starter – Scandelights

Recipe: The Easiest Yummiest Starter; Burrata with Tomatoes, Pesto and Olive Oil

Published on April 4, 2022 by Hanna2 Comments

If you’re Team Burrata, then this is for you!

I have made so many versions of this starter over the years but this is how I like it best. It’s super easy, just an assembly job really, but oh, so delicious!

We all know burrata is delicious. Especially paired with tomatoes. And basil. But take it one step further and substitute the fresh basil (although I use some for garnish) with fresh (this is important, it has to be fresh pesto, either store-bought – you find it by the fresh pasta and sauces – or homemade) pesto. It has more flavour, more texture and makes it feel more like a proper dish than just tomatoes and burrata together.

Although this is pretty much the only building blocks, I share a few tricks in the below recipe to elevate these flavours as much as possible.

But I also recommend bread of some kind. Either a crusty baguette or a chewy ciabatta or sourdough, or of course, crisp crostini.

Burrata with tomatoes, pesto and olive oil, serves 2

125 g burrata, removed from the fridge an hour before serving

100 g cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved

2-3 tsp fresh pesto

a good quality extra virgin olive oil

fresh basil

sea salt (I like Maldon) and black pepper

a wedge of lemon

Place the burrata in a shallow bowl or on a platter. Arrange the tomatoes around it. Add salt and pepper. Add the pesto to a little bowl and add a tbsp or so of olive oil to loosen it so you can drizzle it. Stir with a teaspoon and drizzle the pesto oil mixture over the burrata and tomatoes. Squeeze over lemon juice. Decorate with basil leaves. Add a little more salt and pepper. And just before bringing it to the table, drizzle with more of the olive oil. Serve with bread or crostini.

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.

Updated: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup 3.0 – with the Best Topping!

Published on November 28, 2019 by HannaLeave a comment

Even though I obviously think about other things too (work, skincare, loved ones) food is on my mind a lot. I don’t actively think about it all the time but sometimes thoughts about food are idling in the background until they need my attention.

And it was one of those idling thoughts that led to the discovery of the best topping for my favourite soup!

I have used prosciutto crumbs a lot lately (because they’re so so delicious!!) and suddenly it hit me that maybe they would work as topping for my creamy Jerusalem artichoke too? And yes, they did!

They’re not as salty as bacon (tried that but it didn’t work for me), yet offer a nice texture (unlike fried mushrooms – tried that too!) and they accompany my already favourite topping of chopped shallots perfectly.

Soooo, let me introduce you to my newly perfected Jerusalem soup recipe – with that wonderful new topping! Hope you like it too!

Jerusalem artichoke soup 3.0, serves 4 as a starter

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

750 g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into similar sized pieces

water

1/2 good-quality stock cube (chicken or vegetable)

100 ml double cream

salt and pepper

Topping:

3 slices prosciutto

1 shallots, finely chopped

Fry the onions until soft in the butter without browning. Add the Jerusalem artichokes and fry for a minute. Cover with boiling water. Add salt and the stock cube and bring to the boil. Once the Jerusalem artichokes are soft, drain half the cooking liquid but keep it aside. Purée the Jerusalem artichokes and remaning water (adding more of the cooking water if needed) until you have a thick soup. Add the cream to the soup and bring it to the boil again. Season to taste.

While the soup is underway, pre-heat the oven to 200C. Place the prosciutto slices on a baking parchment covered tray and let them crisp up in the oven for approx 5 minutes. Leave to cool and chop it into crumbs.

Divide the soup between four bowls. Add chopped shallots and prosciutto crumbs.

Recipe: crispy rice paper with salmon, avocado and spicy mayo

Published on May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by Hanna1 Comment

This is a new favourite starter of mine! I just adore the combination of crunchy fried rice paper (which is much more delicate here than in a prawn cracker) and smooth raw fish and the fresh toppings. Such a lovely mouthful with lots of subtle flavours coming together. And it pairs perfectly with a glass or two of bubbles, if you need an excuse to open a bottle.

A note on raw fishÖ Most fish we buy in the supermarkets as fresh have been frozen in transport killing off any bacteria. But if you’re worried ask the people at the fish counter for sushi fish so they know you’re going to eat it raw.

Or, buy a nice piece of salmon and freeze it for 48 hours, and defrost it slowly in the fridge and you won’t even notice it’s been frozen but you know you’re safe from bacteria.

Crispy rice paper with salmon, avocado and spicy mayo, serves 2

2 sheets rice paper

500 ml neutral oil

80 g raw salmon

1/4 cucumber, peeled and cut into small triangles

1/2 avokado, thinly sliced

100 ml mayonnaise, homemade or Hellman’s

1/2-1 tsp gochujang or 1-2 tsp soy sauce

fresh coriander, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, pickled

Pour oil into a large saucepan, approx 2,5 cm high. Heat it to 180C. Fry one rice paper at the time and let it puff up. It takes approximately 5 seconds. Remove with tongs and drain on kitchen roll. Let the oil cool before you dispose of it.

