Cold Asparagus Soup

Cold Asparagus Soup

I have always known an asparagus soup as a white hot creamy soup. And there is nothing wrong with the classic soup, not at all. But for me it's more a soup for the winter months. The fine new delicate white asparagus you're able to get in the stores or farmers markets in the spring has a sweet and delicate taste, which is perfect in a cool soup like this. 

Serves 10 as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches white asparagus, washed, peeled and sliced, save the tops for later
• 3 leeks, only the white part, washed and sliced
• 750 ml water
• 1 tablespoon chicken paste (I use Better than Bouillon*)
• ¾ cup (1½ dl) white wine, use a non oaky one
• ½ cup (1 dl) dry sherry (I used a cooking sherry)
• 227 g creme fraiche (I used Cowgirl Creamy Creme Fraiche)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt to taste

Toppings:

• dry chorizo, thinly sliced and fried to crispy
• asparagus tops (save some of the tops, and blanch them briefly)

Directions:

Bring water, chicken paste, wine and sherry to a simmer in a medium pot over high heat. Add asparagus and leeks and cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 8-12 minutes, for thin to medium thick asparagus. Transfer asparagus and leeks to a blender with a small amount of the liquid. Add the creme fraiche and some of the lemon juice, and blend until smooth. Add more of the cooking liquid if the blended soup is too thick.  Season the soup with salt and lemon juice.

In the leftover cooing liquid, give the asparagus tops a quick blanching. (Bring to a boil, and quickly cool down in ice water.) Put the tops in the refrigerator.

Chill the soup in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Just before serving fry up the chorizo until crispy.

Serve the soup in small glass bowls with a small amount of topping.

Enjoy.

* I use Better Than Bouillon pastes in my dishes. I think it has a better flavor than the dry bouillon cubes or other brand name stocks. And I think that the paste has seen real ingredients like chicken, beef and vegetables. But I do believe that du get the best flavor by using your own homemade stock. But to be honest, I rarely have time to make homemade stocks. 

Inspired by "Spise med Price"

The Danish version:

Kold aspargessuppe

10 portioner som forret. 

Ingredienser:

• 2 Bundter hvide asparges, vaskede, skrællede, gem toppene til senere.
• 3 porrer, kun den hvide del, vaskede og skivede
• 750 ml vand
• 1 spsk kyllinge pasta eller en hønsebouillonterning
• 1½ dl hvidvin
• 1 dl tør sherry 
• 227 g creme fraiche (minimum 18%, men helst 38%)
• 2 spsk citronsaft
• salt efter smag

Toppings:

• chorizo, tyndskåret og stegt sprød
• aspargestoppe (blancheret kort)

Fremgangsmåde:

Kog vand, bouillon, vin og sherry op i en gryde sammen med de skrællede asparges (minus hovederne) og porrer. Kog indtil aspargesne er møre, men stadig har lidt bid. ca.  8-12 minutter, alt efter tykkelse. Kom de kogte porrer og asparges over i en blender sammen med lidt af kogelagen, creme fraiche og lidt af citronsaften. Blend det indtil du får en jævn og ensartet suppe. Tilsæt mere af kogelagen, hvis suppen bliver for tyk. Smag suppen til med salt og citronsaft.

I den overskydende kogelage blancheres aspargeshovederne. (De bringes i kog og køles hurtigt ned i isvand.) Kom de blancherede hoveder i køleskabet indtil de skal bruges.

Afkøl suppen i køleskabet i minimum 3 timer før servering, eller natten over.

Lige før suppen skal serveres steges tynde skiver af choizoen til den bliver sprød.

Server suppen i små glasskåle eller glas, og kom lidt aspargeshoveder og choizo på toppen.

Velbekomme!

Rye Bread made with Beer and Sourdough

Rye Bread

I wanted to try another way to make rye bread. Maybe adding beer and having less all-purpose flour could make a great bread fantastic?

Ingredients:

Sourdough Leaven:

• 200 g sourdough/starter (the starter you keep in the refrigerator and feed every other week) 
• 400 g water
• 125 g rye flour
• 135 g all-purpose flour

Dough:

• 7 dl water
• 3 dl sourdough leaven
• 3 dl dark malted beer
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon syrup

• a splash coloring/kulør - optional

• 175 g cracked rye berries
• 175 g rye berries
• 50 g flax seeds
• 50 g sunflower seeds
• 500 g dark rye flour
• 100 g all-purpose flour

Sprinkles:

• sunflower, sesame or pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Day 1, morning: 

Feed the starter to make the leaven. The leaven is ready to use when the leaven is bubbling and smells like beer - after about 8 hours at room temperature. Cover the leaven with a clean towel. 

The leaven is ready to use when a tablespoon of the leaven floats in a cup of warm water.

