Good finds

Happy Friday everyone! This week totally flew by, I have no idea what we've done.. not much? We are looking for a new car which does take up a lot of time, though.

I thought I'd share a few recent finds - things that I've tried and liked. They were all sent to me for review. (My policy on this, in short:  I'll gladly try new things, but I may or may not write about them. If I do write, it'll be my honest opinion. I tend to write about things I like and recommend, obviously - it's not much fun to write about really horrible products, but sometimes, I'll do that, too.)



Chef'n Prepstation cutting board

This is a pretty smart cutting board! It's nice and sturdy, and it has little drawers underneath where you can collect whatever you've been cutting, to transfer it to the pot. (One is a colander, so you can rinse whatever it is you need to rinse.) It's handy - I keep mine on the kitchen counter and use it all the time. (However, I partly do that because it won't fit in my drawer. )



Kochblume

Do your pots boil over? Mine do, when I cook rice, or potatoes. Kochblume is the solution - it's a silicone lid / splatter guard that you use instead of a normal lid. It'll keep the pot from boiling over, and it works pretty well. However, starch tends to collect on the "petal" part of the lid, so you need to scrub it clean. I also wish it was a bit smaller, it's a little large for the pot I most often use.



Kallaras olive oil

I got this e-mail:

My name is Marinos Kallaras and I am actually a mechanical engineer. However, I have always been working on my parents olive groves in my free time and I dedicated a lot of time during harvest to personally undertake the procedure of harvest and olive extraction. I own a part of an olive press, so I am proud to say that I am personally responsible for the cultivation of my olive trees, the harvest and the extraction of the olive oil. I bottle my olive oil in my region’s co-operative.

High quality olive oil has so much been part of my family’s every day diet that I only recently realized that the olive oil sold in Northern Europe is either of bad quality (often adultered) or extremely costly. Our European friends who have tried our extra virgin olive oil talk about a memorable Greek taste that made them question the quality of olive oil they had been eating so far. So, I thought, why not export?

In a few words my extra virgin olive oil has low acidity, it is cold extracted, it is certified and has zero chemicals, additives and preservatives. Plus it is produced for centuries by my family with so much love that I can honestly say I am proud of my olive oil.

Being curious, I agreed to taste it - and Marinos is right, it's an awesome olive oil. Certainly much tastier than what I can find in my local grocery store. I've been using it for just about everything since I got it, and it just works so well. It's not a very strong flavor, which I personally like very much - I often find olive oils to be a little too intrusive in my cooking. So this one is just to my liking. Recommended! (Here's the website.)

Pepparkakor

I tend to bake my own gingerbread cookies, but if I buy any this year, they'll be from Arbrå Ångbageri. Really good cookies, and really gorgeous tins. 

Carrot & Leek Risotto with Mix-Ins

I've had zero food inspiration for a while now, and I constantly whine about this on my twitter and facebook. (Well, it feels like it's pretty constant.) Thankfully, I have lots of foodie friends, ready to provide inspiration or just remind me of stuff I really like. Like risotto. It used to be one of Titus favorite foods too, but he's a pretty picky eater right now. We placated him by serving separate bowls of mix-ins, and a pretty basic (but still flavorful) risotto. He ended up eating all of the corn (as usual) and some risotto - not bad.

Carrot & Leek Risotto with Mix-Ins
serves 3


1/2 leek, finely sliced
2 large carrots, coarsely grated
1 tbsp butter
300 ml risotto rice (use your favorite, I'm very partial to arborio)
200 ml white wine
1000 ml vegetable stock
handful of parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp runny honey
1/2-1 tsp chipotle sauce

Heat the butter in a large pot, and the stock in another pan. Fry the leek and the carrots in butter for a few minutes without letting it color. Add the rice and turn up the heat. Let it color a little. Add the wine, and let it bubble fiercely for a minute or two. Then start adding the stock. Add more as soon as the rice looks dry. It should take about 20 minutes in total - taste the rice so you know when it's done. It should have a little bite to it. You might not need all the stock, or you might need more. (just add hot water then.)

