Friday, May 18, 2012

Tip of the Week: Cottage Cheese all over!

My cottage cheese romance has a long history of full flare or completely dead - and these days it is on!
I have mainly used it as a low calorie spread on Danish Rugbrød - or lately, on Anthony's pot baked loaf, recipe to follow soon - adding finely chopped cucumber, turkey, sweet mustard and salt and pepper, but a couple of days ago discovered it as an excellent substitute for sauce or hummus to go with an otherwise slightly dry plate of meat and salad.
I had left a pork sirloin cut into 1/2 inch slices in a zip lock bag with 2 tbs shredded fresh ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbs fresh lemon juice and 2 tbs soy sauce for a couple of hours. I washed and boiled about a pound of fingerling potatoes for 3-4 minutes, strained them and mixed them in a bowl with an egg yolk and 2 tbs sesame seed. Placed them close together on a tray and baked them half an hour in the oven at 400 F.
Meanwhile, I made a raw salad consisting of lettuce, thin slices of radicchio and sliced buckets of washed cauliflower.
I cooked the meat, browning it at max heat for a minute then turning down the heat to medium for about 3 minutes on either side, making sure to brown both sides, and left it to rest on a plate while I poured the remains of the marinade into the pan and reduced it for a couple of minutes. This left a very thin but tasty sauce (and not much of it) but when adding a tbs cottage cheese to the plate it all fit perfectly.

Cottage cheese barely has a taste but is really in it for texture in this dish. Because of its neutral appearance I can think of numerous dishes that would benefit from this addition!

Sorry about the lack of pictures...


Monday, May 14, 2012

Leek and Carrot Quiche with Graham Crust


This is a very simple quiche that serves great as a side to Danish Meatballs (see recipe) or on its own with a large side salad.

Crust:
2    oz graham flour
1.5 oz wheat flour
1    tbs olive oil
3    tbs cold water
1/4 tsp salt

-Mix alt the ingredients together and knead it with your hands. The dough should be soft; add a tiny bit more water until the desired consistency is attained. Wrap in film and leave in fridge for about half an hour.
- Heat the oven to 400 F. Grease a pie mould with olive oil and roll out the dough. Fit it in the mould, it does not have to fit perfectly but use your fingers to stretch the dough to come up the sides.
- Use a fork to poke small holes in the crust and bake it in the oven for ten minutes. Take it out.

Filling:
2 carrots (app. 4 oz)
2 medium sized leeks
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 oz grated cheese

-Finely slice the leeks and carrots. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, add salt and gently cook the vegetables for a couple of minutes. Drain (if you are making meatballs save the water and use as liquid with the meat) and set aside.
-Whisk the eggs, milk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper together in a bowl and grate the cheese.

-Spread the cooked vegetables over the quiche crust. Pour the egg mix over the vegetables (it should just cover them, if not you can add a bit more milk) and sprinkle the cheese on top.
-Cook in the oven for app. 35 minutes until the crust is crisp and the top lightly browned. Take out and leave to cool at least ten minutes.

This could be devoured either hot, at room temperature or cold out of the fridge - I love it either way!




Danish Chicken Meatballs

Danish meatballs are traditionally made from beef and pork and cooked without vegetables. However, I find this healthier and lighter version just as tasty and makes for a rather interesting variation if you normally do prefer the traditional recipe, so give it a try!



Like all my recipes this is for a family of four with a couple left over for the following day's lunch boxes. You will need:


1    large onion
2    carrots
1/4 celery root
1    egg
3    tbs fine cooking oats
1.5 lbs ground chicken
1/2 cup vegetable stock or milk
salt & pepper
Butter for cooking


- Peel and dice the onion, peel the carrots and cut them each into four pieces, dice the celery and toss it all into a blender adding the egg and vegetable stock/milk. Puree.
- Put the grounded chicken in a large bowl and pour the vegetable mix over along with salt, pepper, and oats. Stir with a wooden spoon until even, cover and leave in the refrigerator about half an hour.
- Heat a large, heavy based skillet and let a couple of tbs butter melt and lightly brown. Lower the heat to medium and using your hands or two tablespoons form balls about the size of an egg. Cook them in the skillet as you form them, making a pattern that you can remember. Making sure they don't burn and that they all cook the same time leave them to cook approximately ten minutes before turning them over to cook another ten minutes on the other side.



Enjoy them hot as they are served hot with any side such as baked potato, pasta marinara, leek and carrot quiche (see recipe), hummus, a green salad or whatever else you might fancy. And the day after they are a traditional delicacy served on Rugbrød (see recipe) with mustard and a beet slice...