In the cookbook Nigella Express, Nigella has a recipe for Mexican scrambled eggs with soft tortillas, chilli, spring onions and tomato, and although that sounds very appealing to me, I wanted to make my own version with the hard tortilla chips, and here it is… Sooo tasty!
I must admit I felt like Nigella as well; standing by the stove in my PJs and taking my scrambled eggs for one, back to bed. 😉
Mexican scrambled eggs – my way, serves 1
a handful corn tortilla chips
olive oil
2 eggs
2 tbsp cream
salt
small handful of grated cheese (I used Monterey Jack)
cherry tomatoes and half an avocado to serve
Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Break the tortillas and add them to the pan. Beat the eggs with the cream, and add salt and add them to the pan. Take it off the flame and stir, add the grated cheese, and stir until they have the consistency you prefer. Serve immediately with half an avocado and cherry tomatoes.
We had beef fajitas for dinner yesterday. And it was the first time I liked my own seasoning better than Old el Paso. 🙂 Will definitely try this again, but I think chicken fajitas are even better, although I love beef.
I was inspired by a The Pioneer Womans recipe but I did not really follow it, but it turned out great anyway! We served it with cheesy nachos (Monterey Jack melts perfectly), guacemole (of course), salsa, sour cream, grated cheese and vegetables. Delicious!
Beef fajitas, serves 3-4
300 g rumpsteak
Marinade:
2 limes, the juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, cut in half
1-2 tbsp chipotle paste
salt and black pepper
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
Mix the ingredients for the marinade the day before. Pour into a zip lock bag, cut the fa off the meat and put it in the bag too. Leave in the fridge for 24 hrs.
Fry the meat on high heat in a little olive oil, about 3-4 minutes each side. Place on a chopping board and leave to rest. Fry the onion and pepper in the same pan until soft, maybe adding a bit more chipotle if you wish. Slice the meat and put it back in the pan. Serve immediately with soft tortillas, vegetables, grated cheese, sour cream, salsa and guacemole. And nachos.
Monday’s dessert was my favourite – creme brûlée, partly because it is so delicious, partly because you can prepare it the day before. I used the same recipe as last time, but served some blueberries in lime sugar in a little bowl on the side. It was a good match and made the dessert seem a bit fresher and lighter. We also served a glass of elderflower liqeur with it, and it was another good match. Yum!
Bluberries in lime sugar
100 g fresh blueberries
2 tbsp caster sugar
zest from 1/2 lime
juice from 1/2 lime
Mix sugar, juice and zest in a bowl and pour it onto the blueberries just before serving.
On Monday I tried to cook pork fillet en croûte again, and this time it was absolutely perfect, if I may say so myself. Christopher liked the flavours, but he had preferred to roll the bacoon around the fillet and have smaller pieces of mushrooms. I liked it just the way it was, and like that there are larger pieces of bacon and mushrooms. But I will try his version next time.
Pork fillet en croûte with bacon, button mushrooms and thyme, serves 4
400 g pork fillet
375 g ready-rolled puff pastry
100-150 g button mushrooms
6 slices streacky bacon
3 sprigs thyme
1 egg, beaten
salt, pepper
Cut the bacon into pieces and fry it until crisp. Drain on kitchen towel. Slice the mushrooms and fry them on high heat in the same pan, in some butter and olive oil. Season. Mix bacon and mushrooms and leave to cool completely. Mix in the thyme leaves.
trim the pork fillet. Roll out the pastry and distribute the bacon and mushrooms all over it, keeping the edges free. Season the meat and place in the middle. Roll tightly and nip in the edges. Place in a greased roasting tin, brush with the beaten egg. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Place in 200 C oven and cook until the temperature is 62C. Leave to rest a few minutes before slicing.
Parsnip purée, serves 4
1 kg parsnips
milk
butter
salt, white pepper
Peel and cut up the parnsips. Rinse and place in a large pan. Just about cover with milk. Season. Bring to the boil and let it cook on low heat until soft. Drain but keep the milk. Purée the parsnips with a stick blender. Add butter and some milk if needed. Season.
