No-Name Chocolate Spread

Now, if I were a food manufacturer I could probably get in to all sorts of problems calling this a chocolate spread as it doesn't actually contain any chocolate. But it would probably be less trouble than if I called it Nutella which would clearly infringe the brand name. So I'll stick to chocolate spread and let you decide what to call it. However, I'll dare say that it's way more delicious than the one you buy in the store, and as taste is something individual they can't sue me for that. I'll let you be the judge. Is it healthier? Hey, if you're so concerned about health, don't go putting on chocolate spreads on your bread. Eat an apple. But if you want to indulge and leave the diet for January, try this out. 

Ingredients:

Equal amounts of toasted hazelnuts and butter. I used about 150g of each

2 dl of icing sugar

4 tbsp of cocoa powder (the dark intense stuff, not the sweetened)

Pinch of fine salt (if you use unsalted butter)

 Start by chopping and grinding the roasted and peeled hazelnut until you get a fine flour. It should be almost like a paste as it starts to release the oils in the nuts.

 Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until you've got a homogeneous paste. I used a food processor which really makes this so much easier to make. But you can do it by hand and feel proud of your effort afterwards. 

And that's it. Couldn't be simpler. Now you just need some toasted bread and to dig in.

My favourite Pizza Sauce

This is not the first time I publish a pizza recipe. But I'd like to elaborate a bit on the key topping; the tomato sauce. I've been further experimenting and have now reached what I personally think is the perfect pizza sauce. I've borrowed ideas from left and right and will now pass on my idea to you. It's always dangerous to talk about the perfect recipe because taste is so individual and tied up with experience and memories. But give it a try and let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, smashed, not crushed
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 a cayenne pepper, whole
2 tomato vines
1 can of quality tomatoes, chopped
1/2-1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Start by warming up the oil and throw in the dry herbs, the garlic and the cayenne. Stir constantly for 1 minute. You want to heat up the spices, not burn them.

Add the tomato and the vine. I usually freeze the stalks whenever I buy tomatoes on the vine. There is so much flavour in the vine, but apparently they contain a very small amount of a poisonous alkaloid called tomatine. However, the amount should be so small that it is virtually harmless. But just in case you are pregnant, best to avoid this step. I then cook it in a preasure cooker for 10 minutes. I guess you can also slow cook it at a low heat for longer.

Then, remove the vines and blend the sauce.

Add sherry vinegar to taste (depends on how sour the tomatoes are). Add the sugar and taste for salt.

Let it cool off before spreading it onto your pizza.

Strawberry Jam Session

Although the temperatures aren't exactly springlike this year, my local market is now starting to overflow with big, fat, juicy strawberries. If you have ever bought a strawberry during winter you know how disappointing they are to eat, how bland and indifferent an experience it is to bite into an importet berry. Strawberries need to be sun ripened, picked, packed and shipped to your store in a rush, which is quite hard when they come from the other side of the globe. So now, in this all too short window when sweet berries are abundant, it's time to try ad capture some of these spring delights and store them for more dreary winter nights. And what better way of preserving than by making jam.

Ingredients (5 jars):
1 kg strawberrries, not too over ripe
1 kg sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp butter

Clean and cut the berries in half (cuarter the really big ones) and mix with half the sugar. Leave it overnight for the juices to run out.

On the day of making the jam, start by bringing a large pot to boil and completely submerge your jam glasses. Boil the only the glasses for 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and add the lids and let it all sit for nother 10 minutes. Take out and let them dry. If you are recycling like me, make sure the lids are not bent or damaged in any way or they wn't stay tight. Also, place a small plate in your freezer. I'll explain while later.

Meanwhile in a lage pot with a thick base, mix the strawberries with the other half of the sugar. Add the lemon juice.

Bring it to a boil. Make sure you have plenty of space for the jam to rise. It will more than double. Just to be warned. Let it simmer at mid low temperature while strirring now and then. Skim off the foam after about 20 minutes. You want to let it boil slowly until it reaches its setting point. This might take up to an hour. How do you know when it's set? Read on...

First of all, while it's boiling, cut a small disc of waxed paper by folding it around the same point and then placing it with the point in the centre of the lid. Cut a bit further in than the rim of the lid.

When the jam has set, you want to stir in a teasoon of butter.

How do you know the jam is setting? This is where the plate in the freezer comes in. Take it out a drop a bit of jam on it. Leave it to cool off for a minute. Turn the plate and see if it's still runny. If it's thickening up, you're almost ready to go. Turn of the heat and let it sit in the pot for 10 minutes to firm up a bit. This way the pieces of strawberry won't sink to the bottom when you put it into jars.

