Creamy Sunchoke Soup

It was only recently that I found sunchokes at a farmers' market here in Geneva - fortunately, I was able to recall the French word 'topinambour' [1] so I could ask for 1 kg of them. I used most of them to prepare this soup.

Ingredients:
- oil
- 3 small onions, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1 green chilli, seeds removed, finely diced
- 850 g (30 oz) sunchokes
- 1.4 L (3 pints) water
- salt and pepper
- juice of 1 lemon
- parsley, chopped

Of the sunchokes, 700 g (25 oz) were cut in cubes approximately 1 cm (1/2 inch) on each side, while the rest were cut in cubes approximately 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) on each side.

In a large pot, the onion and chilli were sautéed till onion was translucent, then added the large chunks of sunchokes and garlic. After 10 minutes the water was added, brought to a boil, before the pot was covered and the heat was reduced. After simmering for 30 minutes, the pot was removed from the heat and the soup was blended to a smooth texture. Seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

While the soup was simmering, the smaller sunchoke cubes were roasted in a pan with a little oil.

The soup was served with sunchoke cubes and parsley on top.

[1] Given my generally poor knowledge of French vocabulary, I do seem to know a disproportionate amount of food terms..

Danish Beer - Part II (Indslev Brewery)

When I left Denmark in 2002, things were just starting to change. After that the changes accelerated, and for me the effect was amplified by only observing it on my short, relatively infrequent trips to Denmark. For example, one time I came home, and since my previous visit in Denmark, beer cans had been legalized - that changed the experience of walking down the beer aisle in a Danish supermarket a fair bit. On another visit, I noticed that since my previous visit, it had become standard for Danish supermarkets to have a decent selection of import beers - something I'd beforehand only seen in specialised beer stores and fancy department stores. Also quite the change.

And at the same time, the number of microbreweries in Denmark exploded to the point were on my most recent trip home, I noticed there were so many I didn't even try to taste all of them during the three weeks I was there. Many of these were entirely new breweries, but quite a few others were old breweries that had lied dormant (or nearly so) during the years of big brewery dominance. One such brewery is Indslev brewery in Indslev (coincidently a small town I have passed through numerous times because it's on way between my parents' place and my grandmothers' place) on the island of Funen. Originally opened back in 1897, it re-opened in 2006 with an interesting line of modern beers, of which I had the pleasure the pleasure to try a few. I have to say, the Indslev Spelt Bock is one of the best beers I've had in a very long time.

Lamb chops, black rice and white gravy

I've gone on about Danish gravy traditions here before, and one of the dishes I'm used to having white gravy with is lamb. Then, recently I woke up one early morning from a dream in which I was preparing lamb, white gravy and black rice. The image of the white gravy on the black rice was stuck in mind and when I went shopping later that day, it turned out lamb chops were on sale. It was like it was meant to happen...

Ingredients:
- black rice
- water
- salt & pepper
- lamb chops
- flour
- milk

I served it with a slight modification of this roasted bean salad (I substituted sunflower seeds for the pine nuts), which was the first thing to be prepared (so it could stand in the oven while preparing the rest).

The black rice were boiled in lightly salted water.

The lamp chops were seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in a pan. After removing the lamb chops from the pan, the drippings were added enough flour to make thick paste. On low heat milk added in small portions was stirred in to make the gravy. Added salt and pepper to taste.

Baba Ghanoush

Although I'm a great fan of what I have tried from the Middle Eastern kitchen, I must say I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject. Far less so than, e.g. Mrs. Throat-Erator, who has travelled in the region. For example, I didn't really know what Baba Ghanoush was when she started raving about how delicious it was. I urged her to make me some, and so she did..

Ingredients:
- 500 g (1 lb) eggplants
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- salt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- paprika

The eggplants were rinsed and broiled until the inside was very soft. The partially charred skin was peeled away and the flesh was collected in a colander where it was mashed and drained. After being transferred to a bowl, the garlic, salt, ground cumin, tahini paste, and lemon juice was stirred in to give a smooth paste. The baba ghanoush was arranged as an atoll with the olive oil in the middle and paprika on the rim.

We had it with some flat breads, tzatziki, couscous salad, and meatballs.

I have to admit it was quite delicious, and we are aiming to practice more foods from this kitchen in the none too distant future.

Danish Beer - Part I (Carl's Beers)

When I grew up the beer market in Denmark was pretty homogeneous. First of all the market was almost completely dominated by breweries Carlsberg and Tuborg, their standard brews 'Carlsberg Hof' (Carlsberg Court) and 'Grøn Tuborg' (Green Tuborg) being probably the only 2 beers sold nationwide. Of course, there were other significant breweries - such as Ceres, Faxe, Harboe, Albani, and Hancock - but their beers were not as broadly available (i.e. only regionally or in certain stores). On top of that beers sold pretty much exclusively in dark green glass bottles (selling beer in cans was illegal in Denmark at the time) most of the breweries using the same standard recycled bottles (a relatively high price for the bottle themselves were part of ensuring a high rate of recycling).

Secondly, but perhaps even more importantly, almost all Danish beers then were pilsner style beers. My own mother has always claimed to prefer Grøn Tuborg over Carlsberg Hof, but I've always doubted if she could actually tell them apart in a blind tasting. And most of the others were quite similar too. To be fair, there were variations - Carlsberg has been making a porter as long as I can remember. Also, I think all the breweries had their own stronger beer (still pilsners, just higher alcohol content) such as 'Carlsberg Elefant' (Elephant), 'Carlsberg Sort Guld' (Black Gold), 'Guld Tuborg' (Gold Tuborg), and 'Harboe Bjørnebryg' (Bear Brew). And then there were the seasonal beers. Several breweries released special beers which were only sold around christmas and easter, respectively. Typically, these were stronger and darker beers, although usually only darker by virtue of being added caramel coloring rather than by brewing differently.

