Chili Garlic Broccoli

This is a great little side dish or starter. The original comes from Ottolenghi, but I actually found the original too oily and prefer to use a little less. (You might be able to get away with even less.) You can add some lemon or lime at the end if you feel it needs some acidity - I served it with a lemony yogurt sauce, so I was ok without anything more in the dish itself.

Chili Garlic Broccoli
(printable recipe)
Serves 4

2 broccoli heads, divided into small florets
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 mild red chilis, finely diced
salt, black pepper

Start by blanching the broccoli florets in lightly salted water. Boil for 1-2 minutes, and then immediately drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, and let the broccoli dry on kitchen towels.

When it's dry (or as dry as it's going to get), toss with two tablespoons of oil. Fry or grill on high heat, until the broccoli has a good amount of charring. Set aside.

Heat the remaining oil and fry garlic and chili for 1-2 minutes on medium heat - the garlic should turn lightly golden. Toss with the broccoli and season with salt and maybe some black pepper. Serve warm.

Recipe in Swedish:
Broccoli med chili och vitlök

Not cooking, but...

I'm completely hooked on crochet. This is what I've done so far - it's all very amateurish, but it's so much fun and I bet Titus will have a whole pastry shop when he's big enough to appriciate it. (I plan to make some veggies and fruits, too. Eventually.)

So far - a frosted donut, a macaron (that's the pink in the back), chocolate balls, a Swedish "dammsugare"-pastry (that's the green one), a fairly bad cinnamon roll, a chocolate "biskvi" and an oreo.

Dinner.

We had dinner at my parents' tonight, and I had asked my dad for this: crispy-fried cod. It's amazing, and he does it so very well. It's easy - he just dips fresh cod in a coating of coarse rye flour and spices, and then fries in plenty of butter - but it's really delicious. Titus ate lots, too!

Crawfish in Love

Cute name, isn't it? And a lovely dish. It's really a riff on a restaurant classic, but this is much easier. It's also very fast and can be done in minutes. Crawfish tails are sold here, ready peeled and cooked, in brine. Cooked shrimp would be good too.

Crawfish in Love
(printable recipe)
Serves 2

150 g crawfish tails, cooked and peeled
150 g fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
butter
200 ml crème fraiche
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp dried tarragon (or two tsp freshly chopped)
1 tbsp cognac
salt, pepper

to serve: freshly cooked pasta, fresh tomatoes

Start with the pasta, because the sauce cooks very quickly. We used bucatini, but other good choices would be linguini, spaghetti, or tagliatelle.

Fry mushrooms, onion and garlic in a little butter until the mushrooms have shrunk. Stir in crème fraiche, vinegar, tarragon and cognac. Cook for a minute or two. Stir in crawfish tails and let them become warm. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with freshly cooked pasta and some diced tomatoes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Förälskade kräftstjärtar

Chicken, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Quiche

I'm not really a pie person, but every now and then I try to make one. This one is a quiche with broccoli, some coked chicken, and blue cheese. Despite me not really liking pie pastry, the filling is great and it's a perfect lunch or a light dinner. Serve with a tomato salad on the side!

Chicken, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Quiche
(printable recipe)

Serves 4

250 ml all-purpose flour (1 cup)
75 g butter
75 g quark (fromage frais should work, I use Swedish Kesella. Substitute butter if you can't get it.)

300 g cooked chicken
200 g broccoli
100 g blue cheese
200 ml crème fraîche (low-fat is fine)
3 eggs

Make the pastry in a food processor. Start by mixing butter and flour and process until it's very fine crumbs. Add the quark and blitz until the dough comes together. (If using all butter, you might need a few drops of cold water.) Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

Press the dough into a pie tin - I use a 20 cm springform pan. Prick the dough with a fork, evenly and all over. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Bake the pie crust at 200°C for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Cut the broccoli into florets and blanch in salted water for one minute. Drain. Crumble the cheese. Shred the chicken.

Fill the pre-baked pie crust with chicken, cheese and broccoli. Whisk eggs and crème fraîche and pour over the filling. Bake at 175° (observe the lower temperature!) for about 30 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kyckling & Broccolipaj med ädelost

Peach Crisp

Peaches are right in season now, so don't forget to use them! I bought a big box of them, but noticed them going bad very fast in our extremely hot weather so I decided to bake a crisp. I normally just eat peaches just as they are - one of my favorite fruits for sure - but they're delicious in baked goods as well.

This won't make a huge pie - it's enough for four (or maybe six very well-behaved) people.

Peach Crisp
(printable recipes)

8 small peaches
2 tbsp homemade vanilla sugar (just stick a few vanilla beans in a jar of sugar, and let it sit. Regular sugar works well too.)

