Quick kimchi #174

Kimchi is one of the trendiest things you could stuff your mouth with at the moment but good kimchi can be hard to find especially if you´re not blessed with an Korean restaurant nearby. And maybe you don´t feel like waiting for weeks to be able to eat some great cabbage. That´s when you should try my quick kimchi recipe.

I make this using savoy cabbage but you can change it to any kind you like, the sauce is mixed using fish sauce, ginger, sambal oelek and garlic. I then quickly fry the savoy cabbage in a little bit of oil to soften it and give it a little extra flavor. Then marinate it while still slightly warm and serve within an hour.

This is nowhere near a authentic kimchi but the flavor is amazing and it will give you a small taste of the real thing. Also I added a few leafs of Thai basil to my paste because I really like the liquorice notes. If you´re in luck and have an Asian grocery store around you can also look for kimchi paste. I have tried a few of those and they are also OK to use for this quick variation.

Quick kimchi

savoy cabbage
Asian fish sauce
garlic
ginger
sambal oelek
vegetable oil
Thai basil (optional)

Rinse and remove the big stem from the cabbage. In a blender add equal parts of garlic, fish sauce, ginger and sambal oelek and mix into a paste. Add vegetable oil to a frying pan and add the cabbage and roast for a few seconds. Combine the cabbage with the paste. Check flavors and adjust if necessary. Also feel free to reduce or increase any ingredient if you like it any other way, good luck!

Home made dried tomatoes with arugula & garlic #170

Home made dried tomatoes is a great way to serve tomatoes and I think they are good enough to serve as simple as this, just the tomatoes with a few leafs of arugula and the oil and garlic from the drying. The technique for this is simple, all you need are good tomatoes, some herbs and garlic, olive oil and a few hours to spare.

What you are doing is simply to dry the tomatoes in your oven until they are about half their original size, this will concentrate the flavors and make taste amazing, however the result is very dependent on what tomato you will choose, you don´t have to spend a fortune but there is one simple rule, if the tomato is not good before drying it won´t be afterwards.

Home made dried tomatoes with arugula & garlic

tomatoes
some herbs, I used some chives, parsley and basil
garlic
olive oil
salt, black pepper
arugula

Bring water to the boil, prepare a big bowl packed with ice and water beside to boiling water. Cut through the skin of the tomatoes on the end sides, this will help the skin open up when you boil it. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water and leave in the water for about 10-20 seconds and then lift out and chill them immediately in the ice water. If you are making a big batch then boil them in batches, otherwise the tomatoes will chill the water and either the skin won´t come off or the cooking will take too long and make the tomato soggy.

Peel the tomatoes and cut in half and put on a tray with the skin side up, drizzle with olive oil, add sliced garlic and a few leafs of chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for drying at 110°C / 230 F. The drying will take anywhere between 4-8 hours, check them every hour and take them out when you like them. Add the tomatoes to a plate and add a few leafs of arugula and some olive oil and garlic from the drying.

This can of course be prepared one or two days ahead of serving, make sure you gently warm them in oven before serving. And I think it goes without saying that this is also great for all tomato dishes like a Caprese salad, on home made pizzas or as a side dish with some grated Parmesan cheese! Good luck!

Baked parsnips with garlic and herb butter #166

This is a great snack or a perfect side to meat or fish. I use small parsnips and keep the skin on, just make sure you clean them so there´s no dirt left. Cut them and season with salt, pepper and garlic. I then wrap everything in tin foil and bake it in the oven. This is also great to cook on a grill and serve as an individual side to grilled meat. The herb butter is just that, butter and herbs and some olive oil mixed together.

Baked parsnips with garlic and herb butter

parsnips
garlic
salt, pepper
olive oil
mixed herbs, use your favorites I used parsley, chives, rosemary and sage
bay leaf

Wash and cut the parsnips in smaller pieces, dress with olive oil, salt, pepper, slice garlic and a bay leaf. Wrap the parsnips in tin foil and bake in the oven on medium heat until done, this took me about half an hour.

Mix the butter with the herbs and some olive oil. Once the parsnips are done remove from the oven and open the package, add a spoonful of herb butter and serve.

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.

Salsiccia with braised tomatoes & garlic #159

Great salsiccia is always a special treat, usually I try to keep it simple since the salsiccia has loads of flavor I think it goes best with simple things. Here I roasted the salsiccia on low heat until done then roasted some garlic and tomato paste in the fat that gets left in the pan, add a bit of white wine, a bay leaf and some fresh small tomatoes. If you get some small pieces of salsiccia left over you can leave it in the sauce as well. Then just slow cook for about one hour and you´re done.

I got my salsiccia imported from Italy, that´s great but if you have a local butcher or shop that happens to make their own sausages then they usually have their own, if so then get theirs since it´s always more fun to support your local shops then buying the imported stuff.

