Sunday, January 11, 2009

Half Frozen

It's been 12 years, 12 long years and now half of our country has been taken over by this strange, collective madness, called skating. For the first time in years, it has been cold enough that ponds, lakes, canals and small rivers are now frozen over and the ice is strong enough to go skating on. Many people braved the cold and the dangers last week and especially this weekend and put on their skates. Not me though, I was tired of the cold, having made my way to work this week by bike, left me weary of being half frozen, so instead of being out on the ice this weekend with my boy friend and mother-in-law, I stayed in my warm and cozy kitchen and decided it was time for ingredients to be half frozen and not me.

Cranberry Semifreddo

400 gr cranberries, fresh or frozen
125 gr confectioners sugar
200 ml Marsala wine
1 tsp cinnamon
150 gr meringues, home-made or store-bought, crumbled
300 ml cream, whipped


You can prepare this dessert several days in advance, but you have to start at least 6 and a half hours before you want to serve it.
Slowly heat the cranberries, the sugar, the cinnamon and the marsala untill it boils softly. Let the cranberries simmer for about 7 minutes or untill the cranberries are just cooked. Take 250 gr of cranberries and 2 tbsp of sauce and blend untill smooth in a blender. Let the rest of the sauce and the cranberries cool and save in the fridge till serving.
Quickly, but gently mix the crumbled meringues and the cranberry mixture through the whipped cream. You don't have to mix it perfectly, it is even prettier when there are pink stripes through the white cream. Transfer the mixture into small ramekins, which are oiled and lined with clean film. Cover the semifreddo and put in the fridge. Before serving take the semifreddo from the fridge and let it defrost a little, semifreddo means half frozen.
Empty the ramekins on a plate and serve the semifreddo with the cranberries and wine sauce. Enjoy!

New years resolution

I know it is very corny, but my one major new years resolution this year is to cook at least one new recipe every month. I know it’s not much of a goal, but I thought it would be best to start with something I could actually live up to and actually have the time to write the blog that should ideally go with it. Inspired by my new goal and the winter weather, I started this new soup recipe, which can easily be a nice, quick dinner on a busy night, but also a warm lunch on a cold day.

Fennel Soup

2 bulbs of fennel
1.5 l chicken stock
1 onion, diced
1 glove of garlic, crushed
1 medium carrot
Salt and pepper
60 gr flour
50 gr butter


Clean and dice the onion and carrot, and chop the fennel in small strips. Put the fronds of the fennel aside and save as finishing for the soup. Heat the butter and sauté the vegetables for 3 minutes. Add the flour and stir gently with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Let the roux cool slightly before adding the warm stock. Add the stock bit by bit, stirring it well to make sure it is taken up by the flour and butter mixture. After the stock has been added, let the soup simmer until the vegetables have softened. The soup is now ready to go in the blender. Make sure not to put too much in at a time and blend with the small top off, put a cloth or tea towel over it to close the opening. Flavour the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat the soup before serving. The recipe this is inspired on called for 2 dl cream, but we liked it fine just like this.

If you like a bit of crunch and freshness in your soup, I can recommend this topping:

Apple Topping

1 apple
¼ red onion
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp grainy mustard
A small bunch of mint
Fennel fronds, left over


Finely dice the apple, unpeeled. Clean the onion and chop it finely. Mix the apple and the onion, the chopped mint and fennel fronds. Make a small dressing mixing the lime juice, olive oil, and the mustard. Coat the apple and the onion with the dressing and add the heated soup for a nice crunchy effect.