Spicy Tuna Wraps, Couscous Salad and a Ginger Tomato Salsa

It's minus a gazillion outside which really does not make the recipe that I'm to share with you today all that appropriate since it's a recipe best suited for sunshine, but maybe this will bring sunshine to this cold day.
Anyway, my recipe is inspired by a recipe I saw on TV a few days ago on a Jamie Oliver program.
I fell in love immediately but some of the ingredients and spicing was not exactly to my liking so I changed things here and there..

Tuna Wraps:

3 tuna fillet cans in water
4 sheets filo pastry
0,75 dl fresh coriander finely chopped
0,75 dl Thai sweet chili sauce
0,75 dl finely chopped pickled cucumbers (smörgåsgurka)
salt to taste
butter for frying




1. Open the cans and drain the water out then crumble the tuna into a bowl. Add the coriander, pickled cucumber and sweet chili sauce, then taste with salt.
2. Place one sheet of filo pastry flat on a lightly floured surface then fold in two and add split the tuna mix into four portions.
3. Spoon each on one end and form a rectangle then wrap by rolling twice then folding the ends in then rolling till the end.
4. Repeat the process till you have 4 wraps.
5. When all the other items in this meal are ready heat some butter in a pan and fry the wraps till golden brown on both sides.

Couscous Salad:

3 dl classic couscous
6 dl boiling water
1 cube vegetable stock
3 tbsp sun-dried tomato pureé
1 bulb grated fennel
1 dl pomegranate seeds
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
salt if needed


1. Pour the boiling water in a deep bowl. Add the vegetable stock cube and tomato pureé and stir till they are dissolved then add the couscous and stir, then cover for 10 minutes and it'll cook on it's own. Uncover and fluff up the couscous with a fork.
2. Dish out on a big serving dish and garnish with the grated fennel and pomegranate seeds.

Salsa:

2 big ripe tomatoes
1 thumb-sized peeled finely grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp sweet chili
4 drops Tabasco

1 lime

1. Peel the tomatoes with a peeler, (you can also peel the tomatoes by dropping them in boiling water for a few seconds, then they'll be easy to peel with your hands) then place in a deep bowl and mix it with a hand blender.
2. Add the grated ginger, sweet chili and tobasco, then squeeze the lime over and stir.

Bon Apetit!!!

Spicy Chickpea Soup

A very dear friend has just found out that her cholesterol levels are not what they should be and felt that my recipes are not helping. So, I promised that I was going to cook something this week that would help her get those levels down and after a bit of research on what to eat I have come to this recipe that is packed with flavour yet very light and healthy not to mention has ingredients that would help lower those high levels :)

Soup:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium big onion - chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic - chopped finely
1 lime - 1,5 if small
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sambal oelek (or chili paste)
1,3 l water
3 cans of chickpeas about 1,2 kg
2 cubes vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 finely chopped red paprika
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
4 tbsp rye croutons (diced rye bread tossed with a tbsp of olive oil and roasted in a hot oven till crispy)

Start by heating the olive oil in a deep pot then add the onions and garlic and fry for a few minutes (don't let it get dark though) then add the juice of a lime, your spices and sambal oelek to the pot and stir for a minute. By now the lovely fragrance of this mix should fill you kitchen- yummy!!
Add the water and the vegetable stock cubes and drain the two cans of chickpeas  then add them to the pot and let boil then lower the heat and let cook for 10 minutes.
Use a hand blender to mix the soup so it'd have a nice thick body then drain the last can of chickpeas and add to the soup. Last but not least taste with salt and pepper.
please in deep bowls and top with red paprika, rye croutons and fresh coriander.

Bon Apetit!

Kabab 7alla, Köttgryta or Meat Stew

Now this is a recipe that is very difficult to describe. I can tell you what ingredients to put, but you need to taste it over and over again for it to taste right (if you are Egyptian you know exactly what I mean)
The meat stew I'm describing here is an Egyptian speciality and the recipe for it goes from one generation to the next, each family have their own recipe and one can be so different from the other. Mine is the one my grandma used but with some slight changes. For one she used kidneys, heart and liver, while I only use meat. She also used potatoes in it while I don't because I like to eat it with cooked risoni (the recipe for which will be included)
One last thing, if you live here in Sweden and want to cook this please don't use the Santa Maria dried coriander and cumin, try to find a different brand where the spices are more light to golden brown rather than the burned brown they have.. (Santa Maria's Kebab Kryddmix is really good!)