Final part is getting the jam into the still warm jars. If the jars have cooled off too much, the sudden change of temperature might crack the glasses. Fill the jars and place the disc of waxpaper on top to minimize the jams exposue to air. Microbes and fungus need air. Seal up and let the jars cool down. When fully cooled the jar lids should have been sucked in a created a vacuum. If you hear a clicking sound when pressing the lids, use this jar first as it's not airtight.

Burger - Hangover food 2010

First of all, happy 2010! I hope everyone has entered the new decade with optimism and lots of hunger. First of all, the bad news. During a particular frantic cooking session over the holidays, our camera fell on the hard kitchen floor - and event which predictably fell out in favour to the the floor. So, until we find a new camera, I'll be posting some old, hitherto unpublished recipes I had from 2009. And as most new years start with a slight hangover, why not begin with the mother of all cures. No, it's not a Bloody Mary or a hair of the dog that bit you. I'm talking about the hamburger of course. There's only one secret you need to know to turn a good burger into an excellent burger: the burger sauce. What has made the burger so popular is its ability to hit all five taste senses at the same time. You've got sweet from the bun and sauce, sour from the acid from the tomato and the pickled cucumber, bitter from the lettuce, salt from the, well, salt on the meat, and umami from the meat. This sauce contains and further enhances all these flavours. Just try it out. Here's my take on it.

Ingredients:
Sauce:
1/3 cup mayo
3/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp oregano
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
a bit of fresh lemon
Burger:
150g mined beef per burger
Cheese (Cheddar or Sandwich)
1 burger bun
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Pickled Cucumber

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Leave it for 30 min in the fridge, so the sugar can dissolve.

Stir your minced meat for a minute or so, until it all starts to stick together. Shape it into a ball and put it on a sheet of baking paper. Flatten it and round it with your fingers.

Place another piece of baking paper on top and flatten the burger using the bottom of a heavy pot. This will insure that the meat is equally thick all over and will cook evenly. You don't really need a big slap of meat which will dominate the flavour. Learn from the "McD" and the "King". Less is more. Balance, my friend, balance! You can make a lot of meat patties and freeze them at this stage. In fact I often freeze them a couple of hours in advance. That way they stay together better when they go on the grill.

Salt and pepper generously. Fry the patty a couple of minutes on each side.

Spread the sauce on the top and bottom bun.

After the last turn, throw on a some cheese.

Build the burger. Base, lettuce, beef, cheese, pickled cucumbers, onion rings and tomato slices.

Now, take a bite of that.

Pickled Cucumber Salad

This quick pickled cucumber salad is great relish for hamburgers or hotdogs or as a side dish with grilled meat.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

1 tbsp coarse salt

4 tbsp sugar

1 dl vinegar

1 bayleaf

1 small onion, shopped

Freshly ground black pepper

1 dl water

Slice your cucumber finely, either with a sharp knife or a chinese mandolin.

Add coarse salt and mix them well to distribute the salt. Leave while preparing the rest.

Bring the sugar, vinegar, onion, bayleaf and pepper to a boil and leave it simmer together for a few minutes.

Pour it through a sieve into a bowl or a glass.

Add 1 dl of water.

Put the sliced cucumber into the liquid. Leave for at least 2 hours before using.

Basil

I've tried growing basil on my balcony for some time now and it always seems to dry out and die on me within a week. I guess I just don't have green fingers. So I buy it instead but my green grocer is too friendly with me and gives me too much, so I've had to figure out what to do with too much basil. Let me start with the first method which I've used quite successfully previously. I simply chop it finely, mix it with a little bit of water and then freeze it in a plastic bag for making ice cubes. This way I always have a quick cube to add to sauce, soups etc. The downside is that it changes colour and becomes quite dark so it's no good for garnishing. The same method works fine with parsley and cilantro. But nothing substitutes the freshness of freshly plucked herbs, so these are only suggestions if you end up with too much like me. Here are another two methods I find quite useful:

Here's the leftover bunch of basil.

By wrapping them in a dampened (not soaking wet) kitchen towel and putting them in a airtight plastic bag they wil last quite a long time in the fridge (I've had them up to 2 weeks).

Method 3: Pick the washed leafs and put them in a blender and pour plenty of olive oil over.

Blend until smooth.

And pour it into a bottle. This is delicious and will actually only get stronger within a few days. Squirt it into sauces, onto pasta or with some fresh tomatoes. You can also make it into lovely pesto by adding some pinenuts, a bit of garlic and some shredded parmesan. Will last a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Tzatziki

Ok, so here comes the first in a series of Greek specialities inspired by our holidays in Santorini at the beginning of the month. It's the classic of classics: Tzatziki, a creamy yoghurt and cucmber dip. I imagine that every family in Greece have their own recipe so I'm not pretending that this is the ultimate version, though it is pretty darn good. Serve it as a starter with some bread for dipping or as a side dish/sauce for meat, chicken or fish.

