Winter cod

As you probably have noticed we love cod. It is extremly hard not to buy cod when you see the fresh fillet or the thick cod loins, at our local store often placed next to the lovely but so grey coalfish, and then the cod looks even nicer with it’s white flesh. Anyway this is not to be a declaration of love to all you Cods out there 😉 But make this dish, I promise that you will enjoy it. And you can of course use regular cod.

• 800 g Winter cod with skin
• 1 Leek, cut in 3 centimeter pieces
• 20 Hazelnuts, cut
• Butter
• 1 Black salsify
• 1/2 Cauliflower
• 1 dl Youghurt
• 2 Lemons, fruit flesh
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 teespoon Salt

Start with the lemons; cut fillet and marinate them in their own juice together with sugar and salt.

Boil the cauliflower until it’s done, approximately 15-20 minutes. When done;  use a mixer, add yoghurt and mix until you have a smooth pure. Season with salt and pepper.

In the meantime peel the black salsify and cut it in half centimeter pieces. Wash the leek and cut it in 3 centimeter pieces.

Set the oven to 100 degrees Celsius. Heat up a pan and before adding butter fry both ends of the leek pieces until they are “sooty”, remove them from the pan and leave them in the oven until everything is done.

Add butter to the pan and fry the cod with its skin side down. When almost done turn it around just to get a nice colour on the flesh side, place the fish on to your plates. Add more butter to the pan to quickly fry the black salsify pieces.

At the same time use a small casserole; heat up butter and the cut hazelnuts until the butter becomes a nice golden brown colour.

Serve, and don’t forget to add the lemon fillet!

Music: Listening to Caligola – Back to earth

Weekend special

Starter – Artichoke and mozzarella salad

• Mozzarella
• Artichoke hearts
• Lamb’s lettuce
• Olive oil
• Vinegar
• Chilli, finely chopped
• Lemon zest
• Garlic, grated

Buy a really nice mozzarella and tear it to pieces, half the artichoke hearts and place it on a plate together with lamb’s lettuce. Splash olive oil and vinegar over the plate and finally add chopped chilli, lemon zest and grated garlic.

Main course – Veal with beluga lentils and sun-dried tomatoes

• 400-500 g fillet of Veal
• Butter
• 1 Lemon, zest
• 1/2 Lemon, juice
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 dl Beluga lentils
• 1 Garlic clove
• twig of fresh Thyme
• 100 g salted Pork belly/Bacon
• Chicken broth
• 300 g Cherry tomatoes, dried

Start with the tomatoes, half them and put them on baking paper with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, slices of garlic and a bit of sugar in the oven for 1 hour on 150 degrees Celsius.

Fry the veal with butter in a pan until it gets a bit of a colour. Place aluminium foil with baking paper on top, place the meat and squeeze the lemon juice over it and the lemon zest. Wrap the meat and bake it in the oven (150 degrees Celsius) until the meat has a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius.

Add salt and pepper and cut the meat in four pieces, for serving.

Boil the lentils in chicken broth with a crushed garlic clove, a twig of fresh Thyme and salt. Cut the salted pork belly into small pieces and fry them in a pan. Remove the garlic clove and the Thyme twig from the lentils and add the fried salted pork.

Jerusalem artichoke sauce

• 200 g Jerusalem artichokes
• 2 dl Milk
• 1 dl Cream
• 0,5 dl Water
• Chicken broth
• Salt
• White pepper
• 1 Lemon, the juice

Peel and cut the artichokes in small pieces. Boil them with milk, cream, water and chicken broth until the artichokes are done. Mix and strain. Shortly before serving bring the sauce to boil and add the lemon juice. Is the sauce to thick, add more milk. When warm mix to get a nice foam.

Put the lentils on to a plate, lean the veal on to the lentils, place the dried tomatoes on top and add your Jerusalem artichoke foam.

Dessert – Mint mud cake and cherry sorbet

Mint mud cake

• 2 Eggs
• 3 dl Sugar
• 150 g Butter
• 1,5 dl Wheat flour
• 3 tbsp Cacao
• 1 Mint chocolate bar ( 100 g)

Set the oven on 175 degrees Celsius. Melt the butter and the chocolate. Blend everything together, butter a baking tin with a detachable brim and sprinkle it with coconut.

Bake it for approximately 30 minutes, it should still be “muddy” in the middle.

Cheery sorbet

• 400 g Cherries
• 1 dl dry White wine
• 2 dl Water
• 1 dl Sugar
• 1/2 Lemon, the juice

Remove the pips from the cherries and mix them. Blend the mixture with the rest of the ingredients in a casserole. Bring it to boil and simmer shortly to make the sugar melt. Let it cool off and use an ice-cream maker for 20-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Finally the R-months are here!

