Swedish Christmas Eve dinner

Here in Sweden they celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December. This is the day when they give each other Christmas gifts and this is the day when all the family is gathering around the table and they eat and drink and celebrate! I am always very happy when we go to my mother in law in Gothenburg to celebrate Christmas. I am happy because i meet my husbands family and i am also getting nice gifts and the food is amazing!! This year i took some pictures so you can see for yourselves!

So, on the table we had ham, (a ham that its being cooked 2 days before Christmas and glazed 1 day before), Swedish meatballs and small sausages cooked in the pan with some butter, potato salad, some bread (white, a darker one that is more sweet with raisins in it and a hard thin one) beet salad, green salad, mustard and some pork ribs that this year i cooked them in the oven from a Greek recipe i know and of course we had also wine, beer and snaps (aquavit).

If you ever have the chance to experience the Swedish Christmas food do not miss it!

Happy Holidays to all of you!

Chanterelle mushroom pie

Last week we invited a friend for dinner. He was so kind that when he arrived he brought us a bottle of wine and some chanterelle mushrooms that he has picked up himself! I love these mushrooms so today i have decided to make a Swedish pie and use them. I added some onions and smoked ham and it was delicious! Thank you Mikael and next time when you bring us chanterelle again and i make a pie, i promise to save a slice for you!


For 4 people you will need:

For the pastry:

4 dl flower
2 dl milk
100gr butter


For the filling:

Chanterelle mushrooms
7 slices smoked ham
1 onion
Salt, pepper
2 dl creme fraiche
3 dl grated cheese (Gouda)
2 eggs


Preheat the oven in 200 degrees.
In a bowl mix the flower with the butter and add the milk. When the pastry is ready put it on a lightly floured surface and roll it with a floured rolling pin and make sure it will fit your pie oven pan. Pinch it with a fork and bake it for 10 minutes. Remember to smear the pan with butter before you put the pastry in it.

While the pastry is in the oven you can prepare the filling. Wash the mushrooms and slice them. Do the same with the onion and the ham (the ham you don't have to wash it).  Put some olive oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms, onions and ham until they are tender.  

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, the creme fraiche, the cheese and add salt and pepper. Transfer the mushrooms, onions and ham into to the egg mixture. 

 Stir well and pour it into the pastry.

Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes and serve it with salad. If you are a vegetarian you can skip the ham and enjoy this pie.

Bon Appetit!

Feta cheese stuffed meatloaf

This one is one of my favorite dishes and i used to cook it very often when i was living in Greece but since i have moved to Sweden i realized that i haven't cook it at all, so i have decided to start now!


You will need for 4 persons:

900 gr of mincemeat, half pork half beef
1 pepper, yellow or orange
Olive oil
150-200 gr Feta Cheese
salt, pepper, oregano
1 egg
1table spoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
Breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

In a large bowl mix the mince meat, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, oregano, the mustard, 2 table spoons olive oil and to all that add the garlic sliced in small pieces.

 

Put the mince meat in an oven pan and shape it like you see in the picture, then open it carefully and add the half of the feta and the pepper sliced in small pieces, then add the rest of the feta, some pepper and oregano and close it good!

 

Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on the top, add some olive oil in the oven pan and 2dl of water. Bake it uncovered for 10 minutes and then cover it with aluminum foil for about 45 minutes, check that there is always water in the oven pan and it doesn't get dry, then cook it uncover for about 30-45 minutes, you will be the judge of it, it depends sometimes what kind of oven you have.

 

 

You can serve it with salad, potatoes or rice if you like, I served it with green salad and potatoes in the oven.

Bon Appetit!!!

Cod fillet in the pot with potatoes and vegetables.

I try to cook fish at least once a week, i don't like it when we eat too much meat or pasta and i love fish and sea food. Here in Sweden i cook salmon and cod fillet very often, so while i was getting ready to cook some cod fillet with my traditional way (that's another recipe that will come later) i decided to search a little bit on the internet and find another way! So i found this recipe and i changed it a little bit and here is the result, its easy, fast and healthy!


For 2 people you will need:

4 code fillet fresh or frozen
10 medium size potatoes
2 lemons
Olive oil
Salt, pepper
Dill
Carrots, peas (fresh or frozen)
1 onion


Remove the skin from the potatoes, clean them and cut them in medium size pieces. Cut the onion in small pieces and then the carrots in thin round pieces (I used frozen vegetables so didnt had to cut them). Add some olive oil in the pot and when its hot throw in the onion and when it gets some color add the potatoes and the vegetables, salt, pepper and dill, steer well and put some water in the in pot and make sure that all the ingredients are covered. Put the lid on and when it starts boiling put the heat in low and let it boil for 15 minutes.

Clean the cod fillet add some salt and pepper (if they are very salty then add only pepper) and after the 15 minutes have passed open the lid and put the fillet inside the pot. Let them cook for another 15 minutes. 5 minutes before the food is ready put in a bowl some corn flower, the juice of 2 lemons and add some spoons of the juices from the food, steer well and put it back in the pot and let it cook for about 5 minutes more and the food is ready!

Bon Appetit!!!!

Chicken nuggets in the oven with yogurt dip

Yesterday i was in the mood for chicken! I have found a recipe that i really liked, from a Greek site 2 years ago and i realized that i have not cooked it the last year so i thought it was about time! I have forgotten how good this chicken is so i am happy i did it....Chicken nuggets, potatoes, yogurt dip and beer...great combination, you should try it!

You will need for 2 people:

3 chicken breast fillet
crumbled bread
Dijon mustard
Parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt, pepper
1 lemon

For the yogurt dip:

2dl yogurt (and more if you like)
olive oil
salt, pepper
dill
garlic


Clean the chicken, remove the skin and cut it in small square pieces and add it in a bowl with some olive oil, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, the juice of the lemon and steer it good. You can let it rest for some hours in the fridge or even for a hole night and cook it the next day. The more you leave it in the fridge the more tender the meat will be...

So when its time to cook it, put some some crumbled bread mixed with grated Parmesan cheese on a plate and roll the chicken pieces in it. Preheat oven at 200 degrees for 15 min and lay the chicken pieces on a non stick baking parer and put it in the oven. Use the hot air and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes. Always keep an eye on it and maybe you need to turn the pieces 1 time.

While the chicken is in the oven you can make the dip. Add the yogurt in a deep small bowl, some olive oil, salt, pepper, dill and some crushed garlic. Steer good and your dip is ready!

At the same time i made also some potatoes in the oven like fried potatoes but in the hot air. Its very easy and healthy!

Cut the potatoes in the shape you usually cut them when you want to fry them, put them in a kitchen towel so all the water, all the moist will be absorbed from the towel. Then put them on a non stick baking paper, you add a spoon of olive oil, you steer well and you cook them in the oven with hot air for 15-20 minutes. Add salt at the end when you put them on your plate. They taste and they look like fried potatoes but they are healthier!

Bon Appetit!