Herby chicken with root vegetables & lemon honey sauce

Simple and delicious - crunchy roast chicken, small-cut veggies and a lovely light lemon sauce. Do try this. 

The veggies are extra delicious when they're cut pretty small. And the sauce brings the whole meal together, so don't skip that - it's truly a winner.

Herby chicken with root vegetables & lemon sauce

1 fresh chicken
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme

marinade:
1 tsp sambal oelek (chili paste)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp chili sauce (I used Heinz)

veggies:
4 carrots
4 large potatoes
2 parsnips
2 red onions
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
lemon zest
salt

lemon honey sauce:
1 lemon - zest and juice
200 ml cr�me fraiche
salt
black pepper
1 tsp runny honey

Start with the sauce. Zest the lemon, and use half for the sauce - half for the veggies, later on. Stir with the creme fraiche and the juice from the lemon. SAVE THE SQUEEZED-OUT LEMON! Season with a little salt and pepper, and add a drizzle of honey. Place in the fridge while you cook the rest of the meal.

For the chicken, mix together the butter with the dried herbs. Try to spread this under the skin of the chicken, as well as possible. Whisk together the marinade, and brush half onto the chicken. (save the rest for later!) Get those reserved squeezed-out lemon halves and stuff into the chicken. Place the chicken in a large roasting tin and roast for 10 minutes at 200�C.

Meanwhile, prep the veggies. Peel and cut the carrots, potatoes and parsnips into dice. Peel the onions and cut into thin wedges. Mix and place all around the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil, the dried herbs and salt, and the reserved lemon zest. Brush the chicken with the rest of the marinade.

Place the whole thing back in the oven for about 40 minutes. Check periodically - the chicken might need to be covered with foil to prevent it from becoming too dark, and the veggies will benefit from some tossing.

When the vegetables are soft and roasted, and the chicken is cooked through - you're all done. Serve with the Lemon-Honey sauce.

Curried Lentil Soup with Ginger Yogurt

I feel like a broken record here, but yes, yet another recipe adapted from Samanta Larsen's brilliant cookbook. I keep pulling it out to try new things. Rarely have I liked a book this much - so seriously, if you read Swedish, you should get this. (If you don't, keep your fingers crossed for a translation.)

I let Titus help me make this soup -. he really enjoyed putting everything in the food processor. And he really - really - enjoyed eating it, despite it having a few ingredients he doesn't normally appriciate. And I didn't bother making it completely smooth like I usually do, but it was pretty popular despite that. The original was probably a bit spicier, too - I decided to go with something more gentle.

Curried Lentil Soup 
serves 4

1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 green apple, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
1 red bellpepper
1 tsp curry powder (I used a lovely fruity kind from Herbaria)
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp cardamom, ground
1 - 1,5 litre vegetable stock
200 ml red lentils
 neutral oil

Get out a food processor and mix onion, garlic, apple, carrots and bellpepper into very small bits. Scrape into a large pot, add a litte neutral oil, and cook until all the vegetables have softened. Add the spices and let them fry for a few minutes.

Pour in the vegetable stock (or water and stock cubes) and the lentils, and cook for at least 20 minutes. I used a smaller amount of stock to make the soup thicker, but that's up to you.

Ginger Yogurt
200 thick yogurt
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped

Stir together.

Quick dinner idea - Fried Rice Carbonara Style

 We usually eat together as a family, every night. However, sometimes Per or I are working late and then it's just me (or him) and the kids. On those occasions, we usually opt for something quick and simple - not that we're doing any advanced cooking on the other nights, for sure. This came to be on one such evening. We all liked it a lot - real comfort food!

So, what it was: I cut up and fried about 70 g of bacon until it started to crisp up. I added a few cups of leftover rice, and fried until that was heated through. I then added a little bit of cream and an egg which I quickly stirred in. Finally some frozen corn, and a good grating of parmesan cheese. I had some peas with as well, as did Dante - Titus doesn't like them so I served them on the side.

Guacamole

Real guacamole, I've been told, is made in a molcajete, a large mortar and pestle. I don't have one, so I settled for my regular mortar made from Swedish marble. Works well, too. (It's just a little small.)

 I did some variation on this recipe, and served with taco-spiced ground meat on blue corn chips, finally available in Sweden! The brand is Buffalo Ranch and while they're not as thin as restaurant-style tortilla chips, I liked them. Beware though, they have very little salt and some have reported to find them flavorless.

Quick and simple Shrimp Mango salsa

Super quick and I've made similar several times. Just combine cooked shrimp, finely chopped red onion, a little finely diced chili, mango, lime juice and a lot of freshly chopped coriander. Scoop up with tortilla chips or garlic bread and enjoy!