It is said that you should only eat sea mussels when the month’s spelling contains the letter r. And now we have September!

Moules marinés

• 2 kg Sea mussels
• 2 Shallot
• fresh Thyme
• 3-4 dl White wine
• 1 dl Cream
• 1 Carrot, sliced
• 2 Celery stems, sliced
• Olive oil
• 1-2 Bay leaves
• Salt
• Pepper

Start by scrubbing the mussels and make sure to throw away the open ones. Heat up the olive oil in a pan and add the mussels, stir. Add the rest of the ingredients; veggies, spices, wine and cream.

Let the mussels boil/ steam until they are open. Serve the mussels in a large bowl and decorate with chopped parsley, lemon zest and grated garlic.

Home made deep-fried potatoes

• 4-5 Potatoes
• Deep-fry oil
• Salt

Cut the potatoes in pieces/ batons. Use a pot or a saucepan with a thick bottom, heat up the oil. To test if the oil is hot enough throw in a piece oaf white bread. The bread should be ready after approximately 1 minute in the oil.

Fry the potatoes twice. The first time for 2-3 minutes, let them cool off in between, and the second time until they are golden.Let them drain on a kitchen paper and add salt.

When deep-frying always keep a lid nearby in case the oil gets to warm and if you have one, a fire blanket. In case of an accident do not use water!

Chili Mayonnaise

• 3 Egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon Mustard
• 1 teaspoon Vinegar
• 2-3 dl Rape oil
• 1 teaspoon Sambal Olek
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice

Make sure that all the ingredients have the same temperature before you start. Blend egg yolks with mustard and vinegar. Use an electric mixer and very carefully add the rape oil in a fine jet.  When you feel you have a good consistency add Sambal olek, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Blend and taste it.

Music: The swedish band Movits with their song Äppelknyckarjazz

Something for the weekend!?

Prime rib with parsnip and lemon marinated red onions

Prime rib (högrev/Hochrippe)

• 1 kg Prime rib
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• 2-3 Garlic cloves
• 1-2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 4-5 dl Red wine
• 1 l Beef stock
• 2-3 Bay leaves
• fresh Estragon
• Salt
• White pepper

Peel and cut carrot, onion and garlic into small pieces/ cubes. Put a large pot on the stove and fry the veggies together with the meat until everything has got a bit of colour. Add the tomato paste, the red wine and the beef stock. Bring it all to a boil and skim. Let it simmer for about 4 hours.

Take out the meat and let it cool off, keep the fluid boiling and reduce it to 4-5 decilitre. Add 1-2 tbsp butter and possibly Maizena in case it needs a thickener.

Cut the meat in 4 pieces and heat them up in the sauce.

Lemon marinated red onion

• 1 Red onion
• 1 Lemon, the juice

Peel and slice the red onion in thin slices. Put the slices in a bowl and squeeze lemon juice over them. Stir and leave for 20-30 minutes.

Parsnip

Peel the parsnips, 1-2 per person depending on the parsnips size, and cut them lengthwise. Fry them in a pan in olive oil until they have a bit of colour, it is best when they still are “al dente”. Add salt and white pepper.

Serve together with kalamata olives and fresh estragon.

Mary’nate a little lamb

This dish is done in 30 minutes but the aftertaste will stay much longer. A bottle of Chianti and your Friday night is home free.

• 700 g Lamb fillet or other tender pieces from the lamb
• 4 large Potatoes
• 200 g goat or Feta cheese
• 1 Zucchini
• 2 handful of Peas
• a bunch of Basil
• Parsley (half as much as the basil)
• Mint (half as much as the basil)
• Olive oil
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp Capers
• 2 Lemons

Marinate the lamb

Marinate the lamb for 15 min in 1/2 dl olive oil, 2 chopped garlic cloves, juice and skin from a lemon, pepper.

Salsa Verde

When finishing the marinate mix1/2 dl olive oil, 1/2 dl water, 1 garlic glove, the fresh herbs, capers, juice from a lemon, salt and pepper in a blender. You can use any fresh herbs you have at home.

Vegetables

Cut the potatoes in 3 mm thin slices and slice the zucchini in sticks. Fry in a pan with olive oil and a cloves of garlic. Cook the peas for 1 min.

Lamb

Roast the lamb shortly on each side in a pan. Put in oven on low temp 100-125⁰ C until the temperature reaches 63⁰. Don´t forget salt and pepper

Serve with balsamic glaze.

