This quick & easy salmon spinach pasta with hot smoked salmon is one of my most trusted companions. It comes together in under 15 minutes, is really easy to make and leaves a minimal amount of dishes. Perfect for a weeknight, but tasty enough for the weekend as well!

I’m not sure when I made salmon spinach pasta a part of my repertoire, but I seriously can’t remember a time when it wasn’t one of my go-to recipes. I do however vividly remember craving it every other day when living in Singapore & then again in Bangkok (the only two periods of my grown-up life when I haven’t been cooking at least every other day) – and it being one of the very first dishes I whipped up once I was back home again.

This salmon spinach pasta really is a classic in my book. Even if I’m a true lover of pasta I sometimes crave something that at least feels a bit lighter (confession: even I don’t crave something heavier like Red Wine Chicken Pasta every day!) – and the salmon, spinach and lemon in this recipe lighten it up in just the right way. As you might know by now, I love my lemon. So I add a lot. I want it to taste of lemon, not just have it back up the salmon and spinach. If you see lemon as more of a background character, that’s fine. Just use a bit less and it will still be seriously tasty.

A big selling point of this salmon spinach pasta is that it’s so quick to throw together. I love cooking with ingredients that are already “finished” – like grilled chicken or here, smoked salmon. It makes the whole process so much quicker, easier and cleaner. Like seriously, this salmon spinach pasta will take you 15 minutes tops and leave little but a chopping board, knife and the pan for washing up. Perfect for a weeknight – but it truly is tasty enough for a weekend dinner party as well (I actually made this for one of my closest friends’ birthday lunch the other weekend). I promise, no one will know you took the easy route. And if you tell them, they’ll definitely ask for the recipe (just send them my way, okay?).

Speaking of weeknights – this salmon spinach pasta will heat up really well. I love to bring it along to work for lunch, or have it ready in the fridge for dinner. So yes, you could actually get almost all your weeknight lunches or dinners ready in 15 minutes maximum. How’s that for easy meal prepping?!

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Salmon Spinach pasta

This salmon spinach pasta is quick and easy to make and full of flavor thanks to the smoked salmon. You can make it in just 15 minutes and it works great to heat up for lunch or dinner.

Course Main Course

Keyword hot smoked salmon, pasta, spinach

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Author Emmeline

Ingredients

• 2.5 dl cream full fat, low fat or a mix of milk and cream
• 1 dl crème fraîche
• 150 g fresh spinach
• 300 g hot smoked salmon, chopped can be substituted for cold smoked or pan fried salmon
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 1-2 lemons, juice of
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 250 g fresh tagliatelle

Instructions

1. Heat up the cream and creme fraiche in a pan large enough to hold all the sauce and pasta. Add the spinach and cook until it has decreased significantly in volume. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Taste test and adjust seasoning accordingly. Let it cook for a few minutes.

2. Start cooking the pasta - this recipe is a quick one! Then add the salmon to the sauce and let simmer for a minute.

3. When the pasta is a minute from finished: add it to the sauce together with about 1 dl of pasta water. Give it a good mix and let it cook for 2 minutes. Done! Now enjoy.

Recipe Notes

• Choose your cream - both full fat and lower fat versions work well here, and so does substituting as much as half of it for milk
• I use hot smoked salmon as I love how it falls apart and becomes part of the sauce - but you can also use cold smoked salmon or even pan-fried salmon

These Orange Ginger Carrot Cupcakes got so many thumbs up from my co-workers that I figured I had to make them again (poor me) and take some pretty pictures. And trust me, it’s not the last time I make them!

Short background: I don’t bake a lot, but when I do, I take it seriously. So when my time came around in the Fika Group at work I started planning what to make well in advance. I wish. (Sidenote: The Fika Group is a Swedish concept where everyone takes turns bringing along “Fika” for everyone, often started as a just-for-fun way for everyone to get to have some sweets at least one afternoon of the week, but quickly escalating into full-on Masterchef baking competition. Or maybe that’s just me.)

In reality, with two days to go, I started to get a bit stressed out over what to make. So I did the only reasonable thing – I had a quick brainstorming session with a friend over several glasses of wine. And so, the idea of  Orange Ginger Carrot Cupcakes was born.

I realize as I’m writing this that this was probably not all that random. I’m not a big sweets person, especially not when it comes to baked stuff. So when I do bake I don’t want it to be just sweet – it needs to have tons of flavor and preferably be a bit savory as well. And I have to say the Orange Ginger Carrot Cupcakes did the trick.

The muffin part of the cupcake is based on Pinch of Yums Carrot Cake Cupcakes. It’s not overly sweet, it’s moist and cooks evenly. However, I did add a twist: enter the ginger, first visit. Grated and mixed in with the rest of the batter it provides a hint of spice, without overpowering the subtle carrot flavor.

However good the muffin part is, the real hero of this cupcake is the frosting. It’s a basic creme cheese frosting, but then again – it’s so much more. My co-workers and I were literally eating the leftovers by the spoonful. It’s sweet but not too sweet, full of orange flavor and then again that tiny hint of ginger. It’s not as firm as some cream cheese frostings can be, if you like it firmer you can add some more powdered sugar, but that will of course also increase the sweetness.

The final touch is the candied ginger. This is not a must. You can leave it out. It’s a 1000% allowed. The frosting really is the hero and it performs excellently on its own (preferably eaten by he spoonful, as I mentioned). But if you’re like me (a lover of all things ginger as well as seriously overambitious, that is) you’ll make it. A fair warning though: it’s highly addictive.

So there you have it. From brainstorming to Fika Group to you in less than a week. Must be some kinda record, right? And two recipes in one, at that!

Trust me when I say: make this. Make it now.

