Dec
13
2009
The official cakes of St. Lucy’s Day, these are expensive but so delicious they are definitely worth it! This recipe is from the Norweigan food guru of olden times, Ingrid Espelid Hovig and yields about 30 Lussekatter.
175 g margarine or butter
5 dL milk
50 g yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 dL sugar
1 g saffron, finely ground
1 egg (plus 1 more for egg wash)
1 1/2 dL raisins (plus more for decorating)
1 1/2 L plain flour
Melt the margarine/butter, add the milk and heat to 37 C (40 C if using dried yeast). Mix the yeast with a little milk in a large mixing bowl, then add the rest of the milk, salt, sugar, saffron, egg and raisins.
Then add the flour until the dough is nice to work with and lets go of the mixing bowl.
Sprinkle with flour, cover with a cloth and set to raise for 30 minutes.
Knead the dough for a few minutes, until nice and springy.
Shape into ‘Lussekatter’ (inverted ‘S’ shapes) and place on lined cookie sheets to raise again, until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash.
Bake the Lussekatter in the middle of the oven at 225 C for 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool or eat immediately. Mmmmm!
Jun
06
2009
I’ve been having oatmeal porridge for breakfast lately. Pretty much every morning. It is filling and healthy and it keeps me going until lunch! But some mornings porridge just won’t cut it. Am I right? You can sense that something is different as soon as you wake up, and once you make your way into the kitchen the case is perfectly clear: TINMFO! ( This Is No Morning For Oatmeal!) Following a quick survey of the fridge you might end up with this, if you’re lucky:
An omelette with chopped tomato, cured ham and lovely fragrant fresh basil. May I just say, MmmMMmMMM!
I am now ready to start my day! Have a whole lot of fun things planned starting with a trip to the gym with my lovely partner in crime C, then a couple of hours of perusing books for sale at Aschehoug’s courtyard sale and then the grand finale: Musikkens dag. (Music’s Day/ Day of Music.) I am excited.
Oct
10
2008
These delicious little snacks can be the perfect way of satisfying that intense chocolate craving without the intense guilt which usually follows. Made from ‘puffed rice’ as we call it in Norway (I have not been able to come up with a suitable word for it in English, although I believe you’d be able to make it yourself by putting rice in an air popper for popcorn) and melted chocolate, mixed together and cooled in little tops on a cookie sheet or in cupcake tins, it is a staple of children’s parties and a loved snack by kids country wide. My mum never used to make them so I only had the luxury of tasting them when visiting friends’ houses on special occasions such as birthdays.
I’ve put together an adult version with dark instead of milk chocolate, mixed with a little vanilla sugar to sweeten it a bit.
Yields 15-20:
- 1,5 L puffed rice
- 250 g dark cooking chocolate, in small pieces
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 1 tbsp margarine
- 0,5 dl water
In a small saucepan, melt the margarine and add the cooking chocolate. While the chocolate is melting, add the water a little at a time to get a smooth, not too thick yet not too runny consistence. Add the vanilla sugar.
In a bowl, mix the rice with the melted chocolate until well covered. Place in cupcake tins or spoon onto a lined baking sheet. Leave to cool completely before serving.
Sep
11
2008
These meatballs are so good, they just might make you over-eat and leave you with a stomach-ache! They’re perfect with spaghetti, or even on their own (I’d imagine). I make mine with the accompaniment of my Perfect Roasted Tomato Sauce, letting them cook in the sauce in the oven on a low heat for 30 minutes. This leaves them soft, moist and lovely. I got the inspiration for this recipe from one of my Sicilian Cookery books, but I’ve changed it quite a bit.
Here’s my recipe for this amazingly delicious Sicilian treat:
- 500g minced beef
- 2 small cloves of garlic, grated
- a big bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 dl breadcrumbs, soaked in
- -soy milk (about 1 dl when mixed)
- 1 dl parmesan, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- Perfect Roasted Tomato Sauce
Set your oven to 170 degrees celsius.
Begin the meatballs by mixing all the dry ingredients with the minced beef: the garlic, the cheese, the parsley, salt and pepper:
Then add the breadcrumbs soaked in soy milk:
Then add the egg:
-And mix well. Shape the meatballs using a spoon (I use my regular table spoon as I think it gives a great size and shape to my meatballs):
Coat them lightly in flour and brown them quickly in olive oil:
-Before adding them to the sauce in a roasting tin, taking care to cover the meatballs with sauce. Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes. During which time you’ve got the perfect opportunity to make the spaghetti or whatever you’re serving to go along with them. You could even eat them on their own, they’re so good.
Take the whole thing out after 30 minutes and it should look something like this:
If you love your friends, invite them over. If you need a break from them, don’t let them taste this. You’ll never be rid of them, I swear ;)
Sep
11
2008
This tomato sauce is so delicious you’ll be cheating yourself if you don’t try it! It’s inspired by both Gordon Ramsay’s roasted tomato soup and my mum’s delicious roasted tomato sauce. Basically all you do is roast tomatoes, onion, garlic and fresh herbs at 220 degrees celsius for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing up the tomatoes a bit. Absolutely scrumptious! I’ve taken it a step further here and used a blender to get that lovely smooth texture that is perfect for pasta dishes, and also used some red wine for that extra little something. Here’s my recipe for the perfect roasted tomato sauce:
Heat your oven to 220 degrees celsius.
Start the sauce by pouring some olive oil in a roasting tin, and placing it in the oven until almost smoking. Take the tin out and add the tomatoes, onion, garlic and thyme. Sprinkle a little olive oil on top, and season well with salt and pepper.
Roast for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 180 degrees, and mash up the tomatoes to get a sauce-like consistency. Add some red wine, to taste. I use about 1-2 dl as I really enjoy the taste. Add some tomato paste if you want, and the sugar. Return it to the oven for the last 15 minutes.
At this point you have a delicious tomato sauce which is great as it is — unless you want it smooth.
If you want a smooth texture, pour the sauce into your blender and blend on high for about one minute or until you get the texture you want. Serve — or put back in the roasting tin if you want to add meatballs!