Salmon with Creamed Leeks and Cabbage

Leeks and cabbage are the unsung heros of the vegetable world. Cabbage normally gets lumped into the smelly and disgusting vegetable category, and leeks are known mainly for the elegant vichysoisse cold soup and ignored the rest of the time.  This is a shame because both vegetables are really tasty.  Leeks have a lovely sweet flavor.  I often just saute them quickly in a bit of butter and then add a tiny bit of water and cook until the leeks is tender.  The leeks make a lovely side dish to chicken or fish. Cabbage can be mild and sweet or slightly spicy, depending on the type.  A quickly sauted cabbage also makes a great side dish, and just needs salt and pepper as a seasoning.

In this dish I combine the two, and add a bit of cream for lusciousness.  It is quick and easy to make and makes a tempting base for a piece of fish. A little chopped almonds gives a bit of crunch and textural contrast.

I have chosen salmon but any fish would taste good here, or even chicken.  Cod would be especially delicious and I probably would have chosen it, but they didn't have any at the store yesterday!  A fresh fillet of salmon is a delicious thing but if it is not fresh, it can have a strong "fishy" flavor that I do not like.  I always ask when I buy the fish if it was delivered that day.  If it was not, then I don't buy it.  However, you never know if they are telling you the truth, so what I really recomend is finding a fishmonger that you like and going to them often.  If you are a good customer, they will let you know what is really fresh. Here in Sweden, I often buy Salmalax, which is a brand that advertises that they process the fish within 4 hours from catching.  You can find it in many of the regular grocery stores. It is a bit more expensive, but it does give perfect results, every time.


Serves 4
4 skinless fillets of salmon
3 medium to large leeks
1/2 head of a smallish cabbage
3/4 cup cream
handful of roasted and salted almonds
salt and pepper
a bit of butter for frying the fish

First prepare your vegetables.  Cut the cabbage into quarters.  Cut out the core.  Slice thinly crosswise.  Cut off the ends of the leeks. Cut in half lengthwise.  Wash the leaves carefully to remove any dirt and grit that might have lodged there.  Slice crosswise.Take the almonds and roughly chop.  Set aside.

Put a pot on the stove on high heat and pour in 1/2 cup of cream. Add in the leeks and cabbage, a half teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground pepper.  Put the lid on the pot and bring the cream to a boil.  Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat to low, give the vegetables a good stir, and put the heat back on.  Let cook for a few minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  Pour in the remaining 1/4 cup cream and give a good stir.  Put the lid back on and take off the stove.  It can sit while you cook the salmon.

While you are waiting for the leeks and cabbage to get tender, prepare the fish.  Salt and pepper each fillet.  Heat a frying pan on high, with a knob of butter.  Put the fish into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until it is nicely golden brown.  Flip the fish over and cook on the other side, until that side is nicely golden brown.  The fish is cooked through when you see it begin to "break" in the middle of the fillet where the spine of the fish was.

Give the creamed cabbage and leeks a stir, then spoon a nice helping onto each plate.  Top with a salmon fillet and sprinkle with some of the roasted almonds.  Enjoy!

Smoked Salmon Risotto with Two Kinds of Onion

The original recipe for this dish was given to me by my friend Medi and has since become a family favorite.  I have tinkered with it a bit over the years. It is fresh and comforting at the same time, with the creaminess of mascarpone cheese added at the end, the rich flavor of the smoked salmon conrasting with the sweetness of the leeks, and the coolness of the greens on top.

You can use any kind of smoked salmon, either hot or cold smoked.  I usually prefer hot smoked, because it has a stronger smokey flavor that I like, but either will do.  In the photos, I have used a cold smoked salmon because that is what they had in the store today.  I can imagine it would taste good with any kind of smoked fish.

If you have never made risotto before, you need to be aware of the type of rice to use.  You want a short grained rice.  The consistency of the risotto will be creamy as a result of the starch in the rice but the rice should maintain a bite. Arborio is the most commonly available kind of short grained rice that is used in Italy, but there are other types.  My personal favorite is carnaroli, but it is harder to find and tends to be a bit expensive.  If you are looking for a budget version, try a rice labeled for  rice pudding.  It tends to be cheap and it makes a perfectly acceptable risotto.

