¡ 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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ANYONE FOR SECONDS? 



      

Crayfish galore

We're such a stubborn pair we can't seem to get anything right. As the rest of the country was dancing the night away at Flow Festival, we were browning butter for salad with smoked mackerel salad and baking tomato, basil and ricotta tart for the picnic the following morning. And then we even missed sampling the home-made delights at the International Restarant Day, having foolishly booked our kräftskiva on the same day. Lord, have mercy as I sure don't.

Kräftskiva, crayfish party, is the most glorious of Nordic foodie traditions and, needless to say, one of my favourite celebrations all year. Though especially in Finland it tends to have a reputation as something for those better off (and with sailing boats and Swedish as the mother tongue), the history of this humble crustacean is very different.

Finnish rivers used to have such an abundance of them the farmhands actually had a clause in their contract dictating that it could only be served for food no more than five times a week. Crayfish plague that raged through Europe in the 19th century put an end to that kind of decadence though, pretty much eliminating the crayfish population all over the continent. As a result wild, domestic crayfish available today comes with a price tag that makes it a rare treat.

Do not let this put an end to your shenanigans though - get your friends and family around the table and helangår and hydeochheja all you want. In case you don't have a river of your own to catch them from (I know. Sucks) and you can't afford the store-bought ones (around €2 each) or ready-cooked individuals (up to €5 a piece) it's frozen goods to the rescue! In Finland any supermarket (around the world you might look into IKEA) sells cooked and frozen crayfish that will make for a fine fuss-free fiesta.

Because of the price, crayfish are usually served as a generous starter as even after all the fiddling about with their shells they don't really yield that much meat. Even still, the recommended portion per diner is 12-15 crayfish a head, so you do the math!

In case I don't cook my own, I go for the jumbo size ones (16-22 crayfish per kilo) which tend to be either Chinese or Spanish wild crayfish. The ones sold in Scandinavia are cooked to cater to the very Scandinavian palate, so all you need to do is thaw them over 2 day-period in the fridge. If yours aren't too tasty though you can marinate them overnight after thawing in the broth described below.

This one's our family recipe that according to a legend originally comes from the kitchen of Savoy. The one in Finland, mind you. 

For 40 crayfish

10 l water

2 bunches of dill

3,25 dl coarse sea salt

10 sugar cubes

Measure water, salt, sugar and 1 bunch of dill into a big pot and bring to boil. Cook for 5 minutes and then add fresh crayfish, having rinsed them first to make sure they're still alive. After the water starts boiling again after adding the crayfish boil for another 3 minutes. Remove the dill and add a fresh bunch.

Cool the pot quickly - either place it into ice water in a sink or, if by the seaside, in the water. Let marinate until the next day, drain and serve.

In addition to shots (aquavit in Sweden, vodka in Finland) and lager, the drink traditionally recommended for crayfish is something on the Chardonnay - Chablis- line. I'm not a fan of that though, so Norex Spirits surprised us with Wolfberger's whites from Alsace - our current #1 wine region in the world. 

Riesling Pinot Gris worked well too, but the yellow-labelled Riesling was a firm favourite of everyone around our table. Such vibrant, aromatic elegance.

Around our table we had my British Brother, his missus the Mane Magician , Tzatziki Champion and a new addition to our circle: The Italian. Having only been in the country for 3 weeks this was his first kräftskiva, ever.

You should have seen his face as we tried to teach him the kräftskiva etiquette. For each crayfish you take, you take a shot. And for each shot you down, there's a song. He got there in the end. And by the time we ran out of the crayfish-related drinking songs, we made a smooth transition to Manchester United-related drinking songs. Oh, joy!

The weather kept us guessing until the final hours but herregud, what a fine sunny day we got! Even the sad old man from the building next to ours with a goatee that makes him look like a right perv couldn't get our spirits down as he made it his business to walk all the way to us just to inform us that the table (which no-one ever uses for anything)  at the patio of our building is technically the property of the building next to us. Apparently our respective buildings are in the middle of a turf war so gruesome even we can't be trusted with the details. 

The real hero of the day (in addition to our clawy friends in red) was, however, the neighbourhood restaurant KuuKuu. See, I just had to go and get one of those wine cooler bowls as they look so pretty. Sure enough we couldn't find any ice in the shops though, you know, to cool the wine in the bowl. But lo and behold, The Boy Next Door wandered into KuuKuu and walked out with a carrier bag full of ice. "Can't let a crayfish party run dry", they had said. That's customer care professional for you, my friend. That's Töölö!

Instagram followers were guests at the party in real time (you are one of them, aren't you?) and the rest of you too will soon be served the recipes for the rest of the treats in the following posts. There will be at least crayfish and chorizo tart with saffron crust...

...and the easiest (and tastiest!) potato salad this summer with a decidedly Mediterranean twist.

