Category: Fish & seafood

Pasta with sardines

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

Inspired by Chris’ cookbook Bringing Italy home by Ursula Ferrigno, I made pasta with sardines the other day.

A great low-budget dinner that was really tasty!

Pasta with sardines, serves 2

Spaghetti

Sauce:

1 onion

1/2 fennel

1 can chopped tomatoes (Cirio)

Italian herbs

chilli flakes

vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 packet sardines in water

Topping:

breadcrumbs

1 clove garlic, pressed

parsley

chilli flakes

olive oil

Pour some olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onions and fennel for a few minutes until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, seasoning and let it simmer for a few minutes. When it has reduced slightly, add the sardines and let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Cook the spaghetti. In a small frying pan, take two tbsp of the tomato sauce, a handful of breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley and chilli flakes and cook it crusty and golden in olive oil. When the pasta is cooked, drain it but save some of the water in case the tomato sauce is too thick. Add some of the tomato sauce and mix it in with the pasta. Plate the pasta, pour some of the remaining sauce over the pasta, add some the breadcrumbs and drizzle some olive oil over the plate.

Spaghetti with scallops

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Scallops is another one of my favourite foods. I like both the silky smooth texture and the nice flavour that is very different to any other seafood. Together with pasta it makes a nice light main course.

Spaghetti with scallops, 2 portions

spaghetti (my favourite is De Cecco linguine)

8 king scallops (more if you buy smaller ones)

5-6 sunblush tomatoes in olive oil

1 clove garlic (or more), pressed

some chopped parsley

1 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 lemon, the juice

salt

extra virgin olive oil

Start off my removing the small muscles on the scallops that are too chewy to eat. Next chop the parsley and tomatoes. Cook the pasta, and then get started on the rest. In a small frying pan heat up a knob of butter and some olive oil, medium-medium high heat. Cook the scallops, first 2-3 minutes on one side and when they have got some colour and you can see that they are cooked halfway through or so, turn over for another 2-3 minutes. You don’t want to cook them for too long and you don’t want them underdone, so check by making a small cut with a knife if you need too. Season the scallops with salt and white pepper. Remove the scallops onto a sideplate and rinse the frying pan quickly. Pour in some fresh olive oil (quite a lot) and turn the heat down, throw in the garlic and tomatoes, chilli flakes and parsley and squeeze out the lemon juice. Put some salt and pepper in there too. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes and then turn the heat off. Drain the pasta, pour in the tomato mixture and if it feels dry pour in some more olive oil. Plate the pasta and place four scallops on every plate. Drizzle on some more olive oil and sprinkle on some salt.

Matjes cheesecake

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This is a savoury cheesecake with Matjes herring, perfect for Midsummer or crayfish parties. It is easy to make and needs to be made the day before, or at least a few hours before serving, so it sets properly.

Matjes cheesecake

Base:

6-8 slices dark rye bread

75 g butter

Filling:

1 tin matjes herring

400 ml creme fraiche

100 ml mayonnaise

1 tub Philadelphia

a bit of horseradish

50 ml chopped dill

2 tbsp red caviar

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 tsp gelatine powder

2 tbsp water

There are two ways to make the base. Either mix softened butter with the bread in a food processor, or mix the bread with a stick blender, melt the butter, add it to the crumbs and mix it together. Then press it out into a springform.

Chop the herring and mix together with creme fraiche, cream cheese, mayo, horseradish, onion dill and caviar. Season with salt and white pepper. Next mix the gelatine with the water in a bowl and let it swell for a few minutes, then place the bowl in boiling water and stir the gelatine around until it has all melted and completely dissolved into the water. Remove from the boiling water and let it cool down. Then add it to the mixture and make sure it is mixed in completely, then pour the mixture into the springform, make sure to level it with a spatula. Put clingfilm on it and place in the fridge until the next day.

Just before serving it decorate it with lemon slices and dill or something more elaborate. Perfect for a buffet.

