Category Archives: Sauce

Creamy tomato sauce with sage

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I’m really struggling with the weather at the moment, and all the jokes about a Swedish person being used to the cold are so getting old. Fact is, I am not. In fact, most Swedish people (at least from my end of the country) hate the cold. And even though the winters are long and cold, the well-insulated houses help a lot!

Anyway, those cold windy days when life feels utterly miserable there are a few things that could cheer you up. Friends, wine and food. All three together is of course the best combination, but any of the three on its own can help too.

One evening when I actually had planned to make potato gnocchi but ran out of steam after walking home in the freezing wind from the tube, I settled for what I would have served my gnocchis with; a creamy, warming tomato sauce.

We all know that a great flavour combination is tomato and basil, but with sub-zero temperatures outside that felt way too summery. Instead I opted for another herb that feels just as Italian – sage.

I see this as my winter version of tomato sauce. And that splash of cream feels necessary to fight the cold too.

Creamy tomato sauce with sage, serves 3-4 

1 tin (ca 400 g) good quality chopped tomatoes 

1/2 tin water

ca 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp soft brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp dried sage (or about 1 tbsp fresh, chopped)

1/2 tsp each of oregano, rosemary and lovage

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 garlic clove, grated

salt, black pepper

50 ml single cream

Pour tomatoes and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Let it reduce and thicken. Add vinegar, herbs, garlic and sugar. Cook until it feels thick enough. Add the cream. Season to taste with salt, sugar and black pepper. 

Serve with spaghetti and plenty of grated Parmesan or Pecorino.

I never tire of steak and bearnaise sauce

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I could full well have a blue sirloin for breakfast, which you can here, but it feels a little too extravagant for everyday. However, I can get such steak and bearnaise cravings that I would whip up a batch of sauce just for me, which might sound a bit laborious, but I can assure you it is – if not completely normal – worth it.

Bearnaise sauce, serves 1

just about 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp dried tarragon

1 tbsp water

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

50 g butter, cold/at room temperature and cut into cubes 

Pour vinegar and tarragon into a non-stick (small) saucepan. Reduce on high heat and turn the fan on high (it has a strong smell). Be careful not to burn the tarragon. Once most of the liquid has evaporated remove from heat and add the water. This will soak up the flavours left in the pan. Leave to cool a little then add the egg yolk. Use low heat or a bain marie and add one butter cube and let it melt while whisking. It is important to whisk continuously. Add the cubes a few at the time, once melted add a few more and repeat until they have all melted. Take care while continuing whisking for the sauce to thicken. One thick and warm remove from heat but continue to whisk for a little while. Adjust the seasoning and serve. 

Black salsify and feta fritters with wild garlic mayo

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While preparing my supper quite late last night my flatmate asked me what I was making. He looked puzzled when I said I was cooking with salsify and showed him the long dark sticks. He still didn’t know what it was, and I realised then that it is a rather unusual vegetable.

But it shouldn’t be. It grows in Britain and similar climates (like Sweden and Southern Europe), it is nutrious and as it is a root vegetable it makes this time of year a whole lot more interesting (as it is mainly root vegetables and cabbage that grows locally in winter).

In Sweden it is knows as poor man’s asparagus as it is similar in taste, and I read that it is also said to taste similar to oysters.

In this recipe I paired it with feta and lemon juice and added the subtle garlic flavour of the wild garlic in the mayonnaise. The whole dish feels like a promise of spring. Utterly delicious! I had it as a light supper but it also works as a lunch, brunch or even breakfast.

PS. If you haven’t got flavoured oil at hand, you can make the mayonnaise from fresh wild garlic instead.

Black salsify and feta fritters with wild garlic mayo, serves 1

3 black salsify, peeled and coarsely grated 

3 tbsp feta

1 egg white

4-5 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp lemon juice

salt, black pepper

butter and oil for frying

Fry the grated salsify in butter for a few minutes to soften. Then transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the crumbled feta, egg white (save the yolk for the mayo), flour, lemon juice and seasoning. Mix well. Heat up butter and oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Spoon the mixture into the pan shaping four fritters. Fry until golden brown on both sides.  

