Category: Canapés/nibbles

Barbecue and canapés with girolles

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

The second day in Southern Sweden we spent the day in Falsterbo, a lovely little town by the seaside because Christopher was playing golf with Claes there all day, at a links course with insane amounts of water but nice views. I don’t play golf, so I spent the day with my best friend Emma (Claes’s fiancée). We gossiped a lot, had lunch at a nice café and prepared dinner for the boys. When they got back feeling tired after a day outside, we bribed them with beer to light the barbecue, while we took care of the rest of the cooking.

When we went to the supermarket I was pleased to see that they had lots of fresh girolles, that are in season now. It is my favourite mushroom and I find it really sad that I can’t buy them in a normal supermarket here in the UK. Girolles are best paired with butter and garlic and they make out a simple, but delicious, canapé.

We also had souvlaki, a nice salad with cucumber, tomatoes, leafy mixed salad, red onions and plenty of feta and another salad with giant couscous, pitta and homemade tzatsiki.

Emma gave the sauce top marks! It tastes fantastic with fat yoghurt and a big glug of olive oil. Yu-um…

I prefer giant couscous to the smaller variety, it is chewier and tastes better I think. In the salad above I kept it really simple, adding just thin slivers of red onion, herb salt, olive oil and chopped parsley. Simple yet delicious.

Girolle canapés, serves 4

100-150 g girolles, brushed and chopped

1/2 solo garlic or 1 garlic clove, pressed

a large knob of butter (enough to coat the mushrooms generously but not enough for them to bathe in)

chopped parsley

a bag of readymade brushettinis (garlic and herb if available

Fry the girolles on high heat in some of the butter. Add more butter as well as the garlic and lower the heat (so the garlic won’t burn). Season and mix in the parsley. Scoop up onto the biscuits and serve.

Rosti with crayfish spread

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

I have a long-lasting fondness of rosti, from when my mother used to serve it as starter in the late 80s early 90s as a starter at dinner parties. The crispy buttery shreds of potato taste absolutely divine with salty caviar, sharp red onions and velvety creme fraiche. I can still crave this, and I don’t care one bit that it is so retro. It is  good!

Sometimes I make this as a light supper, but Christopher is unfortunately not very fond of caviar. I know… He does have other qualities to make up for it, I promise!

So to enjoy this this with my dear boyfriend, I came up with this little crayfish mixture, dip, spread – whatever you would like to call it. And it is good. Less salty, but just as good. This would be absolutely mind blowing with fresh crayfish tails, but mixed in with the large amount of dill and the cream cheese, the in-brine version works too.

You can also put a large dollop of this on your jacket potato, in your baguette, in a cold omelette that you roll up and make little appetizers from, and plenty more.

Crayfish spread, serves 2

180 g crayfish tails

3 large tbs philadelphia

a bunch of dill, finely chopped

1/4 lemon, the juice

1 tsp paprika

salt

white pepper

Chop the crayfish tails coarsely. Mix with the other ingredients.

Rosti, serves 2

ca 6-8 medium potatoes (not new ones)

Peel and grate. Melt butter and oil in a large skilled and place dollops of the potatoe with space in between. Flatten them out. The starch is enough to hold them together (hence the older more starchy variety). Fry until crisp on both sides. Season and serve immediately. 

Midsummer luncheon

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

Yesterday we had a lovely lunch at Ian and Anna’s house, so us scandos (Anna and me) could celebrate midsummer. There were eight of us, and everyone brought something for the meal, so we had a very international selection of food. Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Polish and, of course, English.

The weather was gorgeous so we stayed outside in the garden and cooled down with first Pimm’s, then white wine.

The first course was fish: two types of herring (mustard and dill), matjes cheesecake (more herring), smoked salmon on rye bread, borgis (Polish cabbage stew with sausage), salad and bread.

Second course was meat: shaslik (Russian lamb scewers), meatballs, Salad Olivier (Russian potato salad with sausages, mayo, gherkins, apple..) and Polish piergi with cheese and potato.

After that we had to take quite a long break, then we had two desserts; English Eton Mess and Swedish strawberry cake (which is compulsory for Midsummer).

It was a lovely day and to be able to sit outside in the sun, eating and drinking and chatting – that is quality time well spent!

