Summer food – Page 4 – Scandelights

Crayfish!

Published on September 25, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

As I’m hosting a crayfish party tonight I thought I’d share these pictures from my last crayfish dinner in Sweden. I managed to eat crayfish twice in the two and a bit weeks I was at home, and lots of other lovely seafood too, but I am just as excited about tonight’s festivities with my London friends.

But back to the crayfish party in Sweden. It was just a family affair so we started with rösti, Kalix roe (bleak roe from Kalix), creme fraiche and chopped red onions. This is such a Swedish classic it’s almost a cliché but I absolutely love it (as do most Swedes!).

We had two types of crayfish, both fresh, Swedish and Turkish. They were both nice but the Swedish ones were the nicest.

We also had a typical Västerbotten cheese quiche (here with fried girolles on top) which is a must with the crayfish, bread, cheese and of course snaps.

Crayfish party or not – have a nice weekend!

Fake Shack sauce

Published on September 24, 2015 by Hanna2 Comments

I cooked (and ate!) a lot of nice food when I was back home in Sweden in August. But my family and I have a tendency to get a bit overboard sometimes. So one day we decided to not make an elaborate three course meal. Instead we had these yummy homemade burgers with a homemade version of the Shake Shack sauce. So good!

I first saw the Fake Shack sauce recipe on Smitten Kitchen’s wonderful blog and knew I just had to make it. And it hit the spot just as I thought it would. My parents liked it too and from now on this is definitely my go-to burger sauce.

Fake Shack sauce, serves 4

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe.

60 ml mayonnaise (homemade or Hellman’s)

1 1/2 tsp juice from a pickle jar

1 1/2 tsp ketchup

1 tsp yellow mustard

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

Mix the ingredients, taste and adjust the flavour until you’re happy with the balance. Serve with burgers.

New potato salad with girolles and bacon

Published on September 22, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

This wonderful potato salad is an old favourite. I saw a Swedish chef make it on TV many years ago and then made it myself a few times in Sweden and loved it. But moving to London girolles were no longer a staple mushroom in the supermarket so I forgot all about this dish until this summer when I cooked it for my parents. Luckily it was just as nice as I remembered it!

New potato salad with girolles and bacon, serves 4

Adapted from Gert Klötzke’s recipe.

10-12 baby new potatoes, cooked

1 packet rocket

1 litre girolles, cleaned

4 slices smoked bacon (at least)

1 chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

50 g thinly sliced cheddar

butter for frying

salt, pepper

50 ml mustard vinaigrette (mix 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil)

Dice the potatoes and add to a large bowl. Fry the bacon until crisp, dice and mix with the potato. Fry the onion and garlic in butter until softened, add the mushrooms and fry until golden. Season. Add the mushroom to the bowl and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Mix well and lastly add the rocket and cheese. Mix again and serve.

Burrata with slow roasted tomatoes

Published on September 9, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

I love burrata, the creamier cousin of mozzarella, a lot but I struggle to find it in Sweden. I’m sure they have it in some of Malmö’s better cheese shops but I thought it easier to bring a fresh one with me from my local Whole Foods.

We had it as a starter one evening soon after arrived to Sweden, together with slow roasted tomatoes, a nice olive oil, grilled bread and a bowl of buttery nocellara olives.

It almost felt like we were by the Mediterranean; being sat outside, next to a fig tree, sipping rosé and eating the creamy burrata with slow roasted tomatoes. Such a lovely evening.

Slow roasted tomatoes, serves 3 as a starter

150-200 g small tomatoes, halved

1 clove of garlic, sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

some chopped basil

a splash of olive oil

salt, black pepper

fresh basil to garnish

Pre-heat the oven to 125C. Place tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil in an oven-proof tray. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and stir so the oil coats everything evenly. Place in the oven and leave for 2-3 hours. Remove the (now brown) basil from the tray. Plate the rest, garnish with fresh basil leaves and a good splash or olive oil.

Avocado and cucumber salad

Published on September 4, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

I was lucky enough to have two weeks of fairly decent summer when I was in Sweden in August. So I seized the opportunity to cook as many summery dishes I could think of. This delicious salad is cool and soothing – perfect with a BBQ after a day at the beach. But just as nice now in the beginning of autumn when we can’t quite let go of summer just yet.

Recipe courtesy of one of my favourite food blogs; Smitten Kitchen.

Avocado and cucumber salad, serves 4

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe.

1/2 cucumber, washed and chopped into chunks

1-2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 large avocado, pitted and diced

2 tbsp mayonnaise (homemade or Hellman’s)

1/2 lime, juice only

hot sauce (I used Tabasco)

salt

chopped coriander or parsley to garnish

Combine cucumber, spring onions and avocado in a bowl. Whisk together mayo, lime and seasonings, adjusting to taste. Drizzle (or in my case, mix) salad with dressing and garnish with herbs.

Thai inspired lettuce parcels with mince, cucumber and chilli

Published on October 30, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Sometimes, especially when the weather changes more or less daily between Indian summer and autumn, I find myself in the mood for something fresh and light but something more substantial than a salad. These little lettuce parcels with turkey mince, cucumber, spring onions and Thai flavours with a sweet chilli dip really hit the brief!

You don’t need to follow the recipe religiously, the most important thing is to taste the mince and find a good balance of flavours.I used turkey mince in these, since it is readily available in any supermarket but chicken mince or pork would work just as well.

I had some leftovers that made a great tortilla wrap for lunch the next day, I just put the dipping sauce in the wrap instead of dipping it and it’s just as delicious!

