True North Kitchen

Chilled Cucumber Soup

July 18, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

Well, it was bound to happen. The temperatures here in Nebraska hit the triple digits today, and the last thing anyone feels like doing is turning on the stove. Sure, you can fire up the grill and cook outside, but honestly once we are in “Excessive Heat Warning” territory, I’m inclined to spend as little time outside as possible. I did manage to squeeze in a walk at 8:00 this morning when the temperature was a mere 80 degrees, but other than that it has been an indoor day. This native Minnesota girl doesn’t do so well once the mercury climbs above 90.

But I keep a close eye on the forecast and when I saw this heatwave coming I decided it was high time I came up with a chilled soup with Nordic vibes to bust out for occasions just like these. I studied in southern Spain in college, and during those unbearably hot days in August and early September my house mother would prepare a big bowl of gazpacho to keep in the fridge. Every meal began with a small bowl of this cooling, delicious elixir. I wanted to come up with something with the same sense of refreshing ease and seasonality, but with ingredients common to the Nordic region.

Cooling cucumber, vibrant yellow and jalapeño peppers and creamy avocado form the base of this easy vegetarian soup. The preparation itself couldn’t be simpler…a brief stint in the blender followed by a few hours in the fridge. Done. When you are ready to serve, a few simple garnishes really elevate this soup from good to great: Chopped farm stand tomatoes, sautèed tiny bread cubes and a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil. Tuck the recipe for this refreshing and easy little soup away for those sultry summer days, or if you live in Nebraska go ahead and stop by your local farm stand ASAP and whip this up for a light supper this evening, or lunch tomorrow. I hear this crazy heat will be with us for a couple more days. Hopefully this soup helps get you through it as we dream of cooler weather ahead.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Refreshing cucumber, vibrant peppers, fragrant dill and creamy avocado come together in this vegetarian no-cook soup. A delicious, cooling elixir for hot days!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes + 2-3 hours cooling time
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: soup
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian, Vegetarian

Scale

Ingredients

For the Soup:

1 ½ pounds cucumbers, coarsely chopped

1 yellow pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh dill

1 large avocado, peel and pit removed and coarsely chopped

¼ cup skyr or greek yogurt (preferably full-fat)

2 tablespoons lemon juice, more to taste

2 teaspoons coarse salt, more to taste

For the Croutons:

2 cups of ½ inch bread cubes (I like sourdough or a rustic country loaf)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For Serving:

Extra-virgin olive oil

Chopped fresh tomato

Croutons

Instructions

Make the Soup: Place half of the chopped cucumber in the blender. Blend until it is completely liquid. Add the remaining cucumber, peppers, garlic and dill and puree until completely smooth. Add avocado and skyr and blend again. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Blend one last time. Transfer to a bowl and adjust seasonings as necessary (you may want a little more lemon juice and/or salt). Cover and chill at least 2-3 hours or until ready to serve.
Make the Croutons: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bread cubes. Sauté until crisp and lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and season with coarse salt and pepper. Set aside.
Ladle the chilled soup into individual bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh tomato and croutons. Serve immediately.

Notes

Adapted from Lagom: The Swedish Art of Eating Harmoniously by Steffi Knowles-Dellner and Love Soup by Anna Thomas.

Keywords: chilled, soup, cucumber, no-cook, vegetarian

Danish Hotdogs

July 15, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

Hotdogs are the street food of choice in Copenhagen. They are served with a variety of condiments, but this particular combination is a true classic…a creamy curried remoulade sauce, fresh pickled cucumbers and crispy fried onions. It might sound a bit odd, but all of these condiments are quite common in Danish cuisine and are absolutely delicious together. The curry remoulade in particular is absolutely life-changing (dip your fries into it and tell me I’m wrong). This creamy, crispy, cucumber-y trio of toppings breathes new Nordic life into the humdrum hotdog with its standard ketchup and mustard toppings that we are all so very familiar with.

I’m guessing that most of us don’t even eat hotdogs that often anymore. They were a cornerstone of my diet growing up in the 1980s, but have become something of an indulgence as I’ve gotten older. I might enjoy one at a baseball game or the state fair, but that’s about it. While I am all for making nutritious choices when it comes to food, I am also a big believer in balance. And I’m quite sure there is room in a healthy diet for indulgences now and then. So the next time you are hankering for a hotdog, DO IT RIGHT. Mix up this tasty trio of condiments, fire up the grill and do things the Danish way. Your tastebuds will thank you.

