Bacon, Leek and Potato Soup

Sweden is unseasonally warm this year. This doesn't mean warm, of course, but there's no snow yet which is really unusual. Today is nice and sunny, but still cold. Perfect day for a brisk walk, followed by a hot bowl of soup. I really enjoy this thick potato soup with leeks and bacon - I found the recipe over at Sweetsugarbean, and pretty much stuck to it. I did make bread, too, but that'll be a separate post.

Tomorrow, I plan to start blogging about christmas food and candy! Maybe not completely exclusively all through December, but mostly. I'll re-use some old favorites from the archives, and my goal is a recipe for every day until christmas!

Bacon, Leek and Potato Soup

70 g bacon, diced
2 leeks, white part only, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 medium poatoes, diced
1-1,25 liter stock - vegetable or chicken is good
2 tsp dijon mustard
cayenne pepper
250 ml grated cheese
125 ml cream
135 ml milk
salt, pepper

Fry the bacon in a large pot, until crispy. Remove it and set aside. Fry the leeks, in the bacon fat, for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Add the potatoes and stock - it should cover the potatoes completely. Stir in the dijon mustard, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, lower the heat and let it simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are completely soft. Remove the pot from the heat, and mix until smooth using an immersion blender. (Or a regular one, if you'd prefer.)

Stir in the cheese, milk, cream and half the bacon, and let the cheese melt. Season with salt and pepper, and heat gently if it's cooled down too much.

Serve with the remaining bacon, and some extra cheese if you'd like.

Recipe in Swedish:
Potatis- och purjolökssoppa med bacon

Sesame-crusted Salmon with Noodles

I know I rarely post fish recipes, and that's simply because I don't eat much fish. It's not that I dislike it, but I never crave it and there's just so much food I prefer... anyway - once in a while I try to make an effort to cook fish, in part because Titus really likes it. He wasn't very fond of the sesame seeds in this dish, though...

Sesame-crusted Salmon with Noodles
serves 3

3 portions salmon fillet, skinless
1 lime, zest and juice
1 + 1 tbsp light Japanese soy sauce
fresh ginger, about 5 cm, finely grated
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
sesame seeds
125 g egg noodles
250 g mixed veggies (I used a frozen wok mix)
100 g snow peas
oil for frying

Stir together lime zest, lime juice, 1 tbsp soy sauce, fresh ginger, and sweet chili sauce. Coat the salmon pieces in this, and then in sesame seeds. Save the marinade!

Bring a pot of water to boil, and cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Don't over cook them! Add the snow peas for the last minute, then drain and rinse in cold water.

Fry the salmon in oil on medium heat, about 3-4 minutes on each side. The sesame seeds burn fairly easily, so watch the heat.

Heat more oil in a large frying pan or wok, and cook the vegetables for a few minutes. Add the noodles and snow peas and pour over the reserved marinade and the remaining tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir well for a minute or so, and then serve, with the salmon on top.

Recipe in Swedish:
Sesamstekt lax med nudelsallad

Gingerbread Biscotti with Toasted Hazelnuts

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, which to me means that christmas season has begun! I've hung my advent stars, lit my candles, and finally there is something festive-looking lighting up the increasingly dark Sweden.

To celebrate properly, you must of course have some proper baked goodies to share with family and friends. I'm always fond of biscotti (or cantuccini, which is perhaps a more correct name), which are so easy to make. They keep very well in the freezer. This version is perfect for the holidays, and has a strong flavor of gingerbread spice, which is basically two parts cinnamon, two parts ginger, one part cloves and one part cardamom, all ground up. Make up a jar and keep for baking - it's actually good in bread and some savory dishes as well!

Gingerbread Biscotti with Toasted Hazelnuts
makes 40 biscotti

100 g toasted hazelnut, coarsely chopped
2 eggs
180 g brown sugar
1 tbsp gingerbread spices (see above)
1 tsp salt
240 g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the nuts, eggs, sugar, gingerbread spice, salt and baking powder.
Add the flour and chocolate, and mix into a somewhat sticky dough.


