Fried fish in marinade (Baltic herring recipe)

Time for another Estonian recipe here on Nami-Nami. My mum celebrated her birthday last weekend, and this - "marineeritud praetud räimed" aka "praetud räimed marinaadis" - was one of the dishes I brought along to her party. You see, both my grandmothers - one 91, the other 92 years old - are staying with my parents these days. The other day my mum was complaining that her mum and her mother-in-law (that's my two grandmothers then) had been asking for fried Baltic herring for a while now and my mum hasn't had a chance to go to the market in search of fresh fish. As we have an excellent fishmonger - Pepe Kala - at our weekly farmer's market in Viimsi, I decided to make my mum's life easier and cooked a batch to take along.

 


In Estonia this dish is made with Baltic Herrings (Clupea harengus membras, above), a subspecies of the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). Baltic herring is smaller and less fatty than the Atlantic herring, and they're also much smaller - up to 18 cm long compared to the Atlantic herring's 40-45 cm. Baltic herring - räim - is considered the "national fish" of Estonia. It's known as silakka in Finnish, strömming in Swedish, hareng de la Baltique in French. True (Nordic) fish aficionados claim the taste of Baltic herring to be superior to the taste of much more well-known sardines. :)

 If you cannot get hold of the Baltic herring, you could try sardines instead - apparently the marinade works well with fried sardines, too.


Fried Baltic Herring in Marinade
(Praetud räimed marinaadis)
Serves 8

 
600 g Baltic herring fillets (or about 1 kg fresh fish)

2 large eggs
4 Tbsp milk

200 ml all-purpose flour or rye flour

oil for frying

Marinade:
1 l water (4 cups)
2 carrots
2 onions
10 black peppercorns
5 allspice berries
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp 30% vinegar
1.5 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp caster sugar

Fry the fish. Whisk the eggs with milk, dip fish fillets into the mixture, flesh side down. Press both sides of the fish into the flour, shaking off any extra flour.

Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a heavy frying pan until hot. Place the breaded fish fillets, flesh sides down, onto the pan and fry for a 2-3 minutes, until dark golden brown. Flip gently over and fry the skin side until golden brown. Transfer the cooked fish fillets into a large bowl.

Make the marinade. Peel and thinly slice the carrots and onion (I used my trusty Benriner mandoline slicer). Place the vegetables, peppercorns and allspice berries, bay leaves, salt and sugar into a medium-sized saucepan. Add the water and bring into a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the carrots are al dente or still have some bite to them. Taste for seasoning - add more salt or sugar, if necessary. The marinade should be quite salty and sugary to have enough potency to flavour the fried fish fillets.

Now add the vinegar* and remove the pan from the heat. Again - you want the marinade to be vinegary to flavour the fish, but not so much that the resulting dish would be too vinegary. Let the marinade cool for a 10-15 minutes, then slowly pour the whole thing (including the carrots, onions and the seasoning) over the fried fish.

Cool completely, then cover and transfer into the fridge for at least 8-10 hours or overnight.

 

Enjoy on a slice of good dark rye bread or alongside boiled potatoes.

These keep in a fridge for a week or so.

* A note on vinegar - we use the 30% proof vinegar to make this dish in Estonia. Use whatever neutral-tasting vinegar you have, adjusting the amount and aiming for the slightly vinegary marinade.

Tuna and egg sandwich cake (Smörgåstårta aka võileivatort)

Although it's Sweden that is most famous for its sandwich cake - smörgåstårta - sandwich cakes aka  võileivatordid have been popular in Estonia for a few decades now. We celebrated our older kids birthday parties last weekend - our daughter turned 4 and our son 2 in January, and I made three sandwich cakes for the occasion. One with ham and egg filling, using dark rye bread and decorated with small cheese-filled ham rolls. The other was with tuna and egg filling, using light wholegrain bread and garnished with strips of cucumber and egg.

Here's the recipe for the latter. It's incredibly easy to make, and tastes like one big nice tuna sandwich. As with all sandwich cakes, it's best made a day before, but garnished just before serving. I've made it with dark rye bread previously, but prefer making it with sliced wholegrain bread these days.

You're welcome to follow my Sandwich cake Pinterest board (there are some great ideas for decorating sandwich cakes) or check out the relevant topic on my Estonian site (võileivatordid ja nende kaunistamine).

