Skagenröra - Swedish creamy shrimp salad (gluten-free)

Räksallad, skagenröra... this Swedish creamy shrimp salad has as many names as it has uses. 

* * * 

It would be impossible to even try and imagine Swedish cuisine without räksallad, shrimp and mayo salad. 

(Salad with no veg? Salad with just mayo and shrimp? I'm in!)

Also called Skagenröra or West Coast salad (Västkustsallad), these creamy shrimp salads are more like spreads or dressings and are loved by Swedish, no matter what the occasion. 

They make an appearance in the Midsummer's celebrations, Christmas buffets, at brunches and, well, everything and anything in between. 

While West Coast Salad usually contains other ingredients (mussles, fish and yes, occasionally even them veg...) , too, Skagenröra is an unapologetic ode to the good life and archipelago's endless summer days and featurs nothing but shrimp and some mayo. 

For Asian twist you could substitute some of crème fraîche with sweet chili sauce and use coriander instead of dill.

Another way to jazz things up a bit would be to add some vendace roe (in which case do not add any salt) or a sprinkling of chilli powder. You could also substitute chives with half of a finely minced small red onion or by switching Dijon mustard to horseradish.

Fresh dill on the other hand is something you need to have. Lots of. There's something about its scent alone that immediately transports one to summery days and al fresco lunches with all your friends (all disgustingly tall, willowy and blonde, of course...) around the table. 

Skål, everyone!

It's also insanely versatile: spoon some of it on halved hard-boiled eggs for easy starter, use it to top slices of malty archipelago bread, serve it as a dressing for fish or have it with jacket potatos. 

Skagenröra is also an essential condiment in the fast food kiosks (I'll be introducing you guys to my absolute Swedish street food favourite on the next blog post!) and people shovel this on their hot dogs, burgers and grilled sausages and fries.

The easiest way out is, of course, using frozen, peeled shrimp, but trust me - you don't need to be a fussy Gothenburger to tell the difference between those and the whole ones you've peeled yourself. 

For 200 grams of peeled shrimp you need (depending on their size) a little more than half a kilo of the whole ones.

For 4-6 persons

Räksallad (Skagenröra) - Swedish creamy shrimp salad:

200 g (freshly) peeled shrimp

1 dl mayo

1 dl crème fraîche

1/2 tsp (Dijon) mustard

1 tsp lemon juice (if using Dijon, this can be omitted)

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

3  tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

3  tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Peel the shrimp (if using whole ones) or thaw and drain the frozen ones. Pat dry and, if they're very big, chop roughly.

Combine remaining ingredients, check the taste and season as needed. Fold in the shrimp and let chill for a couple of hours before serving. 

Räksallad, skagenröra, how ever you want to call it - what's your favourite use for this Scandinavian delicacy?

_________________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

         

SHARING IS CARING!

Breakfast pizza with spinach, smoked salmon, eggs and foolproof Hollandaise sauce (gluten-free, kosher)

Pizza for breakfast? Pizza brunch? Hell yes! This breakfast pizza with spinach, cold smoked salmon, eggs and fool-proof Hollandaise is perfect for lazy weekend mornings!

* * * 

In my blog post about foodie traveller's Gothenburg I probably should have also included Brewers Beer Bar, another Tredje Långgatan gem which is pretty much as close to heaven as it gets for those (oh, so individual) lumberjack shirt-wearing, bushy beard-sporting hipsters.

It's not just their selection of craft beers (anybody else getting soooooo tired of that word?) that keeps the hipsters flocking here, it's also their sourdough pizzas. Let's all take a moment to let that really sink in. 

Sourdough. 

Pizza. 

Mmmmm..... (anybody else salivating like a senile rottweiler right about now?)

During weekends they serve a brunch, which consists of exactly one dish: that sourdough pizza. As a breakfast version. Yes. Pizza. For breakfast. I'm going to start growing my beard right now. 

There are two choices. Either English Breakfast (yes, with all those accoutrements guaranteed to repair any damage you might have done to yourself the night before) and Florentine; pizza with spinach, ricotta, artichoke and stuff - all topped off with a dollop of Hollandaise. 

Pizza brunch! Genius!

