Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs

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scrambled_eggsScrambled eggs is one of my favorite things for weekend breakfast.
I like them quite rich and luscious, served on toasted sourdough bread with some minced chives and fleur de sel sprinkled on top.
A note on butter: I always use unsalted butter when cooking. This gives me more control over seasoning.

This serves two persons.

Ingredients for the Scrambled eggs:
4 large eggs (organic and free range, bien sûr)
35g butter
2 tsp creme fraiche
Salt
Pepper
Chives, very finely chopped (optional)
Fleur de Sel (optional)

Preparing the Scrambled eggs:
Crack the eggs into a small to medium thick bottomed sauce pan. Add about 25g of the butter and a pinch of salt. Put on the hob over medium to low heat. Stir to combine. Once the eggs are combined leave for 10 seconds without stirring. This will make the curds bigger. Stir continuously and repeat the 10 second stirring break a few more times. If the eggs seems to scramble too quickly take the sauce pan of the heat. When the scrambled eggs are almost as done as you like them take the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining sliver of butter if you want and add the creme fraiche. The creme fraiche gives the scrambled eggs a little bit of acidity and a nice creamy texture. Stir in a bit of freshly milled pepper if you wish. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Put the scrambled eggs on toasted bread and top with a tiny sprinkle of fleur de sel (a nice texture contrast and burst of saltiness) and the chives.

Mains, Pasta

Pasta Puttanesca

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IMG_0235Pasta Puttanesca is a tasty pasta sauce originating from Rome.
I use a fairly traditional recipe with some of my own tweaks. What pasta to have it with is varying for me, but normally it’s penne, rigatoni, spaghetti or linguine. It’s a great and quick everyday pasta sauce.

This makes enough for 4 persons as a main course.

Ingredients for Pasta Puttanesca:
500 g dried pasta
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
6 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
2 (400 g) tins of Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp of tomato puree
3 fresh plum tomatoes, skinned and diced (optional)
150 g pitted black olives, thickly sliced
1 to 2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
About 5 – 10 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp dried oregano
1 – 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
Sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Black pepper

Preparing Pasta Puttanesca:
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the chili flakes, cayenne, garlic and anchovies to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly using a wooden spoon, until the anchovies have disintegrated. This will take about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and dried oregano if using and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. This will take about 15 minutes. At this stage you can also put the pasta in the pot so it’s ready at about the same time as the sauce.
About 5-10 minutes before the sauce is finished add the basil, olives, capers and parsley if using.
Also check for seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain pasta when it’s al dente and toss with some extra virgin olive oil (this prevents the pasta from sticking). Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine (alternatively poor the sauce on top of the pasta in the bowls).
Serve the pasta in warmed bowls. Grate over some parmigiano reggiano, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, a bit of milled black pepper. Add some chopped parsley and a few basil leaves.

Cocktails

Margarita

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IMG_0230
Margarita was the first tequila based cocktail I made. I really liked it. The earthy notes from the tequila, the sweetness from the orange liqueur and the citrus acidity from the lime works really well together to make a balanced and sophisticated cocktail.
For the tequila I used El Tesoro Bianco which is considered to be one of the best tequilas. My previous experiences with tequila was mostly with shots and the occasional glass of añejo. El Tesoro was indeed fantastic, although I think I still prefer sipping single malt to tequila bianco.
Either way, try to use an 100 % agave bottling to give your Margarita that extra smoothness.
When it comes to the salted rim, personally I don’t like it since I think the salt is too aggressive in taste and distracts from the cocktail. I will make my next Margarita without it.

This recipe is enough for one martini glass.

Ingredients for the Margarita:
45 ml tequila
30 ml orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
15 ml freshly squeezed lime juice

Lime wheel for garnish

How to prepare the Margarita:
Put the Martini glass in the freezer for a bit to make it cold. Salt the rim of the glass if desired.
Shake ingredients with ice, fine strain into the chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wheel.

Essentials

Garlic Confit

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Garlic confit is a great pantry staple and very easy to make. It can be used to flavour mashed potatoes, stirred into soup or simply spread on a piece of toasted baguette. The garlic confit can be stored in the fridge for about a month (completely submerged in the oil) and the oil can be used for other purposes, for instance dressings.

