Ottolenghi's cucumber and poppy seed salad

Although the best tasting cucumbers will be available in July/August, then the cucumbers on sale at the moment aren't really so bad. So when I was looking for dishes to serve at our Easter Brunch table, this vivid green salad in Ottolenghi's book immediately caught my eye. The Ottoleghi guys recommend you make this with small cucumbers (sometimes called 'Lebanese cucumbers' in British recipes), but those won't be available until mid-summer. Until then, nice thin long ones will work as well.

I loved the colour, the piquancy of the dressing and the crunchiness of the poppy seeds. Again - suitable for gluten-free and lactose-free and vegan and vegetarian diets.

Cucumber and poppy seed salad
(Krõmpsuv kurgisalat krõmpsuvate mooniseemnetega)
Recipe from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook (slightly adapted)
Serves 6 to 8 as part of a buffet

500 g fresh cucumber (about 2-3 long green cucumbers, choose slim ones with small seeds)
1 mild red chilli pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
3 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
4 Tbsp white wine vinegar or rice vinegar (I used Prosecco vinegar)
5 Tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 Tbsp caster sugar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Wash the cucumbers, cut off the ends and discard. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise, then cut into 1 cm slices at a slight angle. Place into a large bowl.
Add coriander leaves, vinegar, oil, poppy seeds and sugar, then season with salt and pepper. Use your hands to massage the flavours into the cucumbers. Taste for seasoning - you're aiming for a sweet and sharp taste sensation.
Serve immediately.

Beet and Quinoa Salad

I'm on a quinoa mood these days. First I gave you colourful quinoa salad with crayfish and avocado, then a vegan quinoa salad with coriander/cilantro and lime. Both have been served with a success on several occasions at our house, and I have it on good authority that my brother-in-law served the crayfish version to a grateful audience on his recent birthday party as well. Having been so successful with the first two quinoa salads, it was only natural that I decided to serve some kind of quinoa salad at the Easter Sunday brunch. It's was universally enjoyed by our over dozen guests and thus provided another great opportunity to introduce this rather unknown "grain" here in Estonia.

The recipe is very slightly adapted from a book by a New York based holistic health and nutrition councelor Marika Blossfeldt (you can read more about her practice here), who also runs an international center for the performing, visual and healing arts here in Estonia).

As it happens, the salad is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free and very pretty on top of that :)

Beetroot and Quinoa Salad
(Kinoasalat peediga)
Serves 6 to 8, or more as part of a buffet

200 g quinoa (1 cup/250 ml)
2 cups water
0.25 tsp salt
200 g cooked beetroot, grated
1 small fennel, thinly sliced and cubed
1 small bunch of scallions/spring onions, chopped
large handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 to 2 lemons, juiced
4 Tbsp olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the quinoa under cold running water, using a fine mesh sieve (this is an important step, as otherwise the quinoa can be bitter). Drain.
Place the quinoa and stock (or water and Marigold bouillon powder) in a saucepan. Season with salt, then bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until quinoa is soft and the water has evaporated.
Stir in the oil and the lime juice. Place the quinoa into a large serving bowl. Stir in the grated beets, chopped basil, spring onions and fennel. Season with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and serve.

Colorful Quinoa Salad with Coriander and Lime

I know, I know - it hasn't even been a fortnight since I posted a recipe for a colourful quinoa salad! But trust me, this one is quite different from the quinoa-with-lobster tails-and-avocado. Yes, the quinoa and the bright colours are still here, but today's salad is vegetarian (vegan, actually, as well as gluten-free and lactose-free), and tastes just as delicious, so it's also worth sharing.

This particular salad is based on a 2005 recipe from BBC Good Food. Although there aren't many components, the lime and coriander/cilantro leaves give this one plenty of flavour, so it all but a bland salad. Definitely worth trying, if you're looking for a ways to introduce the healthy quinoa to your table.

Colourful Quinoa Salad
(Värvikirev kinoasalat laimi ja koriandriga)
Serves 6

a cup of quinoa seeds (about 200 g)
2 cups of vegetable stock (500 ml)
2 roasted red peppers (from a jar is fine), sliced
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 scallions/spring onions, sliced
one lime, juiced and zested
a handful of fresh coriander/cilantro, chopped

Rinse the quinoa under cold running water, using a fine mesh sieve (this is an important step, as otherwise the quinoa can be bitter). Drain.
Place the quinoa and stock (or water and Marigold bouillon powder) in a saucepan. Season with salt, then bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until quinoa is soft and the water has evaporated.
Stir in the oil and the lime juice. Place the quinoa into a large serving bowl. Let it cool a little, then, using your forks, stir until fluffy.
Fold in the rest of the ingredients, season and serve.

