Category: Canapés/nibbles

Baked brie with cloudberry jam

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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. 

Truffle brie

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When I went home last time, my parents and I went to Helsingor in Denmark for a few hours, and as we always do, we went into the cheese shop in town; Lynhjems eftr. Ole Jensen, and as ever we couldn’t resist buying some nice cheeses.

Dad went for a typical Danish stinky hard cheese called Sorte Sara (Black Sara, because it has a black rind) and mother had some blue cheese I think. And I, I wanted the truffle brie.

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I’ve never seen truffle brie before actually, and it just looked so good I had to try it. Suspiciously I asked the shop assistant if you could actually taste the truffle much. You could. Hallelujah!

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The cheese consisted of two cheeses really layered together. Brie of course; which had a nice taste and wasn’t overpowered by the soft cheese flecked with truffle.

I had it with my favourite cheese biscuits; Carr’s water biscuits, and acacia honey and it was soooo delicious! Can’t wait to have it again, even if it means a trip to Denmark…

Smooth chicken liver mousse with red wine and thyme

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I had a little gathering on the first Sunday of Advent treating my friends to some traditional Swedish Christmas treats as well as some other things. We started off with this heavenly smooth chicken liver mousse served with crispy crostinis. It went down really well and I am very pleased with the flavour combination of liver, red wine and thyme.

Even if you are not a serious charcuterie or offal fan, a chicken liver mousse is always a good place to start. Chicken liver is very mild in flavour compared to calf’s or lamb’s liver. And the other ingredients in this mousse don’t really enhance the liver flavour; it mere complements it.

To make the crostinis, all you need is a day-old baguette and some oil. Slice the baguette in 5 mm thick slices slightly on the diagonal and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with a nice olive or rapeseed oil, place in 200C oven until crisp and golden brown; it takes about 15 minutes.

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Chicken liver mousse with red wine and thyme, 1 batch

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tbsp oil for frying

450 g chicken livers (about 350 g once tubes/tendons removed), roughly chopped

1tbsp butter + 1 tbsp butter

50 ml red wine

1 anchovy

1/2 tsk dried thyme

salt and pepper

65 ml double cream

Fry the onions in the oil on low heat until translucent, add the garlic and fry for another minute.

Turn the heat up and add 1 tbsp butter and the liver. Fry until the liver pieces are cooked all the way around but pink in the middle. Add the anchovy (whole), more butter, red wine and thyme. Fry while stirring until half the liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper. 

Remove from heat and pour into a food processor. Add the cream and mix until as smooth as possible. Season to taste with salt, pepper and maybe a pinch of sugar. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve, into the serving container. The mixture is a  bit liquid at this stage but it will set in the fridge. Refridgerate for several hours (about 4-5) for the mousse to set and the flavours to develop. 

Dinner party preparations and nibbles

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Place cards with songs

I had a dinner party for my friends in the summer house to mark my 30th birthday and with several guests it was quite a lot to prepare, but it all went well.

I feel confident enough in the kitchen now to be able to improvise if I need to. The day before the party I went grocery shopping and prepared the frozen dessert and on the day of the dinner party I did everything else, with help from my best friend Emma and my parents.

Emma got to do all the boring but time consuming tasks like wash and cut the potatoes, which I am very grateful for. We also left all the washing up for next day so we too could enjoy the party fully and that worked really well.

Mum made the table decorations

Salmon for the starter

The mussels are prepped

The meat is browned before hitting the oven

The guests can pour the aperitif

When the guests arrived we had bubbly and nibbles. Both the lovely ricotta stuffed mushrooms with lemon and persillade as well as mussels with aioli. In Sweden we don’t eat mussels very often, and I guess this was my attempt to put them ‘out there’. It seemed to work.

Mussels with aioli, makes 35-40

1 kg fresh large mussels (ca 35-40)

1 batch homemade aioli (see below)

water

Rinse the mussels and de-beard them. Discard of the mussels that are open and or have broken shell. Bring the water to the boil in a large sauce pan and place as many as the mussels you can fit (cook them in batches if necessary), put the lid on and cook for a few minutes until the mussels are opened. Drain and let cool enough for you to discard of the empty half shells. Place the mussels shell side down in an oven-proof dish and place a dollop (1/2-1 tsp) of aioli on each mussel. Put in a 200C oven for about 10 minutes before serving. 

Aioli:

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

150 ml neutral oil

1/2 lemon, the juice

salt, pepper

1 garlic clove, pressed

Place the yolk in a bowl and add the oil drop by drop at first and then in a small spout, while whisking. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and garlic.

Globe artichoke – the perfect nibble?

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Sometimes I really admire the ability the Mediterranean countries have to dress up vegetables in the most simplest way and make it taste delicious.

