Spicy Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Spicy Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

These spicy lamb meatballs in a tomato-curry are so tasty and flavorful, and I really love it. You would think, that the dish is burning hot when you start adding all the chilies, but somehow the chilies mellow out and just adds a nice heat. Of course I removed all the seeds, but serranos usually pack some heat.

I really like to drizzle the juice from the lemon over the dish when plated. The tanginess brightens the flavor profile of the dish.

For at low calorie version, serve the meatballs over cauliflower rice.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 450 g ground lamb

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

• 1 garlic clove

• 2 Serrano chilies

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• 35 g (1 dl) plain breadcrumbs

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

Purée:

• 4 tomatoes

• 4 Serrano chilies

• 1 inch (2½ cm) fresh ginger

Sauce:

• 2 teaspoons grape seed oil

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• ¾ teaspoon turmeric

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• ⅛ cup almond slivers

• salt to taste

Topping:

• Serrano chili

• lemon

Direction:

Meatballs:

Peel and grate ginger and garlic. Cut the chilies in half, length-wise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Dice the chilies. Mix meat, garlic, ginger, chili, egg, garam masala and breadcrumbs in a bowl, season with salt. Form about 12 round meatballs with your hands.

Purée:

Cut the chilies in half, length-wise and remove the seeds with a spoon, peel the ginger, and roughly chop it up. Cut the tomatoes in half. Add all the ingredients in a blender, and purée until smooth.

Sauce:

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and fry cumin, turmeric, paprika and almonds for about 20-30 seconds until fragrant. Add the purée and bring it to a simmer while stirring. Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes. Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer them in the sauce for another 15 minutes. Add more water if necessary. 

Finish of the dish with slices of chili and lemon wedges. Serve the meatballs over rice.

Enjoy!

Fried beef tartare or "Parisian steak" - Pariserbøf

Fried Beef Tartare or "Parisian Steak" - Pariserbøf

Pariserbøf has nothing to do with Paris or France. It's a traditional danish dish with a fancy name. Maybe the white bread it's served on is why it's called Pariserbøf. In Denmark the soft white bread is called French bread. 

Pariserbøf is a patty of lean ground beef on a slice of white bread, panfried and served with raw onion, pickled beets, horseradish, capers, danish pickles and a raw egg yolk on the top.

Danish pickles is vegetables (cauliflower, onion, pickling cucumbers and carrots) pickled in a mustard vinegar sauce. Much like the english Piccalilli.

Pariserbøf is normally on lunch menus in danish restaurants, but it can easily be served as dinner.

Disclaimer: This sauce is made with raw eggs. I recommend using pasteurized eggs. This would minimize the risk of getting Salmonella food poisoning. You can find pasteurized eggs in some supermarkets here in California, on safeeggs.com you can see where to find them in your neighborhood.  In Denmark you'll find it right next to regular eggs. For tips and information on how to handle eggs, check out FDA’s website. The Danish version of FDA,  Fødevarestyrelsen also has advisory on eggs. 

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

• 2 slices of good bread, like a good sourdough bread

• ½ red onion

• 3 tablespoon capers

• 4 tablespoon pickled beets, diced

• 2-6 teaspoon horseradish, freshly grated

• 2-3 tablespoons danish pickles or Piccalilli

• 2 egg yolks

• salt & pepper

• butter for frying

Patties (4 pieces):

• 200 g very lean ground beef (freshly ground)

• 1 teaspoon good mustard like grey poupon country dijon

• 1 teaspoon capers, finely chopped

• 1 egg

• salt and pepper

Directions: 

Dice the pickled beets, grate the horseradish, drain the capers, slice and chop the onions and separate the yolk from the egg white.  

Mix the ingredients for the patties, and form 4, not to thick, patties slightly larger than the bread slices. Put the patty on top of the bread, make sure the patty will stay on the bread. Season with salt and pepper. The extra patties, can be fried and saved for lunch the next day.   

Add a good amount of butter to a skillet and fry the pariserbøf patty-side down first until golden brown. Turn to fry the bread side until crisp. Pariserbøf is served medium to well done. If you use pasteurized eggs or no eggs, the pariserbøf can be served medium rare.

Serve right away with all the toppings.

Enjoy a pariserbøf with a good cold beer.

