Tag Archives: recipe

Pea Soup (ärtsoppa)

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In Sweden you eat yellow pea soup and thin pancakes every Thursday, or at least its popular to do so. The tradition has its roots from the middle-ages, where it was a preparation for Friday which was a day of fasting at that time. Nowadays its common to serve the soup with hot Punch, a sweet arrack flavored spirit. Its one of those odd combinations that actually works.

To make the soup, use whole yellow peas* that you soak for about 12 hours. After soaking, cook the peas in some water together with a whole piece of salted pork** (or if you prefer, cut into smaller pieces), onion, bay leaves and plenty of thyme (marjoram can also be used). I don’t mind adding a carrot into the soup, its not essential but it give the soup a sweet touch that I like. Just before the peas are done (almost mushy) you take out the meat and slice it. The meat can be served on the side or in the soup. If necessary season with salt. Serve the peasoup with mustard and buttered hard bread (knäckebröd). And to my taste don’t forget the hot Punch.

I often skip the thin pancakes but for most Swedes this is the grande finale of this meal! They should be served with whipped cream and jam.

* in case you don’t find whole yellow peas, yellow split peas may be used, just skip the soaking and follow the rest.
** bacon or similar may be used if its impossible to find salted pork.

Vegetable Stock

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Often while I’m cooking I also have a stockpot going. I feed it with bits and pieces of whatever I have at hand. It can be the end of a carrot, a head of a fish or bones from a piece of meat etc. My vegetable stock as described in the diagram, can be made just as shown or together with any kind of meat.  The point is to use the parts of vegetables or meat that you normally don’t eat. However the ingredients must be fresh! With fish I would add some dill stalks and maybe lemon rinds.

I use my stocks to feed risotto, soups, cook beans in or to touch up stews. The use is really endless.

Bite Sized Porcini Tarts

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To avoid us going crazy from all the smells in the kitchen while baking duck for Thanksgiving… I made some finger foods for us to nibble on before the bird was ready to serve…

about 12 bite sized pies

for the dough
75 g (2.6 ounces) butter
250 ml (1 cup) flour  regular flour (or whole wheat)
salt
some water

mushroom filling
250 ml (1 cup) of dried porcini mushrooms (or other mushrooms)
one medium sized shallot
butter
thyme
2-3 table spoons medium dry port (or similar)
2 tablespoons sour cream
salt & pepper
parmesan

Mix the dough ingredients together and let rest for a while in the fridge. Grease a mini muffin pan or small cake tin molds with butter. You may prefer to roll the dough out but I take one portion at a time and, with my bare hands, flatten them out to fit the tiny molds. How many you get depends on the size of the molds you’re using (I had some dough left over that can be used for something else). Pre-bake the shells 10-15 min at 200°C (392 F). Let cool.

Soak the dried mushrooms in cold water for about 30 minutes to an hour. The mushrooms should be ready when they’ve softened. Chop the shallot into tiny pieces and sauté in butter at low heat until soft and golden. Put aside for later. Drain the mushrooms and keep the liquid for later use*. Chop the mushrooms in smaller pieces and sauté in a dry pan on medium heat. If they’re too dry in the beginning you may add some of the soaking water. Sprinkle some salt over and when all the water has disappeared its time to start feeding with butter, thyme, the sautéed shallots and later on the port. When the alcohol has dissolved add some spoons of sour cream. The mushroom filling should be a little thick but not too thick. Add some of the soaking liquid to make it slightly thinner. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Fill the pie shells and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle some parmesan on top and bake for another 10 minutes. Let the pies cool a little before popping them out of the mold. I served mine as finger food with bubbly. However, they work perfectly well as a starter with an arugola & walnut salad.

*I use the  remaining liquid for mushroom stews, stocks, noodle soups and whatever I will be cooking in the next few days. This time I used some in the duck stock .

Tomato Sauce (diagram)

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For this tomato sauce you can either use fresh or canned tomatoes. If you use canned tomatoes I recommend that you to buy a good quality brand.  There are so many bad canned tomatoes out there, they should be banned. Here are some of my favorites: Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Mutti Cherry Tomatoes and the Swedish brand Willy’s Cherry Tomatoes or their organic whole tomatoes (only sold in Sweden).

This ancho rich tomato sauce is fantastic with pasta, especially with mozzarella and basil. Topped with cilantro it’s perfect for tacos and black beans. I often use either version instead of ketchup for sausages. Its definitely not the same thing but I kind of prefer it.

Also check out recipe for Fresh Tomato Pasta

 

Anna’s Rosehip Sherry

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Every Autumn about this time my twin sister Anna goes out to pick rose hips for her yearly Rose Hip Sherry. This is an exceptionally delightful treat for being a homemade spirit. My sister has done this for a while, so her wine cabinet has become full of different vintages of Rose Hip Sherry. Sometimes I have had the honor to be part of her sherry tastings, which she has after an excellent dinner. It really is a fantastic finish to a good meal and I must say the sherry just gets better as it ages.

The sherry also works in cooking and Anna says that a dash of Rose Hip Sherry in a Chanterelle sauce is absolutely heavenly! Sound fantastic to me!

2 liter (8 ½ cups) rose hips (the long narrow fruits, avoid the rounder ones)
1 ½ kg (3 1/3 lb) sugar
3 liter (12 2/3 cups) water
25 gr (7/8 oz) wine maker’s yeast (or fresh yeast and it might even work w/ instant yeast)

Roughly trim the rose hips but don’t rinse them with water as the surface contains natural yeast that are useful in the process. Make a sugar syrup by heating up the sugar and the water. When the sugar has dissolved let it cool. Use some of the liquid to dissolve the yeast. Let the yeast start (there will be bubbles on the surface) before mixing with the rest of the sugar liquid and the rose hips in a bucket or a glass carboy. Cover the jar and let the wine sit still for three months. At this time the liquid should look clear and the rose hips have fallen to the bottom of the jar. Tap the sherry into dark bottles (for example on 33 cl (12 fl oz) beer bottles). To avoid the sediment at the bottom Anna recommends to spoon up the sherry instead of pouring (can be hard with a carboy). Seal with a suitable cork or cap. Let the sherry stand for at least one more month before drinking. If your are patient enough to store it, or at least with some of it, my sister thinks it’s best to drink after 5 years.