Month: February 2012

Scandi tip #14: Nordic Bar

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If you want to experience Scandinavian themed drinks and some Nordic kitsch, I have just the place for you – Nordic Bar.

My friend Nick introduced me to this place when I was new in town, and it is a quite fun place with lots of kitschy decorations and a stuffed reindeer on the wall. The bar feels a little bit shabby, but the Scandinavian themed cocktails make up for it. They have lots of flavoured vodkas and even snaps in stock, and you can even have a mini smorgasbord here.

Image courtesy of http://www.nordicbar.com/

 

Pork belly, Jerusalem artichoke purée and creamy black trumpets

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In a way it has been liberating food wise to move to the UK. It might sound silly, but in the UK everyone eats. In Sweden not so much.

Maybe it is because the world’s perception of Swedish people as blond, slim and beautiful that Swedish girls in general don’t eat much. They are all very conscious about what they eat and unless it is low-carb, low-fat the food is merely pushed around the plate instead of put in the mouth.

This is a generalisation of course, but for a foodie, this environment felt rather hostile. Moving to the UK almost four years ago, I could not believe it when the really slim women in my office had a sandwich and a packet of crisps for lunch. I mean bread? Crisps? And they still stayed slim. Was that even possible? Of course it was. In the UK people ate the way we did when I was young; everything in moderation. And it works.

But you can imagine that if people don’t want bread for lunch they certainly wouldn’t eat crackling. In Sweden a few years ago it seemed that it was only chicken breasts and salmon fillets that people ate. Some still do, and I am sick and tired of both. But foodies eat differently, thank God, and restaurants with the same philosophy as St John are opening up everywhere in Sweden and it seems more OK to actually eat there now. Or maybe I just don’t care anymore.

Pork belly, Jerusalem artichoke purée and creamy black trumpets, serves 2

2 slices pork belly

salt

a few sprigs thyme

300 g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled

3 tbsp salted butter

1 handfull dried black trumpets, soaked in water

1 tbsp butter

1 garlic clove

a splash of dry white wine

50 ml cream

1 tsp concentrated vegetable stock

salt, white pepper

Preheat the oven to 125C. Place the pork belly slices in a buttered dish. Rub salt into the crackling and add some salt all over. Place the thyme on the meat. Let it cook for at least two hours or until tender.

Cut the artichokes in equal pieces, cover with water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook until soft. Turn the oven up to 250C and cook the meat for another 10 minutes until the crackling crisps up.

Squeeze the water from the mushrooms and chop roughly. Fry in the butter on high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the wine and let some evaporate. Add the cream and stock and let it thicken.

Purée the artichokes with the butter, season ieth salt and pepper.  

Celeriac tartiflette

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I wasn’t sure if this dish should make the cut for the blog or not. Not because it wasn’t good, but because a normal tariflette might actually be better.

This is the first tartiflette I have made, although it is not entirely authentic, and I so wish I had started with the regular all potato tartiflette, but after a fridge inspection I really wanted to use up some celeriac I had left. Ergo this version.

It was really nice, but I might suspect that a regular tartiflette is just as nice or even better. Pretty soon I will make one to compare and report back.

Tartiflette is basically a potatoes au gratin with lardons and rebochon cheese, courtesy of the French, but of course.

However I used cured smoked bacon cut in small pieces instead of lardon and cheddar instead of rebochon.

Celeriac tartiflette, served 1-2

1/4 celeriac, peeled

2 medium potatoes, peeled

3 slices cured smoked bacon, cut in pieces

50 ml creme fraiche

100 ml cream

salt, white pepper

a handful grated cheddar

Cut potatoes and celeriac into thin slices. Bring to the boil in salted water and cook for a few minutes. Drain. Fry the bacon crispy in a frying pan. Grease an ovenproof dish and add half of the potatoes/celeriac. Sprinkle some cheese and bacon on top and put the rest of the potatoes/celerac on top. Finish off with the rest of the bacon and cheese. Mix cream and creme fraiche, add salt and pepper and pour into the dish. Cook for at least 30 minutes in 200C or until the gratin is soft.