Cut the fresh salmon (or freeze it for 48 hrs and slowly defrost it, to kill off any bacteria) in 2 mm thin slices. Mix mayonnaise with gochujang (or soy sauce for a milder flavour).

Break each puffed up rice paper in approx 5 pieces, most important is that the pieces are big enough to hold the toppings. Start adding the toppings first avocado, then salmon, followed by cucumber and radishes. Pipe or spoon on the mayonnaise (I put it in a small ziplock bag and made a tiny whole in one corner for piping). You can make both mayos and do half and half too. Top with pickled red onions and chopped coriander. Serve with napkins!

Recipe: mushroom toast with brie and rosemary

Published on February 8, 2019 by HannaLeave a comment

Mushrooms. Is there anything better than mushrooms fried in butter?! With garlic of course. Well, this sourdough toast with both mushrooms and gooey melted brie is certainly a contender.

It’s definitely for the colder parts of the year, but it’s sooo good! The perfect little evening indulgence on a cold and windy day.

Mushroom toast with brie and rosemary, serves 1

1 slice white sourdough bread

1 tbsp salted butter for frying

6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced

a small handful dried forest mushroom (I had a mixture of black trumpet, porcini and chantarelles)

1 tbsp butter + 1 msk oil for frying

1/2 (or 1 small) garlic clove, finely chopped

1-2 tsp chopped rosemary

1 large slice ripe brie (I used Sainsbury’s Somerset brie which is surprisingly good and ripe)

Garnish:

1 sprig rosemary

Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with warm water. Fry the sourdough in butter on medium heat until golden on both sides. Drain on kitchen towel.

Squeeze the excess water out of the no-longer-dry mushrooms. Fry together with the fresh mushrooms in butter and oil on medium-high heat until nicely browned. Add the garlic and rosemary. Fry for a minute or so. Add salt and pepper.

Place the fried sourdough on a parchment paper covered oven tray. Top with the fried mushrooms and put the slice of brie on top. Place in the top of the oven in 200C, until the cheese has melted, approx 5 mins.

Plate and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Recipe: burrata with figs and prosciutto

Published on August 27, 2018August 23, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

Fresh figs everyday. A Mediterranean dream or reality in the south of Sweden? The latter. I know people think we have polar bears walking the streets (not true!) but Sweden in the summer is often warmer (and less humid) than the UK, at least in the south where I’m from. And in my parents’ garden we have peach trees and fig trees bearing fruit each year.

The two weeks I was in Sweden earlier this month we had fresh figs every day. So many in face we had to come up with various ideas of how to eat them. This starter was one of the winners and it’s a simple assembly job with no actual cooking required. Perfect for a summer lunch or to start off a more casual dinner party. (Yes, it goes perfectly with rosé.).

Burrata with figs and prosciutto, serves 2-3 as a starter

1 burrata

4-6 fresh figs, washed and cut into quarters

6 slices prosciutto or other cured ham

2 handfuls rocket or mixed salad leaves

nice olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt & black pepper

Take the burrata out o the fridge a good hour before you need it so it’s not fridge cold. Take a serving plate and cover the base with rocket leaves. Place the burrata whole in the middle of the plate and arrange the ham sliced and fig quarters around it. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season well.

Recipe: Girolle toast 2.0

Published on August 22, 2018 by Hanna2 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE mushrooms, and especially girolles! They’re coming into season at the same time as my beloved crayfish, so to start off the little crayfish party we had in Sweden (a must when you have a London visitor in August!), we had these absolutely delicious little girolle toasts with cognac and cream. (I’ve made similar ones before but this version is even better, I promise!)

They went down a treat and I got praise like “I could eat these EVERY day!”, and I must agree that they were divine. The combination of mustard and cognac with the smooth cream is just delicious and the grated cheese to finish adds an extra layer of flavour.

You simply must try them, either as little canapés (in which case I would cut each bread slice into four instead of two) or like this; as a little starter with a glass of pink champagne.

With the crayfish we had some more girolles, because why not?!, on top of the Västerbotten cheese quiche. If you’re planning a crayfish party you simply must try it!

Kantarelltoast 2.0, serves 4 as a starter

5 slices regular white bread, crusts removed and the slices cut on the diagonal into triangels

2 tbsp butter + a splash of oil for frying the bread

150 g girolle mushrooms, rinsed

1 large shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

4 tbsp butter + a splash of oil for frying onions, garlic and mushrooms

2 tbsp cognac

100 ml double cream

1-2 tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

chopped parsley

To garnish:

finely grated Västerbotten cheese (parmesan would work too)

Fry the bread in butter and a little oil on medium-low heat until golden brown on both sides. Leave to drain on kitchen towel.

Fry the onions and garlic in some of the butter and oil ton medium heat until golden. Remove from the pan and fry the mushrooms with more butter and oil on medium-high heat. When the mushrooms are cooked, turn the temperature down to medium and add the garlic and onions to the pan. Season. Add the cognac and let some of it evaporate before adding the cream. Add the mustard and taste until you’re happy with the flavour. Adjust the seasoning and add a little more cognac if needed. Stir with a whisk while the sauce thickens. It should be thick but still a touch runny when it’s done (and full of flavour). Add the parsley and spoon the mushroom mixture onto the fried bread slices and top with grated cheese.

