Tartiflette

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

IMG_3569

This Easter weekend was all about resting for me (apart from a party on Saturday night of course). I have spent a lot of time in my PJs, with my iPad on my lap watching series. So food wise it was also all about comfort for me. Comfort food I mean.

IMG_3543

And with the cold weather outside it felt so right indulging in this rich gratin of potatoes, lardons, onions and a fair amount of Reblochon cheese.

A traditional tartiflette should be made from these ingredients only, as the dish was greated in the 1980s to promote this particular cheese from the French Alps.

The result is, as expected when it contains cheese and lardons, delicious! It has a crispy top layer and underneath soft oozing cheesy potatoes. Wonderful!

IMG_3583

Tartiflette, serves 2

Adapted from Rachel Khoo’s recipe.

250-300 g Maris Piper potatoes

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, chopped

1 bay leaf

100 g smoked lardons

50 ml white wine

125 g Reblochon, cut into cubes

salt, pepper

Butter a small gratin dish. Peel and grate the potatoes. Chop onion and garlic. Fry onion, garlic, lardons and the bay leaf on medium heat in a little butter or oil in a non-stick frying pan until the lardons are browned. Add the wine and let it reduce to less than half. Remove the bay leaf and add the potatoes. Mix well. Add the cheese cubes, salt and pepper and mix again. Transfer the mixture to the gratin dish. Place in a 180C oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top and the potatoes are cooked through. 

Homemade tagliatelle with mushrooms, garlic and parsley

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

IMG_3507

On Sunday my visiting friend Carina helped me make pasta, and it was a lot easier to have someone helping me roll it out on the pasta machine.

We were both tired and wanted something satisfying but not heavy, so instead of a creamy mushroom sauce I opted for fried mushrooms with quite a lot of butter (instead of a sauce), garlic, parsley and truffle oil served with grated pecorino.

This is a very simple dish, yet absolutely delicious. This certainly proves (yet again) that good produce is all you need to make good food.

Homemade tagliatelle with mushrooms, garlic and parsley, serves 2-3 

double batch pasta (made form 200 g flour and 2 eggs)

150 g fresh mini portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 handful mixed dried mushrooms (girolles, black trumpet and cepe), soaked in water and drained, kept whole

2-3 tbsp salted butter

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 handful parsley, chopped

salt, black pepper

truffle oil

grated pecorino

Make the pasta and cut into tagliatelle. Scatter on a platter or tray with polenta so it can dry out a little without sticking together. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. 

Melt half the butter in a frying pan and fry all the mushrooms on high heat. Add the garlic towards the end. Season and add the parsley. Keep warm. 

Cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes. Drain and return to pan. Add the mushrooms. Melt the remaining butter and add that too along with a few drops of truffle oil. Mix well and plate. Serve with grated pecorino. 

Broadbean dip with dill and persillade

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

IMG_3461

My childhood friend Carina came to visit this weekend. Living in warm Vietnam at the moment she was very unimpressed with the weather, but we still had a great time. She arrived fairly late on Friday so I had prepared some nibbles and we had some wine once she arrived. We hadn’t seen each other for ages and ended up chatting until 3am although we were both very tired. It was probably the food that kept us going.

We had some serrano rolls with lemon crème, plain serrano ham, parmesan biscuits, Ossau-Iraty cheese (which I love) with truffle honey and crostini with broadbean dip.

I think crostini is a great way of serving up different dips or chicken liver mousse. It is a relaxed way of offering nibbles and always so good. This broadbean dip feels quite summery with the simple flavourings of dill oil, lemon juice and persillade and turned out delicious! This time I used tinned beans but I can’t wait for summer so I can use fresh ones.

IMG_3459

Broadbean dip with dill and persillade, serves four with crostini

1 tin (300 g) tinned broadbeans in water

1/2 lemon, juice only

2 tbsp mild olive oil

1/2-1 tbsp dill oil

1/2 tsp persillade

a pinch of salt

black pepper

Rinse the beans and drain. Pour them into a mixing jug and add all ingredients apart from salt and pepper. Mix with a stick blender until a fairly smooth paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Warm salad of bulgur wheat, courgette, spinach and feta

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

lunch1

When I made this salad for lunch this week my expectations were quite low. I used up some veggies I had laying around the fridge and thought I would have an alright lunch, but nothing more.