Meat Stew:

2 tbsp butter
1 big yellow onion chopped finely
1 dolma pepper (if you can't find those then green pepper would do) chopped in small cubes
1 big carrot chopped in small cubes
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 cube vegetable stock (eco knorr)
1 tbsp strong mustard
2 tbsp tomato paste
1,5 tbsp dried coriander
3 tsp cumin
2 pinches dried chilli / or cayenne pepper if you have low tolerance to hot food
1 handful chopped fresh coriander
1 handful chopped fresh parsley
0.5 dl concentrated veal stock (Bong touch of Taste)
0.5 dl cream
freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tbsp butter
1 kg beef chunks

water

First you melt the butter in a frying pan then add the beef cubes and fry them on all sides till they are seared and brown.

Then melt the butter in a deep stew casserole then add the onions, carrots and dolma peppers to fry. Then add one at a time of the ingredients in the list above at a time and let fry for a few seconds before adding the next.

Add the fried meat to the rest in the casserole then add a bit of water just to cover the ingredients in the casserole and cover and let stew on medium heat. Uncover every 20 minutes to stir and scrape what gets stuck in the bottom and ad a bit of water whenever it's dried. Careful not to let it get burned as it can easily happen. This process keeps being repeated till you can't tell anymore that there has been carrots peppers or onions in the stew and the meat is very tender.The last time you add water don't let it all disappear or there will be no sauce!! This process takes from two to three hours.. not a middle of the week meal ;)

Risoni:

1.5 tbsp butter
4 dl risoni
1 cube vegetable stock
water to cover the risoni and 2 cm more


Melt the butter in a casserole then add the risoni and fry till golden brown then add the water and bring to a boil. Add the stock cube and stir till dissolved then cover and lower the heat and let cook for 15 minutes.

Carrot and Sunflower Breakfast Bread..

Nothing is better than the smell of fresh bread on a Saturday morning, and this has always been Petter's speciality (my lovely hubby). So, I wanted to come up with a recipe that he will like as much as his own recipe and today SUCESS!!!

here is what I did:

50 g fresh yeast
50 g butter
2,5 dl milk
2,5 dl water
1 tbsp salt
1 pinch bread spices (krm in Swedish and bread spices are a mix of ground cumin, anise and fennel seeds)
1 pinch of cumin
1 tsp honey
2 medium big grated carrots
2 dl sunflower seeds
2 dl oatmeal
2 dl rye flour
2 dl graham flour
3 dl wholemeal flour (lantbrödsmjöl)
4 dl wheat flour especially for baking bread (vetemjöl special)
1 dl flour for working the bread later on

First you crumble your yeast in a big baking bowl then melt the butter in a casserole and add the milk and water. The mix has to be finger warm (37 degrees Celsius) or the dough won't rise. Then add teh liquids to the yeast and mix till the yeast is dissolved. Add the spices and honey (if your carrots are not sweet make it 1 tbsp honey) and mix well, then add the grated carrots.
Finally add the different sorts of flours and kneed for a few minutes till you get an even dough (if it's too sticky add a bit more wheat flour), then cover with a towel and place somewhere warm for 45 minutes to rise ( I put it in our sauna!!)

Take the bread out on a floured surface and knead for several minutes, then form into a long loaf that you cut in 16 pieces that you form into buns and place on buttered oven form for 15 minutes to rise without covering. Heat the oven to 225 degrees Celsius, then place the buns for 12 minutes to bake.

when out place under a towel on a grate to cool off then pack into freezer bags and freeze. Take out as many as needed in the morning to heat in the microwave for 1 minute max and you have fresh bread every morning :)

Cooking in Swedish!

Now why I called my blog cooking in Swedish, is because when I first moved here to Sweden I of course cooked in Arabic.. I knew the name of all ingredients in Arabic.. and knew what the market had to offer in Egypt. I was always looking for certain smells and ingredients that could not find. Eight years later I realize I cook in Swedish now. All names come to my head in Swedish.. and some ingredients I never even used in Egypt, I don't even know what they are called in Arabic or if they are available in the market..