Wild garlic mayonnaise, serves 1

1 egg yolk, at room temperature 

ca 100 ml wild garlic flavoured oil

1 lemon wedge, the juice

salt, white pepper

Beat the egg yolk and add the oil drop by drop while whisking until you have a thick mayonnaise. Add lemon juice and seasoning. 

Buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese dip and avocado salsa

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At the moment there are barbecue restaurants wherever you look in London, but some dishes are just as easily prepared at home as in restaurants, like these scrummy buffalo chicken wings.

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As much as I like a certain twist on some classics, some things are just left alone. Like these wings. The combination of crispy skin, tender chicken meat, hot buttery sauce and cooling blue cheese dip is invincible. It is just the celery I am not that keen on, so I substituted it with something else green; an avocado salsa with red onion and coriander. It fits too, even though it is not a classic combination like cheese and celery.

The most important thing when cooking chicken wings is the crispy skin. And it is far easier achieved than you think. All you need is some boiling water and a colander. The hot water makes the skin cells contract and tighten resulting in crispy skin when cooked. Second most important thing when cooking wings is the sauce. It should be Frank’s Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, which I picked up in my local London supermarket. But failing finding it, the likes of Tabasco works too.

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Buffalo chicken wings, serves 1

With chicken wings I refer to the de-jointed pieces. Six is a small portion, so just double, quadruple and so on, but then fry the wings in batches.

6 chicken wings

500 ml neutral oil for deep-frying

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp hot sauce

Place the chicken wings in a colander and pour boiling water oven them. Leave to drain. Heat up the oil in a large saucepan. Once it is really hot (try with a piece a bread – if it turn golden it is hot enough) add the chicken wings and fry for about 7 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Drain on kitchen towel.

While the chicken is frying, melt the butter in a saucepan. Once melted, add the hot sauce and keep warm.

Place the fried chicken wings and spicy butter in a large tupperware box with a secure lid. Toss to coat evenly. 

Serve with crusty french bread, avocado salsa and blue cheese dip. 

Blue cheese dip, serves 4

200 ml sourcream

2 tbsp mayonnaise, preferably Hellman’s

2 tbsp crumbled Stilton

salt, white pepper

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Season. 

Avocado salsa, serves 2

1 avocado

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 lime, the juice

1 handful coriander, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

salt, black pepper

Dice the avocado and place in a bowl. Mix with red onion and coriander. Squeeze in the juice of the lime, add a glug of oil and season. Eat immediately or cover with cling film to keep the avocado from browning. 

NYE 2012 – the maincourse

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I was very pleased with the maincourse on New Year’s Eve, and I still am. I prepped as much as I could the day before, so I could have fun with the guests and not spend my whole evening in the kitchen on the night. It worked really well, so I am including this in the recipe below.

It is not really difficult, just a lot of different things to juggle. But follow my lead and it will turn out well. Promise.

Pan-fried fillet of veal with Pommes Duchesse, yellow beet, mushroom hash, red wine jus and thyme foam, serves 9

Everything apart from the meat you can prepare the day before and reheat before serving. If you prefer to cook it all at once, you have to make sure to time everything well.

DAY 1: 

Pommes Duchesse

1,8 kg King Edward potatoes 

50-100 g softened salted butter

salt, pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut into similar sized pieces (so they cook evenly). Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add salt. Bring to the boil and boil on medium heat with the lid half on until soft. Drain and let the steam evaporate. Mush with a masher or an electric whisk. Add the butter in batches until a good consistency. It should be firm but smooth. Season. Leave to cool and put in the fridge until the next day. 

Yellow beets

1 kg yellow beets

Wash the beets and place in a saucepan. Cover with water, add salt and bring to the boil. Boil whole until soft. 