Ingredients for the garlic confit:
About 45 peeled garlic cloves (roughly equal in size)
About 500 ml rapeseed oil

Preparing the garlic confit:
Place the peeled garlic cloves in a small saucepan and add enough oil to cover them by about 2 cm. Make sure that none of the garlic cloves are poking through the oil, if necessary add more oil.
Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. If you have a gas burner use a diffuser to lower the heat. The garlic should cook very gently, look out for very small bubbles in the oil.
Cook for about 40 minutes and give the cloves a stir every 5 minutes or so. After 40 minutes pick up one of the cloves with your spoon and pierce it with a paring knife, it should be completely tender if they are done.
Remove from the heat and let the garlic cool in the oil.
Transfer to a jar and poor over the oil, make sure that the garlic confit is submerged in the oil. Refrigerate for up to one month.

Desserts

Tarte Tatin

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tatin3Tarte Tatin is one of my favorite desserts. The sumptuous combination of tart apples, sweet caramel och crispy pastry is great after a dinner in the autumn.
I used Golden Delicious apples for my Tarte Tatin since they are the type of apples typically used. Either way, use firm dessert apples and not cooking apples since you want the apples to keep their shape and not disintegrate too much.

Ingredients for the tarte tatin:
1 kilo apples (preferably Golden Delicious)
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp pectin powder
100 g unsalted butter
200 ml caster sugar
All butter puff pastry, rolled out to a 32 cm disc.

Vanilla ice cream for serving

Preparing the tarte tatin:
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into 2 mm slices. Mix the vanilla sugar and pectin powder and then mix together with the apples. The pectin binds the juice from the apples during the baking so the tarte doesn’t end up too sticky.
Melt the butter in a cast iron frying pan (about 22 cm in diameter) over medium heat. Poor over the sugar and let it melt to a brownish caramel.
Distribute the apple slices in the pan in a circular fashion. Press them down a bit to make the tarte even. Cover with a lid and let the apples stew for 10 minutes, remove the lid and cook for about another 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the apples cool to room temperature.
Put the pastry over the pan and press it down over the apples. Clean up the edges with a paring knife. Pierce the pastry with a fork all over.
Put the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes. Turn on the oven, 225 C.
Put the pan in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 175 C and bake for another 20 minutes until the pastry is nice and golden.
Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Flip the tarte upside-down on a serving plate and serve.
tatin1 tatin2

Components

Shallot-Cucumber Marmalade

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shallot2This marmalade goes excellent with for instance fish cakes.
Also try it with lamb burgers.

Ingredients for the shallot-cucumber marmalade:
185g shallots
25g butter
500g water
60g white wine vinegar
100g sugar
7g salt
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and seeded
Black Pepper

How to make the shallot-cucumber marmalade:
Cut the shallots into small dice. In a medium saucepan bring shallots, butter, water, vinegar, sugar and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until ingredients have cooked down and liquid have evaporated. Line a cake rack or tray with grease-proof paper. Spread the mixture onto the paper and chill well in the fridge.

Put the mixture into a bowl. Cut the cucumber into small dice. Fold into the chilled shallot mixture. Season with black pepper.

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Desserts

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis

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pannacottaOne of my favorite desserts.

Ingredients for the vanilla panna cotta:
50 ml whole milk
330 ml double cream
1.5 sheets of gelatin
55 g sugar
1.5 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
0.5 cap dark rum

Preparing the vanilla panna cotta:
Start by putting the ramekins you will use for the panna cotta in the fridge to cool them.
Bloom the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, meanwhile mix the milk, cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Split the vanilla pods lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the mixture and also put in the vanilla pods. Take off the heat.
Take out the gelatin sheets from the water and squeeze them to get rid of as much water as possible. Drop them into the mixture and stir constantly until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Pour in the rum.
Prepare an ice bath by putting a bit of cold water and ice cubes in a metal big bowl. But a jug inside the bowl and a fine mesh strainer on top. Strain the mixture into the jug and stir until the mixture thickens a bit, this will help to suspend the vanilla seeds.
Bring the ramekins out of the fridge and poor the mixture into them.
Cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge.
Allow at least 2 hours for the panna cotta to set.