Sure, I've had pizza for breakfast several times in my life. And sure, mostly on Sunday mornings and those endless days following New Year and First of May celebrations. 

But there's something about crawling to the door to receive the delivery guy with the make-up from night before running down your cheeks that somehow makes the whole operation decidedly less... glamorous.

But enough of that visual!

I can't think of a better way to kick off a lazy weekend day than this. Have frinds over, put on some music, pour everybody a round of Mimosas and whack these babies onto the table. Oh, yes. I can tell you as soon as I put a photo of this on my Instagram, next Sunday was booked in seconds. 

They are so rich that 2 pizzas easily feed up to 8 people. Another great thing? You'll make the pizza dough in just minutes the night before. More great things? That Hollandaise really is fool-proof and is ready in matter of minutes. But, in case you don't have an immersion blender and one of those accompanying tall beakers, cheat away and use a ready-made one. 

Oh, and if you prefer it that way, you can add the cold smoked salmon slices into the pizza after it comes out of the oven, too.  

You'll find my trusty pizza dough recipe on the blog over here.

2 pizzas (serves 4-8 people)

Breakfast pizza Florentine with spinach, smoked salmon and eggs:

1 portion of pizza dough (mine's over here)

toppings:

200 g spinach

1 tbsp crème fraîche/ sour cream/ cream cheese/ Turkish yogurt

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

a little bit of butter / oil for frying

100 g cold smoked salmon

4 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 275°. In case you own a pizza stone, put it in the oven now. If you don't, use a tray. Or a cast iron pan. Once the oven has reached the temperature, leave the pizza stone/ equivalent in the oven for another 45 minutes. 

Heat a little butter or oil in a pan and wilt the spinach. Add lemon zest, crème fraîche and season. Go easy on the salt, as salmon has quite a bit of it. Stir well.

Roll the risen pizza dough into 2 similar-sized bases and tansfer them onto the pizza stones. Spoon the spinach mixture on the pizza base, top with slivers of cold smoked salmon and break 2 eggs on top of each pizza.

Bake for 6-10 minutes (depending on the oven) until the eggs have set and the crust has a bit of colour on them. 

In the meanwhile prepare the Hollandaise.

Fool-proof lemony Hollandaise:

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp cold water

1 tbsp lemon juice

(3/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest) 

pinch of salt

pinch of white pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

110 g butter, melted

(1/2 tbsp finely chopped chives)

Measure the ingredients (apart fro butter and chives) into the blender's beaker. Melt the butter in a small pan. Blizz the yolks with rest of the ingredients and then, with the blender continuously running, add the hot butter in a thin stream. Voilà - you've got yourself a billowy Hollandaise! In no time!

Fold in chives (if using), check the taste and season as needed. 

Drizzle on top of the pizzas and serve.

Pizza for breakfast - yay or nay? What would be your favourite toppings - smoked salmon, spinach and eggs or something else entirely?

___________________


ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

        

SHARING IS CARING!

Lyutenitsa - Bulgarian pepper, eggplant and tomato relish (gluten-free, vegan, kosher)

Lyutenitsa is Bulgaria's favourite treat. Not only is this pepper, eggplant and tomato relish versatile, it's also gluten-free, kosher and vegan!

* * * 

In addition to local specialties such as patatnik, Bulgaria is home to traditional dishes equally lovedall over the country, such as Bob Chorba, Bulgarian bean soup. The ultimate, hands down,all round-winner of this race would, however, have to be luytenitsa, a bulgarian spread/ relish made of roasted peppers, tomatos and eggplant.  You'll find it served as a starter, spooned over a splice of bread for a snack and accompanying meat or chicken. 

Towards the end of each summer Bulgarian homes still witness massive operations during which endless and endless jars of this are being prepared to see people through the winter.

While not technically demanding, it does take a bit of time, which is why people tend to make luytenitsa in bigger batches. I swear I kid you not when I tell you I've seen recipes that start with 15 kilos of peppers. Kid you not. True story.

In my tiny kitchen that would have turned out to be the end of not just all the storage space, also yours truly's psychological well-being, so here's a smaller recipe that yields about 6 dl of lyutenitsa. 

