Month: June 2011

Broadbean salad with eggs, bacon and parmesan

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I had lived in the UK for two years when I heard about the Two Fat Ladies for the first time, via a Swedish food blog. Oh, the irony… I bought the DVD box straight away and although I love their cooking, the two ladies can be quite annoying to listen to at times.

But all is forgiven when trying their recipes. Like this broadbean salad. The original recipe had anchovies in it, which I substituted for the saltiness of the parmesan. This was a perfect lunch together with a creme fraiche based dressing (creme fraiche + mayo + Italian salad herbs) and a slice of bread.

Broadbean salad with eggs, bacon and parmesan, serves 1

200 ml fresh broadbeans, cooked

1 boiled egg (the way you prefer) cut into 4

3 slices streaky bacon, fried in pieces

olive oil

chopped parsley (or other herbs)

black pepper

parmesan

Mix beans, bacon, oil, parsley and black pepper. Plate and add eggs and parmesan.

The best pasta with prawns

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This recipe is from one of my favourite Swedish food blogs, called Smaskens. This pasta dish is fabulous although it is quite easy to make. The secret is good stock, and it is very easy to make your own prawn stock.

Since I made it the first time, I never throw prawn shells away, instead I freeze them and use them for stock.

Luxorious pasta with prawns, serves 4

linguini or spaghetti for 4 people

50 ml white wine

100 ml homemade prawn stock

200 ml creme fraiche

2 garlic cloves, pressed

nutmeg after taste

sea salt after taste

300 g Icelandic prawns

Cook the pasta and keep some of the water if you need it for the sauce. Mix wine, stoc, creme fraiche and garlic in a pan. Bring to the boil and reduce until creamy. Add nutmeg, salt and prawns. Throw in the drained pasta and some of the pasta water if needed. Serve with black pepper and parmesan.

Enchiladas

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On Fridays we usually have something with prawns or Mexican, as it needs to be quick as the cook (me) is tired, go well with a glass of wine and give us that Friday feeling. Last Friday we had enchiladas and they certainly give you that feeling!

I used mozzarella on top of these, but it is actually even better with a grated strong or medium hard cheese on top for more flavour.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Enchiladas, serves 3-4

1 onion, finely chopped

500 g beef mince

cumin

chilli flakes

chipotle or other chilli paste

salt

black pepper

50 ml creme fraiche

1 jar enchilada sauce (store bought)

5-6 soft wheat tortillas

50ml grated cheese / 1 mozzarella in slices

3 spring onions, chopped

Fry the onion and put to the side. Fry the mince. Add the spices and the onion. Mix in the creme fraiche. Season to taste. Dip the breads into the enchilada sauce so both sides are covered, add a spoonful of the meat mixture and roll it up. Place in a greased oven tray and repeat until the meat is used up. Top the oven tray with grated cheese and spring onions. Bake in 200C for about 30 minutes. Serve with guacemole, salsa, creme fraiche and salad.

Italian asparagus tart

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I have been wanting to try Ursula Ferigno’s asparagus tart recipe in the wonderful cookbook Bringing Italy Home for a while now, and when I finally got around to it, it was as lovely as I had hoped it would be.

Because I had a roll of puff pastry that I needed to use up I substituted it for the pastry in the book, and that worked well too. The focus is indeed on the filling, which is moist and luscious, and I wanted to eat it before I even put the whole thing in the oven. Ricotta has that effect on me.

Italian asparagus tart, serves 6

1 roll puff pastry

350 g asparagus, trimmed

25 g unsalted butter

2 tbsp plain flour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

250 g ricotta

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

55 g Parmesan, grated

sea salt and black pepper

Cover a pie dish with the puff pastry. Pick holes with a fork and pre-bake for 10 minutes in 200C. Cook the asparagus in salted wanted until just soft (about 5 mins). Drain and leave to cool. Cut off the spears and put aside. Cut the stems into 2 cm large chunks. Make a roux with the butter and flour (melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour), leave to cool. Combine all the ingredients, apart from the spears, in a bowl. Pour it into the pie crust, smooth it out and decorate the top with the spears. Bake in 200C for 30 minutes. Serve as a starter, at a buffet or a lighter dish for say, lunch time.