Although this salad is so simple and easy, it turned out really satisfying. I was actually quite surprised! Never underestimate the power of simple ingredients.

Warm salad of bulgur wheat, courgette, spinach and feta, serves 2

400 ml bulgur wheat, cooked according to the instructions of the packet

1 courgette

olive oil and butter for frying

200 g fresh baby spinach

150 g feta

1/2 lemon, juice only

2 tbsp nice extra virgin olive oil

a pinch of salt, black pepper

Cut the courgette in half lenghtways and slice it. Fry in oil and butter until soft and golden brown. Remove from pan. Add the spinach to the pan and stir until it wilts. Squeeze it to remove excess liquid and place with the courgette.

Heat up the bulgur if needed and mix in the vegetables, lemon juice and olive oil. Add the crumbled feta and season. 

London – a guide

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

JS2

I published a concise London guide on my Swedish blog today and was going to leave it at that. But, on afterthought, I think this guide would be useful here too.

Enjoy!

LONDON – a guide, vol.1. 

I plan to update this guide a couple of times a year to keep it fresh.

MICHELIN STarred:

The Square – Wonderful Phil Howards two -starred restaurant is amazing. Sofisticated, amazing service and of of course delicious food.

The Ledbury – Notting Hill restaurant with two stars and a spotless reputation.

L’Atelier de Joel  Robuchon – Quite relaxed for a two-starred restaurant. Also serves small plates.

GOURMET:

Roganic – Simon Rogan is true to his own way of cooking and mixes technical gastronomy with foraging. A pop-up restaurant that became permanent.

Pollen St Social – Jason Atherton is trained by Gordon Ramsay but it far more endearing. And his food is amazing. One star.

BRITIsh:

Hix – British, well cooked and seasonal food. Nice bar in the basement too.

St John – Fergus Henderson started the concept nose to tail eating and can cook any cut of meat to absolute perfection. The signature dish is his bone marrow and parsley salad which I love. One star.

GASTRO PUBs:

Bull & Last – Cosy and relaxed with great grub. Known for their Sunday lunches. In Kentish Town.

Harwood Arms – A one-starred gastro pub. Amazing food in cosy surroundings. In Fulham.

ITALIan:

Bocca di Lupo – Authentic food, cosy interior. Anthony Carluccio approves!

Zucca – A favourite! Fantastic modern Italian food. In Bermondsey.

The Polpo Group –  Four central restaurants with authentic Venetian cuisine. Cheap too.

Chinese:

Leong’s Legends – My fave. Have a feast of dim sum and crispy aromatic duck. First come first serve.

INDIan:

Dishoom – Bombay Style Café with proper Indian food. In the middle of Covent Garden, cheap.

 TAPAS:

Barrafina – Only 27 covers and no reservations so come here early or late. Simple yet wonderful tapas, always seasonal.

BURGers:

MeatLiqour – A little New York-y with dimmed lights, skull and crossbones in the ceiling and great burgers, chicken wings and fries.

Bar Boulud – American restaurateur Daniel Boulud’s first London restaurant is a hit and may have the best burgers in town.

steak:

Hawksmoor – Great steaks, really good bearnaise sauce (and I don’t say that lightly), chilled out ambiance. Not cheap but worth it.

FISh:

J Sheekey’s – A Covent Garden institution that’s still holding its own. Both restaurant and oyster bar.

Outlaw’s – Nathan Outlaw has created a name for himself and is a fish expert!

SUSHI:

Yashin – Sushi serves without soy sauce. The soy is incorporate into the rice instead. Best sushi in town!

breakfast:

The Wolseley – You breakfast in style here. Art deco interiors, perfectly cooked eggs and pastries. So famous for their breakfasts that A. A. Gill wrote a book about it.

Kopapa – Peter Gordon’s café in Covent Garden. Laid back and really good food.

AFTERNOON TEA:

Fortnum & Mason – Fornum’s has great restaurants and cafés too.

something different:

Dinner – Legend Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant in Knightsbridge serves dishes dated from the 1390s onwards. One star.

