Ambrosia cake

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I sometimes feel that the classic cakes are forgotten among all the cupcakes and macarons nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cupcake and adore perfect chewy macarons, but let’s not forget the other great cakes.

This Ambrosia cake is a simple but very moist classic cake (at least in Sweden). I made it for work and it dissappeared very quickly. The combination of sugary icing and bitter citrus peel is a great touch and who ever thought of that was very clever.

This is a simple, classic beauty, perfect to end a dinner party or have with tea when the older generations are stopping by.

The recipe is from Swedish Cakes and Cookies.

Ambrosia cake, serves 8

2 eggs

150 ml caster sugar

150 ml plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

125 g melted butter, leave to cool

Icing:

300 ml icing sugar

2-3 tbsp water

mixed peel

Grease a springform and cover with breadcrumbs. Beat eggs and sugar white and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and butter. Pour into the spring form. Bake in a low oven, 150 C for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before icing. Sprinkle the mixed peel on top.

Creamy polenta with mushrooms and chorizo

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I’ve tried once before to make creamy polenta but I failed terribly although (or despite of) I followed the instructions on the back of the packet. To not repeat my failure I consulted an Italian cookbook (Bringing Italy Home by Ursula Ferigno) and a google-search, and that made me succeed this time. Yay!

There are few different types of polenta, both yellow and white, and according to the cookbook the yellow polenta that takes about 40 minutes to cook is the best one. I could only find yellow 1-minute polenta, but that worked well too.

I didn’t have parmesan at hand, so I used a Swedish mature hard cheese instead and at the end I added, very unorthodox, a dollop of Philadelphia cheese (I picked that up in the google search) and the result was a creamy fluffy polenta with lots of flavour.

I kept the trimmings simple, just fried button mushrooms and chorizo but it complemented the creamy polenta very well. A perfect weekday supper for a gloomy day, and if you use the quick polenta like I did, this is done in about 10 minutes.

Creamy polenta with mushrooms and chorizo, serves 2

100 g chorizo, in slices

200 g button mushrooms, in quarters

chopped parsley (optional)

butter and oil for frying

600 ml chicken- or vegetable stock

150 g polenta grains

50 g butter

150 ml finely grated cheese of parmesan type

2 garlic cloves, pressed

salt, white pepper

1 tbsp Philadelphia

Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan. Fry in separate pans the mushrooms in butter and the chorizo in oil. Season the mushrooms. Pour the polenta grains bit by bit into the stock, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens (which is fast). Remobve from heat and ass butter, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and at the end the cream cheese. Serve in bowls with the mushrooms and chorizo. All you need is a fork – this is comfort food.

Scallops with pea purée and basil sauce

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I manged with a themed dinner on Friday, a bit unintentionally. When I was standing in the kitchen making bruschetta and the basil scent overpowered the kitchen it hit me that peas and basil would be great together. And they were. I flavoured the pea purée only slightly with some pesto but the cold basil sauce had more of a punch to it, and to put a dollop of this and put it on top of the mash and let it melt is truly heaven. Serve with panfried juicy scallops and you have a wonderful and healthy meal. Pair with a glass (or two) of rosé and enjoy a warm summer evening.

Try this, ok? I beg of you.

Scallops with pea purée and basil sauce, serves 2

8 large scallops

1/2 lemon, the juice

a knob of butter for frying

400 g frozen petit pois

3 tbsp butter

2 tsp pesto

salt, white pepper

The sauce:

150 ml creme fraiche

1/2 lemon, the juice

1/3 bunch basil

salt, white pepper

Mix the ingredients for the sauce with a stick blender. Cut the muscle off the scallops and place the scallops in a bowl, squirt lemon juice over. Cover the peas with boiling water and cook for a few minutes.  Drain and purée with a stick blender. Add butter and pesto, season to taste with salt and pepper. Klicka i smöret och peston, mixa igen. Smaka av med salt och peppar. While the peas are cooking, fry the scallops on high heat for a few minutes on each side, in plenty of butter. Season. 

