Tuna mousse sandwich

That's what was for dinner last night. I needed something cheap and quick for dinner and this is as easy as it gets...

The tuna mousse can be made the night before you need it and all you have to do then is chop the salad and vegetables you need... Anyway here's my recipe for an absolutely delicious tuna mousse:

Tuna Mousse

For four people you'll need:

2 cans of tuna (drained from the water)

3 gelatine leaves

300 ml cremefraiche (sour cream)

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I've also had success substituting with paprika and chili powder)

1½ teaspoon salt

Drain the tuna in a sieve put it into a bowl and break it into small flakes.

Put the gelatine leaves in cold water for about 5 minutes.

Add the cremefraiche, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt in the bowl with the tuna and mix it together.

Pour the water from the gelatine leaves and squeeze them free of most of the water, put them back into the bowl and melt them in the microwave oven for 10 seconds or over a pot of boiling water. Put a spoonful of the tuna mix into the bowl with the gelatine and mix it to cool the gelatine. When it's cooled add the gelatine/tuna mix into the rest of the tuna mix and stir until it's all mixed together. Season to taste, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for at least five hours.

For the sandwiches you'll need:

Bread (whole wheat grain or whatever kind you like)

Butter (my husband loves butter underneath everything)

Lettuce (chopped finely)

Cucumber, sliced

Tomato (sliced)

Onion (optional - we never use it)

Toast the bred and butter it. Spread put a layer of tuna mousse and top it off with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onion. Finish with a slice of bread and there you have a quick and easy tuna mousse sandwich.

Bon appetit...

13th of December - Lucia Day

Today we celebrate Lucia Day in Denmark. This is the day where school children across the country participate in a Lucia Day Procession and bake Lucia bread.

According to legend Lucia was an Italian saint and after she had converted to Christianity, she brought food to her fellow believers. They had to hide from the pagan authorities in underground burial chambers. Lucia placed candles in a wreath on her head so she could carry the food in her hands. The heathen authorities arrested her and she suffered martyrdom on the 13th of December.

The custom of Lucia processions are relatively new and dates from 1928 and originated from Sweden. Maybe my friend Carina, who has just moved to Sweden, could tell a bit more about the Swedish traditions surrounding the celebration of Lucia Day.

In Denmark Lucia is a part of the Christmas celebration even though the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other and the Lucia Day Procession takes place at almost every school,  care home or library and the children participating are dressed in white coats carrying a lit candle between their hands and are lead by the Lucia bride who carries the wreth of candles on her head just like Lucia.

Today I have marked the occasion by baking Lucia bread and of course I'm going to share my lovely recipe with you...

Lucia Bread (makes 12 rolls)

75 grams butter

150 ml milk

25 grams fresh yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon saffron (or 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, which I used)

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

400 grams all purpose flour

Brushing: 1 whisked egg

Decoration:  raisins

Melt the butter in a pot and add in the milk. Transfer the liquid to a bowl and making sure that it isn't too hot (stick in your little finger, if you're not burned but the liquid is lukewarm, it's ready) crumble in the yeast and let it dissolve. Mix together the saffron (or cardamom) and sugar and stir it into the liquid followed by the rest of the ingredients. Mix the dough together with a spoon and when it's firm cover the bowl with a lid and let it rise somewhere warm  for about half an hour.

Let out the dough onto a flour dusted table top and knead the dough. Split the dough into 12 pieces roll them into sausages and  shape them into an "S". Place them onto a baking sheet and let them rise for another 15 minutes. Brush the rolls with the whisked egg and decorate with rasins.

Bake the roll in the preheated oven at about 225C (437F) for 10-12 minutes until they are golden.

Bon appetit...

Apple rolls

Originally the idea was to use the leftover apples I had to make apple jam or something like that but I didn't really have the time to spend making that. Then I stumbled upon a Danish recipe for Apple rolls and I had planned to make rolls anyway, so there was an easy solution! Apple rolls it was...

A really simple recipe and it didn't take up much of my time and if I wasn't in a Christmas mood before, I sure was as I started to make the rolls. Their delicious smell of cinnamon spread out through the entire apartment and made me want to start my Christmas decorating really early this year, so it was definitely the right time to try them out and they taste absolutely wonderful! I think it will become a part of my Christmas traditions to make them every year.

