lunch – Page 7 – Scandelights

Lunch box inspiration

Published on March 25, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

The days I forget or don’t have time to prepare a lunch box for work are sad days. I work in the London’s West End with plenty of lunch places on my (office) doorstep but I still fail to find something I want to eat for lunch. Sure, sometimes I’ll go the taco route or succumb to a nice burger, but most of the time I just get bored looking in Eat and Pret A Manger. And all the healthy food places are a no no for my stomach as I can’t have wholegrain anything or any cabbage, and it seems, cabbage is in EVERYTHING.

So without actually doing much cooking, especially if I’m short for time, I try to come up with simple yet delicious lunch solutions I can bring to work.

The salad above is a great example of lunch dishes I love to eat. The only cooking involved was to slice courgette and aubergine and bake them in the oven with some oil and herbs. While that was cooking I made the feta crème (feta, creme fraiche, salt & pepper, thyme and a bit of olive oil) and the next day I just assembled it at work with spinach, cherry tomatoes and serrano ham straight from the supermarket. I never ever mix a salad before I’m about to tuck into it, instead I keep each ingredient in its own little container. It makes it so much fresher!

When it’s too cold for a salad this warm Jerusalem artichoke purée (boil artichokes, drain and mix with butter, salt and pepper) with some fried leek, mushrooms and pancetta.

This couscous salad with fried leeks, roasted sweet potatoes and fried halloumi is another quickly made lunch I can eat again and again and apart from the roasting time for sweet potatoes it’s quick to prepare.

The time I struggle the most to make lunch is when I have several nights out in a row, but the night before I try to prep a few lunches and even if I don’t have time to prep for all the lunches at least I don’t have to buy lunch many days either. A good compromise.

Sweet potato fritters with coriander yoghurt and chorizo

Published on March 17, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

I really like this kind of lighter dishes for my supper. It’s still cooked food so feels like a proper dinner, just not as heavy. The coriander yoghurt is a nice, fresh contrast to the sweeter and earthier flavours of the fritters. Get in!

Sweet potato fritters with coriander yoghurt and chorizo, serves 2

1 large sweet potato, peeled and grated

70 g plain flour

1 egg

60 ml milk

1 tskp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes

salt, black pepper

10 cm chorizo, chopped

Sauce:

250 ml thick Greek yoghurt

1 decent bunch coriander

1/2 lime, the juice

1 tbsp olive oil

salt, white pepper

Mix yoghurt and coriander with a blender. Add olive oil. Season to taste with lime juice, salt and pepper.

Mix eggs and flour in a bowl. Add the milk and whisk until no lumps. Add the grated sweet potatp, spices, salt and pepper. Fry in butter and oil on medium heat until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and fry the chorizo pieces until crisp. Plate up and serve with the coriander yoghurt and chopped coriander.

Crab tarlets with chives, red chilli and lime

Published on March 12, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

These wonderful tartlets came about when a colleague was asking me for a recipe for a crab tartlet. I didn’t know a nice one so she used a recipe by Mary Berry that she raved about afterwards. So of course I had to try it. But for some reason I wasn’t in the mood for full on Thai flavours in the filling like the recipe suggests so I made my own filling with chives, red chilli and lime instead.

It turned out really well. Less full on flavours, but it complemented the crab perfectly and the crab taste came through more. It’s perfect as a light lunch or a starter.

I only made two tartlets but made one full batch of the dough (for eight) as I like having pastry in the freezer. It’s just fiddly to make a small batch anyway.

Crab tarlets with chives, red chilli and lime, makes 2 small tartlets

I made the dough using Mary Berry’s recioe while the filling is my own

Pastry (freeze what you don’t use):

175 g plain flour

1 tsp Coleman’s mustard powder

75 g butter, cut into cubes

50 g parmesan, finely grated

1 egg, beaten

Filling:

100 g crab meat

1/2 röd chilli, finely chopped

1/2 lime, zest only

3 tbsp chopped chives

1 beaten egg

100 ml cream

salt, white pepper

Preheat the oven and a baking tray to 200C.

Start with the dough; mix flour, butter and mustard powder in a food processor until you have crumbs. Add the egg and the parmesan and run the food processor until the dough comes together.

Press out (or roll if you prefer) the dough into two small dishes with a fluted edge. Freeze the remaining dough.

Mix crab meat, lime zest, chilli and chives in a bowl. Divide between the tartlets. Beat eggs and cream, season well and fill up the tartlets.

Place the tartlets on the now hot baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the filling is set. Leave to cool a little and serve with a salad.