I hope you all had a nice Valentine’s day! We did. My cupcakes and chocolate biscuits disappreared quickly at work, which is a good sign and when I got home Christopher and I exchanged cards. The same card! Out of all the thousands of different Valentine’s day cards we had managed to pick out the exact same one. In different shops. So we had a good laugh about it. It is rather funny, and hopefully a sign that we are supposed to be together. We clearly know each other well… 🙂
A bit later Jess and Chris arrived, and brought lots of goodies; champagne, red wine and Jess had got us all a heartshaped chocolate box each. So sweet!
I served a salmon tartar as the starter. I found the recipe in one of my mother’s many cookbooks but do not remember which one. Great recipe though! And I was quite pleased I managed to plate it nicely as well. 🙂
For the main course we had pork fillet en croûte with parsnip purée and asparagus, and for dessert creme brûlée and blueberries with lime sugar. I will post those two recipes later, but you will get the salmon tartar recipe now. Do try this, it was delicious and so fresh and perfect for spring. You start off by curing the salmon, so this is proper gravad lax – very Swedish. But then you mix in some tarragon, lemon juice and dijon. Lovely!
Before curingHomemade gravad lax
Laxtartar med cream cheese-täcke, 4 portioner
Step 1:
300 g salmon fillet
1 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Step 2:
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp dijon
juicefrom 1/2 lemon
salt, white pepper
Step 3:
200 g Philadelphia
1 tbsp cut/chopped chives
1 tsp paprika
Start with step 1 48 hours before servning. Cut the skin off the salmon. Mix salt, sugar and dill and pat into the fish. Put in a shallow dish and cover with clingfilm. Refrigerate for 48 hours.
Step 2: Dice the salmon. Mix tarragon, dijon and lemon juice in a bowl and add the salmon. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Place a round metal ring (6 cm in diameter and 4 cm high) on a plate and put 1/4 of the salmon in it. Press down to flatten with a spoon. Put a layer of creme cheese on top and smoothe it out. Carefully remove the ring. Repeat with the remaining three plates. I placed rocket around the tartar and decorated each with a lemon slice and some dill. Serve with nice bread.
I found this recipe in a cookbook from the 70s among my mother’s cookbooks, and the recipe is from a restaurant only 15 minutes drive from where my parents live. They mostly do weddings and other functions there now, but the 70s was it’s hay day.
This is a truly delicious dessert. It is subtle but lovely in it’s flavour and just the perfect ending to any meal. All it needs is a little bit of lightly whipped cream on the side.
In the original recipe there should be flaked almonds on top, an although I love almonds I don’t like the flakes. They usually go soft when in contact with a creamy sauce, so I thought it was best to leave them out, but do use them if you prefer.
Almond meringue tarte (gluten free), serves 8
150 g ground almonds
5 egg whites
200 g icing sugar
(100 ml roasted flaked almonds)
Beat the egg whites to a hard foam. Fold in the icing sugar and then incorporate the ground almonds. Pour into a buttered dish and bake in 175-200C until golden.
The sauce:
3 egg yolks
200 ml double cream
150 ml caster sugar
1,5 tbsp butter
Whisk together the ingredients in a heavy sauce pan. Let simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. Leave to cool a little. Pour over the meringue and sprinkle the almond flakes on top. Serve with some lightly whipped cream.
The sun is shining in London, and although my head is pounding slightly, I feel very energized after a lovely dinner/party at friends last night. And on top of that it is Valentine’s day today. I like to celebrate it, but not too much. To go out for dinner seems a bit too commercial for me, so we are having dinner at home with another couple.
Mum and dad sent a card and two nice Lexington napkins, and Christopher gave me beautiful white roses. I love white flowers the most!
I have taken the cupcakes to work, so I hope the office likes them. They are really nice actually, and they should be, since I used a Hummingbird Bakery recipe.
I wish you all a happy Valentine’s Monday!
Hummingbird Bakery’s vanilla cupcakes, makes 12
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120ml whole milk
1 egg
¼tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
250g icing sugar, sifted
80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
25ml whole milk
a couple of drops of vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.
Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched.
A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
For the vanilla frosting:
Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed.
Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.
I know I have posted this recipe here before, but I just have to do it again. Because I have found the perfect accompaniment!
