Cheat's treat: Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup (kosher, gluten-free)

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Some of my secrets to weeknight dinners are noodles and rotisserie chicken. Together they make this quick, easy and delicious Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup. 

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Recently I was interviewed for the biggest paper in the country in the search for tips for speeding up cooking those weeknight meals. Seeing how I was (again) in a company so much better than myself (the other person they interviewed is a Michelin-starred chef...) I didn't dare to say everything I was thinking of. 

But we're all friends, right? So I don't mind sharing my #1 secret - you know, just between the two of us. 

You guys ready?

Here it comes. 

Order in. 

That's it: have someone else do the cooking and  order in instead!

Especially this spring my head's been working overtime just trying to stay on top of my body (let alone on top of all the things she's supposed to stay on top of) that it's actually rather disgraceful, how often I've happily outsourced the catering to a variety of home delivery services. And how often my dinner has been a delivery from Pizza Hut (BBQ, Italian crust) is downright shameful. What kind of a food blogger am I?!

But yes, I do cook, too. And I do cook using those tips I was giving out in that interview. One of my favourite shortcuts is using rotisserie chicken (or parts of it). 

That makes a robust salad in no time (such as my recipe for St. Tropez chicken and pasta salad), a spread to make a sandwich or to be served with a jacket potato (my favourite is this chicken and avocado salad) adds body to soups (you've got to try this Mediterranean chicken and roasted pepper soup!). 

Chicken cooked on the bone just has so much more flavour and juiciness than those vacuum-packen, anemic bra-fillers.

Good noodles are another shortcut I'm a big fan of - they only take fraction of the time cooking pasta would. 


This thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup combines both of this hacks. Oh, and coconut, which I favour over cream any time. As it comes in a tin, its shelf life is so much more convenient than that of cream. Which is why I always have some at home.

serves 4

Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut & noodle soup:

2 chicken breasts on the bone (or two ready grilled ones from the shop)

1,5 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1,5 tbsp finely chopped garlic

2 red chillis, finely chopped

200 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced 

7,5 dl chicken stock

1 can (400 ml) coconut milk

50 g noodles (for gluten-free soup use mung bean vermicelli or rice noodles)

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce) 

(½ - 1 tbsp brown sugar) 

½ bunch coriander, leaves chopped

½ bunch (Thai) basil, leaves chopped

to serve: lime wedges

rest of the herbs

toasted peanuts (optional)

In case using raw chicken breasts, roast them at 180°c for 45 minutes until cooked through. Baste with the liquid in the bottom of the pan every now and then. Let cool and in the meanwhile prepare the stock.

Measure ginger, garlic and chilli into the pot along with the chicken stock. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add mushrooms and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. 

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the bone and shred the meat into desired chunks. Add into the stock with spring onion and coconut milk. 

Bring to boil and add the noodles. Cook for a couple of minutes until the noodles are done. Add the herbs.

Season with fish sauce. Check the taste and adjust to your liking by adding fish sauce and/ or sugar.

Divide into serving bowls, scatter remaining herbs (and peanuts, if using) on top. Serve with a drizzle of lime juice. 

How about you guys - would you fancy a bowl of my Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup?

And hey - don't forget to share your own tips for surviving the mad weekend dinner rush? What are your secret short-cuts?

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SHARING IS CARING!

Comfort food from the Baltics - pork, pepper and paprika stew and Undurraga T.H. Carménère

I've totally fallen for Eastern European cuisines of late. They are exactly the kind of hearty, robust, soul-nurturing comfort food that I've been desperately needing recently. One thing that combines those countries with my old love Spain is their love of pork. And what a mighty animal that is!

On this side of the screen I'm already getting ready for the porky orgies that my up and coming trip to Andalusia will inevitably be, but before that, let's go live with this pork and pepper stew that we had for Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago, inspired by the most recent trip to Latvia. Best comfort foods are usually results of hours of loving stewing and simmering, but this bad boy is in your table in half an hour. Serve it with potatos mashed with browned butter (this is not the time to skimp on that butter!) and hello world - aren't you looking better already!