Music: The Breeders – Last splash

The north sea burger

After eating a whole lot of Asian food, which we love, we decided to go crazy with the Scandinavian food this week.

Burger

• 100 g smoked Norwegian Salmon
• 500 g Saithe (or other fish)
• 1 Egg
• Chives
• Salt
• White Pepper

Use a food processor and mix the fish together with the egg until the mixture has a good consistency. Add salt, pepper and chopped chives and stir everything together. Make four burgers out of the mixture. Fry the burgers in butter.

Shrimp sauce

• Dill
• 2-3 decilitre Sour cream
• 1 tbsp Mustard
• 100-200 g Shrimps

Pour the sour cream in a small bowl, add the chopped dill and the peeled and chopped shrimps. Flavor the sauce with mustard.

Serve the burgers with a tasty bread, for example Ciabatta or baguette, and add a slice of lemon for the burger. We also made a salad with cucumber, avocado and Romain lettuce with a nice mustard salad dressing.

Music: the cooking was accompanied by the Swedish band Kent and their record – Röd

Fishing for compliments?

Many friends of mine do not understand the greatness of cod. The reason is that we Swedes have grown up with over cooked cod served for lunch in school. If you can get hold of a thick cod loin I promise you, you’ll change your mind about this culinary treasure.

This is an easy recipe that will get you many compliments – Cod fillets with lemon flavoured vegetables and foam from heads of dill.

• 600 g thick fillet of Cod
• 5 decilitre water
• 30 g Salt
• 6 Carrots
• 6 Parsnips
• 2 Spring onions
• 1 Lemon, the juice
• 4 tbsp double Cream
• 3 heads of Dill
• 4 decilitre Milk
• 2 Tomatoes
• Chives

Cod

Make four pieces out of the cod and put it in salted water for 15 min. Wipe the cod dry with a piece of kitchen paper, put the pieces on oven paper and bake it in the oven at 100⁰C until the fish temperature reaches 45⁰C. It takes about 10-15 min depending on the thickness of the fish.

Vegetables

Slice the parsnips and carrots in to roundels (3 mm thick). Braise the vegetables in lemon juice, a pinch of salt and sugar, water (just enough to cover the veggies) and the cream. When the veggies are al dente, add chopped spring onions and pour out the fluid. Use a strain, that is the easiest way.

Foam

Pour the milk, heads of dill, salt and pepper in a saucepan, heat it until it simmer. Take the saucepan off the stove and mix the fluid to a foam with a hand blender.

Garnish

Peel the tomatoes, remove the core and cut the tomato flesh into small pieces. Mix it with chopped chives and a pinch of salt.

Music: the cooking was accompanied by the great last album from Robyn – Body talk pt. 1

Asian Tasting Menu

The menu was seven courses in the following order: (recipes and pictures below)

1. Edame beans with homemade garlic oil and salt (Fleur de Sel)
2. Tuna tartar with  wasabi cream and soy sauce
3. Steamed sugar peas with walnut dressing and scallops fried in walnut butter
4. Dumpling filled with shiitake mushroom, spring onions, garlic and lemon grass on a bed of marinated red onions and shiitake mushrooms
5. Filet of beef tataki style
6. Asian ribs with Kimchi
7. Ginger granite with ginger cream and fruits

Edame beans with homemade garlic oil and salt

• Peal the beans and steam them for about 5-10 minutes
• Pour 0,5 decilitre olive oil together with 2 cloves of garlic in a saucepan – warm up the oil until you feel the garlic scent – let it cool of a bit
• Dish up the beans on a plate, add as much garlic oil as you want and sprinkle salt over the beans

Tuna tartar with wasabi cream and soy sauce

Tuna tartar with wasabi cream

• 200 g Fresh tuna (sashimi quality), chopped fine
• 1 decilitre Crème fraîche
• 1 tablespoon Wasabi
• 1 tablespoon Icing sugar

Whisk crème fraîche together with wasabi and icing sugar. Put the finely minced tuna in four (4 portions) steel cooking rings and flatten the tuna with a spoon. Add the wasabi cream on top. Place the steel cooking rings on plates and carefully remove the cooking rings.

Soy sauce

• 2 decilitre Japanese soy sauce
• 1 piece of Ginger, peeled
• 1 Lemon grass
• 1 Tomato
• 1 Celery stem
• 3 tbsp Lemon juice or Ponzu
• 1 Orange, the juice
• 3 tbsp Mirin (sweet vinegar)
• 1/4 Cucumber, peeled

Mix all ingredients together with a mixer or in a blender. Strain the mix and you have your soy sauce.

