Rhubarb Lemonade

Rhubarb Lemonade

Rhubarb is the taste of late spring and summer in my world. I always buy rhubarb at the grocery store when they are in season. If I don’t have to use them right away, I wash and cut them up and freezes them, or I'll make rhubarb lemonade. 

Rhubarb lemonade is a refreshing drink on a hot summer day. The color is bright, pink and very girly. To make a grownup drink add an splash of vodka, tequila or sparkling wine.

Ingredients:

• 300 g rhubarb
• 225 g sugar
• ½ vanilla pod (or ½ teaspoon vanilla paste)
• 5 dl (1 pint) water 
• ½-1 lemon, the juice of

Directions:

Wash and cut the rhubarb into ¾ inch pieces.

Put the rhubarb, water, sugar lemon juice and vanilla pod in a large saucepan. Bring it to a boil, and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. Remove pan from the heat, and let the liquid cool. Sift the liquid through a strainer into a clean bottle.  The rhubarb lemonade will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.

Serve the rhubarb lemonade ice cold.

Enjoy.

Fried Sole Filets

Fried Sole Filets

One of the best fish dishes in Denmark is a breaded plaice (or just dusted in rye flour), preferably fried up as a whole fish in butter. But it's not a dish you come by every day, we'll only if you are a Fisherman. I still remember my father coming home with the fish so fresh that they were still alive. He put the fish in the bathtub with water, and the fish were swimming.

Most Danes have had breaded filets of plaice on rye bread, served with remoulade (a sweet tartar sauce). Often the fish was frozen and already breaded. This is nothing like the fresh fish, but it's will do in a busy lifestyle. If we wanted a fancier dish, we had a "stjerneskud" (shooting star). A stjerneskud is a breaded fried and a poached plaice filet. Topped with mayonnaise, cold water shrimps and caviar of lumpfish-roe, either served on rye bread or some good white bread. 

I found that sole is a good substitute for plaice, so I was happy to have my childhood favorite fried fish with remoulade.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4-6 sole filets
• all-purpose flour
• 1 egg beaten
• breadcrumbs, I used panko
• salt & pepper
• butter and oil for frying. 

Directions:

Add the salt and pepper to the flour. 

Dip the fish filets in:

1: all-purpose flour, shake off excess flour

2: egg, make sure the whole fish i covered, and let the excess drip of

3: breadcrumbs, again make sure the whole fish is covered, and shake the excess breadcrumbs of. 

This way the breading will stay on the fish. Otherwise it has a tendency to break apart when flipping the fish. 

Heat the skillet and add oil and butter. When the butter stops foaming, gently add the fish. Cook the fish for about 2-3 minutes on each side. 

Serve immediately on rye bread with remoulade and a lemon wedge. The fish can also be served with boiled potatoes and a white parsley sauce.

Sunchoke Soup with seared Scallops

Sunchoke Soup with seared Scallops

Last weekend I went to the local farmers marked, the perfect place to find farm-fresh produce in season. It was here I found sunchokes, aka Jerusalem Artichokes, sunroots or earth apples. 

You can eat the sunchokes raw in salads or cooked in soups and gratins. The raw sunchokes has a nutty taste, while the cooked are sweet with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Sunchokes has a high content of vitamin C and K.

I decided to make sunchoke soup, a  creamy soup perfect for an appetizer, but filling enough to use as a main course. 

Serves 4 as an appetizer or serves 2 for a main course.

Ingredients:

• 400 g sunchokes, peeled and chopped
• 300 g potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3 dl (1¼ cup) whole milk
• 1 dl (little over ⅓ cup) cream
• 2 teaspoons chicken base
• 6 dl (2½ cup) water
• salt and white pepper, to taste

Topping:

• 6-8 scallops
• 2 tablespoons dry chorizo or paprika sausage, chopped and fried
• 3 teaspoon chives, finely chopped
• a few drops truffle oil
• sunchoke chips (1-2 sunchokes)

Directions:

Soup:

Cook the sunchokes and potatoes in milk, cream, chicken paste and water until tender. Blend the soup mixture in batches. If using a traditional blender remove the middle-nob so the steam can escape and cover with a kitchen towel so you will not burn yourself on soup splatters. Puree until smooth. Season the soup with salt and white pepper. Keep the soup hot while you sear the scallops.

Sunchoke chips:

While the sunchokes and potatoes are cooking. Brush 1-2 sunchokes clean. Slice the sunchokes very thinly into a bowl of ice water. Heat grape seed oil in a saucepan. Pad dry 3-5 slices  and fry them in the hot oil until they turn golden. Let the excess oil drip off on some paper towel. Sprinkle with salt.

