Bits, Bursts & Bongos

By Per Hakansson

Tarte Tatin (4 people : takes 45-minutes) #wcwed @Rikard_Nilsson The Tarte Tatin is one of my favorite desserts, invented by the Swiss Tatin sisters. The original recipe used apples but any fruit would work (bananas, pears, plums et cetera). Shortcrust pastry (made the day before and part of a larger batch to be used for other tartes like quiches and pies) 1-2 small apples 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbs butter 1 tsp cinnamon Caramelized the sugar, butter and cinnamon in a small oven-safe pan. Make sure it turns into a dark liquid but w/o burning. Slice the apples. Roll out the pastry in a circle. Add the apples in the pan and the pastry on top. Tuck in the pastry all around the pan. Cook for 30 minutes in 350 °F. Flip upside down on a plate and let cool. Enjoy with real (homemade) vanilla ice-cream or flambéed with apple cider brandy. Enjoy!

Tarte Tatin (4 people : takes 45-minutes) #wcwed @Rikard_Nilsson

The Tarte Tatin is one of my favorite desserts, invented by the Swiss Tatin sisters. The original recipe used apples but any fruit would work (bananas, pears, plums et cetera).

  • Shortcrust pastry (made the day before and part of a larger batch to be used for other tartes like quiches and pies)
  • 1-2 small apples
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbs butter
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Caramelized the sugar, butter and cinnamon in a small oven-safe pan. Make sure it turns into a dark liquid but w/o burning. Slice the apples. Roll out the pastry in a circle. Add the apples in the pan and the pastry on top. Tuck in the pastry all around the pan. Cook for 30 minutes in 350 °F. Flip upside down on a plate and let cool.

Enjoy with real (homemade) vanilla ice-cream or flambéed with apple cider brandy. Enjoy!

Scallops With Chorizo Salad (4 people : takes 20-minutes) #wcwed @Rikard_Nilsson This is a fantastic and quick recipe I learned at #RiverCottage earlier this year. Just learning how to make your own spicy Chorizo at home is worth trying this out. And needless to say, it’s delish accompanied by a Garnacha, Shiraz or Pinot Noir. Making Chorizo: 1/4 pound pork shoulder, coarsely ground 1/2 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika 1 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/8 cup of red wine Freshly ground pepper Mix everything in a bowl with your hands, let rest overnight. Then crumble into small pieces and sauté in canola oil for a few minutes. Set aside. Sauté the scallops (as many as your guests would like) in the same pan while chopping the greens (rocket, lettuce… anything green really). Add the greens in a small pile in the middle of the plate and put the Chorizo on top. Put the scallops next to the salad and let rest when 2/3 done as they will keep cooking and be perfect once they reach the table. Deglaze pan with a little bit of wine; pour this goodness over the Chorizo and the scallops. Enjoy knowing you have made something from scratch that is delicious, healthy and beautiful.

Scallops With Chorizo Salad (4 people : takes 20-minutes) #wcwed @Rikard_Nilsson

This is a fantastic and quick recipe I learned at #RiverCottage earlier this year. Just learning how to make your own spicy Chorizo at home is worth trying this out. And needless to say, it’s delish accompanied by a Garnacha, Shiraz or Pinot Noir.

Making Chorizo:

  • 1/4 pound pork shoulder, coarsely ground
  • 1/2 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
  • 1 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 cup of red wine
  • Freshly ground pepper

Mix everything in a bowl with your hands, let rest overnight. Then crumble into small pieces and sauté in canola oil for a few minutes. Set aside.

Sauté the scallops (as many as your guests would like) in the same pan while chopping the greens (rocket, lettuce… anything green really). Add the greens in a small pile in the middle of the plate and put the Chorizo on top. Put the scallops next to the salad and let rest when 2/3 done as they will keep cooking and be perfect once they reach the table.

Deglaze pan with a little bit of wine; pour this goodness over the Chorizo and the scallops. Enjoy knowing you have made something from scratch that is delicious, healthy and beautiful.

Successfully Battering Bad Fried Food with Beer Batter

There is just one way to fry fish, shrimp and chicken: beer batter.

  • 1 beer (preferably ale)
  • 1 cup of flour
  • Season with salt and pepper
  • Chop a spicy chili pepper for flavor

Takes one minute to whip up, let the fish soak in the batter for a few minutes while the canola oil is heating up and then add the battered fish into the hot oil. Let fry for a few minutes and serve with homemade mayonnaise (two egg yokes, 50/50 olive and canola oil, season with pepper and salt). It’s light-weight, healthy and delish!

