Category: Starters

Recipe: Crab Tostadas with Avocado and Gochujang Mayonnaise

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It all started with the Huevos Rancheros. That’s how I discovered the joy that is deep-fried corn tortillas. But be aware, not all corn tortillas are created equal. I bought some small ones from a popular brand recently and for some reason they don’t crisp up in the oil. Like, at all. No idea why, but if it doesn’t work once, don’t give up, just try different tortillas!

I hadn’t realised that it was so easy to make tostadas! The crispy fried tortillas are just utterly delicious and a great vehicle for various toppings. Last summer I was very much in the mood for the combination of crab meat, avocado and gochujang mayonnaise and they were a delight! I made them when we were in Norfolk and fresh local (delicious!) crab was readily available and we actually had them as a main course instead of a starter, but they would also be a great way to start off any tex-mex feast!

Crab Tostadas with Avocado and Gochujang Mayonnaise, serves 2

2 large corn tortillas

500 ml vegetable oil

100 ml crab meat

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

1 small bunch coriander

2-3 spring onions, thinly sliced at an angle

1/2 lime cut into 3 wedges

100 ml good quality mayonnaise

1-2 tsp gochujang paste

salt and pepper

Heat up the vegetable oil in a large frying pan with tall sides or a saucepan large enough to fit the corn tortillas. Heat the oil to 180C. Fry the tortillas one at the time in the oil until crispy and golden on both sides (turn if needed). It only takes a few minutes. Leave to drain on kitchen towel.

Mix the mayonnaise with the gochujang paste and a little salt in a bowl. Prepare the vegetables. Place your tostadas on plates and start layering. Start the the avocado, then crab, mayonnaise, spring onions and coriander. Sprinkle over a little salt and pepper. Squeeze one of the lime wedges over both plates and serve with more lime.

Recipe: The Easiest Yummiest Starter; Burrata with Tomatoes, Pesto and Olive Oil

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If you’re Team Burrata, then this is for you!

I have made so many versions of this starter over the years but this is how I like it best. It’s super easy, just an assembly job really, but oh, so delicious!

We all know burrata is delicious. Especially paired with tomatoes. And basil. But take it one step further and substitute the fresh basil (although I use some for garnish) with fresh (this is important, it has to be fresh pesto, either store-bought – you find it by the fresh pasta and sauces – or homemade) pesto. It has more flavour, more texture and makes it feel more like a proper dish than just tomatoes and burrata together.

Although this is pretty much the only building blocks, I share a few tricks in the below recipe to elevate these flavours as much as possible.

But I also recommend bread of some kind. Either a crusty baguette or a chewy ciabatta or sourdough, or of course, crisp crostini.

Burrata with tomatoes, pesto and olive oil, serves 2

125 g burrata, removed from the fridge an hour before serving

100 g cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved

2-3 tsp fresh pesto

a good quality extra virgin olive oil

fresh basil

sea salt (I like Maldon) and black pepper

a wedge of lemon

Place the burrata in a shallow bowl or on a platter. Arrange the tomatoes around it. Add salt and pepper. Add the pesto to a little bowl and add a tbsp or so of olive oil to loosen it so you can drizzle it. Stir with a teaspoon and drizzle the pesto oil mixture over the burrata and tomatoes. Squeeze over lemon juice. Decorate with basil leaves. Add a little more salt and pepper. And just before bringing it to the table, drizzle with more of the olive oil. Serve with bread or crostini.

Recipe: Langos with Two Toppings

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I’ve featured langos on the blog before, but I recently discovered a new combination of toppings that I want to share with you.

To recap, langos are Hungarian breads with potato and flour, that are deep-fried into pillowy golden discs, brushed with butter (I used wild garlic butter this time and it was divine) and topped with things like grated cheese, smetana or creme fraiche, prawns etc. They are utterly delicious and deceivingly filling!

