Category Archives: Starter

Cheese Ball with Black Lumpfish Roe

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A beautiful appetizer to be served with crackers, celery or maybe cut up cucumbers. Can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge.

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As it is quite rich, it goes well with a light main course, such as the Asian Monkfish and the Cool Creamy Strawberry Dessert.

150 g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
3 tbsp crème fraiche or sour cream
½ finely chopped red onion
70 g lumpfish roe

  1. Mix the cream cheese, crème fraiche and onion together.
  2. Transfer to a bowl covered with cling film, turn upside down onto plate and remove the cling film. You now have a smooth half ball.
  3. Spread the roe on top.

Green Pea Soup with Horseradish

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2005 Green Pea Soup -7199

Pea soup may not sound too exciting but this dish is always very popular with my dinner guests. The vermouth is crucial and it really needs to be Noilly Prat. The horseradish makes the soup a bit spicy.

Let the Baked Fillet of Hake with Gremolata follow this Pea Soup, and for a dessert I recommend the Roasted Fruit with White Chocolate.

Serves 8 as a starter

1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
500 g frozen green peas
800 ml chicken broth
50 ml Noilly Prat vermouth
200 ml crème fraiche
Black pepper
50 ml whipping cream
50 ml sour cream
Fresh horseradish, finely grated, to taste
(can be substituted with a mix of sour cream and wasabi paste)

  1. Sauté the onion in butter.
  2. Add the peas, the chicken broth and Noilly Prat.
  3. Let simmer for a few minutes. Then puree with hand mixer so it becomes a smooth soup.
  4. Add the crème fraiche. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes. Take off the heat.
  5. Whip the cream, add sour cream and grated horseradish.
  6. Serve in small bowl with a dollop of horseradish mix on top.

Dates with blue cheese and parma ham

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This nibbling food can quickly be prepared the day before and kept in the fridge until you want to cook it in the oven. Follow with a cauliflower crust pizza and finish off with a fresh fruit sallad with homemade ice-cream.

Serves 6

1 package pitted and dried dates
150 g blue cheese
1 package parma ham
toothpicks

1. Stuff each date with some blue cheese, wrap half a slice of parma ham around the date and secure it with a toothpick.
2. Roast in the oven at 200 degrees for around 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Caramelized Leek and Chorizo

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stuffed mushrooms IMG_4981

A wonderful, light appetizer. For a Sunday menu, why not serve this appetizer, followed by Roasted Balsamic Tomato Soup together with Oat and Raisin Rolls and with a sweet ending of Raspberry Pie with Crème Anglais.

Serves 6

6 mushrooms, stems removed
Olive oil, to fry in
1 leek, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
50 g chorizo, cut in small pieces
Juice from ½ an orange
Salt and pepper

  1. Roast the mushrooms in an oven at 200C for about 25 minutes
  2. In a small frying pan, sauté the shallot in a little olive oil. After a few minutes, add the leek and fry another 2-3 minutes
  3. Add the chorizo and pour in the juice.
  4. Let slowly simmer for 15 minutes.
  5. Place mushrooms on a serving plate. Add a spoonful of the chorizo mixture.

Roasted Balsamic Tomato Soup

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Roasted tomatoes provide a great base for a soup. The balsamic vinegar gives sweetness while the harissa paste provides some heat. For a Sunday menu, why not serve an appetizer of Stuffed Mushrooms, followed by the Roasted Balsamic Tomato Soup together with Oat and Raisin Rolls and with a sweet ending of Raspberry Pie with Crème Anglais.

Serves 4

12 medium size tomatoes, skinnedRoasted tomatoe soup IMG_4858
3 tbsp olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Fresh basil, shredded
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
300 ml vegetable broth
2 tsp harissa paste
Salt and black pepper (if needed)
Parmesan cheese and basil to garnish

  1. To skin the tomatoes, cut small cross at one end of the tomatoe and let simmer in water for a minute. The skin will curl up and can thereafter easily be removed.
  2. Quarter the tomatoes and place on oven tray. Sprinkle with basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Let roast in 180C oven for 30 minutes.
  3. Place in a pot and add a bit of the stock. With a hand held food processor, puree the tomatoe mixture. Add the remaining stock and the harissa paste. Let simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. If needed, add some black pepper.
  4. Serve with basil and Parmesan shavings on top.

Carrot and Ginger soup

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This is a great dish to start of your saturday dinner. The flavours from carrot and ginger go great together. Serve with the glazed duck and finish off with a raspberry soufflé. This soup can also be served as a main course. You can then boil some lentils as well and combine with the cheese and leek mixture.

Serves 8

450 g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
6 dl water
2 packages of concentrated vegetable stock
1 package of concentrated chicken stock
5 dl milk
6 cm leek
100 g feta cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

For decoration:
pumpkin seeds, roasted and salted

1. Fry the carrot, ginger and garlic in olive oil in a pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
2. Add water, vegetable stock and milk. Let simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the carrot is soft. Mix in a robot coup. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
3. Chop the leek and mix with crumbled feta cheese. Add a scoop to each serving bowl.
4. Add the soup to the bowl and decorate with pumpkin seeds on top.