Colorful Quinoa Salad with Crayfish and Avocado

This is my favourite salad at the moment - I served it twice during our daughter's birthday weekend, where it was very quickly eaten by everyone. Even my dad, a typical Estonian male (read: pork and potatoes kind of guy) had two large helpings of this salad. I've been asked to make it for a friend's birthday party this coming weekend. Thinking of that, I might just bring it to my mum's birthday table in a fortnight as well - it's really delicious and light and unusual. You see, quinoa isn't widely known - or consumed - here in Estonia, and turns out it's actually really suited for our Nordic taste buds :)

Note here that the original plan was to make a cous-cous salad with shrimps and avocado, served with some creamy dressing. But the crayfish tails looked more appealing in the shop, and I had run out of cous-cous at home, so I ended up serving this delightful combination of ingredients instead.

As avocados lose their appetizing green colour with time, it's best to make this salad right before serving. This should not be a problem, as it's supereasy to make and takes almost no time whatsoever (apart from some slicing and cooking the quinoa). The quinoa can be actually still slightly warm when mixed with other ingredients.

What's your favourite way with quinoa? I've already bought another packet, you see, and would appreciate any serving suggestions!

Colourful Quinoa Salad with Crayfish and Avocado
(Kinoasalat vähisabade ja avokaadoga)
Serves ten

250 ml quinoa (a cup)
500 ml vegetable stock (2 cups)
0.5 tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or cold-pressed avocado oil
1 lemon, juiced
500 g crayfish tails, drained (I used hand-peeled tails in brine)
3 to 4 ripe avocados
3 to 4 roasted red peppers (from the deli counter)
a large handful of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the quinoa under cold running water, using a fine mesh sieve (this is an important step, as otherwise the quinoa can be bitter). Drain.
Place the quinoa and stock (or water and Marigold bouillon powder) in a saucepan. Season with salt, then bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until quinoa is soft and the water has evaporated.
Stir in the oil and half of the lemon juice. Place the quinoa into a large serving bowl.

Add the drained crayfish tails:


Halve the avocados, remove the seeds and scoop out the flesh. Cut the avocados into chunks or slices and sprinkle immediately with the rest of the lemon juice. Add to the serving bowl.
Slice the roasted red peppers, add to the serving bowl.



Add the parsley, season with pepper and salt, if necessary. Stir gently until combined. Serve.
Fold gently so all ingredients are mixed. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and serve.

Summer Salad with Strawberries, Prosciutto and Cacioricotta

With local strawberries finally here, I've tried to use them on as many occasions as possible. Remember my strawberries with elderflower zabaglione recipe? Well, this is the starter we served during that dinner. Pretty and seasonal, and delicious as well.

I used an Italian Cacioricotta cheese, made from sheep and goat milk. It's a young and crumbly cheese, similar to pecorino. Use this, if you can find some, or replace with a semi-soft goat cheese of your choice.

Summer Salad with Strawberries, Prosciutto and Cacioricotta
(Suvine salat maasikate ning singiga)
Serves 6

large handful of salad leaves per person (I used lamb's lettuce)
200 g (about half a pound) of strawberries
6 slices of Prosciutto/Parma ham
75 g Cacioricotta cheese

Salad dressing:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used Belazu)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Rinse and dry the salad leaves, divide onto plates.
Clean strawberries, halve or quarter them. Rip Prosciutto into smaller pieces. Crumble the cheese. Divide between plates.
Whisk olive oil and balsamico together, season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the salad portions.
Serve.

Beetroot Salad with Cottage Cheese and Leeks

Well, it's been a while since I posted a recipe using beetroot. But no worries, your Beetroot Princess is back and here's a recipe for a simple salad. I don't usually cook with shop-bought pickled beetroot, but I've tried (successfully) couple of recipes recently. There was this delicious pickled beetroot and blue cheese quiche, and then this simple salad I made just a few days ago. So if you've got a jar of pickled beets lurking somewhere in your fridge, here's your chance to use it! It's a great side dish, or perhaps a filling for a jacket potato?

