Ham and pasta salad

The star of Finnish Christmas table is ham. A big ass ham. As a result, by now everyone's so sick of it they'll not want to see one for another year. But in case you're still left with some, this retro salad is a fine way of recycling it into good use. And a cheap and cheerful dish for parties and buffets. And picnics - we're only half a year away from summer!

In my childhood we never had issues with leftover ham: though I'm not much of a ham-eater (unless it comes from a black-hoofed Spaniard, of course...) my consumption during Christmas time got legendarily out of control. By Christmas Day my poor Dad had to cook another one as the first one had mysteriously disappeared into the bottomless stomach of his first-born...

And sure, after the non-stop food orgies that are Christmas you could substitute some of the mayonnaise in the dressing with say, Turkish yogurt, too. 

Serves 4-6, as a part of a buffet up to 10 people

Ham and pasta salad:

200 g pasta (gluten-free if needed)

350 g ham, diced to 1 cm cubes

1 red pepper, diced to 1 cm cubes

200 g peas

200 g corn

Dressing:

2,5 dl mayonnaise

2 tbsp mustard (sweeter variety)

1 bunch chives

1,5 tsp granulated garlic 

salt, pepper to taste

Conbine the ingredients for dressing. Cook pasta according to instructions on the packet. Drain and rinse with cold water. Combine with rest of the ingredients and fold in the dressing. Check the taste and season as needed. Serve. 

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Tuna balls with garlic mayo - cheap and cheerful cocktail party treat

For the past couple of weeks I've been keeping a secret. Not easy, I'll tell you. But what a wonderful secret it was to have! My British brother finally got around to proposing to The Mane Magician and sought my consultancy in finding The Perfect Ring. And perfect it was. He said he knew straight away. With the ring and with the girl. Oh, young love...

So, over the weekend we got together to celebrate the happy news. Can't think of a better excuse! 

These tuna balls are cheap, easy and so convenient. Nothing exotic here - you'll find all the ingredients in any little corner shop. You could substitute pepper with frozen and thawed corn kernels, too (about 100 gr will do) in which case they don't need to be sautéed. 

Depending on the size this yields 25-30 balls

Tuna and pepper balls:

2 largeish potatos
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
bunch of parsley, chopped
1/2 dl breadcrumbs (gluten-free is needed) 
1 egg
2 cans of tuna, drained
salt, pepper

1/2 l canola oil, for frying

Steam oR boil the potatos, let cool.

Sauté pepper and onion in a bit of oil until soft. 

Mash the potatos using a fork. Add onion, peppers, parsley, garlic, lemon zest and bread crumbs. Mix until smooth. Then add the egg and finally tuna (can be in coarser bits).

Check the taste, season as needed and roll into 25-30 bite-size balls. Deep-fry in hot oil, drain on kitchen towels and serve, with lemon wedges and/or garlic mayo.

Garlic mayo:

1,5 dl good mayonnaise
1/2 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp mustard
salt, white pepper (to taste)

Combine the ingredients, check the taste and season with salt and pepper.

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Chicken and avocado salad with Biohof Pratsch Grüner Veltliner

Summer. The most pointless season here up North. It's so light one can barely sleep. And anyway, should the sum come out, you'll just get skin cancer. And Lord have mercy if you try to protect yourself with sunscreen: then the chemicals in the cream just give you some other form of cancer and on top of that expose you to all sorts of hormonal changes which change your genetic makeup and your offspring is born with horns. At least. 

If it rains, there are the mosquitos. Sure, nature is at its most glorious, but you can't really go in there either as then you'll just get bitten by a tick and get yourself Lyme disease and the doctors won't know what to do with you as they don't really believe it's a disease anyway. So, you just go and try to enjoy all this overwhelming greenness that's everywhere, to a point of giving you a migraine. One should be eating salads, but no, sausages are the only think you actually fancy. It's easy, being Finn equipped with a Finnish mentality, I'll tell you!

Luckily it only lasts a couple of funny weeks, this summer. But as you're counting down weeks to the comfortingly gray reality, here's a recipe to keep you going. It's salad, you see. And green - without a tick in sight!

This chicken and avocado salad is almost as diverse as the nature is (based on those documentaries curated by Sir Richard Attenborough), too: eat it as it is, use it as a dip for nachos (in which case you want to cut the chicken into small cubes!), have it with jacket potatos or as a filling for sandwiches. 