Langos with wild garlic butter, creme fraiche, prawns, red onions and lumpfish roe

Langos are present at any Swedish festival so my go to toppings have always been very Scandinavian with creme fraiche, prawns, smoked salmon and lumpfish roe. But as I was making these for our Friday night supper at home I thought I’d better have an alternative to prawns so my dear boyfriend doesn’t get bored of them (they’re my Friday night go-to food as they’re delicious, quick and easy and can be prepared in a multitude of ways). But I must say I really liked the alternative topping of crispy prosciutto crumbs, grated cheddar and creme fraiche myself, so from now on, that will be part of my spread!

Langos with wild garlic butter, creme fraiche, crispy prosciutto and grated cheddar

I highly recommend having friends over for a langos night (when that’s allowed in your area) with all the different toppings, maybe a nice side salad and a Hungarian themed pudding. And why not go all in with Hungarian wines too?! (Can you tell I miss dinner parties and love a themed evening?!)

Langos with two toppings, serves 2

1/2 batch of langos (I made the full batch but froze half)

Toppings:

50 g melted wild garlic or garlic butter for brushing

150 ml creme fraiche

150 ml grated cheddar

1 packet prosciutto (70-80 g)

200 g peeled cold water prawns

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 jar lumpfish roe

Prepare the toppings in little bowls. Place the prosciutto on a baking parchment covered baking tray in a 200C oven until the ham is crispy, approx 5-10 minutes. Drain on kitchen towel and chop into small pieces and place in a bowl.

Deep-fry the langos according to the recipe and drain on kitchen towel. While still warm, brush one side generously with wild garlic or garlic butter. Add various toppings to the langos and dig in. Either deep-fry the langos in batches as you eat them or keep them warm and crispy in the oven on 150C or so.

Recipe: Pinxtos lunch

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Every Saturday and Sunday we have more or less the same breakfast. Once in a while I might change it up with pancakes, French Toast or something, but we always have a big breakfast.

Which makes it a bit tricky to come up with a good, but not too big lunch. Because in the evening we usually have a big dinner. First world problems, absolutely. But recently I have come up with some good lunch options like the green tortilla pizza we both love and more recently I’ve made us pinxtos!

It stated with us out on an afternoon walk one weekend and getting hungry on the way back. Popping into a supermarket to buy some lunch I wanted something quick, with no cooking involved and so I raided the deli aisle and grabbed a baguette and got to work.

I personally love pinxtos and although these lack the finesse of some of the pinxtos bars in San Sebastien they are still lovely to eat, either for lunch like we did, or as a weekend starter or light supper. What you choose to top your baguette slices with is up to you, but I highly recommend ham and manchego, and if you have any omelette or frittata leftover that’s great too. A creamy cheese and cucumber is lovely and if you have smoked salmon it’s delicious mixed with mayonnaise.

Pinxtos, serves 2

10 slices fresh baguette

Various toppings such as:

Serrano + manchego

Le Roulé cheese + cucumber

Leftover frittata (heated up)

Bresaola + mayonnaise + crispy onions + tomato

Don’t butter the bread, just add the toppings! Serve straight away.

Recipe: Prawn Sandwich on Butter-Fried Bread

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When I was quarantining in our summer house by the beach in Sweden one of the little pleasures (apart from walks along the beach, Netflix and rediscovering the vinyl collection) was of course the food. I had given mamma a shopping list beforehand so she could order the food and stock up before I got there. One of the things I was longing for (alongside Swedish sweets and my favourite cheese) were prawns in abundance. In my family we’ve had prawns pretty much every single Friday night. My parents still do. In London that feels like a real indulgence as you only buy prawns in small quantities, so I made sure to make myself a proper prawn sandwich while at home.

But with the heating on high, snuggled up under blankets and with warm socks on a cold sandwich wasn’t all that tempting. So I made sure the egg wasn’t fridge cold and cooked it just before assembling the sandwich, AND I fried the bread in butter. Frying bread in butter, if you haven’t tried it, is genius and so delicious I promise you will become obsessed and it was so the right decision for a winter version of my beloved Scandi prawn sandwich!

