Tag Archives: food illustration

Rhubarb Chutney

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I can’t remember if it was the possibility of fast internet or the fact that there was rhubarb growing in the garden that made us buy this house. Anyway both me and M love rhubarb in every possible way… crumble pie, cordial, jam or chutney. For maximum treats, I cut the plants down completely when harvesting them so new shoots can develop. If I’m lucky I can have 3 harvests every summer!

Here is my latest… a quick and simple Rhubarb Chutney:

1 liter rhubarb
half an onion
small piece of ginger
one teaspoon fennel, roasted and crushed in a mortar and pestle
¼ liter sugar
½-1 teaspoon chili flakes
one slice of lemon

Rinse and peel the rhubarb by stripping off the outer layer. Cut them into smaller pieces. Chop the onion and sauté on low heat with some butter until soft and sweet. In the meantime chop the ginger into small pieces.
Place all the ingredients in a pot and cook on medium heat until mushy. Take out the lemon slice and run the rhubarb mixture in a food processor for a smoother texture. Pour it in a clean jar, close and turn upside down and let cool.

Store in the refrigerator. Serve the chutney with meat or on toast with cheese.

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.

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

Ragu Sauce

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As its impossible for me to write down a recipe on how I make a ragu sauce, I decided instead to make a flowchart with two feed options. For the minced meat I often use beef, lamb or wild boar. Sometimes I use a mix of minced beef and minced pork (common in Sweden). Lamb works especially well with the anchovy version and the beef with the ancho flavor. Sometimes I add one or two vegetables to the sauce, such as eggplant, carrot, parsnip, celery etc. For both options I add some stock, either my own or the vegetable base from “better than bouillon”  (organic). If the sauce at the end needs a touch of ‘bite’ or sweetness, you can season with some paprika powder or/and brown sugar.

Serve with your favorite pasta and top with fresh grated Parmesan.

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