Orange Ginger Carrot Cupcakes

September 13, 2018

Servings: 12

Prep: 40 min

Cook: 18 min

Total: 60 min

Difficulty: Easy

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These Orange Ginger Carrot Cupcakes might be the best cupcakes ever - subtly sweet and full of flavor, and with an extra zing from the ginger.

By: Emmeline

Ingredients

• Carrot Ginger Muffins
• 2.5 dl (140g) flour
• 1.75 dl (175 g) sugar
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 0.25 tsp salt
• 4 dl (200g) finely shredded carrots (about 4-5 carrots)
• 1.5 Tbsp (20g) finely grated ginger
• 1.75 dl vegetable oil, e.g. rapeseed oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Orange Ginger Frosting
• 4 Tbsp (60g) salted butter, room temperature
• 225 g cream cheese, room temperature
• 3.5 dl (240 g) powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp finely grated orange zest (approximately from one orange)
• 2 Tbsp orange juice (approximately from half an orange)
• 1 Tbsp (15 g) finely grated ginger
• For decorating
• 1.5 dl candied ginger (see separate recipe), chopped (can be omitted)

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
• Step 2 Grease a muffin tray or place paper muffin forms on a baking tray or in a muffin tray.
• Step 3 Then start with the muffins. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
• Step 4 In another bowl, large enough to hold all of the batter, combine grated carrots, grated ginger, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture slowly. Then add the beaten eggs and mix.
• Step 5 Scoop the batter into the muffin forms, filling them to a maximum of 2/3.
• Step 6 Bake for 18 minutes. Baking time may vary with your oven so it might be an idea to bake for 10-15 minutes first, check, and then return the muffins to the oven if necessary. You want them to have a nice golden color and to be finished inside, but not dry. Set aside and let cool before adding the frosting.
• Step 7 Make the frosting while the muffins are baking. Start by mixing the butter until fluffy.
• Step 8 Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix.
• Step 9 Add orange zest, orange juice and grated ginger. Taste test and check texture – you want it to be firm enough to stay on top of the muffins. If it’s too soft add some more powdered sugar.
• Step 10 Let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before decorating the cupcakes.
• Step 11 Decorate the cupcakes with the frosting and add chopped candied ginger on top.

Candied Ginger

September 13, 2018

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 1 hr 40 min

Total: 1 hr 50 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Candied ginger makes a great topping for cupcakes, but is also delicious on it's own. Beware: it's highly addictive! 300g of ginger makes about 3 dl of finished candied ginger.

By: Emmeline

Ingredients

• 300 g fresh ginger, peeled
• sugar, same weight as the cooked ginger

Directions

• Step 1 Slice the peeled ginger into thin slices. Place in a pan with a lot of water and cook for about an hour, until the ginger has softened.
• Step 2 Pour off the water and weigh the ginger. Add the same amount of sugar as ginger, and about 0.5 dl of water. Mix together and place over medium-high heat.
• Step 3 Let it simmer and stir often. When almost all the water has evaporated and the sugar has started to form sugar crystals again it’s finished. Pour the mixture over a baking sheet and stir with a spoon or kitchen thongs, so that it doesn’t stick. The sugar will start cooling off immediately and form crystals.
• Step 4 Let cool completely before using. Enjoy!

This pointed cabbage salad with gyoza chickpeas and parmesan will leave you full, satisfied and happy you (hopefully) have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Actually, why not make it specifically to bring along for lunch? Or make it ahead for the week’s dinners? It’s perfect to just heat up any time you feel like quickly and simply preparing something healthy and delicious.

I just need to say it once and for all: I’m not a salad person. I mean, it’s great as a side. With other food. Real food. Food that’s not salad. I’m the kinda person who buys a salad for lunch trying to be healthy, and then ends up finishing all the good stuff (that means the cheese), asking for more dressing to dip my bread in and leaving all the actual salad. Oh, and treating myself to a cookie afterward because A. I was good and healthy and ordered a salad, and B. I’m starving because in reality I only had some bread and cheese for lunch. Oh, and some dressing.

Anyway, the pointed cabbage salad with gyoza chickpeas and parmesan is a salad I actually like. One I actually eat. Like, all of it. AND, one that actually makes me full. Like, happy place, take on the world, just had a satisfying meal kinda full. (Might be because I actually finish it but hey let’s not go there.) It has cheese of course. But it also has a lot of other good stuff and – most importantly – tons of flavor, in each and every part. To make matters even better, it’s great for making ahead and bringing along to work for lunch or just keeping in the fridge and heating up for dinner.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from Swedish blogger Petra Tungården, who doesn’t blog a lot about food but every time she does I end up trying her recipes and making them over and over again. I still daydream about a vegetarian lasagna she posted maybe 10 years ago (I should really find that recipe again!).

This is a bit tweaked from her original recipe (honestly can’t really remember the original one but I think there was kale and no parmesan, maybe?), and I encourage you to tweak it as you like as well. And to use what you have at home! Sometimes I add tomatoes, if I have them, but it’s sufficiently flavored without them as well. Sometimes I substitute parmesan for feta cheese (of course I do). So have fun with it!

The four core components of this recipe are pointed cabbage, leafy greens, savory roasted chickpeas and cheese. That’s really all you need to know to make your own version. If you want more guidance, well read on!

The hero of the dish is a kind of cabbage I had never used before attempting this dish the first time: the pointed cabbage. It’s kinda cute in my opinion and more delicate than other cabbage, more like a mix of cabbage and gem lettuce. And, just like gem lettuce, it loves being grilled or roasted.

The only seasoning I use is salt, black pepper and olive oil. Just like for gem lettuce, that really is enough. Delicate, as I said.