Grilled chorizo with roasted red pepper and cheese

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Start off the weekend with a few appetisers while getting things ready in the kitchen. These are part of a menu with an asian-style chicken as main course. Enjoy!

Serves 6

200 g cooking chorizo, cut into pieces 1 cm thick
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into 4
1 red chili, deseeded and halved
150 g philadephia cheese
fresh thyme, for decoration
salt and pepper

1. Fry chorizo in a pan or grill until nicely coloured. Put aside and let cool.
2. Roast red pepper and chili on a tray in the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Take out and put into a plastic bag, let cool. Remove the skin and chop the red pepper and chili. Mix with the philadelphia cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Put the cheese mixture into a piping bag and keep in the fridge until serving.
3. Pipe a bit of pepper-cheese mixture on top of each piece of chorizo. Top with a sprig of thyme.

Zucchini Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Lumpfish Caviar

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For a festive Sunday brunch, serve with Gluten Free Crisp Bread with Dips!

Zucchini blinis

After an overindulging weekend, I like to cook something healthy, yet elegant, for a Sunday brunch with friends. These Zucchini Blinis offer a lighter option than the rich buckwheat version.

Serves 4

2 small zucchinis/courgettes, grated
A handful of shredded spinach leaves
3 tbsp of soy flour
1 large egg

150 grams of cottage cheese
3 tbsp half fat crème fraiche
½ finely chopped red onion
½ finely chopped green pepper
4 tbsp grated lemon peel (take care only to use the outer layer of a un-waxed lemon, the white part is bitter)

4 slices of smoked salmon

50 g black lumpfish caviar

Zucchini blinis makingIMG_5025

1. Mix soy flour and egg to a smooth batter.
2. Squeeze the water out of the grated zucchini, add spinach and combine with the egg batter.
3. In a bowl, mix together all ingredients for the cottage cheese sauce and set aside.
4. Pan fry the zucchini blinis on medium heat in a little olive oil (or butter if you prefer). Use a spoon and gently flatten each blini to form a small round cake with a diameter of about 9 cm (3,5 inches) each. About 2-3 tbsp of batter is about right for each blini. Let it brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. Make 8 blinis.
5. Place one blini on each plate, add rolled up salmon, a dollop of the sauce, a tsp of caviar and cover with a second blini.

Gluten Free Crisp Bread with Dips

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For a festive Sunday Brunch. To be served with Zucchini Blinis.

These crackers will take about 1 hour 15 minutes to make.

crisp bread Makes one large oven tray.

150 grams mixed seeds (when in a hurry, I simply use Waitrose Love Life mixed seeds) plus a handful for the decoration.

100 grams gluten free flour (I prefer a mix of 70 grams quinoa flour and 30 grams of buckwheat flour but any gluten free mix will work as long as it’s not self-rising)

1 tablespoon of ground spices (I like to mix fennel, caraway and anise)
2 teaspoons of course sea salt
2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil
200 millilitres boiling water

  1. Heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together
  3. Add the water and the oil
  4. Mix well together
  5. Place the sticky dough on greaseproof baking paper covering an oven tray. Put another sheet of baking paper on top and press on the dough to form a thin layer covering the whole tray.
  6. Sprinkle some more coarse sea salt on top (optional) and a handful of seeds.
  7. Pre cut in squares and place in oven for about 50-60 minutes.
  8. Cool on rack and break apart in squares.

Tuna dip:

1 can tuna fish in water, 120 grams
5 small gherkins, finely chopped
1 teaspoon French mustard
2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
Mix.

Tomato dip:

3 tomatoes, medium sized, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ avocado, chopped
A few drops of lemon juice.
Mix.

Salmon dip:

100 grams smoked salmon, in pieces
3-4 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon creamed horseradish
Mix.

Eggs en cocotte

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It is not easter without at least one dish containing an egg. So here is a simple dish known as oeufs en cocotte in French, referring to the ramequins in which the eggs are cooked. The ingredients can vary, feel free to switch the cheese or herb to any personal favourite. Serve as it is or with a piece of bread, followed by rack of lamb and pavlova for the complete easter menu.

Serves 4

200 g of mixed mushrooms, washed and cut into pieces
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
200 ml double cream
4 tbsp grated parmesan
4 eggs
salt and pepper
garden cress, for decoration

1. Sweat the mushrooms in oil in a pan over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated. Add shallot and garlic and continue frying for another minute. Add thyme and season with salt and pepper.
2. Butter the inside of the ramequins and cover the bottom with mushroom mixture. Add cream, then parmesan, finishing off with the egg. Season with salt.
3. Cook in a water bath in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes (the egg white should have set, but not the egg yolk). Take out and sprinkle some freshly ground pepper and decorate with some garden cress.