Tuna and Egg Sandwich Cake
(Maitsev ja mahlane tuunikalatort)
Serves 12 to 18
Original idea: Pereköök, November 2000 (adapted over the years)


24 square slices of (wholemeal) toast bread

Filling:
2 canned tuna chunks in brine or oil, drained
1 medium-sized leek, white and pale green parts only
2 hard-boiled eggs
200 g good-quality mayonnaise (I use Jaani)
150 g sour cream, smetana or creme fraiche
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To cover:
about 150 g mayonnaise or a mix of mayonnaise and sour cream

To decorate:
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 green cucumber
salad leaves or finely chopped fresh parsley

Cut the leek half lengthwise, rinse, if necessary, to get rid of any dirt. Cut into thin slices. Crush the tuna with a fork, chop the egg finely or use the coarse grater. Mix the eggs, leeks and tuna.
Add the mayonnaise and sour cream, season with salt and pepper to taste. You're aiming for a well-seasoned and moist sandwich filling here - add more sour cream or mayonnaise, if your filling seems to dry.

(You can remove the crusts from your bread slices for a neater finish. I almost never do.)

Place 6 bread slices on your serving tray, neatly next to each other. Spoon half of the tuna and egg filling on top. Then cover with another 6 bread slices, the rest of the tuna and egg filling and the final six bread slices.

That's how easy it is :)

Now cover the sandwich cake with cling film and place into the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, spread some mayonnaise on top and on the sides of the cake. Cover the sides with finely chopped parsley or some salad leaves.

For the topping, I prefer thin strips of coarsely grated cucumbers, egg whites and egg yolks, but it's really up to you.

Pan-Seared Oat-Crusted Salmon or Trout

Photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the January 2013 issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine. The tablecloth is Estonian national tartan - the blue, black and white representing the Estonian flag, the red and gold representing Scotland's Rampant Lion.

Burns Supper is nigh and it's a great opportunity to cook some Scottish recipes again. Here's a salmon with a crispy mustard and oat crust that's easy to make and yet festive enough for a good Burns Supper (if you're not serving haggis, that is). The Scots tend to cook herring this way, but sadly it's almost impossible to get fresh herring over here. Salty herring - whole or filleted - in brine is widely available, but fresh, no.

Luckily this method works brilliantly with other oily fish as well, especially salmon and trout. You can use filet from the tail-end (it's easier to cook), or use butterfly steaks, like I did.

Oat crusted fish 
(Kaerahelbepaneeringus kala)

one salmon or trout butterfly steak or filet per person
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
sharp Dijon mustard (or Põltsamaa, if you're in Estonia)
quick-cooking oats or coarse oatmeal
oil, for frying

Season the fish with salt and pepper, then smear lightly with some mustard (use too much mustard and your oats won't stick to the fish while you're frying). Dip the fish into oats. If you're using the skin-on fish filet, then just the flesh side, obviously.

Heat the frying pan until hot over moderately high heat, then drizzle with oil. Add the fish and fry until crispy and golden brown on both sides (my butterfly steak needed about 3 minutes on one side and 2 on the other).

Serve with a sautéed spinach (on the photo) or kale or some mushy peas.

If you want  some dressing to go with it, then I recommend flavouring some creme fraiche with mustard, salt, pepper and finely chopped chives.

PS I've tagged the recipe as gluten-free, but you must use certified gluten-free oats and mustard then.

Other Scottish recipes suitable for Burns Supper:

Appetisers/canapés:
Red onion and whisky marmalade
Mini haggis tarts
Tattie scones

Starters:
Cock-a-leekie or chicken and leek soup with prunes

Main course:
Oat crusted fish

Dessert/pudding:
Cranachan or raspberries, cream and tipsy oats
Shortbread
Scottish lemon cake
Chocolate raspberry brownie

Shrimp salad on rye appetizers

Christmas and New Year, although just a scant week apart, seem to be different seasons altogether for our little family here in Estonia. Throughout December and until Christmas, we eat black pudding and sauerkraut and pork roasts - the traditional Christmas fare - a lot. We'll start eating Christmassy food early, weeks before Christmas. You see, you need to identify the best brand of black pudding (aka blood sausages) at the market each year, so you start sampling in mid-November already. Sauerkraut, on the other hand, is the seasonal vegetable at this time of the year, so we eat a lot of that as well. When the Christmas comes, we still eat the traditional Christmas fare and enjoy it.

And then, suddenly, I've had enough. For the New Year's Eve I want to hear nothing about the heavy winter stuff, and am serving various elegant and light canapés instead (and even if there is some black pudding on the table, it's hidden in puff pastry pinwheels or black pudding profiteroles).

