Rökt Lax med Råraka — Smoked Salmon with Rosti

More fish! we had a bunch of smoked salmon lying around and were bored of eating it raw or in pasta so Andreas suggested this great recipe he's made once before and i suggested we serve it with rosti potatoes — ie. råraka.

Smoked Salmon

2 people

200 g Smoked or Cured Salmon

1 Red Onion

8 Cherry Tomatoes

200 ml Creme Fraiche

hand full of dill

First you need to chop the onion in very small pieces. The smaller they are the easier it is to handle the salmon package that is to be. Cut each tomato in 4 pieces. Place a plastic cutting board on a table with a comfortable height. Now spread a thin piece of salmon on the same cutting bord and put some red onion and tomatoes in the middle of the salmon and then just fold the one end of the salmon over and then the other end over the first end so they over lap like a little parcel. There is no need to put any tooth picks for stabilization as long as you are gentle with the fish because the heat in the pan will keep the salmon in a firm shape. Continue rolling up your tomatoes and onion until your salmon is done

Pour some oil in a pan and heat it up to below medium heat. Put the salmon packages in the pan and let them sear for about 5 minutes. Then pour the creme fraiche on top then add the dill over everything and let it cook for about 10 - 15 more minutes (do not stir!) just let the creme melt overtop. You don't really need to worry about the consistency of the fish here, it'll be fine. I would worry about the tomatoes becoming too soggy and bland first of all, so don't cook it too long.

Råraka

2 people

4 Potatoes

Salt & Pepper

Grate the potatoes with the big holes into a bowl. Then add salt and pepper until you sneeze. Heat up about 2mm of oil in a frying pan and scoop all of your grated potatoes in the pan like a large pancake. Fry them on low heat until the top of the potatoes looks cooked. Flip the pancake trying not to break it and cook until the bottom becomes brown. In all this should take about 20 - 30 minutes depending on the thickness.

And you're all done.

Bye!
Andreas & Martina

Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quiche (Ostpaj med Spansk Peppar)

Quiche Quiche Quiche, it's been a while since I had it and I've never attempted to make it before so last night I decided I HAD to. It turned out really well!  I put a bunch of basil and parsley in and I think I could have put more so it would have had a more standout taste. Andreas said he's made it with broccoli... maybe this will be our next variant! Since I'm on a whole wheat binge I made the crust with that, but please use white flour if you prefer.

Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quiche

3 - 4 people

CRUST- (8" plate)

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1tsp salt

6tbsp butter cold and chopped small

2tbsp ice cold water

FILLING-

6 eggs

2 tbsp creme fraiche

3 tbsp whipping cream or milk

5 tbsp goat cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper chopped into strips

1 medium onion chopped into strips

1 small bell pepper

handful of parsley

handful of basil

The quiche crust is the exact same as making a pie crust. Combine all the ingredient for the crust and gently fork them together until they form a ball, touch the dough sparingly. Again they say you have to be gentle with crusts but it's not true, just don't melt the butter too much with your fingers and it will turn out ok. Refrigerate the crust for one hour. During this time you can prep the other ingredients. 

When the crust is refrigerated long enough heat your oven up to 375º and roll out your dough to fill an 8" pie plate. Press the dough in, poke the bottom with a fork (keeps it from puffing) and bake it for 20 - 30 mins until it's done and slightly golden. 

While your quiche crust is resting and baking sautee your onions and peppers. Mix all the other ingredients for your filling except for the cheese in a bowl and when the peppers and onions are cooked put them into the egg mixture as well.

Pull your crust out of the oven and although other recipes tell you it has to cool... it doesn't. Pour your filling in and evenly crumble the goat cheese into the filling. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes and you have quiche!

Bon appetite :)

Martina

Whole Wheat Buns with Flax

You may have noticed Andreas isn't posting too much. He's had one month straight of visitors which hasn't left too much time for blogging about food. He'll be back I hope :)

My recipe post today is something which I've always been scared of making... BREAD! I NEVER, EVER made it before moving here, for no particular reason than I thought that it was too difficult. Andreas changed my mind about the bread difficulty issue, as he always made his own pizza dough and after I started making that, I decided to venture up to bread. It really isn't as time consuming and precise as expected and I want to tempt you all to try making some home made bread by trying these super easy buns. Plus, they are way healthier than what you find in the store.

Whole Wheat Buns with Flax

4 buns

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use 100% whole wheat not a mix, so it's quite dense)

4 tbsp flax (you can also use other seeds if you prefer)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 package instant dry yeast

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup — 1 cup water (depending on where you are and how humid it is the dough will need more or less later, start with a half cup

and work your way up to a cup)

In a large bowl put in your flour, flax, salt and yeast. Mix this all around with your hands. Now you can add the oil and water. As you add the water mix it and when the dough comes together and feels like soft playdough, STOP! no more water (this should be at the 3/4 - 1 cup mark). Knead the dough about 10 - 12 times and then cover it with a towel in the bowl and let it rest for 1 hour. If you wake up on saturday or sunday you can do this before you shower and get ready and by the time you are done you can bake your bread and have warm buns for breakfast!

When your dough has rested and risen it should puff to about twice the size. Turn your oven up to 375º. Cut the dough into 4 equal parts and form them into little buns, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Let the buns rest until the oven reaches the right temperature. Pop them in and in 20 - 30 minutes, when the top browns, you will have fresh, healthy bread!

If you are not a huge fan of whole wheat try them but with white flour instead. I'm going to try different variations of flours and ingredients and let you know how it goes :) 

Bye!

Martina