Porchetta on the BBQ

Porchetta - just of the BBQ

I made porchetta before I started with this blog, but I knew I had to make again and again and again. Like a Danish pork roast aka flæskesteg, the porchetta has the crackling pork skin aka flæskesvær, that makes this dish so perfect. The crispy and salty skin goes perfect with the soft juicy pork seasoned with all kinds of goodness. 

If you can get hold of a meaty pork belly and make the porchetta it might be the best BBQ meal you've ever had. But if the pork belly is mostly fat, it won't be that great. Well, you still have excellent  cracklings.

This time I was lucky to find a nice piece of pork belly in my local Whole Foods Market. It was so meaty, with only thin lines of fat between the meat. This called for a porchetta, even though it would mean a late dinner for us.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 pounds (2½-3 kg) Pork belly with skin on

• ½ cup (1 dl) breadcrumbs, fresh and finely chopped

• 1 cup chopped parsley

• 1 large onion, chopped

Spice rub:

• 2 lemons, zest of

• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tablespoon whole black pepper, cracked

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and cracked

• 4 bay leaves

• 2 sprigs rosemary

• salt - quite a lot

Equipment:

• Grill Rotisserie

Directions:

Let the pork belly sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

Make a spice blend from lemon zest, garlic, rosemary, toasted fennel seeds, bay leaves, salt and pepper.

Try to roll up the pork belly, and remove the part of the skin, that will be rolled up inside the porchetta. If you don’t do that, you’ll have a chewy rubbery piece of skin inside your porchetta. 

Place the pork belle skin-side down on your kitchen counter. Spread the spice rub, onions, parsley and breadcrumbs. 

Roll up the pork belly tight, and tie the roast crosswise at 1-inch (2½ cm) intervals with butcher's string. 

Porchetta

Insert the grill rotisserie, spear into the center of the roast. Rub the porchetta with olive oil and a good amount of salt. Let the porchette roast for 2-4 hours until the skin is chrisp and dark golden brown, and the center temperature is about 140℉ (60℃). Use indirect heat.

Let the Porchetta rest for about 20 minutes before serving.

Slice the porchetta and serve in a hamburger bun and/or with a good salad.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Porchetta on the BBQ

Ingredienser:

• 2½-3 kg svineslag

• 1 dl hakket daggammelt lyst brød uden skorpe

• 2 dl hakket persille

• 1 stor løg, hakket

Krydderiblanding:

• 2 citroner, skallen fra

• 3-4 fed hvidløg, pressede

• 1 spsk hel sort peber, meget groft kværnet

• 1 tsk fennikel frø, tørristede og groft kværnede

• 4 laurbærblade

• 2 kviste rosemarin

• salt - Ret meget

Udstyr:

• Roterende grillspyd

Fremgangsmåde:

Lad svineslaget ligge et par timer på køkkenbordet, så det opnår stuetemperatur.

Bland ingredienserne til krydderiblandingen.

Rul svineslaget og fjern den del af  sværen som vil være rullet ind i porchettaen. Denne del af sværen vil blive sej og gummiagtig, hvis den steger med. 

Læg svineslaget med sværen nedad og spred krydderiblandingen, løg, persille og brød på kødet. 

Rul svineslaget stramt op som en stor rullepølse og snør den stramt, med ca. 2½ cm imellem snorene.

Spid stegen med det store grilspyd, og sæt den på grillen og motoren. Smør porchettaen ind med olie og en del salt. Steg porchettaen i ca. 2 timer indtil sværen er brun og sprød, og kødet har en center temperatur på ca 60℃. Brug indirekte varme.

Lad Porchettaen hvile i ca. 20 minutter inden serveringen.

Skær porchettaen og server den i en burgerbolle og/eller med en god salat.

Velbekomme!

Remoulade

Remoulade

Remoulade is a danish condiment used on hotdogs, open-faced sandwiches, for fried fish and as a dipping sauce for french fries. They also have remoulade in France, but it's not the same semi-sweet sauce.

It is near impossible to find a substitute for remoulade, so most danes import remoulade whenever they visit Denmark.

Here is my take on a homemade Remoulade:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup creme fraiche or sour cream
• 3 tablespoons piccalilly
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon chives, finly chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1-2 teaspoon sugar
• white pepper
• a pinch turmeric (optional)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients, and put the remoulade in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Season the remoulade with salt, sugar and white pepper.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Remoulade

Ingredienser:

• 1 dl creme fraiche 18%
• 3 spsk piccalilly
• 1 spsk mayonnaise
• 1 spsk fintklippet purløg
• ¼ tsk groft salt
• 1-2 tsk sukker
• friskkværnet hvidpeber
• evt. lidt gurkemeje, for farven, 

Fremgangsmåde:

Rør alle ingredienserne sammen. Stil remouladen tildækket i køleskabet i mindst 30 minutter. Smag remuladen til med salt, sukker og peber.

Velbekomme!

Lasagne Soup

Lasagne Soup

Lasagne is the ultimate comfort food for me, so why not make the dish into a yummy hearty soup?