Your risotto will taste better if you use a flavorful stock.  While I would love to be the type of person who has homemade stock in the freezer, in actuality, it rarely happens.  So I make liberal use of stock cubes.  Yes, stock cubes.  I always have vegetable and chicken on hand, and it makes a huge difference to soups to throw in a cube for a bit of extra flavor and salt.

Serves 4 to 5

2 large leeks or 3 medium sized

200 to 300 grams smoked salmon
1 big bunch chives
1 lemon, both zest and juice
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
250 grams mascarpone cheese
4 dl (1 1/2 cups) short grained rice
pepper to taste
100 grams arugula or other baby lettuce
About a liter or so of boiling water
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

First, cut your leeks lengthwise and rinse carefully in between the layers to get out any sand that has snuck in.  Slice crosswise, discarding any dark green bits that look like they won't be tender. Zest your lemon and squeeze the lemon juice.

In a pot, put in a couple of tablespoons olive oil and heat to medium.  Pour in your chopped leeks and saute until the leeks start to wilt.  Add in the rice and stir for a minute.  Add in the bouillon cubes and about about a cup (2 dl) of water and stir until the cubes melt.  Add in a very generous grinding of pepper, the lemon zest and the lemon juice.  Let the rice simmer, stirring occasionally, until the water is almost absorbed and then add some more water and repeat, stirring occassionally.  Continue adding water in this manner until the rice grains fatten and the rice tastes cooked.  The rice should be tender but still retain a tiny bite.  This whole process will take 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the rice you choose, the heat, and the size of the pot.  So be patient.  When the rice is finished, you should make sure that there is still some liquid. Risotto should be quite loose.

As the rice is cooking, mince the chives, and cut or tear your smoked salmon into bite sized pieces. When the rice is done to your satisfaction, add in the mascarpone cheese, the salmon, and the chives.  Stir until it is all incorporated and the salmon is heated through.  If it seems too thick, add a touch more water.  Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

For each serving, spread a portion of the risotto on the plate and top with a generous handful of arugula.  You could dress the arugula with a bit of lemon juice, salt and olive oil, if you like, but I find that it is not necessary.

Simple Supper: Sushi Rice Bowl

This is one of my favorite dinners ever. EVER.  It is tasty and delicious but yet it feels fresh when you are eating it.  It is fast and simple to make, and you can vary it depending on your mood.  Need I say more?  It all came about one day when I was planning on having the kids make their own sushi.  I had prepared the rice and all the toppings that the kids like (salmon, cucumber, and avocado) when I realized that I was out of seaweed.  So, I told the kids we would have sushi in a bowl and that is exactly what we did.  Which is when I realized that sushi in a bowl may actually be better than sushi sushi.  At least when prepared at home.  I would love to say that I invented this dish, but no, the Japanese actually already figured it out.  They call this kind of dish donburri, which literally means bowl in Japanese.

First let's talk rice.  You will need to have sushi rice, which is a short-grained rice which has some stickiness to it.  If you get, for example, a Chinese rice, which is medium grained, you will not have sufficient stickiness to make good sushi.  In California, you are spoilt for choice because sushi rice is grown there.  Here in Sweden, I just get the brand that is sold in every market in the international section.  This is my favorite type of rice and I serve it with everything, unless I am specifically wanting a different texture.  Now, here is the trick that turns a bowl of rice into sushiness. Ready?  Seasoned rice vinegar.  Sprinkled liberally into the hot freshly cooked rice and then tossed until it is fully incorporated, rice vinegar adds salt, sugar, and a touch of acidity which makes the rice extra delicious.  Make sure that you buy seasoned rice vinegar.  If you are unsure, check the ingredients list. If it containes sugar, then you are good.  I let everyone sprinkle soysauce on, to their taste.  To be honest, the rice tastes so good with just the vinegar, you barely need soysauce.  When buying soysauce, the best kind is feremented and brewed naturally. Modern techniques have allowed soysauce to be made more quickly using hydrolyzed soy protein which also allows it to have a longer shelf life but tastes a bit different.  While we Westerners tend to think of soysauce as a single item, there are dozens of different types of soysauce which vary in thickness, sweetness, and saltiness.  For a reliable soysauce, I always buy the Japanese Kikkoman brand, which is traditionally fermented and brewed.