When Maria & Daniel were here in April we had artichokes the simple French way and it was both good fun to pick it apart and fabulous to eat. I served it with melted butter, wild garlic mayo and baguette. Amazing!

Whole artichoke

Depending on the size, use approx 1/2 artichoke per person as a nibble/small starter.

Trim the leaves with scissors all around the artichoke and rub with lemon over the cuts so they won’t go brown. Place the artichoke in salted boiling water and cook until soft (20-45 minutes depending on size). Start to eat it by picking the leaves from the bottom and up, outside and in. Dip in butter or mayo and scrape off the ‘meaty’ part with your teeth. Once the leaves are picked the heart remains. Trim away all the fluff and cut it up, serve with a knife and fork.

A different kind of prawn sandwich

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In Sweden we like our cold-water prawns, and most Fridays of my life I have eaten them with salad, boiled eggs, mayonnaise (or aioli), lemon wedges and bread, either constructed as a sandwich or peeling as you go (because shelled prawns taste way better).

But when I saw this different prawn sandwich at the fab Swedish blog Pickipicki, I knew I had to try it. Doesn’t it sound amazing with mangosalsa?!

Unfortunately I was rather inept of reading (and therefore following) a recipe this particular evening, so instead of mushed up avocado underneath the salsa I diced the avocado and added it to the salsa. Together with mayo and toasted muffins it turned out really well.

Prawn sandwich with mango and avocado salsa, serves 2

Adapted and translated from Tina’s recipe.

2 English muffins

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ripe mango

1/2 red onion

1 tomato

1/2 lime

1 handful coriander

1/2 red chilli

2 ripe avocados

500 g shelled coldwater prawns

Hellman’s mayonnaise or homemade

Dice the mango, tomato and avocado. Finely chop chilli, red onions and coriander. Mix everything together in a bowl with lime juice and oil. Leave while peeling the prawns. Cut the muffins in half and toast.

Spread mayo on the muffin halves, add the salsa and put the prawns on top.

Roasted baby aubergine with pesto and mozzarella

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A little while ago when I had invited Jess and Laura over for dinner, I was not my usual organised self. I was battling a cold and only had the energy to clean the flat and prepare dessert the day before, and figured I could buy the rest at lunch time the same day and prepare it before my guests arrived.

That day I was particularly busy at work and didn’t have time to go to a nice supermarket. Instead I rushed in to the closest Tesco Express and was devestated when I realised they didn’t even have spinach in the shop, and I had re-plan the whole menu then and there.

But it turned out well. As my starter I served serrano rolls with lemon crème (but made with prosciutto instead) and roasted baby aubergines with pesto and mozzarella, served with crusty bread.

Even though this is more to throw ingredients together than actual cooking it was a nice dish, perfect for barbecues or summery buffets.

Roasted baby aubergine with pesto and mozzarella, serves 3

4-5 baby aubergines

1 jar fresh pesto (or homemade)

1 ball buffalo mozzarella

mild olive oil

salt, black pepper

Wash the aubergines and cut in half lenghtways. Place skin-side down in a roasting tray and brush the flesh with olive oil. Bake for 20  minutes in 200C oven. Remove from oven and spread a tsp of pesto on each half. Top with chunks of mozzarella. Season and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Ricotta stuffed mushrooms with persillade, parmesan and lemon

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Just like the French I really enjoy a meal with two or three courses. Not because I always want to indulge but because eating the food in batches is good for me (anf my tummy). If I am really really hungry (starving) I am not a pleasant person to be around, and when food is then put in front of me I can’t control myself, my inner cave woman takes over and inhales the food, which most often than not gives me a tummy ache. Not ideal and yet I do this over and over… So the best way for me to eat is to break up the meal in courses so I can’t inhale so much food at one single time.

Also I love starters and finger food and see this argument as a good excuse…

Anyway – stuffed mushrooms are great, and I have a few different recipes on the blog already, but I still had to give you this recipe, because it turned out really well. There is enough lemon in the ricotta to feel fresh and zesty but not so much that it overpowers the parsley and garlic, instead the flavours just marry together. Serve as a starter with some rocket, balsamic vinegar and nice bread or as little rustic canapées.

Ricotta stuffed mushrooms with persillade, parmesan and lemon, serves 3

250 g chestnut mushrooms

150 g ricotta

100 ml grated parmesan

zest from 1/2 lemon

3-4 tsp persillade

salt, white pepper

melted butter for brushing

Rinse the mushrooms and remove the stalks. Brush all around with melted butter and place hollow side up in an oven tray.

Mix ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, persillade, salt and pepper in a bowl and stuff the mushrooms with the mixture. Bake in 200C for about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

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.

Serrano rolls with lemon crème

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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!