On Monday when it was a bank holiday here, me and some friends tried to make the most of the extra day off, and met up for a picnic. It was very windy unfortuately, so we had to hold onto our didposable plates. But it is always nice to get together, drink rosé and eat nice food.
I contributed with this pasta salad. It is easy to make, and really nice on its own or with chicken.
Green pasta salad with bacon, serves 4 or 6-8 on a picnic
300 g fusilli pasta
3 tbsp pesto
3 msk olivolja
1 courgette
1 packet smoked bacon
a few handfuls baby spinach
Cook the pasta, drain and rinse in cold water to get rid of the starch. Slice the courgette and cut the slices in half. Fry in olive oil on medium heat until soft. Leave to cool. Fry the bacon in small pieces until crispy. Drain from excess fat on kitchen towel. Mix pesto and oil in a large bowl. Add the pasta and mix thoroughly. Add courgette, bacon and spinach. Mix again.
It is very probable that I am repeating myself, but I think the cokbook Nigella Express gets better and better everytime I pick it up. It contains plenty of weekday recipes, which is great. And this recipe is from that book. I have made it many times, and you can eat it as it is or have maybe some chicken scewers with it. And it is perfect for the lunch box the next day.
Sesame peanut noodles, serves 4
Dressing:
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp garlic oil (or regular olive oil)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
100 g peanutbutter
2 tbsp lime juice
Salad:
125g mange tout
150 g beansprouts
1 red pepper, sliced
2 spring onions, sliced
550 g cooked cool egg noodles
20g sesame seeds
4 tbsp chopped coriander
Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Add everything but sesame seeds and coriander. Mix throughly. Add extra olive oil if it feels to dry. Add sesame seeds and coriander just before serving.
I just love this salad! And I actually really like salads in general, but because of my way-less-fiber-diet-to-keep-the-stomach-happy, most salads are difficult for me, but a Caesar sallad is in a way a non salad. I know it has lettuce in it, but that is the only green, the rest is just nice proteins to make it taste nice, and that is the best kind of salad to me. One that fills you up, makes it feel lighter than a carb-heavy meal but still tastes absolutely delicious. Chicken, bacon, parmesan, croûtons and dressing – what’s not to like?!
For us it was nice with a break from the heavy food we tend to eat during the cold months. I really have to remember to eat more soups in the winter and more salads in the summer, because as much as I like my meat, fish and potatoes, I really do like soups and salads. Especially this one.
The reason for making a quick dressing was just that I was out of eggs, and if you have the bacon and chicken ready since the day before, this is a quick meal to whip up. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In fact, this very minute I am really looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch. 🙂
Caesar sallad eith quick dressing, serves 2-3
2 romaine lettuce heads
3 fried chicken thighs (prefferably fried in the oven)
5-6 slices crispy bacon
3 slices stale bread
1 clove garlic
olive oil
parmesan
Dressing:
100 ml creme fraiche
100 ml mayonnaise
2 anchovies in oil, finely chopped
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 pressed garlic clove
1-2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
a tiny pinch of salt
white pepper
Mix the ingredients for the dressing and leave it while preparing the salad. Trim the edges off the bread and cut into large cubes. Heat up olive oil on medium-low heat and add the pressed garlic, throw in the bread and fry them until golden all around. Add more oil if needed and take care not to burn the garlic. Rinse the lettuce and tear into pieces. Put on plates. Take away the bones and skin from the chicken and distribute it on top of the lettuce. Tear the bacon in pices and scatter on top, add croûtons and slices of parmesan. Drizzle the dressing on top. Alternatively, dress the lettuce before putting onto the plates and place everything else on top. Finish off with some black pepper.
When I invited my Swedish friends over for lunch I wanted to have an English theme, because it worked so well the year before when I had afternoon tea.
When the guests arrived I introduced them to mulled cider, dry English cider served warm with spices. Whole cloves, whole cinnamon, star anise, vanilla pod (or vanilla sugar) and a pinch of sugar makes the cider taste fantastic. I saw this on Jamie Oliver’s Christmas program last year and love it. We had some ginger biscuits and cheese twists with it.
For the actual lunch I chose to serve Shepherd’s pie which I hadn’t cooked before. I didn’t want to fail and trusted Delia, and her recipe was amazing. You find her recipe for four people here. As usual I guessed and didn’t follow the recipe completely. 🙂 I used 2 kg lamb mince which was enough for 13 people who nearly all had a second helping. I made a fresh simple salad to go with it with endives, stilton and walnuts. Really nice.