Matjes cheesecake, serves 10

6-8 slices German style rye bread

50 g softened butter

400 ml creme fraiche

200 g cream cheese

75 ml mayo (Hellman’s)

1 tin matjes herring

1 bunch of chives, finely chopped

salt

white pepper

3 gelatine leaves

1 tbsp water

Mix the bread into crumbs. Mix with the butter. Cover the base of a 20 cm springform. Press properly. Chop the herring. Mix cheese, mayo, creme fraiche, herring and chives. Season to taste. Place the gelatine leaves in cold water. Squeeze out the excess water. Melt on low heat in a pan with 1 tbsp water. Leave to cool slightly. Mix with the herring mixture. Spread it out in the springform. Cover with clingfilm and leave in fridge overnight. 

A reminder: Bruschetta

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

I came down with a terrible cold on Sunday. Just bam it hit me, and I got the lot; sore throat, runny nose, fever… At least it broke out quickly and the recovery seem pretty quick as well. Fever is gone, I’m back at work and my taste sensation has come back as well. Yay!

Before this hit me, on Friday we had a lovely little basil-themed dinner. It just happened like that and it was really nice! We had one of my favourite starters to begin with – bruschetta. It is best this time of year when the tomatoes taste like they should, full of sun and happiness. Paired with lots of basil, some garlic and nice crusty bread this is a winner every time. I just wanted to remind you of that.

Bruschetta, serves 2 as quite a large starter

6 largeish pieces of ciabatta

4-6 medium tomatoes

a handful of basil, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, pressed

salt, pepper

Chop the tomatoes wuite finely and put it into a sieve to get rid of the excess water. Transfer to a bowl, add basil, pressed garlic, olive oil and spices.

Place the bread pieces on an oven tray and pour garlic on them. Rub the recently used garlic press over the bread to give it a hint of garlic. Roast in 200C oven for about 5 minutes (or until crusty on top).

Place generous spoonfuls of the tomato mixture on each piece of bread. Serve immediately – with napkins.

Prawn rolls with caviar and red onion, and a BBQ

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

I made these lovely rolls as a pre-dinner snack on Sunday when we were waiting for the barbecued meat. They are easy to make and you can fill them with whatever you want. I have made similar ones before with smoked salmon and horseradish, but these are even nicer.

I also made hummus at Emma’s request and we had radishes, carrot batons and cucumber to dip.

We barbecued both extremely tender slices of topside of beef and pork chops, served with bearnaise sauce, two-root slaw, asparagus wrapped in bacon and oven-roasted new potatoes.

Sunday was also Mother’s Day in Sweden so we had cake (made by mother though, not me, I was busy being hangover) and she made a classic cake for our family – lemon mousse roll. It is lovely and retro and a good tip is to make a bit too much of the lemon mousse so you can enjoy some on its own in a bowl with some fresh berries too. 🙂

Prawn rolls with caviar and red onion, serves 6 as an appetizer

6 soft wheat tortillas

creme fraiche

lumpfish caviar/roe

1 red onion, finely chopped

100-150 g peeled icelandic prawns

Spread a thin layer of creme fraiche on each tortilla. Spread caviar on top of that. Scatter red onions and prawns on top and roll it tightly into a roll. Place on a plate and leave for an hour in the fridge. Slice in inch-thick slices before serving. Enjoy!

Mezze: Hummus, chilli dip and flatbread

Published on by Hanna6 Comments

I have grouped the recipes from Friday’s dinner, so this is the first lot.

When eating mezze it is a must to have a few dips for the bread. The most common one is of course hummus, and here is my version:

Hummus, serves 6 as mezze

1 can chickpeas (400 g)

a splash of water

olive oil

2 tbsp tahini

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

salt

white pepper

1/2 clove garlic

Pour lemon juice, tahini, water and drained chickpeas into a food processor (or use a stick blender) and add some oil. Mix and add oil as you go until the hummus has the desired texture. Season to taste with lemon, garlic, salt, pepper and tahini. 

The next dip is almost as common as hummus in the Middle East, but less known here. The proper version is the one I made with ground almonds, but sometimes you can get a cheaper version were the almonds are substituted by breadcrumbs. We learned the rule in Syria, that if you get the almond-version in a restaurant it is a good restaurant, and if you get the bastard-version then of course, it is not as good.

Muhammara, serves 6 as mezze

120 ml ground almonds (or breadcrumbs)

2-4 garlic cloves

1/2 small onion, finely chopped or 1 tsp onion powder

spicy pepper purée (mine is from Syria, but a combination of sambal oelek and pickled peppers will probably work)

70 ml tahini

70 ml pomegranate molasses

salt

ground cumin

aleppo/cayenne pepper if more heat is required

60 ml olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with cumin and salt. The dip should have she same texture as hummus so adjust accordingly.

Flatbread is another must when it comes to mezze, and the homemade version is miles  better than the storebought option. This recipe is from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage Everyday and it is incredibly easy to make. We had a few leftover and I can happily tell you that they were just as good the next day.

