Pulled beef teriyaki taco with feta cheese #188

Everybody likes tacos so here´s one with a bit of a twist, it´s made with pulled beef that is flavored with a teriyaki sauce and topped with a roasted avocado, crumbled feta cheese, onion and fresh cilantro. 

The combination with feta cheese and teriyaki sauce might some a bit unusual but it really works great, I´ve picked it up from a friend who used to make noodles with beef, teriyaki sauce and feta cheese and been doing it every since.

Pulled beef teriyaki taco with feta cheese

wheat tortillas

beef meat for pulled beef or bought pulled beef

avocado

red onion

feta cheese

cilantro

teriyaki sauce

salt, pepper

The meat

First the meat, (if you haven´t bought it pre-made), season a piece of beef with salt and pepper and roast in the oven on low to medium heat until it´s tender enough to be pulled, you can add a bit of water in the bottom of the pan while cooking to keep the meat moist. This is usually a step that is good to make a day ahead.

Once the meat is done pull it into strips and heat in a pot, add teriyaki sauce the way you normally would add BBQ-sauce. You want the pulled beef to be slightly creamy and moist with a clear taste of the teriyaki. Seat aside and keep warm.

The vegetables

Slice the onion, chop the cilantro, crumble the feta cheese. Split the avocado and remove the pit, then cut it into four wedges, brush the avocado with olive oil and roast in a hot pan for a few seconds. 

Plating

Heat the tortilla and put on a plate, put a bit of pulled beef in the middle, top with avocado, onion and sprinkle the feta cheese and cilantro on top. Eat.

Roasted carrots with goat cheese, chives and lime #186

Here in Sweden it is a great season for carrots, they are cheap, tasty and beautiful and come in all shapes and colors, at least if you visit a good vegetable shop. I really like to serve vegetables almost on their own and let they play the main part of a dish. That approach might not work so well if you are serving a main dish but for a starter or in this case tapas it´s absolutely perfect.

I also felt while making this dish that I´ve probably been making something similar before, so I checked and for a trip down memory lane you can check out my previous recipe with roasted carrots, then served with Greek feta cheese instead.

Roasted carrots with goat cheese, chives and lime

carrots, any size, color or shape you like

butter

lime

soft goat cheese

chives

olive oil

salt, pepper

What to do

Trim and rinse the carrots, if the skin is thick then peel them as well, fry in a pan in a combination of butter and olive oil on medium heat until they are golden and almost cooked through. Check using a small knife while they are cooking so they don´t get to soft, adjust the heat if necessary. When done season with salt and pepper. 

Cut a lime into wedges and add to the pan, roast the lime with the flesh side down until it´s browned, almost burnt. Remove from the pan. Slice the chives.

Plating

Spread a spoonful of goat cheese on the bottom of each plate, add the carrots on top and squeeze a wedge of lime on the carrots, leave each wedge on the plate. Sprinkle the chives on top with a bit of salt, pepper and a few drops of olive oil, serve.

Tomato bruschetta with Parmesan cheese and dried kalamata olives #184

A good tasting bruschetta is a great go-to dish when you run out of ideas, usually you´ll even find some stuff left over in the fridge that will work which is exactly how this one was made. I had a few tomatoes, a piece of cheese, some salad, dried olives and luckily some fresh bread.

There are only two things that are a bit complicated about this dish, first if you haven´t boiled and peeled tomatoes before that could be a bit tricky if it is your first time and then the olives that I have dried in my oven, it will take a day or two so if you don´t want to spend that much time simply use some good chopped olives instead.

This is how the olives are made, it is also described in my recipe for Burnt cod with grated kalamata olives (link, new window).

The drying of olives is not difficult but it will take a few days, I use fresh Kalamata olives, that is only fermented olives which is way higher in taste and quality so see if you can get your hands on some of those in a good grocery store. Then I simply put them on a plate and let them dry in the oven on low heat (about 50°C / 120F). If you have a dehydrator I´m sure this will work fine to but since I don´t have one myself I really don´t know. This took me four days to dry but I only turned on the oven whenever I was at home and awake. 

Also the olives should not get dried all the way through but only enough to be able to be grated. What I did was to simply grate an olive now and then until they were dry enough. Also if I forgot to mention it, the taste is simply amazing.

Now on with this recipe, and remember get great tomatoes, tasteless ones will give a tasteless dish.

