Category Archives: green

Steamed Artichokes

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atrichokes

There are two machines in the kitchen that I never use, the espresso machine and the pressure cooker. I guess I am just too lazy to learn how to use them and so M makes me coffee every morning.

The pressure cooker isn’t really a machine but it’s noisy and I find it a little bit scary. M uses the cooker for rice and artichokes. When M makes rice he use brown basmati rice mixed with wild black rice. He cooks the rice together with salt, bay leaves and garlic. The cooker really keeps the flavor of the rice.

for two artichokes you need

one lime
one clove of garlic
3 bay leaves

Wash the artichokes and pull of the bottom brownest leaves. With a very sharp knife cut the tip off the artichokes (about 1/2 “) and trim the stem. Squeeze limejuice over the top of the artichokes. Fill the pressure cooker with a little water in which you put mashed garlic, bay leaves and the rest of the limejuice. Insert a steaming tray above the water and put the artichokes on the tray. Close the cooker and heat it up on medium high until the steamer begins to steam. Lower the heat and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the artichokes. Turn off heat and remove cooker from the heat. Serve the artichokes at room temperature with the vinaigrette on the side to dip the artichoke “leaves” in.

vinaigrette

3-4 parts olive oil
1 part apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1-2 gloves of garlic
fresh oregano or thyme
1-2 mustard
just a drop of honey
salt and pepper

Mix the oil and the vinegar with some mustard, garlic and a drop of honey. Lastly add the spices to your own taste.

Now off to Madrid for some days of great culture, wines and food.

Flower Head Stew with Horseradish

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flowerheadWhen I came to Manhattan I didn’t know the English word for cauliflower. In Swedish it is Blomkålshuvud, which would be something like ‘flower cabbage head’ but I called it Flower Head. Well I did not know the name of horseradish either…

1 medium head of cauliflower
2-4 tablespoons of fresh horseradish
300-400 ml (1.4-1.7 cups) milk, cream or half and half
1-2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
parmesan or other nice cheese

Rinse the cauliflower with water and break the head into smaller pieces. Place the heads in salted water and cook until all dente. In the meantime you can do the stew…
Melt some butter. Quickly stir in the flour and immediately pour in the milk. You can also add some of the water from the cauliflower. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Add grated horseradish, salt and pepper to your own taste. I like my stew to have a strong taste of horseradish (in fact I want to feel it in my nose). But you can also have some grated horseradish on the side when you are serving the dish.
Poor the stew over the cooked cauliflower pieces and sprinkle some grated cheese over the dish. Gratinate in the oven at 225°C (437F) for about 10-15 minutes.

Serve the gratin as it is with a salad. I often have the stew with Polish Kielbasa or Swedish Lard Sausages (Isterband).

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.

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.

Potatoe Salad

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In the summer its always nice to do a potatoe salad. This one is good as it is or together with barbecued pork or gravlax.

potatoes
fresh new potatoes
arugola
dill

vinaigrette
3-4 parts olive oil
1 part apple cider vinegar
1-2 table spoons mustard
1-2 cloves of garlic
fresh herbs such as thyme, oregano
salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes with fresh dill. In the meantime you can wash the arugula carefully and let it dry.

Mix the oil and the vinegar with some mustard and add the spices to your own taste. Cut the potatoes in smaller pieces and mix them carefully with the arugola. Pour over the vinaigrette and let it rest before serving.