Beetroot, Cottage Cheese and Leek Salad
(Peedi-kodujuustusalat)
Serves 4

400 g pickled beets
1 leek, white part only
200 g cottage cheese
freshly ground black pepper

Drain the beets, and cut into matchsticks or small cubes, if necessary (I had ready-grated beets).
Halve the leek lengthwise, rinse to get rid of any grit, and cut into fine slices.
Mix beets, leek and cottage cheese in a bowl, season with black pepper and serve.

Seven-Layer Salad, Estonian style

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL READERS OF NAMI-NAMI - AND WISH YOU A DELICIOUS AND EXCITING 2009!!!



Here's another 'Estonian-style' dish for you, dear readers. But let me first take you back to my first trip across the big pond..

When I was in the US last summer (in June 2008), I spent a few days with a lovely foodblogger Alanna in St Louis, MO. Alanna took very good care of me, and fed me well. One of the dishes she introduced me to, was a Classic Seven-Layer Salad. Last night, at the New Year's Eve party at our place, I served an Estonian equivalent of that salad - which, rather appriopriately for a Beet Princess, also contains a generous beetroot layer. A recipe is adapted from an Estonian cookbook (Pereköögi kokaraamat, 2007).

It's best to use a straight glass bowl for this salad, so you could see the pretty layers. Also, make the salad at least the night before to allow the flavours to meld and develop.

Estonian Seven-Layer Salad aka Layered Beetroot and Cheese Salad
(Kihiline peedi-juustusalat)
Serves 8 to 10 as part of a buffet table



400-500 g boiled beetroot, coarsely grated
250 g coarsely grated cheese
4 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped*
4-5 pickled cucumbers, finely chopped
200 g frozen petit pois peas

Dressing:
250 g mayonnaise
250 g sour cream
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Garnish:
chopped herbed
hard-boiled quail eggs

Mix the dressing ingredients together.
Place the frozen peas on a colander and pour over boiling water to 'cook' them (or you may want to actually blanch them for a minute, if you prefer). Drain thoroughly.
Layer the ingredients in a glass bowl in a following order: place peas on the bottom, top with grated egg. Spoon about a third of the dressing on top.
Then add the grated cheese, then beets and cubed pickles. Spoon the rest of the dressing on top, covering the whole salad thoroughly.
Cover with a cling film and place into a fridge until serving.
Before serving, garnish with peeled and halved quail eggs and some fresh herbs of your choice.

* Here's my tip for 'finely grating' hard-boiled eggs. I simply peel them, place in a deep plate and mash with a fork into fine crumbs :)


(The salad just after layering - you can already see the beetroot seeping through the layers).

An orange and fennel salad recipe

Looking for a light, quick and festive starter? Well, try this one :) It's a lovely Italian winter salad (Sicilian in origin, apparently), where fennel provides a lovely and slightly aniseedy crunch, orange provides the necessary sweet note, onion the sharpness and toasted walnuts add textural interest.

Orange and fennel salad
(Apelsini ja apteegitilli salat)
Serves 4

large handful or two of salad leaves (f.ex. lamb's lettuce)

1-2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

6 medium-sized (red blood) oranges, peeled and thinly sliced

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

walnut halves, toasted

Peel the oranges (remove as much of the white pith as possible) and cut crosswise into thin slices.

Remove the hard bottom part of the fennel bulbs and discard, cut the fennel into thin slices.

Peel the red onion, cut into thin slices.

Place orange, fennel and onion slices into a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Leave to stand for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours at room temperature, mixing couple of times.

To serve, place some salad leaves (cos or lamb's lettuce) onto a serving plate, top with salad, including any juices.

Garnish with toasted chopped walnuts.

Beetroot and Potato Salad Recipe

I love those Estonian birthday salads - the classic potato salad (a version of what's known as "Russian salad" or "Salad Olivier" elsewhere) and rosolye. But for everyday simple salads these are too time-consuming - cutting the numerous ingredients into uniform tiny cubes takes time and patience, and sometimes I don't have that. That's when the more humble and quicker versions come handy. Here's a quick salad recipe that either makes a light lunch on its own, or a more substantial meal alongside grilled meat or meatballs, for example. I also love this salad on a thick slice of sour rye bread..