Just like that puff pastry lattice covered chicken pot pie, this, too, evoked some deep sighs around the table and with them the best compliment food can get: "this tastes just like something my grandmother would make".

Serves four

Pork, pepper and paprika stew:

3 large red peppers

400 g pork strips

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp pimentón

1 tbsp tomato concentrate

1 tub (120 g) sour cream

1 tbsp pickle juice from gherkins

salt, black pepper

3/4 dl gherkins, chopped to 1/2 cm cubes

handful of basil leaves, chopped

a couple of tbsp oil for frying

Cut the peppers in half and grill under the broiler at 275° until the skin is black and blistering. Place them in a plastic bag until cool enough to handle. Remove the skin, purée two of them and cut the third one in strips. 

Heat some oil in a casserole. Sear the pork on all sides and transfer aside. Add a little bit more oil and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Then add pimentón and tomato concentrate. Continue to cook for a couple of more minutes.

Add puréed pepper, pickle juice and sour cream. Simmer, covered for half an hour. Then add the remaining papper strips, gherkin cubes and basil leaves. Check the taste and season. 

The toasty sweetness of roasted peppers is something that Carménère grape compliments. S, for this lunch we opened a bottle of T.H. Carménère by the same Chilean producer that made the Carménère I paired my lamb dhansak with. 

As the name suggests (Terroir Hunter), the grapes have been sourced from the best vineyards and for instance this wine they only made 1050 boxes of. 

Much like the previously seen colleague, in addition to notes of pepper this also boasts berry notes, which make this medium-bodied wine very easy-drinking and easy to pair with a variety of dishes. Anything with (roasted) peppers, stews, pork and BBQ. It's got smooth tannins which make this wine's overall appearance even rounder and as a result I would recommend pairing it with spicier meat dishes, sausages and charcuterie, too.

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Quick and easy weekday treat: pasta with pea pesto and crunchy bacon

Thirties are apparently the busiest years in anyone's life. And boy, does it feel like that, too. Usually though people my age are also juggling marriages and mortgages and children's football practices too, in addition to everything else. How that is even possible I don't know. I mean, how many hours do they have in their day?

Lately this rush hour of my life has been even more hectic than usual. Last time I got enough sleep was sometime at the beginning of the decade. The bags under my eyes are beginning to reach the point that the airlines will start charging extra for them.  

Even in the sleep-deprived haze I navigate my days in I still need to eat. This recipe is from one of the many, many enticing cook books that have been published this spring, which I have a whole stack to get through...

Serves 2

Pasta with pea pesto and crunchy bacon

170 g bacon

Pea pesto:

200 g frozen peas

1/2 bunch basil

1/2 dl grated Parmesan

1 tbsp oil

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove

1/2 dl pasta cooking water

Lemon oil:

1/2 dl oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

The zest of a lemon, in thin strips

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

To serve: 1 dl Parmesan shavings

Roast bacon until crisp, either in an oven or in  a pan over moderate heat.

Prepare the pea pesto by blizzing peas, basil leaves, Parmesan, oil, lemon juice and seasoning in a blender or a food processor. Add cooking water from pasta to reach the desired consistency.

This point at latest start cooking the pasta. Combine the ingredients for the lemon oil. 

Add lemon oil into the cooked and drained pasta. Add pea pesto and crumbled up bacon. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and serve.

Any fool-proof weekday dinner life-saving recipes you've come tor rely on?

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SHARING IS CARING!

Hummus with sun-dried tomatos

Hummus - much like so many other things in Middle East- is a source of continuous fighting. Its name means "chickpea" in both Hebrew and Arabic and every single country in the region claims to have invented it. Whether or not the original inventors, Israelis have truly made it their own: their annual consumption is over double that of neighbouring countries. 

