Our Growing Edge: Autumn Beer Cheese Soup

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 3 Comments

 

 

This post is part of the monthly link up party Our Growing Edge. This event aims at to connect food bloggers from all over the world and inspire us to try new things.
This month is hosted by my utensil crock – a full-time attorney with an enterprising cooking habit 🙂

our-growing-edge-badge

 

We’re been talking about beer cheese soup for a while but never really took the time to find the perfect combination of ingredients. Then a few days ago we were encouraged by the wind and rain to make soup and having all the ingredients in the pantry made it a quite easy soup choice 😀

W chose to submit this exact recipe to Our Growing Edge as the recipe and combination of ingredients is totally new to us and it turned out to one of the best soups we have ever made!! 

For some it might sound strange with beer and cheese in a soup, but we promise that it tastes fabulous and can be served both as a week night dinner or as a starter when having guests over for dinner.

Hope that you we will love this soup as much as we already does, and if you have any suggestions for other variations of this recipe, you are welcome to leave a comment 🙂

 

Ingredients (6 servings)

2 pounds potatoes, peeled

3 large onions

2 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper

3 cups beer

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups whole milk

1 cup aged cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt & Pepper

 

Garnish

15 bacon slices

1/2 cup aged cheddar cheese, shredded

2 slices rye bread, cubed

 

Slice the onions and cube the potatoes. Sauté both in melted butter for 3-5 minutes before adding the cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
Beer Cheese Soup 1

Sprinkle the flour on top of the sautéed vegetables and stir a few times before adding all the beer. Let reach the boiling point before turning down the heat a bit.

Beer Cheese soup 2

The add chicken stock and milk and let simmer for 30-40 minutes before adding the shredded cheddar cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.Beer Cheese Soup 3

While the soup is simmering you can fry the bacon and make the rye croutons. Cut the bacon slices into smaller pieces and fry it. Use a fork or spoon to transfer the fried bacon to plate with paper towel – leave as much bacon fat on the pan as possible. Beer Cheese Soup 4

When all the bacon has been removed from the pan you can add the rye bread cubes to the bacon fat. Let fry until crisp and season with salt.Beer Cheese Soup 5

Remove the soup from the heat and blend it until smooth and thick. Put the lid on the sauce pan and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Garnish the soup with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon crisp and rye bread croutons and serve with a good glass of red wine 🙂

Beer Cheese Soup 6Beer Cheese Soup 8Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (6 servings)

900 g potatoes, peeled

3 large onions

2 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper

7.5 dl beer

5 dl chicken stock

7.5 dl whole milk

2.5 dl aged cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt & Pepper

 

Garnish

15 bacon slices

1.25 dl aged cheddar cheese, shredded

2 slices rye bread, cubed

Spaghetti Meat Sauce Pie

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

 

I have for years – and years is no exaggeration – wanted to make a spaghetti meat sauce pie, but I have alway been bad at making a good pie dough. Now that I have found the perfect recipe for pie dough, I had no excuse not to make make it 😀

Spaghetti meat sauce is one of those dishes that tastes great and making enough it tastes even greater the day after so we sometimes make it, if we know that we will be busy and unable to cook for a few day. Putting a regular spaghetti dish into a pie raises the level of deliciousness just a bit and I will definitely try it with some of my other week night dishes that needs to be spiced up a bit 🙂

Spaghetti Pie 4_Fotor_Collage

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

Pie dough:

2 2/5 cup flour

2/3 cup butter, cold

2 small eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lemon, juice

1 egg, beaten (for brushing)

 

Meat sauce:

1 pound minced beef

1 tbsp. butter

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. dried oregano

1. tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp. dried basil

2 red chilis, chopped

2 cups red wine

Salt & pepper

 

1/2 pound dried spaghetti

1 cup parmesan cheese

 

Instructions

Pie dough: Cut the butter in to small cubes and place it in a mixing bowl together with flour and salt. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to mix until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the two beaten eggs and the lemon juice and mix until just combined. Pour the combined dough on to slightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Make sure that there are no lumps in the dough – it should be smooth. Wrap in plastic foil and fridge while making the spaghetti and meat sauce.

