Sri Lankan Dal

Inspiration: The Essential Asian Cookbook (in Danish translation)

I was leafing through this book one last time to see if I could find justification for keeping it. I noticed this recipe for a Sri Lankan dal, but concluded if that was all the book could still go. And so it did. But this recipe has come to stay - with a few modifications.

The original called for curry leaves and lemon grass which I've replaced with lime leaves. I tend to use more of the dried shrimp than the original recipe calls for. Also, I've adjusted the amount of water as I found in my hands it had too much of a tendency to get burned with the amounts in the original recipe.

Ingredients:
- 5-6 yellow onions, sliced
- rapeseed oil
- 1 handfull dried shrimp, chopped ^[1]
- 1 fresh green chilli, chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 400 g red lentils
- 0,5 L water
- 0,5 L vegetable stock
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 3-inch stick of cinnamon
- 10 lime leaves

The sliced onions were fried golden in the oil (for some 5-10 minutes) in a large pot, after which about half of them are removed from the pot. At this point, chilli, dried shrimp and turmeric was added and stirred briefly till fragrant. The rest of the ingredients were added and the pot was brought to a boil before reducing the heat and letting it simmer till the desired texture was achieved (I've found this can take 30-60 minutes). Seasoned to taste with salt and served with the reserved onion.

Additional sides:
- chopped coriander
- rice and/or flat breads
- chutney
- raita

^[1] I am planning to try replacing the chopped, dried shrimp with shrimp paste once I run out of dried shrimp.

Tarka dal

Inspiration: Anjum Anand / BBC Food Recipes

I stumbled upon this recipe when I was looking up a Rick Stein recipe that also employs dried split yellow peas, and after trying it out a few times it's surely become a standard in this household - with a few minor modifications from the original.

Ingredients:
- 225 g dried split yellow peas (chana dal)
- 9 dL water
- rapeseed oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely diced
- 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, finely diced
- ¹/₂ tsp ground cumin
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- ¹/₂ tsp ground turmeric
- ¹/₂ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- salt and pepper
- optional: chili

The dried split yellow peas were brought to a boil in an uncovered pot - best to keep an eye on it as it tends to foam a lot. The heat was reduced, and the pot was covered and allowed to simmer for 40 minutes. After removing from heat, the boiled peas were mashed coarsely.

Onion, ginger and garlic (and chillies, if used) were fried lightly golden in oil together with ground cumin in a large pan. Tomatoes were added and heating on medium high was continued for some minutes until the tomatoes could be easily mashed with the spatula. The mashed peas were added to the pan together with the rest of the spices. After stirring together it was allowed to simmer till the desired texture was obtained (I prefer my dal somewhat thick).

Serving suggestions:
- freshly chopped coriander
- rice and/or flat breads^[1]
- raita
- chutney

^[1] After moving back to Copenhagen I haven't baked my own naan even once. I find that the Lebanese breads sold at every green grocer is a suitable substitute.

Mushroom tomato sauce for pasta

For dinner last night I wanted a pasta dish, that should incorporate mushrooms, be meatless and go well with a glass of (cheap) red wine. The latter notion sent my thoughts towards a tomato-based sauce and reminded me of past experiments adding anchovies to achieve a greater depth of flavour.

Ingredients:
- 90 g jar of anchovies in sunflower oil
- 2 brown onions, finely chopped
- ¹/₂ bulb fennel, finely chopped
- approx. 2 dL white wine
- 300 g brown mushrooms, medium diced
- 3 tomaotes, diced
- 200 g small tomatoes, diced
- 70 g can of tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- fresh basil
- fresh oregano
- water
- salt
- pepper

First the vegetables were chopped.
The oil from the anchovies was poured into a large pot and heated on high. The anchovies were chopped and added to the pot. When the anchovies were starting to brown the onion and fennel was added and the heat reduced to medium-high. After a few minutes white wine was added in 3 portions, the liquid being reduced between each addition.
The mushrooms were added and when they collapsed a little after a few minutes, the heat was reduced to low before adding tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed garlic, basil and oregano. The pot was covered and allowed to simmer while boiling pasta. The sauce was stirred occasionally and added water in small portions to ensure it didn't go to dry.
Seasoned to tate with salt and black pepper just before serving with wholegrain spaghetti and freshly grated hard Italian cheese and lettuce.
.. and of course the planned glass of read wine. We were very pleased with the result.