Prawn sandwich on butter-fried bread, serves 1

1 large egg, boiled to your preference (I like mine runny so I’m a 5-6 minute gal), cooled, peeled and sliced

1 slice of white good quality bread

2 tbsp salted butter

1-2 lettuce leafs such as little gem

plenty (approx 4 tbsp) good quality mayonnaise (i.e. Hellmann’s or homemade)

250-300 g large shell-on cold water prawns, peeled (shell on prawns have more flavour so I prefer to peel my own)

2 slices cucumber

1 slice of lemon

sprig of dill

Fry the bread in butter, 1 tbsp per side, on medium-low heat until golden brown. Drain on kitchen roll. Place the fried bread on a plate and add a thin layer of mayo (to hold the lettuce in place). Place the lettuce on top and then distribute the sliced egg. Top with a very generous amount of mayonnaise. Then place the prawns on top. Decorate with lemon, cucumber and a sprig of dill.

Recipe: Burrata with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Wild Garlic Pesto

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One of my favourite foods is undoubtedly burrata. It’s just so creamy and delicious and a nice weekend treat. But, it’s also the easiest thing to use for a lovely starter. When you have burrata you don’t have to work so hard with the rest; just make sure it goes well together.

So for a lovely spring time starter a few weekends ago I made minimal work. Apart from taking the burrata out of the fridge an hour ahead of eating I really didn’t do much; my appliances did all the work for me. The oven slow roasted the cherry tomatoes until jammy and sweet and the food processor made a really delicious wild garlic pesto to smother the burrata with. Add to that some bread and Bob’s your uncle.

Burrata with slow-roasted tomatoes and wild garlic pesto, serves 2

1 x 150g burrata

150 g cherry tomatoes

mild olive oil

1 tsp oregano or herbes de Provence

salt and pepper

1 batch wild garlic pesto

grassy olive oil for drizzling

salt and pepper

bread to serve

Preheat the oven to 150C. Wash and halve the tomatoes. Place them in an oven-proof dish and drizzle with mild olive oil. Add the herbs, salt and pepper and mix to coat. Place in oven for approx 1 hour.

Take the burrata out of the fridge an hour before it’s needed. Make the pesto.

To assemble, place the burrata on a deep plate, place the tomatoes around the burrata and dollop the pesto on top. Drizzle with a grassy olive oil and add salt and pepper. Serve with bread.

Recipe: Baked Vacherin Mont d’Or with Sherry

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We only managed one baked Vacherin night this Mont d’Or season but it was a good one! I didn’t have any opened white wine so used a dry sherry instead and it worked so well, I wanted to share it here. I skipped the garlic as I don’t think it’s needed so it’s super simple to make.

Last year we learnt how amazing the baked cheese was together with cold (not fridge-cold, but cooled after cooking) new potatoes (a bit like raclette) so those were a must have. We also had bread which is a given, and I like something crusty like a baguette to give a bit of a contrast to the soft melted cheese texture wise. (I love it the most when it’s starting to cool down slightly and coats the bread or potatoes with a thick layer of cheese.) Charcuterie is also a must for me and I wan’t something with acidity as well so cleanse the palate in between. We had radishes and cornichons, but crispy apple slices or small pickled onions work well too.

I’m salivating as I’m writing this, and am already looking forward to the next Vacherin season (December-March) but I’m also very ready for spring and summer right now. It’s already wild garlic season and I cannot WAIT for the British asparagus to come up!

Baked Vacherin Mont d’Or, serves 2

1 Vacherin Mont d’Or cheese 450-500 g, at room temperature

60 ml dry sherry

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Unwrap the cheese from any plastic and place on a baking sheet. Make a few slits in the top and pour in the sherry. Bake until melted and hot, approximately 30-45 minutes. Serve with a platter of nice things to dip into the cheese such as cooked cooled new potatoes, sliced baguette, charcuterie, radishes and cornichons.

Recipe: Mushroom Carpaccio with Burrata and Crostini

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While we’re patiently waiting for spring and tomato season, or as I prefer to call it; TOMATO AND BURRATA season, because there is no better combination of flavours ever, I have another easy burrata recipe to share. One that is as simple as slicing a tomato and tear a burrata into chunks. Well almost.

