Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup

Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup

Crispy brussels sprouts - who knew? I first had them New Year's Eve, when we dined at Manresa, a 2 stared Michelin restaurant, on opening night for Manresa after a dreadful fire in July 2014. The crispy brussels sprouts was served on top of a porcini mushroom dish. I really liked the texture and taste. So when I browsed for ideas for a garlic soup and stumbled upon this recipe for garlic-potato soup at the blog How sweet it is  with crispy brussels sprouts on top, I knew I had to try it. 

The soup was a hit in my house, and will be on the menu again soon. 

Served 6-8.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 onion, diced

• 3 pounds (1.3 kg) russet potatoes, peeled and diced

• 5 cups (1.25 liter) chicken stock

• 4 roasted garlic bulbs

• 200 ml heavy whipping cream

• salt & pepper to taste

Brussels sprouts crisps:

• 10 brussels sprouts, clean outer layers only

• 750 ml vegetables oil, for frying

• salt and pepper for seasoning

Directions:

Heat oil and butter in a large pot. Cook onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and enough stock to cover them - I used 5 cups (1.25 liter). Bring it to a simmer, put a lid on and cook until the potatoes are tender and starts to fall apart, about 20 minutes. 

Crispy brussels sprouts:

Remove the outer leaves from the brussels sprouts, carefully clean and dry them, set aside.

Heat vegetable oil to 325-350 ℉ (165-180℃) in a pot. (use a candy thermometer to measure the temperature.) Add the brussels sprouts leaves a few at a time and fry until crispy, about 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Transfer the soup to a blender,* work in batches. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the blender. Puree the soup until totally creamy and smooth. Return the soup to the pot and gently heat it with the cream. Season the soup with salt and pepper. 

Serve the soup in bowls with the crispy brussels spouts on top and sprinkled with red chili flakes.

Enjoy! 

*Be careful when blending hot liquids, it can make the lid pop off, and you may risk getting serious burns on you skin. You can remove the small cap on you blender lid and cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel. You need to hold on to the lid and towel. This will let the steam from the hot soup escape and avoid the lid from popping off. You can also get blenders like the Vitamix, where you can blend hot liquids, without any hassle.

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!

Dinner Rolls with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Dinner Rolls with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I really love to bake bread. I love the feeling of the soft bouncy dough. The sweet smell of fresh baked bread makes me think of my mom. She baked the best birthday rolls/buns and a great whole milk bread (sødmælksbrød), sadly the recipe are lost forever, but I can still remember the smell.   

Making bread can be a daunting project, but with a little preparation it's surely manageable. This recipe is fairly straight forward. The stand mixer is doing all the hard work. These rolls can be changed up. Add your favorite herbs, leave out the sun-dried tomatoes or add some chopped olives. The options are endless.

Ingredients:

• 50 g live yeast or 4 teaspoons dry yeast 
• ½ teaspoon sugar - if using dry yeast
• 600 ml warm water (when using live yeast, not hotter than 38℃)
• 900 g bread flour (save 25-50 g to mix with the sun-dried tomato)
• 1 teaspoon (7 g) salt
• 1 tablespoon flat-leaved parsley, minced
• 60 g sun-dried tomatoes, minced
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Sprinkles:

• Egg wash
• coarse salt
• puppy seeds
• sunflower seeds   

Directions: 

In a large bowl (the one for the stand mixer) dissolve (live yeast) sprinkle (dry yeast) over the warm water. If using dry yeast, add ½ teaspoon sugar, this will help to wake up the yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, and stir until just combined. Let the dough rest for about 20-30 minutes. This lets the flour absorb all the water completely, and helps activate the natural enzymes in the flour, and improves the gluten development in the dough.

Chop/mince the tomatoes and parsley and mix it with the reserved flour.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the dough and knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until elastic, add more flour if the dough gets to sticky. 

Let the dough rise for about 60 minutes or until doubled in size. 

Pour the dough unto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in 16-18 balls. Place the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet ½-1-inch apart in a circle pattern. The balls will grow into each other while rising and baking. This will give the rolls the soft sides.

Let the rolls rise for another 30-40 minutes, until the rolls are “grown” together. 

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃). Place a baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven. Place 2 very wet kitchen towels on the baking sheets. This will fill the oven with steam, while heating.

Brush the rolls with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt, puppy seeds and or sunflower seeds. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until deep golden brown.

Let the rolls cool on a wire rack. 

Serve the rolls with dinner.

Enjoy!

Habanero Kransekage - Habanero Almond Cake

Habanero Kransekage - Habanero Almond Cake

Happy New Year.

Thank you for visiting my blog. It’s has been a fun year for me with blog. I learned that I do not control what happens after I post. And I do not know what will be a hit and what will be a miss. One thing I do know is, the quality of the photos is getting better. My husband has learned a lot about light, and how to use it.Thank you Michael for helping me, you are the best.

I hope you will keep visiting my blog, and I promise to keep coming up with new recipes and giving old classics a new twist.

I look forward to 2015 and to face all the new challenges this year will bring.  

From my family to yours, have a fantastic 2015, filled with love, light and laughter.

Cheers.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

Kransekage: 

• 50 g almonds blanched
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg white
• 250 g marzipan (I used Ren Rå, a 60% almond paste)
• habanero chili (be cautious with this chili, it is very powerful, taste a teeny-tiny bit to determine how much to use)

Icing:

• confectionary sugar
• water, hot
• orange food coloring

Directions:

Put almonds and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it, minced habanero and the almond/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Gently press the top, so you get a peak.  

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Make the icing with small amount of hot water. You want the icing to be a thick paste. Pipe the icing across the top, using a piping bag with a small round tip.

Enjoy the kransekage with a glass of sweet bubbles.