Danish Hotdogs

Grilled hotdogs topped with creamy, curried remoulade sauce, fresh pickled cucumbers and crispy fried shallots. A Danish street food classic!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 4–6 hotdogs 1x
Method: Grilling
Cuisine: Danish, Scandinavian, Nordic

Scale

Ingredients

4-6 best quality hot dogs

Crispy Fried Shallots, recipe follows

Pickled Fresh Cucumbers, recipe follows

Remoulade Sauce, recipe follows

4-6 hot dog buns for serving

For the Crispy Fried Shallots:

3 medium shallots, sliced into thin rings, rings separated from one another

¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon fine salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup canola, vegetable or peanut oil for frying

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

For the Pickled Fresh Cucumbers:

2 cucumbers, sliced thin

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 cup water

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon coarse salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

For the Danish Remoulade:

½ cup prepared mayonnaise

2 tablespoons skyr or greek yogurt

1 heaping teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon capers, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons Pickled Fresh Cucumbers (recipe above), finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

½ teaspoon curry powder

Instructions

Make the Pickled Fresh Cucumbers: Place sliced cucumbers and dill in a quart-size mason jar (cucumbers should come about three quarters of the way up the jar).
Heat remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering.
Pour vinegar mixture into the jar with the cucumbers and dill. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before using. If you are not eating them immediately, cover and refrigerate the cucumbers once the mixture has cooled to room temperature. The cucumbers are best fresh but will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.
Make the Crispy Fried Shallots: Combine flour, salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large ziploc bag. Add shallots, seal and toss around until shallots are coated with flour mixture.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan until it reaches 280 degrees. It’s worth using a thermometer here if you have one. If the oil is too hot, the shallots will burn and if it is too cool they will be soggy.
Remove half of the shallots from the bag, shaking off any excess flour. Place in pan and fry until golden brown and crispy. This may take as little as two minutes or as long as five. Keep your eye on them, stir them frequently and look for the visual cues. Remove from oil using a slotted spoon. Place on paper towels and allow to drain. Sprinkle with sea salt and allow them to cool slightly and crisp up. Repeat with the other half of the shallots. Shallots can be used immediately or stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Mine usually stay pretty crisp, but you could warm them in a 200 degree oven to crisp them up again if necessary.
Make the Danish Remoulade: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir until fully combined.
Heat grill. Grill hotdogs over medium heat until heated through and nicely browned, about 5-7 minutes.
Place one hot dog inside of each bun. Spoon remoulade over the length of the hot dog, followed by pickled cucumbers and a sprinkle of crispy shallots. Serve immediately.

Keywords: hotdogs, Danish

Summer Skyr Tart with Fresh Berries

June 28, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

What is Skyr?

Skyr (pronounced skeer) is a dairy product that has been an important part of Icelandic food culture for over a thousand years. Here in the United States, it is often marketed as the Nordic answer to Greek yogurt. In Iceland, however, skyr as technically considered a fresh cheese, something like quark, because of the addition of rennet in the recipe. Most commercial brands no longer use rennet to make skyr, just particular strains of probiotics that are unique to the product, and different from those used to make yogurt. Skyr is also strained, much like Greek yogurt is, which helps give it a thick, creamy texture and high protein content. It takes 4 cups of milk to make 1 cup of skyr.

How to Enjoy Skyr

There are many ways to enjoy skyr. It makes a nutritious accompaniment to your morning granola and fruit. Or stir in a little lemon juice, garlic and fresh herbs to make a savory sauce to pair with roasted vegetables or a bowl of cooked lentils. In Iceland, they serve it for dessert with sugar, fresh berries and drizzled with cream. This may seems strange in a dairy-on-dairy kind of way, but skyr is naturally low in fat and pairs deliciously with a little full-fat cream poured over the top. Just don’t stir it all together before you eat it….the point is to have a little cream and a little skyr in each bite, distinct from one another.

This tart is perhaps the most beautiful way to enjoy your skyr….a buttery, crisp crust filled with a combination of skyr and cream cheese and topped with heaps of fresh summer berries. It is a stunning and delicious dessert for any summer occasion (4th of July, perhaps?) and is incredibly simple to put together. This is just the thing to bring to the neighbor’s barbecue or the family picnic….it’s an eye-catcher even before you take the first bite. I promise, there will be praise and accolades. You will be recognized as the amazing Nordic Kitchen God or Goddess that you are. While it’s best served chilled on the day it is made, I will happily eat the leftovers of this tart for at least a day or two afterwards, oftentimes as an unconventional breakfast.