Beetroot and Potato Salad
(Peedi-kartulisalat)
Serves 4

2 boiled beetroots, peeled
6 boiled potatoes, peeled
1 large salad onion
salt
sour cream
fresh chives, finely chopped

Peel the beets and potatoes and either chop into small cubes or grate coarsely.
Finely mince the onion.
Mix beets, potatoes and onions in a bowl. Add enough sour cream to bind everything together. Season with salt.
Let the flavours develop for 30 minutes in a refridgerator.
Sprinkle plenty of chopped chives on top before serving.

Do try these at home: some dishes from other food bloggers

What would I do without you, other foodbloggers?? You are a constant source of fantastic inspiration, and here's just a snapshot of dishes I've tried lately.

David Lebovitz's fantastic Fresh Apricot Ice Cream (especially if you've got some lovely French apricots from the market). MattBites kindly provides the recipe. I had no almond extract at home, so used 2 tsp of Amaretto instead. Lovely..

David Lebovitzi aprikoosijäätis

Oh, and while you're at it - his Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream is pretty delicious as well (Dagmar has the recipe). I made it quite a few times this summer, and my Estonian friends say the recipe works with bilberries, too:

Maasika-hapukoorejäätis

Elise's Tuscan Scrambled Eggs made a great light supper, and we'll be making it again soon:

Toskaana munahüüve

I really enjoyed Patricia's Crash-Hot Potatoes (see also Wendy's version):

Krõbedad purustatud kartulid

And while we're at it, here are couple of really-really-really tasty dishes Ximena made us when we were visiting her and her husband J. in Madrid in April. First off, Ferrán Adrià´s bag-of-chips tortilla was both genius and tasty:

Ximena kartulikrõpsutortilja

Similarly, Ximena's salmorejo is so worth making with some ripe summer tomatoes:

Salmorejo - Hispaania tomatidipp

And last, but by no means least, my friend Alanna in St Louis makes a great Classic Seven-Layer Salad:


Thank you, everybody!!

Shaken, not stirred: Estonian Cucumber Salad Recipe

Here's a simple Estonian cucumber salad that my mum used to make quite frequently when we were younger. We never knew there was a 'recipe' involved - just a technology - but recently more detailed instructions have appeared here and there, most notably in a rather elaborate cookbook Eesti Rahvusköök or "Estonian national cuisine", also available in English and German. So why not share it with my English readers as well.

What's special about this salad, you may wonder?

Well, although I love the crispiness of a fresh cucumber, sometimes I don't miss that in a salad. By mixing the cucumber slices with salt first, and then shaking the mixture vigorously, the cucumber slices soften nicely, and become almost silky in texture.

How's that for a cucumber salad? :)

Note that caraway seeds are optional. I love them in this salad, but many people outside the region are suspicious of caraway seeds, so these can be omitted. I make mine without caraway seeds sometimes as well. And if I don't feel like, I don't add vinegar either. It's still delicious and makes a nice side dish to grilled and barbequed meat and fish.

Shaken Cucumber Salad
(Klopitud kurgisalat)
Serves 4
Ready in 15 minutes



1 large seedless cucumber (about 300 g)
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp caraway seeds, slightly crushed (optional)
0.5 tsp 30% vineger
finely chopped fresh dill

Rinse and peel the cucumber, cut into thin slices (ca 3 mm, so not paper-thin). Place in a bowl with a lid, season with salt and caraway seeds. Mix to distribute these evenly and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Now cover the bowl with a lid, and shake the bowl vigorously for 30-60 seconds. This will soften the cucumber slices.
Drain, discarding the cucumber 'juice'. Season with vinegar (the salad should taste very subtly acidic), scatter the dill on top and serve.

Some Brilliant Recipes from Other Food Blogs That I've Tried Lately

I do try quite a few recipes from fellow food bloggers, but disproportionally many of the recipes are from Molly. I've already written about her bouchons au thon (K. recently spotted them at his friend's birthday party as well) and her (chocolate and nut 'blocks'), to name just a few.


More recently we've devoured her vinegar-roasted shallots (above, and utterly brilliant! We simply ate these with buttered slice of rye bread), and tomato sauce with onions and butter (right). Note that both of these recipes have just four ingredients, yet generous amounts of flavour!

We brought back some artichokes from Spain, and last night I cleaned and cooked them, and then served with Molly's friend's Olaiya's Favourite Artichoke Dipping Sauce (reduced white wine, butter, parmesan cheese and lemon juice). Mmmmmm...