Here's a little and light and elegant canapé I'm planning to serve this time*. Not so dissimilar to Toast Skagen or this Swedish shrimp salad, but being served on small crisp dark rye bread slices, it's a a great and festive mouthful. Oh, and once we are talking about rye bread appetizers - these smoked salmon mousse canapés are wonderful, too!

* And yes, of course we are hosting a big New Year's Eve bash this year as well. The logistics of getting three kids to a party at a friends' house is too much to bear just now, so we are being lazy and staying at home, asking dear friends to come over instead :))

Shrimp salad on rye bread
(Krevetisalat rukkileivaviiludel)
Makes about 16

 


250 grams cooked and peeled shrimps
2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
100 g good-quality mayonnaise
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
lemon juice, to taste

To serve:
8 slices of dark rye bread

If using frozen shrimps, defrost them and drain thoroughly (I prefer those in brine, which are more expensive but easier to use). If you wish, chop them coarsely. Mix with onion and dill, then add the mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Toast the rye bread slices, then cut into triangles or squares or small rounds. Spoon shrimp salad on top.
Garnish with some dill and serve.

7-year itch? Nami-Nami food blog anniversary post and a recipe for a Swedish shrimp salad (Räksallad)

Nami-Nami foodblog is now seven years old. On June 15, 2005, I wrote my first English-language blog post. Back then I was seven years younger. I had just finished my PhD in Sociology of Nationalism at the University of Edinburgh in bonnie Scotland, and about to start my first post-doctoral fellowship at the same university. I hadn't yet met my dear K, who seduced me back to Estonia in October following year (I met in him on November 1, 2005, four and half months after starting blogging, at a reception in Edinburgh), and I definitely didn't have any gorgeous kids back then (and, consequently, I had much more time for blogging :))

Those seven years have been fun - it's been fun meeting other foodbloggers from all over the world, it's been fun taking part in various foodblogging events. It's been educating and entertaining thinking more about what, how, and why we eat, being more reflexive about our dietary choices, eating habits and the food culture in general.

And nope, there's definitely no seven-year itch in my relationship to Nami-Nami foodblog. We're still going strong, and I have no intention of quitting just yet. Furthermore, there are some extremely interesting blogging-related trips and meet-ups lined up for the near future, so stay with me and Nami-Nami :)

For today's recipe, I'll give you this Swedish shrimp salad, something that was offer on the recent Swedish buffet. Although I do cook and blog about dishes from all over the world, then I do feel most happy and confident when blogging about Estonian, other Nordic and possibly also Eastern European dishes. This is a very Nordic salad flavour-wise - fresh, herbal, light and very summery. You can serve it as a simple salad or perhaps on top of some buttered toast.


Swedish shrimp salad
Serves six (can be easily multiplied)

400-500 g hand-peeled cooked shrimps*
100 ml (7 level Tbsp) of good-quality mayonnaise
100 ml finely chopped fresh dill
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp mild paprika powder
0.25 tsp freshly ground pepper (preferably white pepper)

* I prefer the ones in a light marinade or brine to the frozen ones, but both will do. Just make sure the netto weight after defrosting and draining is about 400 g.

If using frozen shrimps, then thoroughly defrost them (I take them from the freezer and put into the fridge on the previous night). Drain thoroughly, then squeeze gently to remove as much water as possible. If using shrimps in a brine/marinade, then simply drain them.
Put couple of shrimps on the side, if you want to use them for garnish.
In a large bowl, mix mayonnaise and dill, season with lemon juice, paprika powder and pepper. Add the shrimps and stir gently, until combined.
Transfer the salad into a serving bowl, garnish with some shrimps and dill.

Serve at once, or cover with clingfilm and place into the fridge for an hour or two.

Crispy rye bread canapés with cream cheese and smoked salmon

I did a bit of catering on Saturday for a group of friends*, and this smoked salmon and cream cheese paté/spread on crispy rye bread buttons was one of the dishes I brought along. It disappeared very quickly and I wish I had made a double batch - it's an excellent nibble indeed - savoury (smoked salmon), creamy (cream  cheese), crispy (rye bread buttons), fresh (cucumber slices). I also think the contrasting colours look very pretty.