Summer Skyr Tart with Fresh Berries

A fresh, easy and gorgeous summer berry tart with a skyr and cream cheese filling.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes plus cooling time
Yield: one 9-inch tart 1x
Category: dessert, fika
Method: baking
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian, Icelandic

Scale

Ingredients

For the Crust:

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

⅓ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon fine salt

½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½ inch pieces

For the Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup skyr (Icelandic yogurt), set at room temperature for about an hour

¼ cup sugar

4 cups mixed strawberries, blueberries and/or blackberries

¼ cup strawberry natural fruit spread or jam

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor until just combined. Scatter butter pieces over the top. Process until mixture has a sandy texture, about 12 long pulses. Turn dough out into a 9 inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.
Press dough into an even layer over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan creating a crust. Flour the bottom of a metal measuring cup and press it over the bottom and sides of the crust to help even everything out. Freeze tart shell for 15 minutes.
Prick the bottom of the crust several times with a fork. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Check on the crust occasionally to ensure that it isn’t puffing up. If it is, gently press it down with a fork or wooden spoon. Allow tart shell to cool completely in the tart pan.
Make the filling: Combine cream cheese, skyr and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until filling is fully combined and slightly increased in volume, about 3 minutes.
Transfer filling to cooled tart shell (continue to keep the tart shell in the pan. The crust can be delicate and the pan will help support it while you are going through the process of filling it). Even out the filling with an offset spatula.
Warm jam for about 30 seconds in the microwave until it becomes liquid. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. In a large bowl, gently toss mixed berries with strained jam.
Carefully spoon berries on top of tart filling. Lightly cover with plastic wrap or invert a plastic container over the top of the tart and chill for at least an hour or up to 6 hours. Leave in pan until just before serving.

Notes

If you can’t find skyr, Greek yogurt can be used in its place.

Keywords: summer, berries, tart, skyr, cream cheese, fruit tart, fresh, easy

Chickpea Salad Smørrebrød

June 26, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

This may come as a shock, but the life of a food blogger is not nearly as well-nourished as you might think. Generally on the days when I’m testing recipes, I’m grabbing a small bite of something here, a little taste there, and the next thing you know it’s 3:00 and I’ve nibbled my way through the day. This leaves me feeling depleted and less than energetic by late afternoon. The obvious antidote to this is lunch, something nourishing that will sustain me through the afternoon hours. But preparing a midday meal for myself isn’t always as easy as sounds. When I’m involved in a project, the last thing I want to do is stop and take the time to make something to eat, just for me.

Perhaps I need to think of preparing a nourishing, easy lunch just for me as a deliberate act of self care, a gift to my future self who would otherwise be famished and cranky by 3:00. So often we think that if we are not preparing food for our families or the people we love, why bother? Instead we opt for a handful of chips, a bowl of cold cereal or leftovers from a Tupperware container while we stand at the refrigerator with the door open. When we are busy or simply alone in the kitchen, it is easy to send ourselves the message that we are not worth the effort.

But of course we are worth the effort. We are deserving of nourishment, each and every day, regardless of whether there is anyone else around or not. Preparing a meal for ourselves doesn’t have to be complicated; simple and delicious will do. What we need are recipes we can turn to for a quick and easy lunch, hopefully with some components that can be prepared ahead of time so that making a nutritious, energizing midday meal becomes as easy as grabbing a tub of hummus and a bag of pita chips.

This Chickpea Salad Smørrebrød is just that sort of thing. Creamy, herby and fresh, this salad is essentially a vegetarian version of a classic tuna or chicken salad. Piled high on rye bread and fresh greens, it makes an amazing open face sandwich. And if you are the kind of person who always has a can of chickpeas in the pantry, you probably have most of these ingredients around the house already. The salad keeps nicely in the fridge for a couple of days so feel free to make it ahead of time. If you want to make it vegan, simply skip the butter on the bread and substitute vegan mayonnaise for the mayonnaise and skyr combination.

Show yourself some love the next time you are hungry and alone in the kitchen but feel “too busy” to nourish yourself. Whip up a batch of Chickpea Salad, just for you. Heap it on top of toasted bread and fresh greens. Maybe even set a place at the table for yourself, sit down and enjoy your own company. It’s a nice little reminder that you are worth the effort.