Lunch at Lutter & Wegner, Berlin, Germany

Published on March 11, 2015 by Hanna2 Comments

After a long walk through a sunny Berlin on Saturday, Emma and I were ravenous by the time we saw some restaurants near Gendarmenmarkt. Most other cities have restaurants and cafés scattered everywhere but in Berlin they were a little harder to find if you wanted to avoid the real tourist traps. But around Gendarmenmarkt and off of Kurfürstendamm here are a few clusters of restaurants, so we’re glad we found them.

I had read about Lutter & Wegner while doing my research and it lived up to its expectations. The menu is German with some other influences. The service was great, the interior is cosy and the food really good.

Emma had a Caesar salad with large prawns which was nice and substantial and looked really fresh. I went a bit more local with a Wienerschnitzel serves with potato and cucumber salad. The schnitzel was huge but very flat and tender and the salad was delicious too. We both had a glass of wine each with our lunch, both matched with our food by our knowledgeable waiter and the recommendations were spot on. After having refuelled in such a nice way we were ready to continue our long walk in the sun.

Lutter & Wegner, Charlottenstraße 56, 10117 Berlin, Germany

Barrafina Adeleide Street – revisited

Published on March 5, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Since Barrafina opened its second restaurant a two minute walk from where I work I’ve been there for lunch a few times. Last time I went with two colleagues and we had a lot of lovely food. So much that it was rather laborious to walk back to the office after lunch.

We started off with Jamon bellota and pan con tomato; actually one of the best pan con tomato I’ve had both in and outside of Spain. Perfect amount of garlic and the bread resists the wetness just enough.

Then we had these lovely crab croquetas.

And the tortilla with caramelized onions. So yum!

And extremely crispy smoked cod fritters with tartar sauce.

The fried artichokes was another favourite; so crispy and served with a lovely mayonnaise.

I can never resist the goat’s cheese stuffed courgette flowers with honey. Mmm…

And these ribs were delicious!! Good combination of salty and sweet in the sauce and the meat just fell off the bones. We also shared a pork belly with crackling and white beans with morcilla that I forgot to photograph, it was nice but the ribs were just amazing!

Although we were extremely full we couldn’t resist to share a plate of churros with cinnamon sugar and chocolate sauce. The perfect ending to a fabulous lunch!

Barrafina, 10 Adelaide St, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4HZ

Lunch at Marchal, Copenhagen

Published on January 19, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

I have a long list of Copenhagen restaurants I want to try, but they were all closed for lunch on New Year’s Eve. But that was lucky in a way because that made us discover Marchal, the one Michelin-starred restaurant in Hotel d’Angleterre.

The lunch menu was really nice, but a little tricky to figure out which dishes were starters and which were main courses, but I think we did alright. Claes and I had poached oysters with potato and root vegetable balls, crispy potato, horseradish sauce and dill oil. Such a great dish – subtle flavours in absolute harmony.

Emma had a chicken salad with crispy chicken skin and loved every bite.

And Linus had confit pork breast with onions, apples and jus. Also really, really nice!

The portions were not very big, but still felt quite substantial so it was perfect to follow it up with two plates of cheese (with fried rye bread, figs and strawberry conserve) to share. It was a fine balance to eat enough to feel full and content but not too full as we had a quite large dinner planned for the evening.

We had a nice Sancerre with our dinner, recommended by the sommelier, and I must say the service was really good over all.

Marchal offered exactly what we wanted for our New Year’s Eve luncheon; some flair and big city buzz but still a relaxed ambiance. And of course wonderful food! We’ll be back.

Marchal, Hotel d’Angleterre, 34, Kongens Nytorv, 1050 København K, Denmark

Lunch at Rekondo, San Sebastian, Spain

Published on September 17, 2014October 1, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Our second day in San Sebastian we had a normal lunch (compared to the four hour feast the day before) at Rekondo.

It is a very cosy restaurant, especially the outside area where we were seated this glorious day.

It is also known for its large wine celler and huge wine list (as you can see it was a proper book!). We settled for a bottle of white Rioja which worked really well with our meal.

The amuse bouche was a cod croquetas each, lovely creamy on the inside and crisp on the outside. The cod flavour was quite subtle which I liked.

To try and balance the gigantic meal the day before both Caroline and I were drawn to the seafood, in hope that it would be fresh and light. It was indeed fresh but maybe not as light as we’d hoped – but delicious! Carolines prawn carpaccio was a little eccentric flavour wise with fruit, pomegranate seeds and guacemole but it was absolutely delicious. And quite large.

My lobster cocktail with scallops was also amazing. And huge! The lobster was perfectly cooked and great in flavour but was actually overshadowed by the big juicy raw scallops. They were the best scallops I’ve ever had. The pine nuts, olive powder and grassy olvie oil were the perfect accompaniments.

