Monday, August 21

Västerbotten Pie and Crayfish parties


Västerbotten pie is a Swedish cheese pie that is a classic combo when you eat Crayfish. The pie is full of delicious Västerbotten cheese, a cheese which has the structure of Cheddar but tastes a bit of Parmesan. It's just so good.
There's nothing I love more than crayfish parties in the whole wide world....except maybe a party filled with puppies to cuddle :)

Anyways back to the crayfish and pie...


Every summer I organise a crayfish party for my friends which is just the best party ever. It's a party where you feast on these deliciously salty fresh water crayfish freshly cooked, sing drinking songs  and drink schnapps :)
This year I've only eaten crayfish twice but luckily the season hasn't ended yet :) I can also make this cheese pie all year round if I feel like it...yeyyy!
Finnish crayfish can only be caught at a certain time of the year. The season started on the 21.7 and ends in the end of October. Crayfish are definitely my favourite delicacy and the only downside is the price. I you're lucky though, you'll have a friend who catches them for free....unfortunately I don't, not yet atleast.
Before we start feasting on crayfish and drinking ridiculous amounts of schnapps or Akvavit we have to fill up our stomachs with a bit of something so that we can handle all the drinking. A real classical duo for the crayfish is definitely Västerbotten pie and seems it's the only thing all my friends agree on that they love, so now this has become a tradition that I will make every year.
Who doesn't love a good pie especially if it's full of yummy cheese.




You will need:

-Savoury pie crust...most of the time I end up buying the ready bought stuff
-250g Västerbotten cheese (grated)
-3 eggs
-2 dl cream
-1-2 tbsp of intense meat stock/fond this however is optional but I like to add some to mine sometimes
-1 tbsp of tomato puree (this adds a bit of colour to the filling)
- black pepper
- a bit of salt according to taste Note! the cheese is already quite salty

Cover the pie form with the crust. Add the grated cheese. Break the eggs with a fork and add the cream and other ingredients. Pour into the pie form over the cheese and bake in the oven at 200° C for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Serve it with Skagen (a Swedish prawn cocktail)
Here's my recipe!
300g shrimps
2-3g lemon zest
15g dill
100-150g salmon roe
30g red onion
1dl smetana (a russian thick sour cream)
1dl sour cream (creme fraiche or kermaviili)
1dl mayonnaise ( preferably homemade otherwise I would most likely add dijon and put less mayo)
lemon juice
salt

For the mayonnaise (this will make more than you need for the skagen so if you don't need it for anything else make less):
2 egg yolks
45g dijon
5g salt
8dl oil ( I used rapeseed)
juice from 1/2 lemon (or vinegar)


Enjoy!






Friday, August 11

Ceviche con leche de tigre


I've been wanting to post this recipe for some time....but for some reason it keeps disappearing and I don't know how many times I've had to write it over again. I had prepared it already a while ago and just needed to make a few improvements....but as soon as I was ready to press "Publish" it was gone. Luckily not all was lost. I still have the pictures and a somewhat half mades squibble of a recipe on a piece of paper.


I think by now you've already realized that I love fish...preferably raw. I can't get enough of Sashimi, Poke bowls, Kinilaw and Ceviches. I  have not yet experienced a ceviche in Peru (which I hope one day I will) but so far the best ceviche I have ever had was in a Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) restaurant in Barcelona called Pakta ( you can look at more pics from Pakta in my blog about Barcelona ). The Ceviche was so perfect in many ways filled with different textures. I can still remember scooping the last drop of the tangy liquid from my plate almost ending up licking it :D I wish I could indulge this dish every day. I really loved the crunchiness of the corn they had used. I was so mesmerized by this little kernel and was curious on how they had managed to make the corn so crunchy without it popping into a pooffy cloud. I had to ask the chef why it didn't become popcorn and the answer was simple...the golden kernels just pop on the inside and become crunchy on the outside looking just like roasted peanuts. I just had to get this kind of corn from the market but to my surprise...a perfect lunch came with a perfect ending when the chef gave me a bag of corn to take with me. You have no idea how delighted I was :) I was soooooo happy and grateful and promise to use my corn with pride.
As soon as I got home....You guessed it! I was already testing the corn and making this superb bowl of ceviche inspired by the one I had in Pakta.
Even if its not the same I still really enjoyed it and hope you do too!



You will need:
(This will be perfect for a starter for 4 or as a main for 2)
300g of fresh salmon
1 avocado
Mango
corn (preferably the one I used but normal popcorn will do fine as long as you don't make them soggy in the liquid)
Cilantro
alphalpha or micro herbs for decoration

Leche de Tigre:

1/4- 1/2 chili depending on how hot they are
1/2 small red onion
1 tbsp cilantro packed in a spoon
1 1/2 lime (3/4dl)
1 orange to soften the acidity
sugar and salt

You could also use clam juice to soften the flavours

1) Prepare the Leche de Tigre (Tigers milk) by placing all the ingredients for the marinade in a blender and draining it until clear.
2) Dice the Salmon or fish of your choice into 1/2 inch cubes
3) Dice the avocado and roast the surface with a blow torch
4) Dice the mango ( you could even use some mango in the Tigers milk for natural sweetness)
5) Roast the corn in oil  just like when you make popcorn
6) Marinate the fish for a few minutes

7) take a bowl and place the salmon cubes on the plate along with cubes of avocado and mango.
8) Pour some of the marinade on top
9) Sprinkle on some roasted corn
10) decorate with alphalpha, cilantro or other herbs


I hope you enjoy and want to lick the bottom of the plate :)


If you end up having leftover Tigers milk...just pop it in the freezer and use it next time.