Chilli-chocolate panna cotta

Technology can, when in fully working order, be a marvellous thing. Take this blog post for one. Just like that it burst into the internet and onto your screens without me even needing to be at my computer! I'm currently actually not even in the same country as my computer - while she's enjoying some much-needed down time, we're enjoying Riga and everything they have to offer for a foodie!

So, in case you don't follow us on Instagram yet, do it now. Today's schedule includes a trip to a winery among other things!

Another equally marvellous thing is chocolate. Having recently made rather a triumphant entrance in our kitchen, panna cotta is something we've been feasting on quite a bit. Latest version was this Mexican-inspired chocolate pannacotta which gets some lovely heat from... yep, you guessed it: chilli! Aye caramba!

Serves 3-4

Chilli and chocolate panna cotta:

120 g milk chocolate

2,5 dl cream

0,75 dl milk

1 generous tbsp sugar

1 large red chilli, halved and seeds removed

1 gelatin leaf

For serving: chocolate shavings

Leave the gelatin to soak in cold water. Melt chocolate over simmering water. Measure rest of the ingredients (apart from the gelatin) into another pot and bring to boil. If you want some real kick to your pud, remove the pot from the heat, cover and let chilli infuse the cream mixture for 15 minutes. Then remove the chilli and re-heat.

Squeeze out excess liquid off the gelatin and dissolve into the hot cream mixture. Start adding the cream mixture into the chocolate, little bit at a time. Pour into ramekins and chill until set (a couple of hours).

Serve with chocolate shavings. Or those divine almond shards!

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Mexican avocado and corn salad

I've already lamented the poor quality of figs and chestnuts sold in Finland. With avocados the situation has luckily vastly improved over the past years and even the smallest shops now seem to stock perfectly ripe avocados ready  to be devoured. Which is nice, seeing how I'm no longer able to nick source them directly from the neighbour's tree...

The vegan association in Finland is challenging people to take part in Vegan January (seriously, as if Dry January wouldn't be enough! Not that we're taking part in that one either...) so we, too, decided to go vegan. For one meal, anyway. A friend came over to get ideas as her daughter has become a full-time vegan so, the salad itself is vegan. In the end our  meal wasn't as we had it with garlicky tortilla crisps and some Greek yogurt sprinkled with fleur de sel and pimentòn. Oh, and coconut-crusted fish fritters based on this prawn recipe. 

Vegan challenge, attempt #1. Fail. This salad, luckily, not at all.

On top of everything else it's so quick and easy it's almost embarrassing to even talk about cooking - seeing how most of the ingredients come in a tin...

Serves 4, as a side dish 6-8

Corn, avocado and black bean salad:

2 avocados

1 tin (285 g) corn

1 tin (285 g) black beans

1 green pepper

1 red onion

the juice of 1,5  limes

1 tbsp brown sugar

Dressing:

the juice of 1/2 lime

the finely grated zest of 1 lime

1/ 2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds

1/4 tsp pimentón

pinch of cayenne

1/2 - 1 jalopeño, minced (depending on the size, feistiness... and your palate)

1/4 dl oil

salt, pepper, large bunch of coriander

Start with prepping the onion. Peel and slice it. Squeeze the lime juice and which in sugar until it's completely dissolved. Pour over the onion and leave to marinate and soften while you prep rest of the salad.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh. Cut into slices (or chunks, which ever way you prefer). Cut the pepper too.

Drain corn and black beans. Combine with red onion and rest of the veggies. Fold in chopped coriander leaves. Combine the ingredients for the dressing and toss into the salad. Check the taste and season as needed. Serve.

You could also serve this as a side with grilled chicken, fish or seafood or mix them directly into the salad.

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Fish ceviche

I know, I know. Sure I've been talking about eating more fish but... there hasn't really been much action, has there? Even I can't fathom why as it is such a versatile creature. You can cure it, pickle it, steam it, fry it, turn into burgers, mash into a terrine or (when you're feeling particularly lazy!) make ceviche. Which is such a  dreamily light and refined way to impress dinner guests, too. 

Originally this dish comes from South America. In our Southern Finnish household it got paired with equally light accompaniments: mango, spring onion, red onion, garlic, tomato, wonderfully fruity jalapeno and loads of coriander, claro que si!

And si, si! Muy bien!

As a starter this feeds four

400 g fish fillets (ours were pangasius)
the juice of 1,5 limes

200 g mango cubes (the flesh of appr. 2 ripe fruits)

handful of spring onions, chopped (about 1 stalk)

1/2 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tomatos

handful of coriander leaves, chopped

1 jalopeno

to serve: toasted flat breads of tortillas, Greek yogurt

Cut the fish into 1 cm- cubes and place in a wide-bottom, non-metallic dish. Squeeze lime juice on top, cover and  and let it work its magic in the fridge. Turn the chunks around a bit if needed. In the meanwhile cut mango and tomatos into similar size cubes and, along with rest of the ingredients, combine with fish. Season with salt and serve.

Brush tortillas with a little bit oil and sprinkle some salt (optional) on top. Granulkated garlic and smoked paprika powder also work wonderfully! Toast at 200°  for a couple of minutes and cut into wedges.

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Soup Sunday: taco soup

This week's Soup Sunday got off to a reckless start: I started my morning by opening a bottle of beer. Strictly for staging purposes, of course... And I can tell you all the chilli-infused fumes of this morning's cooking did wonders to my lungs - no congestion here! Much like laksa this is guaranteed to keep flu at bay!

This too is all about minimizing food waste - though this time in a totally topsy turvy manner - for the actual dish this was born out of you'll have to wait until next Friday!

In case you have aversion to shop-bought taco spice mixes, feel free to make your own. This is what I rustled out of the contents of my pantry. 

Oh, and in case you too are struggling to find ripe avocados, here's a tip I just picked up: wrap them in tin foil and bake at 100 for 10-15 minutes. Hey presto! 

Taco spice mix:

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp caraway seeds, ground

3/4 tbsp cumin, ground

3/4 tbsp coriander seeds, ground

3/4 tbsp paprika

1/2 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper

a little shy of 1 tsp cinnamon

a little shy of 1 tsp ground ginger

the zest of 1 lime

Serves 6

400 g mince meat

1 sachet of taco spice mix (or your own tale on it - adjust the quantities to your palate)

1 large onion

1 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 tbsp tomato concentrate

1/2 can of corn (á 340 gr)

1/2 can kidney beans

1 can brown beans

500 g crushed tomatos

3/4 l water

1 stock cube (chicken or beef)

suolaa, pippuria

to serve: lime juice, 2 avocados, nachos, coriander leaves and sour cream (or créme fraîche or Turkish yoghurt)

Brown the mince in a pan and add into it the spice mix. In a big pot sauté sliced onions and add chopped peppers into the mix. When they've softened a bit, add tomato paste. Then add mince, crushed tomatos and stock cube you've dissolved in boiling water. Bring to boil and add drained corn and beans. Keep cooking until everything is piping hot all the way through. Check the taste and season as needed. Divide into bowls, sprinkle over the lime juice and chopped coriander leaves. Crush some nachos on top and serve with sour cream and avocado slices - the creaminess of both helps to sooth the spiciness.

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