Day 1, night: 

Soak the berries and seeds in 5 dl hot water, and let it sit for about 30 minutes, until it becomes finger warm

Save about 200 g leaven and put it aside in a sealed container. This will be your sourdough starter for the next batch of bread. It will keep without feeding for about 14 days in the refrigerator. 

Add leaven, water and beer to the soaked berries and seed. Add the salt, coloring and the flour to the dough and mix thoroughly, to make sure all the flour is fully incorporated. Cover the bowl with a large plate. Let the mixture ferment overnight at room temperature.

Day 2, morning: 

Pour the dough into two rye bread baking pans. (I use Eva Professionel Rye Bread Tin which holds 3,3 liters).

Let the bread rise for about an hour, covered with a clean towel. The longer you let it rise, the more sour the bread becomes.

Poke a few holes with a cake tester or knitting needle, to prevent the crust from rising and cracking.

Brush the bread with water and sprinkle with your choice of seeds.

Place the baking form in a preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes at 350°F. 

Turn off the heat, remove the breads from the baking forms, spray with water on all sides and put them back in the oven, directly on the rack, for about an hour while the oven cools.

Take the breads out and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel. This will help softening the crust. Let breads cool completely.

It's best to wait cutting the bread until the next day. 

Enjoy the bread with your favorite deli meat or cheese. 

Accidental Morning Rolls

Accidental Morning Rolls

Not everything turns out the way I expect in my kitchen. The other night I had planned to make pizza, so I mixed the dough in the afternoon, and left it to rise in a bowl on the kitchen counter. By the time I had to  shape the pizzas, the dough had not fermented at all. The dough felt soft, so there would be no homemade pizza that night. 

I didn't want to throw out the dough, so I covered the bowl, and placed it in the refrigerator. I actually forgot all about it until 36 hours later. The dough had fermented for sure. It had 2 big bubbles, the size of golf balls, on the top of the dough. 

I shaped some rustic rolls and baked them, and they turned out great!

I'm definitely going to make the same mistake again. I really liked the flavor and texture of my accidental morning rolls.

Ingredients:

• 625 g all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (4½ dl) water 
• ⅕ cup (½ dl) olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 g live yeast or ½ teaspoon dry yeast

Directions: 

Dissolve the yeast in the water. If using dry yeast, sprinkle a few pinches sugar in the water too. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough for about 5 minutes in a stand mixer. (Knead a little longer if kneading by hand). The dough should now be somewhat sticky and elastic. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 36 hours.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit for at least 1 hour. 

Preheat you oven and Pizza stone to 500℉ (260℃). 

Pour some rice flour and rolled spelt on the kitchen counter and gently scrape the dough out onto it. Cut the dough in 8-9 pieces and put them on a plate sprinkled with some cornflour, so the rolls don't stick.

Place the rolls on the pizza stone and let them bake for 15-20 minutes.

Let rolls cool before serving.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Hjemmelavede boller ved et uheld

Nogle gange går det bare ikke som præsten prædiker. Jeg ville lave en pizzadej, men den hævede slet ikke som den plejede. Dejen blev sendt til time-out i køleskabet. 36 timer senere var dejen klar til at blive "Italienske" rundstykker.

Ingredienser:

• 625 g hvedemel
• 4½ dl vand
• ½ dl oliven olie
• 2 tsk salt
• 6 g almindelig gær eller ½ tsk tørgær 

Fremgangsmåde: 

Opløs gæren i vand. Hvis du bruger tørgær, tilsæt lidt sukker. Kom resten af ingredienserne i og ælt dejen i røremaskinen i ca. 5 minutter. Hvis du ælter dejen i hånden, skal du ælte i længere tid. Dejen skal ende med at være blød, elastisk og lettere klisteret. 

Dæk skålen til og lad dejen hæve i ca. 36 timer i køleskabet. 

Tag dejen ud af køleskabet og lad den stå ved stuetemperatur i mindst 1 time.

Forvarm ovn og bagesten til 260℃.

Vend dejen ud på et bord drysset med rismel og speltflager. Skær dejen i 8-9 stykker, og sæt dem på en tallerken drysset med majsmel, så de ikke sætter sig fast. Placer bollerne på bagestenen, og bag dem i 15-20 minutter.

Velbekomme!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site.

Chocolate Espresso Cake

Chocolate Espresso Cake

My husband is a chocoholic, and I wanted to please him with a great cake after a hard day at work. This cake is not overly chocolaty, it has a good balanced taste with the addition of espresso coffee.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 225 g all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 30 g cocoa powder, unsweetened

• 1 pinch salt

• 175 g brown sugar

• 75 g sugar

• 250 g butter

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

• 4 eggs

• 150 g (1½ dl) whole milk

• ½ cup (1 dl) cold espresso

• butter and sugar for the pan

Frosting:

• 325 g confectionary sugar

• ¼-½ cup cold espresso

Topping:

• a few coffee beans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 355℉ (180℃).

