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

We’re making meatballs

Meatballs with mashed potatoes, cream sauce, pressed and pickled cucumber and lingonberry jam was served to us by our grandmothers and mothers. And I guess it will always be a favorite. Forget the ones from IKEA. This is the real thing!

Meatballs

• 500 g minced Beef
• 2 Egg
• 1 tbsp Mustard
• 1 bread Roll, only the content (or other fresh white bread)
• 0,5-1 decilitre Milk or Cream
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 5-6 Cloves
• 5-6 Pimentos
• Salt
• Black pepper

Blend everything together, crush the pimento and the clove in a mortar, let the mixture draw for a few minutes. Form the meatballs with wet hands and fry them in a pan with butter.

Mashed potatoes

• 8-10 Potatoes
• 1 decilitre Yoghurt
• 1-2 decilitre Milk
• a knob of Butter
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Black pepper

Boil the potatoes, when they’re done pull out the water and mash the potatoes. Use an electric mixer, add a knob of butter, nutmeg and yoghurt and mix. Gradually add the milk until you get preferred consistency. Spice it with salt and black pepper.

Pressed and pickled cucumber

• 1 Cucumber
• 1-2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 decilitre Water
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Vinegar essence
• Parsley

Slice the cucumber thinly, put it in a bowl with the salt. Put a lid (or a plate) on top of the cucumbers and add a weight to press it down. Leave it for 30 minutes. Blend water, sugar and vinegar essence.

Pour out the water from the pressed cucumber and put the cucumber in a glass jar, add chopped parsley and pour the fluid into the jar. Leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours before you eat it.

Brown sauce

• Cream
• Beef broth
• Soy sauce
• Sauce thickener
• Salt
• Black pepper

Make the sauce in the pan where you fried the meatballs without washing it in between. Add the ingredients depending of your own taste, you can of course exchange the cream for milk. Stir everything until you have a nice consistency and a tasty sauce.

The lingonberry jam is bought in Sweden and not homemade.

Music: CEO – the swede Eric Berglund – and his latest record White Magic.

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

Pickled gherkins

We haven’t been able to find pickled gherkins in Berlin. Salt pickled gherkins that is. What is a hamburger without pickled gherkin or your liver paste sandwich for breakfast for that matter?

We have to make our own and now it is the season for tiny cucumbers that we bought from the Farmers Market on Kollwitz Platz in Prenzlauer Berg.

• 1 kilo tiny Cucumbers
• 1 liter Water
• 4 tbsp Salt
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp Vinegar essence
• 2-3 heads of Dill
• 4 centimetres of Horseradish
• 2-3 centimetres of fresh Ginger
• 4-5 Black peppercorns

Scrub the cucumbers clean and prick tiny holes in them, so that they better absorb the flavours. Stir water, salt, sugar and vinegar essence together so that the salt and the sugar dissolves. Let it rest for a couple of minutes.

In the meantime slice the horseradish and the ginger in 0,5 centimetre slices.

Use a big jar, preferably a glass jar, or whatever you prefer. Put cucumbers, slices of ginger, slices of horseradish, the dill heads and the black peppercorns in layers. Pour the liquid carefully.

Let your pickled gherkins draw for a few days before you eat them.