Anyway, yesterday my challenge was to cook something from what we had at home. I did not want to carry anything home, and I made a mistake last Sunday when writing down our shopping list where I miscalculated how many meals we would need for the week. The out come was a broccoli and cauliflower soup topped with roasted sunflower seeds served with puff pastry filled with feta cheese and fresh coriander.

Roasted Sunflower Seeds:

1 dl sunflower seeds
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp table salt
2 tsp cooking oil

Heat the oil in a pan then add the spices and mix them with the oil then add the seeds and fry them till the get golden brown. Take off the heat ant let cool.

Pastry:

250 g puff pastry
150 g feta cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
6 drops Tabasco sauce
2 tbsp crème fraîche (sour cream)
1 whipped egg

Mix the cheese, coriander, tabasco and sour cream in a bowl. I use the mixer instead of standing for a fork for 10 minutes). Roll out the pastry and cut it into equal small squares. Place one small spoon of your cheese mix in the middle of every square. Then brush some egg wash on the edges.

Fold the squares and place them on an oven pan that is covered with baking paper then use your fork on the edges to help glue the pastry and give it a nice decoration then stab your pastry with the fork once in the middle. Then brush top with egg wash.


you can leave that aside till 15 mins before serving then place into a preheated over (200 degrees) and bake for 12 minutes.

Soup:

1 l water
2 cubes vegetarian broth (I always use knorr)
4 small floury potatoes cut into cubes to cook faster
300 g broccoli flowers
300 g cauliflower
1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp dried coriander
4 tbsp feta cheese
2 tbsp crème fraîche

1 small chopped yellow onion
1 chopped clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter

Fry the chopped onion, garlic, cayenne pepper and coriander in the butter then add the water and the cubes and let it come to the boil so the cubes would dissolve.

my little sou chef

Add the potatoes and let them cook for 10 minutes then add the crème fraîche and feta cheese. At this point you want to start baking your pastry as you don't want the broccoli to cook for too long or the soup would loose that beautiful fresh green colour.
Add the cauliflower and broccoli and cook for 5 minutes then use your hand blender to mix everything into a smooth velvety mix.
Taste with salt and pepper.



Enjoy!

The best Crème Caramel there is!!

After struggling for a few weeks I have finally found the best cream caramel recipe! I know I know.. I have not written a word in two years and all of a sudden I'm back.. I have to say it's thanks to my lovely friend Aida who after a long talk yesterday made me realise that I should more often do things that I love and that I enjoy and make me happy and well.. finding the best way to make cream caramel is what gives me pleasure :)
Back to the recipe. The problem with deserts in general is that it's a very precise art, but after a few tries I found the best basic recipe for cream caramel..I will later on come with some additions and adjustments but for now the basic:



Caramel:
100 g sugar
0.75 dl water




Set the oven to 175 degrees Celsius then place a wide pan filled with water to the middle and place in it another deep pan 1,5 liter (the one you will bake the cream caramel in) into the oven to heat.
heat the sugar and water on medium heat till dark brown that would take from 5 to 10 minutes. It will smell a bit burned. That's ok! It's meant to be just slightly burned so it'll have this beautiful taste.
Take the pans out of the oven and pour the caramel in your deep pan and make sure it covers the bottom completely and goes up the sides.

Cream: 
4 dl milk
2 dl whipping cream
1 vanilla bean stalk, split in the middle
80 g sugar (almost a 1 dl)
3 big eggs
2 egg yellows



Scrape the vanilla bean stalk then add the stalk and the content to the milk and cream in a casserole and bring to a boil and take it off the stove. Add the sugar and mix till the sugar is dissolved then let covered to rest for 10 mins.

Whisk in the eggs and egg yellows adding one at a time then pour the mixture into your deep pan and place it back into the over for 45 minutes, covering it with foil-paper to insure it'll not take any colour.

Wait till it has completely cooled off before turning upside down into a deep serving dish and make sure you go around the edges with a knife so it won't get stuck to the pan.

Enjoy :)

As you can see from the date of my last post, it was the wrong time to start a new project.. blogging about food was supposed to be my maternity leave project that I was hoping would become more and maybe would turn into a full-time job..
Ah, well that was two years ago, and now it's a new year with a bunch of new resolutions. This year I have promised myself that I will at least blog 3 times a week.. (remind me if I skip) and I promise to answer any request for posting any recipe of something you tried at my place and want the recipe for.

So go ahead.. send me your requests ... let's see for how long I will keep this resolution going ;)