Pickled Herring

Pickled Herring

9th Day of Christmas.

Pickled herring is an acquired taste, but it is a staple at every holiday lunch parties in Denmark. The fresh herring is cleaned and salted before getting pickled, aka marinated in a sugary vinegar dressing. The flavoring can vary, but this is the most basic and classic version. 

Ingredients:

Herring:

• 200 g salted herring fillets
• 4-500 ml water

Pickling Solution:

• 150 g sugar
• 200 ml white vinegar
• 100 ml water
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 6 whole allspice
• 5 whole cloves
• 2 bay leave
• 10 whole black peppercorns

Directions:

Rinse the salted herring fillets, and place them in a large shallow pan where they need to soak in cold water for 12-18 hours. The fillets have to be completely covered in water, but you need to have as much water as you do herring. This will remove the worst saltiness from the herring. After 12 hours take a small bite to test the saltiness. The fish has to be more salty than you would like to eat, the saltiness will mix with the pickling solution.

 Put all the ingredients for the pickling solution in a large pan, and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes, and remove from heat, and let it cool completely. 

Place the herring fillets in a large glass jar and pour the cooled pickling solution over. Again you want to have as much pickling solution as herring. Let the herring pickle covered in the refrigerator for at least 3 days before serving. The herring will keep in the refrigerator 14-16 days.

Enjoy!

Lakse- og majschowder

Lakse- og majschowder

Nu er madbloggerudfordringen i gang igen. Denne gang er vi blevet udfordret i at tilberede en ret fra det salte køkken, der skal laves i en og samme gryde/skål/fad, en såkalde Alt-i-Én ret.

Nu vi er kommet ind i efteråret var det en udfordring jeg ikke ville lade gå min næse forbi. Men jeg glemte lige at tage højde for en efterårsferie hjem til Danmark, og det uundgåelige Jetlag. Og jeg må erkende kreativiteten lider under en omgang jetlag. Men jeg hoppede en tur tilbage i tiden, og fandt denne skønne chowder frem fra gemmerne. Jeg synes den passer perfekt her i efteråret, selvom efteråret tit giver os noget tungere mad, så er denne laksechowder fuld af smag og varmer dejligt.

Her er bidrag til MADBLOGGERUDFORDRINGEN#9

4-6 portioner

Ingredienser:

• 3 medium porrer
• 2 stilke bladselleri 
• 1 spsk smør
• 6 medium kartofler (ikke nogle der er melede)
• 3 majskolber, kun kernerne
• 450 g laks uden skin og ben, skåret i 5x5 cm tern
• 3 skiver røget laks 
• 2½ dl fløde, kan udelades hvis du vil have en sundere suppe
• 1¼ dl hvidvin
• 1 liter vand
• 2 terninger knorr fiske boullion 
• 1 laurbærblad
• 1½ tsk hvid peber, friskkværnet
• 1 citron, saft og skal
• frisk dild til pynt

Fremgangsmåde:

Skyl og skær porrerne tyndt. Skræl kartoflerne og skær dem i ca 2x2 cm tern.

Smelt smørret i en tykbundet gryde, og sauter porre og selleri i omkring 8-10 minutter, uden at brune dem. Tilsæt vinen efter de første par minutter, for at undgå bruningen.

Kom kartofler, hvid peber, laurbærblad, vand og boullionterningen i, og lad suppen komme til kogepunktet. Kog suppen i 10-14 minutter indtil kartoflerne er næsten møre. Fjern laurbærbladet.

Blend ca. ⅔ af suppen incl. kartofler og porre* eller brug en stavblender og blend den lidt, så der stadig er lidt grøntsagsstykker i suppen. Det gør suppen bliver dejlig cremet. Bland den blendede suppe med resterne af suppen og kartoflerne. Tilsæt fløde, revet citronskal og majsen, og kog suppen op. Tilsæt begge typer laks  til suppen. Lad suppen simre 3-5 minutter, indtil fisken er færdig. Laksestykkerne vil gå lidt i stykker, men det er helt fint. 

Smag suppen til med salt, peber og citronsaft.

Kom lidt dild oven på suppen, når den serveres.

Velbekomme!

*Pas på med at blende den varme suppe, da det kan give skoldninger, hvis låget hopper af. Man kan evt. tage det lille låg af blenderen og dække hullet til med et viskestykke, mens der blendes. 

The English version:

Salmon Corn Chowder

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 medium leeks
• 2 stalks celery 
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6 medium potatoes (Yukon Gold)
• 3 ears corn kernels
• 1 pound (450 g) salmon filet, skin and bones removed, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) cubes
• 3 thin slices smoked salmon, chopped
• 1 cup (2½ dl) cream, optional, leave out to get a healthier soup 
• ½ cup (1¼ dl) white wine
• 4 cups (1 liter) water
• 2 Knorr fish stock cubes 
• 1 bay leave
• 1½ teaspoons white pepper, freshly ground
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• fresh dill for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Thinly slice the leeks.  Peel potatoes and cut them into large dices. 

Melt the butter in a thick bottomed pan over medium heat. Sauté the leeks and celery for about 8-10 minutes, until soft, stirring occasionally.  Add the wine to prevent browning. 

Add potatoes, white pepper, bay leave, water, and/or stock. Bring the soup to a boil, and reduce the heat, and let the soup simmer for about 10-14 minutes until the potatoes is almost tender. Discard the bay leave.