Thank you family! Thank you Restaurant KuuKuu! Thank you Norex Spirits! Surely we don't have to wait another year to do have another one...?

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

      

Smoked fish and crayfish

We got talking the other day about all the meals we've had during our short stint together. "Well, I'm not really too keen on them salads", admitted The Boy Next Door, "like that minty pea risotto". Yeah, that's how well he knows his stuff (for the record: I love that risotto). 

But I suppose it does say something about how often salads make an appearance at our kitchen table. I mean, I've got nothing against them per se, but just think about all those salad buffets. Tasteless iceberg lettuce, a couple of watery cucumber slices and tinned corn - that does not a happy diner maketh. And that's exactly what food is supposed to do. 

So, when we do have salads, they tend to be a lot more robust. Either pasta-based (like this perennial favourite: St.Tropez chicken salad) or with potatos (just check this smoked trout salad out! Or this Spanish seafood salad! Or this summery potato salad with marinated octopus!) And lets face it: bacon makes everything better as this German potato salad proves. If we have like a leafy salady salad, then it's got to have at least duck confit(!) in it!

This sturdy salad, perfect for the ongoing crayfish season, was made up of smoked salmon, cucumber, tomato, grilled melon and sweet and spicy cray fish dressing. And coriander, of course - lots of it.

Grilling melon (like any fruit) really emphasizes the natural sweetness of the fruit, accompanied with lovely charred kick. But melons, like any fruit with high water content, tend to go soggy the longer they wait, so only grill the melon if you're going to be serving the salad straight away. 

Serves 3, 4 with even more moderation

Smoked salmon salad:

2-3 heads of gem lettuce
350 g smoked salmon
1/2 cucumber
250 g cherry tomatos
a couple of handfuls or chopped spring onions (the green bits)
1/2 melon (Galia or cantaloupe) 
coriander leaves

Slice the cucumber and halve the cherry tomatos. Cut the melon in half, remove the seeds and cut into 1 cm slices. Grill on a hot grill. Assemble the salad and serve with crayfish dressing.

Sweet chilli crayfish dressing:

2 dl crème fraîche or Greek yogurt
2 dl crayfish tails
1 tsp Srirachaa
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
the juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lime
1/2-1  tsp sugar
handful of coriander leaves (1 generous tbsp when finely chopped)
salt (carefully), pepper

Combine the ingredients, check taste and adjust with more salt or sugar if needed.

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Crayfish! Canapes!

As anyone who's ever moved can guess, we, too, have spent significant amount of quality time at IKEA in the recent months. And as a result, we, too, are the happy owners of several storage solutions named after Swedish death metal-fans. Now, I've never been terribly zen to begin with but over the spring I've added some new entries into my arsenal of anger. Repertoire of rage,   if you will. In addition to thesehungerpangsaremakemehomicidal -rage I have now mastered bloodyhellthisstupidpowertool-rage and my favourite: thesefuckersaren'tevensupposedtofittogether-rage. 

The shopping sprees have given me plenty of time to sample IKEA's food shop's selection, too. The balancing effect their crisp bread and herring jars have on the fragile Scandinavian psyche is no news of course: I have come to rely on them both in Spain and in England. Back when I lived in London I use to make pilgrimages there with a friend of mine with whom we'd buy tubes of fish roe paste which we'd suck straight out of the tube as soon as we hit the parking lot. Oh, and wash it down with Kopperberg, Swedish cider (yes, for reals:  I used to live in the country that produces possibly the best cider in the world and I'd still make the hideous Tube journey all the way there just to get my hands on that dreadful gunk!)

These little genius gems were a new acquaintance for me though and I've since been buying them by truck loads. They are so convenient to have around for whipping something up to accompany a glass of wine before dinner. Or to surprise your surprise guests (hellooo, Tzatziki Champion, do come on in!)  - as anyone who's been over in the last two months will have noticed...

Out of the variety of fillings we've tried, these crayfish ones have become an all round crowd pleaser. Faintly fiery and subtly sweet... they are just the thing right now! See, last Monday spelled the beginning of this year's crayfish season when we in Scandinavia go gaga over crayfish.

If you want, you can make these out of mayonnaise alone. The filling itself can be made in advance, but do fill the shells only as you're about to serve them to stop them from getting soggy.

24 mini croustades

3/4 dl mayonnaise
3/4 dl Greek yogurt/ crème fraîche/ sour cream
3/4 - 1 tsp - 1 Srirachaa/ chilli sauce (depending on how fiery you want yours)
1/2 tsp tomato concentrate
handful of coriander leaves (1 tbsp when finely chopped)
the zest pf 1/2 lime, finely grated
1,5 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
2 dl crayfish tails (or prawns)

To decorate: coriander leaves and/or crayfish tails

Drain the crayfish tails and squeeze dry. Combine rest of the ingredients, check the taste, season as needed and fold in the crayfish tails. Spoon into the croustade shells and have yourself a treat. Or two. With a glass of bubbly. Or two.