Drain and let cool a little. Once you can hold them with your hands without burning peel off the skin with your hands or scrape it off with a small knife. Trim them into rounds. Leave to cool and put in the fridge until the next day.

Mushroom hash

200 g chestnut mushrooms

150 g shiitake mushroooms

plenty of salted butter

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, pressed

salt, black pepper

1 handful chopped parsley

Brush/wash the shrooms and slice. Fry in batches in plenty of butter on a high heat. Lower the heat, add more butter and the pressed garlic. Return all the mushrooms to the pan and season well. Stir in the chopped parslet. Leave to cool and put in the fridge until the next day. 

Red wine jus

This is not a recipe, because I didn’t make notes, but a rough sketch you can work with. Just taste if often and adjust the flavours.

2 onions, whole with skin on

3 garlic cloves, whole with skin on

mild oil

1 part red wine 

1 part beef stock 

2 parsley stalks

1 bay leaf

salt, pepper

balsamic vinegar

brown sugar

1 tbsp Maizena if needed

Cut the onion into wedges, unpeeled. Place on a roasting tray with the garlic cloves. Add oil and roast for about 20 minutes in 180C. 

Place onion and garlic in a large saucepan. Add wine and stock, parsley and bay leaf,. Reduce until half. Then add to your taste: balsamic, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour it through a sieve. To thicken add Maizena and bring to the boil. Stir until thick enough. Leave to cool and put in the fridge until the next day. 

Thyme foam

300 ml cream (single or double)

1 large handful fresh thyme sprigs

salt, pepper

Bring the cream and thyme to the boil. Reduce until half. Season to taste. Leave to cool and put in the fridge until the next day (leave the thyme in). 

DAY 2:

Pommes Duchesse

Mash since the day before

4 egg yolks, at room temperature

Heat the mash covered in 160C oven. Then add one yolk at the time and fold/beat into the mash. Season. Either pipe (with a sturdy piping bag) or shape into eggs with two spoons. Place the shapes on parchment paper, 2 shapes per person at least. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes, 170C. 

Yellow beets

the cooked beets

butter

Slice the beets into 1cm thick slices. Fry them in butter until golden and warm throughout. Season. 

Mushrooms hash

Heat up the mushrooms

Red wine jus

Heat up in a saucepan. Adjust the seasoning if needed and check thickness. Add water or maizena to adjust.

Thyme foam

the thyme-infused cream

100 ml skimmed milk

salt, pepper

Remove the thyme by pouring through a sieve. Pour the cream into a saucepan and add milk. Bring to the boil to heat up. Adjust the seasoning. Beat the mixture foamy with an electric whisk or stick blender. 

The veal

1,8 kg trimmed fillet of veal, at room temperature, cut into two

butter for frying

salt, pepper

Heat up a frying pan until very hot. Add the butter and brown the meat on all sides, including the ends. Season well. Place in a roasting tin and pierce the thickest part of the meat with a meat thermometer. Roast in 160C oven until the inside temperature of the meat is 68C (for medium). Remove from oven and cover the meat with cling film. Add the meat juices to the jus. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes. Then cut into 2 cm thick slices. 

Serving

Place two beet slices in the middle of the plate. Top with a spoonful of the mushroom hash. Place two Pommes Duchesse shapes on one side. Place one or two slices of meat on top of the beets and mushrooms. Spoon the jus around the plate. Pour the foam on top of the meat.  

Red deer roast with rosemary, port and juniper berries, roasted almond potatoes and girolle sauce

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Sorry about the world’s longest heading, but this meal was a special one.

Not special in the sense that it was a special occasion, it was just a Saturday night at my parents’ house in the countryside last time I was visiting.

But it is special in the way that this is the type of food my family and I love. The taste of course, and the preparation. But also the produce. Especially the produce.

The venison is from Red Deer and it roamed around free in the local area until shot by someone at an estate near by. It had a good life, died instantly and nothing is wasted on the animal.

The other ingredients are local too, the potatoes were dug up in my parent’s garden, the rosemary picked in the same garden and the girolles my aunt picked in the woods nearby. Sure, the port was not local, but most ingredients were and that is the way I prefer to eat.