Chickpea Salad Smørrebrød

A creamy, herby chickpea salad with crisp celery and briny capers. Perfect for piling high on rye bread with fresh lettuce greens.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4-6 open sandwiches
Category: smørrebrød
Cuisine: Nordic, Scaninavian

Ingredients

For the Smørrebrød:

4 thin slices of dense rye bread

Butter for spreading

Chickpea Salad, recipe follows

A couple of handfuls of baby arugula or other baby lettuces

Thinly sliced radishes, optional

For the Chickpea Salad:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Icelandic yogurt (skyr) or Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

⅓ cup finely diced celery (about 1 large stalk)

¼ cup minced red onion

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, chickpeas coarsely chopped (some will remain whole)

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped dill

1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Make the Chickpea Salad: Whisk mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard and lemon juice together in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients except salt and pepper and stir together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To assemble the sandwiches, arrange bread on a clean work surface. Butter the bread. Add a layer of greens. Top with Chickpea Salad, dividing the salad equally between the four slices of bread (you may have some left over depending on the size of your bread slices). Artfully arrange radishes on top. Serve.

Notes

The Chickpea Salad keeps nicely in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Other delicious toppings for this sandwich include sliced tomatoes, avocados, sprouts, microgreens…just to name a few.

Keywords: chickpea, salad, Nordic, Scandinavian, smørrebrød, sandwich, rye, lunch, vegetarian, vegan, easy

Nordic Morning Granola

June 17, 2019 by Kristi 2 Comments

High summer fruit season in nearly here, and I want us to be ready. Ready for easy, delicious breakfasts topped with peaches, plums, nectarines, berries…whatever sweet abundance is available where you live at this time of year. Enter my Nordic Morning Granola, summer fruit’s new best friend.

I have made this recipe so many times, I can practically do it with my eyes closed. This granola is a pantry staple around our house, perfect with milk, yogurt and/or fruit for a quick breakfast, or by the handful for an afternoon snack. It is easy, delicious and nutritious. And, fair warning, slightly addictive. If you are currently in the habit of buying granola at the store, this recipe will most certainly ruin that experience for you. It’s nearly impossible to consider going back to the store-bought stuff once you start making your own granola at home.

Lucky for us, homemade granola is super easy to make. It comes together in less time than it takes to heat up the oven and bakes for a short 30 minutes. The ingredients themselves are simple, straightforward and wholesome. It’s perfectly crunchy and contains just the right ratio of nuts, seeds and oats. It’s also vegan and gluten-free (assuming you use gluten-free oats) if those things matter to you. And of course I’ve added a little Nordic touch in the form of freshly ground cardamom, sliced almonds and almond extract. The result is a simple and straightforward granola that is easy enough to whip together once or twice a week.

Granola Making Tips and Tricks

A few things to keep in mind for ensuring that your granola is the very best that it can be:

Stir the dry ingredients well before adding the oil, syrup and extracts. This will help distribute the salt and spices evenly throughout the mixture.
Heat the maple syrup slightly. Because the coconut oil solidifies when it comes into contact with cold ingredients, I’ve had greater success with my granola when I take the time to warm the syrup. This helps the oil remain liquid and coat the dry ingredients more evenly.
Stir the granola half-way through the baking process to redistribute everything on the baking tray.
Firmly press the half-baked granola back into the pan in an even layer with the back of a metal spatula. This is a really important step if you want your granola to clump together.
Let it cool completely before removing from the pan. If the granola is still warm when you package it, you run the risk of soggy granola.
Freeze for long-term storage. Granola keeps well in an air-tight glass container at room temperature for about a week. For longer storage, freeze in zip-loc freezer bags. When we are really on top of it around here, we will make four batches of granola on a Sunday morning and stash it away in the freezer for a month’s worth of breakfast and snacks. And granola straight from the freezer is oddly delicious, especially in the warmer months of the year!

So go ahead and bake up a batch of homemade granola, and buy that box of ripe peaches, those pints of fresh berries! You’re set for easy and healthy breakfasts all summer long.

Nordic Morning Granola

An easy, delicious and healthy recipe for homemade granola with a Nordic twist!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 cups 1x
Category: Breakfast
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Scale

Ingredients

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sliced almonds

½ cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground to a powder in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder

1 teaspoon fine salt

½ cup extra-virgin coconut oil, warmed until liquid

½ cup real maple syrup, warmed slightly

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine oats, almonds, pepitas, cinnamon, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. Stir well, ensuring that the salt and spices are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
Add coconut oil, syrup and extracts. Using a rubber spatula, stir well to combine.
Transfer granola to prepared pan. Pat down with a rubber spatula to distribute the mixture in an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove granola from the oven and stir with a spatula to redistribute on the baking sheet. Firmly press down on the mixture using the back of your spatula, creating an even and tight layer of granola. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until granola is toasty and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
Use a spatula to transfer the granola to glass containers for storage (or freezer bags if freezing). Granola keeps for about a week at room temperature, several months in the freezer.

