Fragrant oriental-style loin of pork with colorful vegetables and whole grain rice

Beautiful mixed vegetables

The idea for this recipe came from an acquaintance of mine, who is an ultrasound machine salesman here in south Sweden. The rheumatology clinic, were I work in Lund, recently acquired new ultrasound devices giving a whole new spectrum to our diagnostics ... anyways... get back to the point! He came for a visit to help us install the machines and guide us through their functions but our discussion soon changed to a topic that we both found really interesting - scrumptious food!

He appeared to be a rather keen cook himself and a great believer in the simplicity of recipes. He shared with me some good ideas - many of which included cream but the drawback was that he seemed to use an awful lot if it. Like I said, he suggested a couple of recipes - but this one lingered with me. I changed it a little bit, considerably reduced the amount of cream, added more vegetables and reduced the quantity of meat he had suggested - replacing it with more, you guessed it ... colourful vegetables.

I apologise for calling this an "oriental style" dish! Just because I added some soy, it doesn't make it oriental - soy sauce nowadays is just like any other spice in our store cupboard. The title just sounded more profound and appetising with this attached to the whole thing!

Fragrant oriental style loin of pork with colourful vegetables and whole grain rice

Everything has been sliced down - ready for the pan!

I had quite a collections of colourful vegetables. I sliced down three types of peppers; red, yellow and orange (I would have included a green pepper but my wife has a great dislike for green pepper - go figure?), half a green zucchini, one red onion, three spring onions, one red chilli and three gloves of garlic and also some chives. 

Good quality loin of pork

I had bought some loin of pork. Swedes produce good pork. Regulations in Sweden regarding keeping of animals are much stricter than in other European countries and the animals here are treated better. I think it is extremely important that we try to purchase meat from producers that have provided their animals with a decent life and treated them well. 

Anyways, I cut the loin down into thin slices, 5 mm. Seasoned with salt and mixed freshly ground pepper. Then fried in some oil, just to close the outside and then put to the side. 

Vegetables on the fire

Next step was to fry the garlic, chilli and red onions for a few minutes until soft and shining. Be careful not to brown. Then add the peppers, zucchini and the stems of the spring onions (saving the tops for decorations) and fry until soft. Season to taste. Add 2 teaspoons of chopped chives. 

The chives are cut down finely

After having fried the vegetables for a few minutes I added the meat with all its juices and warmed through. Added 200 ml of warm veal stock (just made from store bought liquid stock), 150 ml of light cream (12% cooking cream) and 4-5 tablespoons of Kikkoman soy souce. Stirred gently together to let the flavour infuse and warmed to a mild simmer. Seasoned to taste, and I also added 1 teaspoon of sugar, just to balance the whole thing. 

The dish is garnished with some more chives and the chooped spring onions

Served with some whole grain rice. Garnished with more chopped chives and the tops of the spring onions.

We enjoyed a glass of white wine with our meal. I had some Lindemans Chardonnay. This is a lovely bag-in-box to have in the fridge. Nice lemony colour. Fruity on the palate, apple?, and a buttery note that is often associated with Chardonnays. Lovely sip of wine!

I highly recommend this recipe - it was absolutely delicious. 

Served with some wholegrain rice

Lets eat, drink and be merry - Bon appetit!

ps. If you like what you read on my blog I would be very thankful if you would like/share it! Thx, Ragnar

Potent Penne Pasta with savory eggplant and tomatosauce

This dish is inspired from one of Marcella Hazan's greater cookbooks. This author is often credited for introducing real Italian cooking to the British and in the States. She published a number of books but this recipe has its orgins in the Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking which was published in 1992. It is an absolute classic - and includes a recipe for the best Spaghetti Bolognese ever concocted by man and I can proudly state that my brother makes a slight variation of her dish which is worth dying for - and I mean that literally - I will post that someday!  

This recipe is basically a simple tomato sauce with a slight twist. But this twist is more than just a subtlety. It brings a whole new dimension to the sauce and changes the sauce dramatically. I had never been a big fan of the eggplant but after reading more about this fruit my opinion has changed. It was obvious that the reason for my dislike was my own fault - I didn't know how to cook it properly! This method of frying it in oil until its golden brown alters its flavour from a rather bitter to a deep, rich even rather warm taste. I urge you all to give this recipe a try - it is delicious.

a kitty napkin ring made my daughter

At the same time that I was in the kitchen cooking up the meal, my daughter - Valdís, made these napkin rings - lovely aren't they? 

