Broadbean dip with dill and persillade

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Hanna

My childhood friend Carina came to visit this weekend. Living in warm Vietnam at the moment she was very unimpressed with the weather, but we still had a great time. She arrived fairly late on Friday so I had prepared some nibbles and we had some wine once she arrived. We hadn’t seen each other for ages and ended up chatting until 3am although we were both very tired. It was probably the food that kept us going.

We had some serrano rolls with lemon crème, plain serrano ham, parmesan biscuits, Ossau-Iraty cheese (which I love) with truffle honey and crostini with broadbean dip.

I think crostini is a great way of serving up different dips or chicken liver mousse. It is a relaxed way of offering nibbles and always so good. This broadbean dip feels quite summery with the simple flavourings of dill oil, lemon juice and persillade and turned out delicious! This time I used tinned beans but I can’t wait for summer so I can use fresh ones.

Broadbean dip with dill and persillade, serves four with crostini

1 tin (300 g) tinned broadbeans in water

1/2 lemon, juice only

2 tbsp mild olive oil

1/2-1 tbsp dill oil

1/2 tsp persillade

a pinch of salt

black pepper

Rinse the beans and drain. Pour them into a mixing jug and add all ingredients apart from salt and pepper. Mix with a stick blender until a fairly smooth paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Parmesan biscuits, with or without chilli

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Hanna

Yesterday I was in the mood to bake and tried another one (yes, I’m going through a phase) of Simon Hopkinson’s recipe. This time it was his Parmesan biscuits that were as scrumptious as I expected. I will definitely make them again to have as nibbles at dinner parties or drinks parties, but they would go well on a cheeseboard too and would make a nice hostess gift.

They are incredibly easy to make too; the ingredients are few and the dough is easy to handle. Just like Simon Hopkinson I put some sliced some green chilli on a few of them.

Parmesan biscuits, makes 25-30

Adapted from Simon Hopkinson’s recipe.

100 g cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

100 g plain flour

a pinch salt

a pinch cayenne pepper

1 heaped tsp mustard powder

50 g mature cheddar, grated

50 g Parmesan, finely grated

1 egg, beaten

some more grated Parmesan

1 green chilli, sliced

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor with the salt, cayenne, mustard powder and cheeses. Process together to begin with, and then finely pulse the mixture in short spurts as you notice the mixture coming together – it will eventually bind without the need for egg or water. Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Lightly flour a work surface and gently roll out the pastry to about the thickness of two pound coins. Cut out the biscuits to the size and shape you wish. Lay them out on a greased baking tray with a little space in between. It may take two lots of baking to use up the entire mixture.

Carefully brush the surface of each biscuit with the egg and sprinkle over a little finely grated Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until they are a gorgeous golden-brown colour.

Carefully lift the biscuits off the tray using a palette knife and place on a rack to cool. Although the biscuits will keep well in a sealed container for a few days.

Baked brie with cloudberry jam

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Hanna

Baked camembert is more or less a staple party food in this country, and this nibble is not far off, but it has a Scandi twist and that is why I served it at my glögg party earlier this year.

The cloudberriy is a berry that grows in the Northern hemisphere. It looks similar to a raspberry and also grows on bushes but is a little bit bigger than the raspberry and has a more sourer taste. It works really well with cheese and is commonly served with breaded and deep-fried camembert in Sweden. This is not a step very far from that, but it feels a bit fresher.

How to:

Place a whole ripe brie in an ovenproof dish and spread a layer of cloudberry jam on top. Pour more jam into a ramekin and place in the tray. Place it in a 180C oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with crackers such as Finncrisp.

Christmas meatballs with thyme and lemon dip

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Hanna

Scandinavia is hotter than ever in the UK, and my friends are readier than ever to try Swedish treats.

When I had some friends over for glögg (our version of mulled wine) I served meatballs as a nibble with a thyme and lemon dip and they were a huge hit. This version of meatballs we refer to in my family as the Christmas version because of the addition of allspice.