Ingredients:
3 dl natural Greek youghurt
2 dl shredded cucumber
1 tsp salt
1-3 gloves of garlic (depends how strong you want it)
2 tsp fresh, chopped mint or 1 tsp dry mint
1-2 tbsp olive oil
freshly ground pepper to taste

Lots of the yoghurt sold as Greek yoghurt is in fact still very thin. The original Greek yoghurt we had on our trip was rather thick almost like a spread cheese. So you might want to drain out some of that excess liquid by putting the yoghurt in a clean cloth, wrap a rubberband around it and stick a chop stick through it and hang it over a container. Leave it for about 1-2 hours. Then scrape it out into a bowl.

Shred the cucumber. Some people swear that real tzatziki is made with finely cut cucumbers. It's up to you and how much time you have.

Add some salt to the cucumber. Leave it hanging in a cloth for a few minutes for the liquid to drip out.

Chop the garlic very finely. Squeeze it with the side of the knife blade. Chop it again until it's very fine.

Chop or crush the mint if it's dry like mine. Add to yoghurt.

Add the olive oil and some freshly ground pepper.

Squeeze out some more liquid from the cucumber and mix it into the yoghurt.

And it's ready to eat. Well, actually it will get better with time so leave covered it in the fridge. It will last up to a week.

Ribs'n'Slaw

Summer time. Time to get out the grilling utensils. But some of us happens to live in the city and starting an indoor barbecue might not go down well with the people living upstairs, not to mention the fire authorities. Anyway, what about making some delicious, finger licking ribs indoor. You need a bit of preparation and to leave the ribs in in the oven for some time, but the result will be worth the wait. I'm showing how to make them by only using of the oven, but you can easily transfer the last part of the process to your grill outdoor. To go along, I've made some simple coleslaw.

Ingerdients:

Spareribs (as many as you can eat)

Special dry rub spices (see previous upload)

Beer or apple cider.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce:

200ml tomato sauce

2-3 cloves garlic

150ml Brown Sugar or 1dl honey

50ml Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp paprika

150ml Water

(The following is optional)

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp mustard powder

dash of cayenne

dry Basil

Coleslaw

1 cabbage

3-4 carrots

Mayonaise

Mustard

Sugar

Redwine Vinegar

The day before: Sprinkle some dry rub all over the spareribs and pad it down. Don't actually rub it in. Leave in fridge for the next day. Prepare the barbecue sauce.

Start by putting some crushed garlic (peel them and bang them with the base of a clean pot) into some oliveoil on a cold thickbased pan. Turn on the heat and wait for the garlic to start hissing slightly.

Then pour in your tomato sauce.

The brown sugar

And the balsamic vinegar. Give it a stir.

Add your different spices. Cook it for 5 minutes then add the water and cook it at low temperature till the water is evaporated and the sauce thickened. Keep for the next day.

For the coleslaw, start by boiling some water. Then remove the outer lose leafs on your cabbage if it has any. Cut it in half and the quarters. Cut off the thick stem as shown in the picture above.

Shred the carrots and the cabbage (alternatively, slice it finely with a good knife. Shredding might be too fine, I found out).

Put them into a clean cloth and into a bowl. Pour boiling water over them and leave it for a minute. Then rinse with cold running water and strain it by twisting the cloth into a ball.

For the sauce, mix the mayo, sugar, mustard and vinegar in the proportions you like. Normally it's plenty of mayo, and less of vinegar and sugar. Try it with a finger. Leave it 5 minutes for the sugar to dissolve before add ing cabbage.

Mix in cabbage, taste for salt.

Store in fridge until served.

The ribs... Wrap the dry rubbed ribs in 2-3 layers of tinfoil, boneside down. Be careful not to pierce the tinfoil or the juices will run out. At the same time you want to be able to open it up later for the barbecue sauce basting. Pour in about a decilitre or two of beer or cider. You don't want it to be swimming just to have a bit of liquid for a light braising. Put them in a warm oven (160º) for about and hour. After an hour, open up the package and pour some barbecue sauce over and extend it well with a silicon brush (the old hairy ones will leave hair in the sticky sauce and won't be popular with your dinner guests). Leave the package open with the ribs exposed.

You might want to turn the temperature up a bit, to say, 180º. Every 15 minutes give it another coating of barbecue sauce. This way you slowly build a lovely thick glace which doesn't only taste delicious but lso helps keep in the moisture. You don't need to baste on the side underneith which is mainly bone. Furthermore, turning the ribs will burn the top part against the bottom and destroy the coating. Keep basting every 15 minutes for 2 hours. You can transfer them to the barbecue for the last 30 minutes if you want the original smoky flavour.

The end product should look something like this. Cut the ribs between the bones. They should be nearly falling apart by themselves.

Serve with the slaw on the side.