Tag Archives: drawing

Strawberry Pie

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strawberry

We needed to defrost the freezer so I had to do something with the frozen strawberries I had kept for autumn treats…

crust

75 g butter (ca 0.2 lb)
3-5 tablespoons sucanat
100-150 ml (0.4-0.6 cups) flour
75 ml (0.3 cups) almonds

Mix all the ingredients in one bowl. Add more flour or sucanat if you want. I prefer the crust to be greasy. It’s already fat anyway so why make it dry and boring! The sweetness depends on the fruit. If the strawberries are sour, use more sugar and vice versa. I like the contrast between sour and sweet.

filling

Take about 1/2 liter (2 cups) strawberries and if necessary cut them into smaller pieces. Fill the bottom of a baking tin with the strawberries and divide the crust over them.
Bake the pie at 200°C (400F) until it’s done or the top has become a little brown. Serve a little warm with vanilla icecream!

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.

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.