Pork souvlaki

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At this time of year, I want to barbecue every meal, but living in a small flat without garden or balcony I can only dream. And invite myself over to other people with outdoor space and a barbecue.

But some dishes work quite well in a frying pan, although they won’t have the smoky taste a barbecue provides.This dish worked really well on the hob, and because I fried in I didn’t bother to put the meat on scewers, but I would advise you to do that if you are barbecuing.

This souvlaki is made with pork and absolutely lovely. The lemon juice tenderises the meat, and adds flavour together with garlic, olive oil and plenty of oregano.

Served with feta cheese and homemade strong tsatziki and pitta, this is a fab summer summer. A nice Greek salad would be a nice addition as well.

Pork souvlaki, serves 2

320 g pork shoulder, diced

50 ml olive oil

juice from 1 lemon

1-2 tbsp oregano (it needs a lot)

1 small garlic clove, pressed

black pepper

salt

Mix all the ingrediens in a bowl and leave to marinate in the fridge for ideally 48 hours. Fry on high heat in a frying pan or put on scewers and wack them on the barbecue.

Tzatsiki, serves 2

200 ml thick Greek yoghurt, 2 % fat

8 cm cucumber, peeled and grated

3 tbsp olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves, pressed

salt

white pepper

more olive oil to drizzle

Squeeze the water out of the grated cucumber and mix with the yoghurt. Add garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Leave for at least 20 minutes to develop flavour. Drizzle some olive oil on top before serving. 

A week’s holiday

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Copenhagen

Today is the start of our holiday. One week in sunny (please?) Sweden coming up!

We have plenty planned already; lots of dinners, catching up with old friends, and hopefully some time on the beach.

I can’t wait to once again visit Gränden in Malmö with friends, a cheap place that mainly serves barbecued scewers, but it is so cozy to sit in their courtyard a warm summer’s evening. Most likely we will go to Copenhagen for the day and we’re having a few friends around for dinner as well.  We might venture to Ystad and enjoy a wander and a meal there, but most of all I am looking forward to just seeing friends and family and the sun that has stayed clear of Britain all summer.

The blog will still be updated, and I will try to send you a little postcard.

Have a great week!

Chocolate cupcakes with LOVELY vanilla frosting

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I have, for a while now, been wanting to try a frosting recipe I found at The Pioneerwoman cooks. The post was called: That’s the best frosting I’ve ever had, and that was enough to make me curious.

The frosting was absolutely lovely, but not that far from the Hummingbird Bakery version I normally make. It is buttery, but a bit less sweet than the HB one. In fact, it wasn’t the taste that was the best thing with making this frosting. No, it was that you don’t need icing sugar. Not using icing sugar means that my kitchen wasn’t covered in it when I had finished baking, and that made me very happy.

The frosting is actually very nice, and a girl at worked thought it was the best one she’d ever had. It is completely different to other frostings though it contains a roux. Try it, at least for the novelty.

You should’t eat frosting on it’s own (although you can), so I decided to try another Pioneerwoman recipe, that stretched to 12 cupcakes and one small round cake. The cake is very moist, thanks to the buttermilk, even a few days after it is made, but id didn’t taste enough of chocolate to be called chocolate cake in my opinion.

Chocolate cupcakes/cake, makes 12 +  a small round cake (ø 15 cm)

475 ml plain flour

475 ml caster sugar

1 pinch salt

4 tbsp cocoa

225 g butter

235 ml boiling water

120 ml buttermilk

1 tsp bicarb

1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add the cocoa and the boiling water. Let it boil for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. Mix with the flour mixture.

Lightly beat the eggs and mix with buttermilk, bicarb and vanilla. Incorporate into the cocoa mixture. Pour into cake cases and bake in 175 C for 20 minutes. Leave to cool completely.

Vanilla frosting, for12 cupcakes and one cake

5 tbsp plain flour

235 ml milk

1 tsp vanilla

235 g butter

235 ml caster sugar

Pour milk and flour into a saucepan, heat up and stir until the mixture is very thick. Add the vanilla. Leave to cool completely until moving on to the next step.

Cream sugar and butter. Add the roux and beat thoroughly to prevent lumps until it mixture has the consistency of heavy whipped cream. Decorate your cakes.

Gnocchi bake with pancetta

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This is my second version of gnocchi bake (you find the first version here). I think gnocchi is a nice substitute for pasta. Ok, yes, technically it IS pasta, but both texture and taste is different because of the added potatoes.

Next up I want to make my own gnocchi, but lackling the time or patience, I recommend the brand Del Ugo. It is fresh gnocchi, that doesn’t need to be cooked before added to the bake.

This dish is rich and creamy, and some days call for nothing less than creamy indulgence. The recipe is very simple, but the pancetta gives the gratin all the flavour it needs. Sometimes there is no need to complicate matters.

