Winter salad with mustard and vinegar #189

It's time for a winter salad, it's simple tasty and let's you use some of the delicious vegetables that you might not use for salads that often. It's very simple, peel and wash root vegetables. Slice them thin and make a vinaigrette with mustard and red wine vinegar, combine with the vegetables and serve. 

Here it is served as a tapas but this is almost better as a side for that fatty Christmas food or Sunday roast with the relatives, since it's quite acidic the salad could also replace pickled vegetables, maybe put on a burger?

Winter salad with mustard and vinegar

root vegetables, use your favorites, I used yellow beets, purple carrots, carrots and celeriac

mustard

brown and yellow mustard seeds

parsley

olive oil

red wine vinegar

salt, pepper

Peel and wash the vegetables and then slice thin using a potato peeler, combine in a bowl. Combine olive oil, mustard, vinegar and mustard seeds, chop the parsley and add to the vinaigrette. Season and adjust the flavors to your own liking, I make it a bit more acidic than a normal vinaigrette and quite a bit of mustard so the salad gets a little sting, add salt and pepper and combine the vinaigrette with the vegetables, serve.

Cod with Italian Salsiccia & tomatoes #176

Cod is an amazing fish, especially if you can get your hand on a big one, or at least a piece of a big one. This one is a small piece of the loin or back of the cod. The price is usually higher for the bigger ones but so is the quality so if you want the best you´ll need to spend a bit extra. 

I think cod is a great fish to serve with a bit more meatier sides like bacon, red wine sauces or like in this recipe a quick ragu with Italian Sasiccia and chopped tomatoes. It´s a bit rustic dish that suites the cod perfect.I pre-salted the cod a few hours before, this will make the fish a bit firmer. 

The ragu is simply diced raw Italian Salsiccia that is fried in a pan and then cooked with some fresh chopped tomatoes into a ragu. The Salsiccia was seasoned with fennel and garlic so if you can´t find a Salsiccia with that flavor you could add some crushed fennel seeds and a clove of garlic. 

The recipe can also be varied in many ways and of course served as a main course. Why not replace the fish for halibut, pork loin or maybe the Salsiccia for Spanish Chorizo.

Cod with Italian Salsiccia & tomatoes

fresh loin of cod

tomatoes

raw Italian Salsiccia

olive oil

parsley

salt, pepper

Cut the cod in serving size pieces, salt them and leave in the fridge for about two hours. Dice the Salsicca and tomatoes. Add the Salsiccia to a pan and add a little bit of olive oil and cook until they are done, about 5-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and lower the heat to low and let it cook for about 15 minutes. Add a bit of water if it gets to dry, season with salt and pepper. Chop the parsley and add to the ragu.

Take the cod and pad dry with paper and then cook skin side first in olive oil. Once they have a golden colour on the skin remove and finish cooking in the oven on medium heat. Serve. 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.

Asparagus with chili Bearnaise #167

Asparagus is one amazing vegetable but serve it pan roasted with a chili flavored Bearnaise and my God!
Ok, use fresh green asparagus, peel if they are thick but usually they are just fine to use as they are. Whip up some classic Bearnaise and season it with dried chili flakes or fresh chillies if you have some.

If you´re not in a tapas mood this is a great side to all grilled meats as well, just serve a lot, I guarantee success!

Also if you´ve never made a warm emulsion sauce like Bearnaise before then make a practice batch before you invite people over since it can be a bit tricky the first time or two, good luck!

Asparagus with chili Bearnaise

asparagus
chili flakes (or fresh chili)
clarified butter
eggs
red wine vinegar
tarragon
parsley
chives
salt, pepper
olive oil

For Bearnaise sauce you usually make a reduction using red wine vinegar, shallots, tarragon, pepper and let it all simmer for a while and then discarding the herbs and using the flavored vinegar with the egg yolks to start the sauce. This is a great way but it works fine to make it straight with the vinegar and add the spices and herbs as you go. Also there is some debate on which herbs should be added, I´m staying out of this debate, just make sure you use tarragon which is essential for the taste. This time I also added chives and parsley since those are my favorites.

Heat the clarified butter and set aside. Whisk together egg yolks with the vinegar and a little bit of salt and pepper. Carefully heat it during whisking on low heat until it starts to thicken, in most recipes this calls for a water bath but if you are careful it´s not a problem to do it on the stove. I use about one teaspoon of vinegar for each egg yolk and 1 dl / 1/2 cup butter for each yolk.

Once you have the egg and vinegar thick and warm remove it from the stove and start to add the warm butter a little at the time, if it gets to thick or starts to separate you can add a few drops of cold water to cool it down. Add all the butter and then season the sauce with all the chopped herbs and chili. Add more vinegar, salt and pepper if necessary. Roast the asparagus in olive oil in a pan and season with salt and pepper.

Lomo with roasted pepper and herbs #156

Lomo is Spanish pork tenderloin that is dried in a similar way like salami, it´s very lean and is great if you like charcuterie but are not a fan of the fat that usually comes with it. Sometimes the Lomo is also flavoured with spices like paprika or herbs. To the lomo I simply added a piece of roasted red pepper that is marinated with some chives and parsley. A very simple tapas that is packed with flavor.

Lomo with roasted pepper and herbs

sliced Lomo
red peppers
vegetable oil
chives
parsley
salt, pepper
olive oil

Turn on your oven on maximum heat, coat the peppers with a little bit of vegetable oil and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool down. Peel the peppers and cut them i large squares. Marinate the peppers in the olive oil with chopped chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Add a piece of pepper for each slice of Lomo. 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.

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.