Although I love this spread on crispy rye bread buttons, it works also beautifully with sliced (and toasted) ciabatta or baguette, of course. Here's a photo from last June:


Cream cheese and smoked salmon paté
(Toorjuustu-suitsulõhepasteet)
Makes about a cup

100 g good-quality cold smoked salmon
150 g cream cheese, at room temperature
a small bunch of dill
lemon juice, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To garnish:
cucumber or lemon slices
fresh dill or chives
finely grated lemon zest

Chop the smoked salmon into small chunks, place into the food processor together with the cream cheese. Add some lemon juice for seasoning and the dill. Process until smooth.
Taste for seasoning - add more lemon juice and season with pepper.

If you're serving this with crispy rye bread buttons, then you need some sliced rye bread (I like a very dark bread here and used "Fazeri must leib"). Cut out small squares or circles and toast them in a preheated 200 C/400 F oven for about 6-7 minutes, until crispy. Cool, then spoon the cream cheese and smoked salmon paté on top and garnish before serving.

You can make the paté up to a day in advance, but don't spread it on toasted rye bread until up to an hour before serving, or you lose the crispiness.

* The other two dishes were tiny spicy chorizo profiteroles and an Estonian crumb cake, cut into tiny slices.

Easy entertaining: whole hot-smoked trout or salmon with caviar dressing

Want something super-delicious, rather elegant and extremely simple for your next festive spread? Here's an excellent idea I got from my friend Annika. Annika is Estonian, but she works and lives in Sweden. She introduced me to this very popular Swedish and Finnish "sauce" that's traditionally served alongside smoked or grilled trout or salmon at a party she hosted at her Tallinn holiday flat at the end of last year.

Since then I've served this on several occasions and always to a great success. You need a good-quality smoked trout or salmon to start with - I've used a whole hot-smoked trout*, that we "carve" at the table, but you can also serve it alongside portion-sized pieces of smoked fish. Although salted trout or salmon roe is nowhere as prohibitively expensive as "proper" caviar, it's still very festive and elegant and makes people feel that they're really being pampered :)

If you're based in Tallinn or nearby, then I whole-heartedly recommend the whole hot-smoked trout from Pepe Kala OÜ. You'll find their stall at Tammsaare tee 89 during the week, or come and meet them at Viimsi Taluturg (Viimsi farmers' market) on Saturday mornings from 10 am till 2 pm. They also have excellent lightly salted trout roe.  




Creamy caviar dressing
(Kalamarjakaste)
Serves 6

200-250 g thick sour cream or creme fraiche
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion (shallot is fine)
150 g lightly salted trout or salmon roe (or slightly less, depending on your budget and taste)
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, spoon into a nice bowl and serve alongside the whole smoked fish. 
Ok, how easy and effortless was that? :)

Here's another excellent Swedish dressing recipe that goes well with smoked salmon: Dill and Mustard Sauce

What's your super-easy and quick entertainment dish? Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

Imitation Snow Crab Sandwich Recipe (Surimi)

In the ideal world, of course, I would use freshly picked and cleaned proper crab meat to make this open sandwich. However, good-quality crab meat (actually, any crab meat) is hard to come by here in Estonia. Instead I have to settle for imitation crab, or surimi.

Here's a quick and simple topping for a slice of toast or soft roll that I quite happen to like.

Imitation Snow Crab Sandwich
(Lumekrabist saiakate)
Makes four

120 g packet snow crab (surimi; make sure you use the best one around with highest surimi percentage)
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 soft rolls, halved or 4 slices of toast

Break up the snow crab sticks. Place into a bowl, fold in mayonnaise. Season with lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt.
Serve on a halved soft roll or on a slice of toast, garnish with fresh dill and season with black pepper (and perhaps some finely grated lemon zest).

More surimi recipes:
Open-faced surimi and egg salad sandwich @ What's Cookin, Chicago
Surimi Maki @ Inspired Bites
Imitation Crab Salad @ Karen Cooks
Russian Style Crab Salad @ Natasha's Kitchen

Mussels, and my kids

April 2012

Our daughter is 3 years and 2 months now, our son 1 year and 3 months. They both adore mussels. We discovered our daughter's love for the shellfish back in October 2010, when testing recipes for my first cookbook. She was 1 year and 8 months at the time - way too early for enjoying mussels, I thought for some reason. We gave her one, just for fun, and she was immediately taken:


October 2010

She had 35 mussels in one go that night. I know, we counted them, amazed. She would have had more, if we had let her, but as we could visibly see her tiny belly filling up, we simply said stop at one point.