Potent Penne Pasta with savory eggplant and tomatosauce

Lovely sliced aubergines resting on kitchen paper

First things first. It is to make the tomato sauce. And as I mentioned previously it is simple. Slice a whole medium sized white onion, 2-3 large cloves of garlic and fry gently in some good extra virgin olive oil at low-medium heat until it is soft and tender. Then add a couple of cans of Italian canned tomatoes and let the heat rise until the tomatoes are cooking. Take our time - all good things need time! Then you must season your tomatoes generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Canned tomatoes tend to be of various quality - some are quite sour while others are on the sweeter side. If you happen to have a can of tomatoes that are sour just fix that by adding some sugar into the mix - a little at time until you are content with the balance. Then add a handful of fresh fragrant basil leaves and allow the sauce to simmer while you tend to the aubergines. 

aubergines frying in my new copper pan

This was the inaugural dish for the newest toy in my kitchen. I had purchased a real copper pan made by the Bourgeat company in France. On occasion, when the purse allows, I visit this fabulous store H.W Larsen in Copenhagen. It is a store for serious cooks and professional kitchens. Their collection of knives is breathtaking. For enthusiast, check out their website - www.hwl.dk.

Well, that was a sidestep - back to the eggplant which was sliced into long slices and placed on paper towels. The aubergine slices were salted on both sides and the allowed to "sweat" for 10-15 minutes. Then you place a pan of your choice on the heat and pour in a generous quantity of oil - half a centimetre I'd say - and then fry the slices on both sides until they have turned golden brown. This will totally change their flavour!

golden brown and tasty

This is quite entertaining to watch (yes I know - I am a food nerd par excellence!). First you notice how the eggplant sucks up alot of the oil - and some bad conscience develops but is short lived cause it partly releases it back when it is cooked. Thus when it is removed from the pan it looks like there is the same amount of oil in the pan!

When the aubergines are cooked they are taken of the pan and placed on fresh kitchen paper and allowed to drain for a couple of minutes. After that they are cut down to smaller pieces and then added to the tomato sauce.

scrumptious rich sauce

With the food we served some simple salad, made from some mixed green leaves, red and orange pepper, cucumber, fresh parsley leaves and a few kalamata olives.

I boiled some penne pasta in a generous amount of salted water until it was al dente. When the pasta was ready it was drained and then it was stirred into the tomato and eggplant sauce. It was off course served with a generous helping of freshly grated parmigiana cheese.

With the food we enjoyed a drop of this lovely Italian wine. A Mano Primitivo 2007. This is a reasonably priced wine here in Sweden. It is from Apulien which is just outside the town of Taranto which is situated on a peninsula on the eastern coast of central Italy. This is a delightful wine - spicy - dark in the glass. Fruity with a subtle taste, some tannins and a balanced finish.

The pasta is in - and dinner is served

Let's eat, drink and be merry - Bon appetit!

Delicious Sushi-Feast: Homemade Fresh Sushi and Deep-fried Sushi and Tempura!

My daughter was suddenly overtaken by this idea – around the time we arrived back home from our skiing vacation in Austria – of making sushi and inviting all our good friends over to our house to join in on the feast. Certainly not the worst idea she has come up with! A few of the neighbours and us have routinely thrown sushi-feasts and it is always a great joy to create and eat sushi. 

As a rule I have invited people over quite early so everyone can work collectively at the sushi making. Cutting down raw fish and wrapping in seaweed and rice is much easier than most people believe. Somewhere I heard that in Japan, it takes 12 years for someone to become a legitimate sushi chef, a sushi master. He must be pretty talented in cutting down fish and rolling up the maki rolls! Anyways, in sushi making the same rules apply as in other cooking – you have to carefully choose your ingredients. The better the quality of the ingredients – the better the sushi.

Delicious Sushi-Feast: Homemade Fresh Sushi and Deep-fried Sushi and Tempura!