Roll out into thick logs - about 3 cm wide - and place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes, or until the dough is lightly golden. Remove from oven, and when cool enough to handle, cut into small biscotti. Dry in the oven, at 100°C for 40 minutes. (Place them with the cut side up, and turn them over after 20 minutes)

Recipe in Swedish:
Pepparkaksbiscotti med rostade hasselnötter

Mushroom crêpes

(sorry, no photos of the actual crêpes...)

So, I'm still trying to master the art of pancakes. Swedish pancakes - thin ones, the size of a frying pan. We eat them with jam, some people add whipped cream as well, but I find that puts them firmly in dessert territory, and I like them as actual dinner. These photos show my new pancake pan - it's a little smaller than my other pans, very non-stick, and with short sides to make the flipping easier. I still can't flip pancakes in the air - definitely not - but this still makes frying pancakes a lot easier.


The trick to good pancakes? Lots of butter.

When I make pancakes for just me and Titus, we end up with lots of leftovers. So, that means we can eat crêpes! Crêpes are basically filled pancakes, and I like to fill them with a thick mushroom stew. Delicious!

I've got my pancake recipe here. (And omit the vanilla sugar if you're planning on making crêpes - just saying.)

Mushroom crêpes
8 crêpes

70 g bacon
300 g button mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp flour (I use something called "ideamjöl" which is specifically for thickening)
200 ml milk
100 ml cream (full-fat)
1 tsp worcestershiresauce
2 tsp cognac
salt
pepper
8 pancakes, cold
handful of sharp cheese

Fry the bacon until it starts to crisp up. Add the mushrooms and onion, and fry until the mushrooms lose most of their liquid. Mix in the flour. Gradually add milk and cream, stirring all the while, and season with worcestershiresauce, cognac, salt and pepper.

You might need more flour (in which case you need to whisk it with some liquid beforehand), or more milk, to thicken or thin the stew to your liking.

Fill the pancakes, roll up and place, seam-side down - in a snug oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with a little sharp cheese, and gratinate at 225°C for 8-10 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Svampstuvning till crêpes

Wednesday bookmarks, November 23

Time for some more bookmarks! I've started thinking about the holidays (who hasn't?) and find myself bookmarking lots of delicious stuff that'll be perfect as gifts, or to serve to friends and family. Four of my bookmarks are to Swedish blogs today - I hope you don't mind too much, you can always ask if you need me to translate something! As always, more of my bookmarks are here.

I've never had American "nilla wafers" and I sort of feel like I've missed out on something. I'm sure they're not all that good though - at least not as good as Weelicious homemade Vanilla Wafers!

Another US classic, but one I actually have tried: cheez-its. Homemade wholewheat ones from Texanerin Baking is definitely something I want to try, too. I bet they'll beat the ones that come out of a box!

I rarely serve proper desserts on christmas - who has room for it anyway? But I admit I really want to try this amazing-looking Salted Caramel Six-Layer Chocolate Cake, originally from Martha Stewart, that The Bitten Word wrote about. Will you come help me eat it?

Another option, lighter but definitely not any less elegant, is a Praline Soufflé from Zen Can Cook.

I do make holiday candy. This year, I'm strongly considering Bacon Caramels, Hazelnut Brittle with Sea Salt, and French Nougat. (All links in swedish.)

A great holiday gift is homemade jam or marmalade. Helena Ljunggren (whose blog is well worth a visit for her gorgeous photography alone!) just posted about a christmas marmalade with figs and citrus - it looks divine.

Tomato Blue Cheese Pasta

I love pasta. Should come as no big surprise to my long-time readers, but yeah, there it is. I love pasta. And I'm always fond of new recipes, new variations, new ways to spice up that little bowl of creamy goodness... so this tomato pasta with blue cheese is just the thing. In fact, it's incredible. I really recommend that you give it a try - the flavor combination is great.