You want the cabbage to get some good coloring. The burnt parts are the best – salty and crispy, sorta like kale chips but you get to eat them in a salad. (Or could you actually eat kale chips in a salad as well? This has to be tried! Brb, off to the kitchen to test it out.)

The chickpeas then – these you finish really quickly while the cabbage is roasting. Just roasted until golden brown and then bathed in garlic, chili flakes and gyoza sauce. These, you could actually eat as a snack. They’re just that good.

To finish the dish, just plate a generous amount of leafy greens, place the cabbage and chickpeas on top and add shredded parmesan cheese. You can make all the components ahead of time and just heat up and combine before eating. When I bring this as a lunch I place the cabbage and chickpeas in a lunch box and mix the spinach and parmesan in a plastic bag. And then I just run to the tram and hope that lunch comes early!

Pointed cabbage salad with gyoza chickpeas and parmesan

September 9, 2018

Servings: 2

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 35 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Finally, a salad that leaves you happy, satisfied and full. Full of flavor throughout and, oh, full of healthy stuff as well!

By: Emmeline

Ingredients

• 1 pointed cabbage
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• salt and black pepper
• 1 can (400g) of cooked chickpeas
• 2 Tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 0.25 tsp sesame oil
• 100g leafy greens such as spinach or kale
• 1 dl or 30g parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

• Step 1 Set the oven for 225C / 440F
• Step 2 Place a baking sheet on a baking tray.
• Step 3 Cut the pointed cabbage in four pieces and place on the baking tray. Season with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for about 30 minutes, until the cabbage has gotten some nice color and the edges are kinda burned.
• Step 4 With 15 minutes left of the cabbage, start with the chickpeas. First, make the gyoza sauce. Mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil in a bowl. Taste and adjust to your liking.
• Step 5 Heat a pan over medium-high heat and then add the chickpeas. Stir often and let them roast until they turn golden brown.
• Step 6 When finished, take the chickpeas off the heat, add the minced garlic, the gyoza sauce (the soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil you mixed together that is) and chili flakes according to taste.
• Step 7 Remove the cabbage from the oven.
• Step 8 Place half of the leafy greens in each bowl, place two quarters of cabbage on each plate and half of the chickpeas. Top with the shredded parmesan. And that’s it! Enjoy!

This Creamy Red Wine Chicken Pasta is the perfect way to kickstart fall – full of flavorful red wine and thyme and seasonal mushrooms it incorporates all those cosy fall feelings and flavors all at once.

A few weeks ago, despite the summer heat still suffocating all of Stockholm, I started craving pasta. Like, seriously craving it. And not just a light, easy-breezy-sorta-summery pasta vongole or the like – but a full on heavy, creamy, sumptuous dish of pasta. Along with this pasta craving came another one, one reserved for most times of the year apart from 30 C summer days and one that goes excellently with pasta: red wine. Enter: the experiment of the red wine pasta sauce.

Unlike most experiments, this one actually turned out amazing the first time. I’ve since made it about four times and it actually turned out great each and every time, so now I feel ready to share it with you guys as well. I’m quite sure you will end up making this creamy red wine chicken pasta over and over again as well. It’s definitely one of my new favorites at least!

You’ll notice that the ratio of chicken and mushrooms to pasta in this recipe is quite high – if you want to you can, of course, add more pasta and it will serve more people. I, however, like having more of the good stuff and less pasta (not that pasta isn’t good stuff, but never mind) – you do you, this recipe could probably hold double the amount of pasta if you like – maybe just add another deciliter of red wine, 1.5 dl more cream and another deciliter of pasta water and you should be fine.

I made basically the same recipe each time I tried this, but the finishing touch was adding some chanterelles this last time, as we’re coming into chanterelle season here in Sweden and they’re now at least somewhat reasonably priced. They do make it a bit extra, but honestly, the recipe isn’t that dependant on them so if you have trouble finding them or you wanna keep it a bit on the cheaper side – just skip them. I used both chanterelles and white button mushrooms, but it would probably be even tastier with some Porcini or autumn chanterelles added to the mix. Use whatever’s seasonal and reasonable!

Depending on the water percentage of your mushrooms it might be a good idea to cook away the water before adding them to the butter and onion. Otherwise, you might end up with far too much water in the sauce. I did this with the mushrooms for this recipe but since we had such a dry summer they really didn’t need it.

I also suggest cooking the chicken until it’s finished or almost finished in a separate pan. This way you can add it to the sauce at the very end and will not end up with dry and tough chicken. It will probably release a lot of water in the pan – lucky you!! Don’t throw this away – add it to the sauce together with the chicken, it adds a lot of extra flavor. Also, letting the chicken cook in the water it releases (as opposed to pouring it off) actually seems to make the chicken extra tender and juicy.

For this recipe (and a lot of my other recipes) I keep the garlic cloves in one piece, but slightly crush them using the side of the knife. This allows you to infuse the dish with some garlic flavor without it getting to be too overpowering, and without having to worry as much about garlic breath after. Just remember how many garlic cloves you put in and remember to remove them before serving.

You can of course replace the fresh thyme with dried if you want to, but what I like about using fresh thyme is that this allows me to pick it out at the end together with the garlic. I love the flavor, but I hate the sprigs, so if you do too this is the way to go. If you want to pretty it up you can always add some fresh (and easily removable…) sprigs on top when serving.

However nice the ingredients mentioned above may be, the secret to this recipe is actually the finishing touch: Parmesan. Instead of adding it over the finished dish, it’s added to the sauce and mixed in well. Just do it. You are allowed to add extra at the end as well, of course. Who am I to tell you not to add excessive amounts of cheese? (And what is really an “excessive” amount of cheese? Is there even such a thing?)