And boy, does it taste good, when it is so close between produce and table.

Red deer roast with rosemary, port and juniper berries, roasted almond potatoes and girolle sauce, serves 4

1 Red deer roast, about 1.2 kilos once cleaned off tendons

3 sprigs rosemary

50 ml  port

1 tbsp juniper berries

butter and oil for frying

800 g almond potatoes, washed but not peeled

rapeseed oil

The sauce:

1 handful dried girolles

1 shallots, finely chopped

butter for frying

meat juices

300 ml cream

sauce colouring  

salt and pepper

perhaps another splash of port

Pre-heat the oven to 150C. Cut the potatoes in half lengthways and place in a greased roasting tray flat side up. Drizzle with rapeseed oil and season. Put the girolles in a bowl and cover with hot water. 

Brown the meat on all sides in butter and oil on high heat. Season. Add a spoonful of rapeseed oil in another roasting tin. Crush the juniper berries in a pestle and mortar and add to the roasting tin. Place the meat on top and pierce the meat with the rosemary sprigs. Pour in the port and place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Place in the oven until the inside temperature is 68C, it takes about 30-40 minutes. Remove the roasting tin and transfer the meat to a plate, cover with tin foil and leave it to rest.

Turn the oven up to 180-200C so the potatoes will colour. 

Squeeze the water out of the mushrooms. Add a knob of butter to a (preferably non-stick) saucepan on medium heat. Fry the onions until translucent and then add the mushrooms and fry until golden brown. Add the juices from the roasting tin through a fine sieve and add the cream. Bring to the boil while stirring. Add more port if needed. Season and colour.

Carve the meat into thin slices, serve with the potatoes, sauce and vegetables of your choice. (We had romanesco, but cauliflower, broccoli or carrots work too.)

Sticky sweet chilli ribs with garlic dip and potato wedges

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After having spent the morning stressing to the airport and sitting on a plane for a few hours and then braving the shops in Malmö’s newest (and much hyped) shopping centre, there was only one type of supper I wanted – a comforting one.

So we had some sticky succulent ribs, crisp potato wedges and a homemade garlic dip. Yum!

My method for making ribs is really easy, I only cook them in the oven. Some people prefer to boil the meat first, so please feel free to to that. I find, however that if you just leave them enough time in the oven you can skip that step and save yourself some washing up.

Spare ribs with sweet chilli marinade, serves 4

1,5-2 kg spare ribs

100 ml sweet chilli sauce

100 ml mild olive oil

4 garlic cloves, pressed

3 tsp sambal oelek

a few splashes Worchester sauce

salt, black pepper

Mix the ingredients for the marinade and season to taste. Place the ribs, meat side up, on an oiled baking tray. Brush on top with the marinade. Place in a 200C oven for 30 minutes. Turn over the ribs and brush on top with the marinade. Add some salt and pepper and cook for another 30 minutes. Then remove from oven and turn around once more, adding another layer of the marinade. Cook for another 5-20 minutes for a nice finish. Cut up and serve. 

Garlic dip, serves 4

300-400 ml Greek yoghurt 

2 large garlic cloves, pressed

4 tbsp mild olive oil

2-3 tsp dried herbs

salt, black pepper

Mix. Leave for about 15 minutes to develop the flavours, before serving. 

 

Calamari with chipotle mayonnaise and padrón peppers

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My last house guest; childhood friend Therése, likes both tapas and calamari, so it was along those lines I was thinking when deciding what to have as a starter when she came to stay.

I have written about homemade calamari here before, and I repeat: so good, so cheap! And one can’t have calamari without some kind of dipping sauce, preferably mayo. I like to try different flavours on mayonnaise and this chipotle version was a winner. It worked really well with the paprika-seasoned calamari but also with the padrón peppers I picked up from Waitrose.