Spaghetti Pie 1

Meat sauce: Melt the butter in a sauce pan and sauté onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add the minced meat and fry until the meat is browned. THen add dried herbs, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and chillies and red wine. Stir to combine and let cook for 20-30 minutes at medium heat or until almost all the red wine has evaporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Cook the spaghetti as recommended on the package and add it to the meat sauce when cooked. Stir to combine. If you have trouble combining it, try and cut the spaghettis in smaller pieces with a kitchen scissor. Spaghetti Pie 2

Cut the pie dough into two pieces – 2/3 and 1/3. Roll the largest piece out until it is large enough to cover a the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie dish. Place the rolled dough in a greased and floured pie dish. Pour spaghetti meat sauce into the pie and sprinkle with the shredded parmesan cheese. Grease the edges with beaten egg.
Roll out the remaining dough, cut a few holes in it so any remaining liquids can evaporate, and place on top of the spaghetti meat sauce. Press the dough together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg.  Spaghetti Pie 3

Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes and let rest on a wire rack for further 15-20 minutes before serving.

Serve with a crispy and fresh salad like raw brussels sprouts salad, roasted cauliflower salad or maybe a cauliflower and roasted almond salad.   Spaghetti Pie 4

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

Pie dough:

300 g flour

150 g butter, cold

2 small eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lemon, juice

1 egg, beaten (for brushing)

 

Meat sauce:

450 g minced beef

1 tbsp. butter

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. dried oregano

1. tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp. dried basil

2 red chilis, chopped

5 dl red wine

Salt & pepper

 

225 g dried spaghetti

2.5 dl parmesan cheese

Raw Brussels Sprout Salad

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Many people have the idea that brussels sprouts taste bad and we could not disagree more with that statement!! We just love the little green ball vitamin bomb and we serve it in many different variations for all kinds of meat and seafood 🙂 Actually we believe that any vegetable tastes great if you make it the right way – so don’t reject it if you have had one or two bad experiences with a vegetable. Keep trying and find your own favorite 🙂

Among our favorite recipes containing brussels sprouts is our honey glazed version together with this raw salad with honey/mustard dressing and roasted cashew nut. This salad does not in any way taste like brussels sprouts as most remember them from their childhood (cooked to death), so there is no excuse for not trying it….

If you have a great recipe containing brussels sprouts you are welcome to leave a comment or mail it to us (foodondemant@gmail.com).

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 pound brussels sprouts

1 red onion

3.5 oz. feta cheese

1/2 cup cashew nuts, roasted

 

Honey/mustard Dressing

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. mustard

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juice

 

Clean the brussels sprout by removing the outer layer of leaves. Cut the brussels sprouts in thin slices, chop the onions, feta cheese and roasted nuts and combine it all in a mixing bowl.

Brussel Sprouts Salad 5_Fotor_Collage

Combine honey, mustard, olive oil and lemon juice in another mixing and season with pepper. Stir until evenly combined. Pour the dressing over the salad, stir to mix and let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serve as a side dish for all sorts of meat, seafood, pies or whatever you have for dinner – and we promise you, that your kids will love it 😉  Brussel Sprouts Salad 6

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

450 g brussels sprouts

1 red onion

100 g feta cheese

1.25 dl cashew nuts, roasted

 

Honey/mustard Dressing

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. mustard

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juice

Salad with Pearl Barley, Apples and Bacon

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Looking through our recipe index you will find a large number of high fat recipes, but we are not alway eating unhealthy 😉 We often make salads and monday through thursday we try to avoid wheat – notice the ‘try’ 😀

Salad inspiration is often found on other blogs or through television cooking shows, but we are not that good at following recipes and often we just don’t have the required ingredients, meaning that we just use what we have in the fridge/pantry.
The inspiration for this salad comes from Salattosen – a Danish salad creator with huge success due to her innovative ideas and good looking pictures. There is no doubt that she has made us eat vegetables that we didn’t even know before visiting her site. So thank you Mette!

 

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

1 cup pearl barley

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 lemon, juice

1 red onion

1 apple

1 cup cilantro (or other fresh herbs)

8 slices bacon

Pepper for seasoning

 

Rinse the barley in cold water and cook as described on the packages (approximately 45 minutes). Let cool if you want a cold salad, otherwise you can make the salad immediately.