Blend about ⅔ of the soup including (⅔) potatoes and leeks until smooth*. This makes the soup nice and creamy. Mix the blended soup with the unblended part, with the cream, lemon zest and the corn kernels. Bring the soup to a simmer and add  both types of salmon, and let it simmer for about 3-5 minutes until the fish is cooked. The big chunks will separate somewhat, but thats perfectly fine.

Season the soup with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Garnish with a few spring of fresh dill.

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.

Thai Meatballs with Shrimp

We really like thai-inspired food in our house. Mostly we have rice with the meal, but I needed a lighter meal, so I opted for a pearl barley/cabbage salad. 

The meatballs were really really tasty. They were very flavorful, a little on the spicy side, but you can control that with the amount of chili you add. If you need a new twist to your normal meatballs give these a try. 

Ingredients:

Thai Meatballs:

• 450 g (1 lbs) ground pork

• 150 g (⅓ lbs) raw shrimp (peeled and deveined), grounded

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

• 1 teaspoon grated ginger

• 1 jalapeño, minced

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 small handful cilantro leaves, chopped

• ½ lime, the juice from

• ½ teaspoon sesame oil

• ½ teaspoon red curry paste

• ½ teaspoon fish sauce

• salt and pepper to taste

• vegetable oil for frying

Salad:

• pearl barley, cooked according to instructions on package

• green cabbage, thinly sliced

• cilantro

• carrots, julienned

• chili pepper, julienned

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl. Heat a skillet with some vegetable oil and panfry a small test meatball. Taste the cooked test meatball and season the meatball mixture if it according to your taste.

Form the meatball with a spoon, and panfry them, until cooked through. Mix up the salad, and serve the meatballs on the salad with some satay sauce on the side.

Enjoy!

Salmon in Red Wine Sauce

Salmon in Red Wine Sauce

I had this dish at my best friends house, when we both lived back home in Denmark. Whenever I make this I can't help thinking about her cozy home, and her sweet sweet family. I really miss my Danish friend, that I grew up with and her family. I miss living an hour apart from her. Being there for each other whenever we needed each other. Even though we both live in the US, Texas feels like a world away from California. Love you M.

Normally you would use white wine with fish, but the salmon really pairs well with red wine too. I love making this for smaller dinner parties. It is fairly quick to make, and brings on bold flavors, and pairs perfectly with a couple of bottles of good red wine

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 salmon pieces, serving size, skin and bones removed

• ½ yellow onion, finely chopped

• 300 g mushrooms, quartered

• 1 fish stock cube, or a good splash of concentrated fish stock

• 500 ml red wine, the better the wine, the better the sauce

• salt and pepper to taste

• corn starch dissolved in cold water to thicken the sauce

Directions:

Put onions, mushrooms and fish stock, in a large sauté pan and place the salmon pieces on top. Pour in the red wine, so it almost covers the salmon. Put a lid on the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Turn down the heat and bring it to a slow simmer. Let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes until the fish is done, and has turned opaque pink. Be careful not to overcook the salmon.

Remove the salmon with a slotted spoon, careful not to brake the fish. Let the liquid come to a boil again and thicken the sauce with some corn starch dissolved in a little cold water. 

Serve the salmon with sautéed spinach and rice.  

Enjoy!

Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller

It took me 40 years to build up the nerve to try to eat an oyster. After the first bite, I was hooked. We just went back to Hog Island Oyster Farm, for yet another oyster fix. I love the down to earth feeling, when sitting at wooden picnic tables eating the scrumptious grilled oysters, while enjoying the beautiful Tomales Bay and the hills of Point Reyes. 

Like last time we brought some oysters back home, so we could try to make our own Oyster Rockefeller. 

Next time I might use less breadcrumbs and a little more cheese. But over all the oysters was so so good, I love Pernod's, anise taste.

This is my version inspired by Florence Tyler's recipe.

1 dozen (12 oysters)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 garlic cloves, minced

• ca 20 g (¼ cup) bread crumbs, I used Panko

• 1 shallots, chopped

• 225-250 g (1 cup) chopped fresh spinach

• 30 ml (1 fl oz) Pernod or dry white wine

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 tablespoons olive oil

• 25 g (¼ cup) grated gruyere cheese

• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

• 1 dozen oysters, on the half shell

• Rock salt

• Lemon wedges & hot sauce, for garnish

Directions:

Melt butter in a skillet over low heat. Infuse the butter with garlic by letting the garlic sauté in the butter for about 1 minute, remove from heat. Don’t let the garlic brown, and burn, his will make the garlic bitter. Place the bread crumbs in a bowl and mix in half of the garlic butter, olive oil, gruyere, parsley and season with salt and pepper, set aside. 

Add shallots and spinach to the remaining garlic butter. Cook until the spinach wilts and the shallots get translucent. Deglaze the pan with Pernod. Let the mixture cook down for a few minutes then season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, at let sit to cool.

Preheat the oven to 450 ℉ (230℃). Sprinkle a baking pan with a good amount of salt. Arrange the shucked oysters in the salt to steady them. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of the spinach mixture on each oyster followed by a spoonful of the bread crumb mixture.  Bake oysters for about 10-15 minutes until golden. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce.

I grilled my Oyster on the BBQ at about 450℉ for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!