recipe – Page 10 – Scandelights

Recipe: Brioche French Toast

Published on March 1, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

We eat poached eggs on toast with crispy pancetta 90% of our weekend mornings together. But sometimes I like to mix it up with something else. Sometimes we have pancakes, or oeufs en cocotte but my most recent favourite is this brioche French toast.

It’s just the perfect sweet weekend treat with the buttery warm brioche, fresh berries, lightly whipped cream and a drizzle of maple syrup. Best eaten after a long lie-in, in your dressing gown!

Brioche French toast, serves 2

4 slices brioche

1 egg

200 ml milk

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 tbsp salted butter

50 ml caster sugar

To serve:

fresh berries

lightly whipped cream

maple syrup

Heat up the butter in a large frying pan on medium heat. Mix eggs and milk in a low bowl with a fork. Quickly dip the brioche slices on both sides in the egg mixture and fry until golden on both sides. Drain on kitchen towel. Dip in caster sugar (with out without a little cinnamon) on both sides and serve with fresh berries, lightly whipped cream and maple syrup.

Recipe: Puff Pastry Squares with Speck, Cream Cheese, Tomato and Chives

Published on February 21, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

I’m so pleased with these nibbles! They went down extremely well at our Christmas party. Some even claimed them their favourite canapé of the evening! Which is great because they are ridiculously easy to make, yet a real crowd pleaser.

The base is store bought ALL BUTTER puff pastry covered with creme fraiche and grated cheese and then baked until golden and flaky.

The combination of salty speck (or any other cured ham) with the cream cheese and sun blush tomato mixture works really well with the buttery puff and a sprinkling of chopped chives makes it look pretty while also giving it a little flavour.

Puff pastry squares with speck, cream cheese, tomato and chives, makes 20

The base:

1 roll all butter puff pastry

100 ml creme fraiche

2 handfuls grated cheddar

salt and pepper

Topping:

180 g (small tub) Philadelphia cheese

3/4 tub sun blush tomatoes in oil

salt and pepper

5 slices speck, each torn into 4

bunch of chives, finely chopped

Place the puff pastry on top of a parchment paper covered baking tray. Spread a layer of creme fraiche on top. Scatter with grated cheese. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bake in 200C oven until crispy and golden.

Remove the tomatoes from the oil and chop finely. Mix with cream cheese and season well.

Cut the puff pastry into 20 squares and place on a serving platter. Add a piece of ham to each, then a dollop of the cream cheese mixture on top and top with chopped chives.

Updated: Tagliatelle with Tomato, Burrata and Crispy Parma Ham Crumbs

Published on February 15, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

As you may know by now, I like to change and perfect recipes until I’m 100 per cent satisfied. Take the dish of Spaghetti with tomato, burrata and crispy parma ham for example; it’s utterly delicious and I have cooked it many times since it’s inception, making little changes here and there, really evolving the recipe until it’s in Goldilocks words is ‘just right’.

So, let me present to you the new and improved version of my tomato, burrata and crispy parma ham pasta!

The flavour was spot on from the beginning, but I found that the pasta shape could be improved upon and this creamy tomato-y sauce coats tagliatelle so much better than the more slipper spaghetti. And the parma ham. Although perfectly crisp and delicious it just didn’t work as well with a whole slice on top (both aesthetically and flavour wise) as the parma ham chopped small and covering the whole dish like sprinkles on an ice cream; deliciously interspersed with every bite! And it turned out the addition of parmesan was actually redundant. I can’t believe I just wrote than sentence, but sometimes less is more. Just trust me on this. Instead I added more burrata and a little more cream to the sauce so the dish is now rather indulgent. And so it should be!

Small changes, absolutely. But worth mentioning as the impact is huge and I always strive for pasta (and burrata!) perfection.

So do try this at home; it’s almost as fun to make as it is to eat!

