Happy Easter!

As usual, I'm away... But I thought I'd repost this short round-up.


Now, most Swedes approach Easter eating as they would Christmas or Midsummer: with a Smorgasbord. You'd see several small dishes, beginning with cold ones and then moving on to warmer. Cold dishes always include several sorts of sill, usually gravlax, sometimes smoked salmon or other fish. Always boiled potatoes, and sauces. Some of my recipes are Caviar Sill, Lemon Sill, and a great Dill-Mustard sauce for the gravlax. Also usually present are one of my favorites - hard-boiled egg halves, topped with mayonnaise and boiled shrimp. Delicious! I also included Lena's red onion cheesecake in this round-up - that'd be perfect for an Easter starter.

For warm dishes, I like to have lamb. Try this slow-braised lamb, or some sort of lamb meatballs -  these with pine nuts are also great. A lot of people eat ham as well - try this coca-cola baked one! A popular side dish is Jansson's Temptation - do try that if you can get your hand on Swedish anchovies.

As for dessert, this is actually a time where a lot of people would serve cake. Something yellow, decorated with marzipan chickens, is popular. Try this one. Something light would also be nice - this white chocolate mousse with mixed fruits, or a rhubarb mousse perhaps?

Tomato salsa

Simple and fast - not as fast as opening a jar, sure, but really not far from it. Mix everything but the coriander in a small saucepan, and cook until it's nice and saucy - about 20 minutes will do. Season, and then let it cool. Stir in the coriander just before serving.

Tomato salsa
400 g crushed tomatoes
Handful cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, finely diced
1 lime, juiced
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp Chipotle paste
1 tbsp olive oil
125 ml water
1 tsp brown sugar
Small handful fresh coriander

Bacon & Shrimp Coconut Fried Rice

I haven't written about Dante's food habits yet (I wrote this blog post about Titus though), but really, there hasn't been much to write so far.  He's mostly been nursing, but trying our food for the past few months. We don't give purées or baby cereal, and since it takes a little longer to learn how to eat chunky food,  he's taken his time. Now, however, it's become much easier. He doesn't eat baby food, he eats whatever we eat. The only problem with that is I can't very well just eat a sandwich for lunch, unless I have something else for him - sandwiches aren't all that easy to eat with seven tiny teeth.

We're not doing any kind of super-strict baby-led weaning, in the sense of letting him feed himself. He seems to prefer spoon feeding, or simply having pieces placed in his mouth. (He got so excited when he tried melon that he bit me, quite hard, when I wasn't fast enough.) And I suppose that's baby-led too - he clearly shows us what he wants.

And boy, did he want this! For good reason, it was really tasty and very flavorful. Now, beware, some will think this is too salty to give your baby - both bacon, soy and shrimp are a little salty. However, mine is still on tiny, tiny portions and I really don't worry much about that. Use your own judgement.

Obviously, adjust as you see fit, I worked with whatever leftovers I happened to have in my fridge and freezer!

Bacon & Shrimp Coconut Fried Rice
serves 2 adults + 1 baby, or 1 adult and lots of babies

50 g bacon, finely diced
1/2 tbsp peanut oil
1/2 carrot, cut into fine strips
2 garlic cloves, grated
5 cm fresh ginger, grated
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
large handful of leftover rice, cooked
2 tbsp peas (frozen is fine)
2 tbsp corn (frozen is fine)
small handful green beans, in smaller pieces (frozen is fine)
200 ml coconut milk
1-2 tsp soy sauce
small handful shrimp (and again, frozen is fine - mine were cooked)

Start by frying the bacon until it's starting to brown. Add the peanut oil and the carrot strips, and fry on medium heat for a few minutes. Add the aromatics - garlic, ginger and onion, and stir for about a minute. At this time, crumble the rice into the pan, and stir well. Fry for a few minutes, and then add the peas, corn and green beans. Let it cook for a minute, so that the frozen veggies thaw, then add the coconut milk. Season with a little bit of soy sauce. Finally add the shrimp. If uncooked, heat until pink and opaque, and if frozen, heat until they're warmed through.

Creamy Beef Sauce

Perhaps it doesn't sound very appetizing, but I really couldn't call this a Bolognese. It's not a far stretch, but it has so many un-traditional ingredients that the name just wouldn't be fitting. However, it's a super good, and simple, sauce for pasta. I liked it. Husband loved it. The kids had seconds, and thirds. It was a big hit.

Creamy Beef Sauce
serves 4-6

1/2 tbsp butter
500 g minced beef
1 yellow onion, finely diced
100 ml water
1 beef stock cube
2 garlic cloves, minced
300 g crushed tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste (I used a highly concentrated one that included some semi-dried tomatoes, very flavorful)
1 tsp sriracha sauce
3 tbsp hot & sweet mustard
1 tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp soy sauce
black pepper
white pepper
200 g mushrooms, very finely chopped (I used a food processor for these)
300 ml cream (full-fat!)