Nori sheets are made from seaweed that is grown by the coasts of Japan. The seaweed is collected, pressed and then rolled out into thin sheets, and finally dried.  The sheets usually have a green hue but some develop a darker greenish-black color through storage. The sheets you can get in most stores nowadays. Wasabi is often sold as paste or grounded; it is extracted from the plant Wasabia Japonica and can pack a punch. Beginners take caution! I always buy pickled ginger, which is endowed with rather sweet taste, and is customarily served with sushi so as to clean the palette in-between bites. For the faint of heart that find wasabi too strong, you can always dilute it with a pinch of mayo or crème fraiche. For this suggestion, orthodox voices would accuse me of blasphemy, but sometimes food simply has to be adjusted to delicate palettes!

The first step of all sushi making is minding the rice. Typical sushi rice is so called ‘short grain’ rice, which contains a whole lot of starch and as a result has the tendency of sticking together before and after boiling. As a matter of fact, they contain such an amount of starch that most producers advise you to rigorously rinse them in cold water before you boil them. A good rule of thumb is to wash them until the water is transparent and clean (when you start, the water is thoroughly clouded).

Boil the rice as rules dictate. Transfer the pot from the hob when the water has evaporated and allow it to rest for in the pot for 10 minutes. Then distribute them on a wooden-mat and mix with rice vinegar, sugar, salt and mirin, which is carefully and evenly poured over the rice (for 600 gr of rice: ½ cup vinegar, ¼ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and a few drops of mirin).

Using one hand, carefully turn the rice over with a wooden spatula, and with the hand cool the rice with for example a hand fan. They should be at around room temperature when you begin making the rice.

The tempura dough is quickly made. Stir together half a cup of flour, equal amount of potato starch and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. To this you add 1 cup of ice-cold mineral water. For the tempura I used thinly sliced sweet potato and zucchini, and sugar snaps, which are rolled in the dough and deep fried. I prepared the dough seconds before and in this way it is ice-cold when it meets with the hot oil, which gives it just the right crispy and crackling texture. When it starts to color remove it from the pot and transfer to a paper towel so you can dry off some of the excess oil. At this point, move the tempura to a plate and give it a moderate drizzle of salt. The sweet potato requires slightly longer cooking than the zucchini and the sugar snaps.   

The tempura was served with dipping sauce made from 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, ½ tablespoon of sugar and 1-2 cm of finely chopped ginger. The same sauce was also allowed to accompany the deep-fried sushi.

We used three different kinds of seafood; fresh salmon from the coast of Norway, king crab legs, and finally Icelandic langoustines. Sublime. We also used a number of vegetables and fruit; cucumber, carrot, asparagus, spring onion, avocado among other bits and bobs. We also crept in a bit of salmon skin. Added wasabi for some and pickled ginger for others, just allow the imagination to weave its magic. The veggies are of course cut into thin strips so they align perfectly with the sushi rolls.

We made a few types of Maki.

We also crafted Uru-maki , inversed sushi; the ones where the rice is on the outside of the roll. They are easier to make then many might assume. Simply layer clean film on the bamboo mat, then a layer of rice, a sheet of Nori and finally the filling. Rolls these in precisely the same way you would with normal Maki. They are more difficult to slice, so use a sharp knife when you cut them down so they wont come a part.

 You can’t tell from the photos, but they were rolled in sesame seeds and red caviar.

Our neighbour, Signy, made a few types of nigiri sushi, with langoustines and salmon. It is customary to place a bit of wasabi under the fish.

Jon Thorkell cut down the rest of the seafood and served on a plate – sashimi!

For the deep-fried sushi I simply used two rolls of maki, cut them down into appropriately sized pieces, enveloped in the tempura dough and fried in hot oil until they were golden brown and crunchy.

With the sushi, we of course sipped Japanese sake wine that our neighbours had generously provided and I pulled out a bottle of Peter Lehmann Chardonnay 2008 for the occasion. This wine is very satisfying, classic Chardonnay: smell of deep fruit, which also manifests itself in the taste, buttery texture and well oaked. Lovely – served well chilled with the food! 

Bon appetit!

P.s. Please don't be afraid to leave your comments, tips or remarks. And if you like what you read don't hesitate to share it via facebook, twitter, mail or google+. 