My dear friend Johanna is another constant source of inspiration. Few weeks ago we had a small gathering at our place with some of K's colleagues a.k.a. our Austrian skiing team. Obviously there had to be something Austrian at the table, and obviously I turned to Johanna's blog for inspiration. I decided to make Wiener Schnitzel, using veal fillet from a local butchery, and it made an excellent buffet table dish:



Also recently, and for the umpteenth time I made Alanna's spicy carrot side dish again - one of K's favourite ways with carrots.



I tried poaching eggs in a plastic wrap as Nicky suggested - quirky and easy-peasy - and comes handy when the Estonian asparagus season kicks off in a week or two..

Soon to come: all the must-try recipes from Ximena's Lobstersquad blog!

Russian Vinaigrette Salad, and confusion with culinary terms

Vinaigrette is the oil-and-vinegar dressing so popular across the world for livening up salad leaves, right? Wrong, at least as far as the vast Russia is concerned. And Estonia, for that matter. Most deli counters in supermarkets here would sell something called 'vinegrett' (that's vinaigrette in the local lingua), and it's not the dressing they're selling, but this bright Russian vegetable salad. My version is possibly a bit beetier (khm? is that a word?) than others, but I simply couldn't resist the colour.

Note the Russian vinaigrette salad is lactose free/gluten free/vegetarian/vegan, so should suite a wide array of diets- in addition of being really bright and beautiful to look at. I served it on crisp dark rye bread triangles, but usually it is eaten just as a side salad.

Russian Vinaigrette Salad
(Köögiviljavinegrett)
Serves 10 as a side dish



300 g boiled potatoes
200 g boiled beets
100 g boiled carrots
300 g sauerkraut
200 g pickled or salted cucumbers
150 g red or yellow onions or spring onions

Dressing:
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp strong mustard
a generous squeeze of lemon juice*
salt
sugar
coarsely ground black pepper

fresh herbs (e.g. dill, parsley, chives)

NB! All cooked/boiled vegetables must be cool before starting to prepare the salad.

Peel the potatoes, beets and carrots and cut into thin julienne sticks or grate coarsely. Cut the cucumbers into thin slices lengthwise, then cut into stick crosswise. Mince onion finely.
Mix gently all the vegetables (sauerkraut, beets, carrots, cucumbers, onions) in a large bowl, until well combined.
Season the vegetables with salt, then dress with oil, mustard and lemon juice. Check for seasoning - and add salt, sugar and/or pepper, if necessary. The vinaigrette salad should have a slightly sweet-and-sour flavour.
Put into the fridge for about an hour, so the flavours and colours could mingle.
Sprinkle generously with fresh herbs and serve.

* It is traditional to use vinegar, but we prefer the much milder lemon juice.

VARIATIONS TO THE THEME:
You may add any of the following ingredients:
* fresh or preserved green peas
* salted Baltic herring slices (place on top of the salad)
* chopped salted wild mushrooms (add about 25 g per person)
* chopped hot-smoked fish
* chopped fresh or pickled apples
* chopped bell peppers (add about 100 g to the above recipe)

Estonian Christmas Recipes: Pickled Pumpkin

During Christmas all self-respecting Estonians feast on black pudding, roasted pork, sauerkraut and roasted potatoes. These are accompanied by lingonberry jam and pickled clove-scented pumpkin. At the end of the feast we nibble on piparkoogid (that's Estonian gingerbread cookies) and caramelised almonds and sip copious amounts of hõõgvein (mulled wine/glühwein/glögg). And then we're off to do some cross-country skiing in the midst of our beautiful pine forests to burn off all those calories. Well, some of us :)

I must admit this was the first time I pickled my own pumpkin - usually we have my mum's or grandmother's pumpkin on the Christmas table. I'm not even particularly keen on pickled pumpkin per se, but couple of yellow chunks alongside another portion of black pudding is kind of semi-required. My university friend Piret dropped by the other day and brought me a small pumpkin from her parents' country home. When trying to think what to do with this beauty of a pumpkin, somehow, this year, I really wanted to make my own pickled pumpkin. Here's the recipe I came up with. And it's not half as bad, believe me..