For many years this seemed to be fine. Danes appeared content to be getting mainly pilsners. But during the 1990's something happened. People started being more interested in different types of beer. Imports were on the rise. And in 1997 Carlsberg held a "beer election": A number of new beers (I think 5 or 6) were introduced for a limited time (several months) and by the end of it the customers voted for which of these should be continued. And since then Danes have had the joy of Carl's Special (unfortunately it is not exported), which is admittedly another pilsner style beer, if a little darker - but it is, IMHO exceptionally good. More importantly, this was the beginning of a new trend changing the beer market in Denmark.

Since then the line has been extended - the seasonal Carl's christmas brew and Carl's easter brew came quickly, and more recently Carl's Porter and Carl's Ale (pictured) were added.

Birthday Omelette

When it was recently Mrs. Throat-Erator's birthday I made an omelette with fresh golden chanterelles I had picked up at the farmers' market.

Ingredients:
- bacon, diced
- spring onions (lower part only), sliced
- golden chanterelles
- eggs
- white cheddar, grated
- salt & pepper

In a large pan, the bacon was fried, then added onions and golden chanterelles. After a few minutes, a mixture of beaten eggs, grated cheese, salt & pepper was added. The heat was reduced and the pan was left to let the eggs set.

Appenzeller Beer

Appenzell in the north-eastern part of Switzerland, has a reputation for being a backwards, kind of rural place - most infamously how women didn't gain the right to vote until 1991. On a more positive note, the preservation of traditions and slow pace is regarded as highly instrumental for the production of their famous cheeses, chocolates, bitters and beers (not sure all of these really sets it much apart from the rest of this country). By now I've had opportunity to taste a number of their beers:


While I haven't been to Appenzell and therefore cannot really say on how the place is, I CAN say that they do make good beer. Of those pictured, I guess Quöllfrisch is my favourite (not pictured is a very nice hemp ale). Schwarzer Kristall deserves mention for being a truly black beer.

Breaded Fish Cakes

We recently had some delicious fish cakes at an Asian restaurant, so I was interested in trying my hand at the art - in the end these were quite different from the ones we had at the restaurant (but still delicious) so I'll probably return with further variations on this theme.

Ingredients
- 500 g (just over 1 lb) potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks
- 400 g (just under 1 lb) pollock fillet
- 2 dL (almost 1 cup) milk
- 1 green chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
- 16 g (0.5 oz) fresh ginger, finely diced
- 3 scallions, green part only, sliced
- 20 g (0.7 oz) fresh basil, coarsely chopped
- salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- bread crumbs (to cover)
- oil for frying

The potato chunks were boiled tender in lightly salted water. After draining them thoroughly, they were put back in the dry pot and mashed on low heat to give a relatively dry mash. Care was taken not to let them burn (constant stirring/mashing while on the heat).

Simultaneously the fish was put in a frying pan with the milk and 1 dL (almost 1/2 cup) of water, covered, and brought to a boil. The heat was then reduced to allow it to simmer for 5 minutes before removing the pan from the heat. Still covered the fish was let stand 10 minutes in the warm milk to gently finish. Afterwards the fish was lifted out of the milk on to a plate to cool.

The cooled fish was drained, then flaked into the potato mash. The salt, basil, scallions, ginger, and chilli was added, and the the entire mixture was worked together by hand. [1]

The fish cakes were formed and flattened by hand, turned over in egg and bread crumbs and fried till golden brown on both sides in oil on a large pan.

Served with wild rice, cucumber salad and peanut dipping.

[1] I think if I try this again, I would spend an extra egg on the dish to see if the fish cake mass could have a little less tendency to fall apart.

Update: Using more fish relative to potato gives a better result - but you have to use more eggs.

Birra San Martino

When we were on vacation in Ticino this past summer we had the chance to try some local beer. Birra San Martino located in Mendrisio (we bought them in Lugano) makes three different beers of which we tried two.

The most remarkable thing about them was the unusually low level of carbonation. This on the one hand made them seem a little flat, but on the other hand was likely also one of the reasons they went down as fast as they did. For my personal taste, the red one was the more interesting of the two.

Chicken & Sausage (Okra) Gumbo

After being recently schooled on the subject of Gumbo, I decided to revisit the subject - sans the maligned Lima beans. However, I chose to stick with the okra as thickening agent this time around, but I vow to return and try out a roux based version.

Ingredients:
- oil
- salt & pepper
- 4 pieces of chicken - ca. 650 g (1.5 lb)
- 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
- ca. 250 g fresh okra, finely sliced
- 2 red chillies, seeds removed, chopped
- 1 yellow & 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
- ca. 175 g (1/3 lb) sausage, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- water
- rice

Oil was heated in a large, deep, pan, and the chicken pieces were salted and peppered before being browned on all sides. The chicken pieces were removed from the pan and the onions and okra were added. The pan was covered for 10-15 minutes with occasional stirring (at which point the okra appeared to have exuded a clear, sticky liquid - this is what's needed for thickening the stew). Then the chillies and bell peppers were added together with the sausage, garlic, 0.5 L (2 cups) of water and the chicken pieces. The pot was brought to a boil, covered and allowed to simmer for ca. 40 minutes.

While the gumbo simmered, rice were cooked in lightly salted water. The gumbo was served with no more rice than for the overall texture to be that of a thick stew.

This was much more appreciated in the little home than the previous version.