Ingredients for the raspberry coulis:
300 g raspberries
75 g sugar
Juice from half a lemon

Preparing the raspberry coulis:
Whizz the raspberries in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and the coulis smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if needed.
Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then transfer to a squeeze bottle for later juice.

Desserts

Vanilla Ice-Cream and Strawberry Coulis

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vanilla_icecreamClassic and simple summer dessert.

Ingredients for the vanilla ice cream:
250 ml whole milk
500 ml double cream
6 large egg yolks
150 g sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparing the vanilla ice cream:
Heat the sugar, salt, milk and 250 ml of the cream in a medium saucepan. When hot scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the saucepan.
Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and let the vanilla infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a small bowl (enough for 2 l) in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the rest of the cream into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk mixture then gradually pour some of the mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula (draw a line with your finger across the spatula, if the custard doesn’t float back together it’s ready). You can use an instant read thermometer, it should read between 77 and 79 C when the custard is ready.

Strain the custard into the cream, add the vanilla extract and the vanilla bean then stir until cooled down.
Transfer to a jug and chill until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ingredients for the strawberry coulis:
250 g strawberries
50 g sugar
Juice from about half a small lemon

Preparing the strawberry coulis:
Rinse and hull the strawberries. Whizz them in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and the coulis smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if needed.
Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then transfer to a squeeze bottle for later juice.

Desserts

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

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This was one of the best ice creams I’ve ever had.
Don’t be fooled by the “Salted” part of the name… the salt (use as much or little as you want) lifts the flavors to great effect.
This is pure indulgence so you’d want some acidic fruit or berry to cut through the richness… or just enjoy it on it’s own.

Ingredients for the salted butter caramel ice cream:
500 ml whole milk, divided
300 g sugar
60 g salted butter
Scant ½ teaspoon sea salt (preferably fleur de sel, otherwise Maldon)
250 ml heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparing the salted butter caramel ice cream:
Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.)
Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 250 ml of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read between 71 – 77 C.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a small bowl (enough for 2 l) in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the rest of the milk into the bowl.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla extract, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Transfer to a jug and chill until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Mains

Cooking loin of lamb en sous vide

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Cooking sous vide (french for “under pressure”) has long been used in the professional kitchens. A few years ago people started mentioning it on food blogs and books were released on the topic.
The idea with sous vide is that you cook whatever food you are cooking in a low temperature water bath for a certain amount of time. Since the temperature is relatively low it’s very hard to overcook things. When cooking meat en sous vide we are after a perfectly cooked piece of meat from edge to edge without any of the doneness gradient which we would get if cooking it in a more traditional way. Another pro with sous vide cooking is that the food can be cooked in advance and then reheated or seared to get a nice caramelized surface.
Meat will be cooked at around 58 degrees C for medium rare, fish at lower temperature, say 45 degrees C.
Sous vide can be done at home. All you need is a big pot (it needs to be big to ensure that the water temperature doesn’t drop when food is added) and a termometer (preferably digital).

This “recipe” is for loin of lamb cooked sous vide.

What you need:
A bit pot (say 8 – 10 litres or so)
Termometer (preferably digital with a cable sensor)
Bowl of ice water

Loin of lamb

How to make it:
Take the loins out of the fridge so that they reach room temperature.
Start by filling the pot almost to the top with water. Warm the water on the hob with the termometer measuring the temperature. If you have a gas hob then you might need a heat diffuser to ensure that the temperature from the flame is low enough. When the water reaches 58 C then adjust the heat on the ring to keep it there. Let the temperature stabilize for about 20 minutes.
Trim the loins of fat and silverskin. Brush lightly with olive oil then wrap tightly in all purpose plastic wrap. Twist the ends and then tie them tightly.
Put the packaged loin into the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from pot and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.
Remove plastic wrap and move to air proof container, transfer to fridge until needed.
Take the meat out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you are ready to sear it so that it reaches room temperature again. Heat a griddle pan over high heat, add some rapeseed oil and then sear the loins briefly on all sides. Remember that the meat is already cooked so you just want to give it a seared exterior.
Let the meat rest for a few minutes covered by tinfoil and then serve.