Stuffed Mediterranean style Chicken Breast with roast vegetables and a simple salad

With að little effort this recipe could be considered a lighter side on the spectrum of light to heavy recipes. I had promised my readers that I would start the new year on a more cleansing note – but havn’t completely kept my promise. Maybe this dish is half way in that direction, or one third of the way. Common...there is just a little bacon in there - just a little! What's three slices of bacon between friends. 

Stuffing chicken breast is a simple venture and what you decide to use is just limited by your imagination. I thought of this version when I woke up that same morning and during the whole day I was feeling quite original! Even when writing this post I was feeling quite proud of myself but when I read through my own archive I saw that my originality was just a figment of my own imagination. Early 2007 I published a recipe that was quite similar. But I justified blogging it again because the stuffing was a little different, I used less bacon (always healthy), the side dishes were different as was the sauce and I took pictures that I judged to be quite appetising – so here it is!

Stuffed Mediterranean style Chicken Breast with roast vegetables and a simple salad

I made a simple stuffing with Mediterranean influences. A handful (20-30) kalamataolives, 2-3 tablespoons of good sun dried tomatoes, 2-3 tablespoons of feta cheese, 2-3 tablespoons of fresh sliced basil,  2-3 tablespoons of light cream cheese. Seasoned with salt and pepper and then mixed together with a fork.

  

The chicken breast are washed under cold water, dried and put on a plastic cutting board. I cut the smaller part of the breast (often called the loin) and put it aside to use later. Then I put plastic wrap on the board and chicken breast on top folded the plastic wrap over so it was covered and then flattened the breast with a meat hammer.

Next step was to add 2 tablespoons of the stuffing per breast. I then put the small loin on top and folded the breast around the stuffing. Wrapped each breast with 3 slices of bacon. To secure the whole thing I pierced the breast with a few long tooth picks – this prevents the whole thing coming apart.

Put a pan on the fire, dash of oil and then fried the chicken breast just to brown them on the outside, couple of minutes on each side. Then I put them in a oven proof dish and baked them in an 180 degrees pre-heated oven until the core temperature was 82 degrees – took about 25 minutes.

I had prepared the vegetables previously. Peeled some potatoes, carrots and placed in an oven drawer with a few asparagus spears. Rolled the vegetables in 2 tablespoons of potent garlic oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Fried the vegetables first in the drawer just to get a bit of colour and then put it in the oven for 35-45 minutes until golden brown.

  

The sauce was very simple. Brought 250 ml of good chicken stock to the boil, when the chicken breast was ready it had given of some taste stock which I then added to the sauce. Added 50 ml of light cream (12% cooking cream), seasoned and warmed up again. Thickened with some maizena flower.

  

We made a salad, as simple as they come, a few various green leaves, some sliced tomatoes, cucumber and chopped red onions. Flavored with a little olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice and some salt and pepper. It didn't need any more. 


With the food we drank some lovely white wine. This time we had some Montes Sauvignion Blanc from the year 2010. This is a  chilian wine. Fresh scent, a little lemony and fruity on the nose. The flavor lighty acidic, fruity and a little dry. A nice finish. 

With this dish we enjoyed some Sauvignion Blanc white wine from Montes.

New Years Eve: Two appetizers; lobster and foie gras then Beef Wellington with oven roast potatoes and amazing red wine

I blogged about this magnificent meal on my Icelandic site just after the New Year - translated it a few days later. I had blogged about quite a few festive meals and was feeling a little guilty blogging another calorie-explosion. But that is what the holidays are all about. Massive festive meals - and all of them are so good.  It would have been much more politically correct, in the spirit of all new years resolutions, to start the new year with a sound and cleansing meal. To turn the page. But this meal was just so darn amazing that not to report it would have been a crime - at least in some remote countries. So I could not resist.

On the other hand - we have been minding the calorie counter these past few days. Last year we made a pledge - a pledge to cook more healthy food, to cater to a sounder palate, cook more vegetable dishes and we have been true to that cause - at least in some part. Maybe I could have been more diligent to blog these effort on my blog. Some have come forth. Last monday I made a robust Pasta Puttanesca with tomatoes, kalamata olives, salty anchovies, garlic and handful of fresh herbs - really good. Last evening my brother made a Minestrone soup that would have blown your mind and that can be considered healthy. This should of course be announced on my blog.