Gnocchi bake with pancetta, serves 4

500 g fresh gnocchi

100 g pancetta cubes

200 ml creme fraiche

100 ml cream

chopped parsley

1 handful grated cheese

Fry the pancetta crispy. Drain on kitchen towel. Grease an oven dish. Add gnocchi (uncooked) and the pancetta. Mix creme fraiche and cream (+ salt and pepper) and pour into the dish.  Scatter the parsley and top with the cheese. Bake in 200C 20-30 min. 

Farfalle with smoked salmon, broad beans and chives

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Although I love cooking, I don’t particulary enjoy to cook for only myself. If I need to I want something that’s quick, but still enjoyable. There are other times when that type of cooking is required too. Like when Christopher is working late and not home until 10pm.

This dish is for such occasions. Apart from podding the beans it will only take the same amount of time as it does for the pasta to cook. In my case that was 12 minutes. And the result was summery and lovely.

Farfalle with smoked salmon, broad beans and chives, serves 2

250 g farfalle or other pasta

400 g fresh broad beans in their pods

150 g cold-smoked salmon

100 ml Philadelphia

juice from 1/2 lemon

chives

salt

white pepper

Pod the beans. Cook the pasta. Fry the beans in butter until soft. Add some lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix the Philadelphia with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Drain the pasta. Top with smoked salmon, beans and cut chives. Perhaps add some freshly ground black pepper and dig in. 

Friday update

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National Gallery on Trafalgar Square

This week has been filled with food, more so than usual. On Saturday we went to Trinity, on Sunday Jess & Chris had us over for dinner and treated us to lovely chicken with homemade barbecue sauce and salads and lovely baked peaches with meringue nests, whipped cream and butterscotch sauce.

On Monday I had both lunch and dinner in restaurants. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon for lunch and St John for dinner. I also received lots of birthday wishes and nice gifts. Yay for birthdays!

On Wednesday, Jenny and I tried the bubble teas you can find all over Soho, and even in Harvey Nicks (review to come).

Tonight I will celebrate my birthday again, this time with my London bound friends. We’re first having drinks at The Living Room and then dinner at Nopi, which I am really looking forward to.

Have a great weekend guys!

Spongecake with meringue, dulche de leche and honey comb

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I’ve had the fridge full with egg whites, as I mentioned before, and I wanted to use them up rather than throwing them away and decided to bake a cake for work. This would be a bit much for Christopher and myself to share…

The cake starts with a regular sponge as the base, which is covered with meringue, then a layer of dulche de leche, a layer of lightly whipped cream and honeycomb, and then the same again

Dulche de leche is easy to make, all you need is a can of condensed milk. Put it in a pan and cover it with boiling water, let it boil on medium heat for 2 hours. Top up with boiling water as the water disappears. Leave to cool, open the can and inside you have the loveliest toffee. If you cook the can for less time it will be paler and more runny, if you cook it for more than 2 hours it will be darker and thicker. I think the 2 hours one is perfect, but it is quite thick, so slightly runnier would make it easier to assemble the cake but it would taste less toffeey.

The cake was gorgeous (if I may say so myself) and the colleagues described it as decadent. It is definitely a cake I will make many times over.

Spongecake with meringue, dulche de leche and honey comb, 10 pieces

Sponge:

175 g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

175 g caster sugar

175 g very soft butter

1 tsk vanilla

Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the other ingredients and beat it all together with an electric whisk. Divide between two rounf springforms covered in baking parchment.

Meringue:

5 egg whites

250 ml caster sugar

400 ml rice krispies

Beat the egg whites foamy. Add half the sugar and beat until stiff peaks. Add the rest of the sugar and continue beating until you can turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out. Fold the rice krispies into the meringue. Divide between the two springforms and spread it out onto the unbaked sponge. Bake in 150C for 35-40 mins. Leave to cool completely.

Filling:

1 can (397 g) dulche de leche

300 ml lightly whipped cream

honeycomb

Place one cake on a plate. Spread/place dollops of the dulche de leche on top. Spread half the cream on top. Sprinkle with honeycomb. Place the other cake on top and repeat the procedure. Serve straight away. 

My birthday part II: St John

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My birthday was a real foodie day, with lunch at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon with Caroline and dinner at St John in Smithfield with Christopher.

Smithfield is an area close to Farringdon tube, well know for its meat market and John Torode has his empire Smith’s of Smithfield here. It is also in this area where you find Fergus Henderson’s restaurant St John.

The restaurant is located in what looks like an old factory or storage area. It is painted white, both inside and outside and as soon as you step inside you see the bar and a few tables, and to the right you have the dining room.

I don’t know how to describe the place other than very rustic, perhaps a bit rough, but that is part of the concept. A good concept it seems as the restaurant is full up this monday evening, and the clientele vary in age and ethnicity.

