Melba... again

Pieces of Polka strawberries topped by a scoop of italian vanilla ice cream, and burried under a (very) generous amount of whipped cream. We were so eager to eat that thing that we didn't bother making strawberry sauce, or to roast some slivered almonds. 

 

It's a french thing

During the summer days, there isn't a more popular dessert/palate cleanser/refreshment in France than a "Colonel": a scoop of lemon sorbet (Limone Di Sicilia in our case) soaked in vodka. Great to round up a meal.

Cherries on top

Today is the french national day (called the Bastille Day in anglo-saxon countries), and for the occasion we're making a classic french dessert, a "Clafoutis aux Cerises" or cherry clafoutis. The recipe below comes from - believe it or not - a tv program magazine called "Télé 7 Jours" (7 days tv). Since the 60s, the mag dedicates its back pages with easy to do food recipes, and last time we were in France, I took photos of some of them.

So, for 6 pers. you need 500g of cherries, 90gr of caster sugar, 3 eggs, 60g of cornstarch, 25cl of  plain milk, and 20g of unsalted melted butter. 

First you whip the eggs and sugar until the mixture becomes almost white, then add the cornstarch, the milk and butter and gently whip some more.

Preheat the oven to 180°, then take a oven plate and generously grease its surface with a piece of butter. Add the cherries, pour the batter on top, and to the oven for 30-40 min. Dead easy.

(the recipe says 30 min. but it's better to leave the cake a little longer, as in my experience, it's always a good idea to be flexible and not to follow instructions to the letter; you should always adapt them according to your needs and tastes, like a little more of this or a little less of that, or try different fruits like apricots, apples, pears, or even add a bit of alcohol in the batter like calvados or brandy, etc...)

There you go: Clafoutis aux Cerises. Yummi!

Do the maths

The original price @ Gateau...

... and the ResQ price

The day after

Another one, just for the two of us.

Similarities... but just

Finnish "lihahyytelö" (which translates as meat jelly) is a distant cousin of the french "fromage de tête" (head cheese). In France, it is made with different parts of a pig's head. Here in Finland I couldn't say for sure which parts are used. Another difference is the ratio meat/jelly: more jelly here than in France. Moreover, the meat here is grinded/minced whereas in France it is made with chunky bits of meat. Lastly, one can find high end head cheese made by local craftman pork butchers. Here, it's almost exclusively industrial. I must say honestly that the french one wins hands down BUT the finnish jelly meat is not bad at all, and with homemade potato salad, a bit of Dijon mustard and a few glasses of Bourgogne white, it's even really good. Ideal for a light summer lunch.

Coincidally, while in Prisma market (Kaari) where we bought the meat jelly, I did find these. I must say I was astonished to find "Mont Blanc" dessert cream (vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut) on sale in Finland, as MB truly is a french thing, and a taste reminiscent of my days in Paris. Have a try if you find some, it's delish.

It's all about Melba

"Fraise Melba" or strawberry melba is the true embodiment of a summer dessert.

Italian vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries & homemade whipped cream. Because the berries are at their best now, it's not necessary to add strawberry and/or chocolate sauce. A few crushed roasted hazelnuts/almonds on top are an option, as well as italian sponge biscuits soaked with strawberry liquor or Amaretto at the bottom. Works great with raspberries as well. On par with what can be found in restaurants... if not better really!

Strawberry Pie is the true taste of summer

This pie crust uses the vey same ingredients (flour, eggs & butter) as the ones used in the lemon pie recipe posted just below. Mix the ingredients, then into the fridge for 30min. and after that time, cooked for 17min. @ 180° C.

Once cooled, the crust is generously spread with organic strawberry jam in which a few spoons of strawberry liquor have been added.

Homemade whipped cream is added on top, then to the fridge for approx. 30min.

Once out of the fridge, juicy strawberries are added on top of the cream. Optionally, the pie can be dusted with icing sugar just before being eaten. Best enjoyed with a glass of Champagne... and it works with all kind of berries, just change the jam / liquor combo.