Stir in the cheese, and season with honey,  and a little bit of chipotle sauce. Use regular chilli powder or cayenne pepper if you can't get chipotle, but the lightly smoked flavor really works here.

Mix-ins:
100 g mushrooms, quartered
100 g bacon, chopped
100 g peas, thawed (or fresh)
100 g corn, thawed (or fresh)

Fry the bacon and place in a bowl. Fry the mushrooms in the bacon fat, and serve in a separate bowl. Just serve the corn and peas, separately, as they are.

Coriander-Peanut Pesto

I'm usually very happy about the food I post, but this recipe is AMAZING. Really, you have to try it. The only chance you won't like this is if you're one of those freaks of nature who doesn't like fresh coriander. (I mean freak of nature in the kindest possible way, of course.)

I got this from Thomas who works for Hamonoya, the agent for Microplane in the Nordic countries. We met, together with Dagmar and Lena, at a convention where he showed the latest news from Microplane, and we chatted about our mutual love of coriander. He enthusiastically described this great coriander peanut chutney, a recipe from Danish food writer and TV cook Camilla Plum that he had often made and adjusted to his liking. He spoke Danish, and I, admittedly don't. So I was very thankful that he also e-mailed me the recipe.

Here's my version of it. I find it more of a pesto than a chutney, so that's what I've chosen to call it. It goes with everything. Eat it with meat, chicken or fish. With asian food. On bread. With a spoon. It doesn't matter.

Coriander-Peanut Pesto
200 g peanuts (I use roasted, ready-salted, in which case you don't need more salt)
1 large bunch of fresh coriander
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp demerara sugar
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp sambal oelek or other chili paste, or one fresh red chili
3 tbsp peanut oil
possibly salt, if not using ready-salted peanuts

Mix everything in a food processor, to a coarse paste. Season to taste, you might want more heat, more acidity - lime - more salt or more sugar.

Tortilla Roll-Ups

I found this on The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and I knew I had to make it. A family picnic turned out to be the perfect occasion, because this is indeed: The ultimate picnic food!  Easy to prepare, and keeps very well. I didn't cut mine up, though - we just ate them rolled up. Not as pretty, and as usual, not much to photograph, but they sure were tasty.



Tortilla Roll-Ups
makes 8 (which makes a nice, light lunch for four.)

8 wheat flour tortillas
200 g Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 leek, finely chopped
Handful of basil, shredded
zest from one lemon, finely grated
salt, pepper
120 g smoked ham, in very thin slices
1 large carrot, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
8 leaves of romaine lettuce
2 avocados, thinly sliced

Mix the cream cheese with the leek, basil and lemon zest. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Spread this on the tortillas, and make sure to go all the way to the edge - it helps the tortilla roll up nicely.

Place the fillings in a line down the center of each tortilla - much as when making sushi. Start  with the ham, then add a leaf of lettuce, and plenty of carrot and bell pepper. Finish with the avocado, then roll the whole thing up as tightly as possible. Roll each wrap in plastic, and keep in the fridge - at least for an hour, but longer is fine, too.

Creamy White Bean Soup

This is similar to my "Italian Lentil Soup". The main difference, really, is that I was out of lentils and resorted to using a can of white beans instead. As it cooked, I suspected that the toddler wouldn't touch it as it was, so I puréed it until smooth. And voila! He scarfed down three bowls, and pronounced that he LOVED soup.

Brilliant.

Creamy White Bean Soup
70 g bacon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 garlic clove
2 carrots
2 parsnips
2 potatoes
800 ml water
1 tbsp concentrated vegetable stock, or stock cube
400 g white beans, canned
100 ml milk
100 ml cream
1 tsp dried thyme
salt

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 olive oil, and the onions, garlic, carrots and parsnips. Fry for five minutes, then add the potatoes.Fry for a few more minutes, then add water, stock, thyme and the can of white beans.

Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Add milk and cream. Purée the whole thing, ideally with a stick blender. Add more milk if you think it's too thick at this point. Season with salt.

We ate it with some stale sourdough bread that I sliced thinly, dipped in olive oil and baked at 200°C for about 10 minutes. Yummy!