While cooking the barley you can fry the bacon slices. Let drip off on paper towel when fried to remove the dripping fat.

Pearl Barley Salad 1

 

Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the barley and stir. Chop the onion, apple and cilantro, add it to the barley and stir. Taste and season with if necessary.Pearl Barley Salad 2

Crumble the fried bacon and add it to the salad just before serving. The salad can be made hours before serving, but the we would recommend that you add the bacon just before serving as it otherwise looses its crispiness. Id you are a vegetarian you can leave out the bacon and season with a bit of salt instead.
The salad is suitable for all sorts of meat, but this times we served it with home made fish fingers 🙂Pearl Barley Salad 3

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

2.5 dl pearl barley

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 red onion

1 apple

2.5 dl cilantro (or other fresh herbs)

8 slices bacon

Pepper for seasoning

Caramelized Apples for Halloween Party

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Last Night we hosted this years halloween party (again) and was dressed as Baby Firefly and Captain Spaulding from the movies A 1000 Corpses and Devil’s Rejects – it was nothing less than a fabulous party where everyone was dressed up and our apartment looked like something from a horror movie!Halloween 2013 (26 of 57)

Normally we invite everyone to dinner with following party, but this year we decided not to through dinner but only party and snacks. Besides chips and dip we had made small pumpkin look-a-like clementines with celery stems and caramelized apples 🙂
Caramelized apples is not something that you would see anywhere in Denmark, while glazed apples is served everywhere for christmas.

When making caramelized apples you can use many sorts of caramel. Normally we make our own caramel but sometimes it is nice to try something else and it turned out to be delicious!
It is quite sticky (but sooooo delicious) so next we will definitely use some longer wooden sticks so it gets easier to eat the apple directly from the stick instead of cutting it in smaller pieces 🙂

Pumpkin Clementine

Ingredients (12 apples)

12 apples

2 cans (14 oz.) condensed milk

1 cup roasted almonds, chopped

1 cup roasted walnuts, chopped

12 wooden sticks

 

Place the two cans with condensed milk in a large sauce pan and cover it with water. Turn on the heat and let cook for 3 hours. Make sure that the cans are covered with water during the entire cooking time – if not, there is a risk of explosion. Remove the cans from the sauce pan after 3 hours and let cool completely before opening.Caramelized Apples 1

While caramel is cooling you can prepare the apples. Clean the apples in cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towel. Replace the apple stem with a wooden stick.

Caramelized Apples 3

Open the cans with caramel and place it in a heat proof bowl. Melt slowly over a sauce pan of simmering water until it gets more soft. Whisk is necessary.
Dip the apples in the apples the caramel and roll them in chopped nuts afterwards. Place on a plate with baking paper and fridge until serving.Caramelized Apples 4

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (12 apples)

12 apples

2 cans condensed milk

2,5 dl roasted almonds, chopped

2,5 dl roasted walnuts, chopped

12 wooden sticks

Caramelized Onion Pie

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 2 Comments

This pie is nothing less than delicious…. The combination of the crisp pie dough and the perfectly seasoned creamy caramelized onions is indescribably good!! It is so good that we eat almost all of it alone and went to bed with a terrible stomach pain!

It is definitely one of those recipes which we will make again and again and again…….. Maybe we’ll even have as a side dish for Thanksgiving together with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy 🙂

 

Ingredients (6 servings)

Pie Dough

2 2/5 cup flour

2/3 cup butter, cold

2 small eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lemon, juice

1 egg, beaten (for brushing)

 

Caramelized Onions

5 large onion, sliced

2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

3 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

1/2 cup apple juice

1 cup cream

1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded

 

Pie dough: Cut the butter in to small cubes and place it in a mixing bowl together with flour and salt. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to mix until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the two beaten eggs and the lemon juice and mix until just combined. Pour the combined dough on to slightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Make sure that there are no lumps in the dough – it should be smooth. Wrap in plastic foil and fridge while making the caramelized onions.