Steamed sugar peas with walnut dressing and scallops fried in walnut butter

Walnut dressing

• 50 g Walnuts
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Saké
• 2 tbsp Water
• Salt
• Ground black pepper

Steam the sugar peas for a few minutes or boil them for half a minute. Rinse them in cold water so that the cooking process ends.

Mix all the other ingredients to a dressing, use a mixer or a blender.

Use a mortar and a pestle to pulp 3-4 walnuts and add them together with butter in a frying pan. Fry the scallops briefly in the walnut butter. Use frozen or fresh scallops, one for each guest, depending on their size.

Dumpling filled with shiitake mushroom, spring onions, garlic and lemon grass on a bed of marinated red onions and shiitake mushrooms

Dumplings

• 4 Wonton wrappers
• 6 Shiitake mushrooms
• 1 Spring onion
• 1 clove of Garlic
• 1/2 Lemon grass

Chop mushrooms, spring onions, garlic and lemon grass. Put it in a frying pan together with butter and fry shortly. Add approximately 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoon to each wonton wrapper. Use an egg yolk as glue on the wonton wrapper, gather the corners together and make a little swirl.

Put the wontons in a bamboo steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes.

Marinated red onions with shiitake mushrooms

• 1 Red onion, in thin slices
• 1-2 tbsp Water
• 1/2 Lemon, juice
• 1-2 tbsp Hoisin sauce

Put the red onion slices in the marinade for about 30 minutes. Fry the shiitake mushrooms in a pan with butter. Add the fried mushrooms to the red onions and let them soak for a couple of minutes.

Filet of beef tataki style

Rub

• 1 tbsp Lemon grass, dried
• 1 teaspoon Chili, dried
• 3 Kaffir lime leaves, dried
• 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons Coconut flakes
• 1 teaspoon Brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Rose hip powder
• 1 tbsp Fruit tea

Mix all the ingredients to a powder.

Sesame sauce

• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
• 1 clove of Garlic
• 2 tbsp roasted Cashews or peanuts
• 1/2 teaspoon minced Ginger
• Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds

Mix everything together except the sesame seeds to a smooth sauce. Stir the sesame seeds in to the sauce.

Soy sauce

• 1 decilitre Soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Ponzu or lime juice

Stir together.

Rub the filet of beef ( 200 gram) with the rub and fry it quickly in oil in a frying pan. Put the fried beef int the freezer for 30 minutes, then cut thin slices of the beef.

Add sesame sauce and soy sauce to the beef and decorate with Galia melon and spring onions.

Asian ribs with Kimchi

• 300 g Pork belly
• 2 Cinnamon sticks
• 5 Star anise
• 2 tbsp Sichuan pepper
• 3-4 Chili fruits, dried
• 30 g minced Ginger
• 1/2 decilitre light Soy sauce
• 1/2 decilitre Hoisin sauce
• 1/2 decilitre Soy sauce
• 1/2 decilitre dry Sherry
• 1-2 decilitre Water
• 1 decilitre brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar

Cut the pork belly into 3 centimeter dices, put everything in a pot and boil for 30 minutes under a lid, remove the lid and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The meat shall be beautifully glaced from the sauce.

Serve together with Kimchi.

Ginger granite with ginger cream and autumn fruits

Fruit

1. 6 Plums
2. 2 Pears
3. 2 Blood oranges
4. 2 Nectarines

Cut the fruit in nice looking variable sizes.

Granite

• 2 cans of Root beer
• 1 Lime fruit, juice
• 1 decilitre Syrup (50/50 sugar – water)
• Fruit pulp, (“left overs” from the fruit cutting)

Mix the lime, the syrup and the fruit pulp in a blender, strain it and add the root beer. Freeze it, in a baking tin or a dish.

Ginger cream

• 5 Egg yolks
• 20 g Maizena flour
• 2 1/2 decilitre Milk
• 50 g Sugar
• 15 g Butter
• 1 centilitre juice from fresh Ginger
• 2 decilitre Whipped cream

Whisk the egg yolks, the sugar and the maizena flour until it’s white. Boil the milk and the butter and add it to the egg-mixture while stirring. Pour the mixture into a new casserole and boil it until it thickens (approximately 5 minutes), it’s very important to whisk the entire time so that the mixture don’t burn. Strain it and let it cool down.

Add the ginger juice and whip the egg cream together with the whipped cream so that it has a light, fluffy consistency.

When serving add a little fresh ground black pepper on top.