Notes

Adapted from Cookie and Kate’s The Very Best Granola.

Keywords: granola, healthy, easy, vegan, vegetarian, nordic, oats, breakfast

Danish Egg Cake with Potatoes, Bacon and Chives (Æggekage)

June 14, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

I love recipes that are so practical that they appear in a similar form in a variety of different food cultures. This Danish Egg Cake, for example, bears a striking resemblance to an Italian frittata, Spanish tortilla or a French omelette. I’m quite sure this dish transcends international boundaries not only because it is delicious, but also because of its simplicity and versatility…eggs baked together with leftover vegetables and maybe a little meat and/or cheese. It makes for a quick and easy brunch, lunch or dinner, and comes together with everyday staples that you are likely to have on hand in the fridge. Everyone needs tasty and resourceful recipes like this one in their back pocket!

Most of the recipes I found in my research contained bacon, one calling for a whopping 24 slices! I’ve whittled that down to a more reasonable four. Some included potatoes while some didn’t, and a few added a tablespoon or two of flour, which didn’t prove to be all that useful or necessary, so I left the flour out entirely. This recipe is most certainly a template. You could easily switch up the filling ingredients, eliminating or increasing the amount of bacon or adding cooked sausage instead, or maybe switching out the potatoes and/or chives for other seasonal vegetables and herbs that you might have on hand. Perhaps adding a little cheese. Once you have the technique down, the sky is the limit!

Speaking of technique, I’ve got a few tips for ensuring your Danish Egg Cake success:

Use a medium (10 inch) nonstick skillet. You don’t want your cake sticking to the pan when you try to slide it out.
Position your oven rack approximately 8 inches from the broiler heating element. In my oven this means that the oven rack is in the lower-middle position. If the egg cake is too close to the heating element, the top will brown before the inside finishes cooking.
Be sure to stir the eggs constantly with a heat-proof rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the pan while the cake is cooking on the stove top until large, wet curds form. This will help ensure that the eggs cook evenly all the way through and that the cake doesn’t get too brown on the bottom.
Pat down the top of the large curds of eggs with the rubber spatula and let it cook on the stovetop for 30 seconds without stirring the mixture before sliding it into the oven. This helps it develop on the bottom and form into a cohesive cake.
Let the cake rest in the skillet for 5 minutes after it comes out of the oven. This will help the eggs finish cooking all the way through.

In her book, Scandinavian Feasts, Beatrice Ojakangas writes that the Danish egg cake is usually served as a lunch dish, “after a tray of cold herring, salmon, bread, and salads has been enjoyed.” This sounds delightful, of course. But feel free to just opt for a simple side salad to round out your meal if you aren’t feeling that ambitious. Or if you are feeling brunchy about it, maybe a big bowl of seasonal fruit and a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb Barley Scones. This is a recipe that you can turn to again and again, in any season and at any time of day.

Danish Egg Cake with Potatoes, Bacon and Chives (Æggekage)

A quick and easy Scandinavian style omelet with potatoes, bacon and chives. A perfect meal for any time of day!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Category: Brunch, Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine: Scandinavian, Nordic, Danish

Scale

Ingredients

10 eggs

3 tablespoons half and half

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, additional chives for serving if desired

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

4 slices of thick cut bacon (or 6 regular slices of bacon), chopped into ½ inch pieces

1 ½ cups cooked new potatoes, cut into half-inch pieces

Instructions

Set oven rack so it is about 8 inches from the heating element. Turn on broiler.
Whisk eggs, half and half, chives, ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of freshly ground pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.
Fry bacon over medium heat in a 10 inch nonstick skillet until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pan. Add potatoes and cook until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add reserved bacon and stir to combine.
Pour egg mixture into the skillet. Using a rubber spatula and being sure to continuously scrape the bottom of the pan, stir eggs constantly until large curds begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Shake the skillet and use the spatula to arrange eggs in an even layer in the pan, patting down the top (eggs will still appear quite wet at this point). Allow the eggs to cook without stirring for 30 seconds to set the bottom of the cake.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and broil until surface is just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and let the egg cake rest for 5 minutes. Using a clean rubber spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and gently slide onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with additional fresh chives if desired. Serve.

