Tomato Risotto

Tomato Risotto

Risotto has been a thing I have been reluctant to cook. I have always been convinced that it was a difficult dish to master. But after I have been cooking risotto a few times, I can't see what I was afraid of.  Somehow I might have been cooking risotto for many years. Well, not risotto, risotto. But the classic Danish dish Risengrød, is arborio rice cooked in milk, a sweet milky risotto sprinkled with cinnamon. And I have had Risengrød numerous times through my childhood.

This risotto embodies some of my favorite ingredients, tomatoes, wine, parmesan and basil, And of cause is was delisious. 

Inspired by Martha Shulmans Tomato Basil Risotto.

Serves 2-3 (4-6 as an appetizer)

Ingredients:

• 700 ml chicken stock, or vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 225 g tomato, grated (2 large tomatoes)
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only
• 130 g arborio rice
• 100 ml white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
• 2 tomatoes, without seeds, and diced
• ¾ dl (about ¼ cup) fresh grated parmesan
• 5 basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:

Grate the parmesan, set aside

Grate the tomatoes. Cut the tomato in half at the equator. Grate on the coarse side of a box grater, with the cut side of the tomato up against the grater. Watch your hands. Set aside.

Slice the basil, set aside. 

Dice onion, and mince the garlic.

Heat the stock, and keep it warm.

Heat olive oil in a wide sauté pan, sauté the onions until translucent. Add rice and garlic, cook while stirring, until all the rice are coated and they start to crackle. Add grated tomato and thyme, and cook until the rice has absorbed most of the tomato liquid. 

Pour in the wine, and let it simmer until the wine is absorbed. 

Start adding a small ladleful of hot stock at a time, letting the rice absorb the liquid before adding more. You want the risotto to cook for a low simmer, stirring constantly. Cook the risotto for about 25 minutes, until the rice are al dente, and they have a little bite, without being crunchy.

Add the diced tomatoes, basil and parmesan, making the risotto nice and creamy. Season the risotto with salt, to taste. Serve Immediately.

Enjoy!

Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma

Karma is one of my favorite indian dishes, well at least of the ones I have tried. The bold flavors and the creaminess makes me happy every time. And when you serve korma with my kryptonite bread, as naan bread and rice, it can't get any better in my world.

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

Marinade:

• 4 large chicken breasts (about 2¼ pounds/1kg)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons garam masala

• 2 teaspoons curry powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Sauce:

• 2 onions, peeled and quartered

• 6 garlic cloves, peeled

• 250 ml (1 cup) water

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 4 teaspoons curry powder

• 2 teaspoons turmeric

• 2 teaspoons garam marsala

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

• ½ teaspoon cumin

• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 red dried chili, minced (use less if you don't like spicy food)

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 can peeled tomatoes, diced

• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

• 85 g cashews, ground

• ⅔ can of coconut milk

• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

Topping:

• cilantro

Directions:

Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a ziplock bag, and set aside.

Cut the chicken breasts up into bitesized cubes. Add the chicken to the marinade, massaging it, to cover it all with the spices. Let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Heat some oil in a large pot, I used my dutch oven. Brown the marinated chicken. Remove the chicken, and set aside.

Blend onion and garlic with water, until you have a smooth puree. Heat the olive oil in the pot, Add the pureed onion mixture and cook for a few minutes, until it begins to darken in color. Add tomatoes, ginger, ground cashews, coconut milk, yogurt, red chili, and spices. Turn the heat down and let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes.  Add the chicken and yogurt to the sauce and let it simmer another 10-15 minutes, while you cook the rice, and the chicken gets cooked through. 

Serve with rice and naan bread.

Enjoy! 

How to Cook the Perfect Steak

The Perfect Steak

In my family we like a good steak. We have been trying to find the best technique to get the perfect prepared steak every time. We have been sous vide-ing steaks, the nerdy way to getting a  steak with the same color and temperature all the way trough the steak. But not all people have the equipment to cook sous vide, even though it's become more affordable the last couple of years.