Penne all'Amatriciana

Penne all'Amatriciana

A friend of mine told me about this dish. I had never heard about it, or seen it on a menu before. But she raved about it, so I decided to give it a try. And Ohhh My - This dish is going on the menu again soon in my house!

I love the tomato sauce with the spiciness and the well rounded flavors from the wine and pancetta. This dish is perfect for at weekday dinner. The sauce can easily be made a day or two in advance.  

This recipe is adapted from a recipe on "Bonappetit.com, here is my version.

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

• 1 28-oz can (794 g) whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 (280 g) red onion

• 165 g pancetta

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 60 ml water

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 120 ml white wine

• balsamic to taste (use balsamic instead of sugar to balance the acidity)

• salt & pepper to taste

• 225 g uncooked penne (pasta) - cooked al dente

Sprinkles:

• parmesan cheese

Directions:

Purée the tomatoes with juices  until smooth in a blender, set aside. 

Cook onion, pancetta, oil, red pepper flakes, and water in a large pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until water is evaporated and fat begins to render, about 8–10 minutes. 

Add tomato paste and cook until beginning to brown, while stirring, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook, until reduced by half, it only take a few minutes. 

Add the puréed tomato and bring it to a boil. Cover pan with a lid, reduce heat, and let it simmer for about 40–45 minutes. Season with balsamic, salt and pepper.

When sauce is almost done, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente, drain pasta. 

Add pasta to sauce and toss to coat. Serve topped with parmesan cheese. 

Tuna Steak with Avocado-Wasabi Purée

Tuna Steak with Avocado-Wasabi Purée

The first time I ever had tuna steak was on a vacation to the western Jutland in Denmark. We bought the fish at Hvide Sande Røgeri, not knowing how to cook it. We pan-fried it to well done. As you may already know, that is NOT the way to cook tuna, and of course it turned out to be a dry boring piece of fish. We didn't understand what the hype was all about.

Fast forward to now, we love tuna steak. This recipe was adapted from the Danish magazine "Alt for Damerne" - I had to try the wasabi-avocado purée with tuna. Here is my version:

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 2 tuna steaks
• salt & pepper

Marinade:

• soya sauce
• ½ jalapeño 

Purée:

• 2 avocados
• 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• ½ red onion  
• 1 lime, the juice of
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions: 

Mix up the marinade and pour it into a ziplock bag, add the fish, and let tit marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  

Purée: 

Mix the purée by mashing the avocados with a fork. I like the puree kinda chunky. Mix in wasabi paste, onion, lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the grill or grill-pan on high. Take the steaks out of the marinade and brush them with oil. Sear the steaks for about 1 minute on each side, and season them with salt and pepper.

Serve the tuna steak over rice with the avocado-wasabi purée.

Coconut Shrimp with Island Rice

Coconut Shrimp with Island Rice

I love the taste of coconut with shrimp, but I'm not a fan of the battered and fried coconut shrimp. By marinating the shrimps like this you get the coconut taste without the greasiness. Now coconut shrimps is a healthy summer dish. 

I love the combination of the shrimps with Island rice. Island rice is rice mixed with sweet and tangy fruits, her I used pineapple, papaya, mango and lime.

Ingredients:

Shrimps:

• 1½ pound shrimps, peeled and deveined  
• ⅓ cup (¾ dl) coconut balsamic (I get it from The Olive Bar in Campbell)
• ⅓ cup (¾ dl) Meyer lemon olive oil
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1-2 tablespoon butter 
• salt to taste

Island rice:

• 3 cup cooked brown rice 
• ½ papaya
• ¼ pineapple
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 small mango
• 1 lime, zest and juice

Directions:

Shrimps:

Mix the oil, balsamic and shrimps in a ziplock bag and make sure to cover all shrimps in the marinade. Let marinate for 1-3 hours in the refrigerator.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add drained shrimps and red chili flakes. Fry the shrimps for a few minutes pr side, until pink and opaque. Season with salt.

Island rice:

Boil the rice according to directions on the package, add salt.

Cut the fruit into bite-size pieces, and slice the scallions thinly. Add fruit, scallions and lime zest and juice to the hot cooked rice, and serve immediately. 

Enjoy!