September 2011, France

Let me just say that choosing a place for lunch on our last trip to France (we went to Normandie and Bretagne in September 2011) was easy - we just had to go for a place that served mussels. She had mussels for lunch on pretty much every day :D


April 2012

Few weeks ago I saw some nice-looking mussels in my local supermarket, and decided to cook them for dinner. Nora was extremely pleased - she immediately recognised what's in the bag (well, net actually) and was clapping her hands in excitement. I made a quick mussel dish (recipe below), and when ready to serve, I also offered our son some. He loved them, too, just like his big sis'.


April 2012

I must have obviously done something right in introducing solid foods to my kids (I used the approach called baby-led weaning with both of them, and very succesfully), as there are both very keen to try new foods and I'd have to think very hard to come up with something that our daughter doesn't like, or would at least refuse to try.

The recipe below - Steamed Mussels with Basil Cream - is adapted from one of Rachel Allen's books (Rachel's favourite food for friends), and apparently it's the way mussels are prepared in a Fishy Fishy Café in Kinsale, Ireland. It's one of the quickest and easiest ways to prepare mussels and our family loves this.


Mussels in a creamy pesto sauce
(Rannakarbid basiilikukreemiga)
Serves six



2 to 3 kg fresh/live mussels
200 ml fresh cream (single or double)
3 heaped Tbsp good-quality basil pesto
sea salt
freshly squeezed lemon juice



Scrub the mussels very well and discard any that are not open and do not close when tapped.
Place the cream and the pesto in a large saucepan on the heat and bring to the boil. Taste the sauce - add some salt and lemon juice to get the taste just right.
Add the prepared mussels, cover with a lid and place on a medium heat. Cook the mussels in the pesto cream for about 5-8 minutes, or until all the mussels are completely open (discard any that do not open).
To serve, pour the mussels and the sauce into a big bowl. Serve with some crusty white bread on the side.
Remember to place another big bowl on the table for empty shells, and some finger bowls and plenty of napkins!


More lovely recipes using mussels:
Mussels in apple cider @ Nami-Nami
Memento mussel soup @ Lobstersquad
Potato and mussel stew @ Lobstersquad
Saffron tomato mussels @ The Passionate Cook
Curry mussels @ The Passionate Cook
Champagne and saffron mussels @ Chocolate & Zucchini
Coconut curry mussels @ Simply Recipes
Thai green curry mussels @ CookSister

Home-made fish fingers and mushy peas

My kids love fish, both of them. Our precious daughter (3 years 1 month) loves fish a lot (including small whole ones, like sprats and Baltic herring in various forms) and she adores shellfish, including mussels and sea whelks (bulots) and such like. Our little boy (1 year 2 months) prefers fish fillet at this stage, but that's fine with me. Here's a little quick delicious dinner idea that is suitable both for the little eaters and the large ones. The secret? Dredging the fish pieces into (wholemeal and coarsely ground) rye flour. Of course, you could use oatmeal or plain wholewheat flour, but somehow the rye works especially well with oily fish like salmon.

I love serving this dish with mushy-minty peas, but simple mashed potato would be a good accompaniment as well.

Salmon fish fingers, served with green peas
(Kodused lõhefileepulgad)
Serves four



about 500 g salmon filet
lemon pepper seasoning
freshly squeezed lemon juice
about 7 Tbsp rye flour (wholemeal is perfect)
salt*

oil and butter, for frying

Remove the skin from the fish filet and cut the fish into chunky fingers. Season generously with lemon pepper seasoning and a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
(* If you're using salt-free lemon pepper, then sprinkle some salt over the fish as well).
Dredge the fish fingers into rye flour.
Heat oil and butter on a frying pan. Brown the fish fingers on all sides and cook for a few minutes, until done.

Serve with mashed potatoes and/or mushy peas. To make the latter, simply heat some butter in a small saucepan. Add frozen peas, season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and mint, and heat through. Mash lightly and serve with the fish fingers.

My favourite fish salad, using smoked seabass

There's a smoked fish salad that I've been making for years. Here's the routine. On a Saturday morning, the kids and I (and usually my K. as well) head to the local farmers market, Viimsi Taluturg.  There are several stalls selling excellent fish, and one of them, Pepe Kala, sells excellent hot-smoked seabass. It's my choice of fish for this salad, although other smoked specimens would work just as well.

We head home, unpack our lot. I'll open the paper-wrapped smoked seabass and start cleaning the fish. I must work quickly here, or otherwise our 3-year old daughter eats most of the fish and I'll have none left for making the salad (she loves fish!). I'll then mix the salad (recipe below, of course) and enjoy. Sometimes we eat it as it is, sometimes we put that on top some toasted rye bread (photo above), sometimes we use it as a filling for paper-thin crepes, sometimes we enjoy it with some just-out-of-the-oven jacket potatoes. It's versatile and it's delicious.