If you want it more slad-ey, just add more veggies (green peppers work well!). If you want to use it to stuff hot dog buns, this recipe is enough for 10 small buns. For the recipe for home-made hot dog buns, just click here!

Chicken, avocado and corn salad: 

4 (small) avocados

the juice of 2 limes

2 tbsp of good mayo

350 g cooked chicken

1-1,5 jalapeños(depending on how fiery you want it)

bunch of coriander leaves chopped

1 spring onion,chopped

150 g corn

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt (to taste)

1/2 tsp black pepper

Cook the chicken. For maximun taste, choose piece on the bone - you'll get the required amount from 3 whole legs. If you're feeling lazy, just buy some rotisesserie chicken. Let cool and chop to cubes of desired size.

Measure avocado, lime juice and mayo into a food processor and blizz to smooth paste. Add rest of the ingredients and fold in the chicken. Check the taste and season as/if needed. Serve.

This would have to be my favourite way to enjoy the salad: toast the buns, stuff with salad and some coriander leaves, drizzle with lime juice and off you go!

Mexican corn beer spiked with lime would be the obvious choice for this - the richness of avocado is not the easiest to pair with wine. This Grüner Veltliner from Austrian Biohof Pratch is a good match though.

It's got mineral acidity which cuts through the richness of the avocade and citrusy notes that go well with lime. Its pepperiness works well with the heat-bringing elements and you might want to try this with spicier Asian dishes, too!

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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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¡ Viva el Kräftskiva !

Though crayfish, cooked in its dilly broth is the bona fide star of the kräftskiva table, you've got to have something else to feed your diners too. Like the Mediterranean potato salad. But sure enough the crayfish craziness wasn't satisfied with just the plate heaving with them - we just had to have some more. 

Moderation, you see, is something you might have noticed isn't exactly my forte. Less is never more and too much is only rarely enough.

And though all that fiddling with the shells is a lovely activity in itself I wanted to give our guests a little easier access to the succulent treats. So, in celebration of this blog's roots and the Mediterranean theme of our this year's kräftskiva I baked a tart which got a lovely Iberian kick from chorizo and pimenton. And the secret behind the sunny colour of the crust? Spanish saffron! Because ¿por que pas?

You all probably know the pie crust by heart by now, non? You'll find it in here, in here and in here, too. I dissolved a pinch of saffron threads (appr. 2 g) into the liquid that goes into the crust.

Prepare the crust and blind bake at 200º, first 15 minutes covered with foil and baking beans/ regular dried beans/ rice and then without he foil for another 10 minutes or so. Let cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

150 g crayfish tails

the zest of 1/2 lemon, finely grated

1/2 tsp pimentón 

1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

50 g good chorizo (charcuterie type)

2 spring onion stalks, the green bits, chopped (appr. 2 dl )

75 g corn

handful of parsley leaves

Combine lemon zest, pimentón, coriander seeds and garlic powder. Drain crayfish tails , squeeze dry and toss in the spice mixture. Finely slice chorizo and chop the spring onions. Spoon the filling into the cooled pastry case: first spring onion, then chorizo, then corn, then crayfish tails and finally parsley leaves. Or, how ever you prefer. Top with custard and bake at 175º for 30-40 minutes until set and golden brown. Let cool and serve.

Custard:

2,5 dl cream

1,5 dl milk

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 generous tsp freshly ground black pepper

Whisk thoroughly and pour over the filling before baking. 

PS. For even easier to manage recipe for an oil-based crust that I recently used for the tomato, basil and ricotta tart please click yourself here!

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Prawn and sweet corn fritters

These prawn and sweet corn fritters hail from Southeast Asia (in Malaysia they're known as cucur udang. Or something like that.) and they've become one of my kitchen's favourites - they've won me fans all the way in Middle East, too! For gluten-free treats use rice flour. In any case I think you'll find these will be snapped up in no time!

Depending on the size this recipe yields 24-30 fritters

Prawn and sweet corn fritters:

150 g sweet corn

200 g king prawns (cooked) 

1 green chilli

1 spring onion stalk, chopped

Handful of coriander leaves (1 tbsp when chopped)

2,5 dl ice cold fizzy water

3 dl flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 generous tsp curry

1 generous tsp salt

Oil for frying

Combine the dry ingredients and pour in water, whisking quickly. The consistency should be thick. Add drained corn, roughly chopped prawns, spring onion, coriander and chilli. Heat oil in heavy pan , using 2 tablespoons drop in the fritters and and fry them in batches until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen towels and serve immediately.