First, melt the butter in a large pot, and brown the beef. When it's mostly browned, add the onion and keep frying for a few minutes. Add the water and beef stock cube, and cook until the water is mostly evaporated. Add all the flavorings - garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, sriracha sauce, mustard, basil, soy sauce, black and white pepper. Cook for at least ten minutes, but longer if you have the time. Be careful   to make sure the sauce doesn't burn though!

Once you get your pasta boiling - we chose spaghetti - add the mushrooms and the cream. Season with more spice if you'd like, and salt - but we found it plenty salty anyway.

Raw Broccoli, Avocado & Feta Salad

I didn't really know what to name this, but never mind, it's an awesome salad. The broccoli is raw, but "massaged" with lemon and lime juice to slightly soften it and (supposedly) make it a bit easier to digest. I just think it made it really bright and flavorful, and very delicious. Avocado seems to be in season, because all the ones I've bought lately (and I've bought many!) have been perfectly creamy. So of course, I added a couple. Feta cheese goes well in every salad, tomatoes add a little sweetness, cucumber adds cool crunch and cilantro is a no-brainer. Yum, yum, yum!

You could add some kind of nuts or seeds, too - I bet that would work very well.

Broccoli, Avocado & Feta Salad
serves 2-4-6 - it all depends, really...

250 g broccoli
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp olive oil
200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, diced
150 g feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
Large bunch cilantro, chopped

Cut the broccoli into small florets. If the stems are tough, peel them, and then slice very thinly. (Mine were pretty skinny to begin with so I just sliced them up.) Place in a large bowl, with the lemon and lime juice, and the olive oil. Now, "massage" the broccoli, which basically means squeeze it well, for a couple of minutes. When it feels properly softened (Honestly, I don't know if I saw a huge difference here...) add the other ingredients and toss.

Rimbo Buns

These are fabulous little buns - not at all like gooey cinnamon buns, but sweet and vanilla-y, and so easy to make. They only need to rise once, which makes them much easier to bake than regular buns. They're perfect with a cup of coffee, and I think they'd keep well in the freezer but I haven't - ahem - had a chance to save any...

I used cheap, store-bought vanilla sugar for these, but if you want to make them a little more upscale, substitute with a scraped out vanilla bean. (Half in the dough, half in the filling.)

Rimbo Buns
makes 20-25

25 g fresh yeast
200 ml cold milk
200 g butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar
600  ml all-purpose flour

Filling:
75 g butter
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar

Eggwash:
1 egg, beaten

Garnish:
100 ml powdered sugar
1 tbsp water

Crumble the yeast in a bowl. Add the milk and stir. Add butter, sugar, vanilla sugar and flour, and work into a smooth dough.

Roll out the dough - this is surprisingly easy - into a large square, about 40 by 40 cm. Do this on a lightly floured surface. Cut small squares, about 8x8 cm.

Stir together all ingredients for the filling. Place a small spoon of filling on each square, and fold up all corners towards the middle. Pinch together. Place each bun in a small foil cup (or muffin liner) and place on a baking sheet. Leave to rise, covered with a towel, for two hours.

Brush with eggwash and bake at 250° for 6-8 minutes. Let the buns cool completely, before stirring together the powdered sugar and water, and glazing the buns.

Recept på engelska:
Rimbo Buns

Crock-pot tomato sauce

Ok, this is perhaps not something you make in the midst of winter... but summer will be here before we know it! Right? (right? Please? It's SO COLD here.)  Anyway. I made this in August, or perhaps early September, and I'm glad I did because I still have some in the freezer. Perfect to re-heat for a quick pasta sauce, or to use as a base for a more complex sauce.

Crock-pot tomato sauce
3 kilos fresh tomatoes
3-4 garlic cloves
4 sprigs of fresh basil
Sprig of fresh rosemary
4 sprigs of fresh oregano
2 tbsp Demerara sugar
3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

Peel and coarsely chop the tomatoes, leaving out any major seed pockets. Don't be super diligent, but too many seeds will make the sauce more watery. Dice the garlic. Mix everything in a crock-pot and cook on low for eight hours, or so. Season a little, or leave it fairly neutral, and then freeze in portions.

Three - or four - Ingredient Cookies

So, another pair of over-ripe, brown bananas on the counter. Again. You know the story. I always look out for ways to use them up (just eating them is not an option), and somehow I rarely re-visit my old recipes, preferring to try new ones. And ideally fairly healthy ones, since I'm mostly baking for the kids.  (I'm not that fond of bananas myself, actually.)

Pille of Nami-Nami just posted about these amazing cookies, and I had to try them. Three ingredients? Really? Just bananas, oats and whatever mix-ins you want? It kind of sounds too good to be true, but alas, it is true. They really do work.

Being a constant rule-breaker, I couldn't decide on just ONE mix-in, so I used a few spoonfuls each of raisins and dark chocolate, and they turned out great! They're so quick to make, and really quite reasonably healthy. Success!