The recipe is from Nigella’s cookbook Nigella Express (a book that is improving to me) and it is the perfect way to make a rougher cut of meat really tender. You use rumpsteak and when you’re done you could think it is sirloin, that’s how tender it becomes. In the recipe Nigella recommends serving it with broccoli dipped in the marinade, and that is lovely, I agree, but I still want potatoes with my steak. Last time I made potatoes au gratin, but that was not the perfect combination. But a jacket potato with sourcream and chives is! Christopher bought a nice bottle of red to go with it, so we really enjoyed our dinner last night. The dessert was delicious too, will post that recipe tomorrow.
Steak slice med citron och timjan, serves 2
300 g rump steak (preferrably thick)
2 cloves of garlic, smashed up
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1 tsp salt
black pepper
40 ml olive oil
3 stalks of thyme, just the leaves
Cut the fat off the meat and fry it in olive oil a couple of minutes (2-3 mins) on each side. Meanwhile mix the ingredients for the marinade. Put the meat in a dish and marinate each side for 4-5 minutes. Slice it into small pieces and put it back in the dish and serve it.
The sides:
2-3 baking potatoes
300 ml soured cream
chives
broccoli
Cut a cross on the top of each potato. Bake for 1 1/2 hours in 200C. Press the sides towards the middle to ‘open’ the potato. Pour soured cream over it and sprinkle chives on top.
Cook the broccoli until almost tender. Drain. Remove the garlic from the meat marinade and pour it over the broccoli. Serve.
I got out of bed early this morning to see my GP and get some prescriptions before we go on holiday next month. For once I didn’t have to wait, so was back home 20 minutes later. I went for a power walk around the park in the sunshine, bought a nice sourdough bread and a bunch of tulips on the way, and then I went home to do some baking.
It feels like it has been forever since I had time to just bake for a couple of hours at the weekend, and I love to be able to do that. I made these peanut butter cookies as well as my favourite chocolate biscuits. They are easy to make, and go really brittle, they keep for a long time and are freezable. Because Valentine’s day is coming up, I sprinkled some pink and white heart sprinkles on top, otherwise it is suppose to be only the sugar pearls, but any type of sugar decorations work.
Chocolate biscuits, about 45
300 ml plain flour
150 ml caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
125 g softened butter
2 egg yolks
To decorate: egg whites and sugar pearls
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolks. Incorporate to a dough (easiest to use your hands) Roll out 3 finger thick rolls and place on baking parchment. Flatten with your fingers. Brush on egg whites and sprinkle sugar decorations on top. Bake for 12 minutes in 200C. Cut into slanting strips while still warm. Leave to cool on the baking tray.
A blog I like and follow is The Pioneer Woman cooks, an American blog that is incredibly popular. Ree writes in a warm funny way about what she cooks for her cattle ranch cowboy for a husband, she takes great photos and the recipes are great, so if you haven’t discovered her already, then take a peak.
I am so glad I stumbled upon her blog, because otherwise I would not have known about this recipe. OK, I actually prefer regular enchiladas to these, but they are very good and perfect for vegetarians and would cure any hangover with all that creamy cheesyness.
Mixing together the filling
Sourcream enchiladas, serves 3
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
6 tortillas
vegetable oil
1 jar enchilada sauce
200 ml soured cream
2 handfulls grated cheese, such as Monterey Jack
100 ml chopped spring onions
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
a few chilli flakes
some more cheese
Mix soured cream, cheese, spring onions and spices. Heat up oil about 2 cm high, in a large pan. Pour the enchilada sauce into a large bowl. Put the tortillas, one at the time, into the oil for about 10 seconds, then dip in the enchilada sauce to coat it. Place on a plate and put 2 tbsp of the cheese mixture in the middle. Fold/roll together and place in an ovenproof dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Sprinkle more cheese on top and put in 200C oven for about 15 minutes. Enjoy with salad, salsa and perhaps some more creme fraiche.
In the cookbook Nigella Express, Nigella has a recipe for Mexican scrambled eggs with soft tortillas, chilli, spring onions and tomato, and although that sounds very appealing to me, I wanted to make my own version with the hard tortilla chips, and here it is… Sooo tasty!
Scandelights 