Butter the pan and sprinkle sugar into the pan, so it get all over the inside of the pan. pour out the excess sugar.

Sift flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt together, in a bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, mix in the vanilla paste. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix just until fully incorporated. Fold in alternately dry ingredients and milk. Finally fold the espresso in. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake it in the oven for about 45 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan. When cooled, mix the frosting, and frost the cake. Decorate the cake with coffee beans and serve it with a good cup of coffee.

Enjoy!

Source: Claus Meyer.

The Danish version:

 Chokolade/Espressokage

Ingredienser:

Kage:

• 225 g hvedemel 

• 1 tsk bagepulver 

• 30 g kakaopulver, uden sukker

• 1 knsp salt

• 175 g brun farin

• 75 g sukker

• 250 g smør

• 1 tsk vanille pasta, eller kornene fra ½ vanillestang

• 4 æg

• 1½ dl sødmælk 

• 1 dl kold espressokaffe

• smør og sukker til formen

Glasur:

• 325 g flormelis

• ½-1 dl kold espressokaffe

Topping:

• lidt kaffebønner

Fremgangsmåde:

Opvarm ovnen til 180℃.

Smør formen med smør og drys den med sukker.  Hæld det overskydende sukker ud.

Sigt mel, bagepulver, kakao of salt i ned i en skål.

Rør smør og sukker sammen til det er let og skummende. Tilsæt æggene et ad gangen og derefter vanillien. Rør lidt af melet i og herefter mælken.  Bland resten af melet forsigtigt i dejen. Til sidst fold den kolde espresso i.

Hæld dejen i den smurte form, og bag kagen i ca. 45 minutter indtil en kødnål/strikkepind, der stikkes ned i kagen, kommer ud uden dej på.

Lad kagen køle af i formen. Når kagen er kold, blandes glasuren. Kom glasuren på toppen af kagen. Drys lidt kaffebønner på toppen.

Server kagen med en god kop kaffe.

Velbekomme!

Asparagus with Parmesan

Asparagus with Parmesan

My first memory of asparagus is from my parents vacation house. They had a big asparagus bush, in the middle of one of the flower beds. I remember my mom, breaking of some of the small asparagus shoots just out of the ground. There would only be a few shoots every month, and my parents ate them like a snack, only washed and completely raw. 

I don't remember having asparagus for dinner other than the canned version, but maybe we did.

As adult I really love asparagus, it's a really easy side to prepare, whether you grill, boil or eat them raw in a salad.

This is one of my favorite ways to cook asparagus. The cream gets infused with the taste of asparagus, and the salty/nutty parmesan completes the dish. Actually if you just add some boiled fresh pasta, you can call it dinner.

What are you looking for when you buy asparagus?

Look for spears that are nice and firm, best of all is if you can find locally grown asparagus in season. Enjoy asparagus the day you purchase them, or wrap the bases in a damp paper towel, place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for up to a few days.

I like the thinner asparagus, but if you are going to grill them, I would go for the thicker ones, so they won’t dry out, while grilling.

The most delicate part of the asparagus is the top of the spear.

How to prepare asparagus for cooking

When you prepare your asparagus for cooking, there are 2 schools. Either you cut the ends off and/or peel them, or you snap off the ends. I like to snap the ends off. 

Hold each stalk about half way down its length and at the thick end. Now bend it until it snaps. Discard the  little stub, or use it for flavor in a soup or casserole. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch green asparagus
• butter or oil, just to cover the bottom of the skillet
• 100 ml whipping cream
• ¼-½ cup (1 dl) parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions:

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and cook for about 5 minutes, turning asparagus to ensure even cooking. The asparagus will turn more vibrant green. Ad the cream, and cook it down to about half. Add the half of the parmesan, and stir until the cheese is melted. Plate the asparagus and sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

The Danish version

Asparges med Parmesan

Til 4 personer

Ingredienser:

• 1 bundt grønne asparges
• smør eller olie, kun nok til at dække bunden af panden
• 1 dl piskefløde
• 1 dl parmesan, revet

Directions:

Smelt smørret på panden og steg aspargesne i ca 5 minutter, vend den undervejs, så de ale bliver tilberedt samtidig. Aspargesne bliver mere klargrønne af opvarmningen. Tilsæt fløden, og kog den ind til ca. halvdelen. Tilsæt så halvdelen af osten. Rør rundt i "saucen" indtil osten er smeltet. Server Aspargesen med resten af osten drysset over.

Velbekomme!