Quick Ramen

On our trip to Japan earlier this year I discovered a new found joy: noodle soup. Thanks to my daughter's (equally newfound) fondness of noodle soup we explored a host of different noodle soups on our 10-day trip to Japan: Udon, ramen, soba...

The ramen made the bigger impression on me and I found myself craving it after we got back. I have indulged repeatedly at Mikkeler's Ramen to Biiru (Japanese for 'Ramen and Beer') Nørrebro location.

With inspiration from Bo Bedre's December 2016 issue we felt like a quick ramen after all the roast-potatoes-gravy that is the Danish fare around winter solstice.

Ingredients:
- 1 L chicken stock
- ca. 5 tbsp duck roast cooking juices ^[1]
- 250 g egg noodles ^[2]
- 250 g brown mushrooms ^[3]
- 200-300 g pointed green cabbage ^[4]
- 1 tbsp sesame oil ^[5]
- a 2-3 cm piece of ginger, shredded
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 3-4 tbsp sesame seeds

In a pot oil was heated and the cabbage sauteed for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms. After an additional couple of minutes, shredded ginger, chicken stock, duck juices, soy sauce and oyster sauce was added and the pot was brought to a boil.

Meanwhile the noodles were boiled in a separate pot.

Portions of noodles were added soup and decorated with thinly sliced scallion and sesame seeds.

It wasn't quite as deep a flavour as the ramen I've bought in the past, but quite good for how easy it was. I am still interested in trying a more elaborate recipe.

The recipe I was inspired by used more liquid and fewer noodles (1,5 L to only 100 g noodles), but I didn't feel like we had way too many noodles for the amount of soup we had. The recipe I followed also included chicken breast (but I felt like not eating meat) and boiled eggs, which I would definitely consider adding another time.

^[1] For Christmas eve I made duck roast in a tray with a bit of water, and afterwards I collected the juices. These separated into duck fat and gelatinous cooking juices.
^[2] Branded as 'Chinese egg noodles' - possibly not true ramen noodles, but close enough.
^[3] The recipe called for shitake mushrooms, but these were not on offer at my local store.
^[4] The reipce called for kale or spinach, but I decided I liked pointed cabbage better.
^[5] Because I had some. Olive oil would have been just fine.

Pad Thai

Honestly, I never even considered trying to tackle such a dish as Pad Thai before reading about it in Matthew Amster-Burton's Hungry Monkey. But now it's become something that I find relatively easy and enjoy doing.

Ingredients:
- 200 g (6-7 oz) rice noodles
- water
- peanut oil
- 4 eggs
pad thai sauce:
- 30 g (1 oz) tamarind paste
- 10 g (0.4 oz) palm sugar
- 1 dL (0.4 cup) boiling water
- 30 mL (1 oz) peanut oil
- 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
toppings:
- fresh coriander leaves, chopped
- scallions, chopped
- peanuts, chopped
- fresh green chillies, chopped
- lime juice (squeezed from a wedge immediately before eating)
additional optional toppings:
- shrimp, cooked
- tofu, sliced and fried
- chicken breast, fried and sliced
- fresh mint leaves, chopped
- zucchini, chopped
- bean sprouts
- rucola (rocket)

The rice noodles are divided into portions of equal size and soaked in warm'ish tap water (separately) for some 15-20 minutes while cutting the toppings and preparing the pad thai sauce.

First I make the pad thai sauce - tamarind paste and palm sugar are placed in a bowl and added boiling water. This is stirred from time to time to dissolve both. (I've read that some brands of tamarind paste will require straining, but with the brand I use (Pantai Norasingh) everything dissolves - and the palm sugar tends to be lumpy, so dissolves more easily in the hot water). The rest of the sauce ingredients are stirred into the pad thai sauce.