I think it's a lot of work and effort, making a water bath and vacuuming the steak, for just ONE steak. The time aspect is another thing. Sous vide 2 hours at 131℉/55℃, or 8 minutes in a skillet at high heat. If we were having company, I would make it sous vide for making more than 3 steaks.

A few years ago we started to slice up the cooked steak, and sharing just one steak. Somehow I think a steak is more enjoyable thinly sliced. I know some people likes a large steak for themselves, go ahead and indulge. But I find less is more, when you get a good quality meat.

I alway buy grass-fed boneless ribeye steaks at Whole Foods Market. They are about an inch (3 cm) thick, with a good marbling. 

After a lot of trials, I perfected my steak-cooking-skills, and this is how I cook the perfect steak.

Serves 1-2.

Ingredients:

• 1 ribeye steak
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons butter, cold and salted
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1-2 sprigs of thyme

Directions:

Let the Steak get to room temperature. 

Pad the steak dry with a paper towel, and season it with a good amount of salt and some cracked pepper.

Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Sear the steak on both sides, and keep turning the steak every 20-30 second, still over high heat. This will cook the steak faster than just flipping the steak just once. 

By flipping just once, the steak won't cook faster or more evenly, it's just easier. Generally you can say, that the more you turn the steak, the faster and more uniformly it will cook. Of cause within limits. When you sear food the surface touching the skillet, will quickly get hot, dehydrate, caramelize and get well done and overcooked. The overcooked part will act as an insulation layer between the heat source and the rest of the food. Resulting in longer cooking time and sometimes even burn food. By flipping the steak more often, you get a cooling of the searing surface, helping to heat up the center of the steak, and getting less of an insulating layer. 

Keep cooking and turning until just under the preferred doneness. (Rare: 130℉/54℃, Medium-Rare: 135℉/57℃, Medium:  146℉/63℃, Well done:  155℉/68℃.)  Generally I cook the steak until it has a dark sear, and the steak has some give to it, about 8 minutes in total, this will result in a medium to medium rare steak.

Turn off the heat, add butter, thyme and garlic. Baste or turn the steak in the now seasoned butter, and let it rest for a few minutes.

Slice the steak in thin slices, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Black Currant Sorbet

Black Currant Sorbet

I love black currant, the intense taste. My parents had a big black currant bush, and my mom always made black currant jam or added the berries to the traditional Danish dessert rødgrød.

This sorbet has a very bold flavor, if eaten by it self you just need a small scoop, it's that intense.

I love to pair intense sorbets with an equal intense chocolate cake. 

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

• 450 ml black currant puree 
• 200 ml water
• 200 g sugar
• 1 lime, the juice from

Directions:

Bring water and sugar to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Mix puree, lime juice and sugar-water, and freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Let the sorbet freeze for a few hours before serving, if you can wait that long. 

Enjoy!

The Chocolate Cake

The Chocolate Cake with black currant sorbet.

It's no secret that I'm married to a chocaholic. He will eat and love anything chocolate, and he will be very disappointed if you talk about chocolate notes in a whiskey, but all he feels is the burning alcohol.

Normally I'm not into cakes and desserts that are overly chocolaty, but this cake, has the right amount of chocolate to my taste. The texture is dense, with a slightly crispy crust. The small amount of flour makes it a little truffle like. The chocolate cake is perfect dessert cake, served with fresh fruit or fruit sorbets.

Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

• 175 g dark chocolate, I used Valrhona
• 175 g butter, salted
• 175 g sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• ½ teaspoon strong coffee
• 4 eggs
• 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 355℉ (180℃). Grease a (8-inch by 8 inch / 20 cm x 20 cm) baking pan, and place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom, set aside. 

Melt butter and chocolate over low low heat (or in the microwave oven), until just melted. Stir in sugar, vanilla and coffee.  

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Whip the whites until stiff peaks, set aside.

Mix the yolks with the flour, and mix it in the chocolate mixture.

Gently fold the egg whites in the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake it for about 45 minutes. 

Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan. The cake will deflate somewhat.

Serve the cake with sorbet or fresh fruit.

Enjoy!