Let's talk fish.  Any kind of fish would taste great in this dish.  I tend to use salmon because that is the easiest to get here in Sweden. While any good salmon will be delicious, if I can get it, I buy Salmalax.  This is salmon that has been processed within four hours from catching it.  It is beautifully butchered into perfect pieces with no bones or skin and tastes clean and fresh.  So when I want to do a raw salmon preparation, or seared, as I like for this dish, then Salmalax is perfect.  It is more expensive but I think the results are worth it.

Last but not least, what kind of additional toppings go on the rice?  If I am really in a hurry, I just peel and slice a cucumber and an avocado and I am done. But if I have a bit more time, I like to add soybeans.  These beautiful little green gems taste delicious and are easy to do.  Why?  Because they are sold pre-cooked and frozen. This is one vegetable that is not better fresh because the raw bean is actually toxic.  You just grab a box of these from your freezer, throw them in a pot of water and bring it up to a boil.  Drain, sprinkle with some seasalt and you are done.

Finally, if I have time, I like to add a green vegetable.  Bok choi, a mild flavored Chinese
cabbage is my number one choice, if I can find it.  But otherwise, any green like spinach, kale, or cabbage will be equally delicious, stir-fried quickly with some garlic. Green beans or broccoli are also delicious cooked this way.

The last touch is to add some seaweed to the dish.  I like to get seasoned and roasted seaweed, which I then cut into small pieces. Even in Sweden, you can sometimes find this sold as a little snack packet.  If I can't find that, I mimic it by brushing sheets of sushi seaweed with a bit of oil, sprinkling some salt and then searing it for a second or two in a hot pan.  It is definitely not necessary, but my kids love it, so I try to get it if I can.

Phew!  That is a lot of explaining for a dish that is so easy to make.

Serves 4

For the rice:
1.5 cups sushi rice
3 cups water
seasoned rice vinegar

Put the water and rice in a pot with the lid on.  Bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat to the lowest possible setting on your stove, and leave it to cook for 20 minutes, by which time it should be perfectly done.  Take the pot off the stove and shake in some rice vinegar.  Start with two or three tablespoons, and then toss the rice with a fork to incorporate.  Taste and add more vinegar if you like.

While the rice is cooking, prepare your other ingredients.

For the Salmon:
About 600 grams of salmon fillet
oil for the pan
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the salmon into 4 to 6 pieces.  Rub each piece with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a pan to very hot.  Add a bit of oil to the pan and lay in the salmon.  The fish should sizzle when you lay it in the pan.  If it does not, the pan is not hot enough.  If you want the fish just seared, then lay it in the pan for not more than a minute and then flip over for another minute.  The fish (depending on the thickness of the piece) should be raw in the center.  If you like it more well done, simply cook it for longer.

For the soybeans:
Take a packet of frozen beans, normally about 250 grams. Cook as per the instructions on the box, i.e. by putting the beans in water and bringing to a boil.  Drain and then sprinkle with sea salt.

For the greens:
Vegetable of your choice
cloves of garlic
salt to taste
water

Slice 4 cloves of garlic.  Slice whatever greens that you have chosen into bite sized pieces.  For example, spinach can be cooked whole but kale should be chopped up.  Put a cup of water to the side of the stove. Heat up a frying pan to very hot and put some oil in it.  Throw in the garlic, stir once, and then immediately throw in the greens. Season with a bit of salt.  Stir and cook until the vegetable start to take on a little color, making sure that the garlic does not burn.  If you feel like the garlic might start to burn, throw in a bit of water in the pan. It will start to evaporate immediately, steaming the vegetables. Continue to add water until the vegetable is cooked to your liking. Spinach will need little, if any water, while green beans will need quite a lot to become tender.