Cookbook Watch - Indian Cooking in Sweden

These days, I rarely buy cookbooks in physical shops anymore. I research, then order online. And I get some review copies from publishers, too. But this book really caught my eye, and before I could help myself, I paid for it and left. (well, I did start to look up the price online, but couldn't get a good connection. Besides, you should support local book shops!)

So, what is this? An Indian cookbook, called "David Batras inte så tråkiga indiska kokbok", which translates into "David Batra's not so boring Indian cookbook". Is David Batra a well known chef, you ask? He is not. He is however a well know Swedish comedian, so when he promises a "not so boring cookbook"... He delivers.

Apparently, he cooks a lot in his spare time. His dad is Indian and this book is filled with David's own favorite recipes. Some are from his dad or his aunt, many are his own take on Indian classics. All are quick(-ish), and can be made with ingredients found at almost any supermarket.

Photos are pretty, and plentiful. I've read half the book and already planned next weeks menu. So, in short: two enthusiastic thumbs-up!

Strawberry Delight

Here's the dessert I made for Fourth of July this year.  I found the recipe - like almost all the recipes I made this year - over at the Homesick Texan. Awesome blog, awesome book.

Seeing it listed in her recipe index, I have to admit I had my hopes for a jello-based strawberry dessert with whipped cream - something I've only had once, at my friend Rebecca's then-boyfriend Greg's home. His grandmother made it for special occasions, and the recipe was well guarded. I don't even like jello but that was indeed something special. If anyone knows of something that might be it - do let me know!

Alas, this was very different, of course - and I'm sad to say it didn't turn out all that great. The crust became really hard and thus super-difficult to slice, and the topping was tasty but hard to eat it, with large chunks of frozen strawberries. Next time, I'll slice them a lot smaller. I did add fresh vanilla to the filling, which was really tasty.

Strawberry Delight

Crust:
120 g pecans
150 g flour
60 g brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
115 g melted butter

Add the first five ingredients to a food processor and mix the pecans are finely chopped. Add the melted butter and whizz for a few seconds until the mixture starts to clump. Press into a springform pan,  mine is 24 cm in diameter, and bake at 175°C for 15-20 minutes. It should get a little color but definitely not too much.

Filling:
500 g strawberries
60 g brown sugar
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp ginger, ground
1 vanilla bean, scraped out
2 egg whites
5 tbsp sugar, divided
250 ml cream

Cut the berries into small pieces or slices and let them macerate with the brown sugar, juice from 1/2 lemon, the ginger and the scrapings from the vanilla bean for an hour or so.

Beat the egg whites with 4 tbsp of sugar, until you have a stiff and glossy meringue.

Beat the cream with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, until fluffy. Fold in the berries, and finally fold in the meringue.

Spread the filling on top of the cooled crust. Freeze over night. Let it thaw a little before serving.

Sauce Remoulade

There is, seriously, no better sauce for fried fish and boiled potatoes than sauce remoulade. There are many recipes, but most of them include mayo, chopped pickles of some sort, and at least all the Danish recipes contain a little dash of curry powder. This is mine.

Sauce Remoulade
1-2 tbsp capers
10 pickled onions ("syltlök", miniature pearl onions, pickled)
10 cornichons
3-4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp mayonnaise flavored with dijon mustard & horseradish (optional)
1-2 tbsp creme fraiche
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp lemon juice

Finely chop the capers, pickled onions and cornichons. Whisk together all the ingredients, and season.

Apple Muffins with Caramelized Hazelnuts

Apples are easily found all year round, but if you want Swedish apples, the season is considerably shorter. Some are ripe in early summer, but most sorts aren’t ready until late summer or fall. Some are even later. For these muffins, it won’t really matter much what kind you use – just use one that you like to eat!

It’s a very versatile recipe, as you don’t add the fruit until the end – you can just as easily swap the apples for, say, blueberry or raspberry, or maybe try a combination of blackberries and apples? I love this combination though – apples, cinnamon and caramelized hazelnuts… Delicious!

