Asparagus soup with shaved asparagus #172

Asparagus is in full season and at this time of year I always try to have some at home since it such a versatile vegetable and can be used for so many things. This time I made some soup using some left over white asparagus and some fresh green ones. You don´t need to use any white asparagus for this recipe since I only used them since they got left over and was getting dry and boring. This is also why my soup is not very green in my photos, it will of course be more green if you´re only using the green ones.

If you´re in the mood for some green asparagus and don´t feel like serving soup why not try some of my other asparagus recipes like Crayfish lasagna with asparagus or Grilled asparagus with Parmesan cheese. But since it´s been cold for a few days here in Sweden (yes colder than our usual cold) I felt like soup.

Asparagus soup with shaved asparagus

green asparagus

shallot onion

chicken or vegetable stock

cream

water

salt, pepper

olive oil

Slice the asparagus, save some of the tips for serving. Chop the onion and add asparagus and onion to a pot and sauteé with the olive oil on medium heat, add the chicken stock and leave to simmer for about ten minutes. Blend into a smoot soup, add the cream, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Adjust flavor to taste. 

Using a potato peeler slice the saved tips into thin slices, add the soup to a bowl and decorater with the sliced asparagus and a little bit of olive oil.

Crayfish lasagna with asparagus & garlic #163

This is barely a lasagna but since I used lasagna pasta and it is served in layers I still chose to call it a lasagna. You can of course serve it with regular pasta and you can of course make it bigger and serve it as a main course. I prepared all ingredients before cooking the pasta since the pasta is a central ingredient in the dish it would be ruined if it were to get overcooked. 

Crayfish lasagna with asparagus & garlic

cooked crayfish tails

asparagus

garlic

cream

milk

salt, pepper

olive oil

spinach and or other leaf vegetables

Parmesan cheese

lasagna pasta

Peel and slice garlic and saute in olive oil for a few minutes, add milk and cream and season with salt and pepper. Blend into a creamy garlic sauce, set aside. Rinse the spinach and drain the crayfish tails (if they were sold in liquid). Slice the asparagus and parboil in salted water. Boil the pasta until almost done (it will get done once everything is plated). 

Add one layer of pasta and then add the asparagus, crayfish and then repeat for as many layers as you like. Whisk the sauce and pour on top and add a little bit of salt, pepper and grated Parmesan, serve.

Green pea soup with cream & Champagne #151

Green peas is one of the few great stuff that you can buy frozen. It´s a great vegetable to use for loads of stuff and making a habit of having some sitting in the freezer is always a good idea. I usually use peas to make sure I always eat some extra vegetables and you can add it to lots of dishes. One of my favorite recipes that I do at least a few times every year is a pasta with bacon, green peas and feta cheese. You don´t even need a recipe to do it, just fry bacon, add cooked pasta, peas and some feta cheese and serve.

You can also do other stuff like smashed peas on toast that I´ve posted before here on Delicious Tapas, check that recipe by following the link. Smashed peas on toast recipe.

OK, on with the soup which is very easy to make, only thing you need to worry about is not to keep it warm for too long since this will make the green color go dark. If you are preparing it ahead of serving then chill it before and then quickly heat it before serving.

Green pea soup with cream & Champagne

frozen green peas
Champagne (or any dry sparkling white wine)
onion
butter
light chicken stock or vegetable stock
cream
milk
lemon juice
salt, pepper

Dice the onion and saute it on low heat in butter until it´s soft, add the peas and cover with chicken stock a little bit of milk and cream and quickly bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and mix the soup and then strain the soup through a sieve to get rid of any bigger pieces. Season the soup with salt, pepper and a little bit of lemon juice.

Whip the cream until it thickens, you don´t want to whip it too hard, just the get it semi-thick, the cream is suppose to almost melt when you add it to the soup. Add about two spoonfuls of Champagne to a glass and then pour over the soup. Top the soup with the whipped cream. Serve.

Potato cream with truffle and brussel sprouts #150

This is more or less a full main course served without the meat. It´s a potato cream seasoned with truffles which actually really is a slightly thinner potato mash with loads of fat that I seasoned with truffles. On top is a red wine sauce and on top I´ve put some leafs of brussle sprouts that is quickly sauteed in butter with a little bit of salt and pepper.