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound (450 g) ground beef
• 1 large onions, chopped 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup red wine (optional)
• 2 bay leaves
• 5-6 cups (1½ l) Beef stock (I used leftovers from my beef soup)
• 1 handful pasta (I used  XX)
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Topping: 

• 1 cup (240 ml) sour cream or creme fraiche
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch of freshly ground pepper
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• shredded mozzarella cheese 

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the beef, breaking it up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. 

Add onions and cook until softened, then add garlic, and spices. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and heat it through, until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves and beef stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. The longer you let it cook, the deeper the flavors become. 

Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Right before serving stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the topping. In a small bowl combine all but the mozzarella, and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup in bowls with a dollop of the topping and som sheredded mozzarella on top.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Lasagnesuppe

Ingredienser:

• 2 tsk olivenolie
• 450 g hakket oksekød
• 1 stort løg, groft hakket 
• 4 fed hvidløg, presset
• 2 tsk oregano
• 1 tsk timian
• 1 tsk basilikum
• 1 tsk rosmarin
• ½ tsk chiliflager
• 2 spsk konc. tomatpuré
• 1 dåse hakkede tomater 
• 2½ dl rødvin (behøves ikke, men giver mere dybde i smagen)
• 2 laurbærblade
• 1½ l okseboullion (jeg brugte resterne af min oksekødssuppe)
• 1 håndfuld pasta 
• 1 dl hakket frisk basilikum
• salt og friskkværnet peber, smag retten til

Topping: 

• 240 ml creme fraiche
• 1 dl friskrevet parmesan 
• ¼ tsk salt
• 1 knsp friskkværnet peber
• ½ dl hakket frisk basilikum
• revet mozzarella

Directions:

Varm olien i en tykbundet gryde, og brun det hakkede oksekød heri. Sørg for at kødet bliver findelt, mens det brunes. Tilsæt løg, hvidløg og krydderierne, og steg i et par minutter indtil løgene er blevet bløde. Tilsæt tomatpureen og varm den igennem, til den får en rødbrun farve, Dette tage lidt af syren i tomatpureen.

Tilsæt de hakkede tomater, rødvin, laurbærblade og oksebouillonen. Lad suppen simre i omkring 30 minutter. Jo længre tid den koger, jo dybere bliver smagen.

Kom den ukogte pasta i suppen og kog indtil den er al dente.  Kom den friske basilikum i suppen lige før serveringen. Smag suppen til med salt og peber. 

Mens pastaen koger i suppen, mix toppingen. Bland alt undtagen mozzarellaen  og smag det til med salt og peber.

Server suppen i skåle med en klat topping og revet mozzarella på toppen

Velbekomme!

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!

Pita Bread

Pita Bread 

Pita bread stuffed/filled with a good salad is a perfect lunch or dinner a hot summer day. But this pita bread tastes great with a good spread like tzatziki and a glass of red wine.

Ingredients:

• 30 g live yeast (2 teaspoons dry yeast)
• 350 g water, finger-warm
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 500 g all-purpose flour

Directions:

Dissolve the live yeast in the water. If you use dry yeast, add some sugar to the water and wait a few minutes till the yeast start to foam. 

Add the salt to half the flour, and mix it in the yeast/water mixture. Add the rest of the flour a little at a time, until the dough is elastic but not sticky. You might not need all the four. Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes on medium on a stand mixer. 

Let the dough rise covered for about 1 hour, until the dough is doubled in volume.

Pour the dough unto a flour dusted workplace. Cut the dough up into 6-8 parts, and roll them into balls.

Preheat the oven to 500℉ (250℃), with a pizza stone in.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchmentpaper. 

Roll each ball into a flat circle and leave the breads to rise on the baking sheets, covered for about 10 minutes.

Bake the Pita breads for about 7-9 minutes until they are golden brown and puffed up as small pillows. Let thew Pita's cool on a wire rack, covered with a kitchen towel.

Enjoy!

6-8 stk

Pitabrød

Ingredienser:

• 30 g gær (2 tsk tørgær)
• 350 g lunkent vand
• 1 tsk salt
• 500 g hvedemel

Fremgangsmåde:

Opløs gæren i vandet. Bruger du tørgær, så kom en smule sukker i og vent til det skummer.

Kom salten i halvdelen af melet og ælt det i gærblandingen. Kom resten af melet i lidt ad gangen, indtil dejen er smidig uden at være klistret. Det er ikke sikkert at du skal bruge al melet.

Sæt dejen til hævning i omkring 1 time, indtil dejen er doblet i volumen. 

Hæld dejen ud på et meldrysset bord, og del dejen i 6-8 lige store dele. Rul hver del til en bolle.

Opvarm ovnen til 500℉ (250℃) evt. med en bagesten i. Kom bagepapir på et par bageplader.

Rul hver bolle ud til en flad cirkel. Læg brødene på bagepladerne og lad den hæve tildækket i ca 10 minutter.

Bag brødene i 7-9 minutter indtil de er lysebrune og pustede op. Afkøl brødene på en bagerist med et viskestykke over.

Velbekomme!