I found this over at Amateur Gourmet, and adapted the recipe a bit.

Tomato Blue Cheese Pasta
Serves 3

70 g bacon, diced
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
pinch of red chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato purée
400 g can of cherry tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)
salt, pepper
200 g pasta
250 g gorgonzola, or some other sort of yummy blue cheese

Fry the bacon in a large pan until it's starting to color. Add the onions and fry for a few more minutes. Add the chili and tomato purée and stir well. Add the tomatoes, and crush any whole cherry tomatoes as much as you can. Season with a little salt and pepper (but remember that the cheese will add a lot of salt) and let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes on low heat.

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water, until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the tomato sauce. Crumble in the blue cheese and stir until it's completely melted.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pasta med tomat och ädelost

Apple Cake

Per and Titus baked a cake yesterday - isn't it lovely? It's a classic Swedish sockerkaka (much like a pound cake), with apples and cinnamon. He added a little lemon zest as well, and topped the whole thing with pearl sugar. It was delicious, and they seemed to have a lot of fun making it. I'm glad that Titus learns that mom is not the only one to cook and bake in this family.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

How about some awesome cookies? I'm a real sucker for anything with peanut butter, and when you add chocolate.. and oatmeal.. and actual peanuts? Well, these are some really good cookies, that's for sure.

As most cookies, they freeze well, but even better is freezing the scoops of dough, so you can bake a few cookies just when you want to eat them. Frozen cookies are fine, but freshly baked ones are always better. This was definitely a major discovery for me. As was cookie scoops, for that matter - such excellent tools!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes about 35 cookies

125 g butter
100 g peanut butter
100 g brown sugar
100 g sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
125 g flour
80 g oatmeal
1 tsp vanilla sugar
125 g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
100 g salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Whisk butter, peanut butter and both types of sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, and whisk for a few more minutes. Add all other ingredients, and mix until you have a cohesive dough.

Shape walnut-sized balls and place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 175°C for 10 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Jordnötskakor med mjölkchoklad

Christmas plans

Glögg and pepparkakor

Christmas is approaching, fast! It's just ten more days until the first Sunday in Advent, which is my own personal christmas deadline - that's when it starts! I decorate the house, I start cooking and baking, I wrap the gifts... and I spend a lot of time on the sofa, just enjoying the warm fuzzy christmas feelings.



I will not spend a lot of time blogging, this year. However, I thought I'd present christmas recipes, for food as well as candy and baked goods, every day. I'll dig through my archives and re-post the very best. I hope you'll like it - after all, not everyone spends a lot of time reading old blogs posts! (And I'll sneak in a few new things as well!)


This is Tina. She's just as friendly as she looks.

I ate my first christmas smorgasbord - julbord - yesterday. It was in a rather unexpected place: IKEA. All IKEA:s, in Sweden, will serve julbord starting on Monday and going every day until christmas. They did it last year, and it was a huge success - they're already talking about it like it's a permanent tradition, and I hope it is. It's super affordable, and the food was really, really good. They used chef Tina Nordström this year (Leif Mannerström last year) and I really enjoyed meeting her at the press event. She's such a bubbly and fun person, and I've watched her on TV so many times... to tell you the truth, I felt a little starstruck!


Putting the last touches on the food.

The food itself was classic Swedish christmas food, but it all felt very fresh and not as heavy as it can sometimes be. Tina has cut out most of the mayonnaise-based sauces, and opted for lighter alternatives. My very favorite food on the table was called "sirapsfläsk", and it's basically smoked pork belly cooked in equal amounts of golden syrup and white wine vinegar. Incredibly yummy, I'll definitely try to make my own version of this!


The cold dishes

Don't miss the christmas ham, which is flavored with star anise - delicious! The sill with thai flavors was great as well, very lime-y.


The warm dishes. (I'd skip the meatballs - they're just IKEA:s ordinary ones.)