Will keep well in the fridge (covered, of course) for a few days.


Smoked Fish Salad
(Maitsev suitsukalasalat munaga)
Serves four

1 medium-sized smoked fish (hot-smoked seabass is good)
4 eggs
1 or 2 (red) onions
handful of fresh dill and chives
some mayonnaise and/or sour cream
freshly ground black pepper

Hard-boil the eggs, then cool under cold running water. Peel the eggs, and smash with a fork in bowl.
Peel the onion(s), chop finely.
Clean the smoked fish carefully, discard the skin and bones. Chop the fish into smaller pieces.
Finely chop the herbs.
Mix the eggs, onions, smoked fish and herbs in a bowl. Fold in just enough mayonnaise or sour cream (or indeed, both) to bind the ingredients.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Tapas, Estonian style

Starting from the left: hot-smoked Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) fillets, pan-fried Baltic herring with sesame seed crust, marinated sprats (Sprattus sprattus balticus) with herbs and onions, marinated Baltic herring with lemon and garlic.

Served with black rye bread (not pictured). An excellent Saturday lunch.

All fish was bought at my local farmers market (Viimsi taluturg), sourced from three different stalls. Viimsi taluturg is open on Saturdays from 10am till 2pm.

Dill and mustard sauce - hovmästarsås - for smoked salmon or gravlax

This Swedish dill and mustard sauce - gravlaxsås/hovmästarsås/senapssås - was one of our favourite sauces this summer. We served this with smoked salmon and gravlax to our guests quite often, and never got tired of it. Although the season for al fresco lunches is sadly over, there's nothing that keeps us from enjoying thinly sliced smoked salmon indoors. Long and leisurely Sunday brunches, anyone?

The sauce keeps in the fridge for a few days, covered.

Swedish dill and mustard sauce
(Tilli-sinepikaste)
Makes about a cup



2 Tbsp sweet Swedish mustard (you can use Honey Dijon)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp caster sugar
0.5 tsp salt
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1-1.5 Tbsp white wine vinegar
200 ml mild oil (rapeseed, grapeseed, canola)
a small bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped

To serve:
smoked salmon or gravlax

Put the mustards, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar into a bowl, and mix until the sugar has dissolved.
Using a small whisk, whisk in the oil little by litte. Finally, mix in the chopped dill.

See similar recipes:
Anne's Food
Rosa's Yummy Yum

This summer's favourite fish dish - grilled salmon in balsamic marinade

This is my favourite fish dish this summer (and spring). I've made it on several occasions already and will make another one today for our Midsummer Night party tomorrow night. The idea is so simple and yet so brilliant - you bake/grill/roast the fish fillet (both salmon and trout are fine), then pour the marinade over hot fish, and stuck it in the fridge to marinate and cool. Then, when the guests arrive, you simply take the fish out of the fridge and serve. You can even prepare the fish on the previous night, so there's no need to switch on the oven in the middle of a hot summer day.

The recipe is slightly adapted from a Finnish women's magazine Anna (autumn/winter 2010 issue; Balsamicolohi) - yet another excellent recipe idea I've found while browsing those magazine issues at the beauty salon :) I've stuck with the original flavour combination - balsamic vinegar, capers, sun-dried tomatoes and chives, but feel free to come up with your own favourite marinade.

Grilled salmon in balsamic marinade
(Grillitud lõhe palsamiäädikamarinaadis)
Serves 6 to 8



800 g salmon or trout fillet, skin on
sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil, for brushing

Balsamic marinade:
4 Tbsp nice balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil (from the sun-dried tomato jar, preferably)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
3-4 Tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (preserved in oil)
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

Take a suitably sized oven tray* and brush it slightly with oil. Place the fish on the tray, season with sea salt and black pepper. Bake in the middle of 225 C oven until done (it'll take about 15-20 minutes, at the most, depending on the thickness of the fish.)
Mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and drizzle on a hot fish fillet.
Mix the sun-dried tomatoes, capers and chives, spread evenly over the fish.
Place into a fridge for at least 2 hours to marinate.

* I love using my Iittala Teema rectangular tray for this (sized 16x37 cm) - I cook the salmon on that tray, and then use it for serving later on as well.