Keywords: Danish Egg Cake, potatoes, bacon, eggs, omelet, baked omelet, Æggekage, brunch

Grilled Thai Chicken Smørrebrød with Spicy Slaw

June 10, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

I have a few grilling recipes that I really look forward to returning to each summer, and this one is high on my list. Toasted sourdough, marinated and grilled Thai chicken cutlets with a tangle of creamy cabbage slaw on top followed by a drizzle of spicy Sriracha sauce. Traditional? No. Easy and delicious? Absolutely. With the help of prepared red curry paste in both the marinade for the chicken and the slaw, this recipe develops big flavor in a very short period of time. Which is just what we need on busy summer evenings.

I know what you’re thinking. This open face sandwich is hardly traditional Nordic fare. But it’s one of my favorite summer meals, and I could hardly not include it here. And hey…it’s an open face sandwich! So let’s just go with it. I promise, you’ll be glad you did.

If you are in a pinch, the original version of this recipe calls for bagged coleslaw mix. You could easily swap that out for the chopped cabbage and julienned carrots called for here. You could also serve this delicious combination on a bun if you would rather. Either way, this delicious combination of quick Thai marinated chicken and slaw is sure to become a flavor-packed weeknight favorite!

Grilled Thai Chicken Smørrebrød with Spicy Slaw

A thai-inspired open face sandwich with marinated chicken cutlets and spicy cabbage slaw.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: dinner, smørrebrød
Method: grilling

Scale

Ingredients

For the Smørrebrød:

4 slices of sourdough or country bread

Grilled Thai Chicken Cutlets (recipe follows), cut into strips

Spicy Slaw (recipe follows)

4 green onions (green and light green parts only), sliced thin

Sriracha Sauce for serving

For the Grilled Thai Chicken Cutlets:

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons prepared red curry paste

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (½ inch thick)

Coarse salt

For the Spicy Slaw:

4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage

4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

1 carrot, julienned

4 green onions, sliced thin

½ cup prepared mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons prepared red curry paste

Instructions

Heat the grill. Whisk all of the ingredients for the Grilled Thai Chicken Cutlets except for the chicken in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Sprinkle a little coarse salt over the chicken (the marinade is already salty so take it easy on the additional salt). Set aside while the grill heats up and you prepare the slaw.
Whisk mayonnaise, lime juice, soy sauce and curry paste together in the bottom of a large bowl. Add cabbages, carrot and green onion. Toss to coat. Season with additional soy sauce to taste. Set aside.
Once the grill is hot, clean and oil the grates. Grill chicken over medium-high heat until done, about 2-3 minutes per side. Cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
While the chicken rests, grill the bread slices until toasty brown, about a minute on each side.
Place a toasted slice of bread on each plate. Top with a chicken cutlet (or two if they are small), followed by the slaw. Garnish with chopped green onion and drizzle with Sriracha Sauce if desired. Serve.

Notes

Adapted from Cook’s Country magazine.

Keywords: chicken, open sandwich, Thai, slaw, smørrebrød

Strawberry Rhubarb Barley Scones

June 7, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

Better Together

My original plan for this recipe was rhubarb rye scones. No strawberry, just rhubarb. It seems that whenever I make something with rhubarb, strawberries are there, too. Couldn’t rhubarb just have its moment in the sun all on its own? I played around with the recipe for a few days and made a few batches of scones that were okay but that I didn’t really love. The trouble is that rhubarb by itself, without the assistance of a lot of sugar (and/or strawberries), can be aggressively sour. So theses rhubarb-alone scones required copious amounts of sugar in order to make them tasty, defeating my desire for a not too sweet scone. By Wednesday I was ready to admit that as hard as I might try to fight it, strawberry and rhubarb were meant to be together in this recipe.

And then I pulled out my copy of Kim Boyce’s brilliant book, Good to the Grain and found her recipe for Strawberry Barley Scones. Yes! This would be my starting point. I loved the whole concept of what she had created….a half barley flour, half wheat flour scone with a layer of homemade jam baked in the middle. I could hardly get to the kitchen fast enough to give them a try.

Making a few minimal adjustments to the dough and replacing the strawberry jam with my Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Compote, I hopefully slid my batch of scones into the oven. 25 minutes later, out came the perfect scone…tender, moist, not too sweet and full of strawberry rhubarb flavor. Sorry, Rhubarb! It looks like that moment in the spotlight will have to wait. You and strawberries are, once again, perfect together.