Serve with lime wedges... or dip! Such as mango, chilli and ginger dip or the dip I served with the asparagus tempuras.

Mango, chilli and ginger dip:

1 dl mayonnaise

1 dl Greek yogurt

1 small babyfood jar of mango purée

about 1 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped

1 small red chilli

the juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lime

1 generous tbsp chopped coriander leaves

salt

Combine everything else but salt to a smooth dip and let sit in the fridge for about an hour. Check the taste and season as needed.

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Soup Sunday: Sunny chicken and corn soup

This weeks marks National Food waste awareness week in Finland. The theme hasn't warranted special attention in this blog since minimizing waste is such an important principle in my cooking anyway. Planning ahead when doing the shop is the first step. Another way to stop wasting perfectly edible foodstuffs (the quantity of which in Western countries is nothing short of ridiculous) is recycling the left overs as stuffing in pies, as cocktail treats or starters for the following day or building entire tapas - style meals out of several smaller dishes. 

One of the easiest ways (and one I follow each week) is to recycle them into soups. You can toss just about anything into the pot which means they're also a great way to lure oneself into eating more veg. And if you make a bigger batch there's the added bonus of not having to worry about following week's lunches either!

This week's Soup Sunday is attempting to ward off the grey, dull autumn with this sunny chicken soup which comforts with its creamy richness and its vibrant colour. Like with chilled corn soup the richness if courtesy of corn - no cream needed! Chilli, garlic and ginger also help keep all those nasty bugst at bay!

Serves 4-6

2 cans of corn (á 300 g)

1 smallish onion

2 carrots

1 smallish red pepper

100 g peas

7 dl water

1 chicken stock cube

about 3-4 cm piece of ginger

1-2 red chillies (depending on their feistiness and your palate)

3 large garlic cloves

the zest and juice of 1 lime

3/4 tbsp curry powder

400 g chicken

salt, pepper

to serve: coriander leaves and/or spring onion

Finely chop ginger, chilli, onion and garlic. Cut the chicken to chunks / strips of desired size. Drain corn, grate lime zest and peel and chop the carrots and pepper to pea-sized pieces.

Heat some oil in a pot and sauté ginger, garlic, chilli and onion. Then add curry powder and lime zest. Toss around for a bit and pour in the corn and boiling hot water and stock cube. Bring to boil and blizz until smooth.

Pour the soup back into the pot and add carrot cubes ad chicken. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally until they're done - about 10 minutes. Then add peas and pepper cubes. Continue cooking for a couple of more minutes until they too are done. Season with salt, pepper and lime juice and serve.

Ginger is a fantastic ingredient and often seen in my cooking. In case you don't have use for it every day, here's a waste-minimizing tip I picked up from Rachel Roy: when buying fresh ginger, peel it and freeze in one of those zip-lock bags and grate the required amount when needed. This way you'll always have fresh ginger on hand and it won't go all slimy and mushy.

PS. Voting in Indiedays Inspiration Blog Awards  ends today, so in case you haven't yet voted for your favourite, do it now!


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Green curry chicken

Now that I plucked up the courage to make my own red curry paste, I had to attempt the green one too. Red is apparently usually the base for vegetarian or fish curries whereas the green one is more often served with meat. This had chicken. Feel free to use what ever vegetables you fancy (or might be able to locate at the bottom of the fridge). Peppers, mange touts or green beans would work beautifully too.

The inspiration came from the same site as the inspiration for the red one which is here. I would have loved to try kaffir lime , the unique flavour of which I've heard so much about but so far I've not managed to locate any in Finland. I've only managed to find kaffir lime leaves. Which is a totally different thing. I've not acquired that shrimp paste either, so again I substituted it with lobster fond.

This recipe yields enough paste for a 4-person curry. It also keeps in the fridge in an air-tight container for a good couple of weeks, but it can also be frozen.