To serve, put a portion of rice in a bowl.  Arrange the toppings on top.  Sprinkle with soysauce and seaweed, if desired.  Eat heartily because it is as healthy as it is delicious!

Lax Pudding

I had some leftover gravad lax from my New Year dinner.  This does not happen very often but I am always delighted when it does because then I have the makings of a hearty Lax Pudding. This is a classic Swedish dish which I first had for lunch in the famous Östermalms Saluhall market in Stockholm.  Nestled in this beautiful indoor food market are a variety of restaurants which serve delicious seafood.  A huge square of this pudding, swimming in butter, gives you plenty of energy for an afternoon of shopping!  This homemade version manages to taste rich and light at the same time.  A salad of arugula and fennel,lightly tossed in some lemon and olive oil, is an untraditional but perfect companion.

This recipe, which I adapted from my favorite Swedish cooking book, assumes that you are making it from scratch, so you do a quick and dirty salting of the fish, which is much easier than it sounds.

Serves 4 to 5

1 ¾ pounds (800 grams) of salmon

Salt

2 onions

Butter for frying and to melt for garnish

1 ¾ pounds (800 grams) waxy potatoes

1 big bunch dill

4 eggs

1 ¼ cup (3 deciliters) milk

½ cup (1 deciliter) cream

Pepper to taste

First, you have to salt the salmon.  Slice the salmon thinly.  Sprinkle each slice with salt on both sides.  Store in the refrigerator for at least three hours.  Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water until just done (15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes).  Cool, peel and slice.

When you are ready to put together the pudding, dice the onion and fry in butter until until translucent and just starts to color.  Chop up the dill but save a few sprigs for a garnish.

Set the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Grease your dish with butter; either a cake tin with a detachable rim (if you want a elegant cake) or a baking dish.  If you use the spring form pan, make sure it does not leak by running some water in it and seeing if it drips out.  If it does leak, you can wrap the pan in tin-foil to avoid a big mess (don't ask how I know this).

Put in a thin layer of salmon.  Add a layer of potato.  Season lightly with peppar.  You do not need additional salt because the samlon is already heavily salted. Sprinkle on some of the onions and dill.  Continue to add layers of salmon and potato, seasoning, onion, and dill. Press the filling down a bit with your hands.  You should have 2 layers of salmon and 2 to 3 layers of potato.

Beat together the eggs, milk and cream and pour the mixture into the tin or baking dish.  Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes or until the pudding is lightly browned on the edges and the custard is set.  If you baked the pudding in a spring form pan, slide a thin knife around the edge before taking off the rim.

Serve hot with melted butter poured over the top.

Homemade Gravad Lax and Mustard Dill Sauce (Hovmästarsås)

 Gravad Lax which means buried salmon is an ubiquitous dish throughout Scandinvia.  Unlike the “lox” in the US, gravad lax is unsmoked and cured only with a mixture of salt and sugar.  The ratio of salt to sugar is the subject of much debate in Sweden and every family has their own recipe.  I didn’t realize how good it could be until Peter made it for me.  It is ridiculously easy to make, but you have to plan ahead since it needs a few days to cure. Peter’s mother is famous for her gravad lax and she has a special rock that she uses once a year at Christmas to weigh down the salmon.  Peter has searched for a similar perfect stone, and we finally found one which now sits on our window sill at our summer house.

In Sweden, the gravad lax would be served thinly sliced with the mustard sauce on the side as a starter.  I eat the leftovers the next day, American style, on a baguette slathered with cream cheese!  The fish keeps in the refrigerator for a week or so, if you keep it wrapped.  

2 large fillet of boned salmon with the skin on, total about 1.5 to 2 kilos

1/3 cup salt

½ cup sugar

White pepper

Lots of dill

Check that the salmon is well boned by smoothing your fingers over the flesh side of the fish.  If you feel any bones, use a pair of tweezers to pull them out. 

