Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes

My husband send me a link to a recipe for hasselback potato gratin. It looked to be the best of both worlds, a combination of the creamy potato gratin and the crisp hasselback potatoes. 

I thought it would be perfect with a ribeye steak. I changed it up a bit, to what was in my refrigerator.

This is my version.

Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds russet potatoes

• 6 fl oz (5 dl) heavy whipping cream

• parmesan cheese

• smoked gouda

• 2 garlic cloves

• 2 sprigs thyme leaves, leaves only

• salt

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Grate the cheeses, and set about ¼ of it a side, and mix the rest with the cream, garlic, thyme.

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly on a mandolin. Toss the potato slices in the cream/cheese mixture, making sure to cover each slice. 

Stack the potato slices and lay them in ovenproof dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue to fill the dish with the potatoes until the dish is filled. Pour excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over potatoes.

Cover dish with tin foil, and bake the potatoes for about 30 minutes. Take off the foil and spread the rest of the cheese on top, and continue to bake for 30 minutes.

When the potatoes is done, take the dish out of the oven and let the potatoes rest for a few minutes.

Citrus Salad with Liquorice Vinaigrette

Citrus Salad with Liquorice Vinaigrette

I decided to make a new dish for the christmas dinner. I know that the Danes are really set the their ways, especially when it comes to their christmas dinner. But I love trying new things, so I hope my husband's family will love this citrus salad inspired from "Lakrids i Maden".

When I read that the salad called for a liquorice vinaigrette, my first thought was "how would the salty liquorice syrup taste with the dark espresso balsamic from The Olive bar?" I can only say "faaaantastic" - and on a slice of orange it tastes even better.

Here is my take on the citrus salad.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 1 tablespoon salty liquorice syrup
• 2 tablespoons dark espresso balsamic

Salad:

• 3 oranges
• 2 pink grapefruits
• 2 pink lemons
• Tunisian blood orange olive oil
• 1 handful Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped

Directions:

Whisk the the liquorice syrup with the balsamic, set aside.

Peel oranges, lemons and grapefruits and slice them thinly. Arrange the slices in a platter and sprinkle with olive oil and salt.

Drizzle the dressing un top, and sprinkle with onion and parsley.

Coconut Cauliflower Rice

Coconut Cauliflower Rice.

December 15th - not feeling very christmasy, maybe because we just got back from a Julefrokost (Danish christmas party). Here's a healthier side for a dinner in december.

After making my Cilantro and Lime Cauliflower Rice, I started thinking on other flavors, I could add to the cauliflower rice. I came up with coconut rice. This could be yummy with a curry dish. 

Regular coconut ice is boiled in the coconut milk, but I don't want to boil the cauliflower, so it becomes soaky. I still want the cauliflower to be crisp.

 Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 shallot, chopped finely
• 1 sprig lemongrass, smashed
• ½ cup coconut milk, the thick part
• ¼ cup toasted shredded coconut
• Salt to taste
• a little lemon zest

Directions:

Break the cauliflower into florets. Grate the cauliflower using a box grater or add florets to food processor and pulse until cauliflower looks like rice. About 10-15 seconds of pulsing.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coconut oil, melt, then add the onion. Saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the lemongrass, the cauliflower and coconut milk, stirring to combine. Saute the cauliflower for about 8-10 minutes until the coconut milk is adsorbed. Remove the lemongrass.  Season with salt and lemon zest. 

Sprinkle the toasted coconut on top when serving.

The Danish version:

Kokos blomkålsris

Ingredienser:

• 1 blomkålshovede
• 1 tsk kokosolie
• 1 skalotteløg, finthakket
• 1 stilk citrongræs, banket i stykker
• 1½ dl kokoskmælk, den tykke del
• ¾ dl ristet kokosmel 
• salt 
• lidt revet citronskal

Del blomkålen op i buketter og riv den på et rivejerne, eller brug en foodprocessor indtil blomkålen er på størrelse med riskorn.

Opvarm en slipl-et pande og tilsæt kokosolien. Når den er smeltet tilsæt løget og steg det indtil det er bløde, ca. 3 minutter. Tilsæt citrongræs, blomkål og kokosmælk. Sautér i ca 8-10 minutter, indtil kokosmælken er absorberet. Fjern citrongræssen og smag blomkålen til med salt og citronskal.

Drys den ristede kokos på blomkålen, når den serveres.

Danish Caramelized Potatoes - Brunede kartofler

Danish Caramelized Potatoes

December 13th - the weekend is just around the corner. For me the planing for christmas is getting started. I look forward to caramelized potatoes, we only have this sweet goodness once a year.

Caramelized potatoes are an important part of the traditional christmas dinner.  Basically it's caramel covered small boiled potatoes, what can be wrong with that?

The caramelized potatoes is an old dish dating back to 1785, but back then it only was for the wealthy people, because sugar and butter was expensive. 

As a child I didn't care for these, but I think it was the kind of potatoes my mom used. They were kind of bitter. Now I use small firm potatoes, best of all fingerling potatoes. Fingerlings are the Rolls Royce of potatoes wether they are boiled, roasted or caramelized.

I was taught to make caramelized potatoes by my mom, but she didn't use any measurement. It was always just rough estimates. The amount of sugar should be enough to cover the bottom of your skillet, so you can't see the bottom. And add a little dollop butter. With these measurements it's hard to write a recipe.

The amount of sugar

Ingredients:

• 1 pound small firm potatoes

• 100 g sugar

• 15-20 g butter

Directions:

Boil and peel the potatoes. Do it in time for them to cool completely.

Heat a large skillet over high heat, pour in the sugar and melt it. When the sugar are turned the color of light amber, add the butter and stir with a wooden spoon. Rinse the potatoes with cold water, and carefully pour the potatoes into the hot caramel. Lower the heat and make sure the potatoes get covered in the caramel and get heated through.

Serve immediately, otherwise the potatoes looses the shine.

You can caramelize pearl onions this way. Caramelized pearl onions are great as a side for red meats.

Rødkål - Pickled Red Cabbage

Rødkål - Pickled Red Cabbage

December 12th. It's time to get ready for christmas dinner, and making red cabbage a few days early eases the stress of making the traditional Danish christmas dinner.

My mom always made her own red cabbage, but she had the recipe in her head, and it's lost forever. I like the simplicity of the dish. You only need 4 ingredients, not counting salt and pepper. The sweetness from the sugar combined with the acidity from the balsamic really works well with the red cabbage.

Rødkål is a traditional danish side for the christmas dinner, but it's also very good with medisterpølse and meatballs/frikadeller or in sandwiches.

This is my take on pickled red cabbage.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red cabbage

• 25 g butter, salted

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar (I mixed half balsamic and half blackberry-ginger balsamic for a sweeter taste)

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Remove outher leaves of cabbage, and cut cabbage into quarters and remove the white core. Thinly slice the cabbage across the quarters width-wise. To get uniform slices I use a mandolin.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the the cabbage and sear it for a couple minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar.  Simmer the cabbage for 10 - 15 minutes until cabbage is tender.

Season with salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar. Serve heated to pork roasts or roasted duck. 

The cabbage can be served cold on (open faced) sandwiches.