100 g cold butter
100 g all-purpose flour
100 g brown sugar
30 g rolled oats
1-2 tsp cinnamon

Cut the peaches into large dice and mix with the sugar in an oven-proof dish. Bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes, at which point the peaches should be nice and soft.

Mix all ingredients for the topping - by hand or in a food processor, or in a mixer. Distribute evenly on top of the peaches. Bake at 200°C for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Recipe in Swedish:
Persikosmulpaj

Busy!

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, or earlier today - I've been busy building my new cookbook shelf! I grew out of my old one - not surprising - so we switched to this new one. It takes up a whole wall in our living room, and yes - it's all cookbooks. (And a few boxes of toys at the bottom.) I swear my books must have bred and multiplied when they were stacked away during the switch! Crazy!

Indian Cooking

Remember how I told you about Indian Cooking Classes in Stockholm this summer? Well, I went, and it was wonderful. I thought I'd show you some photos. I didn't take that many, as I was busy chatting with Sapphire and her lovely mom, and eating, of course.


Filling for samosas: potatoes, peas and spices.


Samosas getting stuffed - this was not hard, but not as easy as it looked, either.


And the finished little golden packages of deliciousness.


We were treated to three different types of tea, and I loved this variety with fresh ginger and black pepper. I'll try making it myself when the weather cools down a little.


A very yummy snack, that I'd love to get my hands on.


And this, too. Some sort of daal, soaked and fried. Like rice crispies, but not!




Sapphire's spice drawers. No comment necessary.

Royal Icing

I'm by no means an expert at icing cookies, but I thought I should at least share these with you that I made for Titus' 1st birthday party. The cookies themselves were delicious, but I have to admit I'm not sure which recipe I ended up using. I know I had a lot of real vanilla, though, and fairly little sugar. The cookies will be extremly sweet anyway, and unfortunately few were hesitant to try these because of all the icing and the unnatural color. But they looked cute!

I use Wilton's meringue powder for making icing. It's just easier and gives more consistent results for me.

Royal Icing
(printable recipe)

for outlining:
250 ml (1 cup) powdered sugar
2 tsp meringue powder
2 tbsp warm water
1/2 tbsp lemom juice or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

for flooding:
250 ml (1 cup) powdered sugar
2 tsp meringue powder
4 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp lemom juice or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients and beat on high effect for about five minutes. It will be thick and shiny. Add color, and if it seems too thick, a few drops of water. Move to a piping bag and seal it immediately, or cover with plastic wrap - it will dry out very fast.

If you want to flood, you have to start with outlining. Outline, and let it dry slightly. Then flood. It'll take about 24 hours to dry - after that, you can decorate using a different color.



Recipe in Swedish:
Kristyr

Baguette French Toast

This is a rather luxurious breakfast, but it's perfect if you happen to have a stale baguette around. Just whisk a couple of eggs - I used about two, and about 250 ml of milk (that's one cup). Add a tablespoon of sugar, a lot of cinnamon, and perhaps a dash of vanilla extract. Dip the baguette slices, let them soak for just a little, then fry in butter. I like to add a little extra sugar on top of the slices before frying - it caramelizes, and gives a very crispy surface. (however, it obviously also adds sweetness.)

Serve with maple syrup, and if you'd like, a dollop of crème fraîche is perfect.

Coconut Chicken Nuggets

Titus only eats finger food - he's refused everything that seems like baby food, and only allows to be spoon-fed if the spoon holds something like yogurt. Or ice cream. (Or crème brûlée.) He likes these though - little piece of chicken covered in breadcrumbs and coconut. And I agree with him, they're delicious! Serve them with a fruity dipping sauce, or as part of a multi-course meal.

Coconut Chicken Nuggets
(printable recipes)

2 small chicken breasts (or four boneless thighs)
200 ml all-purpose flour
salt, pepper
1 egg
200 ml breadcrumbs (I prefer Panko, Japanese breadcrumbs that are super crispy)
200 ml coconut flakes (unsweetened)
oil for frying

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Mix flour with salt and pepper in a ziploc bag, and add the chicken. Shake well to make sure that the chicken is covered in season flour on all sides.

Beat the egg in a shallow bowl. Mix bread crumbs and coconut in another bowl. Dip the floured chicken pieces in the egg, and then dredge them in the breadcrumb mixture. Place the finished pieces in a plate, while you finish the others. (At this point you can also freeze the nuggets, and fry them directly from frozen.)