Thai lettuce parcels with mince, cucumber and chilli, serves 4

500 g turkey mince

oil for frying

salt, white pepper

1 lime, juice only

1 1/2 tsp fish sauce

1 pinch of sugar

1/2 red chilli, finely chopped

3 spring onions, chopped

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced

a handful coriander, chopped

2-3 little gems

Fry the mince in oil. Season. Mix lime juice, fish sauce and sugar in a bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Mix the mince with spring onions, chilli and cucumber and add the lime mixture. Adjust the seasoning if needed. Add chopped coriander and fill the lettuce leaves with the mince mixture. Roll into wraps and dip in the sauce below.

Sweet chilli dip, serves 4

300 ml creme fraiche

1-2 tbsp sweet chili sås

a pinch of salt

Mix creme fraiche and sweet chilli sauce after taste. Season with salt.

Homemade elderflower cordial

Published on October 6, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

A recipe for elderflower cordial in October when the autumn has properly hit London doesn’t seem very seasonal (and it isn’t), but I made a batch in June that I keep in the freezer and use for various desserts when I want to bring summer back, if only for a moment. And since I am about to post one of these recipes tomorrow, I thought it would be nice of me to provide this recipe as well.

Of course you can use store-bought cordial, Belvoir, has an excellent one. But considering how easy this is to make I urge you to try it next year when the elderflower is in bloom.

This recipe is from one of my mother’s many cookbooks, unfortunately I don’t remember which one but it is a tried and tested recipe that requires very little work. The cordial is uncooked which means it doesn’t keep for very long in the fridge, so pour it into small plastic bottles or zip-lock bags and keep it in the freezer instead. When defrosted it keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge.

Elderflower cordial, makes about 1,5 litres

35-40 elderflower clusters

3 lemons, sliced

1,5 litres water

1,5-2 kg caster sugar

50 g citric acid

Clean the flower clusters and place in a large bowl/bucket (that fits in the fridge or other cool place). Add the lemon slices. Bring the water to the boil and dissolve the sugar and citric acid in it. Add the syrup to flowers and lemons and stir. Leave to cool and cover with cling. Keep in a cool place (like the fridge) for 3-4 days. Stir a few times a day. Pour through a fine sieve and into bottles and freeze. Fresh/defrosted cordial keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.

Note: Picture borrowed from gourmetodling.com

Raspberry and passionfruit mess

Published on September 12, 2014 by Hanna2 Comments

In Britain Eton Mess is a real classic and I thought it would be fun to introduce it to some of my Swedish friends. Strawberry season was over in August though so I used raspberries from my parents’ garden and passion fruit to flavour my mess. Homemade chewy meringues further added the va-va-voom. This went down such a treat among my Swedish friends that I was surprised. I thought the amount of whipped cream would put them off!

Raspberry and passionfruit mess, serves 4-5

300 ml whipping or double cream

4-5 meringues

2 passionfruits

100 ml raspberries

melissa or apple mint (regular mint will of course do too) to decorate

Whip the cream. Break up the meringues and add them to the cream. Add the passionfruit pulp and the raspberries, mix carefully. Divide between four bowls. Decorate with melissa or mint and serve.

Fried aubergine with saffron yoghurt and pomegranate seeds

Published on September 11, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

In the midst of excursions and heavy rainfall in Skåne, I actually managed to cook a little. Among other things this delicious aubergine dish courtesy of Sabrina Ghayour’s amazing cookbook Persiana. I definitely have a thing for aubergine and absolutely loved this and so did the few friends that got the opportunity to try it!

Fried aubergine with saffron yoghurt and pomegranate seeds, serves 4

Adapted and translated from Sabrina Ghayour’s recipe in Persiana.

2 large aubergine

olive oil for frying

2 good pinches saffron threads

1-2 tbsp boiling water

250 ml Greek yoghurt

1/2 lemon, the juice

sea salt

2-3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

parsley

Rinse and slice the aubergines lengthways. Either fry the slices in olive oil in a frying pan on the hob or on a baking tray in the oven until soft. Mix saffron and hot water and leave to cool. Mix yoghurt with the saffron water, season to taste with salt (maybe a tad of white pepper) and lemon juice. Chop the parsley.

Distribute the aubergine slices on a platter, drizzle with saffron yoghurt and scatter pomegranate seeds and parsley on top.

Homemade pinxtos

Published on September 6, 2014September 5, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Mother and I made pinxtos for our guests at two separate occasions this summer. I often serve crostini or bruschetta at dinner parties and this is obviously similar. Only difference is that you usually don’t toast the bread for pinxtos (which we did) and the toothpick securing the toppings. In Spain you can serve almost anything on or as pinxtos, but most common are crab and mayonnaise, prawns with mayonnaise, baby eels, morcilla or jamon.

Ours were pretty simple, like tomato (from my parents’ garden), basil (also from the garden), buffalo mozzarella and olive oil.

Cold-smoked ham with grilled peppers in olive oil.

And one with crayfish, dill and rosé pepper. At the second dinner party we varied ourselves with toast Öjeby, which also worked really well.

Crayfish pinxtos with dill and rosé pepper, makes about 8

8 slices baguette

olive oil

1 tub crayfish tails, drained

100 ml creme fraiche

2 tbsp Hellman’s mayonnaise

1 tsp crushed rosé peppercorns

chopped dill

salt, white pepper

lemon and dill to decorate

Place the bread slices on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in 200C for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool. Mix creme fraiche and mayo in a bowl. Chop the crayfish tails and add to the mixture. Then add in rosé pepper and dill. Season to taste. Divide between the baguette slices. Decorate with lemon and dill and serve immediately.