Smoked Salmon Frittata

Ever since we've been keeping our own chicken that give us a regular supply of beautiful eggs, we've been eating many more omelettes and frittatas. They're cheap, filling, tasty and quick to make. Here's one from last week, based on Sue Lawrence's recipe in A Cook's Tour of Scotland: from Barra to Brora in 120 recipes. I always keep a packet of smoked salmon in the fridge, just in case, so dishes like this can be whipped up without a trip to the nearest supermarket.



Note that 'smoked salmon' in English recipes usually ask for cold-smoked salmon, whereas in Estonia you would have to specify whether you mean cold-smoked salmon (külmsuitsulõhe) or hot-smoked salmon (kuumsuitsulõhe) - both are widely available and used. (Either one would work in this recipe, and of course, you can use good-quality smoked trout instead).

Works as a substantial weekend breakfast as well as a filling lunch or dinner, especially with some dressed salad leaves.

Smoked salmon frittata
(Suitsulõhe-frittata)
Serves 2 to 3



6 large free-range/organic eggs
200 ml creme fraiche or double cream
2 tsp grated horseradish (from a jar)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
a small handful of chives, finely chopped
1 Tbsp butter
100 g thinly sliced smoked salmon
juice of half a lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Beat the eggs, cream and horseradish until combined, season with salt and pepper.
Lightly sauté the onion in butter over a medium heat until just softened, then add the chives and sauté for a minute or two more.
Now tip in the egg mixture. Leave for a few minutes, then push in from the sides with a wooden spatula. Cook over a low heat for 8-10 minutes or until almost set.
Place smoked salmon slices on top, then place under a preheated hot grill ("salamander") for a couple of minutes, until the eggs are just set.
Squeeze some lemon juice on top, sprinkle with more chives. Cut into wedges and serve.

Cod liver paté on toast

I've briefly mentioned cod liver on Nami-Nami previously - here and here, but it deserves a new post :) There are almost no blog posts on the topic - a FoodBlogSearch enquiry ends with plenty of posts about cod liver oil capsules, and just one food blog posts apart from mine, written by Rosie Dequattro (now available only in in cache) and a mention of foie de morue by Clotilde back in 2004 (!). I always keep a can of cod liver chunks in oil in the larder, as it's a great stand-by to have when you have unexpected friends. Or when you simply need a lunch in a hurry.

I got the recipe from my mum, but it's the same universal recipe used in pretty much every cod-liver-loving family in Estonia (or Russia, for that matter, as Rosie's post reveals). I love it on toast, but you can also serve it to fill vol-au-vents or top small crostini.

Cod Liver Paté
(Klassikaline tursamaksasalat)



190 g can cod liver chunks in oil (look for it in Russian markets)
1-2 eggs, boiled, peeled and finely chopped
a small (shallot) onion, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drain the cod liver, then place in a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the egg and onion, season with salt and pepper. (You can add some mayonnaise, if you want a smoother paté, but it's not really necessary).
Garnish with fresh herbs (dill, parsley and chives are especially fine here) and serve.

Whole-baked fish with garlic butter, lemon salt, and dill mayonnaise

If you're looking for a simple, yet impressive fish dish for the weekend, then this adaptation of Donna Hay's recipe could be just a thing. Very simple to make, yet impressive-looking and delicious. I used two doradas a.k.a. gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata), but any similar-sized white-fleshed fish would work (seabass, snapper, bream etc). I've also downsized the recipe to suit our little family, and I served it with dill mayonnaise instead of garlic one. We do love garlic at our house, but as the fish was already baked with garlic butter, we thought that garlic mayonnaise as a side dish would be slightly overdoing on the garlic front.

K. really-really loved this, and volunteered to bring home the fish whenever necessary, just so he could enjoy this dish again.

Whole baked fish with garlic butter, lemon salt and dill mayonnaise
(Kala küüslauguvõi, sidrunisoola ja tillimajoneesiga)
Serves 2

2 smaller whole fish, scaled (if necessary) and gutted
50 g butter, at room temperature
2 garlic cloves, crushed
lemon wedges, to serve

LEMON SALT:
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp sea salt flakes

DILL MAYONNAISE:
100 g good-quality mayonnaise
1 small garlic clove, crushed
a generous Tbsp freshly chopped dill

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
To make the lemon salt, place the lemon zest and salt in a bowl, mix well. Set aside.
To make the dill mayonnaise, combine mayonnaise, garlic and dill. Set aside.
Use a small, sharp knife to make small slits in the fish skin. Combine the butter and garlic and place about a tablespoon of the butter mixture in the cavity of each fish. Dot the remaining garlic butter over the fish.
Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 30–35 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with lemon salt, dill mayonnaise and lemon wedges.