So, if you're in Sweden - IKEA:s julbord is highly recommended! It's served daily from 3 pm, starting on Monday. (So no lunch service.) It costs 99:- for IKEA Family members, and 199:- for those who aren't yet members.

Chicken Salsa Ranch Pitas

This is really, REALLY fast food. You basically fry chicken, add salsa and ranch dressing, and that's it. Well, and you stuff it into a pita bread with various veggies, but that takes no effort at all.

It's not upscale in any way, and you do use ready-made salsa and dressing (or feel free to make your own) but for a weeknight dinner, it's brilliant. And it's delicious. Really delicious.

Chicken Salsa Ranch Pitas
serves 3

6 pita breads
2 chicken breasts
100 ml salsa
50 ml ranch dressing
cucumber
grated cheese
red bellpepper
salad
butter for frying, salt, pepper



Cut the chicken into strips or slices, and fry in butter with some salt and pepper. It should be pretty much cooked through. Add salsa and ranch, and let it cook for a minute or two.

Serve with bread, cucumber strips, grated cheese, bellpepper and salad. Avocado would be nice, too!

Recipe in Swedish:
Chicken Salsa Ranch i pitabröd

Chicken Ginger Dumplings

Once I tried making my own dumplings, I knew I wanted to do it again. And again. It's so tasty, and really, easier than you might think. Sure, rolling out the dough is a bit of a hassle, but I'm well prepared for next time: I bought the pasta roller kit for my Kitchen-Aid! (Haven't tried it yet, though.)

For a recipe for the dumpling dough, and instructions, go to this blog post.

Chicken Ginger Dumplings

400 g minced chicken
fresh ginger, a pretty large piece (I used about two thumbs), finely minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Japanese soy sauce
salt, black pepper
large bunch of fresh coriander, chopped

Mix all ingredients.

Dipping sauce:
2 tbsp Chinese soy sauce (dark)
2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (light)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp rice vinegsr
1 tsp sambal oelek
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander

Mix all ingredients.

Recipe in Swedish:
Dumplings med kycklingfärs

Green Chicken Skewers

Here's another recipe that I first ate at Dagmar's. It's a really nice chicken dish - perfect as part of a small spread. Last time we ate it, we served it with dumplings, a noodle salad, and a wonderful dipping sauce.

Green Chicken Skewers

500 g chicken breasts, cut into strips lengthwise

Marinade:
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp runny honey
3 spring onions, chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil (I mostly use canola)

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a blender or a food processor. Put the chicken in a plastic bag and cover with marinade. Let it soak for at least two hours, in the fridge.

Skewer the chicken (on pre-soaked wooden skewers) and grill on high heat for a few minutes on each side. Check to make sure they're cooked through.

You can cook these in the oven as well, if it's not exactly barbecue weather.

Recipe in Swedish:
Gröna kycklingspett

Flank Steak Tacos

Here's something I should have shared long ago. It's Flank Steak Tacos - I got the recipe over at Steamy Kitchen, but it's basically just seared flank steak, tomatoes, avocado, coriander and I used crumbled feta cheese. Delicious!

Impressions from the food fair, Mitt Kök

I spent a few hours yesterday at the annual food fair in Stockholm, currenty named "Mitt Kök", which means "My Kitchen". An apt name would have been "My Bar", because there were SO many wine and alcohol producers... Oh well, I suppose that's what people want, since the fair gets more and more of those each year. There was some food though, and I took some photos to tell you about the most interesting things I encountered!



Food from all over Sweden - the best was the ham, which was from Domta Gård. Worst was probably the Swedish wine, made from the grape "Solaris". And salt, produced in Sweden - really, salt is salt, and it tastes just like... salt. The aged cheese from Sivans Ost was delicious, as well as the Kalix löjrom.



I've tried Kettle Chips before, but I usually stick to "lightly salted" and that's it. However, I really liked Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar. Nice!