Tagliatelle with tomato, burrata and crispy parma ham crumbs, serves 3

400 g tagliatelle

6 slices parma ham

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tbsp light olive oil

270 g cherry tomatoes, halved

100 ml white wine

chopped basil

2 tsp caster sugar

salt, black pepper

6 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tsp herbs de provence

50 ml double cream

To serve:

2 smaller or 1 large burrata, at room temperature

more chopped basil

Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan. Place the ham slices on parchment covered baking tray and put it in the oven for 7 minutes or until crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cool, chop into small pieces.

Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the instructions on the packet. In the meantime, make the tomato sauce. Add oil to a medium sauce pan and put it on medium heat. Add the garlic and shortly after the cherry tomatoes. Let them soften and caramelise. Once mushy add the wine and basil and stir occasionally. Add sugar to taste.

For more sauciness, add 6 tbsp tomato sauce and the herb de Provence. Add the cream and lower the heat while the sauce is thickening a little. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.

Drain the pasta and add it to the saucepan. Mix throughly and divide between bowls. Top with the burrata torn into smaller pieces. Finish off with chopped basil and scatter generously with the crispy parma ham crumbs.

Recipe: Oven-Baked Cod with Beurre Blanc and Salmon Roe

Published on February 14, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

I wish I had known earlier how easy it is to make beurre blanc. I mean, I’ve been making bearnaise and hollandaise sauce for years and that’s difficult in comparison.

To me, beurre blanc seemed like such a chef-y thing to do, I never gave it a go. Until recently. It was really easy to make and such a lovely companion with fish, potatoes and peas. And to make the dish a little extra I added some salmon roe. Despite it containing a lot of butter it actually feels really light, so don’t let that put you off.

Oven-baked cod loin , serves 2

ca 300 g cod loin

butter for frying

salt and pepper

Melt a knob of butter in an oven-proof frying pan (no plastic) on medium heat. Cut the fish in half and pat dry with kitchen towel. Season well. Fry the fish until it’s browned a little, approx 3 minutes on each side. Place the frying pan in a 200C oven for approx 5 minutes. The fish should be slightly raw (opaque) in the middle and soft. Let it rest for a few minutes.

Beurre blanc, serves 2

1 shallots, chopped

100 ml white wine

100 g salted butter, cut into cubes

1/4 lemon, the juice only

black pepper

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

To serve:

2 tbsp salmon roe

Put the onion and wine in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and boil until the liquid has reduced to half. Remove from the heat and add the butter cubes and whisk until you have a silky sauce. Add some lemon juice and black pepper. Pour the sauce through a sieve and add the chives.

Can be made in advance (but put the chives in just before serving) and reheated before serving.

Serve with the baked cod, boiled new potatoes, cooked peas and and a heaped spoon of salmon roe.

Recipe: Gingerbread Sponge with Cream Cheese Frosting and Pomegranate Seeds

Published on February 7, 2020 by Hanna1 Comment

I first made this cake for a book club meet-up and it went down so well I made it one December weekend as well. And that’s also when I tweaked the recipe to what it is below. The original recipe called for lingonberry jam which I omitted even the first time, but I thought the spices could come through a bit more as well and after my tweaks I’m very happy with it!

So next time you want a festive cake, try this! I promise it’s a welcome change from mince pies and other cakes heavy on dried fruit. This is still a spiced cake but much lighter and, dare I say – fresher – with its cream cheese frosting and juice bursting pomegranate seeds!

Gingerbread sponge with cream cheese frosting and pomegranate seeds, serves 8

Adapted from Brinken Bakars recipe.

75 g butter

1 1/2 eggs

135 g caster sugar

125 g plain flour

3 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150 g buttermilk

Pre-heat the oven to 175C. Butter a baking tin. Melt the butter and put aside. Mix flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and bicarb in a bowl. In another bowl whisk eggs and sugar pale and fluffy with an electric whisk. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Add the buttermilk and lastly the melted butter and mix well. Pour the batter into the baking tin and place in the middle of the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cream cheesefrosting

75 g softened salted butter

80 g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

150 g cold cream cheese (preferably full fat Philadelphia)

110 g pomegranate seeds

Cream the butter for approx 5 minutes using an electric whisk. Add icing sugar and vanilla and beat for another few minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until well incorporated.