It’s a completely different flavour profile with earthy but fresh mushrooms, grassy olive oil and some lemon to brighten it all up, paired with that delicious creamy burrata. Serve with or on top of crostini for more texture.

Mushroom carpaccio with burrata and crostini, serves 2 as a starter

Inspiration from Systrarna Eisenman.

For the crostini:

1 small baguette

2 tbsp olive oil

For the carpaccio:

1 small burrata, at room temperature, torn into chunks

100 g button mushrooms, as fresh as possible

small bunch of parsley or chives, finely chopped

a drizzle of grassy olive oil

1/2 lemon, the juice

salt and pepper

Slice the baguette thinly. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Place in a 180C oven until golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Leave to cool.

Wash, pat dry and trim the mushrooms, then slice them as thinly as possible. Arrange on a plate or platter either underneath or on top of the burrata. Scatter with herbs, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Serve the crostini on the side.

Recipe: The Easiest Nibbles

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If you’ve followed me for a while you probably already know that a) I love nibbles, and b) I don’t like to waste food.

So when I emptied my London cupboards before going to the countryside in lockdown, I encountered a packet of breadsticks (probably from a Christmas party more than a year earlier, but if sealed these things don’t really go off) that I thought would be good for a little nibble.

About six week later I still hadn’t figured out what to do with it. Usually I have it with taramasalata but I didn’t think the others would be too happy with this suggestion, so I consulted the internet. (Honestly, a lockdown without the internet would have been so scary!). And I found a recipe so easy and yummy I made it twice in two weeks.

It’s just an assembly job really, but it looks impressive and is utterly delicious with a pre-dinner glass of white wine.

Prosciuttowrapped grissini with pesto cream cheese dip, serves 8

Adapted from BBC Good Food’s recipe.

1 large tub of Philadelphia (full fat)

2-3 tbsp basil or wild garlic pesto (if using store-bought I recommend a fresh one from the deli section)

1 pack grissini

1 packet prosciutto (you want the soft kind)

If the grissini are really long then break them in half. Cut each prosciutto slice into four stripes (cut in half lengthways and then halve them) and wrap each around the end of a grissini.

Spoon out the cream cheese into a bowl. Add the pesto and stir it into a swirl (i.e. don’t mix it all that well). Place everything on a platter and serve.

Recipe: Asparagus with Burrata, Wild Garlic Oil and Lemon

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I was so pleased to get hold of some of my favourite foods during lockdown; British asparagus and burrata. So grateful Natoora opened up their restaurant delivery slots to the public. Because during this period I have lived for food. I took it upon myself to cook every night, make cakes and make sure we could enjoy nice food even though we couldn’t go out to restaurant. So yes, I’ve eaten very well during lockdown, but I have also been mindful, stretching food to go longer, and have mixed expensive foods with very economical dishes.

The best quality asparagus and burrata wouldn’t feel so special if we ate it every day, but you also want to make sure you make the most out of the short asparagus season.

I’m very pleased with this simple dish – which is more an assembly job than proper cooking. And that’s how to best enjoy the freshest of produce, in the simplest of ways. Asparagus with hollandaise or wild garlic mayo are two of my favourite ways to eat it, and now I have a third way: this!

Asparagus with burrata, wild garlic oil and lemon, serves 3

9 asparagus stems (preferably nice and thick)

125 g burrata, at room temperature

1 large handful wild garlic leaves, washed

100 ml vegetable oil

1/2 lemon, the zest

sea salt flakes and black pepper

Trim the wooden ends off the asparagus. Blanch them quickly in boiling water. Drain and fry with a tiny amount of oil in the pan until they’ve browned a little. Mix the wild garlic leaves with oil using a stick blender.

Divide the asparagus among the plates. Divide the burrata. Drizzle with wild garlic oil (approx 1 tbsp per plate). Add lemon zest and plenty of salt and pepper and serve immediately.