When softened, the rice noodles are strained.

Peanut oil is heated in a large frying pan - when hot 2 eggs are added and stirred for half a minute before adding one portion of drained rice noodles and half the pad thai sauce (make sure to stir it just before as it tends to separate). The eggs and noodles are stirred in the pan until the liquid is absorbed, then transferred to a plate. Then the other portion is prepared similarly. Both portions are garnished with the selected toppings.

Sometimes I use a hot and sweet chili sauce instead of fresh chillies.

Un jour...

One of my current colleagues apparently has 3 interests outside of work: Wine, women and tennis.

Recently I asked him for some recommendations for wines and he gave me a list of 5 wines currently available at Systembolaget. He was almost apologetic about the fact that there were no Italian wines on his list - but there simply weren't any available that were good value for the price.

One of his recommendations was "Un Jour..." 2011 from Le Clos d'un Jour in Cahors, France. I forgot to mention to my colleague that Cahors is one of the most well-known French wine districts in Denmark. Why? You might ask.. Because the husband of the Danish queen is from Cahors.

The wine was quite good, very easy to drink. When I first poured it I noticed immediately how dark it was - more purple than red.

Bloglagged 3

It's been quiet around here lately - unusually quiet.

Since my last posting our daughter was born and we've moved again (still in the Stockholm area).

Days just fly by. It's not that I don't have time for cooking these days (I'm tempted to add: obviously .. but maybe that isn't all that obvious) it's just that I'm not finding the time for sitting down and writing about it. This is something that I hope will change in the future, but I have no idea when things will start happening around here again or how much activity there'll be.

Maybe one day - when/if things start happening around here again - I'll be posting some recipes inspired by this book I recently received as a little surprise gift. I am looking forward to reading it.

Bacon Hueva-/Quesadilla

Remember the 'huevadilla' ?

I must admit I forgot about it for a while myself, but now it's back.

And how! ..in the shape of a hearty breakfast: bacon, eggs, cheese, beans and all.

Ingredients:
- 50-60 g (2 oz) thinly sliced bacon
- 4 wheat tortillas, ~ 22 cm (8-9 inches) diameter
- 4 eggs
- cheddar, grated
- 1 avocado
- pico de gallo
- refried pinto beans



The pinto beans were refried and left over low heat while preparing the rest.

Thinly sliced bacon was fried crisp, then removed from the pan and cut in smaller pieces. The fat was poured off (and saved for other cooking purposes).

Over medium heat a tortilla was placed in the pan. Grated cheddar was put in wide ring along the rim leaving a spot for 2 eggs and half of the bacon bits in the middle. This was topped with another tortilla and left on medium heat for a few minutes - it was flipped over when the eggs were sufficiently set to do so without making a mess of it.


When suitably done on both sides, it was removed from the pan and cut in slices to be served with avocado wedges and crude salsa on top and refried pinto beans on the side.

This I'll do again for sure.

Almond-paste Rolls

When I first started baking egg-free treats I thought I would need to bake and bring for work more often than turned out to be the case. In fact, now I've been here for 2 years and the position is over, so there will be no more group meetings for me to which I have to bring egg-free baked goods. This leaves me with a surplus of ideas, so if I find the time the series will continue on this page.

These rolls are based on a recipe I got from my mother when I first told her I needed egg-free cake recipes. I baked them recently for one of the last work-related occasions: the celebration of the acceptance of my latest paper.

For these rolls I used an almond paste not sold as marzipan^[1] but I think marzipan should work quite well also.

Ingredients:
- 250 g (8.8 oz) margarine
- 2 dL (⁴/₅ cup) milk
- 50 g (1 ³/₄ oz) fresh yeast
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar (+ extra for sprinkling)
- ¹/₂ tsp salt
- 500 g (1.1 lb) flour (+ extra for rolling)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) almond paste^[1]
- 1-1.5 dL (²/₅-³/₅ cup) heavy cream (for brushing)


The margarine was melted over low heat, then milk was poured in and heating on low was continued until the mixture was lukewarm. The milk-margarine mixture was transferred to a bowl and fresh yeast was stirred in followed by sugar, flour (in portions) and salt. This dough was set aside to rise for half an hour.