For the maincourse Caroline had a local speciality; kokotxas, fish cheeks served in a parsley sauce. It was a mild dish and the cheeks were very tender and almost silky in texture. Very good.

I had another local speciality, baked crab, which was amazing and incredibly rich.

We chose to share a cheese plate instead of having a sweet pudding and that was perfect to finish off the meal. The cheeses were very good, especially the Brie de Meaux, the Roquefort and a local creamy cheese made from ewe’s milk. The comté and Pecorino were quite good but the Morbier was quite dull.

We decided to slowly walk back down to town to help digest the food but also enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

I really liked this place and of course the food. The service was not perfect but I’ll still come back. Especially for those delicious scallops. And the wine list. You find Caroline’s write-up from the lunch here.

Rekondo, Igeldo Pasealekua, 57, 20008, San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain

24 course lunch at Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain

Published on September 16, 2014September 16, 2014 by Hanna4 Comments

The world’s sixth and eight best restaurants right now, are both located in San Sebastian in the north-east of Spain. On my visit to the region on the bank holiday in August my friend Caroline (as keen on nice restaurants as I am), we had a fabulous lunch at one of them; Mugaritz. We would have loved to go to Arzak too, but we’ll save that for next time.

We more or less went straight from Bilbao airport, via the hotel, to the restaurant and as soon as we were seated at our table we were shown into the kitchen (amazing) where we also got to eat our first course.

It was a marshmallow made with pig’s blood. The very charismatic chef told us that pig’s blood has the similar properties to egg whites and can also thicken and be used for meringues and marshmallows. This marshmallow was flavoured with onions, pine nuts and black pepper and it was really good. And interesting.

One we got back to our table we had wine and water and also got a warm wet towel to have at hand as the first couple section of dishes should be eaten using only our hands.

The blue cheese round with anchovies (left) was actually a bit tame in flavour, I would have preferred a stronger flavour from both the cheese and the anchovies. The mussel with parmesan which was also lightly smoked was spot on though; so delicious.

Next up we had tendons. Not sure if it was from pork or beef, we realised quickly that the amount of information given about each course depended on the waiter. Some were confident in explaining it to us in detail in English were as some only sad a word or two. This was more interesting than tasty, fun texture though, much softer than I expected.

After that we were put to work. All the guests (about 40 per sitting) received a pestle and mortar at the same time and got to work their arm muscles turning the corn into a paste.

We were then given a square of jelly with herbs and flours that melted in the warm mortar and turned the rough paste into a smoother one. We then had a delicious dip to either eat with a spoon or dip the bread in.

It was fun to participate in something and the smell was amazing, just like the finished dip. It had several dimensions with different textures and lots of subtle flavours all coming together.

Next up was duck neck, cleverly illustrated by the special plate. It was crisp, a little sticky and very tasty.

We then had Chinese chives tempura with what I guess was a chickpea puré. Also very nice.

The eighth course was a soft soft dumpling topped with crispy Iberico pig skin and a chutney. I loved the difference in texture and the flavours were great.

Having finished a third of the menu we got a palate cleanser consisting of fresh chickpeas in their shells with sea salt and olive oil. Very fresh and light!

Next palate cleanser was very far from a sorbet, instead we had mud and dirt. The mud was made from pine nuts though and we got to dip this moss looking plant called deff in it. I especially liked the plant, which was very fresh and subtly fragrant on its own.

After the mud course we got proper cutlery and the first maincourse; tomato in a gelatinous broth. It was incredible! The tomato was quite firm but soft at the same time and the broth was very intense in flavour.

The ox cheeks with powdered sauerkraut were also very good The powder was interesting, while it tasted like sauerkraut the texture made the flavour dissolve quickly.

In the middle of the main courses we got to play a game with plastic knuckles. The winner received a little plate of caviar and I am very grateful Caroline wanted to share her winnings with me.

Airy bread with cream quite similar to clotted cream, but a bit sweeter, perfectly balanced the salty caviar. This was absolutely divine and one of my favourite courses. Bröd med grädde inte helt olik clotted cream i smak och konsistens, men dock sötare, gav perfekt balans till den salta kaviaren. En av mina favoriträtter helt klart. Helt makalöst gott!

Poached aubergine with white miso was more interesting than tasty, The texture of the aubergine was phenomenal; form but soft, but the miso was a bit too sweet and the herb on top very pungent and sharp and actually not very nice. Does anyone know what the herb is called?

The hake with milk pearls melted in the mouth and was fantastic. Very subtle in flavour (I actually couldn’t taste the white asparagus) and the fish was cooked to absolute perfection. A joy to eat.