These peppers are fairly mild in flavour, but approximately 1 out of 10 can be quite spicy. I love these prepared in the simple manner of frying in plenty of olive oil and seasoned with plenty of sea salt. We had all this and some crusty bread to start, and it would be enough as a light supper really. We were pretty full when moving on to the maincourse.

Chipotle mayonnaise, serves 2

1 egg yolk – at room temperature

150 ml neutral oil 

1/2 lemon, the juice

1 tsp chipotle paste

salt

Beat the egg yolk with an electric whisk while slowly adding the oil, first drop by drop, then gradually more and more so it emulsifies and gets thick. Once you’ve added all the oil you should have a thick mayonnaise. Season with the lemon juice, chipotle paste and salt. 

Arctic char with new potatoes and a most fabulous sauce

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Hi!

I am now back in the UK after two lovely weeks on the south coast in Sweden. Only downside was being without internet for most of that time, hence the silence.

My first supper in Sweden mum spoiled me with fried Arctic char, a fabulous fish that is a bit difficult to find in the UK so I thoroughly enjoy it when I go back home. We had new potatoes, steamed carrots and a lovely sauce with it. The sauce is already in the blog’s archive, but is worth mentioning again as it makes a nice piece of simply prepared fish into a feast.

Most things are coastal blue in the summer house, even the tableware.

Pan-fried Arctic char, steamed new potatoes and carrots and that divine sauce.

Strawberry ripple icecream with strawberries from my parent’s garden for dessert.

Herb sauce with lime, serves 4

50 g butter

250 ml creme fraiche

200 ml milk

50 ml dry white wine

1 tsp dijon mustard

concentrated fish stock

3 egg yolks

20 g mixed fresh herbs

1/5 lime, the zest

salt & pepper

Mix all the ingredients apart from the yolks and herbs in a saucepan. Stir until it has boiled for a few minutes. Then add the sauce to the yolks bit by bit until they have soaked up everything. Heat the sauce up so it thickens but it must not boil. Add the herbs and serve.

Pork belly with rosti and creamy ‘shrooms with white wine

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Pork belly is not at all as popular in Sweden as it is here, but it is getting more and more common, which is great. It seems like pork in general is coming back after being seen as ‘fatty’ for quite a long time.

This dish has almost the same components as last time I made pork belly, and I wouldn’t say that this is an improvement – just a variation – and just as good as the last recipe.

The crispy rosti (with both potatoes and Jerusalem artichoke) is crunchy and goes well with the tender meat underneath the crackling, and the creamy mushrooms certainly add nice flavours and brings the dish together.

I ended up with some left over creamy ‘shrooms and they came to use for lunch next day as a filling in an omelette. Yummy that too!

Pork belly, serves 2 portioner

2 slices pork belly with shallow cuts in the fat

salt

a few sprigs of thyme

Preheat the oven to 125C. Place the pork in a buttered dish. Massage the salt into the rind and season the meat all over. Place the thyme on top. Leave in the oven for two hours or until the meat is tender.

Turn the heat up to 250C and fry the meat for another 10 minutes until the crackling is crisp.

Rosti with Jerusalem artichokes, serves 2

4-5 medium potatoes

1-2 Jerusalem artichokes

a knob of butter for frying

salt, black pepper

Wash the potatoes and peel the artichokes. Melt the butter in a frying pan on medium-high temperature. Grate the root veg and place in four heaps in the pan. Flatten with a spatula and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until crspy on the outside and cooked through. Season.

Creamy mushrooms with white wine, serves 2-3

ca 100 g button mushrooms, sliced

1 clove of garlic

some fresh thyme

butter for frying

50 ml dry white wine

150 ml creme fraiche

100 ml cream

1-2 tsp dijon mustard

a few drops sherry vinegar

1 pinch of sugar

salt, white pepper

Brown the mushrooms and garlic in butter, but make sure not to burn the garlic. Add the wine and lower the heat. When the wine has reduced to half, then add the creme fraiche and cream. Let it thicken while stirring. Add dijon, thyme, vinegar and suger. Season.