All posts by Johanna

Beetroot Salad

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pots

Once I met a woman who didn’t like to wash up after cooking, so she threw all the pots away. What a waste! She got new pots when she was robbing personal basement storage lockers. Well this salad is for her. I hope she has met somebody who likes to do the washing up.

fresh beetroots
arugola
goat cheese
sour cream
walnuts

Scrub and wash the beetroots, but keep the skin. Boil them in salted water until they are soft (can take up to an hour). In the mean while you can wash the arugola carefully and let them dry. Mix the goat cheese with the sour cream. Proportion to your own taste. I think a strong taste of the goat cheese works really well with the sweet beetroots.

Place the dried arugola leaves on a wide plate. Peel the beetroots and slice them in thin slices. Place them nicely over the arugola and dived the goat cheese mix. At last drop some whole or chopped walnuts over the salad. Serve with bread and dry white wine.

Jansson’s Temptation

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jansson

This is a popular traditional dish in Sweden. Often people serve it as ‘night food’ at big parties, as no one should go home hungry. This dish is also common on a Swedish traditional Smörgårdsbord (smorgasbord).

8 big potatoes
1-2 yellow onions
one (or maybe two) small can of anchovy fillets
300 ml (1.2 cup) cream or half and half
a little salt (be careful as the anchovies can be very salty)
bread crumbs
butter

Peel the potatoes and cut them in thin strips. Slice the onion thinly. Saute the onion in a little butter until they soften. Layer the potatoes and the onions in a baking dish. Open the tins of anchovies and poor the juice over the potatoes. If you want the anchovies in smaller pieces cut them into halves and divide them over the potatoes. Pour half of the cream over. Sprinkle some bread crumbs and divide small lumps of butter over the dish. Bake in the oven at 225°C (440F) for about 45 min. Just before its finished baking poor over the rest of the cream.

In Sweden they serve it with beer and vodka. Children drink milk!


Pesto

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In my pesto I use walnuts instead of pine nuts because it has a stronger taste. I have also done this with parsley instead of basil.

pesto

a bunch of basil leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic
ca 125 ml (½ cup) walnuts
ca 125 ml (½ cup) fresh grated parmesan
olive oil
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients in a blender, starting with the basil leaves, garlic and some olive oil. Add the walnuts and for last the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. If necessary add more olive oil.

Serve with fresh pasta or egg pasta and a simple tomato salad. Great with red wine or a bubbly prosecco.

Almond Paste

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I could not find any almond paste in our local store so I did my own… I used some of it in whipped cream that I served together with a banana cake. Lovely!

almonds

450 ml (1 lb) blanched almonds
250 ml (1 cup) water
500 ml (2 cup) sucanat

Mill the almonds in a blender or a coffee grinder.
Heat up water and add the sucanat. Let it cook, while stirring, until the temperature has reach 390°C (240F). If you don’t have a thermometer, just look at it and it will be done when the sucanat get thicker and you can form soft balls. Add the almonds and stir it well. Let the paste get cool and knead until it is smooth.

Doggie Bag Stew

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doggi

I love the fact that you can ask for a ‘doggie bag’. Sometimes I ask for it even if I didn’t like the food. Once I got a pork chop that was tasteless. I felt so sad about the meat so I took it home and made a tasty stew with mustard…

some pork or beef (minute steak, filet…)
one yellow onion
garlic
dijon mustard
cream, milk or just water
a little flour (not necessary with cream)
fresh or dried herbs (thyme, parsley, oregano, rosemary or/ and….)
salt and pepper

Heat up a pan and sauté the finely chopped onion and garlic. Shred the meat into thin pieces. When the onion starts to get soft add the meat and sauté until it’s done. Add some mustard. Powder carefully a little flour over the meat and stir before you add the milk or water. Let it cook and season the stew with the herbs, salt and pepper. Serve the dish with a green salad, cucumber pickles and rice.