Tag: food

Roast loin of pork and Dauphinoise potatoes

The beauty of this kind of food is that the prep is quick, and while the food is cooking you can get on with other things, hence why I would cook something like this even mid week. If you’re not a garlic lover, you can always just leave the garlic out and make normal creamed potatoes without it. Also, today I’ve had to improvise with my pork dish a little bit, as something that’s completely unheard of in my kitchen happened: I had run out of not even one, but two ingredients without replacing them! The recipe below is for how I normally make it. This should be enough for 3-4 portions. I served mine with fried black trumpet mushrooms and fresh tomato and cucumber salad, covered with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Dauphinoise potatoes
5-6 medium potatoes, sliced (I have a beautiful, brand new blender so this was done within 30 seconds)
2 -3 cloves of garlic
2-3dl double cream
salt
black pepper

1. Layer sliced potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper, then pour over the cream.

2. Cook in preheated oven 180°C for 1,5 hours, until potato is soft.

Roast loin of pork
500g loin fillet of pork
mustard
salt
black pepper
ground ginger
dried rosemary

1. Massage the mustard all over the pork fillet.

2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, ginger and rosemary.

3. Roast in the oven 180°C /355°F for about 40 minutes. Juices coming out of the pork should be clear.

4. Take out of the oven, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

5. I also use the cooking juices as the jus for the dish.

 

Beetroot risotto

This dish is one of my husband’s all time favourite dishes. I actually never used to like risotto, until I started making my own.

500g fresh, raw beetroots, peeled, trimmed and cut into wedges
splash of olive oil
knob of butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
250g risotto rice (I use Arborio)
150ml dry white wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc)
700ml hot vegetable stock (for this I mix Bouillon powder with water)
handful of grated parmesan cheese
dill
crème fraiche

1. Heat oven to 160°C (fan).

2. Put chopped beetroot in an oven proof dish. Sprinkle with olive oil, season and cook for about an hour, until soft.

3. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan, and cook the onion and garlic for about 3-5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Stir in the rice and white wine, and let bubble on medium heat until the wine has disappeared (about 3 minutes).

4. Little by little, add the vegetable stock, stirring in between, letting most of it be absorbed before adding more liquid. This whole stage should take around 20 minutes. Once the rice is desired texture, move on to the next stage.

5. Remove the cooked beetroot from the oven and take about a 1/4 aside, to blend into a puree. Chop the remaining 3/4 into small cubes. Then add the pureed and chopped pieces to the risotto.

6. Stir in some parmesan cheese and chopped dill. To serve, add a dollop of crème fraiche on top, and sprinkle some more parmesan cheese and dill.

 

Rack of lamb with roasted baby potatoes and pumpkin

For Sunday dinner this week I made rack of lamb, and as it’s Halloween I accompanied it with roasted baby potatoes and pumpkin. One rack of 8 bones should be enough for two people.

Lamb marinade
2 cloves of garlic
leaves from 3 rosemary sprigs
leaves from 4 thyme sprigs
6 black peppercorns
couple of pinches of sea salt
splash of olive oil, until desired consistency is achieved

Clean the bones with a sharp knife. Blend all ingredients together, and rub all over the rack of lamb. Ideal marinade time is at least four hours, or overnight.

Roast baby potatoes and pumpkin
500g baby potatoes
small pumpkin
leaves from couple of rosemary sprigs
leaves from few thyme sprigs
olive oil
pinch of sea salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
black olives, quantity to taste

Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan). Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes. Strain, and mix all ingredients together. Roast for 40 minutes.

Pan seared, oven roasted rack of lamb

Heat oil in an oven proof frying pan. Brown the rack on all sides, including the ends. Cover the bones with foil, and roast in preheated oven 200°C(fan) / 430°F  fat side up for 15 minutes for rare result. Rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Homemade guacamole

For breakfast this weekend I had ham, homemade guacamole and poached eggs on sourdough toast. Below you can find my guacamole recipe, which truly is much better that the ones you buy from the shop. And it’s really easy to make too!

2 ripe avocados
2 small tomatoes (cherry or plum)
1 small green chilli
1 clove of garlic
handful of fresh coriander
1/2 lemon juice (or 1 tbsp bottled)
splash of cream, until desired consistency is achieved

Blend all ingredients together, adding cream until desired consistency is achieved.

Borscht

I’m starting my blog with borscht soup as my first post simply because this is the first recipe one of my Instagram followers has asked for. This hearty winter warmer soup originates from Russia, and is also widely used in other Eastern European countries, with many variations. My one includes meat, but you can always leave the meat products off.

500g beef brisket
2 litres water
1 tbsp salt
2 bay leaves
4 white peppers
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 leek
5 parsley stalks
250g raw beetroot
1/2 stalk of celery
2 potatoes
1 onion
200g white cabbage
1 tbsp butter
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and black pepper
150g frankfurters (hot dog sausages)
parsley
crème fraiche to serve

1. Cover the meat with the water, and bring to boil. Boil uncovered for 10-15 minutes, removing the foam that forms.

2. Add the salt, bay leaves, white peppers, garlics, chopped leek and parsley stalks. Cover with lid and simmer for two hours.

3. Remove the meat, and cut to bite size pieces. Strain the liquid through a sieve. For extra fine result, you may also use muslin.

4. Grate (or finely chop) the beetroot, celery, potato and cabbage to match size pieces. Finely chop onion. Keep 2-3 dl of beetroot aside. Soften in a pan with butter.

5. Add the liquid, and cook for 15 mins. Add the chopped tomatoes, vinegar, remaining beetroot, meat and chopped frankfurters. Check taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

6. Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche and chopped parsley.