Sweet • Sour • Savory

Food blog on scandinavian style food done right.

Dinner

Leg of Lamb, Provencal

Dinner, Lamb, Meats, Simmer FoodTove Balle-PedersenComment
Leg of Lamb, Provencal

Leg of Lamb, Provencal

We never had lamb in my house growing up. My dad said it tasted like chewing on wool, and he would never eat it. Luckily he didn't state that he rather eat an old hat, because he came to love lamb in his later years. I guess that he got to eat sheeps-meat instead of lamb when he grew up, during and after world war II, when money were scarce.

My beloved niece, eating a leg of lamb, 2004.

My beloved niece, eating a leg of lamb, 2004.

My first encounter with lamb, was when my brothers then girlfriend made this dish for us. Ohh My it was good. The great tasting lamb with more than a hint of garlic and rosemary. The potatoes gets the flavors from the lamb roasting on top, and are soft, with a crispy top. This dish quickly became a family favorite.

 This leg of lamb is really a great meal when you are having people over. All the prep can be done hours in advance, so you can get the kitchen and your self cleaned up before the guests arrive. I love meals like that, served family style.

 

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

  • 1 (6-7 lb.) bone in leg of lamb

  • 9 cloves of garlic

  • 3 sprigs of rosemary

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil

  • 12 medium-large potatoes, peeled and sliced

  • lamb stock or chicken stock

  • salt & pepper

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 450 ℉.

Place the leg of lamb in a large roasting pan fat side up and pat it dry with paper towels. Poke holes into the meat, slide a small piece of garlic into the hole, repeat this all over the leg of lamb. Combine the oil, 1 garlic clove, leave from the rosemary sprigs, salt and pepper in a mini food processor and pulse until the garlic and rosemary are minced. Spread the mixture on the lamb.

Slice the potatoes, and place them in a large roasting pan. Pour in stock, so it almost cover the potatoes.  tuck in the rosemary sprigs. Place the leg of lamb on top.

Roast for 25 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350℉ and roast for another 2 hours, until a meat thermometer registers 165℉ for well done. You can serve the lamb medium (140℉). Place the lamb on a cutting board, covered with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Return the potatoes to the oven to keep warm. Slice the lamb and arrange on a platter, and serve it with the potatoes.

Enjoy!

National Pancake Day - Pandekagens Dag

Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, DinnerTove Balle-Pedersen2 Comments
Dutch Baby with Lemon and Blueberries

Dutch Baby with Lemon and Blueberries

Today is Pancake Day in most of the world, and a good excuse for eating delicious pancakes or crepes for breakfast, dinner, dessert or just because. 

In Denmark our pancakes are the thin crepes like the french. I love these especially served with jam and ice cream. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with serving them with Nutella and fresh strawberries. 

Crepes or Danish Pancakes

Thin crepes or pancakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dutch Baby with Lemon and Blueberries

Thick, puffy pancake to die for.

Chicken with Mustard a la David Lebovitz

Dinner, Meats, PoultryTove Balle-PedersenComment

We eat a lot of chicken in my family. Chicken is very easy to change up with different flavorings, and different cooking methods. So when I got David Lebovitz's cookbook, My Paris Kitchen, the first dish I had to try was "chicken with mustard." 

The flavors of this dish blew me away. I thought the Dijon mustard would give the dish a strong flavor, but oddly enough the flavors was very mellow. I think we have another family favorite here. It is actually perfect for a weeknight dinner. We served it with pasta and quick butter-roasted carrot coins.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 140 g Dijon mustard

  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • ½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt (optional)

  • 4 chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks (8 pieces total), bone-in, skin-on

  • 100 g (2-3 slices) smoked thick-cut bacon, diced

  • 1 small onion, finely diced

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves + some for garnish

  • a little olive oil, for the pan

  • 240 ml (1 cup) white wine, non-oaky

  • 1 tablespoon grainy mustard (I used Maille Old style whole grain dijon mustard)

  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 3 tablespoons crème fraîche

Directions:

Mix the 140 g Dijon mustard with paprika, salt and black pepper in a bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in the mustard mixture, making sure you get mustard in between chicken and chicken skin. Set aside, while you tend to the bacon and onion.

Chop onion and dice bacon. Heat sauté-pan or Dutch oven and add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it just starts to get brown. You are not looking for crispy bacon bites, you need them to stay soft. Remove the bacon from the skillet and let it drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Remove all bacon fat but 1 tablespoon. Add onion to the pan and cook until soft and translucent. Add the thyme and cook for another few minutes. Put the onions on a large plate, with the drained bacon.