Danish apple rolls (25-30 rolls)

50 grams yeast (fresh)

300 ml lukewarm water

300 ml lukewarm milk

1 egg

4 pealed and coarsely grated apples (your favourite kind)

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons cane sugar (you can also use the regular kind)

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 kilo all purpose flour (approximately)

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) 

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and milk. Add the rest of the ingredients - leaving the flour for last to be added little by little.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes and let it rise in a covered bowl for about 30 minutes. Knead the dough once more and make the rolls. Put them onto a baking sheet and let them rise for another 30 minutes.

Glaze the rolls with a beaten egg and sprinkle them with a bit of cinnamon sugar mix. Bake the rolls for about 15 minutes.

Bon appetit...

Potato pizza with bacon and spinach

Monday and yet another week of the food experiment has begun... Time flies by when you're enjoying yourself and I really am. I love cooking more than ever, even though it is hard to set your mind to it after a long day at work. I love that we get to try so many different recipes - there are still loads to choose from and it just keeps getting better. 

Today the menu consisted of Potato Pizza with bacon and spinach (originally it was fresh herbs but I forgot to chop some and left them out) with a side of Tomato Salad... YUM-O! what a way to start a new week - and there was enough to feed a small army, but then again I'm famous for making large amounts of food (I get that from my mother) so that's not a new thing. We were stuffed and we have enough for lunch tomorrow... I hope it tastes as good cold as it does when it's hot...

Now this time Carina has been so kind as to translate the recipe and thanks Carina! I'm just reposting what she wrote:

For four people you'll need:

Dough:

10 grams of yeast

4 dl lukewarm water

2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil

approx. 600 grams of all-purpose flour, pizza flour or durum flour (I used half all purpose flour and half durum)

1 ¼ or 1½ dl mayonnaise

2-3 cloves of garlic

Topping:

6-8 big potatoes (I just used 300 grams of new danish potatoes)

2 apples

50 grams of spinach (I added spinach on half of my pizzas)

150 grams of grated cheese

200 grams of sliced bacon

salt and pepper

Mixed fresh herbs like oregano, basil, thyme, chives or chervil

Accompaniment:

1 big bowl of mixed salad or traditional tomato salad.

Dissolve yeast into water and add salt and oil. Put flour in gradually until you have a smooth dough. Set the dough to risefor 1½ hour in a warm place. Take the dough out of the bowl and split it into 4 portions. Roll each dough portion into four thin pizzas.

Mix mayonnaise together with the pressed or grated garlic and spread it on the pizza crusts. 

Slice the potatoes and apples into as thin pieces (use a mandolin iron, if you have one) as you can and spread the slices over the 4 pizza crusts. Sprinkle the spinach and cheese on. Finally add the bacon slices on top and season it with salt and pepper. Bake the pizzas at 250C for approx. 15 minutes (remember to check them, so they don’t turn black)

Sprinkle with fresh herbs just before serving and serve a big bowl of salad.

Bon appetit...

Read about Carina's experience with this recipe - HERE

Sweet rolls filled with honey and nuts

Perfect recipe for a lazy sunday afternoon when your just snoozing about anyway and get the munchies - it takes time to make and that's why it's perfect for a day like this...

I made icing to go along with it - it wasn't that sugary because it contains honey instead of sugar and so the icing really compliments the nutty and delicious flavour. The rolls can be made the day before and reheated before serving. This batch makes up 16 rolls and they are a nice supplement to your morning cup of coffee, afternoon tea or the sunday brunch. You'll need:

Dough:

25 grams fresh yeast

2 dl milk

2 eggs

1 pinch of salt

½ tablespoon ground coriander

1½ tablespoon honey

8½ dl flour

125 grams butter

Filling:

100g hazelnuts

2 large tablespoons honey

50 grams butter

Icing: confectioner's sugar and water

Warm up the milk and dissolve the yeast into the milk. Whisk in the eggs and add salt, coriander and honey. Take out another bowl and put in the flour. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and crumble it together with the flour. Gradually add the flour mixture to the milk and knead the dough quickly and let it rest under a cloth for 1 hour. Cut the dough into two pieces. Roll them out into two circles about ½-1 centimetres thick and cut the circles into 8 triangles each.

Put the nuts into a blender and blend them until they have a floury texture. Add honey and butter and give it another spin making it a sweet paste.

 

Spread out the filling on the dough triangles and roll them up into horns and give the ends a little squeeze so they will stick around the filling.

Let the horns rest on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes and bake them in a preheated oven at 200C (about 400F) for about 15 minutes. Decorate with icing and hazelnut sprinkles before serving.

Bon appetit...

Read about Carina's result and take on this "dish" - HERE