Green curry paste:

2 lemon grass stalks

4 garlic cloves

1 shallot or a small regular onion

a bunch of coriander (I used both leaves and stalks)

1,5 generous tsp freshly grated ginger (or ginger paste)

the zest and juice of 1 lime

2-3 green chillies (depending on your taste - mine were poblanos)

1 tsp lobster fond (or that Asian shrimp paste should you have some)

3 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp cumin

Grind the ingredients to a paste either in a blender or using a pestle and mortar. Start with the tougher, more fibrous ones such as lemon grass and ginger. If needed, add a dash of water (1/4 dl or so) to get a smoother paste - any excess liquid will evaporate when it hits the hot pan. Check the taste and season with salt as needed.

Green chicken curry(for 4):

1/2 chilli
1- 2 garlic cloves (depending on their size and your palate)
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
dash of lime juice
2 kaffir lime leaves (or small bay leaves)
1 star anise

3 large chicken breasts (mine were still on the bone)
1,5 cans of coconut milk (the thick and creamy kind - none of that thin, watery kind)
1 smallish aubergine
1 can minicorn

to serve (thai)basil or coriander leaves, spring onions, fresh lime and chillies

Heat the wok or a large frying pan. Chop the aubergines to slices of your desired taste and fry them until soft in a little bit of oil. Remove from the pan and add a little oil in which you sauté chilli, garlic, ginger and a little bit of lime juice. Then add chicken, cut into chunks or strips (I like mine fairly large) and toss around a bit so it mixes nicely with the spices. No need to brown it. Then add curry paste, star anise and kaffir lime leaves and stir so chicken is evenly coated. Then add coconut milk. Cook over moderate heat for about 10 minutes and then add drained mini corns and aubergines. Continue cooking for further 5-10 minutes until chicken is cooked and the vegetables too are piping hot all the way through. Check the seasoning and, if needed, add more fish sauce, soy sauce or salt. Then add a couple of handfuls of (thai)basil or coriander leaves and another couple of handfuls of spring onions. Divide into bowls and serve with fresh herbs and lime wedges.

Here's a surprising fact: guess where basil, that herb so profoundly elementary to Italian cuisine originally hails from? India of all the places!

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Soup Sunday: chilled corn with (or without) crab salad

Since those dazzlingly gorgeous summer days continue (even in Finland), I've been on a constant lookout for ideas for chilled soups (that, and that bikini body)In Bon Appetit magazine I remembered coming across a recipe for cold corn soup served with lobster salad. Since lobster isn't (even in Spain) exactly the most affordable of ingredients, the actual recipe was filed away. But the idea lived on. The final inspiration came from Asian continent, since the combination of lime, coriander leaves, garlic and chilli is just so unbelievably refreshing.

The soup turned out to be so brilliant that it actually works wonders served hot as well, so this will definitely be an often seen fixture even in the middle of the coldest and darkest winter. Corn gives the soup this amazing creaminess without a hint of cream. I thought crab meat would go well with corn and I still can't decide which version was better. Neither could the test audience, an Australian friend who, after a sting in Asia has settled in Russia. The freshness of the salad apparently complimented the flavours of the soup that well. Crab meat can be found at well-stocked supermarkets but also at Asian stores where the seafood selection tends to be fantastic. As are the prices. King prawns would work as well. As would probably that lobster too.

Serves two

Soup:

300 g tin of corn

3.5 dl water

1 tl curry powder

3/4 tsp grated ginger

1 spring onion (or a small regular one)

1 (small) garlic clove

dash of lime juice

salt, pepper

Sauté the spices, onion and garlic in a mixture of oil and butter (about 1 tbsp both) When they've softened, add corn. Toss them in the spice mixture for a couple of minutes and add water. Cook until corn is done - about 10 minutes should do it. Blizz in a blender and run through a sieve to guarantee a smooth, velvety texture (not that I actually bothered...) Season with a dash of lime juice, salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold. If serving cold, let it sit in the cold for at least 2 hours before serving. In the meanwhile make the salad.

Crab salad:

tin (200 g) crab meat

1 (small) garlic clove

handful of spring onion stalks (about 3 stems)

zest of a lime and the juice left over from the soup

1/2 chilli

handful of coriander leaves

2 tsp fish sauce

salt, white pepper

1/2 tsp grated ginger

a couple of teaspoons of mayonnaise or Turkish yoghurt

Drain crab meat. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. Let the flavours come together by sitting it in the cold for an hour. Serve with soup. Works on its own too,  like in sandwiches (in which case you want to crank up the quantity of mayo/ yoghurt).