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!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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.
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:
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
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:
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.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Autumn break
It's autumn break this week and timing couldn't be more perfect. Instead of this dreary week with rain and greyness, this year it seems Mother Nature is giving us a real treat. It's been sunny all weekend and the nights are cold but during the day when the sun shines the temperature is great for doing things, like taking a walk in the park. Which is exactly what we did to take in all the wonderful yellows, oranges and reds.
1/2 pumpkin, deseeded and cut into cubes of about 2cm5 handfuls of rocket or any other quite spicy lettuce
12 black olives, deseeded
1/2 packet of feta cheese
1 red onion, cut in rings
5 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of round chilli flake1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven at 220 degrees Celsius. Peel and deseed half of the pumpkin and cut it into cubes of about 2 cm. Make a dressing for the pumpkin, using three tablespoons of olive oil, the cumin, the chilli flakes and the cayenne pepper. Put the pumpkin parts in the dressing and mix well, making sure all the parts are covered. Season with some salt and pepper. Put the pumpkin part on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes. When the pumpkin is ready take it out of the oven and let it cool a bit otherwise your salad leafs will welt. In the mean while, put the clean lettuce in a bowl and add the olives, the onion and the feta. You can add the feta to taste varying the amount to whether you're a cheese lover or not. In my family we are not that cheesy when it comes to salads, so half a slice of feta will do for us. Make a quick dressing with the balsamic vinegar and the rest of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and if you like some dried Mediterranean herbs. Top the salad with the slightly cooled pumpkin and the dressing. Enjoy!
Furthermore, autumn break means all the time in the world to try new recipes. In spirit with the season, I decided to make pumpkin recipes. Pumpkin is not very popular here in
Roasted Pumpkin and Feta Salad
1/2 pumpkin, deseeded and cut into cubes of about 2cm5 handfuls of rocket or any other quite spicy lettuce
12 black olives, deseeded
1/2 packet of feta cheese
1 red onion, cut in rings
5 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of round chilli flake1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven at 220 degrees Celsius. Peel and deseed half of the pumpkin and cut it into cubes of about 2 cm. Make a dressing for the pumpkin, using three tablespoons of olive oil, the cumin, the chilli flakes and the cayenne pepper. Put the pumpkin parts in the dressing and mix well, making sure all the parts are covered. Season with some salt and pepper. Put the pumpkin part on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes. When the pumpkin is ready take it out of the oven and let it cool a bit otherwise your salad leafs will welt. In the mean while, put the clean lettuce in a bowl and add the olives, the onion and the feta. You can add the feta to taste varying the amount to whether you're a cheese lover or not. In my family we are not that cheesy when it comes to salads, so half a slice of feta will do for us. Make a quick dressing with the balsamic vinegar and the rest of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and if you like some dried Mediterranean herbs. Top the salad with the slightly cooled pumpkin and the dressing. Enjoy!
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