Add a little olive oil to the skillet, if necessary, brown the chicken pieces in a single layer. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, because this will cause the chicken to steam and not brown, it's better to work in batches. Get a good color all over the chicken. This will help develop the flavor in the dish.  Place the chicken pieces on the plate with onions and bacon. Add the wine to the pot to deglaze it. Scrape of the dark bits of the bottom. Return the chicken, onion and bacon to the pan, and cook it covered for about 15-25 minutes, Check the doneness of the chicken by inserting a knife into the meat next to the bone. You want the juice to come out clear, if red, keep cooking for a few more minutes.

Remove pan from the heat and transfer the chicken to a platter and stir the remaining 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, the grainy mustard, and the crème fraîche into the sauce. If the sauce has reduced and is quite thick, you can thin it with a little warm water, adding a teaspoon or so at a time. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle chopped parsley over the top, and serve.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:



Kylling i Sennep a la David Lebovitz



Ingredienser:

  • 140 g Dijon sennep

  • ¼ tsk røget paprika

  • friskkværnet sort peber, efter smag

  • ½ tsk salt

  • 8 stykker kylling med ben og skind, jeg bruger overlår, men underlår duer også

  • 100 g bacon I tern

  • 1 løg, hakket

  • 1 tsk frisk timian blade + lidt til pynt, Jeg bruger 4-6 hele kviste

  • lidt oliven olie til stegning

  • 2½ dl hvidvin

  • 1 spsk grov sennep med tydelige sennepskorn så som Maille grov mild sennep

  • 3 spsk Dijon sennep

  • 3 spsk crème fraîche

Fremgangsmåde:

 

Bland sennep, paprika, salt og peber i en skål. Kom kyllingestykkerne ned i blandingen. Masser senneppen over hele kyllingen, også ind underskindet. Lad kyllingen stå og marinere imens du forbereder det næste.

Hak løg og bacon i tern. Start med at stege bacon i en tykbundet gryde. Baconen skal kun lige tabe fedtet, og lige have taget lidt farve, det er ikke meningen at det skal blive alt for sprødt. Lad baconen dryppe af på et stykke køkkenrulle. Brug bacon fedtet til at stege løgene bløde i, kom timianen i sammen med løgene. Tag løgene op af gryden.

Kom evt. lidt olivenolie i gryden og brun kyllingestykkerne godt af. Gør det gerne af flere gange for ikke at koge kyllingen. Bruningen er med til at skabe en god dybde til retten. 

Tag kyllingen op af gryden, og deglace den med vinen. Kom alle ingredienserne tilbage i gryden, og lad retten simre i 15-25 minutter, indtil kyllingen er nok.

For at færdiggøre retten tilsættes den grove og dijon sennep og creme fraichen. Hvis sovsen er for tyk, tilsæt lidt vand. Hvis sovsen er for tynd, så jævn den med en lille melbolle.
Server kyllingen med kartofler og lidt gulerødder.

Velbekomme!

Quick Butter Roasted Carrot Coins

Dinner, Sides, VegetablesTove Balle-PedersenComment
Quick Butter Roasted Carrot Coins

Quick Butter Roasted Carrot Coins

These carrot coins are one of my favorite go-to vegetables for a quick weeknight dinner. They are easy to make, they are crunchy and filled with flavor. This time I found some rainbow carrots and used them, this made for a beautiful display of color.

You can use a lot of different herbs and spices to flavor the carrots, normally I use the same spices I use in the rest of the meal, that day.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 8-10 carrots, scrubbed and ends trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon butter or oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only

Directions:

Cut the carrots in bite-sized coins. Heat the butter in a skillet, Add garlic and thyme when the butter is melted, but before it is browned. Stir the garlic to flavor the butter. Add the carrot coins and cook while stirring until the carrots are softened, but still have a bite. I cooked them for 2-3 minutes. 

Sprinkle with some more thyme and serve with your dinner.

Enjoy!

 

Tabouli

Salad, DinnerTove Balle-PedersenComment

This salad is very easy and tasty. its was perfect with the falafels. Adding some greens and some tomatoes it was a great meal.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunches finely chopped flat leaf parsley
  •   cup chopped fresh mint
  • ½ cup coarse bulgur, prepared
  • ½ firm tomato, chopped 
  • 1 scallion chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra Virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Prepare the bulgur according to instructions on the package. Do not over soak the bulgur, you want bulgur to finish softening in the tabouli with the oil and lemon juice.

Chopped parsley and mint finely, and set aside.

In a large bowl mix bulgur, chopped tomato, chopped scallions with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the parsley, mint, olive oil and mix it all. Season the tabouli with salt, cayenne, more oil and lemon juice.

Enjoy!