Savoury cream cheese balls with spiced sprats

Wait, I know what you're thinking! Those kama and mascarpone truffles again? Nope. I know they look similar, but today I'm blogging about little savoury delights I've adapted from an Estonian foodblogger Elis. Last Thursday the Republic of Estonia celebrated its 93rd anniversary and some of my girlfriends came over to celebrate the occasion - and also say hello to our little baby boy. When trying to think of Estonian nibbles to serve, I came across Elis' recipe for sprat and cream cheese balls and was sold at once. It's a play on a popular rye bread and sprat canapé, and I knew that my guests would love them. I was right - these went down a storm. I used slightly more cream cheese than in the original recipe.

I must warn you - unless you live in Estonia and have easy access to rye bread and spicy sprats ('vürtsikilu'), you won't be able to make it (though you can follow this recipe and make the spiced sprats yourself). But this might inspire you to try making something similar with anchovies or similar product that's more readily available in your part of the world.

Savory cream cheese balls with spiced sprats
(Kilupallid)

Makes about 20

100 g spiced sprats filets, finely chopped
150 g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg, hard-boiled, peeled and finely chopped
3 Tbsp scallions/green onions, finely chopped
grated rye bread

Mix all ingredients (except rye bread) until combined (I used a wooden spoon, but food processor would work as well). Cover the mixture with a clingfilm and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.
Take small amounts of the cream cheese mixture and roll into small balls between your palms.
Roll in grated rye bread and place onto a serving platter.

Smoked salmon and potato gratin

It's not always about lamb's tongue in Nami-Nami kitchen, you know. Most of the time I cook - and we eat - perfectly "normal" food. Here is one of my favourite weekday dishes. It's not exactly quick - that is to say, it won't be on your table within half an hour of walking in the door - but if you're at home anyway, just unable to stand in the kitchen watching keenly over your Sauce Bearnaise, then this is for you. It needs about 15 minutes of active involvement and then it simply cooks in your oven. Ideal for a mum like me :)

I've made this both with hot smoked salmon and cold smoked salmon over the years. I slightly prefer the latter one, but it's lovely with both.

Smoked salmon and potato gratin
(Kartulivorm suitsulõhega)
Serves 4

750 g potatoes
100 g smoked salmon, sliced
handful of fresh dill, chopped
2 large eggs
200 ml fresh cream
100 ml milk
freshly ground black pepper

Wash the potatoes, peel and cut into thin slices or matchsticks (I used the thick julienne cutter in my food processor).
Butter a medium-sized oven dish (I used a 30 cm round dish). Scatter half of the potatoes in the dish, sprinkle with dill and layer with salmon slices. Top with the remaining potatoes.
Season with black pepper.
Whisk eggs with cream and milk and pour evenly over the potatoes.
Bake in a pre-heated 175 C oven for about 1 hour, until potatoes are cooked (the exact time depends on the thickness of your potato slices or matchsticks).

Smoked herring and rye bread canapés

I'll be posting some Estonian recipes during this week, and there's a good reason for that. I got an email from a reader on the other side of the world (Down Under, actually) today, who is organising a surprise party to an Estonian friend this weekend. She'll be using various Estonian recipes I've posted here on Nami-Nami over the last five years, but I've promised to give her some more food tips and ideas, so she can choose.

Here's a smoked fish and rye bread appetizer that I made couple of months ago. While it is not exclusively Estonian (any Finnish or Swedish foodblogger could claim it to be 'theirs', I imagine), it certainly tasted very Estonian to me :)

I used smoked herring, but smoked mackerel would work as well.

Smoked herring canapés
(Suitsuheeringasuupisted)
makes about 12 canapés

6 slices dark rye bread (seeded is fine)
butter, for spreading
3-4 salad potatoes, boiled and peeled
2 smoked herring fillets
100 g thick sour cream (30%)
freshly ground black pepper
fresh chives or green onions, chopped

Butter the bread slices and cut into 2 or 4 pieces, depending on the sice of the bread.
Cut the potato into 5 mm slices, place onto bread slices.
Remove the skin from the fish fillets, cut the fish into 2 cm wide pieces. Place on potatoes.
Spoon a dollop of sour cream onto each canapé, then sprinkle some freshly ground pepper on top and garnish with a piece of chive or green onion.