Sauces

Blueberry Cardamom Compote

May 20, 2020 by Kristi Leave a Comment

I developed this Blueberry Cardamom Compote as part of a recipe for overnight oats (coming Friday!), but loved it so much that I thought it deserved its own billing. Because as it turns out, not only is this Blueberry Cardamom Compote good on overnight oats, it is also delicious on toast, on cream cheese-smeared crispbread, on steel cut oat porridge, on ice cream (YES!), mixed into skyr or yogurt and topped with granola or STRAIGHT FROM THE JAR. Seriously, we can’t get enough of this stuff around here!

One of the very best things about this Blueberry Cardamom Compote is that frozen wild blueberries work really well in this recipe. In fact, I like them better here than fresh blueberries from produce section. That means that if you get in the habit of picking up one of those giant bags of frozen blueberries on your weekly Costco run, you can make this compote on a moment’s notice and at any time of the year. That’s right! No need to forage the forest floor in late summer for your blueberries Scandinavian style (although that does sound delightful, doesn’t it?). A quick trip to the store and you’ll be all stocked up and ready for blueberry cardamom goodness whenever the mood strikes.

There isn’t much to say to ensure your success with this Blueberry Cardamom Compote….it couldn’t be easier and only requires a stir now and then to keep it from sticking to the pan. My only word of advice (as always) is to use freshly ground cardamom if you can. It is SO much better than the cardamom that is already ground for you. I have a mortar and pestle that works really well for this. It’s a little extra effort but well worth it in terms of flavor!

This Blueberry Cardamom Compote will keep for at least a week in the fridge. Ours never lasts more than a day or two though….too many delicious ways to put it to use! For longer storage, you could easily keep it the freezer for a couple of months.

I hope you give this Blueberry Cardamom Compote a try! It is simply delicious and a fun thing to have on hand to perk up your breakfast, afternoon snack or dessert. Looking for more delicious seasonal compotes to try? I’ve got several here on the blog:

Blueberry Cardamom Compote

A simple and delicious fruit compote made with frozen blueberries, ground cardamom and pure maple syrup. The perfect way to perk up your breakfast, afternoon snack or late night bowl of ice cream!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2 cups 1x
Category: compote
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian
Diet: Vegan

Scale

Ingredients

4 cups frozen wild blueberries, no need to defrost (fresh blueberries will also work)

1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom

¼ cup pure maple syrup (more to taste)

Pinch of fine sea salt

1 teaspoon of freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium low stirring frequently until berries get syrupy and begin to break down, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice. Once berries have cooled, transfer them to a jar and store in the fridge until ready to use (berries will keep in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for a couple of months).

Keywords: blueberry, compote, cardamom, maple syrup, easy, simple, make ahead, vegan, vegetarian

3 Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce

April 14, 2020 by Kristi Leave a Comment

This sauce is a serious go-to around our house. We always have the ingredients on hand (sugar, cream and salt), and I’ve been known to whip up a batch at 9:30 at night for a quick topping for late night bowl of ice cream. Seriously….3 ingredients and 15 minutes! You’ve got to give this one a try.

The best part? It’s really, really easy to make. Homemade caramel sauce gets a bad rap sometimes for being finicky, but I promise, this recipe is as simple and straightforward as they come.

Tips and Tricks for Perfect Salted Caramel Sauce

Making perfect Salted Caramel Sauce every time is all about technique and a little bit of practice. Here are some tips and tricks to help you along:

Gently whisk the water and sugar together on the bottom of the pan while the sugar is dissolving. You want to avoid splashing the sugar and water mixture up on the sides of the pan as that can lead to crystallization of the final product (a caramel sauce that is grainy in texture and cloudy in appearance).

Three Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce — *Clear and bubbly. Time to leave it undisturbed until it begins to turn amber.*

Once the sugar has dissolved, leave the mixture undisturbed as it cooks. Again, it’s all about avoiding crystallization on the sides of the pan. The mixture will be clear and extremely bubbly as it cooks. Simply let it do its thing and keep a close eye on it.
Once it begins to turn amber in color, gently swirl the pan over the heat. This helps even out the heat and the caramelization of the sugar.

Once you’ve reached the desired deep shade of amber, turn off the heat and immediately pour in the cream. Caramel can go from perfect to overcooked in a matter of seconds. Pouring in the cream will cool down the mixture and stop the cooking process.
Be extra careful during this process! Caramel is extremely hot and the mixture will bubble up when you add the cream. At this point, the caramel will be a bit of a incohesive mess. No worries! Simply whisk the mixture until it is silky smooth throughout.
If you plan to use the caramel sauce on ice cream (and you should), add a tablespoon or two of water after everything comes together. When the caramel comes into contact with the cold ice cream, it can harden rather than maintaining that silky smooth texture we just worked so hard to achieve. Adding a tablespoon or two of water prevents this from happening and maintains the fluidity of the sauce.

Where might you use this Salted Caramel Sauce? Ice cream is just the start! Here are some other recipes on the site that might benefit from a drizzle of warm salted caramel:

I hope you give this easy 3 Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce a try! It’s incredibly delicious and versatile….just the thing to have in the fridge for that morning bowl of porridge or late night bowl of ice cream.