Fish soup with aioli

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On Saturday I made fish soup for the first time, totally improvised but with my mother’s version in mind (although not knwing the recipe for it). I think I came quite close, and this is exactly how I like my fish soup. Although I should have used better stock! Only had stock cubes at hand and that’s just not good enough. But it was still pretty good, and with the homemade aioli it was even great! 🙂

Fish soup with aioli, 2 portions

For the aioli:

2 eggyolks

2 tsp dijon mustard

a pinch of salt

some white pepper

250 ml coldpressed rapeseed oil

1,5 small cloves of garlic, pressed

For the soup:

3 carrots

1 potato

1 layer of a fennel

150 ml cream

75 ml white wine

500 ml water + stock

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 trout fillet

1 whiting fillet

100 g peeled prawns

some chopped parsley

Start with the aioli: Mix the yolks with the mustard and salt and pepper in a steady bowl. Use an electric whisk to mix the oil, little by little, into the eggs. Using a good rapeseed oil will make the mayonnaise all yellow and pretty, but only give it a slight taste. You can also use a sunflower oil or something similar, but not a strong olive oil, it will give the mayonnaise the wrong flavour. Usually when making mayonnaise you add a little bit of white wine vinagar in the beginning as well, but I happened to all out of vinegar and since I add both the mustard and garlic, it is actually not needed, but when making regular mayo I think a little vinegar would make it even better. Press in the garlic after you have mixed all the oil with the yolks. I thought 1,5 small cloves was absolutely perfect for my taste, but taste your way to your best result. Cover the aioli with clingfilm and put it in the fridge while making the soup.

For the soup, peel the carrots and potatoes and chop them into similar sized pieces, cut one layer of the fennel into matching pieces, put it in a pan and cover with water, throw in some salt and boil until the vegetables are cooked. Then puree them, add cream and wine and water + stock until preferred texture and taste, press in some garlic, season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then cut the fish into pieces, 1 x 1 inch, place in the soup and cook for a few minutes. Next throw in the prawns so they heat up, lastly sprinkle the parsley on top. Serve immeadiately with a large dollop of aioli in each bowl, some nice crusty bread and a nice chilled wine. Enjoy!

Pasta with tiger prawns, red pepper pesto and mushrooms

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Yesterday I wasn’t really prepared to make dinner, as I expected us to go out before going to the Proms. But the koncert didn’t start until late, so I was more in the mood of going home and relax until going there, so I quickly had to come up with something. Defrosting prawns doesn’t take long, and making this pasta dish doesn’t take long either – a perfect weekday dinner.

Pasta with tiger prawns, red pepper pesto and mushrooms, 2 portions

Pasta, I took farfalle

200 g cooked and peeled tiger prawns

1 can sliced button mushrooms

250 ml single cream

3 tbsp red pepper pesto

1 clove garlic, pressed

a splash of chilli sauce

some chilli flakes

stock

Italian herb seasoning

salt

white pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the packet. Fry the mushrooms in some olive oil until they have got some colour. Then lower the heat and pour in the cream, followed by the other ingredients for the sauce, except the prawns. Bring to a boil, have a taste and adjust the flavours according to taste. If the sauce gets too thick, pour in a little milk. When the pasta has a minute or so to cook, pour the prawns into the sauce so they heat up. Drain the pasta and serve the sauce. If you have some fresh parsley at hand (I didn’t), chop it and sprinkle on top of the sauce. Enjoy!

Toast Skagen

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As mentioned in this recipe, this type of prawn cocktail is a common Swedish starter. This is how I make mine.

The reason why I prefer this version compared to the Marie Rose sauce is that this one feels fresher, and doesn’t have that sour vinegary taste to it. See which one you prefer.

Toast Skagen, 4 portions

200 grams peeled icelandic prawns (preferrably big ones)

1/2  bunch of dill

1/2 lemon

150 ml creme fraiche

3-4 tbsp mayonnaise (preferrably Hellman’s)

4 medium slices of white bread

butter

4-8 little gem lettuce leaves (depending on size)

Mix the mayonnaise with the creme fraiche, squeeze in the lemon juice, add the dill, chopped, and the prawns whole. Season with salt and white pepper. Cut the edges off the bread and fry gently until golden in the butter. Let cool a little. Place the bread slices on a plate each, put one or two lettuce leaves on top and divide the mayonnaise on top and if you want, decorate it with a slice of lemon and some dill.

