2010-05-20

Root veggie bearnaise

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I love Bearnaise sauce but most of all I love tarragon. This carrot parsnip puree actually tastes surprisingly close to Bearnaise but is much healthier. It's a fun and unusual side dish. Serve with meat (I've tried both steak and lamb and I'm sure chicken would work too) and a salad. And don't forget a good red wine!

From Enjoy Wine & Spirits Magazine #7, March 2010.

~1 lb (400 g) carrot
~1 lb (400 g) parsnips
water

1 onion
4 Tbs white wine vinegar
4 white pepper corns
1 bunch tarragon
5/6 cups (200 ml) water
½ stick (50 g) butter
salt

Peel and cut carrots and parsnips in smaller pieces. Strain the water and puree the carrots and the parsnips with a immersion blender.
Finely chop the onion. Boil onion, white pepper corns, tarragon in white wine vinegra and water. Make sure all the liquid is absorbed. Throw away the pepper corns.
Add the tarragon-onion mix to the carrot-parsnip puree and butter. Add salt to taste.

2010-04-13

Italian Lentil Soup (with parsnips and carrots...)

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I found this soup at the great blog Anne's Food. I have to say I agree with Anne though, I'm not quite sure what makes it Italian... In fact I would like to go even further and say I don't think the Lentil part is a good name either. Sure there's lentils in it but they are no way the main feature or main flavour. If being in the soup is enough to give it the name it might as well be called parsnip soup or carrot soup or potato soup. I guess if I got to name it I would have rather named it Carrot parsnip lentil soup.

Any way. The name doesn't really matter does it. What matter is that this soup was delicious and filling. Yet another soup that has been a regular on our menu this winter.

Ingredients:
1 onion
1 garlic clove
2-3 carrots
2 parsnips
3 potatoes
½ cup (100 ml) red lentils
2.5 oz. (70 g) bacon (I doubled this, what can I say we like bacon...)
3.5 cups (800 ml) vegetable stock
3/4 cup (200 ml) milk
cup (100 ml) cream
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
salt, pepper
butter

Chop onion and garlic. Peel the carrots, parsnips and potatoes, and cut into coins and dice, respectively. Cut the bacon into strips.

Fry the bacon in a dry frying pan until it's lightly browned. Add some butter and the onions, garlic, carrots and parsnips. Fry for five minutes, then add lentils and potatoes. Fry for a few more minutes, then add water, stock, thyme and bay leaves.

Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Add milk and cream, and season with salt and pepper.

2010-04-02

Öjeby toast (toast with crayfish tails, caraway and cheese)

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A classic Swedish appetizer. The flavours of the sharp cheese and the crayfish tails mix wonderfully with the caraway seeds. Just perfect!

Ingredients:
300 g crayfish tails
100 g Västerbotten cheese (or any other sharp, aged cheese)
1 Tbs caraway seeds
3 Tbs mayonnaise
50 ml akvavit (optional)
2 Tbs chopped dill

4 slices white bread

Mix all ingredients. Toast the bread in some butter in a pan or in a toaster. Place the crayfish-cheese mix on the bread and serve!

from dn.se

2010-03-29

Pina Colada Cake

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I haven't updated here in a long time. Mainly because I've been either busy or away. Not a lot of cooking and baking have happened. All of February was spent traveling. March has been a month of mostly soups (mainly my old favourites, not much new) and bread baking. I do have a few soup recipes to update with and also some bread.

But before I start the soup and bread posts I will give you the cake I made for a family birthday in January. Pina Colada Cake.... Mmmmm. It was a big hit, everyone loved it. My only complaint would be not enough coconut flavour. Probably because I didn't have coconut extract. I ended up using Malibu coconut rum - it's yummy but maybe not coconutty enough. Maybe next time I will follow Annie's suggestion and add some shredded coconut.


from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups flour, sifted
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
16 Tbs (225 g) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp coconut extract (I used Malibu rum - more like 2 Tbs)
8 egg whites
2/3 cup shredded coconut (optional - I would probably add this next time)

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
12 oz. (340 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
18 Tbs (255 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
yellow food colouring (optional)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 175 'C (350F). Line the bottoms of two 23 cm (9 inch) cake pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Using and electric mixer beat butter on heavy speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.

