Fillet of pork with red pepper pesto

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In Sweden we eat fillet of pork a lot, it is typical weekend or dinner party food. Here most people don’t seem to eat it and it is therefore really cheap. Today I bought a fillet that weighed about 560 grams and it cost less than £5. That’s a bargain, especially since it would easily feed 3-4 people. So here is a simple recipe on how to cook pork fillet, so go try it out. Since it is pork it can become a bit dry if not cooked properly, but putting it in sauce in the oven makes it very tender and yummy.

This was my second helping, completely forgot to take pictures before we started eating...

Fillet of pork with red pepper pesto, 4 portions

a large pork fillet

300 ml single cream

200 ml creme fraiche

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 jar red pepper pesto (3-4 tbsp)

Start by trimming the fillet of fat and tendons. Then fry it whole in some butter, season with salt and black pepper. When it is cooked all around, take it off the pan and cut it into 1 cm thick slices. Place these in a oven dish. Mix the cream, creme fraiche, garlic and pesto together, season with some salt and white pepper and pour it over the meat. Put the dish in the oven for about 30 minutes in 200 C. Serve either with rice or homemade potato wedges and broccoli. I did the latter.

Gooseberry crumble

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I made this crumble the other day nad even though I’m not a huge fan of crumbles, I must say I liked this one. However, if making a crumble with gooseberry for example that melts in the oven, you need more crumble than I had, so I have changed the recipe and added more flour and sugar to make it less moist. It was still lovely but a bit too juicy.

Gooseberry crumble, 4 portions

400 g gooseberries, rinsed and ends removed

3 tbsp granulated sugar

200 ml plain flour

200 ml granulated sugar

200 ml ground almonds

100-150 g butter, at room temperature

Put the berries in a quiche dish, pour over 3 tbsp sugar. The make the crumble by mixing butter, almonds, flour and sugar. Pour over the berries. Bake in 175C for 20-30 minutes, until nice and golden. Serve with vanilla icecream or custard.

Pork belly roast

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Before I moved to England two years ago, I had never eaten pork belly, but I really like the tender meat with the crackling on top. This is the first time I tried to make it myself, and I must say I liked the result. I peaked at a Jamie Oliver recipe for the cooking times, but I didn’t really follow the recipe otherwise.

Pork belly roast

pork belly (mine weighed about 500 grams and served 2-3 people)

salt

black pepper

Take the belly and put it skin side up, make scores about a cm apart with a sharp knife. Mine was already prepared like that when I bought it, so I started witht the next step, to rub salt onto the skin and try to get it in down in the scores, then brush the excess salt off. Turn the meat around and season with salt and black papper. Then place it skin side up in a roasting dish, and put in the oven for half an hour on high heat, at least 220 C. This high temperature turns the skin into crackling. Yum! Then turn the oven down to 180 C, or even lower actually if it’s a small piece of meat like mine and bake for about 2 hours. Mine was a little bit dry on the edges so next time I will turn the oven down a bit more. But the crackling was perfect and the meat inside very tender.

Here served with red wine sauce, mashed potatoes and carrots.

Meringue suisse

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This is the Swedish substitute to Eton Mess, I like them both. Meringue suisse (Maräng suisse) is a common dessert for children’s birthday parties, but it is nice for grown ups too!

If you have time to make your own meringues and your own icecream, do, it will of course be even yummier, but it works fine with a nice vanilla ice cream from the shop and bought meringues too. Luckily for me, I could use the meringues we were given last time we went to Trinity, so I got homemade meringues without having to make them. 🙂

Meringue suisse

Lightly whipped cream

Vanilla icecream

Sliced banana(s)

Meringues

Chocolate sauce: equal parts cocoa, granulated sugar and water (for two people 3 tbsp of each is enough)

Pour the ingredients for the sauce into a pan and stir until it has boiled for a few minutes. Place the icecream, cream, banana and meringues in individual bowls, without mixing it. Pour the warm chocolate sauce on top. Yum….

Toast Skagen

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As mentioned in this recipe, this type of prawn cocktail is a common Swedish starter. This is how I make mine.

The reason why I prefer this version compared to the Marie Rose sauce is that this one feels fresher, and doesn’t have that sour vinegary taste to it. See which one you prefer.

Toast Skagen, 4 portions

200 grams peeled icelandic prawns (preferrably big ones)

1/2  bunch of dill

1/2 lemon

150 ml creme fraiche

3-4 tbsp mayonnaise (preferrably Hellman’s)

4 medium slices of white bread

butter

4-8 little gem lettuce leaves (depending on size)

Mix the mayonnaise with the creme fraiche, squeeze in the lemon juice, add the dill, chopped, and the prawns whole. Season with salt and white pepper. Cut the edges off the bread and fry gently until golden in the butter. Let cool a little. Place the bread slices on a plate each, put one or two lettuce leaves on top and divide the mayonnaise on top and if you want, decorate it with a slice of lemon and some dill.

If you don’t want to fry the bread, you can toast it and spread a little butter on it instead, but I think the bread is crispier this way.

Simple but delicious!

Skylon

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Skylon is a great restaurant on the Southbank, and belongs to the Conran group D&D London. I have eaten here twice and both times the food was great, but the last time (a while ago now though, in October last year) it was amazing! I went there with my parents and Christopher when my parents were visiting and we all loved the food.

I remember being in pain all through the meal (stomach issues) but I still enjoyed it and remember how good it was. The menu was very in season so I had something with girolles as a starter, and since I love girolles I loved the starter. But the main course was the best! Fillet of venison cooked to perfection together with a smoked potato mash that was divine. I don’t know how to smoke mash, but I really want to learn! We were stuffed after the main course but still shared a baked alaska for two (on four) and it was great too, the show with flambé in Grand Marnier was fun too. 🙂

The first time I dined at Skylon I remember eating a lovely mackerel tartar as a starter and stuffed rabbit with risotto, which was very tasty, but at the end of the meal the risotto was a bit sickly.