Oh, and as always with pasta sauces – cook the pasta just a minute short of finished, and let it finish cooking in the sauce together with some pasta water. Makes all the difference.

I hope you’ll enjoy this Creamy Red Wine Chicken Pasta just as much as I have – and please let me know if you try it!

Creamy Red Wine Chicken Pasta

September 3, 2018

Servings: 3-4

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 40 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Cream and full red wine and thyme flavor create the perfect setting for tender chicken and assorted mushrooms - add whichever mushrooms are accessible to you. Don't forget to add the parmesan at the end, it makes for a delicious finishing touch (and of course, you are allowed to add even more on top).

By: Emmeline

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp butter, divided
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, in one piece but slightly crushed
• 6-8 white button mushrooms (approximately 300g), chopped
• 200g chanterelles, chopped
• 2 dl red wine
• 2.5 dl cream
• 1 Tbsp concentrated chanterelle stock (or other mushroom stock)
• fresh thyme sprigs
• 4-500g chicken (2 chicken breasts/5 thigh fillets), cut in bite-size pieces
• 250g fresh tagliatelle cooked 1 min less than package instructions
• 2 dl pasta water
• 1 dl fresh grated parmesan

Directions

• Step 1 For cooking off the water from the mushrooms (optional): Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until water comes out. Remove the water continuously until no more water is left.
• Step 2 Heat another pan, large enough to hold all the sauce and pasta, over medium heat. Add 1.5 Tbsp of butter, the chopped onion and the crushed garlic cloves. Let cook for a few minutes, until fragrant.
• Step 3 Add the mushrooms together with another 1.5 Tbsp of butter. Let cook for a few minutes. If the mushrooms start to look dry, add more butter.
• Step 4 Add the red wine, raise the temperature to medium-high and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Step 5 Add the cream, concentrated chanterelle stock and thyme. When it starts boiling, lower the temperature to medium again. Let cook for at least 5, but rather 10, minutes.
• Step 6 In another pan (go ahead and use the mushroom pan again), heat up 1 Tbsp of butter. Add the chicken and cook until finished. Oh, and it’s probably about time to start the pasta now.
• Step 7 With about 2 minutes left on the pasta:, add the chicken to the sauce together with the butter and water left in the pan.
• Step 8 When the pasta is finished, add it to the sauce together with 2 dl of pasta water. Let cook for about 2 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.
• Step 9 Mix in the grated parmesan. Serve!

If you’re like me and can’t get enough of Feta cheese, then this Feta Filled Chicken is for you. You’re welcome. And no, you can’t make the sauce too often.

There are few things I love more than feta cheese, so whenever I find a reason to incorporate it into my dishes I take it (spoiler alert: I more often than not find this reason). And while feta cheese crumbled on top of a salad or hot potatoes, or melted into a pasta sauce, might be nice, my ride or die choice is the plain old feta cheese sauce. A simple cold sauce where the main ingredient is the feta cheese, and other stuff can be added as you like. This recipe contains my OG version, but since the inception of this recipe some 10+ years ago I’ve made countless versions of the sauce. Sometimes I just mix feta cheese with something creamy like crème fraîche or yoghurt, other times I add a bit of garlic or basil, for fish I often add a good helping of lemon juice. That’s the charm of this sauce – it goes with everything. Fish, meat, chicken, veggies, with a piece of bread or as part of a cheese platter – still haven’t found a place where it doesn’t fit in. Just adapt the ingredients according to your taste, what you’re serving it with and what you happen to have at home. Mix the cheese with just some olive oil to make it firm and spreadable (or, like here, suitable for stuffing) or add something creamy to make it into more of a sauce (I prefer crème fraîche, but for a healthier version greek yoghurt works just as well – makes it a bit saucier and less firm though).

Come to think of it, feta filled chicken is probably one of my most basic recipes. Not basic in taste, not at all. But basic in the way that I use parts of it a lot and change it up to suit my current cravings, time constraints and what’s in my fridge. All the components are great, and by mixing it up a bit you quickly get so many more dishes out of it. But to be honest, the feta sauce is probably the most common component in my cooking.

Feta filled chicken is in general not difficult to make. However, getting the chicken right is a bit tricky. You really want it to be finished (of course) but you also don’t want it to be dry. Rather dry than salmonella in my opinion but I’d prefer neither, thank you very much. I suggest using a kitchen thermometer and sticking it in the thickest part of the chicken. It should cook to 73 C/165 F. As the stuffed chicken usually cooks a bit unevenly go ahead and stick the thermometer in a few different places to be sure. The time suggested here is 15 min, but this will vary depending on your oven. I usually stick the thermometer in at the beginning and let it sit, and it lets me know when it’s finished.

• Make the beets and potatoes into wedges instead of slices and increase cook time to 30 min. Less prep and more time for other stuff!
• Don’t fill the chicken, instead make all the filling into sauce – just add another 1 dl of crème fraîche. Add some dried basil to the chicken seasoning as well, for extra flavor.
• If in a real hurry, you don’t even have to cook the chicken in the pan first – just place it in the oven and add 2 minutes to the cook time. Not as pretty and not quite as tasty, but still really good.

Feta Filled Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes, Basil, Roasted Beets and Potatoes

August 30, 2018

Servings: 4

Prep: 25 min

Cook: 15 min

Total: 40 min

Difficulty: Moderate

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Feta cheese is all around in this stuffed chicken recipe where feta cheese, sundried tomatoes and basil make up the basis of both the chicken stuffing and accompanying sauce. Oh, and the sauce. The sauce!! I promise you'll start using it for, well, everything.