A reminder: Bruschetta

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I came down with a terrible cold on Sunday. Just bam it hit me, and I got the lot; sore throat, runny nose, fever… At least it broke out quickly and the recovery seem pretty quick as well. Fever is gone, I’m back at work and my taste sensation has come back as well. Yay!

Before this hit me, on Friday we had a lovely little basil-themed dinner. It just happened like that and it was really nice! We had one of my favourite starters to begin with – bruschetta. It is best this time of year when the tomatoes taste like they should, full of sun and happiness. Paired with lots of basil, some garlic and nice crusty bread this is a winner every time. I just wanted to remind you of that.

Bruschetta, serves 2 as quite a large starter

6 largeish pieces of ciabatta

4-6 medium tomatoes

a handful of basil, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, pressed

salt, pepper

Chop the tomatoes wuite finely and put it into a sieve to get rid of the excess water. Transfer to a bowl, add basil, pressed garlic, olive oil and spices.

Place the bread pieces on an oven tray and pour garlic on them. Rub the recently used garlic press over the bread to give it a hint of garlic. Roast in 200C oven for about 5 minutes (or until crusty on top).

Place generous spoonfuls of the tomato mixture on each piece of bread. Serve immediately – with napkins.

Swedish wine

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My dad received this bottle of red (Hällåkra Rondo 2009) as a birthday present and we tasted it on Sunday when we had a barbecue.

The couple who gave him this bottle knew of course that it is from the vineyard next door to my parent’s house. It cannot be any more local produce than that!

It was exciting to try a wine which has grown in the fields around where I grew up. The wine was alright, nothing spectacular compared to other wines, and actually quite sour. But it was still better than we had anticipated, and the charm lies in the fact that this wine is from Sweden, until recently a non-wineproducing country in the north of Europe, and that it is so very local to where I grew up.

It is not a wine I will buy because it is so much better than other reds, because it is not, but to show my friends that actually, wine can be made at home as well, and that is quite big.

The vineyard, Hällåkra, has not existed as a vineyard for very long, it used to be a regular farm growing rapeseed, sugarbeets and wheat which is what is mostly grown around where I’m from. So it is a new phenomenon and that means that there is room for improvement.

The wine can be bought at Systembolaget in Sweden.

Classic tomato salad

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After seeing this the other day, I craved tomato salad, something I haven’t eaten since I was in Provence in 2007. Weird, since it is such a nice and refreshing little salad. And incredibly easy to make. Just make sure you have nice tomatoes and this will be a perfect little side dish, especially with meat.

Classic tomato salad, serves 2

4 medium tomatoes

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt

black pepper

Slice the tomatoes and place them on a plate. Sprinkle the onion on top, and salt and freshly ground pepper. Whisk together mustard, vinegar and oil and pour over the salad. 

Fabulous aubergine lasagne

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I was so proud of myself last night, because I had managed to fix my laptop that wasn’t working all by myself. And, more importantly, I made this amazing lasagne.

I know it doesn’t sound very humble to say that, but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you how great this dish was. It is easy to make, no bèchamel involved, melts in your mouth, and the flavours work so well together. Balsamic vinegar in the tomato sauce with plenty of Italian herbs and a pinch of brown sugar work so well together, giving it depth. The aubergine, soft after a little oil bath in the frying pan is nice and smooth, the pasta gives it texture and the icing on the cake is the creme fraiche, cream and cheese layer on the top. I say no more.

So try this, ok? At once, please!