Bacon Tomato Sauce

My sons are in an excellent little pre-school. 22 kids, 4 teachers and one cook. The cook, Beatriz, is the best. She is so loved by all the kids, and she makes awesome food. (And coffee with a pinch of cinnamon!)  Titus favorite is a pasta sauce called Bacongryta - bacon stew. I tried to get the recipe, but she usually just smiles, shrugs and says that well, she wings it. However, I did find the original recipe, that she adapts from, when I was temping there one day. (We're a parent co-op, so when someone's sick, we step in.) I was skeptical, as Titus normally shies away from just about everything in this recipe (except for pasta and corn, his two staples) but I should have just trusted him. He loved this. And so did Dante. And so did we, actually.

Bacon Tomato Sauce
serves 4

140 g bacon, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
400 g crushed tomatoes (1 can)
1 tsp veal stock
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt, pepper
4 tbsp frozen corn
4 tbsp frozen broccoli, diced
1 tbsp butter


(I think Beatriz adds soy sauce also, but I plain forgot and felt that it was probably not necessary.)

Start by frying the bacon on medium heat. When it's pretty much browned, add the onion and fry for a little longer. Add the tomatoes, veal stock (if using), basil, salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes. Add the corn, broccoli and butter and when they're nice and hot, you're all done. Serve over pasta.

Happy Birthday, Titus!

My big little boy is turning five today! He's so funny, brave, clever and kind - we love him enormously.












Our very first picture. 

Cauliflower soup with chili and lime

It looks pretty good, doesn't it? Well, it was made almost entirely, by my soon-to-be five year old son. Well done! We found the recipe (that I'm not sharing by the way, it wasn't that memorable) in a new cookbook geared towards kids: Tinas recept f�r unga kockar by the very popular Tina Nordstr�m. Looking forward to trying more of those recipes, and dusting off a few other of my kids cookbooks!

Quick dinner idea: salmon cakes with mango

 This was a great little dinner - we served it with rice but that was unnecessary, just a salad would be nicer. I ended up mostly eating mangoes marinated in lime juice with a little bit of zest - delicious, that. I also made a yogurt with some sweet chili sauce - also went down very well.

 So, for the salmon cakes. Peel and cut 500 g of potatoes into large cubes. Cook in salted, boiling water for about 15 minutes or until completely soft. At the same time, take 400 g salmon fillets and rub with a little olive oil. Place in a tightly sealed foil package on top of the potatoes and let it steam until cooked through. Drain the potatoes and mash directly in the saucepan. Flake in the salmon. Add the zest of one lemon and two tbsp flour. Some salt and pepper. If it's very dry, add an egg - I didn't feel the need though.

Shape flattened balls. Dip each side in flour, and place in the fridge for an hour to set up. When ready to eat, cook them in olive oil for a few minutes on each side. Since the ingredients are already cooked, they just need to be crispy on the outside and hot throughout.

Tacos de Tinga in Crock-Pot

Carnitas and pulled pork are staples here, as well as minced beef with taco seasoning, but I wanted to try something new. I've seen several great taco/tex mex cookbooks coming out in Sweden lately, and I pulled out "Taco Mexican Style" to cook a few dishes for a get together with my friends. We were too eager to wait until Cinco de Mayo, so we decided we'd just go for Cinco de Aprilo.

Tacos de Tinga is a spicy and rich stew, but not very hot. Add more spice if you want that, but we served several hot condiments instead. If you don't have a  crock-pot, just use a regular pot and cook it on the stove for about 2-3 hours, or until your meat falls apart easily. (You might need a little more water) The crock-pot is super convenient though, especially as I prepared several dishes.

Tacos de Tinga in Crock-Pot

1 kg pork butt (benfri fl�skkarr� is what I used), cut into medium dice

1 whole chipotle chilipepper

1 white onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

400 g crushed tomatoes

100 ml water

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

3 bay leaves

1/2 tsp all spice, ground

1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground

1-2 tsp salt

honey, to taste

Remove the stem of the chili pepper. Add every ingredient, except for the honey, to the crock-pot. Cook on low for about 7-8 hours. (I usually start out at high for an hour or so, to get things going.) When the meat is tender and falls apart easily, stir with a large fork to make it shredded. Season with a little honey, and more salt. 

Serve with tortillas, taco shells and whatever salsas and sauces you'd like. 

Whipped Lemon Butter

For most of our parties, we usually serve some sort of bread. A nice hole-y sourdough, a baguette, maybe some crisp bread... and we usually just put out our regular butter, too. Well, no more! This tasty lemon butter whips up in a heartbeat and is really yummy. I adapted it from a recipe in "Systrarna Sydow's Festmat" which is a fantastic new cookbook! I'd have followed it more to the letter had I had the proper ingredients, but as it happened I didn't have any white wine vinegar so substituted sherry vinegar. Delicious anyway - it's slightly acidic but also aromatic and salty. I might try adding a little touch of honey next time, I have a feeling that'll make it even better.

Whipped Lemon Butter
100 g butter, softened
good pinch of sea salt
zest and juice from one lemon
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar)

Just whip all ingredients together on high speed. Taste to see if the flavor balance is to your liking. Serve with your favorite bread.