Rhubarb cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

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On Sunday it was typical British weather with heavy rain and grey dull skies, so what is a girl to do when she doesn’t want to go out and get wet? She puts on her pinney of course and starts baking and spreading the lovely scent of cupcakes in the flat, and a cloud of dusty icing sugar… I have yet to learn how to make frosting without leaving the kitchen looking like it has snowed in there…

I brought these cupcakes to the office on Monday and they diappeared extremely quick, even the boys loved them and asked for the recipe! The recipe for the cake is from the Swedish blog Mumsfillibaba and the frosting is courtesy of a Swedish TV chef called Leila (but I made 1,5 batches).

Rhubarb cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, makes 18

Cake:

125 g softened butter
200 ml caster sugar
2 eggs
150 ml milk
450 ml plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 rhubarb stem, sliced

Frosting:

90 g softened butter
750 ml icing sugar
(1,5 tsp vanilla sugar)
1,5 tbsp lemon juice (I used rhubarb purée instead)
150 g Philadelphia cheese

Place 2-3 rhubarb pieces in each cupcake case. Beat butter and sugar white and creamy. Add one egg at the time. Mix in the other ingredients and divide between the cake cases. Fill them to 2/3. Bake in 175C for 10-15 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Beat butter, icing sugar and liquid creamy with an electric whisk. Add the cream cheese and beat until glossy. Decorate the cupcakes when cooled completely.  

Crème brûlée with Amarula Cream

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As you might know, my favourite dessert in the whole world is crème brûlée, followed closely by panna cotta, and the worst thing that could happen to me in this world (ok, maybe not) is that I grew bored of the two. As I can’t allow that to happen I try to renew the recipes once in a while. So on Saturday I made this lovely version of crème brûlée, flavoured with Amarula cream. I love Amarula cream , it is like the better sister to Bailey’s. Velvety smooth with its particular taste from the berries on the Marula trees in South Africa it worked really well with the creamy crème brûlée. Yum!

Crème brûlée with Amarula Cream, serves 2-3

3 egg yolks

60 ml caster sugar

200 ml cream

100 ml milk

at least 3 tbsp Amarula Cream

brown sugar

Stir sugar and egg yolks together. Heat up cream and milk in a pan. Just before it boils, remove from heat and stir into the yolks. Stir until all the sugar has melted. Mix in the Amarula. Pour into dishes. Bake in 110C for 35-45 minutes or until the mixture has just set. Leave to cool. Sprinkle with a thin layer of brown sugar before serving and caramelize it with a torch. (Brown sugar has a lower melting point than white).

Cauliflower terrine and parma ham

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Every time I go back to Sweden I always end up bringing recipes back to London, one way or the other. Either scribbles on notes (from my mothers cookbooks) or from a magazine. Since we fly to and from Copenhagen (the closest larger airport to South of Sweden although it is in Denmark) I bought a few foodie magazines in Danish on our last trip.

The languages are related so it is not difficult understand recipes in Danish. 🙂 I found this recipe for a cauliflower terrine in Spis Bedre Magazine and I just had to try it. As usual I made a few changes to the recipe, using less gelatine and adding persillade for more taste.

I really enjoyed it, where as Christopher enjoyed the flavour but didn’t like the idea of cold cauliflower or the texture that much, so consider that before making it yourself. 🙂

Cauliflower terrine

1 cauliflower (ca 500 g)

200 ml milk

200 ml cream

a pinch of salt

zest from 1/2 lemon

2 tsp persillade

white pepper

2 gelatine leaves

To serve: parma ham and crema di balsamico

Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water. Cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces, throw the stem away. Rinse and place in a sauce pan with milk, cream and salt. Bring to the boil and cook until the cauliflower is soft. Remove the cauliflower and place in a cling film lined loaf tin. Add lemon zest, persillade and pepper to the cream mixture. Take out the gelatine leaves and add them to, while stirring. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin. Leave to cool completely, cover and place in fridge over night. Serve with parma ham and crema di balsamico.  

