Canapes: Cheese straws with walnuts and honey

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If it is up to my best friend to decide, I would serve these all the time. Of course, I really like them too.

 

Cheese straws with walnuts and honey

1 roll puff pastry

blue cheese (I chose a Danish one, but Stilton works fine)

walnuts, chopped

acacia honey

Cut 2 10cm-strips off the roll of puff pastry. Place on a baking sheet. On the short side of the rectangles, slice into 1 cm wide strips. Keep them close together and crumble the blue cheese on top, sprinkle some walnuts and coil some honey over it. Place in the middle of a 200 centigrade over until golden, it takes about 10 minutes. Serve while still warm.

Canapes: salmon rolls

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This is a real classic Swedish canape! You can substitute the salmon with smoked ham if you want a meat version.

Salmon rolls to the left, aubergine and caviar on flatbread to the right

 

Salmon rolls

8 soft wheat tortillas (1 packet)

200 grams cold smoked salmon

100 ml creme fraiche

fresh grated horseradish

salt and pepper

Mix the creme fraiche with some horseradish to your taste, season with salt and pepper. On each tortilla, spread a thin layer of the creme fraiche mixture. Cover it with salmon, but make sure it doesn’t hang out anywhere. Roll the tortillas tightly and place with the opening down on a plate. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge until it’s time to serve them. When serving them, slice them into 1,5 cm slices and put on a plate.

 

Canapes: aubergine with caviar

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This is a recipe from Tina Nordström, a famous TV chef in Sweden.

Aubergine canape with caviar

1 aubergine

olive oil

1/2 jar caviar (it is salmon caviar in the original recipe but any other kind will do)

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 bunch of dill, chopped

Peel the aubergine and slice into 1/2 centimeter wide slices. Heat up olive oil in a frying pan, medium heat, and fry the slices until soft and golden. You need quite a lot of olive oil for this. When done, let cool and then chop them up. Mix the aubergine with the other ingredients, put in the fridge until cool and serve on baguette or crisp bread.

Canapes: Skagenstyle prawn salad on endives

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In sweden this Skagenröra, prawn salad is a classic starter on buttered toast, but works as a canape on endives (chicory) too. You can use the green ones if you like, I just thought it looked pretty with the red endives. 🙂

Skagenstyle prawn salad on endives

1 endive

100 grams fresh peeled prawns

4 tbsp mayonnaise (I used Hellman’s)

3 tbsp creme fraiche

1/2 lemon, juice from

1/2 bunch dill, chopped

Take all the leaves of the stem of the endive, rinse, let dry and place on a plate. Chop the prawns roughly, chop the dill finely and mix together with creme fraiche and mayonnaise. Squeeze the lemon juice over it and stir. Season with salt and white pepper if you want. Place a teaspoon-ful on the leaves. Use a small lemon wedge for decoration. (Take a lemon slice and cut it into 8 wedges).

N.B. Skagen is a seaside town in Denmark, known for its fishing harbour, its amazing lights and the Skagen painters. Visit sometime, it’s lovely!

Canapes: cherry tomatoes with feta crème

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Easy (but a little bit fiddly) summery canapes! The recipe is from this Swedish food blogg, I have changed it slightly and translated it to English.

Cherry tomatoes with feta crème

20 cherry tomatoes

200 ml drained greek yoghurt

1/2 block of feta

1 clove garlic, pressed

fresh basil

salt & pepper

Cut the tomatoes into halves and take out the seeds. Crumble the feta into a bowl and mix with yoghurt, garlic and chopped basil, season to taste. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture and decorate them with whole leaves of basil.

Midsummer!

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Today in Sweden it is Midsummer, Midsommarafton, which we of course celebrate with food and drink. Compulsory is pickled herring, new potatoes, chives, meatballs, beer and snaps. For dessert it is always strawberries because they are in season, so it could either be strawberries and cream or a strawberry gateau.

May pole, in Swedish majstång or midsommarstång

Most people dance around a maypole (see left) and most girls make a garland to put in their hair. The reason for these celebrations is the pagan tradition of celebrating the summer solstice, this time of year was believed to be magical…

Glad midsommar, everyone!

For more info, have a look here.

Hummus

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I like to make my own hummus, it’s not as smooth and creamy as the store-bought ones but much tastier! I use lots of lemon and parsley in mine.

Hummus

1 can (400 grams) chickpeas

olive oil

1 lemon, juice from

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1 bunch of parsley, chopped

Drain the chickpeas and mix together with olive oil, you need more than you think but choose yourself how you want the texture to be. Then add the lemon juice, parsley and garlic and season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy with toasted pitta or with any other bread!

Hummus in its takeaway box!

Trinity

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As well as posting my favourite recipes on here I will also use it as a restaurant file for my favourite restaurants.

First out is Trinity, a great great restaurant walking distans from my flat. 🙂 It’s not in central London, but in Clapham (zone 2), in the cute Clapham Old Town.

In a month’s time I’ve managed to go there twice – that’s how good it is!

The first time I went there the food was so amazing it took my breath away. I started off with bacon-wrapped asparagus, wild garlic puree (to die for) with parsnip crisps and jelly. Main course was the best risotto I’ve ever had! Just amazing. So many flavours! And then poached meringues in custard with cherry compote for dessert. Divine!

The second time I had foie gras de canard pate with Madeira jelly and toasted brioche. So good, it was just too big. As a main course I had seabass with pesto and an anchovies and tomato tarte. Really really nice! And for dessert I had a lemon tarte with whipped creme fraiche. The filling in that tarte was sooo tasty it would have been a nice dessert on its own as maybe a creme brulee. It tasted amazing! We even got a take-home present this time, a small bag of homemade meringues.

Check out their website and book a table pronto!

Potato salad

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Potato salad is great to serve at barbeques, and this is a lighter version without mayonnaise.

Potato salad with vinaigrette, 6 portions

1000 grams baby new potatoes

a handful of fresh spinach

1 red onion

1,5 tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Wash and boil the potatoes, leave to cool. Dice them into equal size, quite big chunks. Chop the spinach, cut the onion in half and slice it finely. Whisk together the vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper, mix it all together with two spoons.

Enjoy!

Asparagus quiche

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I served this summery quiche at a picnic at the weekend, and it was very appreciated. It is nice both hot or cold.

Asparagus quiche, 1 large or 3 smaller ones

Pastry:

120 grams softened butter

300ml flour

a pinch of salt

half a whipped up egg

Filling:

2 bunches of asparagus

5 eggs (and the half left over from the pastry)

400 ml single cream

100-200 ml grated medium cheese

salt and pepper

Start by rinsing the asparagus and pinch off the coarse base, boil for 2 minutes in salted water, drain and leave to cool.

Pinch together the pastry with your fingers, and coat the dish/dishes with the pastry. Use a fork to make small wholes in the pastry, bake for 8-10 minutes in 175 centigrade oven. Then fill the shells with the asparagus, cut them in half if they are too long. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Whisk together eggs and cream, season with salt and pepper. Pour over the quiches, and make sure the cheese is covered bu the eggmixture.

Bake in 175 centigrade oven for 20-25 minutes.