Category: Quick suppers

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.

Jerusalem artichoke soup

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This is my absolute favourite soup! I have fond memories of it as well. I started working as a waitress part-time at a small hotel in the countryside in the south of Sweden when I was at University in Lund. The hotel was a small manor house, really old and therefore very cold. In the winter it was freezing in the kitchen because it had so many outer walls. The chefs were really nice though, sometimes they made us the yummiest hot chocolate made of chocolate and cream, or Jerusalem artichoke soup with chopped schallots, which we ate gathered by the stove to get our body temperatures up. It wasn’t this cold in the restaurant, so the guests were fine actually.

This recipe is to serve the soup as a starter, but it’s great as a light supper as well, just make a little bit more, serve it with bread and maybe throw in some crispy bacon or some prawns in the soup, and maybe a dollop of creme fraiche. Enjoy!

Jerusalem artichoke soup, 2 portions

5 or so Jerusalem artichokes

100-150 ml cream

vegetable stock

chopped schallots

Peel the artichokes and cut them into equally sized pieces. Cover just, with water in a pan, sprinkle in some salt, bring to a boil and cook until very tender. Pour out some of the remaining water, and puree the rest with a stick blender. If this is too thick you can always add some of the water again, but it is difficult to make the soup thicker once it is liquidized. Pour in the cream, some stock, salt and white pepper and adjust the thickness with some of the remaining water if necessary. Bring to a boil again. Serve in bowls with some chopped schallots.

Smoked paprika chicken stroganoff

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When my friend Gaby stayed with us a couple of days ago I made this Gordon Ramsay recipe, and she described it as grown-up comfort food. Definitely a term Nigella would agree with. 😉 This is autumnal, comforting and has a little punch to it.

Even though this is Gordon’s creation I had to change it a little, hope he doesn’t mind. 🙂

Smoked paprika chicken stroganoff, 4 portions

450 g chicken breast, cut into strips

2 tsp smoked paprika

olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

1 pepper, sliced

button mushrooms, quartered

150 ml chicken stock

splash white wine

50 ml creme fraiche or sour cream

parsley, chopped

a dash soy

a dash chilli sauce

Heat up a pan with olive oil, sprinkle the smoked paprika on the chicken and fry it until 3/4 cooked, put aside. In the same pan, add some fresh olive oil and fry the onion and garlic tender on low heat, next add the pepper and mushrooms and fry for about four minutes until tender. Pour in the wine and chicken stock and the creme fraiche. Bring to boil and season with salt, pepper, more paprika, chilli sauce, soy and stock. Put the chicken back in and cook for a few minutes. Throw in the parsley and stir. Serve with rice and a nice salad.

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!

Quick bolognese

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I like to cook from scratch and take pride in it, but sometimes there just isn’t enough time. When I get hungry I get really grumpy, so it’s best to get food on the table quickly. In situations like this, this is how I do it. Even though it is cheating, it tastes much nicer than a tomato sauce from a jar.

Quick (but tasty) bolognese, 4 portions

500 grams minced beef

1/2 packet smoked streaky bacon

1 can sliced mushrooms (or fresh button mushrooms)

1 can plum tomatoes (400 g)

3 tbsp creme fraiche

beef stock

1-2 tbsp Reggae Reggae sauce

a splash of Tabasco

1 tbsp chili sauce (or ketchup)

1 tbsp italian herb seasoning

1 clove of garlic, pressed

salt and pepper

Start by frying the mushrooms golden in butter, then pour over to a bowl. In the same skillet fry the bacon crispy, remove to the same bowl as the mushrooms. Fry the mince in the same pan, when done add the mushrooms and bacon, pour in the tomatoes and creme fraiche and season to taste with garlic, stock, salt and pepper and spices. Let it all cook for a few minutes. Serve with spaghetti and grated parmesan. Yum!

Fillet of pork with red pepper pesto

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In Sweden we eat fillet of pork a lot, it is typical weekend or dinner party food. Here most people don’t seem to eat it and it is therefore really cheap. Today I bought a fillet that weighed about 560 grams and it cost less than £5. That’s a bargain, especially since it would easily feed 3-4 people. So here is a simple recipe on how to cook pork fillet, so go try it out. Since it is pork it can become a bit dry if not cooked properly, but putting it in sauce in the oven makes it very tender and yummy.