The biggest challenge with the dish is to get your hands on a good beef stock. I usually save all my beef trimmings in the freezer and once in a while defrost it all and make a huge batch of beef stock that I then freeze in smaller plastic jars so if I get the urge for some red wine sauce I have some stock ready. If you´re not into making your own stocks buy the best one you can find and make sure it´s not to salty since you will reduce it when you make the sauce. If you´re friendly with a good restaurant you could ask to buy a little bit straight from the kitchen.

The way I serve it in a glass jar is also a great way to serve this as a side to meat, it looks very elegant and you can prepare a bit before serving.

Potato cream with truffle and brussel sprouts

potatoes
cream
butter
black truffles (or truffle oil)
beef stock
carrots
onion
garlic
red wine
brussel sprouts
salt
pepper

Peel and boil the potatoes in salted water, when done discard the water and let the water dry out for a few seconds. Whisk or press the potatoes into a cream with cream, butter, salt and pepper. Finally season the cream with the truffles.

Dice carrots, onion and garlic and saute on medium heat for a few minutes until golden, add red wine and reduce on medium heat until only a fourth of the wine is left. Add the beef stock and reduce on low heat until it´s heavily reduced and starts to thicken. You will only need a spoonful for each serving so don´t be afraid to reduce it too much, as long as you don´t burn the sauce you can always add a little bit of water. Run the sauce through a strainer to get rid of the vegetables.

Remove the leafs from the brussel sprouts and saute them quickly in some butter with a little bit of salt and pepper. Serve.

Jerusalem artichoke soup with parsnips & salami #118

Jerusalem artichokes are in full season and probably the most classic way to serve them is to make a soup, so let´s keep it simple and do just that. If you are serving it as an tapa I recommend serving it in a cup or smaller plate than in my photos.

I used some left over salami that I fried with some parsnips and onion for this recipe but bacon or pork are great as well so feel free to replace the salami with that.

Jerusalem artichoke soup with parsnips & salami

Jerusalem artichokes
cream
water
garlic
butter
shallot onion
white wine
parsnips
salami
chives
olive oil

Peel the artichokes and put in cold water with some lemon juice, this will keep the artichokes from going brown. Chop the garlic and shallots and fry them until soft with the butter, add the artichokes and fry them for a few minutes without browning.

Add salt, pepper and white wine let the wine reduce until half is left and the cover with water and simmer until the artichokes are cooked through. Add some cream and bring to a boil and then blend the soup until completely smooth. Season with salt, pepper and a splash of olive oil. Adjust the thickness and creaminess with water and cream if necessary.

Peel and dice the parsnip, dice the salami and slice the chives. Roast the diced parsnip in some butter, remove from heat and combine with the salami and chives. Serve the soup with the parsnip and salami mix and a few drops of olive oil. Good luck.

Potato soup with bacon & lemon oil #114

Potato soup can be one of the most boring things you can serve but if you add some love, bacon and lemon olive oil it will make a huge difference. Use any good tasting potato, be generous with the olive oil, cream and bacon and it will make a boring potato soup turn into a great tapas dish.

Potato soup with bacon & lemon oil

potatoes

cream

water

onion

garlic

thyme

olive oil

lemon flavored olive oil

parsley

bacon

salt, pepper

Peel and dice the potato, garlic and onion, save some onion and garlic for the bacon and add the rest to a pan with some olive oil and gently let it cook for a few minutes, add some thyme and cover with water. Let the potatoes simmer until cooked through and then add a little bit of cream. Blend the soup until smooth, you may need to thin it with some more water and cream. Season to taste and the bring it to the boil before serving.

Finely dice the bacon and fry until almost crispy in a pan, add the onion, garlic and some chopped parsley and season with some pepper. Pour the soup into cups and add the bacon and onions. Top of with a little bit of lemon oil and a few drops of cream.

Scrambled egg with dill marinated crayfish and sour cream #107

If you add eggs to anything it´s more or less impossible to fail, it goes great with seafood as well. This recipe is more or less a standard scramble with salted crayfish tail that I marinated with fresh dill and a little bit of lemon juice. The sour cream add a little bit of acidity and it´s nice to serve something cold to a mostly hot dish.