This hummus recipe will hardly add any fuel to the flames of any international incident: it's from my kitchen in Helsinki and outrageously rips its inspiration from Italy of all countries. It became a swift favourite of our hummus orgies yesterday. So freaking addictive even crack doesn't stand a chance - especially with these za'atar covered flatread crisps. 

Instead of sun-dried tomatos you could also use these oven-roasted ones. 

Hummus with sun-dried tomatos:

400 g can chickpeas (drained weight 240 g)

1 tbsp tahini
14 sun-dried tomatos

4 tbsp oil from the sun-dried tomatos

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp finely chopped basil
5 tbsp water
1/4 tsp black pepper

(1/4 tsp salt)

Measure the ingredients (apart from salt) into a food processor. Blizz until velvety smooth. Check the taste and add salt now if needed (there's quite a bit of salt in the tomatos). If it's too thick, add more water a tbsp at a time until you've reach the desired consistency.

Here's a teaser of all the other hummus recipes making their on the blog this week. Ooh, those colours! Spring just can't be here soon enough!

Out of habit I peel my chickpeas (the skin comes off easily, you just pinch the chickpea), but do you? Does it make any difference to the taste? Oh, and is everybody happy with the tinned variety or are there people out there who soak and boil their own chickpeas? Can you tell the difference?

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Slow-cooked soy crumb Bolognese and Valdifalco Morellino di Scansano

In case the previous soy recipes there are still people among you who feel skeptic about the virtues of soy-based meat substitutes, I have a sure-fire hit on my hands. Right here, people Da bomb. Just keep reading and you'll soon see what I mean. 

Bolognese, schmolognese, you might say (in case you were drunk and/or fully versed in Yiddish), but stand corrected, that is so not the case. Slow-cooking mellows the flavours and results in  Italian comfort food at its best. This soy Bolognese is as comforting and full of love as Nonna's arms, whose embrace will make even the shittiest week seem like a distant memory. I dare you. Not one of you would ever guess it's vegetarian. Let me repeat that: not a single one. 

Sure, it takes some time for this pot of love to come together, but you know what? That's all it takes. No real work is required as it just cooks away on the stove, all on its own. And in the meanwhile you are free to engage i other acts of love. In the kitchen... or in any other room...!

Serves 4-6

Slow-cooked soy Bolognese:

a couple of tbsp oil
1 celery stick, chopped in small cubes
1 large carrot, chopped in small cubes
1 onion, chopped in small cubes
4 largeish cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1,5 dl red wine
half a bunch of fresh thyme (or 1,5 tbsp dried)
3 bay leaves
4 dl soy crumbs
5 dl veggie stock
2 tins finely chopped crushed tomatos
salt, black pepper

Sauté garlic, celery, onion and carrot in oil over medium heat (lest they burn) until soft and the onion is translucent. Add thyme, bay leaves and red wine. Let it come to boil and then add soy crumbs. Let them soak up the flavours for a couple of minutes and add veggie stock. 

Cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add tomatos. Stir, season, cover and leave to simmer over gentle heat for 3,5 hours. 

Check the taste and season as needed. Serve.

Either with pasta..

... or keep going and turn it into a vegetarian/ vegan shepherd's pie.

You can use regular mashed potatos as well, but seeing how soy crumbs are so full of nutrients I opted for something equally nutrient and high in fiber and protein: yellow lentils. So, not only is this comforting and meat-free - this is practically super food! That ought to keep you loving long time!

Vegetarian/ vegan shepherd's pie with soy Bolognese:

1 portion of slow-cooked soy Bolognese

Yellow lentil mash:

5 dl yellow lentils

7.5 dl water or vegetable stock

25 g butter

1 egg yolk (for a vegan version use lentils' cooking water instead of butter and yolk)

3/4 tsp granulated garlic

3/4 tsp ground coriander

1,5 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

salt, white pepper

If you have time, soak the lentils in cold water for 20 minutes as this helps them cook faster.

