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Monthly archives: June 2011

”Rillettes” of chicken with apples and onions

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Photo: Jakob Fridholm/imagebank.sweden.se

These wonderful Rillettes are great little appetizers to get the evening started.

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”Rillettes” of chicken with apples and onions
: 
: Appetizer
: 10
 

Ingredients
  • 2 corn-fed chicken legs
  • 1 onions
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 garlic
  • 1 piece of root celery
  • thyme
  • salt and pepper
  • 8 shallots
  • 2 apples
  • 4 tablespoons chardonnay vinegar
  • 100g butter

Instructions
  1. Peel and cut the yellow onions and root vegetables into smaller pieces.
  2. Add chicken legs, herbs and vegetables in a pressure cooker and cover with water.
  3. Boil 10-15 minutes.
  4. Remove the chicken legs and let them cool. Strain the broth.
  5. Peel and slice the shallots and apples, sautee in a pan in butter until soft for about 30-40 minutes.
  6. Finish with chardonnay vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Remove the bones and skin from the chicken legs and mix the meat with the onions and apples and season with salt and pepper.
  8. Serve on a crostini and garnish with herbs and apple julienne

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Swedish recipes

June 30, 2011

Take a trip: Sollerön, Dalarna

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Lake Siljan. Photo: Anne Skoogh

My family has a cabin on Sollerön, which is an island in the middle of lake Siljan in Dalarna. The area is one of the most beautiful places I know, and we always try to spend some time there each year. It’s about a four-hour drive from Stockholm. Every season has its charm but I prefer summer or fall.  In the summer, enjoy the gorgeous lake. The water is very clear and fresh, albeit a bit cool. You can fish and swim, or why not try kayaking?  There’s a good golf course, and large camping grounds.

In the fall, foraging for mushrooms and berries are a must. The winter is nice too, and you can go cross-country skiing on the nearby golf course, or even down-hill skiing at Gesunda. You can also visit a lot of local artists – I love pottery from this area. And don’t forget the traditional Dala horses – they’re made in Nusnas village where you can watch them being made from scratch (and even try to paint your own!)

Kids might also enjoy a visit to Santa at Tomteland (Santa World), or my favorite zoo of all times: Orsa Björnpark (Orsa Bear Park) where you’ll find lots of bears  – both brown and polar – and other wild animals including huge tigers, wolverines and lynxes. All are treated very respectfully and have very large enclosements where they’re free to roam.

Gorgeous pastry - a budapest roll topped with cream, fruit and berries. Photo: Anne Skoogh

Regardless of the season, I always make sure we have time to get bread and pastries at Helmers Konditori, possibly my favorite coffee shop in Sweden. It’s small and old-fashioned, and their pastries are delicious. Always fresh and well-made, and cheap enough to really splurge.  On a recent visit we had these Budapest Roll pastries, topped with whipped cream and berries. Delicious!

 

Anne Skoogh

June 30, 2011

Rhubarb Crumble

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My rhubarb plants. Photo: Anne Skoogh

Rhubarb is truly one of the first heralds of summer – those bright pink and green stalks, sprouting in early May. It’s easily found in grocery stores but it’s also one of the easiest things to grow yourself. You need a fairly large amount of dirt – a pot won’t suffice unless it’s huge. I have a big deep square made from wooden pallets and I planted three different kinds of rhubarb last year.  It takes a few years before you can get a good harvest though, so don’t be tempted to pluck all the stalks those first years. I had enough for one pie last year, and am planning on three or four this year – but many MANY more in years to come!

Rhubarb needs quite a bit of sun, and plenty of water. Don’t allow them to bloom, as that will take too much energy from the plant. (Just remove any buds that you might see.)  Use the stalks while still fairly young, or they might be woody and overly acidic. You can even freeze it if you have a lot – just cut it up, and place in plastic bags. I use about 500 g of rhubarb for each bag, which as it happens, is just the right amount for a pie.

So, what to make with your rhubarb? I have a lot of suggestions, but I think you should start with one of the simplest and also the tastiest: a rhubarb crumble. I apologize for not having a good photo of this – I find it very hard to make crumbles justice in photos!

Rhubarb Crumble
4 generous servings

500 g of rhubarb, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
sugar
300 ml flour
2 tbsp sugar
125 g butter

Start by preparing the rhubarb. Put in a pie dish, and sprinkle with sugar – it depends on how tart your rhubarb is, but don’t skimp on it. Make the topping in a food processor, or by hand – start by combining the sugar and flour, add the butter and pulse (or chop) until you have crumbs.

Simple as that! Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the rhubarb, and bake in a hot oven (225 degrees C, 450 F) for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crispy. Serve with custard or vanilla ice cream.

Anne Skoogh

June 27, 2011

Braised pork belly from Domta farm

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Photo: Jakob Fridholm/imagebank.sweden.se

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Apple cider braised pork belly from Domta farm with almond potato purée
: 
: Main
: 10
 

Ingredients
Braised pork belly:
  • about 2kg (4½ lbs) pork belly
  • 3 yellow onions
  • 3 green apples
  • 1 bottle apple cider
  • 1dl (½ cup) cider vinegar
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • about 1 liter (4¼ cups) chicken stock
  • 10 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • salt and pepper
Almond potato purée:
  • 500g (1 lb) almond potatoes
  • 300g (10½ oz) cream
  • 100g (3½ oz) butter
  • salt

Instructions
Braised pork belly:
  1. Cut the skin of the pork belly, season with salt and pepper and place in a deep oven tray.
  2. Peel and chop the onion and apples.
  3. Sautee the onion, apple and the rosemary in a saucepan, add the vinegar, cider and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
  4. Pour it over the pork and braise in 150°C/300°F oven about 2 – 3 hours depending on size.
  5. Take out the belly and chill it under pressure.
  6. Cut in square pieces and heat up by getting the skin crackling crispy in a skillet.
Almond potato purée:
  1. Boil the potatoes soft in salted water and press through a molinette.
  2. Bring the cream to boil and add to the potatoes.
  3. Mix in the butter and season with salt. Garnish with parsley, apple balls, grated horseradish and whole grain mustard

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The Domta farm is located outside the city of Enköping, where the Domta pig is breeded. This free range pig farm has been a favorite among Swedish chefs since they opened in 1992 for their fantastic ecological pork production.

Swedish recipes

June 26, 2011

Sea buckthorn curd with cookie crumble

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Photo: Jakob Fridholm/imagebank.sweden.se

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Sea buckthorn curd with cookie crumble
: 
: Dessert
: 10
 

Ingredients
Sea buckthorn curd :
  • 1dl (½ cup) Sea buckthorn purée
  • 2 eggs
  • 120g (4¼ oz) sugar
  • 150g (5¼ oz) butter
Cookie crumble:
  • 50g (1¾ oz) butter
  • 75g (1½ oz) sugar
  • 60g (2 oz) flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cardamom

Instructions
Sea buckthorn curd:
  1. Bring the purée, sugar and egg to boil during constant whisking.
  2. Pour in a blender and blend with the butter and chill.
Cookie crumble:
  1. Mix all ingredients into a dough.
  2. Make into smaller pieces and bake for about 10 min on 175°C/350°F until golden.
  3. Serve with fresh raspberries.

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The sea buckthorn can be found on Sweden’s more barren coast line, and the taste is similar to passion fruit.  The sea buckthorn is in season in Sweden in September and October.

Swedish recipes

June 23, 2011