portions)
1/2 red pumpkin (Hokkaido, not need to peel), cut into chunky pieces and steamed
40 ml olive oil
2 onions - cut into dices
2 cloves of garlic - cut into dices
1 red chili, cut without the kernels
1/8 l dry white wine
50 gm parmesan, grated
1 bunch dill, cut
Dough:
250 g whole spelt flour
10 gr fresh yeast
75 gm water
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon sea salt
10 ml olive oil
Methods:
For the dough mix all ingredients together and let rest in room temperature for 20 minutes. Work once again through the dough and roll thinly to a 30x30 size. Cut into 8x8 pieces.
In olive oil braise the chili, onions and garlic, mash the pumpkin and add to the onions. Add white wine, parmesan, salt and dill. Spread on the pizza breads and bake for 10 minutes on 200 degrees.
Serve warm with a salad or steamed broccoli, as antipasti or simply with a glass of white wine!
Winter is apple season. Raw they are a real blessing for your health with lots of vitamins and pectin for example.
In winter I especially love to cook dishes with apples. They make me feel very much like outside freezing cold temperatures with lots of snow, inside the fireplace makes a warm atmosphere and the hot baked apples are served with their incomparable smell and taste…
It seems a little bit like I miss this winter atmosphere. But not really, it is also very nice to stay the first time of my life the so called winter season in a very warm country. Here in Dubai is now very pleasant weather, sunny, but not hot, and the apples taste good as well!
Try my favorite drink; serve it hot in winter or on the rocks in summer (like we do here in Dubai)
Apple Tea
Ingredients: (10 portions)
6 apples (royal gala or elstar), cut roughly with skin and kernels
1 organic lemon, cut into slices with the skin
2 slices ginger
5 l water
2 – 3 Table spoons Acacia honey
Methods:-
Let all ingredients simmer for min. 1 hour. Strain it.
Serve hot or on the rocks.
Chef’s Tip:
Add some plums or elderberries, if available, to have a nice color, or serve on the rocks with mint leaves.
It is also possible to use pears instead.
During the hot and sticky summer months people are more inclined to eat lighter food and less food in general. It is particularly important to prevent against dehydration by drinking water regularly, up to one glass per hour in the heat, however it is also possible to increase the water intake within the body system by eating foods which contain a lot of water.
Find out how delicious this can be by trying the following recipe:
Ingredients: (serves 10)
250g watermelon, cubes
250g tomato, cubes
50g avocado, cubes
20g celery, dices
Garlic to taste
200g mixed lettuce and cress
Pinch of sea salt and pepper
Basil, finely cut, to taste
Mint leaves, finely cut, to taste
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
Method:
Mix all ingredients together and serve with crispy baguette on a hot summer day.
Today I would like to introduce you to one of my favorites:
Millet is highly nutritious, non-glutinous and like buckwheat and quinoa, is not an acid forming food so it is soothing and easy to digest. In fact, it is considered to be one of the least allergenic and most digestible grains available. As it is a warming grain it will help to heat the body in cold or rainy seasons and climates.
Millet is tasty, with a mildly sweet, nut-like flavor and contains a lot of beneficial nutrients. It is nearly 15% protein, contains high amounts of fibre, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some vitamin E. It is particularly high in iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium.
Add millet to your daily food and you will see that it is a great support for your skin, nails, teeth, bones, and hair!
As Magnolia is located next to the Talise Spa, this is really a great addition to your Talise Spa treatment:
Ingredients:- (10 portions)
1 carrot, cubes
1 parsnip, cubes
1 zucchini, cubes
1 bay leave
3 cups millet
6 cups vegetable stock
Seasalt, pepper
Herbs (seasonal)
Parmesan
Methods:-
Cook the first 6 ingredients and let them simmer covered for 20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and herbs. Ready!