This Finnish rye bread by Sinuhe was so tasty! The pink bag has muesli mixed in, so it's really nice in texture - seeds, apples and almonds make it more interesting. I think it'll be great toasted.



Glögg from Muddus, a producer way up in Northern Sweden. This one tasted of lingonberries and blueberries - delicious and not too sweet.



Handmade chocolate from Ölandschoklad - they had one piece, with a chewy lemon caramel covered in chocolate that was to die for.



Eva Nordlinder, editor of the magazine Hembakat, with her new book with the same name! I looked through it and it looks great - perfect gift for someone who enjoys baking!



Frozzypack is a really cool Swedish invention! It's a lunch box, but the lid is really an ice pack. Stick it in the freeze, and it'll keep your food fresh and cool for hours.



Another really interesting invention is the Herb:ie from Indoor Garden. I really would love one of these - it's a special sort of pot with built in light to grow our own herbs or salad all year round. My only hesitation is that it takes up space, but it'd be nice to keep in a window.



And this is what I ended up taking home. Awesome Finnish rye bread from Sinuhe. Smoothies and juice from Innocent. Cherry marmalade and clementine marmalade from Werner's gourmetservice, and also chocolate covered pop rocks from the same company. Cherry-Violet marmalade (how could I resist?!) and a jam made from arctic raspberries (Rubus Arcticus, Åkerbär in Swedish) which is very hard to come by. And some sugared almonds, my favorite! (And sadly way too hard to make yourself - I tried.)

Chicken & Mushroom Tortellini

I'm completely beat after having attended Stockholm's annual food fair, which I'll tell you about tomorrow! Here's a quick weeknight dinner, perfect for when you don't have a lot of time to cook. You need fresh tortellini - or any fresh pasta really - which I imagine you'd find in most supermarkets. The recipe originates from the Swedish superstar chef Mathias Dahlgren, who has pancetta in his version, and bakes the chicken in the oven, but I found this plenty salty and savory just the way it was.

Chicken & Mushroom Tortellini
serves 3

2 chicken breasts
8 sage leaves (fresh)
100 g mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, minced
250 g fresh tortellini
salt, peppar
butter for frying
parmesan, to serve

Cut a few deep scores in the chicken breast, and add the sage leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Brown in butter, and pan-fry on medium heat until just cooked through.

Fry the mushrooms in butter.

Melt the two tablespoons of butter, and add the garlic. Don't let it brown, but cook on low-medium heat for a minute.

Cook the tortellini according to package instructions, and toss with the garlic butter. Add the mushrooms. Slice the chicken, and add that, too.

Serve with plenty of parmesan.

Recipe in Swedish:
Tortellini med kyckling och svamp

Cookbook Watch - junk food and more!

I'll try to review some more cookbooks soon - something to put on your christmas lists, maybe? Most books I get to review are just in Swedish though, as these three are.



Bengt and Börje - two Swedish male names - is a down-to-earth cookbook written by two guys who like good food. That pretty much sums it up. It's not fancy, but not basic either - it has good food, plain and simple. The photography is great, and I like that there are also a few fun food-related anecdotes by the two writers. It's from a small publisher called Kakor & Monster.



From the same publisher, and partly from the same author (Peter Göransson and his wife Lena) comes Smakresan ("The Flavour Journey") which is about food inspired from their travels. Lena used to work as a fashion model and as such, has travelled to many countries. The book has dishes from France, Japan, USA, and several other places. Some of the dishes might not be super-authentic, but rather personal takes on popular dishes. And everything uses easy-to-find ingredients, and seems adjusted to Swedish cooking. I like it a lot - it's very well written, and a lot of the food looks delicious. It's perfect for those who love to travel, but might not get to do it as often as they'd want. I know I love "travelling in my very own kitchen".