Dungeness Crab Soup

Dungeness Crab Soup

#SpisLokalt

Madblokkerudforfringen nr. 6

Spis lokalt giver jo meget god mening. For mig giver det god mening at spise det der er i sæson, lige meget hvor i verden du bor. Vi ved jo alle at en tomat smager bedst når den tages solvarm af planten. Eller at de bedste jordbær er dem man selv plukker. Men vi har vænnet os til at man til enhver tid kan få både tomater og jordbær, men det betyder at vi får frugter der ikke smager af ret meget, man kan foranlediges til at kalde dem kønsløse. Hvad værre er, vi belaster miljøet, når fødevarerne skal transporteres over lange afstande.

Da jeg flyttede til Californien, skulle jeg vænne mig til at sæsonen for frisk frugt og grønt blev udvidet, men også at jeg ikke længere kunne få fat i ting jeg før havde kunnet få. Jeg savner hyldeblomster, hyldebær, solbær og stikkelsbær. Men samtidig fik jeg foræret et kæmpe udbud af blandt andet citrusfrugter, som jeg slet ikke kendte til. Det er stadig en stor luksus for mig at kunne gå ud i haven og plukke appelsiner og citroner til husbehov det meste af året. 

Photo by Kelvin Yue/iStock / Getty Images

En anden ting jeg lærte var at sæsonen for dungeness crabs starter sidst i november, lige omkring Thanksgiving. Denne krabbe er en gudespise. Jeg plejer at købe dem forkogte i Whole Foods Marked, hvor de gør dem klar til servering. Når jeg kommer hjem damper jeg dem, til de er rygende varm, og serverer dem med koldt smør, brød og en god tør hvidvin.

Men der er jo ikke meget ved at lave et indlæg med det, så jeg valgte at lave en krabbesuppe, lidt a la en hummersuppe, bare knap så tyk. Jeg har valgt at bruge californsk olivenolie, Dungeness crabs, Organic Straus Heavy Whipping Cream (fløde) og en pinot grigio fra vores lokale vingård Picchetti. 

Til 6 personer som forret.

Ingredientser:

• 4 Dungeness krabber (Jeg brugte 3 hele krabber og skallerne fra 1)

• 3 spsk olivenolie

• 3 fed hvidløg, hakket

• 2 gulerødder, hakket

• 2 stilke blegselleri

• 1 fennikel, hakket

• 3 kviste frisk estragon

• 3 spsk konc. tomatpure

• 50 ml cognac

• ½ flaske tør hvidvin

• 500 ml fiske boullion, eller vand og en boullionterning

• 300-450 ml piskefløde

• friskpresset citronsaft , efter smag

• cayennepeber, efter smag

• salt, efter smag

Fremgsangsmåde:

Fjern kløerne og kødet fra krabberne, og sæt det i køleskabet indtil lige før serveringen.

Varm olien godt op i en stor gryde. Kom krabbeskallerne i og steg dem ved høj varme i 3-4 minutter. Tilsæt gulerødder, selleri, tomatpure, hvidløg, porre, fennikel og estragon og forsæt med at sautere i endnu 10 minutter. Tilsæt cognacen og antænd den. (Jeg gør dette udendørs, da jeg ikke ønsker at have brand i køkkenet.) Når flammerne er dødet ned tilsættes hvidsvin og fiskeboullion og evt lidt vand, så det dækker krabberne. Lad suppen simre i 25 minutter, sluk for varmen og lad den trække i yderligere 10 minutter, før suppen sies. Jeg sier suppen af 2 gange. Først igennem en pastasigte og derefter igennem en mere finmasket sigte.

Smag på suppen. Hvis du ønsker en mere koncentreret smag, så kog suppen ind. Husk at suppen stadig skal have en del fløde, så det skal være en kraftig suppe.

I mellemtiden koges fløden ind til det halve. Tilsæt fløden til suppen og smag den til med salt, cognac, cayenne og citroinsaft.

Server suppen i opvarmede tallerkener henover en krabbeklo og lidt krabbekød. (jeg damper kløerne og kødet i et par minutter før serveringen).

Velbekomme!

The English version: 

Dungeness Crab Soup

Serves 6 as appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 4 Dungeness crabs (I used 3 and shells from 1, all pre-cooked)

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• 1 fennel, bulb only, chopped

• 3 sprigs fresh tarragon

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 50 ml cognac

• ½ bottle dry white wine

• 500 ml fish stock or water and 1 bouillon cube

• 300-450 ml heavy whipping cream

• freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

• cayenne, to taste

• salt, to taste

Directions:

Remove the claws from the crabs and remove the crab meat from the shells. Refrigerate claws and meat, until serving.

Heat the oil in a large stockpot. Put the shells in the hot oil and brake them with a wooden spoon. Sauté the crab pieces for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, tomato paste, garlic, leeks, fennel and tarragon and continue to sauté for another 10 minutes. Pour in the cognac and  ignite it. (I do this outside, to prevent a fire in the kitchen.) When the flames have subsided, pour in the white wine and enough fish stock or water to cover. Boil the soup for 25 minutes, remove from heat, let sit to rest for 10 minutes before straining the soup. I strained the soup in two steps. First straining through a colander, removing the large pieces, and then straining through a fine-meshed strainer. Taste the soup. If you want a more concentrated soup, reduce the soup, by simmering it, until you have the desired taste. Remember the soup will be diluted by the cream, so you need a strong base soup.

Meanwhile boil the cream until it has been reduced by half. Add the reduced cream to the base soup. Season the soup with salt, cognac, cayenne and lemon juice. 

Serve the soup in heated bowls over some crab meat and a claw. (Heat the meat and claw by steaming it for a few minutes.)

Enjoy!