Heat about 1 cm of frying oil in a deep pan or pot. Place the oven at 175°C. Fry the chicken on both sides until golden. My oil was really hot so this went quickly - too fast for the chicken to cook through, so I let it bake in the oven until completely done. (About 6-8 minutes.) If your oil is less hot, your chicken will cook through by the time the surface is golden, but make sure the nuggets don't burn.



Recipe in Swedish:
Kokospanerade kycklingbitar

My turning slicer

This is a really nifty new toy! I used it to make shoestring potatoes, and I recently used it to make long carrot and beetroot "spaghetti". It's made by Benriner, and I bought mine on Ebay.

Guide to Stockholm (updated on July 28, 2011)

This is probably what I get asked the most - what to do when in Stockholm! As a local, I don't reflect all that much on some of these categories, but I've tried my best. Feel free to comment and tell me about your own favorites!

Where to go in Stockholm when you want...

... coffee
Swedish coffee is good, in just about any place. It's a whole lot better than American coffee - that's for sure. The coffee culture is strong, and because of that you can get a decent espresso-based drink in a lot of places. However, there are some that are MUCH better than others. I like Sosta and Primafila, both tiny coffee bars. You'll notice that there are no Starbucks in Stockholm (only at the airport, so get your fix before you leave!) but there are many other chains that at least look similar. I find that Espresso House and Barista Fair Trade are the ones that seem to train their baristas the most, and have the most consistent, good results. None of them can make a frappuccino though, so you'll just have to go without. (And no, their "frapinos" and "frapistas" are nothing like the real thing.)

... tea
Not a coffee drinker? Longing for an excellent cup of tea? Go to Chaikhana or Esters The & Kaffehandel.

... Swedish food
This is really the hardest part to write, and the one most people ask me about. See, I never ever go out to eat Swedish food. That's the kind of stuff I, and most others, cook at home. So, I asked my friends on Twitter and Facebook for advice, and they recommended Ulla Winbladh, Konstnärsbaren, Tranan, Rolfs kök, Tennstopet and Magnus Ladulås.

... Swedish fastfood
You'll find korvkiosker (hot dog stands) all over the city. Try one! A Swedish specialty is a "tunnbrödrulle" which is a soft wrap bread (sort of like a tortilla) with a hot dog and mashed potatoes. It's often topped with shrimp salad. It's as weird as it sounds, but people really do eat it. (Not me, though.) And if you're here in the summer, go to Slussen subway station, get to the plaza on top and find Strömmingsvagnen for fried herring sandwiches.

... pastries
You'll find tons of bakeries and pastry shops ("konditorier") all over the city and most of them are very good. Things you definitely want to try include cinnamon buns, Princess cake, chokladbollar, chokladbiskvier and dammsugare. My favorite place to go, and to take foreign guests, is Vetekatten. It's very old-fashioned and very quaint. A similar place is Sturekatten on Riddargatan 4 - also very nice. Don't forget to try Lussekatter if you're here in December, or Semlor if you're here between January-March.

... ice cream
You'll find excellent home made ice cream at 18 smaker. Stikki Nikki is also great, and serve gelato. And when nothing else will do, there *is* always Ben & Jerry's - in several locations.

... fancy dinner
For a spectacular fancy dinner, definitely go to Frantzen/Lindeberg. Check out my post about our dinner there - I can't wait to go back! (But I better start saving up some money - it's pricey.)

... Smorgasbord
Well, not that I've tried these personally, but if you want a traditional big smorgasbord (and aren't lucky enough to get invited to a Swede who happens to serve you one), I hear that Stallmästaregården and Ulriksdals Wärdshus have good ones. Or hop on a day-ferry to Åland - the boats have surprisingly good food and it's very reasonably priced. (Viking Line, Silja Line)

... burgers
I really like the burgers at Texas Burger Co. Good stuff. A Swedish alternative to McDonalds is MAX.

... steaks & American food
The above-mentioned Texas Smokehouse has some nice steaks too, but I prefer Saddle & Sabre. (Their chili is awesome too!) Also try Restaurang Peppar (a relative of mine is head chef!) at Torsgatan 34, or Mississippi Inn.

... French food
Le Rouge and Wasahof come highly recommended. I haven't tried either, though.

... Mexican fast-food
Ok, so maybe you're not expecting to find great Mexican food in Stockholm - and why should you?However, Swedes are obsessed with Tex Mex and you'll find tons of products in any supermarket. Every Swedish family - well, almost - eats some sort of Tex Mex at least once a month, and many more often than that. So, it's sort of surprising that there aren't more restaurants. There are however two shining stars. La Neta is wonderfully authentic, and they make their own tortillas. Serrano calls themselves Fresh Mex, but their burritos and quesadillas are really tasty and it's well worth a visit. Avoid Taco Bar!