Tips for Scone Success

Scones are a relatively easy thing to bake, but there are a few tips and tricks that will help your scones turn out perfectly every time:

Keep everything cold. This is the number one thing to remember when baking scones. They are very much like biscuits in that you want to cut cold butter into the flour in order to create a flaky, tender texture. I store my barley flour in the freezer which not only helps keep it fresh but also helps the scone dough stay nice and cool.
Be organized and work quickly. This is all in pursuit of keep things cold. Have your ingredients and equipment prepped and ready to go, and store all cold ingredients in the refrigerator until you need them.
Do not over process the butter. There should be some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining once you are done processing the butter and flour together. This helps to contribute to the tender, flaky texture of your scone.
Do not over work the dough. After adding the wet ingredients to the dry, just mix everything together until it is just combined. The dough will look shaggy which is exactly what you want. You can give it a couple of kneads with your hands to help bring it all together and the go ahead and pat it out into circles from there.
Flour your work surface and use a dough scraper. The dough will be sticky. Make sure your work surface is generously dusted with flour, and dust the tops of the dough circles with flour as needed when you are patting them out. Use a dough scraper or thin metal spatula to help release the dough from the countertop and transfer the scones to the baking sheet. Barley flour has very little gluten so they will be delicate and a bit fragile when you try to move them.
Eat them the same day you bake. It’s not that these scones aren’t tasty the next day, but they are best when they are freshly baked. As most things are.

Strawberry Rhubarb Barley Scones

A tender, delicate scone with a layer of strawberry rhubarb compote in the center.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 8 scones
Category: baking
Method: baking
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons barley flour

1 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon fine salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces and chilled

½ cup cold buttermilk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup chilled Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

1 tablespoon cooled melted butter

Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, barley flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Process a few times to combine ingredients. Sprinkle half of the cold butter cubes over the top of the flour mixture and process until fully combined, about 6-8 long pulses. Sprinkle the remaining cold butter cubes over the mixture and pulse just until these butter pieces are about the size of a pea, about 6 short pulses.
Transfer mixture to a bowl. Whisk buttermilk,egg and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the buttermilk mixture in the center. Using a rubber spatula, fold everything together until a shaggy dough forms, kneading with your hands a couple of times if necessary to just bring everything together. Do not overmix.
Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Divide dough in half. Pat dough out into a two 7-inch circles that are about ¾ inch thick, dusting it with additional flour if necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands as you work. Cover the top of one circle with Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Compote leaving a ¾ inch border around the edge of the circle. Place the other circle on top of compote. Press down slightly to help everything adhere together.
Cut the dough into 8 wedges, cleaning off your knife or dough scraper in between each cut with a paper towel. Using a dough scraper or spatula, carefully transfer scones to parchment lined baking sheet (they will be delicate). Brush with melted butter and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Bake 22-26 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Notes

Adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce.

Keywords: strawberry, rhubarb, scone, baking, breakfast, barley

Herbed New Potato Salad with Pickled Golden Beets and Capers

June 5, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

Herbed New Potato Salad with Golden Pickled Beets — *Herbed New Potato Salad with Pickled Golden Beet*s and Capers

It is June and most definitely potato salad season! Whether we are looking for something to pair with what’s coming off the grill or are in need of something to bring to the neighborhood potluck, potato salad is often the side dish we turn to at this time of year. Traditional American potato salad is delicious with its creamy mayonnaise and mustard base, but I was looking for something a little different when I set out to create a Scandi-inspired potato salad for the blog. I began where I always do…researching what is already out there.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the recipes for Nordic style potato salad were tossed with a vinaigrette rather than a creamy dressing. I liked that idea…something lighter than the potato salads I have had in the past. Many also contained chopped fresh herbs which I definitely wanted in my version as well as capers for their briny punch of flavor. Things were off to a fresh and flavorful start.

Some of the older recipes I found called for pickled beets, one recipe an entire 12 ounce jar of them! While I loved the idea of pickled beets in my salad, I wanted to retain the creamy color of the potatoes themselves. That’s the trouble with beets…their brilliant color cannot be contained. They stain everything they come into contact with a lovely shade of pink. Sometimes this is a good thing, and I welcome both the flavor and the rosy hue. But since I didn’t want a pink potato salad, I figured the beets were out. But then I remembered golden beets! Why not pickle those instead of the traditional red variety and toss them with the salad? This worked perfectly. I had earthy and tangy pickled beets that didn’t turn my salad pink and brought their own gorgeous golden hue to the dish.