Flatbread, makes 8

250 g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil/ rapeseed oil

150 ml varm water

Pour the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the oil to the water and pour it into the bowl while stiring with a wooden spoon/fork. Mix thorougly and knead with your hands for a few minutes. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or cling film and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide it into eight pieces. Roll each piece flat with a rolling bin with plenty of flour. Heat up a dry frying pan on high heat, then lower to medium heat before cooking each bread for a few minutes on each side.

Fried leeks with paprika sauce

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

We enjoyed a tapas style dinner on Saturday (for a while at least, then I got a tummy ache and had to lie down *sigh*) and I made these nice little things. The recipe is from Ottolenghi’s Plenty, but I didn’t follow it exactly. The sauce I made up myself and it worked really well with the leeks.

Fried leeks with paprika sauce, serves 2

3 leeks, trimmed

1 egg, beaten

 breadcrumbs

salt, white pepper

at least 500 ml vegetable oil

200 ml creme fraiche

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt, white pepper

1-2 tsp paprika

Cut the leeks into 5 cm long pieces. Boil in salted water until soft (about 15 mins). Drain. Heat up the oil in a pan. Dip the leeks first in the beaten egg then in the seasoned breadcrumbs. Fry until golden brown. Drain on kitchen towel.

Mix creme fraiche, lemon juice and spices. Serve.

Tapas style dinner with baked brie

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

We went out for dinner on Friday with a few friends to celebrate that Ian is another year older. So on Saturday we had a typical Friday dinner, tapas style little bits. Love that!

We had prosciutto and saucisson with crema di balsamico, melon, nice crusty bread, cornichons, radishes and baby plum tomatoes, chilli jam, truffle honey, baked brie with rosemary and fried leeks with paprika sauce. The latter will get its very own post tomorrow, but the delicious (and ridiculously easy) brie is here:

Baked brie with rosemary, serves 2

4 chunks of brie (2×2 cm)

fresh rosmary

(a dollop of honey if you like)

4 pieces baking parchment

Place cheese + rosemary (+ honey if you prefer) on a piece of the baking paper and fold it into a little parcel. Place in a baking tray and put in a recently turned off oven (I had mine on 200C) for about 5 minutes until it is all gooey and soft and tastes of rosemary. 

Prawn cocktail on salad leaves

Published on by Hanna3 Comments

Among the little bits we ate on Friday was these cuties; prawn cocktail on salad leaves with crushed rosé peppercorns on top. The recipe is courtesy of Nigella, but I can’t remember which cookbook/series it is from. It is a very easy recipe to remember, and only takes minutes to make, but I like the little individual portions and that all you need is a napkin to eat it.

Please note that this dish requires rosé peppercorns, which is not the same as pink peppercorns. They can be hard to find, but it gives the dish that extra oomph, so it is worth searching for.

Prawn cocktail on salad leaves 

1 1/2 little gem lettuce

100 g large Icelandic peeled prawns

150 ml mayonnaise

2 tbsp ketchup

a splash or two of tabasco

lemon juice

salt

white pepper

crushed rosé peppercorns (not the same as pink peppercorns)

Mix mayo, lemon juice, tabasco and ketchup. Season with salt and white pepper. Add the prawns. Rinse the lettuce and place the leaves on a platter. Place 2-3 prawns and some sauce on each leaf. Crush the rosé peppercorns with a pestle and mortar and sprinkle on top. Serve immediately.

Sweet potato soup with coconut milk and cumin

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

I like sweet potatoes in any shape or form, but it is a vegetable I have only got to know the last couple of years. It is very easy to cook with sweet potatoes because they cook through so quickly and have so much flavour in themselves.

A warming dish is this soup with cumin, coconut milk and chilli. I made some cheese straws from left over puff pastry and grated cheese, and they are really nice too.

Sweet potato soup with coconut milk and cumin, serves 4

4 sweet potatoes

a dash of concentrated vegetable stock

water

400 ml coconut milk

3 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp chilli flakes

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into even pieces. Place in a pan and just cover with water. Add a splash of stock and bring to the boil. Cook until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes but keep the water. Purée the vegetables and add the coconut milk to the pan. Bring to the boil, season with cumin, chilli, salt and pepper. Add some water if the soup is to thick. Serve with perhaps a dollop of creme fraiche and chopped coriander.

Cheese straws, serves 2

ca 20 cm x 10 cm puff pastry

100 ml grated mature cheddar

Cut the pastry into inch-thick straws and sprinkle cheese on them. Place in 200C oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the straws are a golden brown. Serve with soup or with drinks.