White Cream Sauce with Tarragon

White Cream Sauce with Tarragon 

This tarragon sauce is my favorite sauce to serve with baked salmon, often I serve it with rice and fennel salad. It might be a pale plate of food, but it is packed with flavors, and truly a meal worthy of a King or Queen.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 knorr fish stock cube
• ¼ cup (½ dl) white wine
• 1 cup (2½ dl) heavy whipping cream
• 1-2 teaspoons tarragon 
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, cook the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the wine, cream, tarragon and fish stock, and bring it to a boil. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and white pepper.

Serve the sauce with baked salmon or another fish.

Enjoy!

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!

Baked Salmon with Sweet Mustard Sauce

Baked Salmon with Sweet Mustard Sauce

This is the best salmon ever. I know I've stated this before about a similar salmon recipe, but from now on, THIS is the way to cook salmon, no more adding any wine to the dish while baking!!

Normally I would serve a hollandaise, avocado hollandaise or a cold creme fraiche dressing with fresh dill with baked salmon. But this sweet mustard sauce was really good and paired really well with the salmon and spinach.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

Salmon:

• 2-3 portion-sized salmon, bones and skin removed
• ½ lemon, the juice from
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper 
• ½ teaspoon olive oil, for greasing the baking dish

Sauce:

• 120 ml (½ cup) heavy whipping cream
• 120 ml (½ cup) Ravigotte sauce, or a sweet mustard sauce
• 40 g soft cream cheese, as a thickener 
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Salmon:

Pre-heat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Place the salmon in the greased baking dish, drizzle with lemon juice, and sprinkle with lemon pepper. 

Bake the salmon for 12-18 minutes, until the salmon flakes easy with a fork. 

Sauce:

Mix cream cheese with cream and ravigotte sauce in a sauce pan, while heating. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the salmon with boiled potatoes and a sautéed spinach and the mustard sauce.

Enjoy!

Salmon Burger

Salmon Burger

A lighter and more summerly take on a regular burger. 

Normally when I think burger, I think of a bun with a beef patty, but of cause there are many other possibilities. This combination is perfect for a summer-night dinner.

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

Salmon patty:

• 500 g (about 1 pound) fresh salmon
• 1 egg
• ½ jalapeño, minced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ lime, the juice from
• 1½ dl (½ cup) panko breadcrumbs 
• ½ teaspoon salt

Guacamole:

• 3 avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 1 jalapeño, finely diced
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 lime, the juice from
• 1 handful fresh coriander, chopped
• salt to taste

And:

• hamburger buns
• arugula 
• red onion rings

Directions:

Guacamole:

In a large bowl, gently fold the avocados, cilantro, lime juice, jalapenos, garlic, and cumin together. Season to taste with salt. The more you mix, the creamier and less chunky the guacamole get.

Salmon patties:

Remove skin and bones from the salmon. Chop the salmon with a knife, so you get a chunky paste. Add salmon and the rest of the ingredients to a bowl mix it well. 

Form 4-5 patties, and place them on squares of parchment paper. This will make it easier to transfer to the grill.

Heat you grill or grill pan, and grease it with some olive oil. Cook the patties for about 4 minutes on each side. 

Toast the hamburger buns. 

Place arugula on the bottom of the burger bun, place the patty with a big tablespoon guacamole and onion rings on top. 

Enjoy!

Green Fish Cakes - Grønne Fiskefrikadeller

Green Fish Cakes - Grønne Fiskefrikadeller

Fish cakes is an easy way to make picky kids eat fish. Serve them as finger food with bite-sized vegetables and a dipping sauce. In Denmark you will get a sweet tartar sauce, remoulade, with the fish cakes. You can also serve the fish cakes cold on a sandwich. 

Makes 12-15.

Ingredients:

Fish Cakes:

• 900 g cod, no bones or skin
• 3 eggs
• 300 ml cream (half & half or whipping cream)
• 35 g (⅓ cup) all-purpose flour
• 2 leeks, rinsed and chopped, 
• 2½ teaspoons salt
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 handful fresh dill, chopped

Spicy creme fraiche sauce:

• 200 ml creme fraiche (you can use sour cream)
• 1 jalapeno, grated
• about 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• juice from ½ lime
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Put the cod and salt in a food processor and pulse until it gets sticky. The idea is to bind the moisture so that the fish cakes don’t fall apart. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until combined.

Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (I tend to forget this part. 😇)

Mix the ingredients for the creme fraiche sauce in a bowl, and leave it to rest in the refrigerator until serving.

Using a spoon and your hand, make plum-size cakes and fry them in a mixture of half oil and half butter in a skillet, until golden brown on both sides.

Serve with boiled potatoes, a salad and a spicy creme fraiche sauce.

Enjoy!