Mentally and emotionally I’m still in Dorset despite being physically back in San Francisco. Walking along the springy hedgerows on my way to cookery class every day. Enjoying early morning nips and elevenses. Deep-diving into the art and science of smoking, curing, baking, sautéing and living a very rich real life.

A week ago I hopped on a flight to London w/o any luggage; just passport, some cash, en extra shirt and underwear, my iPhone and two cigars. All fitting easily in the pockets of my newly acquired Belstaff Roadmaster jacket - the best all-around travel jacket I’ve ever owned.

I wanted to experience a complete break from everything and focus on my passion for cooking real, local and sustainable food. The global Mecca for this is at River Cottage, right outside of Axminster, three hours by train from London Paddington Station.

To honor the true spirit of caring about what we eat, about simplicity and about being aware of how our choice of food effects the health of our planet, I decided to leave everything we usually schlepp around with us everywhere we go and pack nothing.

And it worked - brilliantly. Never did I lack anything important that I couldn’t source locally. But I ended up buying nothing but real food, train tickets and last minute accommodations.

No luggage meant walking everywhere, at least 5+ miles per day with the benefit of health, discovery of new places and people and a fantastic nightly sleep.

The only thing I acquired on the trip was a gift from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: his latest River Cottage Every Day cook book - signed. A great conversation starter, travel companion and reminder of an amazing week as I returned home.

I’ve enrolled in the 4-day cooking class at @RiverCottage and I’m feeling a great force of excitement. I’ve been a fan since I lived in London 10 years ago and got my hands on the wonderful meat book. I re-read it once in a while to revisit the heavenly world of carnivores and the beautiful British countryside. The course is one of a kind, covering real and organic meat, fish, baking and veg cooking. Something that I think is very important and care a whole lot about. Meeting the crew at River Cottage and spending days cooking together is going to be absolutely fantastic, to not say delicious. I’ll be staying in a small fishing village on the Dorset coast, walking to and from the River Cottage HQ every morning and afternoon. Needless to say, any pub in the close vicinity of the farm och my B&B would be hard to not explore. Sitting in front of a fireplace with a well-selected pint after a days hard work will be a royal reward. For anyone interested in real food and cooking I can recommend the River Cottage shows on You Tube. They are absolutely delightful but can unfortunately only be seen if you live in the UK (or have an UK IP). I’ll obviously share photos and thoughts when on location.

I’ve enrolled in the 4-day cooking class at @RiverCottage and I’m feeling a great force of excitement. I’ve been a fan since I lived in London 10 years ago and got my hands on the wonderful meat book. I re-read it once in a while to revisit the heavenly world of carnivores and the beautiful British countryside.

The course is one of a kind, covering real and organic meat, fish, baking and veg cooking. Something that I think is very important and care a whole lot about. Meeting the crew at River Cottage and spending days cooking together is going to be absolutely fantastic, to not say delicious.

I’ll be staying in a small fishing village on the Dorset coast, walking to and from the River Cottage HQ every morning and afternoon. Needless to say, any pub in the close vicinity of the farm och my B&B would be hard to not explore. Sitting in front of a fireplace with a well-selected pint after a days hard work will be a royal reward.

For anyone interested in real food and cooking I can recommend the River Cottage shows on You Tube. They are absolutely delightful but can unfortunately only be seen if you live in the UK (or have an UK IP).

I’ll obviously share photos and thoughts when on location.

Home-Made Friday Lunch Stir-Fry Goodness Cook rice. Fry up broccoli, onions, eggs and bacon. Mix with rice and add sauce made of red hunan chili sauce, Dijon mustard and soy sauce. Duration 22 minutes, effort 5 minutes. PS. I made this dish again today (3/8) and cooked the broccoli - florets + stalk - for 3-4 minutes before putting them in the frying pane. It made them softer and brought out more flavors.

Home-Made Friday Lunch Stir-Fry Goodness

Cook rice. Fry up broccoli, onions, eggs and bacon. Mix with rice and add sauce made of red hunan chili sauce, Dijon mustard and soy sauce. Duration 22 minutes, effort 5 minutes.

PS. I made this dish again today (3/8) and cooked the broccoli - florets + stalk - for 3-4 minutes before putting them in the frying pane. It made them softer and brought out more flavors.