Let the cake cool and put it on a cake plate. Spread the frosting on top and decorate with pomegranate seeds.

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Wrap with Rice, Avocado and Blue Cheese Dressing

Published on February 4, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

Apparently there’s an American chain that make Buffalo Chicken Wraps?! I found this out on Instagram and immediately felt I needed to make this. Sans celery though (shudder).

So below is my version of a buffalo chicken wrap, with chicken wings (although chicken thighs or any dark meat will work but I had wings in the freezer- just adjust the cooking time), hot sauce, rice, homemade blue cheese dressing, avocado and cherry tomatoes.

It was just as lovely as I had hoped it would be, but much easier to eat than regular buffalo chicken wings! Score!

Buffalo Chicken Wrap with Rice, Avocado and Blue Cheese Dressing, makes 2

2 large flour tortillas

100-150 ml cooked basmati rice

6-8 chicken wings

1 tbsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Frank’s hot sauce

200 ml soured cream

ca 50 g Saint Agur cheese

1 avocado, sliced

8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Start with the chicken wings. Put them in a colander and pour boiling water over them. Pat dry with kitchen roll. Pour oil into an ovenproof dish and place the chicken wings in it. Add salt and pepper and place in a 200C oven. Turn them as they have turned brown, after approx 10-15 minutes and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Leave to cool slightly and pick the meat and skin off the bones. Place in a bowl, add hot sauce after taste (it IS hot!) and stir.

Mix soured cream and Saint Agur with a stick blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide rice and chicken between the tortillas, top with sliced avocado, cherry tomatoes and blue cheese dressing. Add extra hot sauce, roll up and eat!

Recipe: Whipped Brown Butter

Published on February 1, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

You know how sometimes the bread and butter in a restaurant can be so incredibly good that it puts you in a great mood straight away?! Because you know that if they care that much about the bread and the butter the rest of the dishes will have gotten as much care and attention and you’re in for something truly special.

Oh, how I wish I could recreate that moment at home! But I don’t have the time (or knowledge) to experiment with butter and I’m no Paul Hollywood when it comes to bread making.

So what to do? Use the power of browned butter to your advantage!

Make sure you use good quality butter and buy some really nice bread to go with it. And maybe some Italian fennel salami too, like I did. And you’ll have that restaurant moment in your own home!

Whipped brown butter, for the table

Adapted after and translated from Jessica Frej’s recipe.

200 g unsalted good quality butter, at room temperature

sea salt flakes

Brown 100 g butter in a large saucepan. Pour it into a bowl to cool down and set. Whip the browned butter with the remaining butter with an electric whisk until really fluffy approx 1-2 minutes. Season with salt, mix and serve with nice bread.

Recipe: Beef and Ginger Stir-fry with Rice and Sesame Broccoli

Published on January 31, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

This recipe is so easy to make that I managed it when I was tired and shaky and almost wished I had ordered a takeaway. But it doesn’t take long to make at all, and tastes so good it just can’t compare to a takeaway.

It’s full of flavour and feels silky and light although you’re eating steak. It’s so delicious it has become one of my new favourite recipes – especially suitable for Friday nights in when we want something fast but delicious enough to celebrate the end of a work week and this fits the bill perfectly.

Beef and Ginger Stir-fry with Rice and Sesame Broccoli, serves 4

Adapted from Bon Appétit’s recipe.

ca 450 g skirt steak (I used bavette which worked really well)

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp + 1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp salt + more

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium sweet onion, sliced

7cm ginger, peeled, very thinly sliced

ground black pepper

80 ml water

3 tbsp butter, cut into pieces

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

To serve:

cooked rice

Cut the steak into large strips. Toss in a bowl with sugar, sesame oil, 1 tsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp salt to coat and let sit 20 minutes.

