Teriyaki Glazed Lamb Sirloin with Green 'Couscous'

We really enjoy eating lamb. But this cut was new to us. Not sure if it would be a tough piece of meat or what. I decided to try to cook it medium, hoping for the best. And it turned out perfect. Clearly not the last time I’m serving lamb sirloin.
I was looking for a non-starchy side, because I want to cut a little back on starchy carbs. This cauliflower couscous was a good replacement for regular couscous. Easy to make, no cooking needed. Next time I will add some kind of fruit, to give it some sweetness.

Recipe inspired by Årstiderne.

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

• ¾ - 1 pound lamb sirloin ‘steaks’

• 100 ml teriyaki-sauce

• olive oil for frying

Green 'Couscous':

• 1 bunch kale

• 1 medium cauliflower

• 1 preserved lemon , finely diced

• 1 small handfull almond, dry roasted on a skillet

• 1 shallots, thinly sliced.

Directions:

Sear the sirloins on both sides in olive oil. Turn the heat down, and keep cooking to the desired doneness. I cooked it for about 5-8 minted and ended up with medium steaks. Add the teriyaki sauce, and turn the steaks så they are glazed all over. Slice before serving.

While cooking the steaks, wash and trim the kale of the stems, and chop finerly. Wash and grate the cauliflower. Peel and thinly slice the shallots. Mix all the ingredients for the ‘couscous’ putting the almonds on top - set aside.

Plate ‘couscous’ and sliced steaks.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Mazarin Cake

Rhubarb Mazarin Cake.

I really love rhubarbs. They are tangy, sour and are perfect in desserts and cakes. So when I found this recipe, it was a no-brainer. I had to bake it. And it was ohhh so good. And it is the perfect cake to bring to a summer barbecue.

Serves 6-8. (Recipe from the magazine Søndag).

Ingredients:

• 200 g rhubarb

• 200 g sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 150 g marzipan

• 150 g butter

• 3 eggs

• 80 g all-purpose flour

• 80 g almond flour

• 1 lime, the zest of

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃).

Clean the rhubarb and cut them into small bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl and stir in with ¼ (50g) of the sugar + the vanilla, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, mix in the grated marzipan, making sure the mixture again gets light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix just until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the flours and lime zest.

Pour the dough into a non-stick tart pan. (I used a 9-inch square pan with removable bottom). Place the rhubarb on top of the cake, and bake it for about an hour, until it's firm in the middle and golden brown.

Let the cake cool before serving it with a dollop of creme fraiche or ice cream.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Soufflé - Blomkålsgratin

Cauliflower Soufflé - Blomkålsgratin

I remember cauliflower soufflé as a dish we got in the cafeteria in High-school. And I loved it. Growning up I never had it at home. Maybe because it has soufflé in the name, my mom thought it would be difficult to make. And honestly I was really surprised that it alway turned out great. Admittedly it does have a lot of steps, but it’s not difficult at all.

This soufflé is of course light and fluffy and with at nice crispy top. A perfect light weeknight dinner.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 400 g cauliflower

• 200 ml water

• 200 ml milk

• 75 g all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoons salt

• 4 eggs

• 225 g ham, diced

• Butter to grease the baking dish

• 2-3 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs (sprinkled on top)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃). Grease an ovenproof dish (1 liter/4 cups) and sprinkle it with plain breadcrumbs, set aside.

Clean the cauliflower, and cut it into florets, cook them for 3-5 minutes in lightly salted boiling water. Strain the florets, and keep 200 ml of the water.

Add water, milk, salt, and flour to a saucepan. Cook it while whisking, until it thickens. Remove from the heat, to cool for a while.

Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Whisk the whites to medium stiff peaks, set aside.

Whisk one yolk at the time into the now warm thick mixture, incorporating it completely before adding the next yolk.

Mix in the well strained cauliflower and ham. Lastly gently fold in the egg whites. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and bake it for about 60 minutes.

Serve immediately with a side salad.

Enjoy!

Limoncello

Limoncello.

Limoncello is an Italian liqueur made from hard alcohol, lemon zest and sugar. It’s like bringing the sent of the lemon zest into a drink. Could you imaging anything better? - Not really, right? My first encounter with limoncello was with a store bought version. And I was really disappointed. The synthetic lemon flavor were really off-putting.