The risen dough was parted in 4 roughly equal portions, and each of these were rolled to a circle some 24-25 cm (10 inches) in diameter. Each circle was divided into 8 triangular slices. Each triangle was added a thin layer of almond paste and rolled.

The rolls were placed on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and allowed to rise an additional 15 minutes before brushing with heavy cream^[2] and sprinkling with granulated sugar.

The rolls were baked 225 C (450 F) until golden (12 minutes) and transferred to a grid to cool.


The rolls were quite popular - more have already been requested...

^[1] The almond paste I used is 50% almond, 50% sugar - marzipan is often a different composition (usually less almond and more sugar).
^[2] If you are not in need of strictly egg-free rolls, you could certainly brush with a lightly beaten egg in stead of heavy cream.

White Asparagus Tagliatelle

White asparagus are in season around here these days, but we've never had a habit of using these. One reason for that is that Mrs. Throat-Erator isn't a big fan of the hollandaise sauce often suggested served with white asparagus.

When we saw a recipe for a starter with white asparagus and no hollandaise we decided to try some elements of that - along the way it became a meal rather than just a starter.

Ingredients:
- 6 large white asparagus
- juice of 1 small lemon
- same volume olive oil
- salt
- white pepper
- tagliatelle
- ¹/₂ dL (¹/₅ cup) sunflower seeds
- ¹/₂ dL (¹/₅ cup) pumpkin seeds
- 25 g (~1 oz) walnuts
- 125 g (4.4 oz) mozzarella
- fresh chives
- fresh dill

The asparagus were peeled and boiled gently for 10 minutes in water containing 1 tsp salt. The water was drained from the asparagus and they were allowed to cool a bit while preparing a marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and white pepper. The boiled asparagus were then marinaded while preparing the rest.

Tagliatelle was cooked.

The seeds and nuts were chopped coarsely and roasted in a dry pan with constant stirring till turning slightly golden and fragrant.

The marinaded asparagus were served on a bed of tagliatelle, drizzled with some of the marinade and added toasted seeds/nuts, sliced mozzarella and fresh herbs.

It was quite nice, although based on this I see little reason to prefer white asparagus over the green kind we normally get...

BBC: Bacon, Bean & Cabbage (Soup)

I'm behind here - this was something I cooked in the fall (which I'd say is a much more appropriate season for this dish). Once again with heavy inspiration from James Villas I went for a soup combining some of my favourite ingredients: bacon, beans and cabbage..

I'll trust him on his claim that this is a Serbian soup. The original recipe calls for green cabbage, but I went for red cabbage - more on this in a bit.

Ingredients:
- 250 g (~ ¹/₂ lb) bacon^[1]
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 medium large head of red cabbage, chopped
- 2 L (~ ¹/₂ gallon) beef broth
- 3 cans cannellini beans (drained)
- flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

The bacon was fried in a large pot until a good amount of fat had been rendered out of it, then removed from the pot. The onions and garlic were rendered soft in the bacon fat before adding the cabbage together with beef broth, beans, bacon and parsley. The pot was brought to a boil and allowed to simmer for 45 minutes before serving.

I found the soup delicious, but I have to admit the red cabbage gave the soup a special colour. A colour I personally have no problem with but which I can see why some people might not like. So I guess going for white cabbage or maybe even kale would be a good idea.<sup>[2]

[1]</sup> I used thinly sliced bacon, which I think was a mistake - I think this recipe would work better with diced bacon.
^[2] I'm not sure Villas means kale when he writes 'green cabbage' (which is what think of when I use that term). I think maybe he means what I'd call white cabbage - but there's no picture for this dish in his book, so I am not sure.