The final version of this Nordic new potato salad is a real keeper. Tender slices of new potato tossed in a mustardy vinaigrette with loads of fresh herbs, shallot, capers and golden pickled beets. Pair it with grilled sausages for an easy and stunning weeknight meal or bring it to the neighbor’s backyard barbecue and listen to people ooh and ahh over your unexpected and delicious Nordic-inspired side dish.

Herbed New Potato Salad with Pickled Golden Beets and Capers

Herbed New Potato Salad with Golden Pickled Beets and Capers

Tender new potato slices tossed in a mustardy vinaigrette with loads of fresh herbs, capers, shallots and pickled golden beets.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: Serves 6–8 1x
Category: Salads
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Scale

Ingredients

2 pounds small red new potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ¼ inch thick slices

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 small shallot, minced

½ cup diced Spicy Pickled Beets, made with golden beets

3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Place sliced potatoes in a large pot. Cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add two teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook for 5-9 minutes or until the potato slices are just tender. Keep a close eye on the potatoes as they cook and check them frequently for doneness. You want them to be just tender. If you overcook them they will start to fall apart and not be as beautiful in your salad.
Carefully remove the potatoes from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a strainer to drain. Save ¼ cup of the cooking water. Lay the potato slices in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Whisk olive oil, vinegar, mustard, shallot and reserved potato water together in a medium bowl. Drizzle mixture over the warm potatoes and let sit for 10 minutes.
Add pickled beets, capers and herbs. Stir gently with a rubber spatula, taking care not to break the potato slices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter and serve.

Notes

To make in advance, finish the recipe through step 3. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and cover before refrigerating for up to 8 hours. Bring the mixture to room temperature before continuing with step 4 of the recipe.

Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Complete Vegetarian Cookbook

Keywords: new potatoes, salad, vinaigrette, dill, parsley, chives, capers, beets, summer, potato salad, vegetarian, vegan

Nordic Summer Herb Sauce

June 3, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

As we settle into June, it’s time to move into the season of effortless cooking. Or almost effortless anyway. The evenings are warm and inviting. There are walks to take, gardens to weed, lawns to mow, books to read….the last thing we need is to overcomplicate things in the kitchen. Not that we don’t want to eat delicious food! This is not a suggestion that we all turn to a steady diet of take out for the summer. What we need are a few tricks up our sleeve, like this sexy little sauce, that make even the most basic meals very NOT basic. Allow me to introduce you to my Nordic Summer Herb Sauce.

I’ve been playing around with this sauce for weeks. My first version had toasted bread and a good amount of toasted almonds in it. This one was really paste-like and almost like a savory almond butter. Definitely not what I was looking for. I ditched the bread and tried it with fewer almonds. This gave the sauce more of a pesto vibe. It was good, but still not quite what I was after. In the end I ended up with something more akin to Italian salsa verde. Not the tomatillo-based Mexican style salsa for tacos and tortilla chips (also delicious, though), but an olive oil based sauce that is made with chopped fresh parsley, capers, garlic and lemon. Traditionally served on grilled meats (flank steak, I’m looking at you) and vegetables, this sauce is the summertime pick-me-up for just about anything savory. I’ve added a little dill to give it that Nordic touch, and toasted the garlic to mellow it out slightly. It is otherwise very true to its original Italian form. Some ideas for putting it into action:

Spoon over grilled steak, chicken or fish
Use as a condiment for a grilled burger
Drizzle on grilled or roasted vegetables
Spoon over freshly sliced tomatoes from the garden
Drizzle on avocado toast with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Spoon over eggs
Stir into steamed green beans
Drizzle over boiled new potatoes

*On top of avocado toast with a squeeze of lemon* and a sprinkle of sea salt

And that’s just for starters! The options really are endless, especially with all of those fresh summer vegetables heading our way in the next few weeks. So I’m just going to leave the recipe for this versatile little sauce right here for you when you need it. Our summer meals just got easier, tastier and little more exciting.

Nordic Summer Herb Sauce

A lively olive oil-based sauce with parsley, dill, capers, toasted garlic and lemon zest. The perfect way to perk up easy summer meals!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 1/2 cup
Category: sauce
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic, unpeeled

Zest of ½ of lemon

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill

⅓ cup finely chopped Italian parsley leaves

1 tablespoon capers, finely chopped

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

In a small skillet or saucepan, place unpeeled garlic clove and toast over medium low until the garlic softens and the peel becomes spotty brown, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once garlic is cool enough to handle, remove peel and mince.
Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Keywords: herb, sauce, salsa verde, dill, parsley, summer, capers