Recipe: burrata and prosciutto salad

Published on August 15, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

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This favourite salad of mine doesn’t really require a recipe, but I wrote it down anyway, mainly as a reminder to myself. It’s the combination of some green leaves, fresh juicy tomatoes, salty ham and creamy burrata that makes it work, but you can add anything you like to this. I think it would be nice to add some olives and/or sunblush tomatoes, maybe some artichoke hearts, but it’s nice as it is. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Burrata salad with prosciutto, serves 2

1 small good quality burrata

4-6 slices prosciutto

150 g rocket

approx 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

nice olive oil

balsamic vinegar

crema di balsamico

Divide the rocket and cherry tomatoes on two plates. Place a few slices of ham in the middle of each plate. Cut the burrata in two and place half on each plate on top of the ham. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar all over, paying extra attention to the burrata. To finish, season and drizzle with crema di balsamico. Serve with some nice bread.

Recipe: bleak roe pizza

Published on July 5, 2018July 5, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

Bleak roe, i.e. Swedish caviar, is a treasured ingredient in Sweden and something I can really long for. We eat it with devotion and save it for special occasions. I always make sure I have some, for emergencies, in my London freezer, and try to eat it regularly when I go home to Sweden to visit. Luckily we’re more or less feasting the whole time I come home as my parents and I are so happy to be together.

My only “problem” with bleak roe, is that I under no circumstances want to mess it up. Therefore I often serve it like a ‘toast‘ with butterfried bread, creme fraiche or smetana and chopped red onions. Because, as we now, less is sometimes more.

But it’s equally lovely as a topping for crisps (it’s the perfect snack to accompany a glass of champagne) or served with crispy rösti as a starter.

When I was last home in May, we decided to branch out to pizza. A pizza bianco though as the tomato would rival the bleak roe too much. And, as you can probably guess, it was wonderful! I used a recipe from a restaurant in Stockholm famous for their bleak roe pizza (or löjromspizza as it’s called in Swedish) but made a few minor changes to it (because I simply can’t help myself).

Bleak roe pizza, serves 4-6 as a starter (2 as a main course)

Translated from and adapted after Taverna Brillo’s recipe.

Pizza dough:

250 ml water

1 tbsp olive oil

390 g 00 flour

1 tsp dried yeast

2 tsp sea salt

Topping:

8 tbsp creme fraiche flavoured with a little lemon

100 g buffalo mozzarella

100 g coarsely grated mature präst cheese or cheddar

80 g Kalix bleak roe

100 g creme fraiche

finely chopped red onions

finely chopped chives

dill

lemon

Ina mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add salt, olive oil and flour. Knead the dough by hand for 15 minutes (or in a machine for 10 minutes). Divide into two, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size, approx 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and shape into round pizzas. Place on a parchment paper covered baking tray. Heat the oven to 250°C.

Spread 4 tbsp creme fraiche onto each pizza and divide the mozzarella (in chunks or slices) and präst/cheddar cheese. Bake in a low oven for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and top with bleak roe, creme fraiche, onions, chives, dill and lemon.

Recipe: wild garlic fritters

Published on June 5, 2018June 5, 2018 by Hanna1 Comment

Wild garlic season is almost over now, but luckily there were a few leaves left when I was in Sweden last and I used them wisely by trying a completely new recipe!

As you may know by now, I love fritters and have a few recipes on the blog already, but when I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit I couldn’t resist trying it. Wild garlic is my favourite flavour in spring (together with asparagus and rhubarb) as it’s less pungent than garlic. It seems fresher somehow. But it also reminds me of my childhood, of going for walks in the woods and sensing that onion-y smell when they were first in season, and later spotting the pretty white flowers.

The fritters turned out really well, even though I tweaked the recipe a bit, and both my parents gave them the thumbs up. I thought the fritters needed a sidekick and served my parmesan crème alongside them. Yum!

Wild garlic fritters, serves 4 as a starter

Adapted from Bon Appetit’s recipe.

a bunch of wild garlic, approx 8 cm in diameter

135 g plain flour

120 g potato flour or rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

100-200 ml sparkling water

approx 200-300 ml vegetable oil for frying

lemon wedges to serve

Rinse the wild garlic and pat dry with kitchen towel. Remove the coarse part of the stems. Cut into 1 cm long pieces and put to the side.

Mix flour, potato flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the sparkling water until you have a batter that isn’t too thick or too thin. Add the wild garlic and mix well.

Pour the oil into a high-sided frying pan until it is about 1 cm deep. Heat on medium-high heat until warm enough for deep-frying (it’s ready when a small piece of bread comes out golden).

Add spoonfuls of the batter to the hot pan and fry until gold first one one side and then the other. Drain on kitchen towel. Serve with lemon wedges and parmesan crème.