The Three-Ingredient Cookie
about 15

2 ripe bananas, mashed
200 ml oats
small handful of mix-ins, like raisins, chocolate or nuts

Mix everything together, and shape small balls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 175°C for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden.

Cheesy Corn Soup

Corn is Titus favorite vegetable, hands down. (One of very few that he'll eat, to tell you the truth.) And he loves soup, so corn soup = pretty close to perfect. This is a really rich and creamy soup. Perfect as an occasional indulgence, and especially for a picky toddler. We all loved it, and ate it with slices of home-made bread.

I don't worry about adding sherry to food that I'll serve the kids, but if you object, use something else or just omit it. The alcohol will cook off, though.

For toppings, I used chèvre that I had at hand, but that's not necessary. Some more grated cheese would be good, or maybe some crumbled bacon if you're not concerned about eating vegetarian. (We aren't, but once in a while, I do try to participate in Meatless Monday...)

Cheesy Corn Soup
serves 3 (maybe 4 as a starter, no more than 2 if you're hungry)

1 yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp butter
300 g corn (canned is fine, or frozen. Or obviously, fresh.)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
600 ml chicken stock
50 ml sherry
150 ml cream (full-fat)
100 g grated cheese, I use Swedish Västerbotten but parmesan would be ok

to serve:
100 g corn
2 tsp neutral oil
50 g chèvre goat's cheese, crumbled
1-2 tsp chives, finely chopped
2 tbsp crème fraîche

Start by roasting the 100 g of corn that are for the topping. Heat the neutral oil until really hot, then fry the corn until lightly toasted. Stand back, this will sputter a bit. (To minimize that, make sure the corn is completely dry.)  Set aside.

In a large skillet or pot, melt the butter. Fry the onion and garlic on medium heat until softened. Add the corn and fry for a few more minutes, then add the flour and stir well.

Add the sherry and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat for ten minutes. Add the cream, and use a stick blender (or a normal one) to mix the soup. Add more water if you feel that it's too thick - it will thicken a bit more when you add the cheese, too.

Add the cheese and stir until melted. Heat, but don't let it boil again. Add the roasted corn.

Serve with crumbled chèvre and chives, and a small dollop of crème fraîche.

Best snack

A big bowl of fruit - an apple, an orange, two passion fruits, a little mango and raspberries. I topped it with some greek yogurt, slightly sweetened and spiced with cardamom, and then some toasted hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

I love my teacher-cookies

One of my favorite food blogs is Smitten Kitchen. Deb is a great blogger - always posts beautiful photos and well-researched posts. (Not much like mine!) She recently posted about these intensely chocolate sablés and on the very same day that I was wanting to try something new to take to Titus pre-school teachers as a Friday treat. Perfect!

I had planned to make heart-shaped cookies, but as it turned out, I don't own a small heart-shaped cookie cutter. I have dinosaurs, I have crocodiles, even a penguin. A heart? Nope.

The original post has a long discussion on what cocoa to use  - apparently dutch-process? Well, as far as I know we only have one kind of cocoa in Sweden and I have no idea how it's made but that's what I used and it worked out fine. I also didn't sift it, because I'm insanely lazy. I ground my dark chocolate in my nifty Magimix, and then used my Kitchen-Aid to blend it all together. Simple as that!

Oh, and the teachers LOVED them. I need to do this more often, because our teachers are absolutely awesome.

Intensely chocolate sablés
115 g butter
115 g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
125 g all-purpose flour
30 g cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
100 g dark chocolate, grated or ground in a food processor
Coarse raw sugar, to sprinkle

Cream butter, sugar and salt together. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolk, and mix. Add the dry ingredients - flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Finally add the dark chocolate. It might look a little on the dry side but keep mixing until the dough holds together nicely.

Shape the dough into a large disc, wrap in plastic and chill for half an hour or so, to make it easier to roll out. Then do exactly that - roll out the dough, as thin as you want your cookies. Don't make them too thin - they're pretty brittle!

Cut out pretty shapes with your favorite cookie cutter - again, I have to get more basic shapes. Sprinkle with a little pinch of coarse raw sugar, and bake at 175°C for about 8 minutes.

Potato fritters

I had some cold potatoes in the fridge, and no plans for lunch... So I made these fritters. Simple, and tasty - crisp and golden on the outside, soft and fluffy inside. I ate them with a few slices of bresaola and sauce remoulade, but a more typical Swedish meal would include fried bacon and lingonberry jam. (And no sage)

I made these to enjoy with Dante, and he's too young for salt. If cooking for anyone but a baby though, definitely add salt.

Potato fritters
Makes 8-10

5 large, cooked potatoes
1 egg
1 tbsp cream
2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Fresh sage, finely chopped (as much as you want)
Salt

Butter and oil for frying

Mash the potatoes with a fork. Mix with th egg and cream, and then flour. Finally add the sage and salt, if using.

Shape large patties, and fry in a mixture of butter and olive oil for about three minutes in each side. They should be lightly golden and crispy.