By: Emmeline

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts (approximately 600g)
• 2.5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 150 g feta cheese
• 100 g sundried tomatoes in oil (weight incl. oil)
• 2 Tbsp. of the sundried tomato oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Half a pot of fresh basil, appr. 10 g
• 1.5 dl crème fraîche
• 500 g firm potatoes
• 300 g beets
• salt and fresh black pepper

Directions

• Step 1 Move the oven rack to the lowest possible setting and set the oven for 200C/400F.
• Step 2 In a bowl, combine feta cheese, sundried tomatoes, 2 Tbsp of the sundried tomato oil, minced garlic and fresh basil.
• Step 3 Mix together with an immersion blender and add black pepper according to taste. Set aside for now.
• Step 4 Now start with the beets and tomatoes. Place a baking sheet on an oven tray. Clean the potatoes and peel the beets and slice both thinly, approximately 2 mm thick. Use a mandolin if you have one. If you don’t, but you hate slicing, you can use a cheese slicer.
• Step 5 Place the potato and beet slices on the baking sheet and add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil, sea salt and fresh black pepper. Mix together and then space the slices out as well as possible on the baking sheet.
• Step 6 Place in the top-middle of the oven and cook for 25 minutes, taking the oven tray out and flipping the potatoes once after 10 minutes (should be about time when you put in the chicken, see step 14 below). They should end up soft and with some nice coloring, but not burnt.
• Step 7 Now it’s time for the chicken. Take out a baking dish that will fit all four chicken breasts and grease it with 1/2 tbsp of the olive oil.
• Step 8 Place a pan over high heat and add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil.
• Step 9 Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
• Step 10 Place the chicken in the pan and cook on both sides until it has a nice color, app. 1 minute per side.
• Step 11 Place the chicken on a cooking board and, being careful not to burn yourself, slice a hole along the long side of the chicken breast. It should run as deep as possible without going out the other side and as long as possible.
• Step 12 Scope up filling with a spoon and use another spoon to fill the holes in the chicken breasts with the filling. Be careful not to get any chicken ”juice” in the feta mixture as this will be used for the sauce later on. Make sure you get as much filling as possible in there but without it falling out through the hole. There should be a good amount of filling left when you’re done.
• Step 13 Place the chicken breasts in the baking dish.
• Step 14 Place baking dish on the oven rack and cook for approximately 15 minutes. The chicken should reach 73 C/165F and the juices run clear – using a thermometer makes it so much easier to get it right.
• Step 15 While the rest is cooking it’s time to take the stuffing and make it into sauce. Take the remaining stuffing and add the crème fraîche. Mix together with the immersion blender. Taste and add fresh black pepper according to taste.
• Step 16 You should have some time left so this might be the time to open the wine.
• Step 17 Remove the potatoes and chicken from the oven when finished, and serve together with the sauce.

So this spring I went to NYC for the first time ever and of course, being a serious foodie as well as serious planner, I did my food research. With the help of both Swedish bloggers/previous NYC residents such as Sandra Beijer, American bloggers I’ve followed for as long as I can remember such as Lauryn Evarts and friends/family/random people who had been to NYC I came up with a thorough agenda for the weekend. Basically, we would eat. We would also have a few cocktails but mainly to pass the time between meals. Oh and we were going to a standup show. But I mean, what else of importance could there be?

Anyway, this worked out well and all until our second day when we went to take the Staten Island Ferry (apparently the cheapie way to see the Statue of Liberty up close-ish) and found take away margharitas on the way. An hour later we were back on Manhattan ground, “sorta” buzzed and totally derailed from our strict food itinerary and also from the rest of the itinerary. What was supposed to be a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge followed by either a trip up to Maison Premiere or a trip down to the Red Hook Winery (see! options! I’m not that strict!) turned into (supposedly famous) Irish Coffees at (supposedly famous and one of the best bars in the world?) the Dead Rabbit and sawdust all over, followed by serious hunger pangs and beer cravings and me loudly demanding buffalo wings. All this before we even started our walk across the bridge (spoiler alert: we never did get across). Luckily, at this difficult point of our trip we had arrived in some neighborhood or other where both beer and buffalo wings actually seemed very possible to find (maybe that’s every neighborhood in NYC?). We walked into a place that promised beer, and after getting a bit upset that they did in fact not have any buffalo wings on the menu I settled for buffalo cauliflower.

And my life has not been the same since.

Once back in Stockholm I tried my best (i.e. cooked a bit and googled A LOT) to find a recipe for buffalo cauliflower that matched the divine experience I’d had the first time. And it turned out OK. It was good. But it was not “the one”.

Then one day, I found a recipe for Sticky Sesame Cauliflower Wings over at Jessica in the Kitchen. Well actually I think I found it somewhere else because it’s a quite old recipe, but anyway I found it. And lucky me!! Right away I realized – what was missing from my life was panko. Well not missing from my life exactly, I use it a lot, mainly for frying feta cheese (which was my favorite food in the world until I found Buffalo Cauliflower), but missing from my Buffalo Cauliflower. Pair this with an extra buttery buffalo wing sauce and my favorite recipe for Blue Cheese Dip from Fifteen Spatulas and it was an immediate home run. So, basically, I can’t take credit for any part of this recipe but for the bringing together of three components that were meant to be. Call me a matchmaker if you will, this is a match made in heaven.

Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip

August 27, 2018

Servings: Meal for 2 o snack for 4

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 25 min

Total: 40 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip is already a modern classic, and this meeting of the perfect panko-crusted cauliflower, buttery buffalo sauce and amazing Blue Cheese Dip will make you understand exactly why.