3 Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce

The easiest and best homemade salted caramel sauce made with only 3 ingredients.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: about 1 cup 1x
Category: desserts, sauces
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Scale

Ingredients

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup water

½ cup heavy cream

½–1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

Instructions

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, gently whisking on the bottom of the pan as necessary until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to turn amber in color.
Gently swirl the pan to even out the cooking. Continue to cook and swirl the pan until the mixture is deep amber in color.
Immediately turn off the heat and carefully pour in the cream (caramel is VERY HOT and it WILL splatter). Whisk until cream is fully combined. Add sea salt (I like a full teaspoon in mine but if you don’t want yours as salty, start with ½ teaspoon).
If sauce seems too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water until desired consistency is reached. If you plan to serve it on top of ice cream or something else cold, definitely add a tablespoon or two of water. This will keep the sauce from hardening when it comes into contact with the cold ice cream. Salted Caramel Sauce keeps for two weeks in the fridge. Warm briefly in the microwave before serving.

Keywords: salted, caramel, sauce, easy

Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce

December 13, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

Mustard and dill sauce is a Scandinavian classic, often served with salmon. Most of the recipes out there are for a sauce that is served room temperature or cold. As I began developing this recipe, I realized what I really wanted was a rich and creamy mustard and dill sauce that I could serve hot alongside roasted salmon, a seared chicken breast or drizzled over a batch of Swedish meatballs as an alternative to gravy.

This Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce is the happy result. It comes together quickly and can be made a couple of days ahead of time and reheated, which is wonderful for entertaining. It makes a delicious, versatile sauce for an elegant smörgåsbord as it is a tasty companion to all manner of dishes, from salmon to Swedish meatballs.

Here on the blog, you will also find this Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce drizzled on top of this roasted salmon smørrebrød, a hearty and delicious Nordic open sandwich. The options are endless!

Give this Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce a try and let me know how you put it to good use in the comments below. It’s a great way to dress up just about anything.

Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce

An easy and versatile Scandinavian mustard dill sauce. Delicious served with salmon, chicken or even Swedish meatballs.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 1 1/2 cups sauce
Category: sauce, condiments
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 shallots, minced fine

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup dijon mustard

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot and saute until soft and translucent about, 2-3 minutes.
Add white wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Add mustard, cream and water. Simmer until thickened slightly, 2-3 minutes.
Remove from heat and add fresh dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Keywords: mustard, cream, dill, sauce for salmon

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

Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

March 29, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

It’s gloomy today and the rain falls steadily as I write. The last of the snow has finally melted and the daffodils are peeking up through the earth. My favorite magnolia tree in the backyard is filled with velvety buds, patiently waiting for her all too brief moment of blossoming. Change is afoot, both outside and in my kitchen as we transition to the early days of spring.

We are a ways out from fresh strawberries and rhubarb here in Nebraska, but the displays in the market tell me that somewhere not too far from here they are already bountiful. I can’t think of a better way to kick off this season of rebirth and renewal than with this Roasted Strawberry and Rhubarb Compote. Think of it as that perfect accessory that you can put with just about anything and elevate it from ordinary to extraordinary. Like a favorite scarf or necklace but edible. A batch of this compote will keep for at least two weeks in the fridge and will cheerfully adorn just about anything you choose to pair with it.

*Like Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp for breakfast!*

You may choose to:

Use it in place of jam on your morning toast

Slather it on top of rye crispbread with cream cheese for afternoon fika (don’t forget the coffee!)
Warm it slightly and spoon it over ice cream

Spoon a dollop next to your favorite granola and yogurt (it’s like having strawberry rhubarb crisp for breakfast!)

You get the idea. Enjoy these early spring days, my friends! They are fleeting. Soon it will be hot and humid and we will long for this in between season of fresh earth, cloudy skies and new beginnings.

Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

A cheerful spring topping for just about anything!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
Category: sauce
Method: roasted
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Scale

Ingredients

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved if small, quartered if large

2 cups chopped rhubarb stalks, fresh or frozen

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup water

Pinch of salt

½ vanilla bean

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except vanilla bean in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Using a small knife, slice down one side of the vanilla bean lengthwise so that it opens like a book. Using the back of the knife, scrape the black seeds from the inside of the split vanilla bean pod and place in the baking dish. Add the pod as well.
Stir everything together. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir mixture. Return to the oven and roast for another 20 minutes or until fruit is bubbly, extremely soft and falling apart.
Remove the vanilla bean pod. Using a potato masher or the back of a fork, lightly mash the fruit mixture until it is a jam-like consistency. Allow to cool. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Keywords: Strawberry, Rhubarb, Compote, Sauce, Jam, Roasted, Nordic, Scandinavian,

Herbed Skyr Sauce

March 8, 2019 by Kristi Leave a Comment

This versatile sauce is an excellent one to have in your kitchen repertoire. Easy and packed with garlic and herb flavor, it goes nicely with all manner of vegetables, as a sauce for your lunchtime smørrebrød, or stirred into cooked lentils or chickpeas. You can play around with the types of tender herbs you use here. I chose dill and chives for spring, but come summer I might use basil, Italian parsley or cilantro. Or a combination of all three!

Herbed Skyr Sauce

A creamy, garlicky, herby sauce that goes nicely with just about everything.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cup 1x
Category: sauce
Cuisine: scandinavian, nordic

Scale

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, minced with a little salt and mashed to a paste using the side of your knife

1 cup plain whole milk skyr (Icelandic yogurt) or Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons whole milk

½ teaspoon ground cumin

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ cup chopped dill

¼ cup chopped chives

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Season with salt to taste. Cover and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use, preferably at least an hour or so to allow the flavors to marry. The sauce can be stored for up to three days refrigerated.

Notes

Adapted from In my Kitchen by Deborah Madison.

Keywords: skyr, yogurt, sauce, dill, chives