Potluck lunch and caramelized garlic tart

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On Sunday a bunch of us were invited to Jess and Chris for a potluck lunch and some board games. A perfect Sunday activity!

The hos and hostess had made a lovely coucous salad with feta and also contributed with nice breads. Ben had made a hearty casserole (more like a hash really) with potatioes, sausage and onions and Tom had made a chicken liver paté which was really nice. David and Debbie brought hams and salamis, and some brought wine.

I contributed with marinaded pork fillet and a caramelized garlic tart I have had my eye on for quite a while.

Jess had also made a dessert, that looked like a trifle but was brownies and meringues covered with cream and creme fraiche. Lovely! And Felicity made a gluten free crumble with a crunchy top. Yum!

I must say it was a really good spread and such fun when everyone contributes!

The tart I made is courtesy of Ottolenghi and it features (of course) in my favourite cookbook Plenty.

It is easy to make as you use ready made puff pastry and it has apart from the obvious caramelized garlic also two types of goat’s cheese in it. I used a mild creamy one but instead of the hard goat’s cheese I used Ossau-Iraty, made of ewe’s milk instead. It worked really well, and the tart was exactly so good as I expected it to be. I will definitely make it again, and I think you should all try it too. It does not disappoint.

Caramelized garlic tarte, serves 6

375 g puff pastry

3 heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vingear (I used double)

220 ml water

3/4 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp chopped rosemary

1 tsp chopped thyme

120 g mild and creamy goat’s cheese

120 g hard goat’s cheese (I used Ossau-Iraty instead)

2 eggs

100 ml double cream

100 ml creme fraiche

Preheat the oven to 180C. Roll out the puff pastry and cover the bottom and sides of a quiche dish with it. Put parchment paper and ceramic beads on top and blind bake for 10 minutes. Remove and bake until golden brown for another 15 minutes or so. Turn the oven down to 160C.

While the puff is baking, place the garlic in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and add the garlic back to the pan and add the olive oil too. Fry for about 2 minutes, then add the water and balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes, then add the sugar and herbs and cook for another 10 minutes or until the liquid is dark and syrupy.

Assemble the tart by shredding the cheese into the pastry case, then add the garlic and the syrup and distribute. Combine eggs, cream and creme fraiche, salt and pepper and pour it into the pastry case. Bale for about 40 minutes in 160C or until the filling is set and the tart is golden brown. Serve warm or lukewarm. Reheats well.

Oven roasted cherry tomatoes, marinaded mozzarella, vegan pesto swirls

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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.

Best burgers in town – Meatliquor

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On Thursday Kristin and I met up in the insanely large queue outside probably the most popular restaurant in London right now; Meatliquor.

We were standing in the queue for a whole hour and a half before we finally were seated in the restaurant. It was even snowing as we were outside and we were so so cold, although as soon as we got into the restaurant we warmed up quickly.

The interior is rock chic with a modern painted ceiling as well as some Victorian decorations. It is dimly lit, with good music playing and the ambiance is very laid back.

Because of the large queue we expected the staff to be really on the ball to seat everyone and turn the tables around quickly, this was not the case however, we saw several empty tables before it was our turn to sit down. But as soon as we ordered the food the service improved.

Our cokes, served in the old style glass bottles and with an old jam jar as a glass, arrived instantly and short there after the fabulous chicken wings we shared as a starter. They were succulent and juicy with crispy skin and a nice spicy sauce, served with homemade blue cheese dressing. Yu-um!

Shortly after our burgers, fries and slaw arrived on a large tray. Kristin went for the green chilli burger and on close inspection we noticed there was a lot of crushed chilli in it. I chose a traditional bacon cheese burger and loved every bite.

The buns were soft and held together well, not like the dryish ones you get in some places. This was quite buttery as well, bioche style. The burger it self was lovely and rare in the middle and proper grilled on the outside adding a lot of flavour. It was seasoned well too. The bacon was nice and crisp and underneath the burger were large pieces of gherkins and dressed lettuce.