By: Emmeline

Ingredients

• Blue cheese dip
• 150 g blue cheese
• 1 dl sour cream
• 0.5 dl mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• salt and pepper to taste, I use about 0.5 tsp of each
• Buffalo cauliflower
• 1 medium sized head of cauliflower, about 500g
• 1 dl flour
• 1 dl milk
• 0.25 tsp salt
• 0.25 tsp black pepper
• 0.25 tsp garlic powder
• 1.5 dl panko bread crumbs
• 50 g butter, melted
• 1.5 dl hot sauce (I use Cholula hot sauce original)

Directions

• Step 1 Set the oven to 225 C.
• Step 2 Then start with the blue cheese dip, it likes to sit for a while. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with an immersion blender. Add salt and pepper to taste, then place in the fridge until the rest is finished.
• Step 3 Now it’s time for cauliflower. Place a baking sheet on a baking tray.
• Step 4 Then start by cutting the cauliflower into bitesize florets. Not too small, but certainly not too big.
• Step 5 Mix together the flour, salt, black pepper and garlic powder in a bowl. Pour the panko in another bowl next to it.
• Step 6 Add the cauliflower florets to first the flour-mixture, making sure that they get covered on all sides.
• Step 7 After the flour-mixture, toss the florets in the panko. Make sure they get covered on all sides here as well.
• Step 8 Place the florets on the baking sheet, well separated.
• Step 9 Place the baking tray with the florets in the middle of the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
• Step 10 While the cauliflower is cooking you can prepare the buffalo sauce. Melt the butter, and mix with the hot sauce in a bowl large enough to hold both the sauce and the cauliflower.
• Step 11 After 20 minutes, remove the cauliflower from the oven and add to the buffalo sauce. Toss, and then return to the baking sheet. Pour over any remaining buffalo sauce.
• Step 12 Place back in oven for an additional 5 min.
• Step 13 Take out the cauliflower, add to a serving dish (or a bowl for maximum couch comfort) and serve with the blue cheese dip. Enjoy!

There are a few recipes that have been with me since forever, that have been go-to’s for as long as I can remember. Always deeply satisfying and generally quite quick and simple (I did not have nearly the same patience in the kitchen way back when). This recipe is one of those. Creamy, spicy, deeply fragrant from the saffron and with a subtle sweetness from the tomatoes and shrimp it rarely disappoints. Another reason I love it so much is that it’s one of those dishes that’s great when freshly made, but almost twice as good the day after. So you could seriously even make this the day before, not finish cooking the pasta, and then finish it the day of. Haven’t tried it but please let me know if you do!

I’ve made it a gazillion times and I’ve made it for a bunch of different people – it’s a surefire dish unless you serve it to someone who’s allergic to spice. Just don’t. This is a spicy dish. You could make it with regular tomato sauce instead of arrabiata, but I haven’t tried as I like the complexity added by the spice. Anyway, still haven’t met anyone who likes spice and doesn’t like this dish.

Even though I’ve made this dish for years, I managed to update it a bit recently. I used to make it with a pre-made arrabiata sauce (the Barilla kind is really good for it!) – which still makes a really good dish, and ridiculously fast – but now I updated it with a homemade arrabiata base. You can do either, depending on ambition and time constraints, but I recommend trying your hands at doing it all from scratch. The arrabiata mainly cooks itself and doesn’t even require a lot of chopping, so you’ll probably find it well worth it. It really does add extra flavor, and comes with the added bonus of knowing exactly what’s in it. If you’re in a hurry you can also reduce the cooking time for the sauce. 15 minutes will do it, but if you can I suggest to let it stay on at least the full 45. Just adjust the amount of water – add a bit at a time and just add more when it starts to look a bit dry. Not dry-dry, then it’s gone too far – but just not as saucy anymore. Keep in mind though that you’ll add lots of cream as well for the final sauce so the consistency of the arrabita shouldn’t be too runny. Aim for 2 dl for 45 min, less for shorter and more for longer, and you’ll be fine!

As always with spices, please taste and adjust to the heat in the red peppers and chili flakes available to you. The red peppers we have in Sweden are usually really mild, but if yours aren’t then please be gentle. The opposite can be said for the chili flakes – the ones I get here seem to be extraordinarily spicy (I realized, after following exact measurements for chili flakes and destroying good food – and I’m not one to shy away from spice!).

Not really that much more to say about it – just try it. The spice and slight sweetness pair well with a nice glass of spicy red, if you’re into wine – a Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir usually does the trick. Some other, less spicy, wines can feel a bit flat next to all the spice.

Oh, and don’t throw away the shrimp shells! They’ll make a really nice broth for you. Don’t have time to make it now? Doublebag them and throw in the freezer, than make that broth another day.

So, without further ado – I give you Creamy Saffron Arrabiata Shrimp with Tagliatelle. Enjoy!

Creamy Saffron Arrabiata Shrimp with Tagliatelle

August 23, 2018

Servings: 6

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 1 hr 15 min

Total: 1 hr 30 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Creamy, fragrant saffron and delicate shrimp meet spicy arrabiata sauce in this comforting pasta dish. If time is short you can make it with store-bought arrabiata sauce as well, just jump to step 4 in that case.

By: Emmeline

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion
• 4 whole garlic cloves
• 2 red chili peppers
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 packages (400g each) chopped canned tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp tomato puree
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 2 dl water (less if cooking for a shorter amount of time)
• 2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 1 kg shrimp
• 5 dl cream
• 1 g saffron
• 500g fresh tagliatelle pasta
• 2 dl pasta water

Directions

• Step 1 Finely chop the yellow onion, peel the garlic cloves and press them with the side of the knife so they hold together but are a bit crushed. Cut the chili peppers in half.
• Step 2 Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan large enough to hold all the sauce and, if possible, all the pasta as well. Add the onion, garlic and chili peppers and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Step 3 Add the chopped canned tomatoes, tomato puree, basil, black pepper, chili flakes and the water. If you’re not cooking it for the whole 45 minutes, start by adding some of the water and then add more as needed while cooking. Cook under a lid for 45 minutes over low-medium heat and stir occasonally.
• Step 4 While the arrabiata sauce is cooking, peel the shrimp.
• Step 5 When the arrabiata sauce is finished, remove the garlic cloves and chili halves.
• Step 6 Add the parsley, cream and saffron. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes.
• Step 7 Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, but take it off one minute before it’s finished. Add the pasta to the sauce together with a few spoonfuls (approximately 2 dl) of pasta water. Let it cook for a few minutes until the pasta is done.
• Step 8 Add the peeled shrimp to the sauce and pasta and give it a good mix.
• Step 9 Serve and enjoy!

