Blood orange, beet and fennel salad #155

Blood oranges are in season so it´s time to put some of these delicious fruits into good use. What I like about blood oranges is the extra acidity that make them great for using in more savory dishes. The salad is very simple, raw yellow beets, shaved fennel and a vinaigrette made from the juice from the blood orange, olive oil and a little bit of salt and pepper.

Blood orange, beet and fennel salad

blood oranges
fennel
yellow beets
cress
chives
olive oil
salt, pepper

Cut away the skin of the orange and cut out each wedge leaving only the meat of the orange. Squeeze the leftovers of the orange and set the juice aside. Wash the fennel and the shave thin slices of it using an potato peeler. If you are preparing this dish ahead of time you can put the fennel in some cold water with a little bit of lemon juice to keep it crunchy. It will loose a bit of it´s flavor so the best thing is to do it just before serving. Peel the beets and wash them then slice thin slices with the potato peeler.

Combine the orange wedges, fennel and beets and add a little bit of cress and sliced chives. Season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to the orange juice and add a little bit of vinaigrette to the salad.
Serve.

Roe on toast with cress and lemon crème fraiché #135

Good tasting roe on grilled bread with some lemon flavored crème fraiche and fresh cress to give it a bit of spice. Classic, simple, elegant and great tasting. This is very simple to make and is usually very appreciated, you can use any good tasting roe you like.

For these pictures I used lump roe wich is a really cheap one with a rough saltiness and hard pearls that pop in your mouth. It´s not the ideal roe but a great alternative when you´re on a budget. If you can afford it on your budget you can go way higher and usually the quality and taste will be adjusted with what you pay.

Roe on toast with cress and lemon crème fraiché

white bread
roe
cress
crème fraiché
lemon
salt, pepper

Cest the lemon and combine with the crème fraiché, season with salt and pepper and let sit for one hour to let the lemon taste develop. You can also add lemon juice if you want more acidity and lemon taste.

Slice the bread and grill, let the bread cool off and then spread the lemon crème fraiche on top, add a spoonful of roe on top and finish off with some fresh cut cress.

Tuna carpaccio with capers & cress #130

Making tuna carpaccio is not that hard, get some good fish, slice it thin and add whatever flavors you like. The important thing is that you get really fresh (or good frozen) fish and check with your guests before since not everybody is into eating raw fish. I serve the carpaccio with a little bit of home made mayonnaise that I think add great flavor and the extra little bit of fat goes great with the tuna. In the recipe it only says mayonnaise so either make your own or use any good bought one.

Tuna carpaccio with capers & cress

fresh tuna
capers
cress
mayonnaise
salt
black pepper
olive oil

Slice the tuna as thin as you can and plate it, do this as close to serving as you can because it tends to dry out really quickly. However if have to prepare long before serving you can brush the plate with olive oil, slice and add the tuna and then wrap the plate with cling film until serving. Using this method it can be prepared maybe two or three hours before serving.

After the tuna is on the plate add capers, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and olive oil. Serve straight away, good luck.

Cod with fennel, champagne sauce & fresh herbs #125

This is more of an traditional appetizer but as long as it tastes good it´s good enough. I shaved the fresh fennel and then wrapped it around the cod fillets and fixated it with cling film. Then I poached the fish in water for about ten minutes.

This may look a bit tricky and it can be but it´s a fun way to present the fish in a new way. It makes no difference for the taste of the dish so if you don´t want it to get to complicated then just serve the fish with the fennel lightly cooked on the side.

Cod with fennel, champagne sauce & fresh herbs

fresh cod fillets
champagne
fennel
fish stock
cream
shallots
fresh herbs, dill, cress, fennel dill,
salt, pepper
butter

Season the cod with salt and pepper, shave the fennel lengthwise and put them side by side on top on a sheet of cling film so that almost the whole piece of film is covered. Put the cod fillets on the fennel and wrap the whole thing around the fish. Make sure the film don´t get stuck in between the fennel. Steam or poach the fish for about ten minutes, you can carefully stick a thin knife to check if it´s done before opening the package.

Dice the shallot and cook on medium heat in butter until soft, season with salt and pepper and then add the champagne, let it reduce by half and then add fish stock and once again let it reduce by half. Add a bit of cream to the sauce and let i reduce a little bit more, season to taste and the mix the sauce using a handheld mixer. Before serving add a few drops extra of champagne.

Remove the film from the fish and carefully slice it and place in a deep plate, add the sauce and fresh herbs. Serve.

Whipped ricotta cheese with prosciutto, fresh figs & truffle honey #123

Whipped ricotta is a great way to serve cheese, all you do is whip it until it´s creamy an smooth, you may need to add a bit of cream or milk. Another good thing about ricotta is that you can easily sweeten the cheese and use it as a base for desserts for example with marinated fresh fruit.

Whipped ricotta cheese with prosciutto, fresh figs & truffle honey

ricotta cheese
milk
figs
prosciutto
olive oil
truffle honey
salt, pepper
cress (for decoration, optional)

Put the ricotta cheese in a bowl and whisk it with a electric whisk until it´s creamy and smooth, add a bit of milk if necessary. Put a spoonful of the ricotta on a plate, add the prosciutto and the figs. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and a little bit of truffle honey on the ricotta. If you can´t find truffle honey you can add a little bit of truffle oil into the olive oil or if you´re not into truffle you can skip it, it will still be a great meal. Decorate the plate with some cress or any other mild herb you like.