Junk Food. No translation needed there! This is written by Liselotte Forslin who's a very productive food writer - she's published many cookbooks and a lot of recipes for food magazines as well. The idea for this book came from her husband, who apparently loves "junk food", but the twist here is that everything is made from scratch with great ingredients. I love that there are even recipes for hamburger buns and homemade barbecue sauce, which isn't necessarily something you see in cookbooks focused on "junk". The one fault I think this book has is that it's a little too unfocused - it adds in so MUCH junk food, everything from falafel to hamburgers, with lots of tex-mex and pizzas in between. Not exactly a huge fault for that matter! If you like junk food, but is prepared to spend some time in the kitchen, then this is definitely the book for you.

Corn Pancakes

Whenever Per is out of town - and he has been quite a lot this fall - Titus and I have pancakes for dinner. It's quick, he can help me, and it's guaranteed to be a hit. I'm always looking for variations to try though (although I do love my basic recipe) and when I saw Smitten Kithen's corn pancakes, I knew that was something to try.


Titus LOVES pancakes! And corn! This was a huge hit!

I ended up adjusting the recipe a bit, but it turned out to be absolutely delicious. A little more "foody" than plan pancakes, and therefor great for dinner. Bacon would have been good with these, but we were happy with butter and (plenty of) maple syrup.

Corn Pancakes
12 small pancakes

1 tbsp butter
about 200 ml corn kernels (I used frozen)
1 egg
200 ml filmjolk or buttermilk
100 ml thick, turkish or greek style, yogurt (or just more filmjolk/buttermilk)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
200 ml all-purpose flour
3 tbsp cornmeal (or finely ground polenta)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Start by melting the butter, and fry the corn for 4-5 minutes. They should color slightly. Set aside to cool.

Whisk the egg with your filmjolk or buttermilk, and yogurt, sugar and salt. Add the corn, flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda.

Fry small pancakes on medium heat in butter. Turn over when they start getting small bubbles on top, and look slighty dry around the edges.

Recipe in Swedish:
Majspannkakor

New phone

So, I got the new iPhone4s. As you can see by comparing tonight's dinner pic with yesterday's, the camera is radically better. Great!

And dinner was great, too. I made a huge batch of pork in the slow cooker, with lemon, orange juice, cumin and chili. We ate it on Tostaditos, a new product in Swedish stores (basically fried wheat tortillas) with avocado and an awesome cole slaw.

I used the feta cheese cream from last night, a little mayo, leftover pickled red onions, and lots of cilantro to dress my cabbage, and it was definitely a winner!

Fabulous dinner

Yum, we just had dinner and it was such a good one! Do excuse the iPhone photos.. I know I rarely post really good photos anymore - I just don't seem to have the time. Or to take the time, really. I put my hope in the iPhone 4s, which I'm getting eventually!

Anyway - dinner! I made lamb meatballs - similar to this recipe, but with some torn up, day old bread, and a little cream instead of quark. I pickled red onion (super simple - just sprinkle with some salt and sugar, and cover with white wine vinegar), and sliced some avocado. And I mashed up some feta cheese with crème frâiche.



We ate it all stuffed into pita breads. And oh, what a glorious meal it was. Highly recommended!

The quickest mayo

As much as I hate posting recipes without pictures, I need to make an exception to tell you about this fabulous way of making home made mayonnaise. (Besides, you all know what mayo looks like.) I've never had much luck with homemade mayo before - it usually turns out rather loose and runny, and while it tastes good, it's not great and not worth the effort.

I had heard of this method before, but hadn't dared to try it. Then I saw Nami-Nami's video of it, and I knew I had to make it.

In all honesty, I have failed this too, once. My ingredients were not all at room temperature, and I forgot the vinegar. Stupid. That batch was runny, but ended up as a fabulous salad dressing, so not all was lost.

And when it succeeds, it REALLY succeeds. Great, great mayo indeed!

The quickest mayo

Really do make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature. Really.

1 egg (yes, the whole egg!)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
250 ml neutral oil - I use canola
salt, pepper
garlic, crushed - optional, but if you want to make aioli, this is how you do it.