Chickpea Salad

Sometimes I see a recipe and I instantly know I want to try it out. Such was the case the chickpea salad I noticed in the April 2011 issue of Bon Appétit. I've adjusted the amounts a little bit, but the most significant change to the original recipe is the additional of rocket.

This salad isn't merely a side - it's a meal in itself!

Ingredients:
- 2 cans chickpeas, about 460 g (1 lb) drained
- juice of ¹/₂ lemon (2 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, very finely diced
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 65 g (2 ¹/₃ oz) rocket
- fresh basil, chopped
- 40 g (1 ²/₅ oz) freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

The chickpeas were rinsed, then mixed with the rest of the ingredients and tossed to mix.
Delicious - I know I'll be making this again. As promised the lemon juice, chickpeas and parmigiano-reggiano make for a really nice combination. Personally I think the rocket blends really well with that trio.

Koldskål (2)

Remember the "cold bowl" ? After a long winter it's like it's suddenly summer in Sweden and we recently found ourselves craving a good cold bowl of.. well.. cold-bowl.

However, as I've lamented around here before, one cannot buy buttermilk in Swedish stores, and buttermilk is the cornerstone of koldskål as I've always known it. For other purposes I've tried substituting various kinds of thickened milk (fil as they are known in Sweden) for buttermilk, and I figured it might work for koldskål as well.

Ingredients:
- juice of ¹/₂ lemon (2 tbsp)
- 50 g (4 tbsp) granulated sugar
- vanilla sugar
- 1 L (1 quart) of fil

The sugar, vanilla sugar and lemon juice was whisked together and the fil was poured in with continued whisking.

Served chilled with either rusk or roasted oats.

Roasted Oats

I guess it's some kind of simplified, very simplified, granola. I use them for koldskål when I don't have any rusk handy.

Ingredients:
- 25 g (~ 1 oz) unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 dL (⁴/₅ cup) rolled oat

The butter was melted over high heat, then the oat and the sugar was added and stirred over medium high heat for until the oats turned golden (about 10 minutes). The oats were then transferred to baking paper to cool.

Served on koldskål.

Naan...ish

Given that naan simply means 'bread' the recipe below does of course qualify. But in terms of giving the kind of breads I was thinking off - the kind you tend to get when you order naan at an Indian restaurent - it's no so successful. However, I think they are quite nice in their own right.

When I started looking up naan recipes and asking my Indian friends, I quickly realised I was in trouble: Almost every source advocated the use of a baking stone in order to achieve the desired product. I didn't want to get a baking stone, nor did I want to give up just yet - so in the end I got what follows:

Ingredients:
- 1 dL (²/₅ cup) lukewarm water
- 50 g fresh yeast
- ¹/₂ tsp sugar
- 880 g (almost 2 lbs) wheat flour + more for rolling
- ¹/₂ L (2 cups) A-fil ^[1]
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 tsp nigella seeds

The yeast was stirred into the lukewarm water, followed by sugar, about half of the flour and the A-fil. Then the salt and the nigella seeds was added and the rest of the flour was stirred/kneaded in in portions. The resulting dough was slightly sticky.

The dough was left to rise for 2 hours (1 hour most likely would be sufficient), before dividing into 8 parts. Each piece of dough was rolled into oblong breads about ¹/₂ cm (¹/₅ inch) thick using plenty of flour.

The breads were placed on a baking sheet lined with baking paper - the size of oven I have now fits three bread on one sheet. They were baked at 225 C (450 F) for 15 minutes.

As I said, they weren't quite what I originally had in mind, but I still liked them - especially as a side to curries.

^[1] Lactobacillus acidophilus-containing thickened milk. Buttermilk, unsweetened yoghurt or a mix thereof are probably good substitutes (although this may then change the amount of flour needed).

Hummus

The other day when I was about to make some hummus, I search my archive for the recipe and realised I never did get round to adding the good hummus recipe here. Well, this needs correction..