Fast-forward 5-8 years. Our lemon tree was booming with fruits. I wanted to give homemade limoncello a try. Trying to preserve the fantastic lemon flavor, without getting the bitterness. Especially the latter have been the pittfall for others, or so I was told. So I was a bit nervous when it was time to taste my own batch. I tasted the lemon-infused vodka, and it was strong, very STRONG. Tasting the final result, finally calmed me. I had been able to create what limoncello should taste like. A sweet lemon taste, without the bitterness. And served over a lot of ice, it was just perfect.

You can serve the lemoncello over ice, mixed with sparkling water or in cocktails. Or you can pour it over ice cream or in this delicious Limoncello/Liquorice Tiramisu.

Makes 8 x 475 ml bottles.

Ingredients:

• 25 organic lemons

• 1.75 liter 100 proof vodka (I used a blue Smirnoff)

• 1300 g sugar

• 1.75 liter water

Directions:

Wash the lemons with a brush and hot water to remove any reside of pesticides or wax, pat the lemons dry.

Steeping the lemon zest.

Peel the lemons with a sharp knife or a potato peeler. Be careful to only get the yellow zest, cutting away any of the white part, otherwise the limocello gets too bitter. Place the lemon zest in a large, glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Pour the vodka over the lemon peel, tighten the lid of the jar. Give the jar a gentle swirl, to make sure you get the best extraction of flavors.  Store in a cool, dark place for 15-40 days, swirling the jar daily. I’m not sure if the swirling is totally necessary, but I did it anyway. The longer the mixture rests, the better the end taste will be. I had mine in a cool hallway closet.

When the now lemon-infused vodka is ready, strain out the bulk of the lemon peel, set aside.  Bring sugar and water to a boil in a large pan over high heat.  When boiling, remove pan from heat and stir in the lemon peel. Let the mixture sit and cool to room temperature. Strain out and discard the lemon peel.  Carefully mix the syrup with the lemon-infused vodka, and filter the entire mixture through a funnel into clean bottles. I have a fine mesh strainer for my funnel, so I won’t get any small lemon particles in my limoncello.

As soon as the limoncello is chilled, it is ready to drink. The flavor and texture will be best ice-cold. I store my limoncello in the freezer, but it freezes solid. I guess the alcohol content is too low to stay liquid.

Serve the limoncello over ice, perfect for sipping on a hot day.

Enjoy!

Danish Kringle

This old fashioned pastry became famous in Denmark, when a very popular TV-host from a gardening show raved about it as the worlds best kringle. The recipe originates from Anne Magrethe in Hirtshals. She was a kogekone a kinda cook for when you had large family parties at a kind of community center. You got home cooked style food from a cook who was used to scaling up the amount of food. It was kinda catering before we had catering.

I do agree that this pastry or kringle is really good. It have a nice flakiness without being a lamination of traditional pastry. You can add raisins or some kind of jam as filling. I like it best when it is more traditional.

Makes 4.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 200 ml lukewarm water

• 300 g  butter, room temperature

• 50 g  live yeast or 4 teaspoons dry yeast

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 3 eggs (+ more for egg wash)

• 450 g  all-purpose flour

• 1½ teaspoons salt

Filling:

• 225 g butter, room temperature

• 225 g sugar

• 100 g marzipan (almonds paste), grated

Sprinkles:

• raw sugar

• almonds slivers

Directions:

Mix water, yeast, sugar, eggs and diced butter together in the stand mixer bowl. Let it rest for about 20 minutes.

Add flour and salt and knead the dough together. Do not over-knead the dough. Let the dough rise in a warm spot in the house for about 30 minutes.

Mix together the filling and put it in a piping bag, cutting a dime sized hole.

Preheat the oven 425℉ (220℃). Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

The dough is kinda sticky, so place the dough onto a well floured surface. Divide it into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out to a narrow rectangle, about the length of your baking sheet. Pipe the filling onto the middle of the rectangle leaving a small piece without in both ends. Fold the dough over the filling, and Pinch the ends tightly, to keep the filling inside. Gently press a dent lengthwise in the middle of the pastry. Place 2 pastries on each baking sheet. (I know, I’m a rebel, I did 3 and one). Brush on some egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and almond slivers. Let the pastries rise for about 15 minutes.

Bake the pastries for 15 minutes until dark golden brown.

Let the pastries cool on a wire rack. Serve the pastries slightly warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!