Place all the ingredients, in order, in a bowl. I use a high, narrow jug that's perfect for my blender. Use an immersion blender, and hold it over the egg. Start mixing, and when you see streaks of mayo forming, slowly lift the blender, while still running. Make sure all is mixed - and that's it.

Recipe in Swedish:
Snabbaste majonnäsen

Hazelnut & Raisin Sourdough

Ok. So I actually thought I had already posted about this, long ago. Apparently not? or have I? Anyway, it's a bread well worth making, if you like sourdough baking!

I like to make individual rolls that I slice and put in the freezer. That way I can just defrost them overnight and pop in the toasted for breakfast. You can certainly make loaves instead, but they need more time in the oven.

Hazelnut & Raisin Sourdough
about 20 bread rolls

day 1:
100 g active, bubbling rye sourdough starter
300 tepid water
180 g rye flour

Mix in a bowl, cover with a towel and leave at room temperature over night.

day 2:
the mixture from yesterday
400 g water
450 g bread flour (wheat)
300 g "rågsikt" (it's about 60% wheat, 40% rye. Feel free to substitute as you see fit)
20 g salt
200 g raisins
200 g whole, toasted hazelnuts (skinned if you have the patience)

Mix everything except for raisins and nuts and work into a dough - about five minutes in a stand mixer. Add raisins and hazelnuts and mix for five more minutes. (Or twice that time, if you're kneading by hand.)

Cover the bowl with plastic and let the dough double in size. It can take 2-4 hours, or more - depending on how active your sourdough is.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, and shape rolls - each weighing about 100 grams. It will be pretty sticky so a good way to shape them is to keep folding the edges inwards, underneath - that'll give a nice shape in the end. Place smoothest side up on a lined baking sheet.

Cover with a towel and leave to rise for about 90 minutes.

Heat your oven to 250°C. Bake the rolls for ten minutes. Lower the heat to 200° and bake for ten more minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Surdegsbröd med hasselnötter & russin

Wednesday bookmarks, November 2

I'm so glad I'm getting better at regularly sharing these bookmarks with you. I think linking to other blogs is a fundamental of blogging, and it's fun to share my finds with you. And it also inspires me to actually TRY some of the things I bookmark. (Although goodness knows, I'll never get through all of them.)

Last week, I asked you for ideas for vegetarian potstickers! As always, I know I can trust my readers, because you came up with some great ideas! And one of you linked to the blog Naturally Ella, which I immediately added to my Google Reader - it's lovely. I need to try both the Baked Sweet Potato Potstickers, and those with Roasted Corn and Cream Cheese.

I've tried a million Bolognese sauces, but that won't stop me from trying one more - from Framed Cooks. Her Weeknight Bolognese looks great, especially with those pasta shells.

You know what would go great with that pasta? I think Romaine Salad with Cornbread Croutons would be pretty perfect, so thanks Amateur Gourmet, for yet another bookmark.

Dessert will be in Swedish, from my old friend Jesper who blogs at Krubb. He shares a fabulous chocolate mousse, with orange zest, coffee and rum. Yum!

And on my to-do list is a serious update of my blogroll. It's really, really old and out of date. Sorry about that! Also out of date: my recipe index. I'll try to get around to that, too. Soon. Soon-ish, at least.

This remindes me of some other things I've been meaning to do. Like a new header - I have one, a great one in fact. And I have awesome ideas for a three-column design, with bigger photos. And I should migrate to the "new" blogger, which is what, three-four years now? And, I got an e-mail asking me to set up a Facebook page for the blog. That scares me a little, I'm not sure how to set it up so it pretty much works automatically, but I'll look into it. Promise!

So much to do. So little time.

Great dinner!

Well, I didn't mean to show you an empty plate. It's just that I ran out of food. Me and Titus are having dinner at my parents house, and my mom made my favorite comfort food of all times - her creamy chicken curry. So, so good...