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.

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.

Carpaccio of beef with arugula and balsamic vinegar #149

Carpaccio is one of my favorite classics that I always tend to go back to in one way or the other. I´ve made a lot of different toppings but I always seems to be going back to the classics which in my case is plenty of good olive oil, arugula, Parmigginano-Reggiano and a little bit of balsamic vinegar. Carpaccio is said to have been invented in the fifties at Harrys Bar in Venice, Italy and according to Wikipedia it was usually served with lemon, olive oil, Parmesan and can be topped with arugula so I guess this is not to far from the original. Also if you´re not that into balsamic vinegar replace it with lemon as stated by Wikipedia since this is really good as well.

As for the meat I always use beef tenderloin, you can use other cuts as well but I prefer the tenderloin. If you like you can also sear the meat before slicing and serving to give it a bit of grilled flavor. There are two ways of slicing the meat, one you can do as I did and simply just slice it as thin as you can and lightly press it using the blade of the knife to get it a bit thinner.

In restaurants you usually prepare the meat and then freeze it and slice it frozen or semi-frozen on an electric slicer. This will give you the opportunity to serve it thinner sliced but since most people don´t have an good electric slicer at home you´ll have to settle for the hand cut version. Another technique is to cut a bit thicker piece and then place it between to sheets of plastic film and pound it with a flat meat tenderizer. This is quite time consuming and you have to have a very stable surface to pound on to get a good result.

Although my recipe is quite classic the term Carpaccio has during the last ten to twenty years transformed into meaning more the technique of serving something very thinly sliced than the actual dish of sliced meat. So when you read Carpaccio on a menu next time it´s not a wild guess that it might be followed by something other than beef tenderloin. If you have been following my blog you might have seen that I do like this technique for other stuff just as everybody else, if not check out my other Carpaccios using the links below.

Cod carpaccio with capers and red onion
Tuna carpaccio with capers and cress
Beet carpaccio with deep fried capers and arugula

Alright, lots of talk on carpaccio, on with the recipe!

Carpaccio of beef with arugula and balsamic vinegar

fresh beef tenderloin
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese (Parmiggiano-Reggiano)
arugula
salt
pepper

Trim off any excess meat of the tenderloin and slice it as thin as you can using a sharp knife, you can make the slices a bit thinner if you use the blade of the knife and press each slice a little bit extra. Put the slices directly on the plate you´re serving on and add olive oil and the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and then add the arugula and grate an generous amount of Parmesan on top. Good luck!

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.

French fries with truffle mayonnaise #116

If you haven´t done home made french fries before you really should give it a try, it´s not very difficult. If you´re own a deep frier then there´s no problem at all. If not you can deep fry in a big pot, but make sure to use a thermometer to be able to control the temperature. If you´re feeling insecure about frying in a pot then don´t do it because it can get dangerous. Instead you can roast the fries in an oven, not quite as tasty but still good enough.

For this recipe I use a quicker version of Heston Blumenthals three day fries but I´ve shortened each so you won´t have to spend three days waiting for some fries. 

French fries with truffle mayonnaise

potatoes

neutral oil for frying, I use rapeseed oil but use your favourite

salt

egg yolks

Dijon mustard

red wine vinegar

salt, pepper

neutral oil for the mayonnaise

olive oil

truffle oil

black truffles (optional)

Cut the potatoes into fries, i like mine thin and crispy but cut them to your liking. Leave the skin on. Rinse the cut potatoes in cold water and then parboil until almost done. Remove from the water and let cool in the fridge for about one hour.

Meanwhile start making the mayonnaise, combine egg yolk, Dijon mustard and the vinegar in a bowl and whisk, carefully add the oil a little bit at the time, remember to whisk during the entire process. When it´s thick enough season with salt, pepper, truffle oil, olive oil and some grated or diced truffle.

Fry the fries on low temperature without letting them get any colour until they are cooked through. Remove and chill again for 1-2 hours. You can prepare these two steps the day before and then fry the fries before serving.

Fry the fries until golden on high temperature, remove and salt. Serve with the truffle mayonnaise.

Strawberries with balsamic vinegar & goat cheese #90

This is a great way to enjoy both goat cheese and strawberries, the acidity from the vinegar make the taste complete. Use sweet fully ripened strawberries, but if they are not sweet enough you can ad just a touch of honey or sugar to the vinegar.

Strawberries with balsamic vinegar & goat cheese

fresh strawberries
balsamic vinegar
goat cheese, chèvre
black pepper

Cut the strawberries in half och quarters, add some balsamic vinegar and carefully combine. Let the strawberries marinate for half an hour. Cut the cheese in small bite size pieces. Add a piece of strawberry for each piece of cheese, add some freshly ground black pepper, serve.

Green gazpacho with cream cheese crostini #88

The classic Spanish Gazpacho soup is a must for me at least once a week throughout the summer, this version is made using only green vegetables except for the tomatoes which are yellow. The flavor gets a bit different but equally good and fresh. 

Green gazpacho with cream cheese crostini

cucumber

green pepper

green chili

yellow or green tomatoes

white wine vinegar

olive oil

white bread

salt, black pepper

garlic

cream cheese

Cut all vegetables into pieces, add a few pieces of white bread and splash over some vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let sit out for half an hour to let the vegetables marinate. 

Blend the vegetables into an soup, season with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Cut bread into thin slices and toast, spread on some cream cheese. Serve the soup ice cold.

Borettane onions with red wine, lemon & balsamic vinegar # 79

Great on it´s own if you´re into Borettane onions but it´s also perfect as a side dish for grilled meats. You don´t have to use Borettane onions so feel free to replace it with any small onion but make sure it´s small enough to eat in one bite.

Borettane onions with red wine, lemon & balsamic vinegar

Borettane onions

red wine

balsamic vinegar

sugar

salt, pepper

parsley

lemon

Peel and wash the onions, add the onions into a pot and add wine until it´s almost covered, the add the vinegar. Use about four parts wine to one part vinegar. Bring to a slow simmer and let it reduce, when you´re getting low on liquid turn the onions so they´ll cook evenly. Keep reducing until the liquid starts to get thicker. If the onions are not cooked through by then just add some water and reduce it again. 

Remove the onions from the liquid and add some lemon peel and let simmer for a minute, season with salt, pepper and if needed a pinch of sugar. Let the sauce cool for a minute and then put the onions back and cover them with the sauce. Add some finely chopped parsley and some more lemon peel for decoration. Serve.

Tomato, arugula, parmesan cheese, red onions # 6

A great tomato salad always come down to chosing great tomatoes, if that is taken care of you can add almost anything and you´ll know it will taste great. These are actually my home grown tomatoes so they are all in different shapes and sizes that actually makes the dish better. The good thing is that all the tomatoes doesn´t need to be perfectly ripened, if you add a few green ones they will have a totally different taste and texture that will create a fun contrast when you are eating.

Tomato, arugula, parmesan cheese, red onions

Tomatoes
Arugula
Parmesan cheese
Red onions
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

Cut tomatoes, shave the parmesan, slice the onion. Arrange tomatoes, cheese, onions. Garnish with arugula, vinegar, olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.