Scrambled egg with dill marinated crayfish and sour cream

eggs

cream

crayfish tails

fresh dill

lemon

sour cream

salt, pepper

Chop the dill and combine withe the crayfish tails and a little bit of lemon juice. Scramble the eggs in a pan with a little bit of cream on medium heat until it´s creamy. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Serve the scramble warm with the crayfish and sour cream on top.

Lobster soup with basil cream # 81

This is a classic lobster soup, only served in small portions with some basil cream. I served it without any lobster meat but feel free to add some. Also for the soup you can replace lobster shells with most other seafood shells like shrimp or langoustine.

Lobster soup with basil cream

lobster shells
onion
carrot
tomato puré
bay leaf
garlic
thyme
water
white wine
cream
olive oil
salt, pepper

creme fraiche
basil
salt, pepper

Crush the shells, finely chop the vegetables and gently roast the shells with the vegetables for a few minutes in some olive oil, add wine, tomato puré, bay leaf, thyme and cover with water.

Simmer for about half an hour, turn of the heat and let the stock rest for another hour. Strain the stock and reduce until about half is left, add some cream and reduce until it starts to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.

Finely chop the basil and combine with the creme fraiche, season with salt and pepper.

Grilled onion, parnsip pure & olive oil poached egg yolk #77

This may look a bit complicated but is really quite simple to do, only tricky thing is to get the egg poached so it´s still creamy. Feel free to exchange the poached yolk for a regular soft boiled egg if you like.

Grilled onion, parsnip pure & olive oil poached egg yolk

parsnips

garlic

cream

egg yolk

olive oil

fresh onion

salt, pepper

Peel and cut the parsnip into small pieces, boil in water with a clove of garlic until completely cooked through. I used one clove of garlic for two parsnips, this give the pure a mild touch of garlic without getting to dominant. Discard the water and add a little bit of cream and blend into a smooth pure, season with salt and pepper.

Add a spoonful of olive oil into an espresso cup or coffee cup, carefully put one egg yolk into the oil add a pinch of salt and cook the yolk on low heat in the oven until almost set. I cooked my egg on 100°C / 210 F and it took about ten minutes. Easiest way is to carefully tap on the yolk with your fingertip to feel when the egg starts to set. When done remove from the heat and remove the yolk from the oil with a spoon.

Wash and split the onion in half and brush it with olive oil, grill until soft on a grill, season with salt and pepper. Arrange parsnip pure, egg yolk and the grilled onion on a plate, serve warm.

Slow cooked leg of lamb with potato cream #72

This recipe is a great way to serve lamb, I used a leg because that what I happened to get a hold of but any piece that´s great for slow cooking works fine, it´s also great for beef as well.

Slow cooked leg of lamb with potato cream

Lamb

a leg of lamb

red wine

beef stock

rosemary

garlic

shallot onion

salt, pepper

water

bay leaves

Season the lamb with salt and pepper and roast in a pan until browned all around. Put the lamb in a pot and add all the remaning ingredients. Make sure the lamb is covered and let simmer until tender. Take out the meat and reduce the liquid until it´s getting slightly thicker. Season to taste. Remove the bone from the meat.

Potato cream

potatoes

cream

salt, pepper

butter

Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water until ready, discard the water and pure the potatoes with loads of butter and cream, season with salt and pepper. You´re only serving a spoonful so use way more cream and butter than you would if this was a main course, the cream should be thinner than usual and have a very rich taste.

Onion

Shallot onion

salt, pepper

butter

Peel and split the onions lengthwise, roast in butter with the cut side down until cooked through.

Gratinated oyster with spinach and parmesan # 64

Gratinated oyster with spinach and parmesan

This is sort of an simple version of the classic Oysters Rockefeller and is a great way to serve oysters if 

you´re not into eating raw oysters.

oysters

fresh baby spinach

garlic cloves

cream

parmesan cheese

salt, pepper

butter

Open the oysters and remove the top shell, pour out some of the juice of the oyster and set aside. Peel and dice a clove of garlic. Add butter to a pan and sauté the spinach with the garlic, salt and pepper. Add a dash of cream and leave to cook for a few seconds.

Add the juice from the oysters to the sauce and grate in some parmesan. You should have a thick stew of spinach and cream with a clear taste of garlic. Place the oysters on a oven proof plate and add a spoonful of spinach sauce to each oyster, grate over some more parmesan for each oyster and put in an hot oven for a couple of minutes. Take out and serve varm.