Ingredients:
- 2 'cans' chickpeas ^[1]
- juice ¹/₂ lemon (2 tbsp)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 large clove garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 tbsp tahini
- salt & pepper to taste

The chickpeas were drained and puréed in a blender (I added as little water as the paste is otherwise very thick) in portions. The chickpea paste was transferred to a bowl and the rest of the ingredients were stirred in. Depending on your preferences you might adjust the amounts of tahini and olive oil - although I personally find it hard to believe, I know some people are not fond of tahini. Paprika also adds a nice touch.

^[1] Actually the stores around here have taken to selling various beans in a new paper based container. My guess is this is motivated by environmental concerns. Anyway, these new packages are roughly the same size as the usual can, so that each holds 230 g (8 oz) after draining the liquid.

Red Basil

Not unlike other varieties of basil, I was unfamiliar with red basil until I came across it at the store. As before when faced with such options, the new item went directly into the shopping basket - what to do with it could always to be found out later.

I found this plant to be surprisingly (and a bit disappointingly) mild and subtle in flavour - I haven't seen any more since, so I don't know if this is general. Because of this, using it for wok and curry dishes is almost kind of wasted as the flavour is easily trumped by other strong flavours - although I must say it does look beautiful.

I did use it with some success for baking fish: pieces of white fish (e.g. cod) were wrapped in foil together with leaves of red basil and baked in the oven.

Carne de res con sol

One day I was flipping through my copy of Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico looking for inspiration, when I noticed the recipe for Carne de res con sol - ground beef with cabbage. After trying it out, I decided I would like it better by adding a little ground cumin and allspice to the recipe.

And so, with slight modification from Diana Kennedy, it goes...

Ingredients:
- 360 g (~ 13 oz) ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¹/₄ tsp allspice
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 jalapeño (w/ seeds), diced finely
- 800-900 ml (~ 3.5 cups) cabbage, chopped finely^[1]
- fresh coriander, chopped
- oil
- ~ 1 dL (~ ¹/₂ cup) water
served in:
- hard taco shells

Crushed garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin and allspice was mixed into the ground beef (using the hands), which was then allowed to stand while chopping the other ingredients.

In a pan, the onion and chilli was cooked in a little oil for 1-2 minutes before adding the tomatoes. When most of the juices from the tomatoes were absorbed the spiced meat was added to the pan. When the meat as browned, the cabbage, fresh coriander and water was added. After about 15-20 minutes of cooking over medium heat with occasional stirring, the amount of liquid was reduced significantly (but not completely gone).

I like serving it in hard taco shells.

^[1] Personally I like it equally well with white or red cabbage, but Mrs. Throat-Erator finds the dish visually unappealing with red cabbage.

Eggplant Pasta Salad

Another quick delicious pasta dish.

Ingredients:
- 2 eggplants
- balsamic vinegar
- 300 g (²/₃ lb) pasta
- salt
- 70 g (2.5 oz) rocket
- 2-3 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto

The eggplants were cut into square rods (¹/₂ inch to the side, half the length of the eggplant), placed on a foil lined baking sheet, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and baked in the oven at 250 C ( F) for 10-15 minutes.

The pasta was boiled in lightly salted water.

Boiled pasta, baked eggplant, rocket and sun-dried tomato pesto was tossed in a bowl and served immediately.

Pickled Tomatoes (1)

Last fall I tried my hand at pickling to-ma-toes.

By now all I have left is one jar of my jalapeño pickled yellow cherry tomatoes. These were the least popular with the various guests I served them for. The basic principle worked as intended: the tomatoes really took up the hotness of the jalapeño. Personally I like them, but I am not surprised the other two went faster. If I try to to pickle yellow cherry tomatoes again I shall be careful to boil them less.

The cinnamon pickled red cherry tomatoes were quite popular with some of my guests. The cinnamon flavour, acidity and sweetness made for a delicious whole. When I do this again, I shall a larger batch - and also for these try less boiling than the first time around.

As previously mentioned the vanilla pickled green tomatoes turned out pretty nicely. Unlike the other two kinds these were certainly not overcooked - rather the opposite (if anything). I think I might try using vanilla bean instead of vanilla sugar, just to see if it makes a difference.