This was my second helping, completely forgot to take pictures before we started eating...

Fillet of pork with red pepper pesto, 4 portions

a large pork fillet

300 ml single cream

200 ml creme fraiche

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 jar red pepper pesto (3-4 tbsp)

Start by trimming the fillet of fat and tendons. Then fry it whole in some butter, season with salt and black pepper. When it is cooked all around, take it off the pan and cut it into 1 cm thick slices. Place these in a oven dish. Mix the cream, creme fraiche, garlic and pesto together, season with some salt and white pepper and pour it over the meat. Put the dish in the oven for about 30 minutes in 200 C. Serve either with rice or homemade potato wedges and broccoli. I did the latter.

Baked potatoes – Swedish style

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I still haven’t learned to like jacket potatoes with baked beans or cheese or tuna, which seems to be how potatoes are eaten here in England. Instead I hold on to my Swedish way of eating baked potatoes. With prawns of course. Try it!

As you can see I eat my potato with a tea spoon, that is another Swedish thing I think... 🙂

Baked potatoes with prawns and caviar, 2 portions

1-2 baking potatoes per person

100 grams peeled prawns (Waitrose’s Maine prawns are ideal, make sure it’s icelandic type prawns and not tiger prawns)

100 ml creme fraiche

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, juice from

2 tsp caviar

salt

ground white pepper

Start off with baking the potatoes for 1-1,5 hours on 200 degrees. Before putting them in the oven slice a cross on the top of each potato, it makes it easier to ‘open’ later. While the potatoes are baking, make the prawn filling. Roughly chop the prawns and mix with the other ingredients, pour in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, store in fridge until the potatoes are ready. When they are, take them out and push them open with oven gloves. Basically press both sides of the potato towards the middle and the cross you made earlier will come open, and you can spoon in the filling there. Garnish with lemon slices or some more caviar if you like. Enjoy!

Pasta carbonara

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I like to cook dishes that doesn’t need any specific ingredients, but only things I always have at hand. It feels like a free meal!

This is one of these free meals, as we always have eggs and bacon in our fridge, and most of the time parmesan and a bit of cream too.

Pasta carbonara, 2 portions

400 grams spaghetti

6 slices smoked streaky bacon

2 eggs

50 ml single cream

50 ml grated parmesan

blackpepper

salt

Cook the spaghetti the way you like it. Meanwhile, cut the bacon in small pieces and fry them on medium-high heat until they’re brown and crispy. Let some kitchen towel soak up the excess fat. Whisk the eggs and cream together and add the parmesan and blackpepper. Drain the pasta and pour the eggmixture over it and add the bacon. Make sure you coat everything with the sauce. Serve with some more black pepper and parmesan for those who want some, and it is nice to serve a salad with this creamy dish.

Mexican chicken quiche

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In Sweden we eat a lot of quiche, I have no idea why, but you find quiche recipes everywhere. This is not a traditional quiche, but it’s very tasty. You find the original recipe in Swedish here, since this is not my own recipe, but enjoy it anyway! 🙂

Mexican chicken quiche

Pastry:

Either readymade puff pastry (which I used) or:

50 grams butter (at room temperature)

150 ml plain flour

1 tbsp water

Just mix together and cover the quiche dish. If you use puff pastry, roll out and cover the dish. Peck wholes in the pastry using a fork. Pre-bake at 225 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling:

5-8 feferonis or pickled jalapenos

1/2 grilled chicken, de-bone and cut into smaller pieces

10 button mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, or shallots, chopped

150 grams cream cheese

1/2 jar chunky salsa (preferably homemade)

300 ml grated cheese

Fry the onion, mushrooms and chicken, add the salsa and cream cheese and simmer a few minutes. When the pastry is cooked, sprinkle the chillis over the base, then add the chicken mixture. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is golden.

Serve with a nice salad.

Potato salad

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Potato salad is great to serve at barbeques, and this is a lighter version without mayonnaise.

Potato salad with vinaigrette, 6 portions

1000 grams baby new potatoes

a handful of fresh spinach

1 red onion

1,5 tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Wash and boil the potatoes, leave to cool. Dice them into equal size, quite big chunks. Chop the spinach, cut the onion in half and slice it finely. Whisk together the vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper, mix it all together with two spoons.

Enjoy!