Pickled Yellow Pumpkin, Estonian Style
(Marineeritud kõrvitsasalat)
Makes 3 half-litre jars



1 kg prepared pumpkin/winter squash (see below)
1 L water
200 g sugar
1-2 cinnamon sticks
5 black peppercorns
1 whole cloves
5 allspice berries
fresh gingerroot, about 2-3 cm, peeled and sliced (optional)
2 Tbsp vinegar (30% strenght)

Cut the pumpkin into wedges, then peel, remove the soft bits and seeds. Cut the flesh into small chunks or sticks (even julienne, if you can be bothered). You need about 2 pounds or 1 kilogram of pumpkin chunks/sticks.
Mix water, sugar, cinnamon stick, gingerroot, black peppercorns, allspice and whole cloves in a large saucepan. (You may add a teaspoon of salt to the marinade, but it's not necessary). Bring to the boil, then add the vinegar and then your pumpkin.
Simmer on a moderate heat until pumpkin pieces have become translucent, but not too soft and mushy.
Transfer the pumpkin with a slotted spoon into sterilised jars, then pour the hot marinate over.
Close and keep in the fridge or very cold larder. Wait for about a week before eating, so the flavours could really mingle.

Nigella Lawson's raw beetroot salad with dill and mustard seeds

UPDATE 18.8.2007
This post was mentioned on the Swedish-language site Matfeber, together with my photo!

In my previous beetroot post one of the readers, Lydia, enquired about the use of raw beetroot. All my beetroot recipes so far on this blog have been using either boiled or roasted beetroot (the two are interchangeable in most recipes). Lydia's comment, however, reminded me of a Nigella Lawson recipe I had tried - and enjoyed - few years ago, so I looked it up again. The recipe is from her book Forever Summer, and makes a delightful summery salad. Feel free to use more mustard seeds and a lot more fresh herbs, as these only enhance the flavour of the salad.

The salad was still very enjoyable - and thank you, Lydia, for making be look up this recipe again!!

Raw Beetroot Salad with Dill and Mustardseeds
(Peedisalat sinepiseemnete ja tilliga)
Source: Forever Summerby Nigella Lawson



500 grams raw beetroot
1 lemon
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbsp mustard seeds, toasted
fresh parsley, chopped
Maldon sea salt

Peel the beets and grate finely either by hand or in a food processor. Add chopped dill, lemon juice and olive oil.
Toast mustard seeds on a small dry frying pan, until they start 'popping' - it'll take only few seconds, so don't go anywhere! Add mustard seeds to the salad, season with salt and garnish with plenty of parsley.

BLAST FROM THE PAST
A year ago I wrote about raspberry focaccia, that we enjoyed with some Cornish Brie cheese.

Zucchini Carpaccio, two versions

Last night a group of friends came over for some food and watch a great film. We were 13 in total (plus 5-month old twins and a 7-month old girl), and I wanted to food to be light and summery. I served them Johanna's wasabi and caviar potatoes, a version of Alanna's beetroot pesto, my small beetroot & blue cheese tartlets, and blue cheese and raisin Danish pastry rolls, and two versions of zucchini carpaccio. As for sweets, I had made a version of Dagmar's mocca pavlovas, and K. made a large batch of his brilliant canelés. We also had five types of frozen desserts: Vietnamese coffee ice cream, Gooseberry sorbet, Coconut sorbet, Blackcurrant sorbet and Watermelon sorbet. All home-made :)

I'll share the frozen dessert recipes soon, as well as wax lyrical about Alanna's beetroot pesto (I simply cannot have two beetroot posts in a row, can I?) and Dagmar's choco-coffee pavlovas. Here are my versions of zucchini carpaccio. Although the zucchini carpaccio recipe de jour - according to Kalyn - is Clotilde's version with crumbled goat cheese and poppy seeds or Courgette au Coquelicot en Carpaccio, I relied on a recipe from Food Network. I had two medium sized zucchinis, one green, one yellow, and both pretty gorgeous. I went Mediterranean with the green zucchini, and slightly Arabic with the yellow one and liked them both equally (using sumac instead of lemon for the required sharp element). Which one would you prefer?

Green Zucchini Carpaccio with Rocket



1 medium-sized green zucchini
Maldon sea salt
black pepper, coarsely ground
extra virgin olive oil
lemon juice
parmesan shavings
rocket leaves, torn into pieces

Slice zucchini into very thin rounds either with a sharp knife or mandoline (the latter is much easier). Overlap the zucchini disks in one layer, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Garnish with parmesan shavings and rocket.
Serve immediately.