Delia’s Shepherd’s pie, serves 14-16
2 kg lamb mince
olive oil
3 onions, chopped
5 carrots, chopped
1/3 swede, diced
ground cinnamon
fresh thyme
parsley
plain flour
1 l beef stock
4 tbsp tomato paste
3,5 kg potatoes
a lot of butter
salt
pepper
grated cheese
1 large leek, sliced
Fry the onions until soft on medium heat, approx 5 mins. Then add the vegetables (not the leek) and fry for another 5 mins. Remove from pan. Fry the mince in the same frying pans (you need 2-3) in some more oil until it is brown. Add salt and pepper. Spread the cooked vegetables between the pans and add some flour, cinnamon, thyme, parsley and tomato paste. Add the stock and cover with lid for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Season to taste.
Peel the potatoes and cut into small pieces. Cook until really soft, about 25 mins. Drain and wait a few minutes before you mash them. Add salt, pepper and lots of butter (no milk this time) and mash them with an electric whisk.
Divide the mince between 2 large dishes and flatten. Spread the mash on top. Scatter the leeks and grated cheese on top. Bake for about 25 mins in 200C until they’re nice and golden on top.
Endive salad with stilton and walnuts, serves 16
4 endives
a stilton wedge
2 large handfuls chopped walnuts
extra virgin olive oil
Wash the endives and remove the outer leaves. Cut off the base and scatter the leaves on a big platter. Crumble the cheese on top and scatter the walnut pieces. Drizzle olive oil on top.
On Saturday we had a little Christmas dinner among friends. It was David, Gaby, Ian, Anna and me and Christopher and we all contributed to the dinner by bringing different dishes, and the result was a great smorgasbord of Christmas food with an international touch.
Blinis with smoked salmon, chives and creme fraiche
Anna (who has a Russian mother and a Finnish father) served homemade blinis with smoked salmon, chives and creme fraiche as a starter. Wonderful!
For the first time I tried making meatballs in the oven and then fry them afterwards, and they were perfect. 🙂
Instead of a main course we had a buffet with different dishes; David and Gaby’s amazing ham, Anna’s Salad Olivier (Russian salad with boiled eggs, potatoes, carrots, beetroots, frankfurters, gherkins, grated apple and mayonnaise), roast potatoes, meatballs, anchovies bake, brussel sprouts with bacon, carrots in orange butter, green beans and a shallots and red wine gravy. Really nice! 🙂
The prettiest ham ever!Ham with wholegrain mustard from Daylesford organic.Salad Oliver!Anchovies bakeBrussel sprouts with baconA plate full of wonderful food!
Gaby made a lovely crumble with apple and blackberries for dessert. After that we had some Christmas sweets, the almond biscuits with cream and jam, clementines, tea, coffee and quite a lot of port.
Apple and blackberry crumble with custard
I woke up poorly the next day though. 😦 I hate having the flu, but it is difficult to avoid it this time of year… I really hope I will be feeling better towards the end of the week, because I’m flying home to see my family and friends on Friday.
Anchovies bake, serves 6
10 large potatoes
1-2 onions
1/2 packet anchovies with brine
300 ml cream
butter
bread crumbs
salt
white pepper
Grate the potatoes and the onions. Butter a regular dish and fill it halfway up with potatoes and onions. Cut the anchovies fillets in small pieces and scatter them on top. Put the rest of the potatoes and onions on top. Pour over the cream and the brine from the anchovies. Place a few dollops of butter around the dish, and sprinkle over some salt and white pepper. Lastly cover the dish with breadcrumbs. Bake in 200C for 45 mins to 1 hr. The potatoes should be soft and the top crispy.
Brussel sprouts with bacon
500 g brussel sprouts
8 slices of bacon
butter
grated nutmeg
salt
white pepper
chopped parsley
Trim the brussel sprouts (a really boring job, but it has to be done. Take the outer leaves off if they look manky and cut off the white bits). Boil them in salted water for 10 minutes or so. They should be softer but still quite firm.
Cut the bacon in pieces and fry them crispy in butter. Add the drained brussel sprouts, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. Add the parsley and serve straight away.
This fresh salad goes with everything! For the barbecue, buffet or as I served it last – at a Swedish crayfish party!
The recipe is from Nigella’s Forever Summer, but I haven’t looked in the book for a while and therefore have no measurements. But it is a salad so you don’t really need them! Take as much as you like of the ingredients and the result will be great. Enjoy!
Watermelon salad
Seedless watermelon (or regular)
Red onions
Lime, juice from
Feta
Parsley
Black olives
Olive oil
Start by peeling the onion, cut it in half and slice it. Put the slices in a bowl and sqeeze the lime juice over them and leave it for a while. Cut the melon in big chunks, place in a bowl, crumble the feta into the bowl, throw in some olives, the onion and limejuice and chopped parsley. Stir it around and drizzle some olive oil on top. Yum!
On Monday when it was a bank holiday here, me and some friends tried to make the most of the extra day off, and met up for a picnic. It was very windy unfortuately, so we had to hold onto our didposable plates. But it is always nice to get together, drink rosé and eat nice food.
Scandelights 