The fries (skinny ones) were ordinary, but still perfect because they were freshly cooked and very crispy. Also the slaw was nice, not too greasy, instead fresh and crunchy with carrots and white and red cabbage.

It is safe to say that we will come back, and I urge everyone to pay this place a visit. But try to go either at lunch time (they open at noon) or early or late evening.

Oh, I almost forgot. The price. We almost got a shock when we saw that the bill only came to £30 for the two of us; it felt like we had eaten more than that. But it was accurate. We’re certainly not complaining!

MEATliquor
74 Welbeck Street
London W1G 0BA

Scandi tip #13: Iittala

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Although I am true to my Swedish roots, when it comes to design and especially kitchen design, I look to Finland.

There is one company in particular – Iittala – that has so many pretty yet functional things for the kitchen, I don’t know where to start.

When I grew up, what constitutes Iittala now was three different companies; Arabia for china services, Iittala was glassware and Hackman pots, pans, knives etc. There are even more companies owned by the Iittala group but they have kept there own brandnames, where as Arabia, Iittala and Hackman all merged intoIittala.

The most famous design by Iittala are wavy bowls and vases designed by Alvar Aalto, one of the most famous Finnish (and Scandinavian) designers.

If you want to buy Iittala product there are a few good webistes, and also John Lewis and other department stores has some of the range.

http://www.skandium.com/search_results.asp?keywords=iittala

http://royaldesign.co.uk/Iittala.aspx

Spinach and aubergine lasagne for one

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Lasagne is a great dish to make if you’re feeding a large number of people, but it can as easily be reduced to just one portion.

One evening last week I found myself with an open packet of fresh lasagne sheets and a bowl of left-over homemade tomato sauce, and of course I thought it would be a good idea to make a lasagne.

The way I make it, without a cheesy bechamel, is a quick and truly delicious approach, and the best way if you’re making a smaller lasagne.

Spinach and aubergine lasagne, serves 1

1 small aubergine

150 g fresh spinach

3 fresh lasagne sheets

100 ml tomato sauce (homemade if possible)

150 ml creme fraiche

100 ml grädde

1 handful grated cheese

salt, pepper

olive oil and a knob of butter for frying

Wash the aubergine and cut it into slices lengthways. Fry these until soft in olive oil on high heat. Put aside. Add the knob of butter to the same pan on medium heat. Add the spinach and stir as it wilts. Add salt and white pepper and drain away the excess water from the spinach. Mix creme fraiche and cream in a bowl. Add salt and pepper.

Spread some tomato sauce in the bottom of a small ovenproof dish (10 x 10 cm approx), cut the lasagne sheet to fit and place it on top of the tomato sauce. Add another layer of tomato sayce, then a layer of aubergine followed by the spinach and then finally the cream mixture and grated cheese. Start again with another lasagne sheet and repeat until the dish is full. Top with a some cream mixture and grated cheese. Place in a 200 C oven for about 30 minutes. Leave to set for a few minutes before serving.

Dublin part II: Fallon & Byrne, the Exchequer and Bewley’s

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After walking around in a grey, rainy and windy Dublin during the day, we were pleased when the rain stopped towards the evening.

We started our evening out at Fallon & Byrne, a wine cellar, food hall and restaurant, all under the same roof. The wine cellar was (of course) placed in the cellar, the food hall on the ground floor and the restaurant was upstairs.

The restaurant felt very cosy and was packed with people sitting around lots of small and a few larger tables covered with white tablecloths. There was a bar at the far end of the room and even the stools there were full. We arrived at 7pm, and in London it is very unusual to find a restaurant full at that time. But even though it was full that early, they relayed tables a couple of times through the evening, so it was obviously a popular place.

The menu and the ambiance was very similar; cosy but with some finesse! The service was efficient and professional; drinks, bread and butter appeared quickly on our table.