... Japanese
There's good stuff to be found, promise! Ki-Mama is supposedly great, and Hasseludden Yasuragi is a Japanese-style spa with excellent food. A few dumpling places - perhaps more Chinese than Japanese have been popping up around the city lately. I've tried Pekingmormors Dumpleria and was very happy.

... Swedish traditions
Skansen, definitely. It's a zoo (nordic animals only), but also an outdoor museum. There are many authentic old buildings showing what life in Sweden has been like through the ages, and in different parts of the country. It's well worth a visit - and while you're there, don't miss the freshly baked goodies in the "town quarters", they're excellent.

... groceries
The major chains are Ica and Coop, and there are many locations. For something special, go to the food halls - Hötorgshallen, Söderhallarna and Östermalmshallen. Hötorget also has a great outdoor market with good fruit & veg. (NOT a farmer's type market, though - for those, check out Bondens Egna Marknad.)

... ethnic food stores
There are many, most of them clustered near Hötorget. I have to do a separate guide on that, some time... For now let me just say that there are definitely at least Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Polish, French and Korean stores.

... cookbooks
There are many book stores, but some of the best selections are at NK and Hedengrens. These also have a decent amount of cookbooks in English.

... kitchen stuff
The department stores NK and Åhléns City have decent kitchen departments, but if you really want the best selection of cooking tools, head to Cordon Bleu. They have it all.

... a history lesson
Old Town - Gamla Stan - is always nice. It's quite touristy and you'll find a lot of cheap souvenirs, but that's not all you'll find. Do take one of the walking tours - they're quite interesting. (If you happen to be here in December, there's a nice christmas market at Stortorget.) And tourists seem to enjoy Vasamuseet as well - I personally don't really find an old ship all that charming (especially not one who went under on her maiden voyage) but the exhibit is pretty good and there's a lot to learn about life in the 1600:s. Medeltidsmuseet is a good museum about old times in Stockholm, and for an authentic meal, go to Sjätte Tunnan.

... to get out of the city
Nacka Strand (get there by boat or bus) is nice - you can see lots of people fishing for herring, and while you're there - drop me a line and maybe we can have coffee, as it's about ten minutes from where I live. You can also take the boat to Fjäderholmarna - a nice place for a picnic! Or if you have a car, drive out to Värmdö and perhaps visit at Siggesta Gård. You'll find a big flea market on the weekends.

Rhubarb Chicken

Rhubarb is very popular in Sweden, and you'll find it in many gardens. It's usually eaten for dessert, almost always in the form of a crumble (or made into cordial). Still, rhubarb can certainly be used in food as well. This recipe orginally comes from Arla, a large dairy producer, who sometimes comes up with really nice recipes. This one, I rather liked. Maybe not something we'll make over and over, but certainly a nice dish to try. We served it with boiled new potatoes, which was delicious.

I used full-fat cream, but you can use something else if your diet is less forgiving. Sambal oelek is a spicy chili paste (substitute regular finely chopped chilis), and concentrated chicken stock is easy to find here, but just omit it if you can't find it.

Rhubarb Chicken
(printable recipe)
Serves 2

4 boneless chicken thighs
olive oil
salt, pepper
2 rhubarb stalks, cut into 5 cm long pieces
2 tbsp chopped scallions (or chives)
200 ml cream (full fat if you feel up for it)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp concentrated chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, minced

Sear the chicken in some olive oil, season and with salt and pepper. Place it in an oven-proof dish with the rhubarb and scallions (or chives).

Whisk the cream with honey, sambal oelek, chicken stock and garlic, and pour over the chicken.

Bake at about 200°C for 15 minutes. Serve with new potatoes.


(See? Much prettier before cooking.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Rabarberkyckling

Cool watermelon salad

Just the thing for a hot evening. Watermelon, red onions, capers, basil, black olives and feta cheese, dressed with a little olive oil and vinegar.

Dinner at Lux

I went with Dagmar, Lena and our respective darlings to restaurant Lux, which holds one Michelin star. We had the tasting menu, which is seasonal and will only be served during July and August. Lux really puts a lot of emphasis on excellent produce, often local (they nearly give the address of their sources - it's very detailed), and has rather gentle preparations to really let the ingredients shine. I found that sometimes it was a little too natural for my taste - I would have liked a bit more seasoning on most things and a lot of things were unfortunately not really texturally to my liking - but hey, it was still a wonderful meal and a great experience.