 

Caramelized onions: Melt the butter in a sauce pan at medium heat and add onion slices and thyme leaves. Stir once in a while until onions begins to get soft and stick to the bottom of the pan. This takes about 15-20 minutes at medium/low heat. Then add about half of the apple juice and let simmer until evaporated before adding the other half of the apple juice.
Sprinkle the flour on top of the caramelized onions when the remaining apple juice has evaporated and stir to combined. Then slowly pour the cream into the onions while stirring to combine. Let simmer for a further 3-5 minutes before tasting and seasoning with salt and pepper. Set a side while rolling out the pie dough.

Cut the pie dough into two pieces – 2/3 and 1/3. Roll the largest piece out until it is large enough to cover a the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie dish. Place the rolled dough in a greased and floured pie dish. Pour the caramelized onions into the pie and sprinkle with the shredded gruyere cheese. Grease the edges with beaten egg.
Roll out the remaining dough, cut a few holes in it so any remaining liquids can evaporate, and place on top of the caramelized onions. Press the dough together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg. Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes and let rest on a wire rack for further 15-20 minutes before serving.

Onion Pie 1

Serve as a side dish for oven roasted chicken or on a larger buffet 🙂 Onion Pie 2

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (6 servings)

Pie Dough

300 g flour

150 g butter, cold

2 small eggs, beaten

0.5 tsp. salt

0.5 lemon, juice

1 egg, beaten (for brushing)

Caramelized Onions

5 large onion, sliced

2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

3 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

1.25 dl cup apple juice

2.5 dl cream

1.25 dl Gruyere cheese

Amazing Whisky and Chocolate Ice Cream

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

A few weeks ago we finally bought an ice cream maker and googled hundreds of recipes trying to decide which one to make first… While googling, I looked up at our whisky collection and immediately knew that our first ice cream should contain one of our many delicious whiskies. Then I started googling and whisky ice cream and found a recipe that both looked and sounded delicious.

Then the next question popped up…. which one of our many delicious whiskies should be used?? We ended up using a 14 year old Bowmore with a soft smoky taste which compliments the dark Amedei chocolate pieces perfectly.
Knowing just a bit about whisky you might find it odd that we have chosen to use a quite expensive whisky, but as the whisky taste is very intense in this ice cream we find it important to use a good quality whisky 🙂

If you wonder whether you can serve this ice cream to people who do not enjoy whisky due to the strong liquor taste, I can tell you that neither of my parent drink whisky – or any other strong liquors for that matter – and they LOVE this recipe. We have only had the ice cream maker for a few weeks, and they have already ordered a second portion 😀 So there is no excuse not to try it!!

 

Ingredients (6 servings)

2 cups cream

2/5 cup whole milk

2/3 cup condensed milk

4 tbsp. malt whisky

2 vanilla pods, seeds

1 cup dark quality chocolate

 

Whip the cream until it is light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients except the chocolate and fold with a spatula until combined.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and let it run for approximately 20 minutes. Chop the chocolate and add it after 15 minutes.

Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and place it in the freezer until serving 🙂

Whisky Ice Cream 1

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (6 servings)

5 dl cream

1 dl whole milk

200 g condensed milk

4 tbsp. malt whisky

2 vanilla pods, seeds

120 g dark quality chocolate

Home Made Favorite Lasagna

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Almost every one knows how to make lasagna, but only few knows how to make a fabulous lasagna. And in the past we were no exception!! It has taken us several years to reach what we believe is the PERFECT result, but after using this recipe a few times we are certain that this is our favorite lasagna recipe – and the best is, that everything is home made 😀
Most people use béchamel sauce in their lasagna but you can use whatever sauce you like.

Do you have a favorite lasagna recipe??

 

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

Pasta

3 large eggs

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 1/3 cup Tipo 00 flour

 

Meat sauce

2 pounds beef, minced

2 large onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 large tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp. dried oregano

6 tbsp. tomato paste

1 cup red wine

 

Cheddar Sauce

2 cups whole milk

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

1 cup mild cheddar cheese

1 cup aged cheddar cheese

Salt

Pepper

 

Filling

1 pound fresh spinach

1 large onion

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

 

Directions

Pasta: Combine the three ingredients for the pasta and knead the dough until evenly combined and firm. Cover with plastic wrap and fridge for one hour.
While the pasta dough is resting in the fridge you can make the meat sauce and prepare the filling.
Roll the pasta dough on a pasta maker when you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

 

Meat Sauce: Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan and sauté the chopped onions and garlic together with dried thyme and oregano. Transfer to a plate when the onions has absorbed all the butter. Brown the minced meat in the same sauce. When browned, add the sautéed onions, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and red wine and stir to combine. Turn down the heat and let cook until most of the liquids has evaporated – approximately one hour.

