Food / 29 January, 2017 / My Baba

Hygge-Mania: Delicious Nordic Recipes

Roast Cauliflower, Spinach & Blue Cheese Salad with Cherries and Walnuts

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve (optional)

1 small pack of baby spinach

100g blue cheese, crumbled

handful of dried sour cherries

handful of walnuts

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

cherry vinegar or vinegar of your choice, to serve (optional)

Dilled Buttermilk, Potato, and Watercress Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 russet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 cups (750 mL) low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 lb (about 6 cups/1.5 L) fresh watercress (substitute beet greens or spinach)
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) buttermilk or kefir, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh dill
• 2 tsp (10 mL) white wine vinegar

Method:

• In large pot, melt butter or oil over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion, and garlic. Sauté for 10 minutes.
• Add broth and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
• Add watercress and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; add buttermilk or kefir, dill, and vinegar. Purée with an immersion blender until smooth.
• Serve hot with a swirl of additional buttermilk.

Cardamom and Golden Raisin Spelt Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 large organic egg
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) coconut sugar or evaporated brown cane sugar
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla extract
• 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 2 cups (500 mL) spelt flakes or large flake rolled oats
• 3/4 cup (180 mL) light spelt flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) golden or sultana seedless raisins

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In large bowl, mix egg and sugar until combined. Mix in oil, vanilla, cardamom, and salt, followed by spelt flakes or oats, until combined. Mix in flour and raisins. Roll into heaping 2 Tbsp (30 mL) balls on prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 in (5 cm) apart (requires baking in 2 batches). Gently press down to slightly flatten.
• Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until dry to the touch and golden brown on the bottom. Cool on wire rack. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Store airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Chicken Soup with Herbs and Root Vegetables

Ingredients:

• dried cannellini beans 200g
• extra-virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
• garlic cloves 3, chopped
• parsnip 300g, finely diced
• Savoy cabbage 300g, chopped
• chervil leaves 6 tbsp, chopped
• parsley leaves 6 tbsp, chopped
• sea salt and ground black pepper

For the stock:

• chicken 1
• bay leaves 3
• celery stalks 2
• carrot 1
• onion 1, unpeeled
• green chilli 1
• garlic cloves 4
• fresh ginger 100g
• sea salt 20g
• whole black peppercorns 1 tbsp
• water 3 litres

Method:

• Soak the dried beans in cold water overnight. The next day, drain and cook in boiling water for 40 minutes until tender, then drain and set aside.
• While the beans are cooking, put the chicken and the remaining stock ingredients in a stockpot, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
• Remove the chicken from the stock and strain the stock.
• Pour the stock back into the pot and let it simmer until reduced to 2 litres.
• Heat the olive oil in a big saucepan and sauté the garlic, then add the parsnip, cabbage and beans and sauté for a few minutes.
• Add the stock and bring to the boil.
• Skin the chicken and shred the meat off the bones. Save half the meat for another use, then add the other half to the soup, seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Add the chervil and parsley and let it simmer for 2 minutes before serving.

Sticky Ginger Cake with a Clementine Glaze

Ingredients:

• 125g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 175g molasses sugar
• (or dark brown muscovado)
• 150ml treacle
• 250ml buttermilk
• 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
• 175g refined spelt flour (or plain flour)
• 75g wholemeal spelt flour
• (or rye, wholewheat, oatmeal flour)
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp freshly grated root ginger
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• ½ nutmeg, freshly grated
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• For the Glaze
• 150g icing sugar
• zest and juice of 1 clementine
• juice of 1 lemon
• To Decorate
• seeds of 1 small pomegranate
• bright green raw pistachios

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170ËšC/gas mark 3 and lightly grease a 900g loaf tin.
• Melt the butter, sugar and treacle in a medium saucepan, stir through and remove from the heat. Cool slightly then add the buttermilk and eggs.
• Sieve the flours, raising agents, spices and salt into a medium bowl. Add to the liquid ingredients in the pan in stages, stirring thoroughly after each addition until evenly mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45 minutes, then cover with aluminium foil to prevent the top from scorching. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until the loaf has risen and feels firm to the touch. If in doubt, insert a metal skewer into the centre and if it comes out clean the cake is done.
• Place the cake on a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes before turning it out and piercing the top in several places. Make a clementine glaze by mixing together the icing sugar, clementine zest and juice, and lemon juice until you have a sticky icing. It shouldn’t be too runny or the glaze will just pour right off the cake.
• Drizzle the glaze over the ginger cake and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and pistachios to decorate.

Easy Morning Spelt Rolls

Ingredients:

• fresh yeast 10g
• Cold water 700ml
• Fine spelt flour 400g, plus extra for dusting
• Wholegrain spelt flour 350g
• Spelt flakes 50g
• Sea salt 1 tsp

Method:

• Dissolve the yeast in the water in a bowl, add both flours, the spelt flakes and the salt, mix well for about 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 230C/gas mark 8. Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead lightly. Form into 14 rolls and place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Spray some cold water in the oven to create steam, then bake the rolls for 10 minutes.
• Now turn down the oven temperature to 200C/gas mark 6 and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before eating.

Open-Faced Rye Sandwich with Butternut “Gravlax”

Ingredients:

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and seeded, or 2 large carrots, peeled
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) water
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) caraway seeds
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 4 – 1/2 in (1.25 cm) sliced sourdough rye or dark rye bread
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) alfalfa or mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 4 large organic eggs, hard boiled, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) grainy mustard
• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) smoked paprika

Method:

• For gravlax, using a speed peeler or mandolin, shave squash or carrots into very thin ribbons (almost see-through); add to a large bowl. Heat vinegar, maple syrup, water, caraway, and salt over medium heat until beginning to bubble around edges. Immediately pour over squash or carrots, and toss to combine. Cover and rest at room temperature for at least 4 hours. You can also make ahead and store airtight in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
• To assemble, toast bread, if you wish. Spread with mustard, and assemble sandwiches with sliced eggs, cucumber slices, gravlax, and sprouts. Drizzle with olive oil and dust with smoked paprika. Serve.