When I was a child, this was the first recipe I cooked alone. My mum told me exactly what to do and to my surprise the dish was ready in 30 minutes. I will never forget my first and famous millet dish…
Chef’s tip
You can serve the millet like this, topped with a little bit of olive oil and parmesan, very simple dish but delicious.
Another way to prepare it is to take this as a base for millet cakes (add breadcrumbs, tofu, egg and fresh sage leaves) form small cakes and panfry them.
Dubai has a very good selection of organic supermarkets which was a surprise for me. As I am very much into health food, wholesome ingredients and organic products, I thought this would be the most difficult part of my job. On the contrary ingredients are easy to get!
I love my morning muesli, but not the one you can buy as a ready to eat mixture. I prefer to make the oat flakes fresh and last minute. So I imported a fleaker, this is a small mill which squeezes the grains into flakes – delicious!
If you do not have a fleaker but want to also enjoy the benefits of fresh oats, try the following recipe. It is my favorite drink when I need some energy. And the left over of the oats and almonds makes a perfect peeling mask for the skin…
Ideally, freshly prepared raw food should make up 30% of our daily dishes, however more would be better. There are people who are enthusiasts and eat 100% raw food daily. It is very interesting to know that to eat raw food is not only to eat salad – there are also soups, main courses, even bread that offer raw options.…
Here is some background information as to why it is healthy to eat raw: Whole raw foods are rich in phytonutrients, enzymes, and antioxidants. Organically grown raw and living foods provide high-quality nutrition while naturally supporting both proper digestion and a well-functioning immune system. Eating these life-giving foods helps to alkalize the body, a key factor in building excellent health. When the body is in an alkaline state, it is better able both to absorb nutrients and to expel toxins more efficiently.
I never thought I would find raw food eaters in Dubai, but I was wrong. Surprisingly they found their way to Magnolia. It is a pleasure to serve them and we are already offering a page in our menu with raw dishes from starters to desserts.
Here is a very easy recipe for a summer soup, even for non raw food eaters!
AVOCADO SOUP and TOMATO Quenelle
Ingredients: (4 portions)
1 ripe Avocado, peeled, no stone
200 ml Vegetable Stock
Seasalt, pepper
1 lemon, juice
2 Tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 dash of acacia honey
Basil leaves
Methods:-
Blend the first 4 ingredients. Chill the soup.
Blend the tomato with salt and pepper, strain finely and let the liquid run through a cloth. The rest is ready to make quenelles.
Garnish with basil leaves.
During summertime in Dubai – we should never forget to drink enough in order to prevent dehydration. For those who are tired of drinking only pure water and who are aware of the fact that juices and soft drinks are not the healthy solution, I would like to share a very nice and easy recipe for fine flavored water. Serve it chilled and it will be a pure delight!
Drinking the right way – Herb water
The Herb Water which we serve in Magnolia restaurant is good for cleansing, as it is a light combination of clear water and fresh herbs, which means that all ingredients are carefully extracted and fully available to be submitted to our systems. Herbs are full of vitamins and minerals that help our body’s cells in oxygen absorption.
I am from Germany where we have the privilege to just go in the garden and pick the fresh herbs. However I never believed I would do this in the desert as well! We grow our own herbs beside the Magnolia restaurant in Madinat Jumeirah, and just like at home I can go to the garden and pick the fresh herbs.
• Basil has antioxidant and stimulant activity 1 stick
• Rosemary helps to wake up the system 1 stick
• Lemongrass has an anti ageing effect, promotes good digestion, cools the body 1 stick
• Mint cools the body, aids digestion, was originally used as medicinal herb to treat stomach aches and chest pains 3 sticks
• Geranium has antioxidant properties 1 leaf
This is the only ingredient which does not grow in my garden:
• Raspberries contain significant amounts of polyphenol antioxidants, chemicals linked to promoting endothelial and cardiovascular health 3 pieces
Fill all ingredients into carafe or bottles with still water and let it rest in the fridge for minimum 6 and maximum 12 hours
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