Atmosfär, Malmö, Sweden

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When Christopher and I went to Sweden the last weekend in May, we were lucky to get an extra day there because of the UK bank holiday Monday. It was a regular working day in Sweden, so we went with dad to Malmö and had a lovely day there before heading to the airport in Copenhagen. (Yes, I fly to a different country than my own when I go home, the bridge and tunnel makes the journey over to Sweden really quick – 12 mins by train). In Malmö we went shopping, had a nice lunch and icecream. That’s my idea of a nice day off!

The two males went for the beef with mustardy potato salad and loved it. After a weekend full of eating I chose the Caesar salad, which was massive and lovely. It had some bulgur wheat in the bottom to make it more filling, but that was a bit OTT, I could only finish half of it anyway. Apart from the main courses they serve you a bowl of soup and lovely homemade bread at the start of the meal, so you won’t risk leaving here unsatisfied.

Atmosfär is good value for money, great service and although the restaurant usually is full up I have always gotten a table here.

Ambrosia cake

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I sometimes feel that the classic cakes are forgotten among all the cupcakes and macarons nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cupcake and adore perfect chewy macarons, but let’s not forget the other great cakes.

This Ambrosia cake is a simple but very moist classic cake (at least in Sweden). I made it for work and it dissappeared very quickly. The combination of sugary icing and bitter citrus peel is a great touch and who ever thought of that was very clever.

This is a simple, classic beauty, perfect to end a dinner party or have with tea when the older generations are stopping by.

The recipe is from Swedish Cakes and Cookies.

Ambrosia cake, serves 8

2 eggs

150 ml caster sugar

150 ml plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

125 g melted butter, leave to cool

Icing:

300 ml icing sugar

2-3 tbsp water

mixed peel

Grease a springform and cover with breadcrumbs. Beat eggs and sugar white and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and butter. Pour into the spring form. Bake in a low oven, 150 C for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before icing. Sprinkle the mixed peel on top.

Creamy polenta with mushrooms and chorizo

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I’ve tried once before to make creamy polenta but I failed terribly although (or despite of) I followed the instructions on the back of the packet. To not repeat my failure I consulted an Italian cookbook (Bringing Italy Home by Ursula Ferigno) and a google-search, and that made me succeed this time. Yay!

There are few different types of polenta, both yellow and white, and according to the cookbook the yellow polenta that takes about 40 minutes to cook is the best one. I could only find yellow 1-minute polenta, but that worked well too.

I didn’t have parmesan at hand, so I used a Swedish mature hard cheese instead and at the end I added, very unorthodox, a dollop of Philadelphia cheese (I picked that up in the google search) and the result was a creamy fluffy polenta with lots of flavour.

I kept the trimmings simple, just fried button mushrooms and chorizo but it complemented the creamy polenta very well. A perfect weekday supper for a gloomy day, and if you use the quick polenta like I did, this is done in about 10 minutes.

Creamy polenta with mushrooms and chorizo, serves 2

100 g chorizo, in slices

200 g button mushrooms, in quarters

chopped parsley (optional)

butter and oil for frying

600 ml chicken- or vegetable stock

150 g polenta grains

50 g butter

150 ml finely grated cheese of parmesan type

2 garlic cloves, pressed

salt, white pepper

1 tbsp Philadelphia

Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan. Fry in separate pans the mushrooms in butter and the chorizo in oil. Season the mushrooms. Pour the polenta grains bit by bit into the stock, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens (which is fast). Remobve from heat and ass butter, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and at the end the cream cheese. Serve in bowls with the mushrooms and chorizo. All you need is a fork – this is comfort food.