Off to hols

 

Timeless Swing

 DEAN MARTIN who's got the action 

Turkish delight

 

When in the Puhos shopping center area, we visit regularly middle-eastern grocery "Alanya", where one can find all kind of products and ingredients from Turkey, Irak, Syria, Lebanon, and some other countries. Last time we were there, we found this turkish spice mix ideal for meat, döner, and above all for "kofte".

These turkish kokftes are made with minced lamb, chopped onions, a bit of  bred crumbs, a generous amount of "Et Baharati Tuzlu", chopped fresh coriander & parsley, ground cayenne for a bit of heat, a few drops of lemon juice and salt. When all ingredients are mixed together, the meat paste is put to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours. Koftes can be cooked on char grill which is the traditional way, or in a pan. We chose the 2nd option. The koftes are served the french way - yes it's possible: with fries. When sold in the Paris streets, they are stuffed in a half baguette with fries and spicy sauce on top (and the same goes for shawarma, döner kebab, gyros or merguez sausages). Absolute street food delish.

While in Puhos, we took the opportunity to make a stop at kurdish restaurant Kirkuk to buy a chicken shawarma to bring home. We've been a few times there, and their char grilled meat and skewers are quite tasty.

To go along, we had sliced tomatoes & onions, harissa sauce (which is not from Turkey but what the hell), fresh libanese hummus from Alanya (and it's made on site in the grocery itself), and some piece of lemon. Flat bread from an iraki bakery, and a few beers completed the meal. Yummi.

Pinxtos

 Put simply, Pinxtos are the spanish equivalent of the italian bruschettas.

top right: smoked paprika cream, sun dried tomates, chorizo, fresh sheep cheese.

bottom left: cauliflower mousse & tuna in hot n spicy chili oil (bought in Spain).

right: Manchego cream, roasted artichokes, grilled pork loin.

(mature Manchego cheese finely grated, mixed with cream cheese & Ybarra organic olive oil)

Found this wine in Alko Itis - does a decent job for 20€.

Hyvää Juhannusta

 

Juhannus "à la française"

The "Juhannus" tradition in Finland is about to go to sauna. Then swim in lakes or elsewhere. Then grill some things, usually sausages but not only. And to drink, reasonably or not. The point is to be with friends and or family and have a good time. So...

1kg of thick premium entrecôte for 4 pers.

grilled rare to perfection...

served with green beans with persillade, and strong Dijon mustard...

followed by some stinky french cheeses...

all washed down with bottles of Pommard "Grand Clos des Épenots" 1er Cru 2010

(bought online on a french site specialized in Bourgogne wines)

from Toulouse with sausage

The "saucisse de Toulouse" takes its name from the south-west city where she was first created. There are many ways to cook it: gill. pan, oven, in stew or with the french classic "cassoulet". Its taste is very characteristic and can't be mistaken for another sausage. When in France, it's usually bought fresh from the butcher shop. Of course here in Finland, since there's no french butchers - at least not in Helsinki - it can only be found packed (Stockmann Food Market - Aleksanterinkatu), but it's already good to have that.

The unpacked sausage.

First, the sausage is pan fried for a few min. in sunflower oil. It's not a good idea to use olive oil in this case, because it becomes too hot too quickly, and the sausage would grill too much or being burned.

Then chopped garlic is added, a glass or two of dry white or red wine, a few cherry tomatoes, a bit of "Pasta Rossa" spice mix (found in most supermarkets), salt & black pepper. The dish is cooked for 20min. lid on. When ready, chopped parsley and a few table spoons of extra virgin olive oil are added, and it's ready to serve. Can be eaten by itself with a good bread, or with a creamy mash or polenta, or in our case with sauté potatoes. Not very expensive, super easy to do, and truly yammi.

When the sun's out, so do the plates

 

... a few roasted veggies, some organic greek feta, a bit of dry oregano, a few drops of spanish organic olive oil Ybarra, all mixed into a summer salad. Add some cold cuts, a good country bread, a few glasses of Chassagne-Montrachet, and simplicity leads to happiness.