Bubbledogs – Hotdogs and champagne!

Nopi – Ottolenghi’s wonderful restaurant with unusual flavour combinations. Also has a NYC feel to it. Even the loo is fantastic.

John Salt – Neighbourhood restaurant with that little something extra. BBQ inspired food. Very foodie!

HOt:

Balthazar – The French New York restaurant has opened in Covent Garden. Impossible to get a table at the moment, but the bakery next door does takeaway.

Dabbous – last year’s most popular restaurant is still, indeed, popular.

Footnote There are plenty of great restaurants in London and this is a selection. 

Chocolate cheesecake

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

It really annoys me that I didn’t take a picture of this lovely cake. Note to self: the camera doesn’t work without a memory card. So above is a borrowed picture.

I always trust The Hummingbird Bakery’s recipes, and especially their first book is utterly brilliant, but I still wasn’t sure if I needed a chocolate cheesecake in my life and repertoar. But it turns out I did. I see this cheesecake more as a delicious chocolate cake that happens to be a cheesecake then just a cheesecake. The cream cheese makes it creamy yet still light in texture but the flavour focus is the chocolate, so it is important to choose a good quality chocolate for this. I don’t like mine too bitter so 60-70% cocoa solids is perfect for me.

Chocolate cheesecake, serves 8-10

Adapted from the The Hummingbird Bakery’s recipe.

Base:

200 g digestives

2 tbsp cocoa

150 g butter, melted

Filling:

900 g full-fat Philadelphia

190 g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 150C. Roughly break up the digestive biscuits and put them in a food processor with the cocoa powder. Process until finely ground. Add the butter and mix until you have the consistency of wet sand. Press the mixture into the base of a round springform (about 20 cm Ø), using the back of a spoon works well. Refrigerate while you make the topping. 

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract with an electric whisk on slow speed until you get a very smooth, thick mixture. Add one egg at a time while still mixing. Scrape down the sides in between.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t allow the base of the bowl to touch the water). Let it cool a little. Spoon a little of the cream cheese mixture into the melted chocolate, stir to mix then add a little more. This will even out the temperatures of the two mixtures. Eventually you can stir all the cream cheese mixture into the chocolate mixture until combined. 

Pour the mixture onto the cold base. Cover the base and sides of the tin with tin foil and put it inside a deep baking tray and and fill with water until it reaches two-thirds of the way up the cake tin. Bake for 40 -50 minutes, checking regularly after 40 minutes. Don’t overcook, it should be wobbly in the centre. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then cover and refridgerate overnight before serving.

Dinner at The Sand’s End, Fulham

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

sandsend2

Literally around the corner from where I live, is a well-known gastro pub – The Sand’s End. Although walking past it several times I week I haven’t actually been there until this past weekend.

The pub is very cosy with a bar area at the front with plenty of tables and the restaurant area at the back of the building.

Both Malin, who I went with, and I took two starters each. We’d had a big lunch in the office that day so I wanted something lighter than a big hearty maincourse. What I had was perfect, as it was two smaller dishes but together they were substantial enough.

The first starter was the homemade tagliatelle with cold water prawns, chilli and coriander – delicious. The pasta was al dente and full of flavour and the prawns soft and sweet. This was a very different way for me to eat these prawns. Cold water prawns are a staple in the Swedish diet. When I grew up we had them once a week, usually on Fridays. There are so many ways to cook and eat them but we generally add them to a hot sauce very last minute. These prawns were so soft they must have cooked in the sauce for quite some time. A very different texture compared to what I am used to, but not unpleasant.

sandsend

My next dish was a classic steak tartare served with an extra yolk and toast. It was hand cut which I very much prefer, it adds so much to the texture and the flavour was lovely; quite full on and with a kick to it. Really nice!

And speaking of steak tartare, try this recipe if you want to make it yourself.

I really enjoyed this relaxed meal and will of course be back shortly. How can I resist when it is practically on my doorstep?!

The Sand’s End

135-137 Stephendale Road

London SW6 2PR

I never tire of steak and bearnaise sauce

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

IMG_2995

I could full well have a blue sirloin for breakfast, which you can here, but it feels a little too extravagant for everyday. However, I can get such steak and bearnaise cravings that I would whip up a batch of sauce just for me, which might sound a bit laborious, but I can assure you it is – if not completely normal – worth it.