 

Cheddar Sauce: Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the flour and whisk to form a roux. Slowly pour the milk into roux while whisking. Be careful not to add the milk to fast as it will ruin the roux. Turn down the heat and let cook for a few minutes while the whisking. Remove the roux from the heat, add the shredded cheese and stir until melted and combined. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Filling: Wash the spinach in cold water to remove any dirt. Sauté in a medium hot frying pan together with the chopped onion until all the spinach juice has evaporated. Transfer to paper towel to dry.
Clean the pan and to do the exact same thing with the mushrooms.

This lasagna has three layers of pasta in an 7 x 12 inch dish, so if your dish is smaller/larger you should ignore the measures used below.

Cover the bottom of the the dish 4/5 cup meat sauce. Pour 1/2 cup cheese sauce on top of the meat sauce and cover with pasta plates.

IMG_1627

Do the same with layer no. 2 but place the spinach between the meat- and cheese sauce. IMG_1628

In layer no. 3 is meat sauce, cheese sauce and mushrooms.IMG_1629

Now you should have used all your pasta plates (if your dish is 7 x 12 inches) and the final layer consists of the remaining meat- and cheese sauce. IMG_1630

Cover with aluminum foil and let rest in the kitchen table while your oven reaches 400F. Leave the foil on and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for additional 15 minutes.
Let rest for 15-30 minutes before serving.

Serve with a an easy and fresh salad, for example romaine lettuce, sweet corn, tomatoes and cucumbers.IMG_1632

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

Pasta

3 large eggs

1 tbsp. olive oil

300 g Tipo 00 flour

 

Meat sauce

900 g beef, minced

2 large onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 large tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp. dried oregano

6 tbsp. tomato paste

2.5 dl red wine

1 tbsp. butter

 

Cheddar Sauce

5 dl whole milk

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

2.5 dl mild cheddar cheese

2.5 dl aged cheddar cheese

Salt

Pepper

 

Filling

450 g fresh spinach

1 large onion

450 g mushrooms, sliced

Moist and Crispy Donuts with Sugar Coating

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

The Demant family is definitely a donut loving family, so it hurt our greasy hearts that we are not able to buy good, soft and greasy donuts in Denmark. Several places sell donuts but most often it is just a heavy and dry chocolate covered replica of a donut… One could wonder if the ‘creaters’ had ever tasted a real good donut – like those from Crispy Krem 😀

The recipe for these donuts is actually a CRONUT recipe (for those of you who do now what cronuts is, the easiest way to describe them is that it is a love child between a donut and a croissant). Actually we are not allowed to call it cronuts, as the ‘inventer’ has gotten copyright on the name – how wired is that??
Well, to get back to the recipe the butter was a little to soft and I blended it a few seconds to long so the flour mixture ended up being small crumbles instead of large one. Another thing which I did wrong (if the result were to be cronuts) was that I properly folded a rolled the dough to much without there being any flour between the layers, but as you can see on the pictures below it all ended happily with perfect moist, crispy donuts – actually my very first home made donuts 🙂

Donuts are actually easier to make than expected, but this recipe takes at least 12-15 hours including the resting time. I do not know if all donut recipes take that long, but I definitely believe that the long resting time has done something good for the end result – but try it yourself and leave a comment with your opinion 🙂

 

Ingredients (14 donuts)

1/4 cup water, room temperature

1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

2/3 cup butter, cold

2 cups flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. dry active yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup canola oil for frying

2/3 cup sugar for coating

 

Combine water, milk and yeast in a mixing bowl and stir for a few seconds. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and place it in a blender together with flour, sugar and salt. Blend for a few seconds until butter and flour begins to crumble.IMG_1597

Add the crumbled flour mixture into the wet ingredients and use a plastics spatula to combine. IMG_1598

Pour the combined dough onto a floured surface and form a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in the fridge for 2 hours.IMG_1599

Place the rested dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out until it is approximately 1/2-inch thick. Fold and repeat the process 4-5 times. Fold the last layer three times, wrap it in plastic foil and fridge over night.

