Preserved Cherries - Syltede Kirsebær

Preserved Cherries, here on some Risalamande.

2020 has been a strange year, we all had to adapt and have to live without a lot of things we take for granted. A lot of parties and gatherings were canceled, friends and loved ones we couldn’t hug. Personally I was going to have a big party for my fiftieth birthday, with friends and families from Denmark coming here to celebrate. I don’t think I have to tell, that didn’t happen. I hope to postpone the party, and I’ll stay 49 until that happens.

I think 2020 also became the year, a lot of people learned to bake sourdough bread, that is one of the good things to come out of the pandemic.

Now we are getting close to my favorite time of the year - Christmas. I love all the lights and decorations, all the treats and cookies. I hope this holiday season will bring you a lot of joy too, even though we have to do some thing’s differently, let’s make this December extra special.

On this first Sunday in Advent I want to share these preserved cherries with you.

Growing up I was accustomed to my moms homemade everything. But even she slacked and started buying things, to make her life easier. But some tings remain in your memory as the best and real taste of something. Preserved cherries comes to mind. We had a cherry tree in our allotment (kolonihave), filled with dark tart cherries. Cherries you wouldn’t steal of the tree as a kid, or you would only do it once. But my mom made the best preserved cherries, perfect for the traditional Danish Christmas dessert Risalamande. She even cracked the pits from the cherries and put the kernels in the preserving syrup, giving it a strong almond taste. This was the real taste of Christmas. And this was the taste I rediscovered after making these preserved cherries for the very first time.

Makes 4 jars.

Ingredients:

• 680 g pitted tart cherries, I used frozen

• 525 g sugar

• 50 ml water

• 50 ml amaretto liquor

• 40 ml vinegar

• 1 vanilla bean

Directions:

Split open the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. Spread the seeds in some of the sugar, this helps with distribution of the seeds.

In a large pot add water, sugar, vinegar, amaretto, vanilla bean (seeds and pod), cherries, and warm it up slowly until it starts to boil lightly. Remove pot from the heat, and set it aside to cool and marinate for a few hours.

Prepare the jars and lids, scolding them and swirl some 100 proof vodka in them, set aside.

Bring the cherries to a boil, remove from heat, and bring them to a boil again, do that one more time, and scoop the cherries into the 4 prepared jars. Bring the liquid to a boil again, and let it boil and reduce for 5-7 minutes, before pouring over the cherries. Close jars and let then cool. Clean the outside of the jars and place them in a cool and dark place for about 20-30 days fore serving.

The preserved cherries will keep 3-5 months in a cool dark place and about 20 days opened.

Serve the prepared cherries on Risalamande, ice cream or other desserts or cakes. The syrup taste fantastic diluted with water or in drinks.

Enjoy!

Spinach and Feta Pie a la Spanakopita

Spinach and Feta Pie a la Spanakopita

This is a simplification of the traditional Greek Spanakopita, a spinach feta pie or hand pie. It’s perfect for a lunch or light dinner. The crispness of the filo dough with the soft creamy filling is a great combination. An absolute favorite in my house.

Serves 4,

Ingredients:

• 100 g pine nuts, dry roasted

• 400 g baby spinach

• olive oil for sautéing the spinach

• 5 eggs

• 275 g feta cheese, crumbled

• 1 lemon, the zest of

• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper

• 9-10 sheets of filo dough (Store bought) defrosted according to instruction on packaging

• ~50 g melted butter for brushing the filo dough

Directions:

Preheat the oven for the 400℉ (200℃).

Take out a 10-inch skillet, and sauté the spinach over medium heat until it is all wilted, take off the heat.

Mix eggs, feta cheese, pine nuts, lemon zest, and cayenne. When the spinach is cooled a bit, add it to the egg mixture. Dry off the pan you used for the spinach, set aside.

Place the filo dough under a damp tea towel, this will help to keep the filo dough soft and workable.

Place a large piece of parchment paper on the kitchen counter. I crumble the parchment paper first, and straighten it out again, this way it’s easier for the parchment paper to fit in the skillet. Brush some melted butter on the parchment paper. Place 4 sheets of the filo dough on top of the parchment paper in a rectangle, you want them to overlap a bit. Gently brush with melted butter, and repeat with 3-4 more layers of filo dough. Carefully transfer the parchment paper with the filo dough into the skillet, so the dough is hanging out over the edges of the skillet. Pour in the egg mixture in an even layer. Gently fold the filo doughs edges in over the filling. Brush the edges with a little more butter, and bake the pie for 18-20 minutes until the dough is golden and crisp, and the filling is set.

Serve the pie warm with a simple salad on the side.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Salad with Apples & Almonds

Cauliflower Salad with Apples & Almonds.

I found this recipe one one of my favorite Danish food blogs, Valdemarso. It’s a great everyday salat with lots of taste and texture. I lowered the amount of garlic in my version, so it won’t be overpowering, masking the other milder flavors. The salad will keep 2 days in the refrigerator.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cauliflower

• 1 red apple

• ½ handful Italian parsley

Dressing:

• 2 handful Italian parsley,

• ½ -1 garlic clove, chopped

• 15 g pine nuts

• 25 g Parmesan cheese, chopped roughly

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons creme fraiche (or sour cream)

• 1 teaspoon honey

• salt & pepper to taste

Salted almonds:

• 30 g raw almonds

• 50 ml water

• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Salted almonds:

In a small skillet dissolve the salt in the water and bring the water to a boil. Stir in the almonds, and cook on medium high until the water is evaporated, shake the pan to get an even salt coating on the almonds. Let the almonds cool completely, before giving them a rough chop.

