by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Appetizers, Fish, Sauces
This is one of the few recipes my mom brought with her from Sweden. The name actually comes from the way salmon was prepared back in the old viking days. The Salmon back then with all the spices were buried in a “grave”, for curing. It is simple to prepare. It basically takes care of itself for 3-4 days.
Ingredients:
- Two 1.5 lb. filets of salmon with skin on preferably mid-section – need to match when placed together (skin side out)
- ½ cup (organic) sugar
- ½ cup salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or cracked) larger chunks
- 1 tsp ground white peppercorns
- 3 cups of chopped dill with stems (to make a thick blanket on all sides)
Directions:
Mix sugar, salt and pepper. Rinse and pat dry the salmon filets. On a piece of tinfoil, thick blanket of dill the same size of the salmon, then you sprinkle liberally ⅓ of the salt/sugar mixture. Place first piece of salmon, with skin down. Then cover with the top of the salmon with ⅓ dill and sprinkle liberally with another ⅓ of the salt/sugar mixture. Place then next salmon filet, on top with skin to the outside. Place last ⅓ of dill and last ⅓ of the salt/sugar mixture on top of the skin of the 2nd piece. Cover with another piece of tinfoil, and seal the edges of the foil loosely so it has some air to breathe (since it’s not quite dead yet…still needs to be buried ;-). Place salmon in a plastic bag. Next place the bagged salmon in a shallow dish and add a heavy weight on top, you can use an iron skillet or flat stone if you have access to one. Place salmon with weight in the fridge for 4 days, turning over salmon once a day. When slicing the salmon be sure to slice against the grain in super thin slices.
Sauce:
Coming soon – I have to get some help from my mom on this, that has never written it down.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Pastas, Sauces, Vegetables
Here is a fun, lighter spaghetti dish with ricotta, mozzarella, basil, garlic, cherry tomatoes and parmesan. My son loves ricotta and if he has his preference he would pretty much add it to anything.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Olive oil
- 6 cloves chopped Garlic
- 10-15 cherry tomatoes (slices in half)
- ½ cup chopped Burrata (or fresh mozzarella cheese)
- ½ cup of whole milk organic Ricotta cheese
- ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes (chili)
- 1 cup Roasted tomatoes sliced
- 1 box of spaghetti (barilla or other Italian brand)
- salt as needed
- 10 leaves of fresh basil sliced
- ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Boil pasta water (making sure to salt after boiling). In a small sauce pan, add the oil and garlic and cook at medium heat, making sure garlic does not brown. Mix together cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, ricotta, red pepper flakes, and roasted tomatoes. Add ¼ tsp salt and stir. Cook pasta. Strain pasta, saving some of the water. Add olive oil and garlic to ricotta mixture. Stir in pasta to mixture to coat spaghetti well, add additional salt if needed. Serve into shallow pasta bowls, sprinkle with basil and parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4 Servings.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Meats, Sauces
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of soy sauce
- ½ cup olive oil
- 6 cloves of crushed garlic
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2-3 pork tenderloins
Directions:
In a mixing bowl whisk brown sugar with soy sauce until brown sugar dissolves. Slowly add in the olive oil, whisking to prevent emulsifying. Add in the garlic and ginger. Place all ingredients into a large ziplock bag and add the tenderloins to the bag. Make sure all parts of the tenderloins are covered with the marinade. Marinate in the fridge for up to 2-3 days (but not longer than 3, as the pork will get too salty). Remove Pork from the bag and place the reserve the sauce in a sauce pan. Grill the pork on high heat (on BBQ Grill) or broil the pork, to get a nice crust on the outside. You can also sear the pork in an iron skillet to get a nice crusty outside, then bake at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 140. I like my pork medium rare, so I normally pull it out at 135 (internal temp), and let rest 5-10 minutes until it reaches 140. This is great served with Asian Slaw and Sesame Sushi Rice with Cucumbers and Avocado, or sautéed ginger carrots. Optional – Slice meat on to each place and sprinkle with apples (instructions below).
Sauce:
- remainder marinade from above
- 1 cup chicken stock/broth
- 1 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp water
While the pork in cooking, cook the marinade on medium-high heat, so you cook down any of the raw pork juice. Add in the broth, and cook down till reduced by half. In a cup combine the flour and water, mixing so it turns into a paste, making sure there are no clumps. Slowly whisk in the flour to pan, making sure there are no clumps. Your sauce will be come thicker, if it becomes too thick, add some more chicken broth. Pour over sliced pork loin.