The first time I ever had Larb Gai, this delicious and spicy thai chicken salad, was in Laos about seven years ago, in the beautiful town of Luang Prabang (supposedly a “secret” favorite holiday destination for movie stars such as Julia Roberts and George Clooney, or so Lonely Planet said). I remember falling in love instantly with the spiciness, the tanginess, the saltiness – basically, all my favorite flavors mixed into one perfect dish. No wonder it’s considered Laos’ “unofficial” national dish!

The next time I had it was while living in Bangkok, and this time it came as Larb Moo. Short Thai introduction if you’re unfamiliar – “gai” means chicken, and “moo” means pork. (I remember having soo much fun with this in Bangkok, I mean wouldn’t it be more suitable for “moo” to mean beef? Is this some kind of ironic joke that was then incorporated into the language? Nevermind, probably not as funny to anyone else.) Equally as delicious as Larb Gai.

Anyway, this time it was served at my all-time Bangkok favorite “Mom’s”. Mom’s was a restaurant situated far out of the way on a small back alley in a residential and very thai part of Bangkok, called Sutthisan. From the street the restaurant looked like the most touristy place in Bangkok with all its colorful lights and neon writing on the walls – but they served the most amazing and truly authentic Thai food. The place was run by a wonderful/very scary older Thai woman (“Mom”, I guess?) who was very impressed (she didn’t actually say so, but I’m sure she was) by my ability to eat really, really spicy curries and always berated me for not finishing my rice. Lucky for us our company had not set us up in any of the expat areas but in a small hotel in Sutthisan, a short walk from Mom’s, and we probably ate there at least four times a week.

So, back to the Larb Gai/Moo. Mom’s was where I fell deeply in love with northeastern Thai cuisine (also known as Isan cuisine) in general, and with Larb in particular (the inhabitants of Isan are mostly Lao, hence the similarity of the Laos and Isan cuisines). Northeastern Thai/Isan cuisine differs a bit from the common Thai food in Europe or the US as this is more often from the central or southern parts – you’ve probably had creamy coconut curries, stir-fries or pad thai. But have you had Larb Gai or Larb Moo, Sai Krok Isan (a tasty fermented sausage), Kor Moo Yang (grilled pork neck) or Som Tam (commonly known as papaya salad)? (OK the last one you might actually have tried) If not – TRY IT next chance you get. Or why not whip up a Larb Gai in your own kitchen? It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s full of flavor!

A slight reservation for any other aficionados of Isan cuisine out there. Traditionally, Larb can include both blood and offal, however for my version I have left those out. In part because these are not the easiest ingredients to find but mainly because, nope, even I have to draw the line somewhere.

My version of Larb Gai is mainly based on this recipe by Mark Wiens. I’ve exchanged the pork for chicken, changed some amounts and added a splash of water, but the basic idea is the same. No use inventing the wheel twice, eh? This being said, I encourage you to taste, taste, taste and make it your own. For example, I use far less chili flakes than Mark’s recipe calls for as I use another kind, and you might like it less salty or more acidic. This recipe for Larb Gai is quite spicy, but sometimes I do add another teaspoon of chili flakes if I feel like it. If you’re a bit nervous about spice, use half my amount to start – great thing is, you can always taste and add more if necessary. Oh, and also – I usually eat mine as-is without rice, but traditionally it’s served with sticky rice (can be substituted for jasmine rice). Do as you like!

The only thing that actually does take a bit of time with this recipe is making the Khao Kua (rice which is toasted and then coarsely ground). You can omit it but it really does add an extra dimension to the dish. What I do is I make a batch, store in an air-tight container and use it both for Larb and anytime I need a non-nutty substitute for chopped peanuts (try it the next time you’re cooking for someone with a nut allergy and want to incorporate some crunch!). In the recipe I haven’t included an amount for the uncooked jasmine rice as I will leave it up to you to decide if you want to make a batch or just enough for the recipe. The time stated for the recipe includes the time it takes to prepare the Khao Kua – otherwise prep time is no more than 10 min and you can easily do that prep while the chicken is cooking.

OK, so here goes – Larb Gai, your intro to Isan cuisine (sorry if this ends up costing you a plane ticket).

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Larb Gai - Thai Chicken Salad

This traditional Isan recipe Larb Gai is quick and easy to make, packed with flavor and with an interesting additional crunchy texture from the toasted rice. The Prep Time shown here includes making the toasted rice - if you already have that or wish to omit it prep time is only about 10 min.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Keyword chicken, salad, spicy

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 2 people

Author Emmeline

Ingredients

Khao Kua (toasted rice) (can be omitted)

• Uncooked jasmine rice (or preferably glutinous rice, if you can find it)

Larb Gai

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil for example rapeseed
• 500 g minced chicken
• 4 Tbsp Khao kua (toasted rice)
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 3 small shallots finely chopped
• 3 whole scallions, green leaves included finely sliced
• 3 Tbsp cilantro (about 5g) chopped
• 15 mint leaves chopped

Dressing

• 1.5 lime juice of
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp water

• 3-4 portions cooked jasmine rice can be omitted

Instructions

Khao kua (toasted rice) (can be omitted)

1. Heat a dry pan over medium heat and add the uncooked jasmine rice. Stir regularly, and more often when the rice starts to get some color. Roast the rice for about 15 minutes, until it's turned golden brown

2. Let the rice cool for a few minutes, then add it to a mortar or mixer and ground it to a coarse powder. That's it! Use what you need for this recipe and store the rest in an airtight container, it usually keeps for several months.
   