Tomato bruschetta with Parmesan cheese and dried kalamata olives

tomatoes, small

fresh basil

olive oil

dried kalamata olives

a few leafs of salad, arugula or similar

balsamic vinegar

salt, pepper

Parmesan cheese

bread, white

Bring water to a boil and keep it boiling at the highest temperature, bring out a big bowl of ice cold water and add some ice to the water if you have it at hand. Cut a small cross at the tip of every tomato, add the tomatoes a few at a time to the boiling water. Let them cook for only a few seconds, once the skin of the tomato loosens immediately remove the tomato and cool them in the ice water. 

Repeat until all tomatoes are done. Then gently peel the tomatoes and put the in a oven proof tray, season them with a few leafs of chopped basil, olive oil, salt and pepper and let them dry out in the oven on low heat (about 100°C / 212 F), this will give the tomato a more intense flavor and infuse the oil and tomato with the basil.

Slice the bread and roast in a pan with olive oil, remove and place the salad on the toast, then the tomatoes and add some of the oil as well. Grate the Parmesan cheese and the olives on top, serve.

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!

Mexican corn with cilantro, chipotle & Parmesan cheese #180

Mexican corn is quite a new discovery for me but I fell in love at first bite. I have never had it in Mexico but got to try some in California this summer and have been trying to reproduce the same experience here in Sweden since then. 

I can´t say I´ve come close enough to what I had in California but it still is a great tasting corn. Luckily we are in the middle of the season for fresh corn here so there are plenty to get in the stores for everyone to enjoy.

I parboil the corn and then brush it with a little bit of oil, grill it and then smear it with a combination of mayonnaise, sour cream and cilantro and then grate Parmesan cheese and sprinkle a little bit of salt and ground chipotle on top. Serve some lime wedges on the side. This is my version of Mexican so far, hope you´ll like it!

Mexican corn with cilantro, chipotle & Parmesan cheese

fresh corn

vegetable oil

mayonnaise

sour cream

fresh cilantro

lime

ground chipotle

salt

Parmesan cheese

Remove the outer leafs of the corn and then parboil for half a minute, brush with vegetable oil and a little bit of salt and then grill on high heat. Combine equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise and add chopped cilantro and a pinch of salt. 

Once the corn is grilled smear it with the cream and put on a plate and then grate Parmesan cheese on top. Chop some more cilantro and add with some ground chipotle on top. Serve warm with lime wedges on the side, good luck!

Spinach salad with capers, Parmesan cheese and radishes #169

This is one of my absolute favorite salads, mostly because the first time I made it was using vegetables that I grew myself. After living in an apartment for years and not having the luxury of being blessed with a garden me and my family decided to move to a house in a smaller town. This blessed us with a garden and it was one of the first things I started working on (even though there were load of other more important things to do) and about a month or two later i pulled my first radishes and baby spinach out of the land and went for a treasure hunt in my fridge. 

I came across some left over capers and I always try to have some Parmesan at hand so I combined it all and dressed it with only olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. One of the greatest salads I´ve ever come up with. And it´s not only memories that make it great, I´ve done many times after using both home grown and bought ingredients and it great every time, so go make some!

Spinach salad with capers, Parmesan cheese and radishes

baby leaf spinach

radishes

Parmesan cheese

capers

olive oil

red wine vinegar

salt

pepper

Rinse the spinach and radishes, slice the radishes as thin as you can. Dress the spinach with olive oil and vinegar. Plate the spinach and put the sliced radishes on top. Shave some Parmesan on top and add the capers. Season with salt and pepper and add a few extra drops of olive oil.

Crostini with Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese #168

Easy to do, easy to enjoy, making crostini is a good way of serving great snacks that everyone will appreciate without spending the entire day in the kitchen. This is simply what it looks like, roasted slices of bread with Parma ham, good Italian sun dried tomatoes and some Parmesan cheese.

Crostini with Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese

baguette
Parma ham
Parmesan cheese
sun dried tomatoes
olive oil

Slice the baguette and roast the slices in olive oil until golden and crisp. Add Parma ham, a piece of tomato and grate some Parmesan on top. Serve!

Poached rhubarb with blue cheese #165

Serving blue cheese with something sweet like jam or sweet berries is always a good idea, it works great with the fat and salty taste from the cheese. I used fresh rhubarb for this recipe, try to get small ones since their skin is thin enough to chew through, the bigger stalks usually need to be peeled and even though it will still taste good you will loose a lot of the beautiful color.

For the cheese i recommend a Roquefort, you won´t be using a lot since these tapas are served in extra small servings so spend a little bit extra on the cheese if you can. The cracker is an unsweetened rye one with less salt than traditional cheese crackers. I do prefer this kind since the cheese is very salty it brings a great balance but you can of course replace it with your favorite kind.