Karin’s starter was thinly sliced beetroots, marinated artichokes, rocket and a divine mild goat’s cheese.

My choice was celeriac soup with parsley foam. It was really nice, but not far off my own version, although the foam added another dimension. The bread was lovely too; crusty on the outside and lovely and soft within.

The starters were rather too large, so when it was time for our maincourses we were already quite full.

Karin chose pan-fried duck breast with potato fondant, pickled red cabbage and red wine jus. I chose herbcrusted halibut with perfect Pommes Anna, grapes and green beans. Both mains were lovely and had good combinations of flavours, but the portions were very really large.

We were too full to be tempted by the dessert menu, but Karin had a coffee, although a bit weak.

Afterwards we stepped onto the street and I realised we were on the corner from a bar my Irish friend Sineas had recommended; the Exchequer (on Exchequer Street).

It was a popular gastro pub/cocktail bar with some wonderful creations. I was too full for anything sweet, although I was very temped by the cocktails. Karin chose a Kir Royal and received a glass of bubbly with a pink cassis foam on top. A clever take on the classic!

After two drinks here we proceeded towards Temple Bar, the area where mosts pubs and bars are and we just chose a place at random, stayed there for a short while and then procedded onto a different one and so on.

Next day we were quite tired and wandered around Trinity College but felt after a while we needed to sit down and have a rest and some lunch. We just walked across the street to Bewley’s, a café on Grafton Street.

To be honest, the maincourses (pizzas and pasta dishes) didn’t look very appealing, but the sandwiches looked good and were exactly what we needed. I chose a toasted bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese and Karin chose a toasted ham and cheese ciabatta. We also got salad and lovely crisps on pur plates.

Fallon & Byrne, 17 Exchequer Street  Ranelagh, Dublin 2, Ireland

The Exchequer, 3-5 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2 Ireland  Ireland

Bewley’s Café, 78/79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

 

 

Dublin, part I: Guiness store house and Trinity College

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On Saturday I met up with Karin at Dublin Airport; she arrived from Liverpool and I from Gatwick. Before I headed over to the other terminal to meet her, I went to the washrooms and this Irish lady started talking to me instantly. It turned all the Irish people we met during our stay in Dublin were just as friendly as she was.

After having left our bags at the hotel and had some breakfast we walked in the rain to the Guiness store house were we enjoyed the educational but sometimes a bit slow, exhibition. It was interesting to learn how Guiness is made and what gives it the distinctive dark colour (roasted barley).

Karin outside the Guiness store house

Included in the ticket was both a little taster of Guiness and also a whole pint at the top floor bar. Before we headed up there we stopped at the floor beneath to have lunch.

Seafood soup with samphire

The menu sounded really nice, but the execution wasn’t really there unfortunately. Our soup tasted quite nice, but some of the seafood looked a bit sad and it was obvious it came from a supermarket counter and not a proper fishmonger.

The was also not hot enough. We loved the dark soft bread though. We also stopped at the shop on our way out for some Guiness toffee and chocolate.

Afterwards we wanted to see Marsh’s Library, the first public library in Ireland with books dating back to the 1500s. Unfortunarely it closed early in the afternoon so we didn’t have time to visit. Walking back to the town centre the sky really opened and we had to run into a department store to escape the rain.

We found some lovely looking cupcakes there. And the store itself was an amazing building, too bad they only had boring shops like Argos inside it. It had such potential!

Trinty College

On the Sunday we went to Trinity College in the town centre and it was nice and all, but both Cambridge and my old univeristy in Sweden is a lot prettier. The sign posting was also lacking a lot and it took us a while to find the Science Gallery but it was closed because they were putting up a new exhibition. So we went to another exhibition instead; the Book of Kells. It was fairly interesting but could have been displayed in a better way. The best part however, was that on our way out we had to go upstairs to the long room, which indeed was a long room with a wonderful rounded ceiling and lots and lots of old leather bound book and statues if famous authours. That was wonderful to see!