Boil lentils until done (15-20 minutes) and drain. Puré with the rest of the ingredients, check the taste and season. 

Spoon into an oven-proof dish over the Bolognese layer. 

If you want, you can decorate it with fork (as in over here) or by piping little rosettes (as over here).

Bake at 225°  until golden. Serve.

This is perfect dish for a cozy Sunday lunch, so surely it deserves some wine to go with it, non?

And seeing how this is a celebration of Italian flavours, the wine I chose for this comes from Italy as well. Valdifalco Morellino di Scansano is Tuscan blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. 

Its got some tannins alright, but combined with the Bolognese's sweetness and softness (that's the magic of slow-cooking)  it provides a nice balance to it. 

A good pairing with tomato-based pastas and (vegetarian) stews and herbs such as fresh basil and rosemary are something this wine loves. 

And in case you're still not ready to give soy the go-ahead, try this traditional version with lamb or this homage to my heritage: reindeer herder's pie!

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The joys of working from home: pasta with oven-roasted tomato red pesto

Once upon a time a girl was working from home. You know, a girl that might have absolutely nothing to do with reality, so let's call her... a Food Blogger. Now, a working from home-kind-of-day would have been perfect for something gloriously slow-roasted, but since our Food Blogger was so damn lazy busy, she never quite found it in her the time to go all the way to the shop (across the street).

Sure, a stew of slow-roasted meaty deliciousness might have been a bit tricky since she was also taking part in a Meat-free October (as I said, this story has nothing to do with any actual persons...)

For reasons the Food Blogger's hazy terribly efficient brain full of all sorts of important things couldn't quite remember, she did have a 1,5 kg of tomatos in the fridge. So, instead of a juicy bit of pork neck they found their way into the oven instead. After 4 hours they had dried and aromatized (big on making up her own words, this Food Blogger I see) as their flavours had concentrated (ooh, and fancy cheffy words as well!) 

So, the Food Blogger blizzed them into a pesto. Since our Food Blogger had a bit of an aversion to cheese (again: a totally fictional character!) she went for a Parmesan, a.k.a. dairy-free a.k.a. vegan pesto. And hey presto, a one-ingredient pasta sauce was done!

And then the Food Blogger managed to photograph the food in daylight (oh, the joys of working from home) and lived happily ever after.

(And then George Clooney called, invited himself over for a spot of lunch, fell madly in love with our Food Blogger, begged her to run off to Italy with him and then everybody lived happily ever after. The End.) 

(See, told you. Totally fictional.) 

This yields enough red pesto for 4-5 portions of pasta

Red pesto made of oven-roasted tomatos:

1,5 kg tomatos

3/4 tsp sugar

2 tsp Herbs of Provence

3/4 tsp granulated garlic

salt, black pepper

oil

For the pesto:

1,25 dl oil (left over oil from sun-dried tomatos works brilliantly)

1 large bunch of basil (2 handfuls for the pesto itself, rest for serving)

1/2 dl pine nuts (now with the pumpkin season on you could use pumpkin seeds as well)
1 tsp red wine vinegar

salt, black pepper

Cut the tomatos in half, remove the hard core and place on a baking sheet-lined tray the cut side up. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle the herbs and seasoning on the tomatos. Roast at 100-125° for 3,5-4 hours (depending on your oven). 

Let the tomatos cool down. Reserve 1/3 of the tomatos for serving and cut them into strips. Whizz remaining tomatos with rest of the ingredients, check the taste and season as needed. 

Cook pasta in salted water until done, drain (reserve some of the liquid), stir in pesto and add a bit of cooking liquid if needed to make it runnier.  Fold in tomato strips and rest of the basil leaves. Serve.

PS. Equally good on bread, too!

PPS. The pesto can be made ahead  as it'll keep (covered with a layer of oil) for days.

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Salad Nicoise and Meinklang Grüner Veltliner

Summer's here! And with it asparagus! And all the wonderful fresh herbs! And new potatos! We've even booked our days off for summer holiday (though, having only just started our respective new jobs, our budget might only stretch to a last minute deal somewhere in Albania...)