Unwrap the rested dough and roll it out on a slightly floured surface. It should be approximately 2/3 inches thick. Use a 2 1/2 inch pastry cutter to cut out 14 donuts, and a 1 inch pastry cutter to cut the hole in the middle of the donuts. Place the donuts on a piece of baking paper, cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for an additional hour. IMG_1604

Place the canola oil in a frying pan and turn on the heat. The oil is perfect at 300F. Fry the donuts for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.IMG_1605 IMG_1606

Let the fried donuts rest on a piece of paper towel for a few minutes until dry, then turn them in the sugar 🙂

If you do not plan to eat them all at once, you can store them for 2-3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.IMG_1608 IMG_1609

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (14 donuts)

0.6 dl water, room temperature

0.6 dl whole milk, room temperature

150 g butter, cold

250 g flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. dry active yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

2.5 dl canola oil for frying

1.6 dl sugar for coating

Lebanese Lamb Meatballs with Herb Dressing

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 3 Comments

This week is ‘try something totally new week’ and the Middle Eastern cuisine seemed to be worth a try. We have successfully made lamb before but never minced lamb, so we were quite excited about the result.
We do not know an awful lot about lamb meat, but our experience says to choose low fat lamb meat as to much fat might add a wooly taste to the dish. Making meatballs you need at least 5-10% fat to end up with the perfect consistency, and in this instance we will recommend that you choose low fat lamb meat and them some beef with a little more fat – that way you can avoid that your hard work ends up tasting like an old sheep 🙂

Another thing with these meatballs is the spices…. The Middle Eastern cuisine use a lot of interesting spices and one of them is cinnamon. In Denmark we often combine the smell and taste of cinnamon with christmas, cookies, cakes, rise pudding and so on… So when a meat recipe calls for cinnamon, we rethink making it! But today we are both glad that we decided to make these fabulous meatballs, but in our version of the recipe we have only added half of the advised cinnamon and you can still taste it, so we are glad that we did not add the entire recommended amount.

The last thing to comment on before you go ahead and make these delicious meatballs, is the dressing. Or wait… actually, we have nothing else to say than FABULOUS. We will definitely make this dressing again, as it can be served for all sorts of salads, casserole or just as dipping for a good home baked bread 🙂

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

Meatballs

1 pound beef, minced

1 pound lamb, minced

1 egg

2/3 cup bread crumbs

2/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

4 shallots, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/5 cup parsley, chopped

1/5 cup mint leaves, chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Canola oil for frying

 

Herb Dressing

1 2/3 cup sour cream

3 tsp. tahin

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lemon, juice

Salt and pepper

 

Garnish

3 tbsp. pine nuts

Mint and cilantro leaves

 

Place all ingredients for the meatball, except canola oil, in a mixing bowl and knead until combined evenly.
Make teaspoon-sized balls and fry them in canola oil for a few minutes until golden brown. Remove the meatballs from the oil and place them in a heat proof dish and bake in the oven at 400F for 15-18 minutes or until they are well done.

IMG_1577

While the meatballs bake in the oven, you can prepare the yoghurt. Place all the yoghurt ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine. Fridge until serving.

Sprinkle the pine nuts and herb leaves over the finished meatballs and serve with yoghurt together with chopped cucumber, tomatoes and naan bread or as we had it, in corn tortillas. IMG_1579

 

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

Meatballs

450 g beef, minced

450 g lamb, minced

1 egg

1.5 dl cup bread crumbs

1.5 dl feta cheese, crumbled

4 shallots, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

0.5 dl parsley, chopped

0.5 dl mint leaves, chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

0.5 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Canola oil for frying

 

Yoghurt

4 dl sour cream

3 tsp. tahin

1.25 dl cilantro, chopped

0.6 dl mint leaves, chopped

0.6 dl parsley, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lemon, juice

Salt and pepper

 

Garnish

3 tbsp. pine nuts

Mint and cilantro leaves