Yellow Zucchini Carpaccio with Sumac & Mint



1 medium yellow zucchini
Maldon sea salt
black pepper, coarsely ground
extra virgin olive oil
sumac
fresh mint leaves
Parmesan shavings

Slice zucchini into very thin rounds either with a sharp knife or mandoline (the latter is much easier). Overlap the zucchini disks in one layer, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sumac, garnish with parmesan shavings and fresh mint leaves.
Serve immediately.

BLAST FROM THE PAST
A year ago I wrote about forageing for honey-coloured cloudberries. Two years ago I reviewed reviewed Alexandra Antonioni's book "Eat Me: Love, Sex and the Art of Eating" and was amazed to see that the author herself popped by to leave a comment.

A simple recipe for using neeps, swedes, rutabagas & yellow turnips: rutabaga & pineapple salad

Who would have thought that a simple root vegetable, Brassica napus var. napobrassica can cause so much confusion? According to wikipedia,

- in Southern England and most Commonwealth countries, it is known as swede or Swedish turnip
- in Northern England, Ireland and Cornwall, as well as Atlantic Canada it is called turnip
- in Scotland, it's called turnip or neeps (and yes, it is served with haggis & tatties)
- in the United States, you'll know it as rutabaga or yellow turnip

In Estonia, it's called kaalikas - not to be confused with naeris, which is turnip in the US, Southern England and most Commonwealth countries, white turnip in Cornwall and swede or tumshie in Scotland. And to confuse the matters even more, it seems that what is known as turnip in Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines, is actually a jicama (at least in the US), known as yam bean in Southern England and most Commonwealth countries, and mehhiko naeris in Estonian. Got that??

Me neither..

In any case I picked up couple of new season's neeps at the Tallinn Central Market yesterday morning, and made a very simple but delightful side salad with them in the evening. Whereas I'd usually cook neeps, then young and small neeps are sweet, crisp and juicy and excellent raw in salads.

Rutabaga & pineapple salad
Kaalika-ananassisalat
Recipe adapted from Ruokamaailma 9/2004
Serves 3-4 as a side dish. Can be easily doubled etc



2-3 small and young swedes/rutabagas/neeps, peeled and coarsely grated (about 250 grams peeled weight)
a small 225 gram can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt

Mix grated swede/rutabaga/neep, pineapple chunks and chopped parsley. Add a spoonful or two of pineapple liquid to moisten and season with sea salt.
Serve as a side salad to some grilled meat or as part of a buffet table.
Best eaten on the day it's made.

A happy, if unusual, threesome: asparagus with coconut & lime

I hadn't planned to blog about this asparagus dish until next week, but then a loyal reader of mine tried my coconut & rhubarb pie, liked it, and wanted to try asparagus with coconut & lime, also mentioned in that post. Cannot keep your customers waiting, so here's the recipe. The combination may sound a bit unusual, but asparagus & lime make good friends, so do coconut & lime, and all-in-all this combination worked just well (a happy threesome, so to say). It definitely was a good choice to start a dinner which also consisted of coriander salmon and coconut & rhubarb pie.

Asparagus with coconut & lime
(Sparglid kookospiima ja laimiga)
Adapted from Swedish Arla site
Serves 4 as a starter



400 grams green asparagus
250 ml thick coconut milk
a scant teaspoon of Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder
grated peel of 1 lime and 2 tsp of pressed juice
a pinch of salt
coconut flakes

Snap off the woody bits of asparagus stalks, discard. Boil the asparagus in a slightly salted water for about 2 minutes, until cooked, but not soft. Drain and place on warmed plates.
Meanwhile, heat the coconut milk in a small saucepan to very slow simmer (do not boil!), season with bouillon powder, lime juice, half of the grated lime zest, and salt. Spoon over the cooked asparagus and garnish with the rest of the grated zest and some flaked coconut.