Mix the salt and sugar together.  Pepper generously the salmon sides and then sprinkle the sugar-salt mixture evenly over the flesh side of both salmon pieces so that there is a thin layer over the entire fish, making sure that all the flesh is covered.  

Roughly chop the dill. Take a dish that will fit the salmon, and sprinkle some dill on the bottom. Put a piece of the fish, skin side down in the dish.  Sprinkle a generous layer of dill on the flesh of the fish. Take the other piece of salmon and put it on top of the first pieces of salmon, flesh sides together, like a sandwich.  Sprinkle some dill over the skin. 

Put plastic wrap over the dish, making sure to smooth it over the top of the salmon.  Take a weight, like a large stone and put it on top of the fish.  If you don’t have a stone the right size, find a plate or something else that is about the size of the fish, and then you can put some canned food or other heavy item on top of that.  Put in the refrigerator and leave to cure.  

Flip the salmon over every day.  The sugar and salt will melt, leaving a brine. The fish will be cured in two to three days, depending on the thickness of the salmon.  However, for the best results, continue curing for a week.  To serve, slice the salmon very thinly, arrange on a plate and serve with the classic mustard sauce, below.

Mustard Sauce (Hovmästarsås)

2 table spoons of brown mustard

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons sugar

Juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

A few drops of Worchestersauce

Half a teaspoon of white pepper

1 tablespoon water

Half a cup of vegetable oil

1 small bunch dill, chopped fine

Mix all the ingredients together, except for the dill, until the sugar is fully dissolved into the sauce.  Take the finely chopped dill and mix into the sauce.  Chill for a few hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld together.

Divine Salmon with Dill Cream

Peter made an absolutely fantastic dinner this evening: Salmon with Dill Cream and Riced Potatoes. These flavors are classic Swedish, and for good reason, because they are delicious together. It is a perfect meal for this time of year. The cream sauce gives it a satisfying richness which warms you against the cold weather, while the dill gives it freshness, alluding to the coming spring. . The meal is simplicity itself to make. It hardly needs a recipe. But here is one:

1 or 2 large wild salmon fillets, to feed 2 to 4 people, with the skin on
1/2 pint cream
potatoes for 2 to 4 persons
one large bunch dill
salt and pepper to taste
butter

For the sauce: Chop up the dill, not too finely, and add to the cream in a saucepan. Salt and pepper to taste. Boil up the cream, and let simmer slowly and reduce while you prepare the rest of the meal. To finish the sauce, add the juices from the pan after you have fried the fish.

For the potatoes: Peel and quarter the potatoes and boil in salted water for 20 minutes or until a fork stuck in a potato slides out easily. Drain water from pot. To hold the potatoes until you are ready with everything else, just put a dishcloth or paper towel over the pot and the lid on top of that. The potatoes will stay hot for at least half an hour and the towel will absorb extra water so the potatoes do not become soggy. When ready to serve, pass the potatoes through a potato ricer. This is basically a kind of press, which you can buy inexpensively at any good cook store. This tool produces a fluffy texture which is a perfect vehicle for the sauce. If you do not have a ricer, you can just mash the potatoes, but the texture will not be as good.

For the fish: With a thin knife, slice the skin off of the meat and save. Salt and pepper the salmon fillet generously on both sides and rub the spices in. Heat a pan until very hot and put in the butter. Fry the fish briefly on each side to get a good surface, then lower the heat and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it is done how you like it. Take the fish out of the pan and put on a plate to rest. Meanwhile, salt and pepper the skin on both sides, rubbing in the salt well. Put the skin in the pan that you fried the salmon in and fry on both sides until crispy. Be careful to watch it and don't let it burn.

To serve: Cut a nice chunk of the salmon for each person, and plate with a mound of riced potatoes. Drizzly the sauce generously over the salmon and potatoes. Slice the fried skin into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick, and top the salmon with a few slices per person. The skin is optional, but really delicious and provides a satisfying crunch. For our family, the skin is the best part, and we invariably fight over the last pieces.

If you don't enjoy this fish, well...it is hard to imagine and you must have a sad life!