Meatballs can vary in size and if I have them for supper I usually make them around 3 cm in diameter, but for Christmas or as nibbles (or in this case both) I tend to make them smaller, around 1.5 cm in diameter.

Christmas meatballs, makes about 35

750 g pork mince

1 egg

3 tbsp water

75-100 ml breadcrumbs

1.5 tsp sea salt

black pepper

3/4 tsp allspice

Mix egg and water in a large mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs and spices and let it sweel for a few minutes. Incorporate the mince using a wooden fork or your hands. Mix throughly and shape into small hands, dipping your hands in water in between rolling to make it easier to shape the meat. Place the meatballs on a greased roasting tray and place in a 180C oven for 15 minutes. Then fry in butter in a frying pan for a golden crust.

Lemon and thyme dip

200 ml creme fraiche

3 tsp dried thyme

grated zest from 1/2 lemon

1/2 tbsp nice oil

salt, pepper

Mix all the ingredients, leave for 15 minutes for the flavours to develop. Keep chilled until serving.

Oven roasted cherry tomatoes, marinaded mozzarella, vegan pesto swirls

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Hanna

On Saturday Natalie and I went to Jenny and James’ for a nice evening in. I brought some nibbles and Jenny had made a gorgeous garlicky chicken made with lots of garlic with roast potatoes for maincourse and strawberry cupcakes for dessert.

Since James is a vegan I made sure most of the nibbles were vegan so he could enjoy them as well. I made oven roasted cherry tomatoes, bought some nice olives and made some vegan pesto swirls with (vegan) puff pastry. It is all very easy to make, but really nice. For the non-vegans I also marinaded some mozzarella, so simple yet delicious.

Oven roasted cherry tomatoes, serves 4 with other nibbles

1 packet cherry tomatoes

olive oil

Italian herb seasoning

salt, white pepper

Turn the oven on 150C. Rinse and cut the tomatoes in half and place in a greased ovenproof dish. Drizzle with with olive oil, plenty with Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Leave to cool.

Marinaded mozzarella, for 3-4 people

1 good quality buffalo mozzarella

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

basil

Shred the mozzarella and place on a plate. Drizzle with oilve oil and balsamic vinegar. Decorate with a few basil leaves.

Vegan pesto swirls, serves 4

3 bunches basil

1 handful almonds

1 garlic clove

1/2 lemon, the zest

salt, white pepper

50-100 ml rapeseed oil

1 packet vegan puff pastry

Place everything but the olive oil in a food processor and mix to a paste. Pour in the oil bit by bit until the pesto has the texture you like. Leave the flavours to develop in the fridge for a few hours.

Roll out the puff pastry and spread out the pesto on top. Roll it up from the short side and pinch to secure the roll. Cut in 1/2 cm thick slices and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes in 180C or until golden brown.

Serrano rolls with lemon crème

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Hanna

It was not long ago I spotted these delicious rolls on Charlotta’s blog, she had modified a recipe of Anne’s.

We had these as a little starter before tucking into pulled pork on Saturday, and they were so much nicer than I expected them to be. I mean, I thought they would be good, I mean I would not have tried them otherwise, but these were better than good – they were delicious. And that from only three ingredients; serrano ham, creme fraiche and lemon.

Serrano rolls with lemon crème, serves 3-4 as nibbles

After Charlotta’s recipe.

8 slices serrano ham

1/2 jar crème fraiche

1/2 lemon, the zest and some juice

salt, white pepper

Mix crème fraiche with the lemon zest, and add a squirt of lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt and a little sprinkle of white pepper. Let the crème develop its flavours for a little while. Then spread it onto the ham slices and roll them up. Serve and enjoy!

Last night in pictures

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Hanna

Greetings from a foggy Sweden!

I arrived quite late on Wednesday night and marched straight into the kitchen to prepare some nibbles for Thursdays party hosted by my best friend Emma.

We had such a good night and I am so grateful so many friends could make it on a schoolnight. Thanks guys – you’re the best!

Below you can see some pictures from our fab evening, recipes to follow. Cheerio!

Quiche with blue cheese and leek