This dish doesn’t look very appetizing but it was a fun take on surf and turf. Underneath the crisp chicken skin was a catalan cream with lobster. Like a savoury creme brulée – love it.

The next course was just amazing! It was definitely the best steak tartar I’ve ever tasted. The meat was incredibly soft and tender, the caviar was a fun (and delicious) contrast and the pickled mini onions added the perfect amount of acidity. Perfection!

The maincourse was eucalyptus smoked lamb loin with its wool. The wool was soft and the meat perfectly cooked but with quite a strong smokey flavour, so it worked well as the last course.

The first pudding was stracciatella with sheets of dark chocolate. Not my favourite, I liked the chocolate but not the cream.

The lemon sorbet in edible lemon skin was a pure delight. Fresh lemon flavour and amazing texture. Loved it!

We read cronuts on the menu and got very excited but instead of the croissant dnut hybrid we got cronut shaped airy biscuits. I think they may have been made with rice starch, and flavoured with chocolate and caramel. Nice and different but not incredible.

The least sweet desert was a grilled green fig injected with marine preserve made with sea urchin. Such a fun and different combination and very very tasty.

The last pudding was a warm and crisp little cigar filled with custard. We also got to grate sugar on them using the rocks in the table decoration (which was pure sugar). Both fun and delicious!

After are long lunch we went outside and got even more treats with our coffee. A whole tower of petit fours. We didn’t exactly need them but we still managed to eat them, we’re such troopers.

The tower had seven compartments that each represented one of the seven cardinal sins. As you can see above, I forgot to take a picture of one of them, but the ones I remembered were chocolate coins covered with chocolate dirt, candied ginger dipped in cocoa, chocolate covered corn kernels, white chocolate with rose cream and dark chocolate with caramel.

I was incredibly happy (and extremely full) after this meal. It was such an experience! Some dishes were absolutely delicious and others more interesting in texture or techniques used but I loved the whole experience. I also like the relaxed atmosphere and the fun elements of making our own dip and playing the knuckle game. The service was good but not flawless, which I would have expected. Sometimes dishes were stacking up on the table and if one of us went to the restroom (which is needed during a four hour lunch) they had already put out the next course before we got back to the table.

With that said, it was still incredible. It was so fun to see the kitchen and experience this type of cooking, and Caroline and I had a blast! And I still dream of some of the dishes.

Mugaritz, Aldura Aldea, 20, 20100 Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Sushi lunch at Chisou, Mayfair

Published on February 11, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

When my friend Carina was in town I got the task to find a good sushi restaurant, that was open for lunch on Sundays, served good vegetarian food (not veggie sushi) and located in central London. Not super easy, especially when one in the group is Japanese, but my apparently my research skills are up to scratch because we ended up at Chisou Mayfair and we were all very pleased with our lunch.

Elena chose a sashimi lunch special served with a salad, rice and fruit for afters and Hetal, who’s vegetarian, had a delicious teriyaki tofu with rice.

Carina and I both love sushi and every time she comes to London to visit we try a new place. We decided to start with three maki rolls and loved them all. The salmon avocado was pretty standard but very good and the shrimp tempura delicious but the spicy tuna toll was a-ma-zing. The tuna was such good quality it just melted in the mouth.

Since the sushi was so good we decided on ordering an extra roll and had the spider roll with soft shell crab – also amazing.

The interior at Chisou is not typical Mayfair but neither are the prices and the short walk from Regent Street together with the excellent food makes this a perfect lunch place when out and about in central London.

Chisou Mayfair, 4 Princes Street, London W1B 2LE

A lovely Sunday back home

Published on July 9, 2013July 9, 2013 by Hanna2 Comments

On Sunday father kindly picked me up from my best friend’s house and on the way home we did what most Swedish people do on weekend mornings; stopped at a bakery to buy fresh bread rolls.

Once we got home we had fika with the rolls, lots of different toppings, coffee, tea and orange juice, on the terrace. Then I went for a wander in my mother’s garden (well, it belongs to both my parents of course, but it is my mother’s domain) checking out the tomatoes and grapes in the greenhouse, the cherry and sour cherry trees and the wild strawberry plants.

Later on we enjoyed a lovely three course lunch, again on the terrace, with some rosé before it was time for me to head to the airport.

The lunch was wonderful, starting with a simple girolle toast with the first girolles of the season, picked by my aunt Pavla in the woods nearby. Then barbecued meat skewers with chicken, pork tenderloin and bacon and a lovely summery salad with new potatoes, grilled pears and blue cheese. Pudding was as simple as can be; vanilla icecream with freshly picked strawberries and wild strawberries from the garden. Absolutely wonderful!