Anyways, I'll return to that later. Now it is time to tend to the new year's eve cuisine! Our house in, Pukgränden street, was full of welcome guests. My parents have been here since before Christmas and a few days before the New Year my father in law arrived. So the house was jam-packed - the more the merrier I say! Everything went well, in spite of a high concentration of "in-laws" and everyone was on their best behavior. After dinner we went outside to shoot of some fireworks (all Icelanders go mad for this) and the weather was at it's best as well to cater to this bizarre custom! After the new year there was a party at a neighbour's house - all was well - drunk, cosy and merry - as it should be!

The food I cooked was not so different from what I have done in the past. The difference was in the details. The quality of the foie gras has never been better - and this time I prepared some jammed grapes to go with it. We made lobster and reconsidered the cold sauce. The main course this year was a filet mignon which I prepared in smaller bits rather than as a whole. Also the duxelle mushrooms were spiked with some wild mushrooms that I picked early this fall. Amazing bolete mushrooms that we had dried and stored.

New Years Eve: Two appetizers; lobster & foie gras then Beef Wellington with oven roast potatoes and amazing red wine

Well let's get started - there is nothing to wait for...is there?

Appetizer number one. Wonderful carmellized foie gras on garlic toast with jammed balsamic grapes. 

The first thing was to clean some red stone free grapes under the tap and slice down the middle.

Then you put a handful of grapes in a pot, add equal amounts of sugar, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and cook to a boil and then allow to simmer until all the fluid has evaporated and all left is some sticky sugary grapes.

While on holiday in Paris I had purchased a small jar of premier quality foie gras. We were on a romantic trip in early june in the city of lights and walked through the entire city. Amongst other tourist sites we passed the Notre Dame which is situated on a small island in the river Seine. Behind it is an another island, Ile de la Cité, a little larger. There stopped outside this small lovely store and the storekeeper, this charming french lady, called to me. She spoke good english and offered me to try her foie gras accompanied with some wonderful Sauterne wine. She told me all about how the foie gras was produced, how the ducks were humanly treated and showed me photos from her farm. So with good conscience I bought this 180 gr. jar of foie gras with the intent to store until this evening.

With this type of quality produce - the key is to do as little as possible. The bread was fried gently in some garlic oil and then placed on a plate. The liver was sliced into pieces and then fried in its own fat, just to brown its outside. The liver is just placed on  dry frying pan - it will let out a lot of fat because of its high fat content. It is essential to work decisively and not take our eyes of the pan. It is customary to spoon over the melted fat over the liver after it has been turned to make sure nothing goes to waste.

All that remains is to plate up. Tilt the liver on top of the bread. Place a couple of grapes on the liver and decorate with a some flat leaf parsley.

We should have served some sweet white wine with this dish but sad to say we forgot to buy it. In its stead we served some Cote de Imaz Gran Reserva from  2000. In hindsight it turned out really well. This is a good bottle of wine, dark to the eye. Mature on the nose, a firm scent of dark grapes. The taste - quite intense, spicy, dark fruit and a long finish. Excellent.

Appetizer number two. Oven-grilled lobster with a cold garlic sauce 

Serving two appetizer might seem sophisticated and bourgeoise or the result of extreme decision related anxiety. And I had quite a lot of lobster in the freezer which I had obtained on my last trip to Iceland. Actually these are longustines but as we Icelanders to at time suffer from an inferiority complex we call them lobster (we are only 320 thousand you know). So the results were in - I made two appetizers - after all New year comes but once a year.

As you see on the photo we only use the lobster tail - what happens to the head I don't know, but it is in the tail all the best lobster meat can be found so I am content. We cut up the back of the tail, cleaned out the gut with small tongs, the broken the ribs so the lobster can be lifted out of its shell and placed on top of it again - resting so to speak.

My father was mostly responsible for attending to this dish. He, like me, really enjoys playing in the kitchen. First we brushed the lobster with some garlic butter and then grilled under the oven grill for a few minutes until cooked. Served with half a slice of toasted bread and a smooth white sauce made from half a cup of creme fraiche, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 minced cloves of garlic, pepper, salt, tsp. of syrup  tho balance the taste. And a little bit of chopped flat leaf parsley and don't forget to include a small slice of lemon.

