Spicy Sorrel Pesto

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kokblog_sorrel

Some may think its silly to grow your own sorrel when you have it growing wild just around the corner. Well in Sweden they warn you not to eat the wild sorrel as it contains too much oxalic acid to be healthy. I don’t think that’s a worry when it comes to the milder cultivated sorrel, but I’m not sure.

Anyway this pesto was one of my absolute favorites last summer. For some unknown reason I  forgot to post it until now. However sorrel is in some places in season again so here it is.

about 2 cups (about ½ liter) of young Cultivated Sorrel leaves
2 garlic cloves
a hand full of walnuts
fresh red chili to your own taste (I used about ½” = 1.3 cm)
½ cup (100 ml) grated parmesan
olive oil
a few sprigs of parsley (optional)
season with: salt and pepper

I picked about 2 cups of very young Cultivated Sorrel leaves. Rinse the leaves in cold water and drain while you prepare the other ingredients. Chop the walnuts and the chili a little. Grate the Parmesan roughly.
When the sorrel is dry, run them in the food processor (or use a mortar and pestle). Add chopped garlic and run the machine a bit before adding chili, walnuts,  (parsley) and parmesan. Drizzle some olive oil over. Blend the mixture carefully as it should have a crunchy texture. If necessary add some more olive oil. Season with salt and fresh pepper. Serve the pesto as an appetizer on crackers. I also think the sourness in this pesto works terrificly well with fish.

This pesto is also a great summer present, especially when you have a garden like mine where sorrel or lettuce grows much better than most flowers.

Nutty Bacon Quinoa

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kokblog_grassfed
I have some non-vegetarian friends who don’t eat bacon.  I have no problem with that, I have my own principals. For example I try not to eat any meat that has been fed hormones or antibiotics (tough here in the US). Anyway, I didn’t know about their attitude to bacon when I recently served them my nutty Bacon Quinoa. The funny part was they kept eating even when I told them that it contained bacon. I guess they liked my standpoint in cooking!

This recipe is perfect when you have some left-over Quinoa.

(serves 2-3)

8 slices of bacon
one onion
¼ – ½ fennel root
one cup brown quinoa (dried)
one teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground
one teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted and ground
one teaspoon mustard seeds, roasted and ground
chili flakes
oregano
garlic, crushed
salt

fresh cilantro
toasted walnuts

Chop the onion finely and slice the fennel into thin strips. Sauté on low heat with butter until soft and almost transparent. If you want you can add some of the left-over bacon fat to the onion mixture. Slice the bacon and sauté in a separate pan until a little crisp. When ready add the bacon to the onion mixture. Feed the mixture with chili, cumin, coriander and mustard seed. Raise the heat and let cook for about 2 minutes and then add the garlic, oregano and finally the cooked quinoa (see below). You may need to add some olive oil or a splash of water if it gets too dry. Season with salt. Top with fresh cilantro and toasted walnuts.

I have also made this with other vegetables such as: celery, kale, spinach and cabbage

my way of making quinoa
I cook quinoa a little bit like I cook rice by using a 1:2 ratio (one cup quinoa gets two cups of water). Rinse the quinoa and put into a pot together with water and some salt. Cover and bring to a boil and then let the covered quinoa simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. The quinoa should start to “sprout” (not really but you should see their curly germs). Turn off the heat and let stand covered until all the water has dissolved. With this method your quinoa will not be over-boiled and can be sauted with the recipe above.

Lemon Tart

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kokblog_lemon_tart

Whats the point of using sucanat in a lemon tart filling? Isn’t it supposed to look gorgeously yellow against the golden brown crust? I guess it should… but I kind of like the sour surprise, when my guests take their first bite in something that looks like a pumpkin or a caramel pie! (and the taste is fantastic).

almond dough

100 ml (about ½ cup) regular flour
225 ml (about 1 cup) milled almonds
60 g (2 ounces) butter
5 tablespoons sucanat
a splash of water

lemon filling

3 eggs
150 ml (2/3 cup) regular sugar (probably recommended even if I use sucanat)
75 g (2.65 ounces)  butter, melted
fine peel of one lemon
juice from 2-3  lemons (depends a little how large the eggs are that you use)

Start to mix together butter, flour, almonds and sugar. When the butter is well divided add a splash of water. Work the dough together and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour. Line a 9 ½ inch pie form. Pre-bake @ 175°C (350F) with pie weights to avoid the dough slipping down or bubbling up (I use dried chickpeas on top of aluminum foil). Remove the pie weights after 10 minutes and keep baking the pie shell for about 5 minutes. The crust should have got some color. Let cool.

