Sabine’s Caviar with Lingonberry

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caviar under an old oak

Last summer we went to visit some new friends in Sweden. We were invited to dine under their old oak tree. The lady of the house, Sabine spoiled us with a number of unbelievable and unforgettable treats. One of them became my extra extra favorite: lingonberry cream with North Swedish caviar. Believe me when I say, lingonberries and caviar are a surprisingly good combination!

the cream
200 ml (almost a cup) Creme Fraiche
About two tea spoons of lingonberry or cranberry jam (not too sweet)
Red caviar (mild or slightly salty)

Mix the cream fraiche and the lingonberry jam together. The mixture should have just a slight taste of lingonberry and have a light pink color. Serve the caviar and lingonberries together with thin Swedish crisp bread (knäckebröd) or Finn Crisp.

For Thanksgiving I used my Raw stirred Cranberry Jam and served the caviar with gentle and soft Muscat wine.

Sabine’s version is slightly different from mine. She mixed the lingonberries with whipped cream and served it on a soft flatbread from the north of Sweden. The north Swedish caviar she served was very delicate and not so salty. I normally prefer this myself but I discovered that a slightly salty caviar blends well with the sweetness in the lingonberry cream.

Thanks Sabine and congratulations to your new cooking book, “Restresan”.

Blini with Caviar

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blini with caviar

Some months ago we were celebrating our 90th birthday. We had champagne, caviar and blini – which ended up being a great combination for a great party!

M:s Blini

1/4 cup (60 ml) water
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (237 ml) sifted whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (237 ml) milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs

Heat the up water to 110°F (about 43°C) using an oven thermostat. Stir together the warm water with yeast and sugar. Let the mixture stand for about five minutes until the mixture gets foamy (small wholes on the surface). This is important! If the mixture doesn’t foam you have to start all over with new yeast. Sorry!
Melt the butter and let it cool before using. Heat up the milk to 110°F (about 43°C) . Add first the flour and salt to the foamy mixture before you stir in the warm milk, the melted cooled butter and the slightly beaten eggs. Put the bowl in a larger pan that is filled with warm water (about 1 inch). Cover the bowl and let the mixture rise in a warm place for about 1 ½ – 2 hours. The mixture should then increase in volume and have bubbles on the surface. Stir the mixture before the next step.
Heat up a sauté pan with either butter or olive oil. Lower the heat. Make small blinis by using one tablespoon batter. Sauté for about two minutes on each side until the blinis gets a beautiful golden color. Keep them warm in the oven.

Serve the blinis with black caviar and creamy sour cream. (They also work well with gravlax)

bubbles

M was very determined to make the blinis as delicate as possible. He did careful research and several tests before he was really happy. The result was created from this recipe…

We also tested several different kinds of caviar and our favorite for this occasion was a quite simple black caviar from Russ & Daughters in the East Village.

Zubrówka

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kokblog_bisongrass

Our friend Russel is growing Sweet Grass (or bison grass) in his garden. Sweet grass is the main flavoring in M:s and my favorite vodka, Zubrowka. Zubrowka is based on rye distilled vodka and the grass gives it a smooth herby taste with a touch of bitterness. The smell is grassy and has a barely noticeable vanilla accent.

Sweet grass has been used for ages by the Native Indians for ceremonies and healing rituals. In many places it’s still grown for basketry. In the 70-ies the US discovered that Sweet grass contains a small amount of coumarin and decided to ban the import of Zubrowka. Coumarin has the ability to thin your blood, the same effect Aspirin has. Well whenever I will need to prevent my blood from clotting, I will prefer a Zubrowka to an aspirin. I also think a cold Zubrowka goes better with herring. Today you can find artificially flavored “Zubrowka” in the US but it’s very distant from the real thing.

In some parts of the world, Sweet grass is growing wild but you can also find Sweet grass clogs on the Internet. Russel planted his clogs last spring and was able to harvest his first straws in September the same year. Russel grew up on a farm so we were quite certain the result would be lovely. As the Sweet grass is a perennial, Russel will soon be able to harvest it again. This time we think the result will be even better as the straws will be fresh and delicate!

for the essence you will need
1/3 liter rye vodka (however we used the wheat grain vodka, Svedka)
8 fresh blades of sweet grass cut into one inch lengths

Let the blades soak in a the vodka in a sealed glass jar for seven days. Any longer and this ‘essence’ tastes too bitter. Take the blades out, filter the essence through a coffee filter and mix approximately two parts vodka with one part essence.

If you mix Zubrowka with apple juice topped with a slice of lime you will have the cocktail that we call a boy scout. In Poland they call the cocktail tatanka or szarlotka (apple pastry).

There is off course other ways to make your own Zubrowka.

Kale with Goat Cheese

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getting stronger

We never had spinach when I was a child. Sometimes they served it in school but as a thin and tasteless soup or as a thick compact side dish for fried fish. In my later youth I was told to eat more spinach, as the iron would make me strong and less pale. It’s true that spinach contains more iron than many other green vegetables. But according to Wikipedia my body can’t really absorb it because spinach also contains a small amount of oxalate. And oxalate actually stops the body to absorb the iron! Hm!

True or not, spinach is still a great and healthy vegetable. I am eating it more now then ever before, (at least 4 times a month). The myth has also given me the taste for other green leaf vegetables such as Chard (mangold), Kale (cabbage), Collard Greens, Dandelion, Mustard Greens and a love-hate feeling for the bitter Broccoli Rabe.

Well this recipe is simple and works with many of the green leaf vegetables.

kale with goat cheese

one bunch of kale
olive oil
two cloves of garlic
chopped dried chili (what kind and how much depends on how spicy you want it)
60 ml (1/4 cup) tamari sauce
60 ml (1/4 cup) of water
one – three tablespoons of sour cream
goat cheese (you can use feta as well)

(serves two or three people)

Clean the kale carefully, trim the stems and chop the leaves into one-inch (25.4 mm) pieces. Peel and chop the garlic into tiny slices. Heat up some olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic and the chopped chili. When the garlic starts to get golden brown, add kale and sauté until the kale starts to get a little soft. Lower the heat, add water and tamari, cover the pan and let it cook for about three to five minutes. Add some spoons of sour cream and some goat cheese. Stir without boiling for one minute (season with salt and pepper.)

Serve the kale with M:s lovely rice, brown pasta or even kasha (buckwheat).

m:s mixed Rice
(serves two hungry people)

one cup (ca 235 ml) of rice, a mix of Brown Basmati and a small amount of black wild rice
two cups (ca 470 ml) of water
one clove of garlic
one big bay leaf

Sort through for the rice for any odd bits and rinse lightly in water. Put the rice and water into a pressure cooker and turn the heat on high. When the water starts to boil add salt, the whole clove of garlic and bay leaf. Stir and close the pressure cooker. Turn heat to medium and when it starts to steam/hiss turn the heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes. When it’s finished take the pressure cooker from the heat and wait for the pressure to go (about five minutes). Open the pressure cooker and discard the garlic and the bay leaf. Ready to serve!