Lyut means spicy in Bulgarian,but that it really isn't. There are, of course, as many variations as there are cooks. Traditionally lyutenitsa contains (roasted) bell peppers, eggplant, tomato, onion and garlic, but the Macedonian version even has some carrots in it.

As the industrial manufacturing of lyutenitsa started in the 1950's, it was only allowed to contain pepper and tomato paste, onion, salt, sugar and oil. But, let's face it- that recipe is hardly the only thing that Bulgaria of the time got wrong. Eggplant for one lends the relish such sweet richness you'd be fool to forgo that. 

Luytenitsa has relatives all over the Balkans: you too might have heard of ajvar? Readers of this blog are, of course,  also familiar with some of its more distant cousins: Syrian muhammara and Spanish romesco. 

Lyutenitsa - Bulgarian pepper, eggplant and tomato relish:

1 large eggplant(450 gr)
4 large peppers (I used 2 red ones and 2 yellow ones), total weight 1 kg
1/2 kg tomatos
2 cloves ofgarlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 - 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 dl oil
3/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Prick the eggplant with a tooth pick. Place on a tray lined with tin foil and roast under the broiler for half an hour or so. Then add halved peppers and continue roasting for another 20 minutes or so, until the peppers' skins start to blacken and bubble. Remove from the oven, cover and leave to cool until cool enough to handle. 

Pull the peppers' skin off. Half the eggplant and spoon the insides into a food processor with the peppers. Blizz into a puré (doesn't have to be entirely smooth).

Blanch the tomatos by cutting a cross-like incision into the hard stem and then dropping them into a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Lift out of the water using a slotted spoon and leave to cool. Pull the skin off, halve, remove the hard bit and chope finely (with seeds and all).

Measure pepper and eggplant pure, chilli, onion, garlic and chopped-up tomatos into a pot and let simmer over medium heat, until liquid has almost entirely evaporated and the mixture has thickened (40-50 minutes).

Add oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Check the taste and season as needed (by adding either more salt, pepper and/ or sugar).

Let cool and place in jars. Lyutenitsa keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can also be frozen. 

If you're making bigger batch, you could also preserve it by sterilizing the jars. This way it keeps for upto a year.

Sterilizing the lyutenitsa:

Spoon the lyutenitsa into small jars all the way to the top (oxygen is the enemy of any storing processs, remember!) and screw on the tops. Place the jars into a big pot and cover with water so it covers them by about 5 cms. 

Boil the jars (start counting from the moment water reaches boiling point) for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the water and make sure the centre of the top has snapped down on each one of the jars.

You ever heard of lyutenitsa? Of have you managed to try some of the other local delicacies such as patatnik or Bob Chorba?

___________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

          

SHARING IS CARING!

Best burgers right now: Beef Lindström beetroot burgers and Sileni Cellar Selection Pinot Noir 2014

* * * 

Herby Beef Lindström beef and beetroot patties topped with caramelized onion and mayo dressing make the best burgers right now. Especially with Sileni Cellar Selection's Pinot Noir 2014.

* * * 

A few years back I diagnozed myself with a severe case of pumpkin fever. This autumn I've fallen head over heels with beetroot. With its gloriously rich colour and taste which, once cooked (especially when roasted), takes on such gentle sweetness, it's stolen my heart (and a couple of previously white shirts, mind you...)

I would imagine we eat rather well in my kitchen. Good food made of good ingredients. But trust me, that does not mean I'm stranger to good old mince. Oh no - that's something I always have in my freezer. 

Be it organic or lamb or just a package of pork and beef I picked up on sale, it is the unsung hero of everyday cooking. It's versatility is also unparallelled: while the quintessential ingredient for homely meatballs, it can be pimped up for a Mexican fiesta (taco salad, anyone?) but just as easily it lends itself to Mediterranean mood (Greek meatballs - ooppa!) or Middle Eastern feasts (Moroccan köftes! Harira! )

And if you have a couple of hours to spare, it simmers down to a Bolognese, heaving with such deep flavours of love it easily becomes the star of any Sunday lunch.