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Mango, chili, ginger and crayfish dressing

I often come to realize just how twisted my priorities are. A little while back a letter from the tax authorities notified me that this year, as a result of having overpaid taxes last year (is there anything I won't overdo...?) I'm in for a refund. And did I once stop to review any of the sensible things to do with the money? Put it on savings account for that rainy day? Use it to pay off my VISA bill? Oh. No. My first (and clearly the last, too) was "ooh! Which ones of all the restaurants am I going to book a table at?"

And that will be the end of that money. As is the case with any money I have. Down the throat it goes. One way or another. And it makes for a very good life, there's no denying that one. If even the waste-minimizing operations emptying the fridge regularly produce treats such as duck confit and pear salad, it's only fair to admit how deep in the #firstworldproblems - clouds we live our lives.

The latest invention was this dip/ dressing/ paste/ spread which brings together the best parts of the burgers I've made recently. And damn, how delish it was! Crayfish from the pike burgers, mango, chilli and ginger mayonnaise from duck confit burgers and the pomegranate seeds left over from the Lebanese lamb pizza. Along with the last spoonfuls of Greek yogurt I came across.

The result is thicker and richer than mayonnaise. Mango gives it a lovely fruitiness which the brightness pomegranate seeds compliment, lending it a lovely texture too. Chilli gives it a subtle heat which lime and ginger bring to balance.

And this is ridiculously versatile, too! Try on jacket potatos, in sandwiches, in salads, on crostinis for cocktail treats, as a filling for crépes, in wraps...

For a starter for just 2 people this portion was a bit too generous, but as The Boy Next Door inquired whether or not it would keep in the fridge until the next day I had to say no. Not if I'm anywhere near it wont..!

1 dl mayonnaise
1 dl Greek yogurt
1,5 dl drained crayfish tails
1 generous dl mango purée (like a small, 60 g jar of those baby food purées)
1 small chilli
the finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lime
1 generous tbsp finely chopped coriander
1/2 tsp curry powder
the seeds of 1/4 - 1/2 pomegranate (depending on the size)

Combine the ingredients and let sit in the fridge for about an hour while the flavours develop. Check the taste and season as needed.

Even if you do opt out of the crayfish, this makes a glorious dressing that I intend to be making the most of this BBQ- season!

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Lemony crayfish pasta

Spring has made a triumphant return to my step and onto my plate. Fish, seafood and veggies have a whole new allure. You just wait: soon the only thing I can talk about is the asparagus! But before we get there, it's time to let crayfish enjoy a little more time in the lime light. I've rediscovered it (pike burgers with Asian twist and crayfish mayo anyone? Or pike, asparagus and crayfish terrine, another gluten-free treat...?) and let me just tell you: I can't get enough of them! 

And pasta is something that I'll never be able to kiss goodbye. Especially seeing how after the latest Tour of Museokatu I schlepped back home with five different types... But even pastas get a springtime makeover: so long slowly cooked ragús, hello crayfish, lemon and parsley! Ok, and a little butter. And some sour cream too. And some white wine left over from the night before (yes, it does sometimes happen). 

Unlike everywhere else in the world, in Scandinavia dill is The Herb people love pairing with fish and seafood so you could also use that.

Serves 2

2 portions of spaghetti, bucatini or linguine

50 g butter

1 small onion

1/2 - 1 small chilli

3 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 large garlic clove (or 2 small ones)

3/4 dl white wine

1 dl sour cream/ Greek yogurt

200 g crayfish tails, drained

salt, pepper

2 generous handfuls of fresh parsley leaves

Cook pasta according to instructions in salted water until almost done. Finely chop onion, garlic and chilli. Sauté them in butter until soft. Then add 2 tsp lemon zest, white wine and sour cream (if using Greek yogurt, wait a couple of minutes before adding that). Let boil for about 5 minutes. Then add pasta and let it finish cooking in the sauce. Fold in crayfish and parsley. Check the taste and season as needed. Sprinkle rest of the lemon zest on top and serve.

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Pike, crayfish and asparagus terrine

Pernod Ricard invited bloggers to take part in a OivaPari-recipe contest, where the participating wines are paired with food suitable for the parties that spring and summer always bring with them. A celebrity chef will pick his favourites out of all the entries and then you get to vote for the winners!

The contest kicked off with a virtual wine tasting. The wines were delivered to my doorstep and then I sampled them in a tasting that was broadcast over the Internet while chatting with the fellow participants - all from the comfort of my own bed. So very convenient, so very convivial!