A little added accouterment: Sautéed apples with butter and brown sugar.
- 1 apple chopped into ½” cubes
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Place butter in iron skillet until it bubbles, add in the apple and toss in pan for 4 minutes, add in the brown sugar until melted and covering apples. Add the apples to the pork.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Sauces, Vegetables
This is a great Sauce you can serve with Roasted Potatoes, Peas and Salmon.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of cooked frozen peas
- ⅓ cup chopped shallots
- ¼ cup chopped dill
- ⅛ cup EVOO (olive oil)
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz. Crème Fraîshe
Using a food processor, add the cooked peas, shallots, dill and salt. Slowly add in the oil so that all ingredients become a smooth puree. Then simply add the pureed mixture to the Crème Fraîshe, stirring in gently with a spoon so it does not separate or turn to butter. You can now add this under your potato and pea medley (just a dollop on the plate), or add on top of a nice sautéed salmon.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Vegetables
One of my favorite side dishes is Ginger Carrots. It’s a simple but delicious side for any dish, fish or meat.
Ingredients:
- 2 large bunches of fresh baby carrots Julienned
- 1 tbsp of pureed ginger
- 1 tbsp of honey
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Place the butter in a preheated sautè pan. Add the julienned carrots and ginger, and cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until tender and browned. Add honey to pan and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper then add the parsley to each individual plate. This dish can pair well with any asian, ginger or soy based protein.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Meats, Sauces
This is probably one of the best Swedish Meatball recipes that I have ever tasted.. mainly because it comes from an authentic Swede… My mom! Who was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden! I sometimes make this recipe in large batches and store the mixture (prior to cooking) in the freezer. It’s a little time consuming but well worth it. The meatballs can be eaten with ketchup or you can go for gold… and make the cream sauce to go with it.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef (I prefer the 90% grass-fed)
- ½ lb. ground pork
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs (unflavored)
- ½ cup pureed onion
- ⅓ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (leafs only)
- 1 tsp salt to taste + 1 tsp for flour
- ½ cup flour
- butter (1 tbsp per batch of 20 meatballs)
Materials:
- Food processor with S-blade
- large plastic bag
- measuring cups
- Tsp and Tbsp
- 12″ Iron Skillet
- Small Sauce pan
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
- Mix the egg together with the milk, stir in breadcrumbs and let sit for 5 min.
- Place onion in food processor till pureed
- Stir the onions into the milk and breadcrumb mixture
- In a separate bowl, blend the two meats using hands or fork to mix
- Add the chopped parsley to the meats – mix well
- sprinkle in salt and mix well
- Add meats and onion/breadcrumb mixture together
- In a plastic bag, add ½ cup flour and 1 tsp of salt – shake well
- Make round balls of the meat mixture no bigger than 1 inch for each ball
- Place 10-14 meatballs in the bag with flour and gently turn bag to coat meatballs
- Remove each meatball by rolling in hand to remove any excess flour
- Place the coated meatballs a large platter
- Repeat above steps to complete entire batch of meat
- Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a 12″ iron skillet at medium high heat
- Add 14-16 meatballs at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan
- Roll the meatballs in the pan every minute so that they keep their round shape and don’t get burnt on one side
- Fry until cooked through and evenly browned
- Remove meatballs to a oven proof platter and scrape the drippings into a separate sauce pot
- Repeat about directions to cook each of the 14-16 meatballs
- with the last batch of meatballs – remove the meatballs and add in the reserved scrapings from saucepan
- Place meatballs into the oven while you make the sauce
Now for the Swedish Cream sauce!
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup Crème Fraîche
- 16 oz beef stock
- 1 tbsp “Better than Beef Boullion” paste
- 1 tbsp flour
- ¼ cup beef stock
- drippings from saucepan
Combine the drippings from sauce pan back into the iron skillet and add the beef stock, and bouillon paste. Cook down for 5 mins stirring occasionally. Add in the Crème Fraîche stir until well incorporated. In a cup, add the flour and slowly stir in the ¼ cup beef stock to form a paste. Add the flour paste to the iron skillet and whisk constantly to make sure there are no clumps of flour. This will thicken the sauce. Cook for 3 more minutes. Remove the meatballs from the oven and pour the sauce over them. You can sprinkle with a little chopped parsley for decoration. You are now done and ready to enjoy my mom’s traditional Swedish Meatballs. (Goes well with traditional mashed potatoes).