If you go, ask for a table by the window as you can watch the sun set over the Southbank. It is not the most amazing view though, as the restaurant is on the second floor, but still pretty overlooking the river.

They also have a grill section, but I always find the restaurant menu more appetising and therefore haven’t been to the grill yet.

Summer galette

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I found this recipe in the Sunday Telegraph’s magazine a couple of weeks ago and have been dying to try it. Since Christopher had the day off yesterday and all the ingredients were in the fridge, he made it instead of me. I don’t mind, it’s lovely to come home and find the supper in the oven! And it was really yummy too.

Summer galette, 4-6 portions

500 g shortcrust pastry (we bought it, but feel free to make it yourself)

6 eggs

1 tbsp each of chopped chives, basil, tarragon and parsley

30 g butter

300 g thinly sliced ham (I prefer smoked)

350 g grated Gruyère cheese

1 egg, beaten for glaze

Cut the pastry in half and roll out two rounds, about 30 cm in diameter, 3-5 mm thick. Beat the eggs and add the herbs. Melt a third of the butter in a frying pan and pour in a third of the egg mixture to make an omelette. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then slide over to a plate to cool white making the other two.

Lay one round of the pastry on a baking sheet. Place one of the omelettes on top, then a third of the ham and then a third of the cheese, repeat until you have three layers of omelette, ham and cheese. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg. Place the other round of pastry on top and press the edges together. Brush the top with glaze and roll the edges and pinch them to seal. Make a chimney in the middle if you have some pastry left over, or just make a whole in the middle without a chimney around it. Bake until crisp and golden, 20-30 mins, 200C. Serve with a nice salad!

Comments: I really enjoyed this pie or omelette in disguise. But it needs a little bit of salt in the omelettes and I think it would be nicer with slightly less tarragon. Served for lunch with salad it will easily make 6 portions, it is very filling.

Baked potatoes – Swedish style

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I still haven’t learned to like jacket potatoes with baked beans or cheese or tuna, which seems to be how potatoes are eaten here in England. Instead I hold on to my Swedish way of eating baked potatoes. With prawns of course. Try it!

As you can see I eat my potato with a tea spoon, that is another Swedish thing I think... 🙂

Baked potatoes with prawns and caviar, 2 portions

1-2 baking potatoes per person

100 grams peeled prawns (Waitrose’s Maine prawns are ideal, make sure it’s icelandic type prawns and not tiger prawns)

100 ml creme fraiche

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, juice from

2 tsp caviar

salt

ground white pepper

Start off with baking the potatoes for 1-1,5 hours on 200 degrees. Before putting them in the oven slice a cross on the top of each potato, it makes it easier to ‘open’ later. While the potatoes are baking, make the prawn filling. Roughly chop the prawns and mix with the other ingredients, pour in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, store in fridge until the potatoes are ready. When they are, take them out and push them open with oven gloves. Basically press both sides of the potato towards the middle and the cross you made earlier will come open, and you can spoon in the filling there. Garnish with lemon slices or some more caviar if you like. Enjoy!

Pizza

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My mum doesn’t like bought pizzas, according to her they are too greasy and not very tasty. But she likes homemade pizzas so we had that regularly when I was a child. I prefered bought pizzas though because the dough was nicer. Until I found this recipe in one of her cookbooks that is, now I actually prefer homemade.

This recipe is from a great Swedish cookbook called Annas mat. I know have my own copy.

Homemade pizza, 2-3 portions

Dough:

200 ml lukewarm water

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

1 tsp honey

1 tsp dried yeast

500-600 ml plain flour

Pour the liquids into a bowl and mix them, then add the salt and the yeast, make sure the yeast dissolves. Then add about 500 ml flour and knead it in. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. When the dough has let go of the edges of the bowl, is all in one piece and is still a bit sticky, sprinkle some flour on top, place a clean tea towel on top and let it rise for about 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

Then add a little bit more flour and knead it properly to make it elastic. Roll out to wanted size. You can either have one big slightly thicker pizza that covers a whole baking tray or two or more smaller (and thinner) ones. I made two with different toppings.

Tomato sauce:

I make it easy for myself here and mix 1 part ketchup with 1 part tomato paste and 1 part BBQ, chilli or reggae reggae sauce.

Topping I:

Prosciutto

Tinned artichoke hearts

Pressed garlic

Buffalo mozzarella

Grated cheddar (or other cheese)

Oregano

Topping II:

Saucisson

Marinated peppers

Pimiento olives

Buffalo mozzarella

Grated cheddar

Oregano

Bake for about 8 minutes in 265 centigrade. Enjoy!

Quinoa crunch

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This is a slightly healthier cookie as it doesn’t contain wheat, quinoa also has a low GI (glycemic index). I was inspired by this recipe to make these.

Quinoa crunch, about 20 squares

50 grams butter

50 ml golden syryp

1/2 tsp vanilla sugar

150 ml quinoa puffs

Melt the butter, add the syrup and sugar and let it dissolve. Mix with the quinoa and spread out on a baking paper with a spatula. Form to one big thin oval cookie, make sure there are no holes in it. Bake in 175 centigrade oven for 12 minutes, leave to cool. When cool, cut into squares or break it up. Serve in an airtight container.

These can be enjoyed as any other cookie, or as a healthier option when the sugar cravings set in. Also suitable for people with celiac disease.