Walnut & Pea Pesto

Walnut & Pea Pesto

One of the best summer vegetables are the fresh peas. They remind me of the summer days on the beach, reading up for the exams and snacking on fresh peas.  

Right now you can get the fresh peas in the stores. And you can use them for other things than just snacking.

Makes about a cup.  

Ingredients:

• 50 g (⅓ cup) walnuts
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 155 g (1 cup) shelled peas (see my notes below)
• 35 g (1 cup) arugula
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• ½  teaspoon salt
• ¼  teaspoon black pepper
• 1 dl (½  cup) extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, until they are just starting to become fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Blend the toasted walnuts, garlic, peas, arugula, mint, lemon juice and zest, salt and black pepper until finely chopped, scrape down the sides if necessary. While blending add the olive oil in a slow stream, until combined.  

Serve the pesto as a spread on toast, on pasta or as a dressing. The pesto will keep covered in the refrigerator for a few days.

Enjoy!

Berry Salsa

Berry Salsa

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today will be filled with Mexican traditions here in California. The margaritas will flow, tequila will be poured. People will eat taco's, salsas and guacamole.

Let the Party begin. 

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 10 medium strawberries, chopped
• 100 g blueberries, chopped 
• 1 prickly pear or cactus fruit, chopped
• ¼ red onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• ¼ habanero pepper, minced 
• ½ yellow pepper, finely chopped 
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped

Dressing:

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, I used a blackberry /ginger flavored 
• ½ lime, the juice from
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Combine the filling in a large bowl. Whisk together the dressing, and pour it over the filling. Let the fruit marinate in the dressing for about an hour in the refrigerator before serving. 

Serve the salsa with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic

Roasted Garlic

If you have followed my blog, you might have discovered that I really really like garlic. My life would not be complete without my loved ones, red wine, garlic, bread, cheese and maybe even bacon. 

Roasted garlic is addictive, it's a healthy kind of crack cocaine. You should be aiming for a lighter color on the garlic, because the dark caramelized garlic is bitter, but my phone rang just as they were perfect, and the 2 minutes later they were caramelized. I squeezed the soft sweet garlic out of the bulb, and cut of the brown parts. And ohh what a taste. Just spread the soft garlic on a piece of toasted bread or crostini. If served with a great glass of wine, you might hear the angels sing.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 garlic bulbs
• 5-6 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃). Cut off the top quarter of the garlic bulb to just reveal the single cloves. Lightly rub each bulb, so you only leave 1 layer "paper" round the garlic. Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil on top of each garlic bulb and let it sit to soak for about 10 minutes.

Place the garlic bulbs in a baking dish. Cover the garlics with foil and roast them for 30-45 minutes, or until light-golden brown, and the garlic is soft and spreadable. Let the garlic cool for a few minutes, so you can handle them. Squeeze from the bottom of the garlic head to release sweet soft baked garlic.

Enjoy!

Tzatziki

Tzatziki

This spread is a perfect starter for summer BBQ's. 

Ingredients:

• 1 english cucumber
• salt
• 17.6 oz. (0.5 l) non-fat Fage Greek yogurt
• garlic
• olive oil

Direction:

Grate the cucumber and toss it with 1-2 tablespoon salt, place it in a sieve, and place it over a bowl. Let the cucumber drain for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.

Mix in the greek yogurt with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil and garlic. Set aside.

Squeeze as much liquid from the cucumber as you can, and add the cucumber to the yogurt.

You can serve it immediately, but I like the flavors to blend in the tzatziki, so I let it sit in the refrigerator for an hours before serving. Just before serving drizzle some good olive oil on top.

Serve chilled or at room temperature, with a good sourdough bread or Pita Bread. 

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Tzatziki

Ingredients:

• 1 agurk
• salt
• 0,5 l fedtfri Fage græsk yoghurt
• 2-4 fed hvidløg
• olivenolie

Direction:

Riv agurken, og bland den med 1-2 spsk salt, for at vandet drænes ud af agurken, så tzatzikien ikke bliver vandet. Kom agurken i en sigte og sæt sigten over en skål. Lad det dræne i 2-3 timer (optimalt) i køleskabet.

Bland yoghurten med 1-2 tsk olivenolie. 

Pres så meget væde ud af agurken, som muligt, og kom den i yoghurten.

Du kan servere tzatzikien med det sammen, men smagen bliver bedre, hvis den får lov at hvile i køleskabet i en times tid.

Lige før serveringen hældes lidt god olivenolie over.

Kan serveres kold eller ved stuetemperatur, med godt surdejsbrød eller med pitabrød.

Velbekomme!

Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise comes in jars or tubes, well it did in my house. I knew how to make it, but I never saw the point. Until my sweet sister-in-law told me that she made the perfect mayonnaise a day she was out, and didn't wanted to run to the store.

My sister-in-law was right, it's really easy to make mayonnaise yourself. I used a jar and an immersion blender, which minimized my dishes too. It also made it easier, so I didn't have to whisk vigorously. The mayonnaise had a more sour taste, than the store bought ones, and I really like that. I don't want sweet mayo with my shrimps or fish.

Disclaimer: This dessert is made with raw eggs. I recommend using pasteurized eggs. That minimizes the risk of getting Salmonella food poisoning. You can find pasteurized 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 egg

Ingredients:

• 1 egg yolk (pasteurized) 
• 1 teaspoon mustard (Dijon)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• lemon juice from ½ lemon
• 1,5 - 3 dl Oil (Rapeseed or another neutral oil)
• white pepper

Directions:

Whip the egg yolks with the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper with a whisk (I used an immersion blender). Slowly add the oil in a thin stream to avoid separating the mayonnaise. Adjust the taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

If you want to add taste to the mayonnaise you can add spices to the oil. I like adding chili, garlic or rosemary.