Salmon Roe Canapés, two ways

Photo updated in January 2012

One of the appetizers we served on New Year's Eve to our guests was a simple, but elegant, salmon roe and red onion canapé. The 'recipe' was from this Finnish site, and I copied it pretty much verbatim. I used salmon roe, which is extremely festive-looking, but any fish roe you like and can afford would surely do.

Salmon Roe and Red Onion mouthfuls
(Sibulapaadid kalamarjaga)



2-3 red onions
100 grams trout or salmon roe
100 grams sour cream or cream fraiché (full-fat!)
fresh dill
coarsely ground black pepper

Peel the onion and cut into quarters. Divide into slices, reserving larger slices (2-3 per person) as 'spoons' and chopping the smaller slices finely.
Spoon some sour cream onto each onion slice, top with finely chopped onion and fish roe.
Garnish with dill and a grinding of black pepper.

*******

The other recipe is very similar to the first one, just served in a different way. You see, I had bought too much salmon roe, and had quite a bit left over on the New Year's Day. So when I browsed some of my favourite Estonian blogs, I spotted a salmon roe appetizer that Kajakapesa had made, and quickly tried her version at home. The ingredients are the same, with the addition of fried rye bread croutons, which take some more edge off the salty fishroe and harsh onions.

Salmon Roe and Rye Bread in a Glass
(Kalamarja suupiste rukkileivaga)
Serves 4
Recipe from the February 2007 issue of Kodukiri



2 to 3 slices of dark rye bread
100 - 200 ml sour cream
1 small red onion, finely chopped
100 grams fish roe (I used salmon, but trout roe would be fine)
fresh dill

Cut the rye bread slices into cubes and crisp them by putting into a hot oven for a few minutes, or dry-roast on a frying pan.
Divide the rye croutons between four glasses, spoon sour cream (or creme fraiché) on top. Sprinkle with finely chopped onion, a spoonful of salmon roe. Garnish with dill.



Other fish roe/caviar appetizers on Nami-nami include Johanna's caviar and wasabi mini potatoes.

It's Soup! Coconut and Tomato Soup with Horseradish

With temperatures finally dropping below zero here in Estonia, we're craving soup again. And our first soup in 2008 was this little sweet number from the Finnish Ruokala.tv site (Kati Forsin tomaatti-kookoskeitto), but I played around with the preparation instructions a little. The subtly sweet coconut soup gets its kick from grated horseradish, as opposed to the much more 'usual' chilli flakes or grated ginger or lemongrass. The girl behind the recipe, Kati Fors (the Tango Queen of Finland in 2005, no less!), suggests adding chicken strips or shrimps, if you prefer a slightly more substantial meal.

Oh, and it's on your table in about 5 minutes. How good is that for a weekday supper?

[Siinkohal tänusõnad Qsti'le, kes sellest supist novembris oma blogis kirjutas. Olin retsepti küll juba varem Nami-nami retseptikogusse lisanud, aga supi tegemiseks tuli väike lisainspiratsioon just sellest blogist. Igatahes: suur aitäh, hea lihtne retsept oli!]

Coconut and Tomato Soup with Horseradish
(Tomati-kookosesupp vähese mädarõikaga)
Serves 2



400 grams canned chopped tomatoes
400 grams coconut milk
1 Tbsp grated horseradish
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan, add the garlic and fry on a moderate heat for a few minutes until softened.
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk and horseradish, season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, simmer for a minute or two.
Blend until smooth (optional).
Check for seasoning and serve, with an extra grinding of black pepper on top.

Good bye, 2007!

Last night our friends Liina, Hille, Anu, Margit, Liis & Kristjan & Matilda, Erika & Mait & Siim Oskar came over to send off 2007 in style, with Peter & Kristel joining us after midnight. We watched some must-see programmes on the TV (Kreisiraadio and the President's New Year's Eve Speech), played Scrabble and the Estonian equivalent of Trivial Pursuit, competed against each other in a quiz (consisting of a literary round, a culinary round and a general knowledge round), watched the fireworks (twice, actually, as about half of Tallinn's population seems to live in a different time zone:), chatted and enjoyed ourselves. And of course, we ate lots of good food.

Here's a list of dishes and drinks we enjoyed last night with appropriate English and Estonian language links (so I'd remember next year what to serve and what not to serve:)

Happy New Year, everyone!!! Head uut aastat!!!

Some eye-catching salmon roe and onion mouthfuls (sibulapaadid kalamarjaga; red onion, full-fat sour cream or creme fraiche, chopped red onion, salmon roe, dill, black pepper). One of the most popular nibbles on the table last night (and yes, although onion is strong-tasting, the creamy sour cream and salty salmon roe stole the show):


Two types of salami fingerfood - small squares with thyme (suitsuvorstisuupisted) and small rolls with slices of paprika (salaamikanapeed):


Kiluvõilevad aka rye bread toasts with butter, pickled Baltic herring, chopped green onions and grated boiled egg (my friend Erika and her family are currently living & working in Brussels, Belgium, so these über-Estonian nibbles were especially for them):


Of course there were Molly's bouchons au thon (tuunikalaomletikesed)- one of our favourite snacks from 2007:


There were two healthy salads on the table for those watching their weight: Russian Vinaigrette Salad (köögiviljavinegrett) and red and white cabbage coleslaw (ameerika kapsasalat):


Just before midnight we enjoyed K's modern take on the traditional Estonian Christmas meal - a canapé of black pudding, lingonberry jelly and roast potato:


And we had cheese, of course. There's an excellent local blue cheese now, Breti Blue (far back), and they also do a Brie-type cheese with caraway seeds (oozing on the front). We also had some lovely Mimolette (you can see a tiny glimpse of it down on the left) and Cathedral City Extra Mature Cheddar (front):


There were two main desserts - a gingerbread tiramisu, garnished with my current favourite berry, sea-buckthorn:


and

Pears poached in mulled wine (hõõgveinipirnid), garnished with toasted almonds (another hip-friendly dessert):


Both desserts were inspired by my recent internship at the top gourmet restaurant in Tallinn (story to follow). As making tiramisu for dessert left us with 8 egg whites, I made two types of meringues - coconut ones (kookosbeseed) and plain ones (beseeküpsised):


I also made Rosettes (krustaadid), using my long-neglected set of rosette irons:


Gingerbread baskets (piparkoogikorvikesed, using some leftover gingerbread dough) with lingonberry cream (curd cheese, whipping cream, sugar, vanilla and lingonberry jam), garnished with toasted hazelnuts:


For drinks? Kir Royals and Piña Colada Espumas, rooibos tea, Chinese cabernet sauvignon (Dragon Seal, 2005), South African Syrah (Simonsig Stellenbosch 2001), Cidre de Bouché de Normandie and much more..