(Though you can imagine the Boy Next Door's reaction as he finally got home, knackered after another long day in the office. Me, on the bed, surrounded by bottles of wine and balancing the laptop on my knees. "So... how was your day, then? Try and explain then that "hey, I'm still working!")

The first up was Castillo de Molina. Their Reserva Pinot Noir 2011 was recently voted as the overall winner in the Wine of the Year 2014- competition in Finland and subsequently has sold out everywhere. And a fine wine it is too!

With a spring on our minds (and in our steps!) we went for Castillo de Molina Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, which also had been recognized in that same competition. The crisp wine immediately got us thinking of all the springtime treats such as fish, crayfish... and asparagus, of course! Oh, how I've been looking forward to the asparagus season! More recipes (loads of them!) for that coming up on the blog soon! Though I'm clearly not the only one - there are days when I've practically had to fight for the last bunches...

You can make the terrine already the day before. It also makes for a great party food in that it is suitable for those avoiding meat, gluten and carbs - these days so many of your guests are bound to fall into at least one of those categories...! 

10-12 portions

appr. 600 g pike or another white fish
150 g crayfish tails 
2 shallots (or 1 small onion)
2 eggs
2 dl cream
finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
generous handful of parsley leaves
handful of dill wisps
4-5 green asparagus (depending on the size)
1,5 tsp salt
1,5 tsp black pepper

Finely chop the herbs and onions. Sauté onions in butter or oil until soft. Trim the woody ends off the asparagus and steam or boil them for a couple of minutes. Then shock them by immersing them in ice water (this stops the cooking and helps them maintain their vibrant green colour). Grind the fish in a food processor (for stories on how not to do it please see here...), add eggs, keep pulsing and finally, with the motor running, cream. Fold in drained and roughly chopped crayfish tails, lemon zest and herbs. Season. But carefully. The healthcare professionals behind those recommendations on RDA on salt are probably seeing red already because of the salt content of brine that the crayfish came in...

Line a terrine mold/ loaf tin (mine measured 22 cm x 10 cm so the ) with foil so that there's enough of the foil hanging outside the tin. Pour in half of the mixture and smooth it. On top of that lay the asparagus, top with rest of the mixture and smooth the top. Fold in the foil on top of the terrine so it's covered, place the tin into a bigger oven dish or roasting tin and pour into that dish enough boiling water so it comes halfway up the loaf tin. Bake at 175° for an hour. Let cool and then set in the fridge . Using a sharp knife cut into slices and serve at room temperature. In a good company and with some chilled white wine!

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Pike and crayfish burgers

Having whipped up a batch of burger brioches I couldn't wait to start flipping some burgers. Seeing how much meat we go through (we're probably single-handedly responsible for the demise of the rainforests and such) we decided to go for fish instead, seeing how that's something we haven't really been having anywhere near as much as we should have... Inspiration for these came from pike and crayfish sliders we had at Streat Helsinki- festival.

In our version we had the crayfish separately in the dressing and not in the burger which makes for a messier feast. But hey, that's what it's supposed to be like! For mincing the fish I highly recommend you use food processor. I myself tried to use the meat mill I once accidentally bought as I nipped to the shop to get some buttermilk, but the only thing that got shredded were my nerves. I then shoved the fish into a blender and learnt that no matter what you see professionals do at the Chef of the Year competition, you do not want to stick utensils into the blender while the motor's running. Unless you want the mixture to turn funky green, chop the spring onions separately and fold into the mixture.

We sough inspiration from Asia as those flavours go so well with fish and cucumber. Spring has arrived at my heart and my kitchen!

You'll find the recipe for brioches here.

Makes 4 burger-size patties or 8 slider-sized ones

Pike burgers:

400 g pike or other white fish
1/2 dl chopped spring onions

1/2 dl coconut milk
1 egg
(1/4 dl coconut flakes)
1/2 small chilli
the zest of 1 lime
1 small garlic clove
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
salt, pepper

To serve: salad leaves, 1 red onion, cucumber, coriander leaves, lime wedges

Grind the fish in a food processor and then add rest of the ingredients, coconut milk last while you keep the motor running. The mixture is loose so if you want your firmer, add coconut flakes. Let rest on the cold for half an hour. Form into patties (ring molds are great help for this!) and fry in mixture of oil and butter until golden on both sides. The mixture will firm once in the pan -don't you worry!

Crayfish mayonnaise:

1 dl mayonnaise
1 dl crayfish tails, drained
1/2 small chilli
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
the zest and juice of 1/2 lime
1 generous tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
salt, pepper

Combine the ingredients and let rest in the fridge for half an hour. Check the taste and season before serving.

Toast the buns, pile on the leaves and onions and the fish patties. Top with fresh coriander leaves and a dollop of crayfish mayonnaise.

Sure it's only a burger, but that didn't stop us from serving it on a silver platter.
You know, in case Hyacinth Bucket stops by. She didn't though.

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