Since meat has traditionally been the priciest of ingredients in cooking around the world, different cuisines have found ingenious hacks to make a little go further. Wrap in in pastry like tortellinis (or Shish Barak dumplings of my up and coming book!) and a quarter of a kilo is enough to feel a family of 8. 

Another way of strecthing the buck is adding mushrooms or veggies to it. My absolute favourite is this (despite of its Swedish-sounding name) recipe that apparently originated somewhere in Russia, where they add cooked and grated beets into the meat. 

I cannot tell you how in love with different variations of Beef Lindström I am. But I can tell you it's pretty much what I've been having every day for the past two weeks. 

My latest love are these burgers, where the herby beef and beetroot patties are topped with mayo dressing that gets its colour and incredible depth of flavour from caramelized onions. In addition to rosemary thyme and dill are some of the herbs that love the company of beets.

For home-made brioche burger buns see my recipe here. For marinated red onion, just see here. Oh, and polenta fries? Right over here!

Lindström's burgers:

6 -8 brioche buns (gluten-free if needed)

6-8 herby Beef Lindström patties (recipe below)

caramelized onion and mayo dressing (recipe below)

marinated red onion

kale, ripped off the hard stem

6-8 rashers of bacon (optional)

1 gherkin, sliced lengthwise or cornichons

Beef Lindström with rosemary:

depending on the size 6-8 patties

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 large beets, cooked, peeled and grated (á 150 g)

400 g mince (ground beef or lamb)

2,5 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary (or thyme) 

2,5 tbsp finely chopped gherkins/ cornichons (or capers)

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

for frying: butter and/or oil

Sauté the onion in oil or butter over medium heat until translucent. Let cool to room temperature and combine with rest of the ingredients. 

Work into a smooth mixture, cover and leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour. In the meanwhile caramelize the onions for the dressing (which can be made already the day before)

Form the beef mixture into 6-8 evenly sized thick patties. Fry in a pan for about 6 minutes per side. 

Caramelized onion and mayonnaise dressing:

2 small onions (or 1 large one), thinly sliced

1 tsp mustard

3 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 dl good mayonnaise

(salt, black pepper)

for frying: a couple of tbsp butter

Caramelize onions in a pan or coated pot, stirring every now and then, until they are golden brown and start to crisp. Let come to room temperature and measure into a food processor. Blizz until smooth, check the taste and season asif needed. 

Assemble the burgers. 

Roast the bacon in the oven at 200 on a parchment-lined tray until crips. Drain on kitchen towels and cut in half.

Soften the kale, covered, on a hot pan in a little bit of water for a couple of minutes. 

Half the brioche buns and toast them.

Spread a little dressing on the bun, followed by kale and marinated red onions. Top with the beef and beetroot patty, generous dollop of the dressing, bacon and cornichons. Place the top half of the bun on top of it all and feast.

And a burger this tasty deserved a beverage of same calibre. Once again I found the perfect match from New Zealand Pinot Noirs.

Sileni Cellar Selection Pinot Noir 2014 from Hawke's Bay region on the East Coast of New Zealand is a newcomer in my wine arsenal but a firm favourite already - showcasing so many of the qualities that make New World Pinot Noir (especially ones from NZ) such sweethearts of mine. 

It's medium-bodied, blessed with soft berriness such as cherry and raspberry. It's also got hints of violet which, together with the gentle oakiness, pair well with the sweetness of the beets and the robust choice of herbs.

___________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

      

SHARING IS CARING!

Shrimps with Limoncello mayonnaise and tomato and basil mayonnaise - quick and easy party treat (gluten-free)

* * * 

A bag of cooked shrimps and a couple of dipping sauces. Party treats don't get much easier than that!

* * * 

It seems this seafood aficionado has finally found her match. New Love is at least as passionate about fish and seafood as I am and I... I'm loving every minute of it. 

I'm not quite ready to let the Gothenburger see what kind of havoc I wreak when let loose at an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet, though... perhaps we should leave that much mystery into this relationship?

Located on the Atlantic shore Gotheburg, the second largest city in Sweden, loves its fish and seafood and takes them very seriously. I would have never thought I of all people would get to witness someone break out into full foodzilla mode. But that, my friends, is exactly what happened (and yes, I loved every moment of it)

As we sat down for a dinner at our hotel Gothenburger ordered Toast Skagen, a Swedish classic (an open-faced sandwich piled high with shrimps), which was advertized to feature "hand peeled shrimps". 