If you don’t want to fry the bread, you can toast it and spread a little butter on it instead, but I think the bread is crispier this way.

Simple but delicious!

Pasta with courgette, tiger prawns and parsley crème

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As you can see below, we forgot to take a picture before dinner, this is Christopher’s plate mid-dinner when I had finished (inhaled) mine. Very tasty!

The parsley crème is not my own creation, you find the Swedish original recipe here.

Pasta with courgette, tiger prawns and parsley crème, 2 portions

200 ml fresh parsley

50 ml olive oil and more for frying

150 ml creme fraiche

1 baby courgette

1 packet tiger prawns

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1 lemon

spaghetti

Start with the parsley crème; mix the parsley with olive oil. Then stir in the creme fraiche, squeeze half the lemon in and season with salt and pepper (it needs quite a lot of salt). Next slice the courgette finely and cut the slices in half. Fry until golden in olive oil, then remove from the pan. Cook the spaghetti. Then use the same frying pan as before, warm up some oilve oil on low heat and add the garlic, then the prawns. When they’re slightly golden, squeeze the other half of the lemon over it and let it reduce a little, season with salt and white pepper. Add the courgettes. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and mix with most of the parsley crème. Plate the pasta and put the courgettes and prawns on top of the pasta, then dollop some of the remaining crème on top. Enjoy immediately!

 

Canapes: salmon rolls

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This is a real classic Swedish canape! You can substitute the salmon with smoked ham if you want a meat version.

Salmon rolls to the left, aubergine and caviar on flatbread to the right

 

Salmon rolls

8 soft wheat tortillas (1 packet)

200 grams cold smoked salmon

100 ml creme fraiche

fresh grated horseradish

salt and pepper

Mix the creme fraiche with some horseradish to your taste, season with salt and pepper. On each tortilla, spread a thin layer of the creme fraiche mixture. Cover it with salmon, but make sure it doesn’t hang out anywhere. Roll the tortillas tightly and place with the opening down on a plate. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge until it’s time to serve them. When serving them, slice them into 1,5 cm slices and put on a plate.

 

Canapes: Skagenstyle prawn salad on endives

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In sweden this Skagenröra, prawn salad is a classic starter on buttered toast, but works as a canape on endives (chicory) too. You can use the green ones if you like, I just thought it looked pretty with the red endives. 🙂

Skagenstyle prawn salad on endives

1 endive

100 grams fresh peeled prawns

4 tbsp mayonnaise (I used Hellman’s)

3 tbsp creme fraiche

1/2 lemon, juice from

1/2 bunch dill, chopped

Take all the leaves of the stem of the endive, rinse, let dry and place on a plate. Chop the prawns roughly, chop the dill finely and mix together with creme fraiche and mayonnaise. Squeeze the lemon juice over it and stir. Season with salt and white pepper if you want. Place a teaspoon-ful on the leaves. Use a small lemon wedge for decoration. (Take a lemon slice and cut it into 8 wedges).

N.B. Skagen is a seaside town in Denmark, known for its fishing harbour, its amazing lights and the Skagen painters. Visit sometime, it’s lovely!

Paradise prawns

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I made this when my best friend Emma came to visit and we needed something quick before the fotball game.

 

Paradise Prawns 4 portions

1 can chopped tomatoes (400 grams)

3oo ml single cream

1/2 a fish stock cube

a splash of white wine (circa 50 ml)

250-300 grams peeled prawns (Icelandic ones)

1 pack of parsley, chopped

Use a sauteuse pan if you have one, but sauce pan or frying pan works too. Pour in tomatoes and cream, bring to boil. Add the stock cube and wine, season with salt and pepper. When the sauce is heated up, add the prawns and let them heat up, add the parsley just before serving. Serve with rice and  a nice salad.

My mother’s original recipe contains sliced mushrooms and peppers, but it is just as nice without.

This is a very tasty dish that is quick to make but still feels like something extra. When I lived with my parents, we used to eat this every other Friday, that’s how tasty this is!

In Swedish.