The Main course: Single portion Beff wellington with duxelle mushrooms, wild mushroom sauce, oven roast pototes and excellent red wine 

I have on several occasions prepared meat packaged in pastry. This has usually been a yearly event - mainly around the holidays and I have written about it on my blog. It is quite "fancy" to serve a juice cut of meat this way. It looks very appetizing enveloped in crusty butter pastry all golden brown and lovely. Off course it is quite fatty but festive food calls for a bit of fat, doesn't it?

As I mentioned I usually do whole steaks in this fashion but now I wanted to do it a little differently.

I started my chopping up 300 gr of forest mushrooms in a food processor along with 1 shallot and 3 cloves of garlic. I also added some boletes I had foraged early this fall and dried for storage. I put them in some water for 30 minutes before adding them to the food processor being careful to save the mushroom water for the sauce. Then I put a pan on the heat, melted some butter and when it was bubbling I put in the mushrooms. I didn't stir them a lot. I wanted them to fry not boil - they release a great amount of water during the cooking - that will boil away and then the mushroom will roast on the pan. It is at this point they will enhance most in flavour. Season well with salt and pepper and cook till they are roasted - being careful not to burn them.

As I mentioned I keep the water from the mushrooms for the sauce. It has, off course, a strong mushroomy taste. In 

many cookbooks one is advised to through this liquor away - but I think that is ridiculous and always use it in the cooking!

I don't waste time making my own pastry - that is available in the store and is very good. I have never tried making my own pastry - but have read enough recipes and seen ample amounts of cooking videos so come to the conclusion that is too far of a time-consuming venture and have therefore abandon all such efforts. I purchased fresh pastry that I rolled out and cut it to match my 200 gr tornado filet mignon steaks.

Filet Mignon is a classic new years dish in Sweden. It is during this holiday the supermarket compete hardest offering beef at a low price. But then usually they are selling imported meat from the other side of the globe. No and then you find locally produced meat at a reasonable price. I bought 1,8 kg af meat, cut it into 200 gr pieces and seasoned it with some salt and pepper. It was then seared on a scolding hot pan to close the meat and then put aside to cool so it could be packaged into small parcels of butter pastry.

It is important that the meat has been allowed to rest because otherwise the pastry would melt and be more difficult to 

handle. Each piece of meat was rolled in pastry, a bottom was made and then it was placed on greaseproof paper.

Then I brushed them with some Edmont Fallot Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of duxelle mushrooms. Then the lid was applied and the parcel was sealed apart from a small hole in its top to release all steam. Brushed with eggwash and decorated a little bit.

The Wellington were placed on a hot oven drawer, which is important because you want the bottom to bake and become crunchy - if the plate is cold the bottom will become soggy.

I then put a thermometer in the largest piece and baked it in the oven until the temperature was around 60 degrees. It then was allowed to rest before being carved.

I made the sauce. I had made beef stock previously according to standard procedure. Boiled that up again with the mushroom water. Boiled it down to concentrate it further - to about 6-700 ml. Thickened it with roux. I then fried forrest mushrooms and some wild boletes. Added the thickened stock to the mushrooms and brought to a simmer. Added 200 ml af cream. Now starts the refining process of seasoning, salt, pepper, jam until all tastes wonderful.

We served some oven roasted potatoes. They had been peeled, then par-boiled for 6 minutes, then rolled in some flour, then fried in some goose fat, seasoned, and at last baked in a 200 degrees oven until golden brown - for about an hour. They become crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

We drank very good wine with the food. Peter Lehmann Mentor from 2006. This is an Australian wine from the Barossa valley in southern Australia. I think I have tasted most of the wines from this producer and he is a long time favorite. The Mentor wines I have only tasted a few times before. I remember the first time I tasted it 8 years ago and really enjoyed it. Then again this summer and now - and it was as pleasing as before. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that is kept in french oak barrels for 18 months before being bottled. This is the wine Cabernet wines aspires to be - scents of dark berries, chocolate, even hint of coffee and oak. A full wine that fills the mouth - with dark fruit and a long aftertaste. Worked a charm with the Wellington beef.

Bon appetit.