Aubergine lasagne, serves 3 (maybe 4, but it is easy to have seconds and thirds of this)

2 aubergines

olive oil

400 g passata or chopped tomatoes (I always use Cirio – they’re the best)

4 tbsp water

1,5 tsp concentrated vegetabe stock

1 tbsp Heinz chilli sauce or other mild chilli sauce

a pinch of brown sugar

2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Italian herb seasoning

salt & pepper

1 packet fresh lasagne sheets

150 g Philadelphia cheese

100 ml creme fraiche

50 ml cream

100 ml grated cheese (I used Emmenthal)

Peel the aubergines and cut them into 1/2 cm thick slices. Fry these soft in plenty of olive oil on high heat. Meanwhile make the tomato sauce. Add tomatoes, water, stock, vinegar and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to the boil and let it thicken for 5-10 minutes while stiring. Season to taste with Italian herbs, salt and pepper.

When the sauce and aubergines are ready, start layering the lasagne. Start with tomato sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof dish, then lasagne sheets, some more tomato sauce, aubergines, dollops of Philadelphia cheese. Start again with lasagne sheets for the next layer. Finish the lasagne off with lasagne sheets and some tomato sauce if left over. Mix cream and creme fraiche, salt and pepper and spread it on top to cover the dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in 200C for about 30 minutes. Enjoy – you certainly will! 

Asparagus risotto

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Right now our diet mainly consists of rhubarb and aspargus. I love both, so it is not a problem but one has to come up with a few new ways of eating it, not to grow bored.

When it was rainy and cold last week, I made a creamy asparagus risotto. Seasonal comfort food. 🙂

Asparagus risotto, serves 2-3

300 g aborio rice

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 glass dry white wine (or rosé)

olive oil

1 l chicken stock

100 ml grated parmesan

200 g asparagus

salt and pepper

To serve:

chopped parsley

more parmesan

Heat up the oilve oil in a large pan and fry the onions on medium heat for a few minutes. Add the rise and watch it go transparent. Pour in the wine and let half of it evaporate Add a ladle of stock and stir while it is simmering. When the pan is dry, add another ladle and continue doing this until the rice is soft (about 20 minutes). Cut the asparagus into smaller pieces and fry them in oil on medium heat for five minutes. Set aside. When the rice is cooked, add the parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Add the asparagus and serve straight away. Add some parmesan and parsley to each plate. 

Prawn rolls with caviar and red onion, and a BBQ

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I made these lovely rolls as a pre-dinner snack on Sunday when we were waiting for the barbecued meat. They are easy to make and you can fill them with whatever you want. I have made similar ones before with smoked salmon and horseradish, but these are even nicer.

I also made hummus at Emma’s request and we had radishes, carrot batons and cucumber to dip.

We barbecued both extremely tender slices of topside of beef and pork chops, served with bearnaise sauce, two-root slaw, asparagus wrapped in bacon and oven-roasted new potatoes.

Sunday was also Mother’s Day in Sweden so we had cake (made by mother though, not me, I was busy being hangover) and she made a classic cake for our family – lemon mousse roll. It is lovely and retro and a good tip is to make a bit too much of the lemon mousse so you can enjoy some on its own in a bowl with some fresh berries too. 🙂

Prawn rolls with caviar and red onion, serves 6 as an appetizer

6 soft wheat tortillas

creme fraiche

lumpfish caviar/roe

1 red onion, finely chopped

100-150 g peeled icelandic prawns

Spread a thin layer of creme fraiche on each tortilla. Spread caviar on top of that. Scatter red onions and prawns on top and roll it tightly into a roll. Place on a plate and leave for an hour in the fridge. Slice in inch-thick slices before serving. Enjoy!

A wonderful weekend in Skåne, Sweden

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I’m back in London after a long weekend at home with my parents and friends. Despite the weather (windy! and freezing) we had a lovely time.

On Saturday we prepared for the wedding the same evening, enjoyed the ceremony, dinner and dancing and had a wonderful time.

On Sunday we had a much needed lie-in and barbecue with my best friend, her fiancée and my parents in the evening and yesterday we walked around Malmö, had lunch and did some shopping.

It was a fantastic weekend, so thank you to those making it so special! And many congratulations to the happy couple now on their first (of two) honeymoon. 🙂