Porcini mushroom risotto with Parmesan & thyme #181

Porcini or cepe mushrooms are one of my absolute favorites and when the season is right you can find loads of them here in Sweden. Whenever I get my hands on fresh forest mushrooms I go with a classic recipe like pasta, risotto, a mushroom toast or serve them as a side for meat dishes but I almost always keep the additional flavors classic. This time that meant Parmesan cheese and thyme with mushrooms in a creamy risotto. 

Porcini mushroom risotto with Parmesan & thyme

arborio rice

fresh porcini mushrooms (the recipe of course works fine with other mushrooms as well)

garlic

shallot onion

dry white wine

olive oil

Parmesan cheese

fresh thyme

butter

chicken or vegetable stock

salt, pepper

Select the best looking mushrooms and set aside, these will be used for decoration later. Chop remaining mushrooms into cubes. Finely dice the garlic and shallot onion. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic to a pot or sautese with some olive oil. Cook the mix in the oil until it is soft on low heat, season with salt and pepper. Add the rice and let it cook for a few minutes then add a bit of white wine and let it reduce until almost dry.

Add the stock a little bit at the time and keep stirring while the rice cooks, when the rice is almost cooked through add grated Parmesan cheese, a few leafs of thyme and a bit of butter and set aside. Roast the sliced mushrooms in a pan and season with salt and pepper. Stir the risotto and season if necessary, if it get´s to dry add a bit of water. Add the risotto to a plate and the add the sliced fried mushrooms, shave some Parmesan on top and a more leafs of thyme. Serve!

Braised calamari with tomatoes, chili and garlic #154

Calamari is not something I eat very often, I do love the flavor but it somehow seems like I forget how great it can be. Serving it like this just slow cooked with tomatoes, chili, garlic and some herbs is a great way to enjoy calamari. 

If you have guests that don´t like it I highly recommend to try to serve this recipe with some pasta, do like in the recipe but instead of leaving the calamari whole then chop them up in small pieces. This will give you a rich great tasting pasta sauce that most people who claim they don´t like calamari will love. Usually people don´t like it due to the texture and once chopped up you have eliminated the problem.

However if you are serving the way I have in this recipe then leave them whole or in bigger pieces if you can´t find small calamari. The ideal size is one bite for each calamari.

Braised calamari with tomatoes, chili and garlic

calamari, as small as you can find or bigger cut in bite size pieces

high quality canned tomatoes, crushed

olive oil

garlic

fresh red chili

parsley

thyme

salt, pepper

Slice garlic cloves, part and remove the seeds from the chili and the slice it. Add olive oil, garlic, chili and the calamari to a frying pan and let it cook for about ten minutes on low to medium heat. Add a few leafs of parsley, thyme some salt and pepper. 

Then add the canned tomatoes and turn down the heat to low and slowly simmer the calamari for about one hour. Remove from the heat and let cool of for a little while, add some julienne of parsley and serve warm.

Potato chips with herb salt & Sriracha dip #147

You´ve gotta love chips, and you´ll probably like them even more if you put in some effort and make some yourself. Use a firm potato, slice them thin and deep fry. To make it a bit more fun I made a herb salt for seasoning instead of regular salt and are serving them with a Sriracha dip. This is perfect to serve with the first drinks of the evening, who doesn´t like salt and fat?

Potato chips with herb salt & Sriracha dip

potatoes
oil for deep frying
salt
fresh parsley
fresh chives
dried thyme
dried rosemary
mayonnaise
sour cream
Sriracha
smoked paprika powder

Blend all the herbs with salt, I use about four parts herbs to one part salt. Make sure you use both fresh and dried herbs because otherwise the salt will get to moist and you won´t be able to salt the chips in a good way. You can use only fresh herbs but you have to make it a day or two in advance and then dry the salt for it to work.

Wash the potatoes but keep the skin off, slice them as thin as you can, use a mandolin or a potato peeler to get this done easier. Rinse the potatoes in cold water to get rid of any extra starch. Remove the potatoes from the water and dry them on kitchen paper. Deep fry the slices on medium heat until golden, remove from the oil and immediately season with the herb salt.

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise with the Sriracha and smoked paprika, adjust the amount of Sriracha depending on how hot you want it. Serve.

Chanterelle soup with Parmesan bread #111

Chantarelles are in season and besides serving them on toast or as a side to mets I also like to make a soup and serve them as a starter or light lunch, or like here served in a small cup like a tapas or an appetizer while sipping on a drink.

Chantarelle soup with Parmesan bread

fresh chanterelles
shallot onion
garlic
thyme
butter
black pepper
cream
salt
fresh bread
Parmesan cheese

Dice the onion and garlic, add butter to a pan and add the chanterelles, garlic and onion and fry until golden and they start to dry out. Season with salt, black pepper and thyme. Add water until the mushrooms are covered and simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Add a little bit of cream and bring it to a boil and then blend into a smooth soup, adjust the thickness with cream or water if necessary and season to taste.

For the Parmesan bread I just take a good fresh bread and grate loads of Parmesan on top and roast it in the oven until golden. Serve warm with the soup.