Reduce speed to low and carefully add in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in vanilla and coconut extract (or Malibu rum). Add shredded coconut (optional).

In a separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in ½ cup of egg whites into the batter carefully, then fold in the remaining egg whites.Be careful not to over mix.

Divide the batter evenly into the two cake pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

Frosting: Puree pineapple chunks in food processor until smooth. Using an electric mixer beta cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add confectioners sugar and mix until smooth. Add pureed pineapple until the frosting achieves desired pineapple flavour and consistency (approx. 3/4 cup). Add food colouring (optional).

Assemble cake. Serve. Enjoy!

2010-01-15

Chicken with orange ginger sauce

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This is yet another recipe from my favourite Swedish cook book writers Ulrika Davidsson and Ola Lauritzson. This time from their book GI dag för dag: 30 dagar till en nyttigare livsstil. Both me and J loved it - very fresh and fruity with a touch of spicy.

I served it with a spinach cashew salad but I'm sure it would go really well with some rice or quinoa as well. The sauce was a bit on the runnier side, I think next time I will try to make it with crème fraîche or sour cream instead of half-and-half. But aside from that it was perfect and the flavours were great.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper

1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves
zest of 1 orange
olive oil
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup half-and-half (or crème fraîche or yogurt)
juice from half an orange
salt and pepper

fresh spinach
cashews
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
juice from half an orange

Instructions:
Pre heat the oven to 350 F (175 'C). Cut the chicken breasts in smaller pieces. Place chicken in a pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes or until chicken is done.

Grate ginger and garlic and mix with orange zest. Pour some olive oil in a sauce pan and add the ginger-garlic-zest mix. Let it fry for a few minutes. Add chicken stock, half-and-half and orange juice and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving add the chicken to the sauce.

Mix spinach and cashews. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and orange juice. Enjoy!

2010-01-13

Dijon meatballs with oven roasted veggies and a dijon mustard cream.

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The endless gluttony that is December and early January (the whole Christmas season, New Years and multiple birthdays) is finally over and it's time to get back on the healthier track. No more cookies and cakes - well at least not until mid February (Valentine's and more birthdays).

I pulled out one of my favourite cookbooks for inspiration and found a recipe I had not yet tried. Well, I can say now that this one was a hit. Yummy and flavourful and at the same time quick and easy.

Ingredients:
1 lb (450 g) ground beef
2 Tbs chopped fresh herbs (I used dill and parsley)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg
2 Tbs Dijon mustard (typing out this I realized the original recipe called for 2 tsp but since I mistakenly used 2 Tbs and liked the result I will keep it that way)
½ cup (100 ml) cream
pepper
butter or oil

3/4 - 1 cup (200 ml) creme fraiche or sour cream
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

mixed vegetables of your choice (I used zucchini, red bell-pepper, carrot, red onion, broccoli and garlic)
olive oil

Instructions:
Pre heat oven to 430 F (225 'C). Cut veggies in smaller pieces and spread in a single layer in pan and sprinkle with olive oil. Roast vegetables for approx. 15 minutes.

Mix all ingredients for the meatballs. Shape into meatballs/patties and fry in a pan.

Mix creme fraiche/sourcream and mustard. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!


Adapted from Våra bästa GI recept by Ulrika Davidsson and Ola Lauritzson

2010-01-08

Mum's Lemon Pickled Herring

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Ingredients:
1 can herring (pre-pickled)
1 lemon
1 leek
1 handfull of dill

juice from the lemon
2½ Tbs strong vinegar
200 ml water
150 ml sugar
½ tsp all-spice, whole
½ tsp white pepper, whole
2 bay leaves

Wash the lemon carefully. Cut off the zest using a zester or a microplane. Press the juice from the lemon and mix it with the water, vinegar, sugar and spices. Bring to a quick boil and make sure all sugar is dissolved. Let it cool off completely.
Rinse the herring and cut into smaller (~½ inch 1-1½ cm) pieces. Thinly slice the leek.
In a glass jar assemble by putting a layer of herring, then a layer of leek, a layer of lemon zest and a layer of dill. Repeat. Finally pour the sauce over and cover. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Enjoy!

(can be kept in the fridge for approx. 1 week)