Other asparagus dishes @ Nami-nami:
Asparagus with pinenuts, lime and browned butter (May 2007)
Roasted green asparagus with feta cheese (May 2007)
Roasted green asparagus with Parmesan cheese (May 2006)
Wild asparagus with butter / Wild asparagus with pasta & garlic (May 2006)

More asparagus, this time with pinenuts, lime and browned butter

Those fresh asparagus from Uus-Kongo farm at the Central Market have become popular. For example, there was none left when we made it to the market on Saturday morning. Granted, we got there shortly after noon (well, not exactly a morning, I know), and considering the market opens at 7am, the chances we'd find anything so special and delicious were small anyway. Same with fresh morels and new season's beetroot. None left.. But at least I managed to put an asparagus order in for Tuesday (Monday's crop was already counted for). Yesterday morning I got almost a kilogram of beautiful, fresh asparagus, so last night we had another asparagus meal. The dish is inspired by this Arla recipe, but ended up being something rather different, as I remembered the ingredients and the process wrong (used pinenuts instead of sunflower seeds, and blanched the asparagus instead of frying), which I realised only afterwards. I liked my unintentional creation, however, and would happily make it again..

Asparagus with pinenuts, lime and browned butter
(Sparglid laimi ja seedermänniseemnetega)
Serves 2


Lovely, perk asparagus spears :)

300 grams young fresh green asparagus
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 Tbsp butter
half a lime
sea salt

Toast the pinenuts on a hot non-stick pan, until they're all nutty-smelling and slightly golden. Take care not to burn! Put aside.
Melt the butter on a small frying pan on a moderate heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter has browned slightly.
Snap off the hardened lower bits of the asparagus. Place in a pot of salted boiling water and simmer for approximately two minutes (test for doneness with a small knife). Drain thoroughly and place on a plate.
Squeeze the lime juice over asparagus, pour over the melted butter and scatter toasted pine nuts on top.
Serve.

Other asparagus recipes @ Nami-nami:
Roasted green asparagus with feta cheese (May 2007)
Roasted green asparagus with Parmesan cheese (May 2006)
Wild asparagus with butter / Wild asparagus with pasta & garlic (May 2006)

Dandelion Leaves, All Dressed Up (võilillelehesalat)

Remember my New Year's Resolutions? Well, one of the resolutions was to make rullepølse or the Danish cooked rolled pork belly. And I'm happy to tell you that as of Easter Sunday this can be ticked off, too. You can see a glimpse of the rullepølse below, and I'll blog about it soon. Meanwhile, let me tell you a little about what I served it with. As I used a rather fatty piece of pork to make my first ever rullepølse, I needed something sharp to cut through the grease :-)

My solution? A sharp salad of dandelion leaves.

On Saturday we did the annual egg-swapping/seeing-the-relatives trip. We paid a visit to K's mum, my Granny No 1 and my Granny No 2, followed by a joyous lunch at my parents' house together with my sister, nephews and my favourite auntie. At each place, we 1) ate eggs; 2) exchanged eggs; and 3) jarped some eggs. For example, Granny No 1 got one of my eggs, whereas I got one in return (egg number 6 on this post). It was also at the said grandmother's place that I picked up a small bunch of young dandelion leaves. Definitely worth trying - their taste is not so dissimilar to wild rocket leaves, and cost nothing at all..

Dandelion leaves (Taraxacum), as my newly acquired Estonian book on the use of wild garden plants in the kitchen said, are 3-4 times more nutritious than salad leaves. The ancient Greeks believed that dandelion aided digestion, stimulated appetite and increased sexual potency, and worked as a diuretic and as a tonic, among many other properties. The leaves are high on protein (2.4%), carbohydrates (7-8%) and vitamins C (30-70mg%) and E (7-8mg%) and betacarotene (7-8mg%). The fat content is insignificant (0.5-0.6%). Dandelion is cultivated in many countries, notably in France (Chez Pim wrote about pissenlit only recently), Spain and Portugal, but here in Estonia it is definitely considered a weed. A beautiful one, both when in bloom and after it (as on the above photo taken by K. last summer), but definitely a bothersome weed that usually ends up in the compost pile rather than on a plate.

The salad below was called 'dandelion salad, Italian style' in the book.

Dandelion Leaves, all dressed up
(Võilillelehesalat)
Serves 4
Adapted from Umbrohud tüliks ja tuluks, by Toivo Niiberg & Enn Lauringson (Maalehe Raamat, 2007)



young dandelion leaves*, washed and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
a generous squeeze of lemon juice
some fresh tarragon leaves
Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Mix everything and serve. Goes well with something greasy.

* Soaking dandelion leaves in cold water for 30 minutes will get rid off the harshness of the leaves.

WHB: This is also my entry to the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once.