As the dish arrived at the table, it only took him a nano second. "These. Are. Not. Hand. Peeled." he hissed, in a voice so cold it would have been enough to freeze the entire Mediterranean. 

Well, these babies are. And the best thing? They're peeled by your guests thsemselves- you just sit back and enjoy! The dips only take minutes to make, so these are perfect for any stress-free (and gluten-free!) party.

Whole Nordic ready-cooked shrimps can be found in frozen foods section of your supermarket. And IKEA, of course.

Shrimps with two dips:

500 g bag of  whole, cooked shrimps

Limoncello mayonnaise:

1,5 dl good mayonnaise (yes, I mean Hellman's)

the finely grated zest of a lemon

1 tbsp Limoncello (or lemon juice)

1 tbsp finely chopped chives

(salt, pepper)

Tomato and basil mayonnaise:

1,5 dl good mayonnaise

5 sun dried tomatos

10 basil leaves

(salt, pepper)

Measure the ingredients into a blender and whizz until smooth. Check the taste and season if needed.

Dip and enjoy.

For more dips and sauces, just click here.

Oh, and for more ideas for a stress-free (and Mediterranean) holiday feast see here and here.

__________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

     

SHARING IS CARING!

Go nuts - Asian chicken skewers with satay sauce (glutenfree)

These Asian chicken skewers and nutty satay sauce are so addictive - go on, go nuts!

* * * 

I spent the first half of the summer travelling so much that I still haven't finished all of those stories. But a little break from the travel posts might do us both good, non? And in case you thought I'd completely stopped eating, let me correct you straight away. No, I haven't. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

Cooking and shooting for my book has taken most of my time of late, so I've missed out on the glorious BBQ weather that still show no signs of being over. So, better make the most of these days while I still can! Same goes for you - go on, fire up that BBQ because have I got treats for you!

This peanut sauce is one of my long-standing favourites that I usually make a bigger batch of: I seem to have a horrible tendency to lick the bowl dry before the BBQ is even ready. Obviously it's all in the name of quality control - it's not like I'm greedy or anything. Oh, no. 

It's also versatile as heck - try it as a dip for crudites, as a salad dressing (for instance to replace the miso and sesame dressing in this glutenfree mung bean vermicellisalad!), for beef or pork... or with your index finger. It is that good. 

I prefer sugar-free peanutbutter as that allows me to keep pretending I'm all about clean living, but use what ever you like. And in case you haven't gone crazy at the ethnic shops and are issing some of the ingredients for the sauce, worry not. You can replace fish sauce by adding more soy sauce and as for rice vinegar, just add more lime juice. And perhaps some regular white vinegar and a dash of sugar. 

10 skewers/ serves 4

Asian marinated chicken skewers and satay sauce:

450 g chicken

marinade:

1 dl soy sauce

1/2 dl honey

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1 red chilli

finely grated zest and juice of a lime (1,5 tbsp juice)

Combine the ingredients. Pat the chicken dry and cut into 1 cm strips. Place in the marinade and leave to marinate at least for half an hour (or several hours, depending on how much time you've got)

Satay-kastike:

1,5 dl (150 g) unsweetened peanut butter

1/4 dl rice vinegar

the finely grated zest and juice of a lime (1,5 tbsp juice)

1,5 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla) 

1 dl coconuut milk

1/2 -1 tsp Sriracha

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander

Measure the ingredients into a food processor and blizz until smooth (or whisk them together by hand). Check the taste and adust to your liking by adding me lime juice and/or soy sauce.

Drain the chicken from the marinade. Thread onto 10 skewers (in case using wooden ones, make sure to soak them in water for half an hour to avoid setting them on fire) and grill (either on a BBQ, griddle pan or under a broiler in the oven) for 3-4 minutes per side.

Serve with satay sauce. Enjoy.

Want to hear a secret? I finished them all by myself. In one sitting. I suppose there's no way to pass that one off as quality control...?

__________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

      

SHARING IS CARING!