Sometimes easy is good. Like this sandwich for example. It is important to choose nice bread, a good mayo (homemade or Hellman’s), nice Icelandic prawns, and to boil the eggs exactly the way you want them (I want mine with the yolk very yellow and quite soft). And if you pipe the mayonnaise onto the eggs, it looks really pretty too. Yum!
Prawn sandwich, serves 2
1 nice baguette or ciabatta
butter
4 little gem leaves
3 boiled eggs (they way you like)
lots of mayonnaise
150-200 g peeled Icelandic prawns
red onions, cut in half and sliced
lemon
Cut the bread in half and spread on some butter. Place the rinsed and dried lettuce on top. Peel and slice the eggs and divide them between the two sandwiches, pipe lots of mayonnaise on top. Scatter the prawns on top. Sprinkle on some red onions and decorate with lemon.
I went out for drinks with work on Thursday, even though we only get together when it is someone’s leaving do, it was still nice. The wine just keep on coming, so after three glasses and not much to eat since lunch I made my excuses and came home to make dinner. Christopher was working late, and I was out, so we (I) had planned to have pasta with mussels and squid, because it is so quick to make pasta and because we had some squid in the freezer. But Christopher wasn’t in the mood for pasta, so we had to come up with something else. It might have been because I had read this NQN post the same day, that I came up with squid sandwiches, and I am forever grateful for the inspiration, because this was really good. And perfect after a few glasses of wine, I may add… 🙂
It would have been even nicer with homemade aioli but at half nine in the evening when you’re sooo hungry, it is just not an alternative to whip up aioli. Instead I took the next best thing; Hellman’s mayonnaise mixed with pressed garlic. That worked too.
Squid sandwiches, serves 2
2 squid tubes
olive oil
1 clove of garlic, pressed
2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 lemon, juice from
4 slices of nice bread, toasted
butter
baby spinach
aioli (or Hellman’s + pressed garlic)
Cut the squid into 1 cm thick rings. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Throw in the squid, press in some garlic, sprinkle over the chilli flakes and when they’re cooked through (after 3 mins or so) squeeze over some lemon. In the meantime, toast the bread and spread with butter. Put some spinach on two slices, add some garlic mayo, then the squid, then some more mayo, and maybe squeeze over some more lemon, put the remanining bread slices on top and cut the sandwiches in half. Dig in and enjoy!
It felt like winter yesterday evening. Cold wind and after a short short walk I was freezing. So when I finally got in I put on sheepskin slippers and made a warming soup. As much as I hate being cold I love when you finally get into your warm home and get the body temperature up again by making and eating something warming. That’s what autumnal food is all about, and this soup is a pretty good example of this.
Christopher was very pleased with the result as I didn’t use any cream in this soup (which I often do in soups) but this one doesn’t need it, and I’m not sure if butternut squash and cream is a great combo. The soup was slightly hotter from the chilli than I expected, so a dollop of creme fraiche was nice with it. I also made some parmesan sticks from leftover puff pastry and some quesadillas with spicy Hungarian salami.
Quite out of focus, but you get the idea...
Buttnernut squash soup with chilli, serves 2
1/2 butternut squash (I know I should have weighed it, but was way to hungry, mine was a medium-sized one)
1 medium potato
olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 clove of garlic, grated
1 pinch of salt
water
a splash of concentrated vegetable stock
1-2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp chilli sauce (a mild sweet one)
1 tsp ground cumin
adjust with more salt and stock
Take the pits out of the squash with a spoon and cut the skin off. Cut the squash into 1 inch cubes. Peel the potato and cut it into equally sized cubes. Heat up some olive oil in a large pan and add the cumin and garlic and then the squash and potatoes. Let it soak up the flavours for a few minutes without browning, then add boiling water (or cold, but boiling water is quicker) to cover, add a splash of stock or a piece of a stock cube and bring to a boil. The squash cooks soft in a few minutes, but wait until the potato is soft too. Then remove the vegetables from the saucepan and mix them, adding a bit of the cooking water until you have the thickness you like. Pour the rest of the cooking water out of the pan and pour in the mixed soup. Bring to a boil and add the chilli, more cumin, some salt and maybe some more stock, all after your own taste. Serve with maybe a dollop pf creme fraiche to take the edge off the chilli, some nice bread or quesadillas.
Parmesan sticks
Cut puff pastry into 10 cm long and 1 cm wide strips and place on a baking tray. Grate over plenty of parmesan and bake for 8-10 minutes in 200 C.
Quesadillas
Spread salsa on two soft tortillas, sprinkle grated cheese over one of them, add some salami, a little more cheese and put the other tortilla on top. Fry the tortillas in a dry skillet until they’re brown on both sides and the cheese has melted. Cut into wedges and eat straight away. These are great with soups or with guacemole as a snack.
What do to with leftover aioli? Make some nice sandwiches and spread them with beautiful yellow aioli, add parma ham, salami and cheddar. Soo tasty.
Yummy sandwiches
Simply bake some homebake ciabattas in the oven, leave to cool, cut in half and spread both halves generously with aioli. Place some parma ham and salami on the bottom half, slice some cheddar and put on top. Eat! Sooo good!
This is my own version, which I looove. I have to have it with fajitas, tacos or Dorito’s. It might not be an authentic recipe, but it is so good that I don’t really care about that. 🙂
Guacamole, 1-2 portions
1 ripe avocado
2 tbsp creme fraiche or soured cream
1 lime
Worchestershire sauce
Tabasco
salt
white pepper
Cut the avocado in half, scoop out the flesh and mush it up with a fork in a bowl. Then add the creme fraiche and mix it in, squeeze the lime juice in, a few drops of tabasco, slightly more Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper. That’s it – done.
When we make french toast in Sweden it is slightly different, we call it Fattiga riddare (which means poor knights), and it is just a sweeter version of french toast/eggy bread. It is usually served as a afternoon snack for children och as dessert, but you can also have it for breakfast like I had today.
1 slice per portion might sound like it won’t be enough, but I find this very filling so it is enough for me. If you want some more, just double the recipe.
Fattiga riddare, 2 portions
2 slices of white bread
1 egg
200 ml milk
75 ml flour
a pinch of salt
a knob of butter
granulated sugar
ground cinnamon
I cut the slices in half, but there is no need for that. Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour and salt. Dip the bread in it, make sure it is properly coated. Fry the slices golden och both sides in the butter on medium heat. Thereafter dip the bread in the sugar mixed with some cinnamon (after taste). Enjoy immediately.
Scandelights 