But in the meanwhile there's no reason to celebrate summer with this summer classic from South of France. This version is an ode to all the fresh produce markets are heaving with right now and a slightly better version of the original. Instead of a tinned tuna this uses herb crusted fresh tuna and tomatos, too are elevated to a whole new level by slow-roasting them in the oven. Instead of limp, lifeless, watery haricots verts I used asparagus because... well, why not?

It's roasting of the tomatos that takes up most of the time, but that can well be done the day before. If you live somewhere in the South of Italy (or France...) your tomatos are probably bursting with flavour already as it is, so you can just use them as they are (in which case half of the amount listed below will do).  You could of course just steam the potatos and asparagus, too.

Serves 3-4, as a starter 4-5

Salad Nicoise with herb crusted tuna and slow-roasted tomatos

Slow-roasted tomatos:

500 g cherry tomatos

a couple of tsp oil

1 tbsp thyme leaves

a couple of cloves of garlic

salt, pepper

Roasted new potatos:

500 g new potatos

2 sprigs of rosemary

salt

oil

Roasted asparagus:

bunch of asparagus

oil

salt, pepper

Herb crusted tuna:

350 g piece of fresh tuna loin

salt, pepper

1 heaped dl of chopped fresh herbs (I used a mix of tarragon, thyme and rosemary)

Also:

1 small red onion, cut into thin rings

4 eggs (boiled to the preferred hardness)

handful of olives

a couple of handfuls of basil leaves

Salad dressing:

5 anchovies

1 clove of garlic

the juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 dl oil

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

(salt, white pepper)

In a bowl combine oil, finely chopped garlic and thyme leaves. Cut the tomatos in half and toss in oil. Place on a parchment-lined tray and roast at 125° for 3-3,5 hours (depending on the size). Leave to cool and prep the rest of the salad.

Increase the oven temperature to 225. Brush the potatos and cut in half (if they're bigger, cut in 4). Place in an oven proof dish with rosemary, season with salt and drizzle a couple of glugs of oil on top. Toss together and roast for 30-40 minutes until done (depending on the size), tossing every now and then. About 10 minutes before potatos are done, start roasting the asparagus, too.

Trim the dry stalks, place in another oven-proof dish, drizzle a couple of tbsp oil on top, season with salt and roast for 10-15 minutes (depending on their size). Let potatos and asparagus cool and prep the sauce.

Mix everything together using a small food processor or using a pestle and a mortar, first rub anchovies and garlic clove into a paste. Add lemon juice, stir until smooth and add oil and balsamico. Check the taste and season if needed.

Then prep the tuna. Pat dry, brush with oil, season with salt and pepper and press minced herbs onto the fish. Sear on a hot frying pan for 1/2 min - couple of minutes/ side (depends on the thickness, you want it to remain very rosé in the middle!) and leave to rest for a while. In the meanwhile combine the ingredients for the salad and add dressing. 

Cut tuna into slices of your preferred thickness and add into the salad. Serve.

A classic companion for this classic dish would be a nice little bistro overlooking a marina somewhere in French Riviera and a glass of chilled local rosé. But here's another, not so traditional, but a very nice wine pairing.

Grüner Veltliner is the best known grape in Austria and this biodynamic wine from Meinklang is a great specimen. It's got a great, aromatic fruitiness to it, followed by mineral notes and peppery acidity. So it can take on the tanginess dressing and the acidity of the tomatos and the onion, while balancing the richness of the tuna and eggs.

The herby quality of the wine pairs well with the summery herbs of the dish and this is a particularly great wine  for dishes containing tarragon of basil. 

A great recommendation to summer's picnics and parties - superb value for money and suitable for those vegan guests, too...!

Roasting brings such wonderful depth to veggies, especially tomatos. Just try this sublime roasted tomato soup with basil oil!

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