Bearnaise sauce, serves 1

just about 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp dried tarragon

1 tbsp water

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

50 g butter, cold/at room temperature and cut into cubes 

Pour vinegar and tarragon into a non-stick (small) saucepan. Reduce on high heat and turn the fan on high (it has a strong smell). Be careful not to burn the tarragon. Once most of the liquid has evaporated remove from heat and add the water. This will soak up the flavours left in the pan. Leave to cool a little then add the egg yolk. Use low heat or a bain marie and add one butter cube and let it melt while whisking. It is important to whisk continuously. Add the cubes a few at the time, once melted add a few more and repeat until they have all melted. Take care while continuing whisking for the sauce to thicken. One thick and warm remove from heat but continue to whisk for a little while. Adjust the seasoning and serve. 

Pork cheek confit with creamy trumpet mushrooms

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

IMG_1931

Before spring is properly upon us (I wish…) I thought I’d post this recipe I made quite a while ago. I actually thought I had something similar on the blog already, as I tend to live on this type of food during the autumn and winter. And yes, I have pork cheek confit here before and lots of creamy mushroom recipes, but I still thought I’d show you that this is a great combination.

Especially if you use duck or goose fat for your confit, the creamy mushrooms work really well. It is something about the hint of sweetness in the fat combined with the earthiness of the mushrooms that really work.

IMG_1909

Pork cheek confit with creamy trumpet mushrooms, serves 2

5-6 pork cheeks

1 handful dried black trumpet mushrooms, soaked in water

500 ml mild oil or heated (i.e. runny) duck or goose fat

For the sauce:

1 tbsp salted butter

1 shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

a splash of dry white wine

75 ml double cream

1 tsp concentrated vegetable stock

1-2 tsp dijon mustard

salt, white pepper

Squeeze the water out of the mushrooms, and place them along with the cheeks in the smallest ceramic tray that can fit it all without overlapping. Add enough fat to cover or just about cover the contents of the tray. 

Place the tray in a 150C oven for about 40 minutes. Take out the mushrooms and dry them on kitchen towel. Let the meat rest.

Fry onion and garlic in the butter on low heat in a small nonstick saucepan. Add the mushrooms and white wine. Add cream and let the mixture thicken. Add stock and mustard, salt and pepper. 

Slice the cheeks thinly and fry them quickly (you probably won’t need any extra fat). Serve!

 

Parmesan biscuits, with or without chilli

Published on by Hanna4 Comments

IMG_3410

Yesterday I was in the mood to bake and tried another one (yes, I’m going through a phase) of Simon Hopkinson’s recipe. This time it was his Parmesan biscuits that were as scrumptious as I expected. I will definitely make them again to have as nibbles at dinner parties or drinks parties, but they would go well on a cheeseboard too and would make a nice hostess gift.

IMG_3389

They are incredibly easy to make too; the ingredients are few and the dough is easy to handle. Just like Simon Hopkinson I put some sliced some green chilli on a few of them.

IMG_3418

Parmesan biscuits, makes 25-30

Adapted from Simon Hopkinson’s recipe.

100 g  cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

100 g plain flour

a pinch salt

a pinch cayenne pepper

1 heaped tsp mustard powder

50 g mature cheddar, grated

50 g Parmesan, finely grated

1 egg, beaten

some more grated Parmesan

1 green chilli, sliced

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor with the salt, cayenne, mustard powder and cheeses. Process together to begin with, and then finely pulse the mixture in short spurts as you notice the mixture coming together – it will eventually bind without the need for egg or water. Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Lightly flour a work surface and gently roll out the pastry to about the thickness of two pound coins. Cut out the biscuits to the size and shape you wish. Lay them out on a greased baking tray with a little space in between. It may take two lots of baking to use up the entire mixture.

Carefully brush the surface of each biscuit with the egg and sprinkle over a little finely grated Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until they are a gorgeous golden-brown colour.

Carefully lift the biscuits off the tray using a palette knife and place on a rack to cool. Although the biscuits will keep well in a sealed container for a few days.