Don’t be scared of the extra step of caramelizing the nuts. You can certainly skip it, but it does add an extra layer of flavor, and it’s not difficult at all. Make sure there are no kids around though – caramel is HOT. And you want some kind of silicone or teflon baking mat – or oil a regular baking sheet.

This recipe yielded me 12 normal-sized muffins, and 15 mini-sized. It would probably have been enough for 18 normal-sized, but I wanted to make some minis without the nuts, since so many people are allergic these days. I also like making smaller ones for the sheer cuteness.

Apple Muffins with Caramelized Hazelnuts

For the nuts:
100 ml hazelnuts, toasted (If you can’t find them at the store, toast them yourself for about 10 minutes in a 200°C oven)
50 ml sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan, and watch closely as it’ll turn deep golden brown. Add the nuts, stir, and immediately turn out onto a teflon or silicone baking mat, or an oiled baking sheet. Let cool completely, then chop coarsely.

For the muffins:
200 g butter, at room temperature
70 g brown sugar
80 g sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 eggs
280 g flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into small dice
cinnamon

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla sugar as well, or the extract.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and make sure to mix well in between each addition. Stir in the flour and baking powder.

Half-fill muffin cups placed in a muffin tin for extra sturdiness. As this batter is on the thick side, you can lightly wet your fingers to press down the batter. Add about a tablespoon of diced apples, and lightly dust with cinnamon. Sprinkle with the chopped caramelized nuts.

Bake at about 190°C. The normal-sized muffins will take about 15 minutes, and minis 10 minutes. Use a cake-tester or a toothpick to check that they’re done – it should come out clean.

Previously published at sweden.se

Beijing 8

Me and Dagmar finally made it to Beijing 8, one of several dumpling restaurants that have popped up quite recently in Stockholm. We tried the pork and the chicken dumplings - they also had duck, salmon, and veggie, but you couldn't split your order which I found mildly annoying. Chicken was really good, a bit spicy. Pork was mild and juicy. The plum-ginger dipping sauce was great but I wasn't a big fan of their cilantro-chili.

Orders came with cabbage doused with sesame oil, and tea was complimentary. A bonus point for the bright pink lids! (although a minus point for the scruffy bathroom.)

There are some interesting side orders on the menu, which is good if you're hungrier than we were. As it was, we were headed for gelato at StikkiNikki afterwards...

Black Currant Macarons

So, I finally tried out a new method for macarons - the one using Italian (or Swiss?) meringue. That means you cook sugar and water to a specific temperature, and whisk into foamy egg whites to make a really shiny meringue. The method is a bit fiddlier than my usual one and the macarons themselves are slightly different.

-no need for room temperature egg whites
-they're whiter and shinier, probably because the meringue itself is, too.
-the batter is a little stiffer, making it a bit easier to pipe
-they dried a bit faster before baking
-I baked them for a slightly shorter time, and a slightly warmer oven than I usually do - about 160°C for 10 minutes.
-They all got feet, but some were a little lopsided.

For the filling, the only hard part is making the black currant purée, but it's worth the effort! I'll share that, but not the recipe for the shells - it needs some perfecting.

 Black Currant Macarons

Black Currant filling:
about 100 g black currants, fresh or thawed - enough to yield 50 g purée
2 tbsp cream
125 g white chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp honey

Make the purée - finely mix the black currants and press through a sieve. Make sure you have 50 g of purée.

Mix the purée with the cream, chocolate and honey in a saucepan. Heat gently and stir to combine. Pour into a piping bag and cool until it's thick enough to pipe. (Count on a few hours for this step.)

Lime sprayer

I went to the fair Formex a few weeks ago, to see all sorts of new products for the home. One of the most interesting kitchen gadgets we found was this - a lime (or lemon) sprayer from Lékué. It looks really weird - but it works, I promise! I got one to take home, and it works surprisingly well. Good to spritz a little extra lemon juice on your fish, or salad - but you have to spray quite a bit to flavor a glass of water.

Naan

I made naan too, to go with the butter chicken. It wasn't great, so I'll try again some time, but I need a better recipe. Any favorites, or tips for me?