Heat up oil in a frying pan on high heat and let it coat the bottom of the pan. The oil should be shimmering and you should see some wisps of smoke—if it’s not hot enough, the meat will steam instead of getting deeply browned.

Add the steak to the pan in an even layer and cook, undisturbed, until brown around the edges, about 2 minutes. Turn steak over and add onion, ginger, lots of pepper, and the water. Cook, tossing often, until onion is just tender and ginger is softened, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add butter, lemon juice, and remaining 1 tbsp soy sauce. Toss until butter is melted and coats the steak. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Divide rice among bowls and top with beef stir-fry and serve with sesame broccoli.

Sesame broccoli, serves 4

2 packets tenderstem broccoli (approx 300 g)

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil rostad sesamolja

4 tsp sesame seeds

1/2-1 lemon or lime, the juice

salt and pepper

Trim the dry ends of the broccoli. Place in a large frying pan and almost cover with boiling water. Add salt and cook for about a minute on high heat. Drain and return to the hot pan. Add sesame oil and squeeze with lemon. Toss and add sesame seeds and season. Serve alongside the rice and beef stir-fry.

Recipe: Parma Ham-Wrapped Dates with Balsamic and Honey

Published on January 21, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

Here’s another winner of a canapé! Also from the Christmas party. These parma ham-wrapped dates with balsamic and honey are a more sophisticated version than the bacon-wrapped dates, and therefore so much better.

The idea is the same; sweet meets salty but with less punchy flavours (i.e. ham instead of bacon) and a little depth from the vinegar and honey. It truly is a winning flavour combination and one of the easiest nibbles you can make, so keep it in mind for the festive season of 2020!

Parma Ham-Wrapped dates with balsamic and honey, makes 20

With inspiration from Sophie Conran’s recipe.

10 dates, stones removed and cut in half lengthways

10 slices Parma Ham or prosciutto, cut in half lengthways

20 cocktail sticks

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp runny honey

salt and pepper

Wrap each date halve in a thin slice of ham and secure with the cocktail sticks. Place in an ovenproof dish and drizzle with vinegar and honey. Add salt and pepper. Bake in 200C oven for approx 10 minutes. Leave to cool and serve at room temperature.

Recipe: Puff Pastry Pizza with Browned Butter, Creme Fraiche, Red Onions, Salmon Roe and Herbs

Published on January 17, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

Puff pastry pizza seems to be trending in my native Sweden and inspired by Swedish foodie Tuvessonskan I thought I would give it a try too!

A adapted her recipe slightly but kept the idea of spreading a browned butter mixture over store-bought puff pastry, scatter with grated cheddar and bake it before adding the rest of the (very Scandinavian) toppings.

I love the classic combination of creme frachie, chopped red onions and fish roe and it works great on puff pastry too, especially when enhanced further with herbs and lemon.

Puff pastry pizza with browned butter, creme fraiche, red onions, salmon roe and herbs, serves 4 as nibbles or a starter

Adapted fromTuvessonskan’s recipe.

1/2 roll all butter puff pastry

50 g butter

50 g philadelphia

2 tbsp creme fraiche

approx 200 ml grated cheddar

salt and pepper

Topping:

100 ml creme fraiche

1 jar salmon (or other fish) roe

1/2 red onions, finely chopped

a bunch chives, finely chopped

a bunch dill, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, the juice

salt and pepper

Brown the butter 30 minutes in advance. Leave to cool in room temperature. Mix the cooled butter with philadelphia and creme fraîche in a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Spread the mixture over the puff (leaving the edges bare if you like) and scatter with the cheddar. Bake in 200C fan or 220 C without fan until the puff is golden and the cheese has melted. Leave to cool.

One the baked puff is cooled, spoon or pipe the creme fraîche onto it, then the salmon roe. Scatter with red onions and herbs. Season and finish by squeezing a bit of lemon juice over it. Cut into pieces (either cut in four and serve as a starter on plates or cut into small bites and serve on a tray or platter).