 

Not an american pie... just a lemon pie

This "French Lemon Pie" (or "Tarte au Citron" in french) recipe has been published in Helsingin Sanomat newspaper on June 29, 2023. The recipe itself works as the pic below can testify, although some quantities have been slightly modified (less butter, more maizena, and an added couple of spoons of Limoncello to boost that lemony flavor). If you read finnish, you should definitely try it at home. It takes a bit of work, but the result is worth the effort and it's certainly less expensive than in a pasty shop like e.g. Ekberg

(recipe should be online in hs.fi if you're a subscriber)

Easy peasy rhubarby

This apple & rhubarb tartelette is probably one of the easiest piece of patisserie to do. So simple in fact that a 5 years old kid could do it blindfolded with one arm tied in the back. Well maybe not with just one arm but you get the picture: you peel and cut in cubes some rhubarb & apple (50/50 ratio), mix with apple marmelade, spread the fruit mix on sheets of frozen puff pastry, then in the oven for 15min. at 225° for the fruits to caramelize, When cooked, add a shot of rhum on top (or Calvados, or Amaretto, or whatever you have at home... but rhum is better), a scoop of vanilla ice-cream (Pirkka italian "Vaniglia Del Madagascar" is a personal favorite) and serve immediately.

You won't eat better ones in cafés or restaurants, believe me.

 

Baking some lamb for Easter

Back in october last year, while strolling around in Hakaniemen kauppahalli, we noticed that Reinin liha butcher had legs of organic lamb from Ahvenanmaa. This lamb is absolutely superb, full of flavors and super tender. And so we bought 3 legs of around 1.3kg each, vacuumed and deep froze them in prevision of future meals.

Now, being defrosted, the meat has been stuffed with small piece of garlic all around, rubbed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt & black pepper, and put on a bed of chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic cloves.

After approx. the first 40mim. of cooking, a liter of hot water is added, then the baking dish is covered with foil paper, and back to the oven for an hour (temp. 175). Alternatively, you can add a bottle of white or red wine instead of water. 

After that hour, the foil paper is removed, the lamb juice is filtered, onions and potatoes are added, and back to the oven for approx. 45min. At the end of the cooking, a persillade (mix of chopped parsley and garlic) is added to the sauce, as well as a couple a table spoons of extra virgin olive oil, and extra sea salt and black pepper.

The lamb is perfectly baked. Crispy on the outside, moist and juicy in the inside, melting in the mouth. This is truly yummi.

A bottle of Valduero 6 Años Reserva Premium 2012 from the Ribera del Duero completes the meal. (bought in Alko)

As for dessert, a scoop of dark chocolate ice cream swims in a sauce made of bitter orange jam and Cointreau liquor. (the ice cream is "Pirkka vegan". Not vegan ourselves but have to say, best dark choco ice cream you're likely to found in shops. Really taste great.)

Comme en France

 

If you have a "french" sweet tooth, and if you don't know it yet, the classic "Tarte aux Pommes Normande" is on sale at Stockmann Food Market (has been for a few years anyway). Albeit frozen, this classic creamy french apple pie is not bad at all. The only down is the crust which tastes a bit... industrial. But hey, we're already happy to be able to buy some when too lazy to do it at home. Glasses of "Père Magloire XO Calvados" are the perfect match (bought in France).

A slice of heaven

Probably the best raspberry pie (Fazer's Menorca) one can taste in Helsinki. Heavenly good.

Finnish twist

 Lack of time usually leads to a lack of imagination. Back in July, we did a "rhubarb & yogurt cake" (July 8, tag:"dessert"). What we have here is basically the the same cake with a few differences: apples instead of rhubarb, 1/3 more of almond powder > 1/3 less of flour, and a generous amount of Amaretto liquor in the yogurt/eggs/sugar mixture. One last thing: the original recipe is in finnish, so...

Drunken prunes

"Prunes au vin" or prune and wine soup. So, heat 1 bottle of dry white wine like Muscadet or Sauvignon blanc in a large casserole, with 1 vanilla pod sliced in half, 2 cinnamon sticks and 150gr of organic caster sugar (more or less depending on how sweet your tooth is). Put the liquid to the boil and wait a moment for the aromas to develop. Then add a few red prunes cut in half and let them poach gently for 4-5min in the aromatic wine. Remove the prunes and add a table spoon of maizena in the liquid to turn it into a syrup - basically like a finnish "kiisseli"- Put the prunes and the syrup in a tupperware, and in the fridge for 12 hours. This soup can be eaten cold or lukewarm. On its own, or with a good dollop a rich creamy turkish yogurt, or whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or just a shortbread or two. Yammi.

And it burns burns burns...