Salsiccia with braised tomatoes & garlic

Italian fresh salsiccia (or similar with the same flavor profile)
bay leaf
water
tomato paste
chives
garlic
white wine
chives
olive oil
small whole tomatoes
salt, pepper

On low heat fry the salsiccia until golden and cooked trough, then add chopped garlic, a little bit of olive oil, tomato paste and a few small pieces of salsiccia. Let it roast for a few minutes. Add white wine, a little bit of water and the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and then leave to simmer on low to medium heat for about one hour. Season if necessary, then reheat the salsiccia and slice, serve with a spoonful of sauce and some of the tomatoes and some sliced chives.

Pan fried mussels with chives & croutons #158

Mussels in all forms are one of the most affordable and tastiest seafood you can make. It´s also very simple so if you´ve never cooked it before now´s the time. There´s not that much you need to worry about when cooking mussels besides over-cooking them, this will turn them chewy so keep the cooking to a minimum.

For this recipe I pan fried the mussels which give them a bit different flavor, what I do is that i steam them in water until they open up then quickly remove them and pick them from the shell. Then I simply pan fry them in butter and olive oil on high heat for a few seconds with a little bit of garlic and chives and serve straight away.

Pan fried mussels with chives & croutons

mussels
garlic
chives
white bread
butter
olive oil
salt, pepper

Rinse the mussels i cold water and remove any dirt that might be attached to the shell, add a bit of water to a big pot and bring to a boil. Add the mussels and steam until they open up, as soon as they have opened remove them from the water and leave to cool. Discard any mussels that have not opened.

Add a little bit of butter in a pan and cut the bread in croutons, roast the croutons in the butter until golden. Peel and slice the garlic, slice the chives. Add butter and olive oil to a pan and then fry the mussels with the garlic for about a minute, season with salt and pepper and then add the chives. Serve immediately with the croutons. 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.

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.

Roasted red pepper & walnut dip with crostini #143

Dips are always appreciated and a great go to food for when you´re want something simple that easily can be eaten in front of the TV but don´t go for anything ready made.

Roasted red pepper & walnut dip with crostini

red peppers

vegetable oil

olive oil

garlic

walnuts

bread

parsley

salt, pepper

smoked paprika powder

Brush the red peppers with the vegetable oil and roast on high heat in the oven for about ten minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then de seed and peel the peppers. Blend the peppers with olive oil, walnuts, garlic and parsley until it´s a rough paste. Remove from the blender and season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika powder. 

Slice the bread and roast in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and salt. Add the pepper dip to the crostini and decorate with a walnut on each crostini.

Lamb fillet with herbs, lemon & goat cheese #142

Lamb fillet is a great meat and is perfect in size for serving small, if you can´t get your hands on some fillet you can change it for a bigger piece, also the recipe goes great with beef as well.

Lamb fillet with herbs, lemon & goat cheese

lamb fillet

parsley, chives, rosemary

lemon

garlic

goat cheese (chèvre)

chili

olive oil

butter

salt, pepper

Chop chili's, lemon peel, garlic and herbs into a rough paste. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and fry in butter until golden and medium rare, this goes really quickly with such a small piece of meat so be careful not to overcook it. Once done roll the meat in the herb mixture and put it back in the pan for a few seconds. This will help the herbs stuck better to the meat. Then roll it in the herbs one more time. Leave to rest, meanwhile put the goat cheese on the plate and add a little bit of olive oil. Cut the lamb into bite sized pieces and plate. Serve warm, good luck.

Lemon risotto with pickled lemon rinds & black pepper #137

Risotto is always a good choice and I really like to serve it on it´s own, you don´t have to serve that much because most risottos are very rich. This one is slightly lighter thanks to the lemon.

Lemon risotto with pickled lemon rinds & black pepper

Italian arborio rice
dry white wine
Parmesan cheese
lemon
shallot onion
garlic
salt, black pepper
sugar
light chicken stock
olive oil
butter

Cut away the rind from the lemon, you´ll need all of the skin and let a little bit of the meat stay attached to the rind. Cut the rind in cubes, bring water to the boil and add the lemon rinds, let simmer for ten minutes. Then discard the water and repeat three times. This will remove most of the bitterness but will still keep a little bit of the lemon flavor. Also the remaining bitterness will give the dish great flavor and a little bit of contrast to the acidity of the lemon juice. Once the rind is cooked bring equal parts water and sugar to the boil and add the rinds together with a few drops of lemon juice. Let simmer for ten minutes and then leave to cool.

Dice garlic and shallots and add to a pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Let the onions cook on low heat for five minutes, then add rice and let cook another five minutes on low heat. Turn up the heat a little bit and add a little bit of white wine and lemon juice and stir gently. Once the lemon and wine is almost gone add chicken stock a little at the time constantly stirring until the rice is almost done. You will want to keep a little bit of bite to it and the rice will keep cooking even after you remove it from the heat so be careful not to overcook it. Once the rice is almost done add a knob of butter and grated Parmesan cheese and a few drops of lemon juice.

Let the risotto rest for a few minutes and then adjust the flavors with salt, pepper, Parmesan and lemon juice if necessary. Plate the risotto and add some extra black pepper, olive oil, Parmesan and the pickled lemon rinds on top. Serve warm.