Dressing:

Combine all the ingredients except the creme fraiche in a food processor or mini chopper and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add creme fraiche and process until fully incorporated and you have smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Salad:

Grate or finely chop the cauliflower and chop the parsley. Wash an and core the apple, and dice it. Mix all the ingredients with the salted almonds and dressing, season with salt and pepper. Now the salad is ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Boneless Birds / Benløse Fugle

Classic Boneless Birds.

Boneless Birds is an old Danish classic, that you nowadays would call mormormad or Grandma food. It’s old school meat and potato food with a brown gravy. It’s a good comfort food on the heavier side. I served a side of lightly roasted carrots and some boiled fingerling potatoes along side, but other crispy vegetables and maybe a crisp salad would work too. But I still make this dish during the fall or winter months.

When my mom made it she used a piece of smoked speck instead of bacon, making the dish take a more smoky note. As a child the I really disliked the fatty piece of speck. Later she started using a thick piece of bacon, and the dish became more pleasing to me.

The name is kinda weird, but similar dishes, stuffed veal or beef, is known in France and England, where they are called headless birds or veal birds. And maybe beef were more common and cheaper compared to veal, so maybe that’s why veal birds became a beef dish.

I was lucky to get hold of a slap of nicely smoked bacon in the store, making me able to cut some thick slices that I cut into sticks, to roll into the beef. I have made a boneless bird dish earlier, but back then I used a smoked Gouda cheese for a more updated version.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 slices of beef scallopini (thin slices of skirt steak)

• 4-6 thick slices of smoked bacon, cut into sticks the size of string cheese

• ½ medium onion, grated

• salt and pepper for seasoning

• 300 ml (1¼ cup) beef stock

• 3 bay leaves

• 200 ml (¾ cup) heavy whipping cream

• gravy browning

• gravy thickening (shake to mix some milk + 3 tablespoons flour+ pinch salt)

Directions:

Season the steak slices generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

Take a strip of the steak and lay it with the short side towards you. Place 1-2 sticks of bacon and about a teaspoon grated onion in one end, roll the steak up over the filling, securing it with a toothpick or trussing layers along the length of the roll. Repeat with the remaining meat slices.

Brown the rolls on all sides in a large sauté pan, making sure not to crowd the pan. Crowding the pan will boil the meat instead of searing. Add beef stock and bay leaves to the pan, and turn down the heat. Let the rolls cook on a low simmer for about 1 hour, until the meat is cooked tender. Remove the steak rolls from the pan, and add cream to the drippings/sauce. Let the sauce cook to a boil, and add the thickening and let it cook for a few minutes to remove the taste of flour. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and add gravy browning to get a deep brown color. Place the rolls back in the pan, covering them with the sauce. Serve immediately with boiled or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

Coffee Creme Brûlée

Coffee Creme Brûlée

Creme Brûlée is one of my favorite desserts, when made right. The custard have to be velvety smooth with a nice crusty caramel on top. I like my Creme Brûlée to be a thin layer of custard, this gives the best custard to caramel ratio for my taste. This recipe is just perfect. Thank you David Lebovitz.

If you want a vanilla custard instead for coffee you can replace the instant coffee and kahlua with 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste. The paste might color the custard a bit.

Makes 4.

Ingredients:

• 330 ml (1 ⅓ cup) heavy whipping cream

• 160 ml (⅔ cup) whole milk

• 50 g (¼ cup) sugar + extra for caramelizing

• 1 pinch salt

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder, I used Seabright from Verve

• 2 teaspoons Kahlua coffee liqueur

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 300℉ (150 ℃).

Place the 4 shallow gratin dishes on a high-rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Boil some water in a kettle, to get it ready, for when the custard goes into the oven.

Heat the cream, milk, sugar, salt in a saucepan over medium heat, until all the sugar has dissolved. Whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl large enough to hold both eggs and milk/cream mixture. Gradually add the warm cream mixture in the yolks while stirring, until the cream is completely incorporated. Do not whisk vigorously, you don’t want to create foam. Mix in instant coffee and kahlua. Strain the mixture into a jug or measuring cup with a sprout, trying to create as little foam on top as possible. I removed the little foam, that did come on the surface with a spoon.

Gently divide the mixture between the 4 dishes, removing any foam created on the surface before placing the baking sheet in the oven. Pour enough hot water in the baking sheet, so it reaches halfway up the sides of the gratin dishes. Bake the dishes for 20-25 minutes, until they are just set, watch them closely the last few minutes. You are looking for a slight quiver when you try to jiggle them. Be careful when you remove them from the oven. I used a blaster to remove most of the water, and then used some kitchen towel to lift the dishes. Chill the custard in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.

Just before serving, sprinkle the custards with an even layer of sugar, about 1½ teaspoon for each is what you need. Working on one custard at a time, use a blowtorch to wave the flame over the custard until the sugar melts and becomes brown, make sure that the caramel spreads all over the top, but handle it with care, because the melted sugar is extremely hot. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!