When it comes to "Crêpes Suzette", you can find many variations on a base recipe. If interested, go surf on the net and you will be presented with several. The way I prepare them is quite easy actually: you do a few pancakes in advance - 2 or 3/pers. depending on the appetite. Then you melt organic butter in a pan and one by one, you flip the pancakes in it, then sprinkle them with caster sugar (or in my case organic brown sugar) and a bit of finelly chopped orange zests on one side, and fold in 4 to give a triangle shape. Put on the side and repeat. Then, put all the pancakes back in the pan and soak them in a good organic fresh orange juice. Let them cook and absorb 2/3 of the juice. When ready, place them in a pre-heated plate. Heat a mix of Cointreau & Grand-Marnier in a saucepan, set on fire and pour the flaming liquid on the pancakes. If you want to impress your guests, that's the one dessert. Super easy, truly delish, and so french.

Crêpes Suzette

Salmon the french way

The writing on this bag of charcoal does look pretentious, but truth is, it's a bit cheaper than what you can usually find in supermarkets (around 15€ a bag of 50L - can be found in "Motonet" among others). Burns faster, hotter, and doesn't have a bad smell. I've been introduced to this brand by one of my in laws who fancies himself as a grill master.

The heat is on.

Salmon almost ready.

"Saumon grillé sauce hollandaise" or in english "grilled salmon with hollandaise". The recipe for the sauce has been posted a few years back (tag: vegetable - aspargus). The fish is served with fresh green beans with butter & chopped parsley. As a general rule with the fish: the simpler the better! The hollandaise can be replaced by a "Béarnaise", a classic with grilled salmon and more generally with all char grilled things. Garlic butter works also great. But at the end of the day, a simple squeeze of lemon is probably the best to fully enjoy that unique grill flavor.

A bottle of Beaune 1er Cru Domaine des Riottes 2016 is the perfect partner

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Ginger sorbet (Pirkka) soaked in Finlandia lime vodka to cleanse the palate.

¡Ole!

Finally, we're able to open a bottle of "Flor de Pingus" we've received from Spain earlier this week.

One of the very best red wine produced in that country. 

So, we needed a dish that do justice to the Pingus, and here's what we've done: a "Solomillo al grill con un Arroz Caldoso". In a less fancy language, a grilled filet of marble beef with a rice broth (arroz = rice). The arroz caldoso is more or less the spanish equivalent of the italian risotto. Not very difficult to make: you fry a chopped onion in a good spanish olive oil (Ybarra organic), then add a good spoon of garlic puree, then the rice (like the one from Murcia "Arroz Calasparra") and you let the ingredients gently fry together for a minute or so. Then you add saffron, "Pimentón de la Vera" powder, and a chopped dry chili, mix well, then soak the mixture with chicken broth little by little, just like a risotto. You can add chopped dry tomatoes or peppers during the cooking. At the end of it, add a bit of chopped parsley and more olive oil. The rice must be a bit runny. As for the meat, grilled on charcoal for 2.30min. each side, rested for a few min. cut in stripes the spanish way, and brushed with a mixture of olive oil and Pimentón powder. This wine/food combo exceeded our expectations. Truth to be told, we've never have eaten this well in a spanish restaurant outside of Spain.

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Strawberries and cream for dessert.

Finnish rhubarb & yogurt cake

Wonderful recipe... if you read finnish.

Diet is so overrated

... and so with this in mind, we decided to go full throttle to death by cholesterol, which is so underrated. Fortunately for us, we'll live another day to put this theorem in pactice again.
So...

Côte de cochon fermier bio, reduction de sauce au vin & échalotes, purée de rutabagas caramélisés.

A chunky organic pork rib, with a reduction of red wine sauce & shallotts to the point of being a thick, sticky sirup, and a purée of caramelized rutabagas (usually eaten during the Christmas period in Finland).

The holy trinity of stinky cheeses! Top left: Reblochon, bottom left: Fribourg, right: Époisse. Best enjoyed with wines with strong bodies like those from Bourgogne (Baune, Hautes Côtes de Nuit, etc...) or even something from the Rhône valley like a Châteauneuf du Pape. And of course, a good country bread and some dark yellow butter (to add insult to injury).

Tarte au citron meringuée

And then, what's best to round up the meal than a lemon & meringue pie. The slight acidy makes a welcome diversion after all the cheesy fat.