Larb Gai

1. First, you should have cooked the jasmine rice already if you want to include it - the Larb Gai will be ready in just 5 minutes! Then mix together the ingredients for the dressing - taste and adjust to your desired flavor.

2. Heat a wok over high heat and add the vegetable oil followed by the minced chicken. Cook through while stirring to separate the chicken.

3. When the chicken is cooked through, take the pan off the heat - but don't turn off the heat just yet. Stir in 4 Tbsp of the Khao kua (toasted rice), chili flakes, chopped shallots and scallions. Give it a good mix.

4. Place the pan back over the heat and pour over the dressing. Give a good mix and cook for just about 15 seconds. Remove from the heat and turn the heat off.

5. Mix in the chopped cilantro and mint. Taste, taste, taste!

6. When your happy with the taste, serve by itself in a bowl or on a plate with jasmine rice and or some green leaves. Gin hai aroy na! (That's Thai for "bon appetit", by the way)

Recipe Notes

• This dish works really well with minced pork as well - it is then called Larb Moo, but the concept and flavors are the same. If I make Larb Moo I skip the oil and let it cook in it's own fat (pork is fattier than chicken) and add more lime and fish sauce.
• Adjust the amount of chili flakes according to your taste, sensitivity to spice and the chili flakes you have available - with the "Red Hot Chili Flakes" I get in Sweden 1 tsp makes it SPICY but when using thai chili flakes I use about 2-3 tsp without the spice being too overpowering. As always - taste, taste, taste!
• Thai basil is a nice addition to this, and even works as a substitue for mint - if you happen to have it on hand.

Hey! Nice to meet you! I’m so excited that you found my special little internet space.

I’m  Emmeline, a Stockholm-based foodie, wine lover and personal chef to all my friends (unfortunately, this is so far an unpaid position). Corporate employee by day (and sometimes night) and avid home cook and culinary nerd by night, weekend and life.

Since I can remember cooking has been my favorite past-time. Comes with the family, I guess, since I have still to meet a relative that doesn’t have a stash of “secret” recipes lined up. Growing up my biggest idol was the Swedish “Mat-Tina” (“Food-Tina”) and my dream was to have a cooking show just like hers (something I also often pretended I had, explaining all my steps to a make-believe audience (OK I might still do this sometimes.)).

I was raised in a Swedish/American household where my dad was the main chef (he’s also the American and I blame him for me not learning the Swedish word for “spatula” until just a few years ago. It’s “stekspade”, if you’re wondering – I’m sticking with spatula.). We ate a lot of traditional Swedish food (I loved and still love the oven cooked pancake with pork and lingonberry jam), American comfort food (Sloppy Joes! Fried chicken!) but also a lot of Mexican (as opposed to the Tex-Mex so popular in Sweden when I was growing up), Italian (mom makes the best bolognese you’ve ever tasted, she must have been Italian in a previous life) and Chinese (however I think dad made up the names to just sound Chinese).

As I grew up and started to do a lot of travelling and experimenting with food and visited one or two Michelin-star restaurants (as well as loads of others) I expanded this repertoire to include a lot of Spanish (I could live off paella), Southeast Asian (Thai food makes my soul happy), Japanese (can’t beat a good Ramen soup) and more. I cook whatever my heart wants at the moment, and whenever I try something new and amazing at a restaurant I spend the following weeks in the kitchen trying to perfect it. This mix of all kinds of exciting cuisine is what you’ll find here at always use butter. At times it will be healthy, at times not, sometimes there will be meat, sometimes not. A lot of the time  (but no, not always – sorry for the misrepresentation) there will be butter. Basically, the same as what’s going on in my kitchen.

I started this blog because I want to share my love of food and wine with you, and help you cook up some amazing food in your own kitchen. It doesn’t have to be difficult to cook great food at home, you just need to know what to cook and how to do it – I want to help you with that. My goal is to figure out all the pitfalls of a recipe before you have to, so that I can help you make the dish perfectly the first time.

I want you to eat well every day, not just on weekends or special occasions. That’s why you’ll find all kinds of recipes here: quick weekday dinners, tasty weekend brunches, extravagant 8 course New Year’s Eve menus that you can easily (yes, that was irony) serve to 25 people with just a little help from a few sous chefs (that’s your friends). (Irony or not, it’s not impossible. You just need to have your  sh*t in order and work your butt off in the kitchen. I promise I’ll share with you how to do this, in case you feel the urge to really impress your friends. But we’ll save that for the holidays, okay?)

Apart from recipes you will find tips, tricks and fun facts I’ve picked up along the way. I love learning new techniques, backgrounds of dishes and flavor profiles for different types of cuisines. I tend to get a bit overzealous from time to time so please be patient with my occasional rambling. If you want to, you can always just skip my rants and go straight to the recipes.

I hope you will enjoy my recipes (and maybe even my rambling), please leave a note if you do or if you have any questions. If you want to follow me on social media I’m alwaysusebutter “everywhere” – so far that’s Instagram, Pinterest and Vivino.

Wanna get in touch about something? Please send me an e-mail.

Now, it’s time for me to get back in the kitchen – and maybe for you as well?

xxx

Emmeline