Salt baked onions with truffle butter #139

Salt baked onions taste simply amazing, they are easy to prepare and it can be fun to serve something that is super cheap and still make it look good and taste great (with a little bit of help from truffles). It works with all sorts of onions but I think that a standard yellow one is the best since it´s usually the cheapest one and very rarely get to be the center of a dish.

If you´re not into truffles the onions is great served with most other seasoned butters, like herbs or cheese. Also it´s great to serve as a side to grilled meats and stews.

Salt baked onions with truffle butter

onions
coarse sea salt
vegetable oil
black pepper
salt
butter
truffle oil
truffles (optional)
parsley

Without peeling the onions brush them with vegetable oil and sprinkle with loads of coarse sea salt. Roast in the oven whole on high heat until the onions are cooked through. Turn them a few times during the cooking. Check them by poking them with a thin knife to see if they are soft all the way through, it´s OK to let them cook a while after they are soft, just make sure you don´t let them under cook because then to much of the raw onion flavor will be left. Once completely soft remove from the oven and let cool for a while.

If you want to prepare this dish a little bit of time before serving it´s better to turn of the oven and let the onions stay in the oven until serving, the won´t overcook but they will keep their heat for quite some time.

Whip butter at room temperature with the truffle oil, chopped truffles and a little bit of black pepper. Peel the onions and serve with the butter and a few leafs of parsley. Make sure you taste onions before serving to check if they are salty enough, if not just add salt before serving. Good luck.

Hummus on toast #128

Hummus is one of the easiest and tastiest stuff you can serve and it goes with almost everything so if you´re preparing a buffet or need an idea for something for your guests to snack on then look no further since Hummus is loved by more or less everybody.

I use canned chickpeas for my recipe but if you like to boil you´re own then that´s fine but personally I don´t think it´s worth the effort if you´re gonna turn it into a dip in the end. I also put some smoked paprika on top when serving that is optional, it can also be replaced by some cayenne if you like a bit of heat. The tahini paste can be found in middle eastern stores but can be excluded if you can´t find it. The Hummus should be dominated by the chickpeas and all other ingredients should be used as seasoning.

Hummus on toast

canned chickpeas
tahini paste (sesame seed paste, can be excluded)
garlic
lemon juice
cumin
olive oil
salt, pepper
smoked paprika powder
parsley (for garnish)
smoked paprika (for garnish)
white bread

Open and remove the liquid from the chickpeas, add tahini paste, peeled garlic, lemon juice, cumin, olive oil, salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Adjust the taste with more seasoning if needed. Toast the bread and put a spoonful of Hummus on top, add some chopped parsley and sprinkle some smoked paprika on top.

Grilled pear with brie & walnuts #127

This is a really great way to serve cheese, I used a fresh slice of pear and grilled it on high heat and then put the Brie cheese on top and let it slowly gratinate in the oven wich makes it taste so much more. The walnuts gives the dish some texture and saltiness that goes great with the cheese. if you think it get´s to rich you can add a few drops of a good vinegar.

Grilled pear with brie & walnuts

fresh pears, firm

walnuts

Brie cheese

parsley

olive oil

Slice the pear and brush it with olive oil. Grill the pear until it´s almost cooked through. Slice the Brie cheese and add a generous slice on top of the grilled pear and put it in the oven for about ten minutes or til the cheese starts to get golden.

Remove from the oven and put on a plate, add the walnuts and a few leafs of parsley and a few extra drops of olive oil.

Gazpacho salad #126

Usually when I make Gazpacho I make the classic way, mixed on a hot day served with grilled bread. But using the same stuff as you would when you´re mixing that very same Gazpacho can make a great tasting, looking and refreshing salad. All you need is good vegetables and a bit of time.It´s the marinading that will make the difference when you make this salad, you need to let the vegetables rest for an hour or two to get that Gazpacho taste, if not it will still taste good but not as Gazpacho.

And if you´re not serving tapas then it´s of course great to serve as a side for a main dish or as a appetizer, if it´s the only thing you´re serving as an appetizer then add some bread or maybe some cheese.

If you´re looking for other types of Gazpacho you can head right over to my green Gazpacho recipe, if not then keep reading.

Gazpacho salad

tomatoes, different sizes and colors
cucumber
bell peppers
red onion
garlic
dried chili flakes
parsley
white wine vinegar
olive oil
black pepper
sea salt

Dice and slice the cucumber, peppers and tomatoes, make sure to cut them in different sizes and shapes, this will make the salad look much better. Peel and thinly slice the red onion and garlic. Combine all vegetables and add olive oil, chili, red onion, garlic, parsley, vinegar, salt and pepper and then let marinate for at least one hour.

It´s fine to let it marinade for longer but serve it the same day as you made it, in my opinion it looses it´s freshness otherwise. When time for serving taste the salad and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve.

Parma ham with balsamic vinegar glazed plums & goat cheese #115

This is a great and unusual way to use plums, try to get firm and red ones because the won´t get to soft when heated with the vinegar. The combination between sweet and sour plums the salty ham and creamy cheese is a great one that you can apply to other dishes like salads or bruschettas. 

It also works well as a side to grilled meats, if you think it would get to heavy on the meat you can exclude the Parma ham.

Parma ham with balsamic vinegar glazed plums & goat cheese

Parma ham

balsamic vinegar

fresh plums

goat cheese

parsley

olive oil

sugar

Cut the plums in half and remove the pit. In a pan add a little bit of sugar and let it melt, add the plums flesh side down and let cook for a few seconds. Add some balsamic vinegar and bring it to a boil, add a splash of water in case it gets to dry.

On a plate combine the Parma ham with the plums and the vinegar from the pan with crumbles of the goat cheese. Add a few leafs of parsley.