As soon as we sat down the bread and butter appeared on the table, and a minute later the bottle of sparkling water I had ordered appeared as well; Hildon water rebottled with the St John logo. The service continued to be this efficient all evening, and I was actually impressed how good the waiters were. Quick, efficient, knowledgeable and friendly. This together with the excellent food made you like the place instantly.

I started off with the famous bone marrow with parsley salad. The plate also held two large slices of brown toast and sea salt and all you needed for a tremendous food experience.

Christopher opted for duck hearts with radishes which were very nice and tender, but the bone marrow was even nicer.

My main was wood pigeon with courgettes and I got two large pieces of tender, still slightly bloody meat. Gorgeous. And the mushy courgettes were all you needed to go with it.

Christopher chose the lamb sweetbreads as his maincourse and they came with bacon and turnip. What a dish! I have tried sweetbreads before in restaurants but it was never this good. These were melt in the mouth smooth exploding of flavour. The smoked bacon was a perfect match as well.

Quite full at this stage we welcomed the 15 minutes wait (announced on the menu) it took for our dessert to arrive on the tables. We shared half a dozen freshly baked madeleines that were gorgeous! Buttery and soft. Total bliss! Till efterrätt delade vi på ett halvt dussin madeleiner, som vi båda älskar.

This is another place I highly recommend, especially for fellow foodies. But even if you’re feeling less adventurous there is plenty of fish etc.  on the menu.

St. JOHN Bar and Restaurant
26 St. John Street
London
EC1M 4AY

My birthday part I: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

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It was my birthday yesterday and I got spoilt absolutely rotten. At lunch time, my dear colleague Caroline took me to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (just next to the Ivy in Covent Garden) and we had a fabulous lunch. The restaurant offer a prix fixe menu, regular a’la carte and also small plates a’la carte, which we went for.

First of all we recieved an amuse bouche from the kitchen; heavenly foie gras with a foamy top.

There after the small plates arrived two by two. First up was this lovely egg in cocotte with a wild mushroom foam. Absolutely delicious!

We also had the crab waffles with tarragon. The display was wonderful and the red and black theme comes through the whole restaurant. The waffles were absolutely lovely; crisp on the outside and soft on the inside wit the crab meat.

Next up was the langoustine fritter with pistou. Simple but very nice.

We also had the arctic char with squid and squid ink. The fish was perfectly cooked and just fell apart. It was also nice to find char in a London restaurant, in Sweden it is a common fish, but not here.

The last dish was pig’s trotters on toast with pancetta and slivers of parmesan. Absolutely fantastic!

I highly recommend a visit, and I know for sure I will be back. Thanks Caroline!

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
13-15 West Street,
London
WC2H 9NE

Tasting menu at Trinity

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The birthday girl to the left and her housemate to the right

It is my dear friend Gaby’s birthday on Wednesday and to celebrate it she invited a few friends to Trinity to enjoy a splendid tasting menu on Saturday.

A fabulous idea we thought, not missing an opportunity to go back, and it is safe to say we were not disappointed.

We sat at the chef’s table just by the kitchen and were so spoilt. The menu started off with a chilled pea and mint soup with croûtons, homemade ricotta and lemon purée. I am not a fan of chilled soups in general, and although this was very nice, I still think a soup is lacking a little when served chilled, but that is just my personal opinion. Christopher for example, loved it.The flavours were all there, and the velvety smooth soup had the perfect balance of contrast from the mint and the lemon.

Next course was seared yellow fin tuna with pak choi and sesame and soy dressing, which was probably the dish I was least fond of. The tuna was perfectly cooked, but didn’t have that much flavour to it. It also felt like a generic combination of flavours and less interesting than the other dishes.

The scallop that followed on the other hand was superb! The large perfectly cooked scallop with white gazpacho, pickled grapes and almonds were a heavenly combination. I could never (sadly) recreate the gazpacho which was more like a cream than a soup and it married so well with the grapes.

Next up was slowcooked duckbreast, spinach, pickled girolles, potato gratin and a lovely confit of duck leg pastry parcel, which took this dish to another level together with the raisin reduction.

The palate cleanser was green tea yoghurt, which on the menu sounded nice, but quite ordinary. But there was nothing ordinary about the taste. Thick green tea yoghurt on the bottom of a glass, then a small strip of jelly, and on top this lovely creamy foam.

Instead of the dessert on the menu we recieved a whole spread of desserts; warm chocolate pots, chocolate chip icecream, little apple pies, cheese, a huge and lovely cherry soufflé, strawberries, shortbread and vanilla mousse, chocolate mousse with peanut crumble… It was so much it was difficult to take it all in, but it was all lovely. I can safely say that the birthday girl was thrilled to bits!

Trinity
4 The Polygon
Clapham Old Town
London SW4 0JG


It is actually my birthday today, and I will continue with the gluttany by going out for both lunch and dinner. Reviews to come of course.