Also if you don´t have time to poach rhubard then head over to my previous cheese servings like Fresh dates with blue cheese or Roquefort cheese with rosehip jam.

Poached rhubarb with blue cheese

crackers
fresh rhubard
Roquefort cheese
water
sugar
fennel seeds
cardamom
black pepper
bay leaf

Bring equal parts water and sugar to the boil, add a few fennel seeds, a peppercorn or two and a tiny bit of cardamom and a bay leaf and let it simmer for a few minutes. The spices will give the rhubarb a hint of a different taste and will make it feel less like a dessert. Cut the rhubarb in bite size pieces and add them. Slowly simmer for about ten minutes, check it during the process so it won´t overcook. Once done you can let them cool off in the liquid.

Add the cheese to the crackers and put one piece of rhubarb on each one, serve.

Caesar salad #157

It´s time for a classic, few salads can beat a classic Caesar salad and it´s it works really good served as a starter or tapas dish. Usually I do it as a side dish to grilled meats during the summer but now it was time to let this classic get all the attention. Instead of croutons I used a fresh white bread and sliced it a thin as I could using a normal kitchen knife, then roasting it in a pan with a little bit of butter. This make the croutons a little less hard to chew on and I prefer them that way for this dish. Besides that just make the bacon crispy, get great cheese and romaine lettuce. I got my hands on some really small ones that was perfect for this serving size, if you can´t find small ones then get normal size and just cut them up in smaller pieces.

Caesar salad

romaine lettuce

Parmesan cheese

bacon

white bread

butter

Dressing

2 anchovy fillets

1 egg yolk

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup neutral oil, I use rapeseed oil

lemon juice, salt, pepper

water

2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese 

Using a blender mix egg yolk, anchovy and garlic, then slowly add the oil until the dressing thickens. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, then add the Parmesan cheese. If the dressing gets to thick then thin it with a few drops of water.

Wash and cut the lettuce if necessary, slice the bread thin and roast until golden in a frying pan. Fry the bacon until it´s crisp. Combine the lettuce with the dressing and then arrange lettuce, crouton slices, bacon and some extra Parmesan cheese on a plate, serve. Good luck.

10 great Super Bowl snacks!

Super Bowl is just around the corner and what greater opportunity to put a little bit of extra effort into some great snacks! Below you will find my personal top ten favorites that will be great snacks when enjoying the game. For each picture there´s a link that you can follow if any of the snacks look to complicated, have a great Super Bowl and may the best team win!

First let´s start with something very simple, some roasted pumpkin seeds with sea salt.

Roasted pumpkin seeds with salt.

And follow it with a little bit of vegetables (don´t worry there´s chips and other great stuff coming right up).

Radishes with cream cheese and herbs.

And you just can´t get tired of edamame beans can you?

Edamame beans with salt.

Now for a classic with a twist, home made potato chips with a spicy Sriracha dip!

Potato chips with herb salt and Sriracha dip.

And who doesn´t love popcorn with lime and chili butter!

Popcorn with chili butter and lime.

 

No snack table is complete without some of this delicious middle eastern classic.

Hummus on toast.

Nachos, gotta love it!

Nachos with peppers and avocado mayonnaise.

Broccoli is probably not what you´re thinking of when planning you Super Bowl snack selection, but then make some room, this is great stuff.

Broccoli with Sriracha mayonnaise.

Home made grissini wrapped in delicious Parma ham.

Grissini with Parma ham and cream cheese.

And why not some more crostinis, this time with a garlic packed white bean dip!

Crostini with white bean dip.

Portobello mushroom toast with gruyere cheese #153

This is a very simple toast with only one Portobello mushroom and some Gruyere cheese on top that has been gratinated and served on a toast. Portobello mushrooms are a good choice since they are bigger than most other kinds of mushroom so you can serve mushroom for each toast.

The Gruyere cheese is simply amazing and one of my favorite cheeses, however if you can´t find it you can replace with some other mature hard cheese like Parmesan, Comté or English Cheddar.

Portobello mushroom toast with Gruyere cheese

white bread for toast
Gruyere cheese
butter
portobello mushroom
salt, pepper

Remove the stem from the mushroom and fry it in a pan on both sides in butter, season with salt and pepper. Slice the toast and fry it in a pan with a little bit of butter and place the portobello mushroom on top. Grate a generous amount of Gruyere on top of the toast and then gratinate it in the oven. Once the cheese starts to get brown, remove from the oven and serve.