Mix egg and sugar in a blender. Melt the butter and add it to the filling before adding lemon to your taste. Blend to a smooth filling. Pour it over the pre-baked pie shell and bake in the oven at 175°C (350°F) until the filling is firm, about 15-20 min.

Let cool. I think this cake is served best plain at room temperature (but it would’t hurt to shave some bitter sweet chocolate on top).

See also recipe for Ginger & Lime Tart

Mushroom Risotto

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kokblog_risotto_flowchart

For Mushroom Risotto I take whatever mushrooms I have at hand, fresh or dried.
Fresh mushrooms I cook as follows: Chop the mushrooms into smaller pieces. Heat up a pan without any oil or butter. Place the mushrooms into the pan and let their own liquid slowly cook into the mushrooms. When dry add plenty of butter. Cook until mushrooms have got some color and season with salt, thyme and just a touch of pepper.
Dried Mushrooms: Soak dried mushrooms for at least 30 minutes until soft. Drain and reserve the mushroom water for the stock. Sauté the soaked mushrooms in butter on medium heat until done. Season w/ salt, thyme and just a touch of pepper.

To make Risotto you will need plenty of stock, I suggest you make your own vegetable or chicken stock. For rice I use arborio rice or a brown, short grain rice (excellent but takes longer time to cook).

Above you can see a flowchart of  two of my favorite feeding options for Mushroom Risotto. I serve it w/ extra Parmesan and toasted walnuts… Enjoy!

If you never done a risotto I suggest you check out a basic recipe such as this one before you start.

Boerum Hill (Pork) Sausage

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kokblog_sausage

Boerum Hill Sausage doesn’t really exist, I just named my pork sausages that because I happened to make the sausages there.  The ingredients don’t have anything to do with this lovely neighborhood in Brooklyn. And I don’t even live there!

5 lb (ca 2.25 kg) pork shoulder (keep all fat)
about 1 ½ lb (ca 0.70 kg) pork fat
(there should be about 30 % fat to meat)

3-4 ancho chilies
2 teaspoons dried chili flakes (I used mild)
5-6 garlic cloves
3-4 tablespoons salt
6 teaspoons whole cumin, roasted and crushed
6 teaspoons whole coriander, roasted and crushed
2-3 teaspoons whole fenu greek, roasted and crushed
1/2 cup fresh sage (or oregano)
(olive oil)

pork casings (at your butcher or online)

Rinse the casing and let soak in water and some white vinegar (the vinegar is not really necessary).

Cut the meat and fat into smaller pieces. Place the meat into the freezer. Its really important to keep the meat cold, in fact it’ actually good to have it a little frozen.

Prepare the spices: Chop the ancho chilies into small pieces. To soften the chilies, sauté them in some olive oil in a pan for a couple of minutes. Set aside and let cool. Roast the cumin, coriander and fenu greek together in a dry pan. With a pestle and mortar, grind the spices to a nice powder (it’s really worth doing this, the smell is divine). Place ancho chili, chili flakes, garlic and roasted spices into a small food processor/blender and blend to a fine mixture. You may need to add some olive oil. Chop the sage finely.

Ground the meat in a food grinder using the coarse die. If its a warmer day you can keep the meat cold by placing  it on top of a bowl of ice. Add the prepared spices, salt and sage to the ground meat. To be sure the sausage has enough flavor, I recommend you fry some up to taste before you start stuff the casing.
Place the meat in the freezer again while your are getting the stuffer ready.

Slip the casing onto the pipe and finish with a small knot at the end. Feed the stuffer (I use a hand grinder that has a stuffer kit) and gently fill the casing. At last, when all meat is stuffed, twist off into 5-6” lengths. If you see any air bubbles just prick the skin with a needle, the skin will seal again. Now you should really let the sausages hang in your refrigerator for at least a day before cooking them or freezing them. (but I can’t really wait…)

I prefer to BBQ the sausages with a twig of rosemary. I serve them with a tomato salsa and a fresh salad.

See also recipe for my venison sausage recipe here