Scallops:

Heat some grape seed oil in a skillet and fry the scallops on high heat until golden on both sides. Just before removing scallops from the skillet, season them with salt and white pepper.

Pour the soup into a serving size bowl. Top the soup with 1-2 scallops  and the rest of the topping. 

Enjoy.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu

Tiramisu, meaning "pick me up," is one of the best desserts in the world. I love the creamy, sweet, coffee and Amaretto flavored goodness, and I hope you will enjoy my version of this classic dessert. 

Ingredients:

Syrup:

• 1 cup coffee, espresso or very strong coffee
• ½ cup Amaretto (almond liqueur)
• ½ teaspoon instant coffee

Mascarpone cream:

• 4 egg whites (pasteurized)
• 4 egg yolks (pasteurized)
• 150 g confectionary sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 500 g mascarpone

Other:

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• about 40 lady finger cookies 

Directions:

Syrup:

Brew the coffee and let it cool. Mix in the instant coffee and amaretto, set aside.

Mascarpone cream:

Beat the egg whites until stiff, using an electric mixer or stand mixer. Set aside. Beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. 

Whisk the mascarpone cheese until smooth. Mix in the egg yolk mixture and vanilla. Gently fold the stiff egg whites in the mixture with a spatula.

Pour the syrup into a small shallow dish. Dip each ladyfinger into the syrup for only 5 seconds. Letting the ladyfingers soak too long will cause them to fall apart. Place the soaked ladyfinger on the bottom of a baking dish. Make sure to fill the whole bottom, break the ladyfinger to make them fit. 

Spread ½ of the mascarpone mixture evenly over the ladyfingers. Arrange another layer of soaked ladyfingers and top with remaining mascarpone mixture. Sprinkle the cocoa powder  on top. 

Cover tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours.

Enjoy.

The Danish version:

Tiramisu

Ingredienser:

Sirup:

• 1 cup (240 ml) stærk kaffe eller espresso
• ½ cup (240 ml) Amaretto (mandellikør)
• ½ tsk frysetørret kaffepulver

Mascarpone cream:

• 4 æggehvider pasteuriserede
• 4 æggeblommer pasteuriserede
• 150 g flormelis
• 1 tsk vanille pasta (kornene fra ½ vanillestang)
• 500 g mascarpone

Yderligere:

• 1 spsk kakao (usødet)
• ca 40 ladyfingre, Savoiardi

Fremgangsmåde:

Sirup:

Bryg kaffen og lad den køle af. Bland kaffepulver og Amaretto i. 

Mascarpone cream:

Pisk æggehviderne stive, og sæt dem til side. Herefter piskes æggeblommerne og flormelisen indtil de er lysegule og luftige, ca 5 minutter.

Rør mascarponen så den bliver blød og cremet, det tager kun få sekunder. Bland æggeblommerne og vanillen i mascarponen. Til sidst vendes de stivpiskede æggehvider forsigtigt i cremen. 

Hæld siruppen i en flad skål. Dyp hver ladyfinger i siruppen, ikke længre end ca 5 sekunder ad gangen, da ladyfingrene eller vil gå i opløsning. Dæk bunden af fadet med dyppede ladyfingre. Hæld halvdelen af cremen over. Dyp resten af ladyfingrene i siruppen og læg dem oven på cremen. Fordel resten af cremen over dette andet lag ladyfingre. Drys et tyndt lag kakaopulver over tiramisu'en. 

Dæk tiramisuen til og lad den hvile i køleskabet i mindst 2 timer, men  gerne op til 8 timer. Tag Tiramisuen ud af køleskabet lige før servering.

Velbekomme

Chicken with Rhubarb

Chicken with Rhubarb

You know it is spring when you can get fresh Rhubarb. The sweet and sour vegetable, (it's a vegetable, not a fruit, even though you use it like a fruit), is good in cakes, in jams but also in ´food. 

As a child we had the rhubarb picked straight from the plant, washed and dipped in some sugar to snack on. If you discount the sugar, rhubarb is a healthy snack. 

This chicken dish is sweet and sour, and the creamy sauce make this really good with pasta.

Serves 4.

Ingredient:

• 6 chicken thighs ( I use boneless skinless thigh filets)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil or butter
• ¾ cup (180 ml) whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon chicken base
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon chili paste
• ¼ cup chives, chopped
• 300 g rhubarb, sliced

Directions:

Check the chicken thighs and remove any excess fat. Heat the olive oil and sear the chicken on both sides for about a minute. Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish.

In a bowl mix cream, honey, chicken base and chili paste. Sprinkle rhubarb and chives over the chicken and pour the cream mixture over it.

Roast the chicken in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Serve the dish with rice or fettuccine pasta. I normally serve this dish on a bed of baby spinach. 

Source Arla.dk