At first, we got an amuse bouche. It was a tiny piece of fried asparagus, a chip from asparagus potatoes, and a dipping sauce. Also a little bit of salmon and some pickled cucumber, and finally a shot of cucumber juice. I liked it all - good stuff!



And we got a little tray of funny-looking stuff to be used throughout the meal - a radish with butter, a little bottle, a miniature grater and horseradish, a dropped bottle, and mini cup of sprinkles and a lollipop.



Poached mackerel (almost raw) with caviar, pickled tomato, a creamy vinegrette and a poached oyster. I really missed a crunchy contrast here, the whole thing was too soft for my liking. And the mackerel was really "fishy". Oyster was a nice surprise though, great flavor!



Next was Norwegian scallops, poached in wine, and served with rhubarb, a soy dressing, crunchy Kavring bread and wood sorrel. The scallops were beautiful! I would have loved them even more fried, but this was good too.



Meadowsweet lemonade - very yummy.



Veal (extremely rare) with a celery granita, raw mushrooms and a parsley cream. Well, celery granita tastes just like celery. Only cold. Therefor, not a favorite. The veal would have been a lot better slightly more cooked and seasoned, to be honest.



Chicken, stuffed with foie gras and cabbage. Easily the best dish of the night - it was SO good. We all wanted to lick our bowls (and were happy that they provided bread to mop up the exellent juices.)



Tomato juice - a tiny palate cleanser, just freshly juiced tomatoes. Tasty.



Northern pike, three ways. One was cooked sous-vide, one was moussed and stuffed into a zucchini flower, and one was raw and creamed. (As in completely raw mixed pike - no, that one wasn't very tasty but surprisingly sweet.) We also got a piece of grilled brill, which was very good. Texturally, the pike didn't work at all for me, and I let Per finish my serving.

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A gorgeous goat's cheese, served with warm goat's milk and miniature pancakes. And maple syrup, provided in dropper bottles.



Dagmar illustrates the best way to eat as much of the maple syrup as possible - it was delicious!





A bonus dessert - miniature ice cream cones (we were given the choice between caramel and blueberry) topped with freeze-dried raspberries and blueberries. Also a little dish of Swedish cheesecake and poached rhubarb. Yum!



The actual dessert was a variation on strawberries, with a buttermilk sorbet and elderflowers. Very good and very refreshing!



We finally had coffee on the terrace, with a salty chocolate bonbon on a stick, mini chocolate muffins, a chocolate cake with fresh raspberries, a piece of chocolate fudge, a cube of coconut jelly and finally, the mint lollipop that had been sitting next to our plate for the entire meal.



For more photos and another description of the meal, head over to Dagmar.

Fourth of July

As usual, we celebrated Fourth of July in style, with a pot-luck party. We had some really great food - barbecued ribs, cheesy potato wedges, cole slaw, corn bread, hibiscius tea, veggies and blue cheese dip, Caesar Salad, macaroni and cheese (well, I have to have it), baked doughnuts, chocolate marshmallow cookies and a red velvet cake with fresh strawberries.

Migas

At least I think that's what this is called - it sounds better, and more mysterious, than scrambled-eggs-with-crumbled-tortilla-chips-and-salsa. Which is exactly what it is, and it's therefor absolutely perfect the day after you've had a tex-mex taco feast!

So. Crumble some tortilla chips. Fry them on medium heat in a little bit of olive oil (throw in a handful of veggies too, if you have them!) for a few minutes. In a bowl, crack a few eggs (two per person is what I use) and whisk with a few spoonfuls of milk, cream or creme fraiche, depending on what you have. Add to the frying pan, and scramble with the now-rather-soft chips. Sprinkle with a little bit of cheese, and at the end, fold in some salsa sauce and perhaps some diced tomatoes. Serve with cilantro.

Not a breakfast item for me but perfect for lunch.

Saffron Yoghurt

And the heatwave continues! I know barbecuing is certainly big this summer, and I'm always on the lookout for sides and sauces to make it more exciting. Here's a recipe from Ottolenghi - or well, it was, I decided to use a little less lemon and a little less oil than the original but feel free to up both of them if you'd like. It goes extremely well with anything you can put on the grill - chorizo, chicken skewers, a hunk of beef, even fish...

Saffron Yoghurt
(printable recipe)

1/4 g saffron
3 tbsp hot water
200 ml thick yoghurt (Greek or Turkish style)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp good olive oil
salt

Stir the saffron into the hot water and leave to infuse for five minutes. Mix with yoghurt, garlic, lemon, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Stir well, into a smooth, golden sauce. Keep cool.

Recipe in Swedish:
Saffransyogurt

Happy birthday, dad!

Celebrating dad with a classical Swedish sandwich cake.