Bonfire dinners = happy summer days

Lakeside living.  Fresh fish.  A whole lot of sunshine.  Laughter shared with the people you love.  Food cooked over the fire.  Garden-fresh produce.  Lazy, breezy days.  The makings of a good summer.  Oh, and more fish.  Yes, please.

Redfin perch (ahven) ready to take the heat.

Carrots with butter, honey, salt & pepper, ready for roasting.

There was a lot of fish coming out of Lake Päijänne into our happy grasp this summer, most of it redfin perch (ahven) or pike (hauki).  It seems every time we dropped the nets in, we pulled out a sizable catch.  When you have 6 -10 fish (or sometimes more) coming out of the lake at the same time, you need to start getting creative about how to cook so that boredom (gasp!) doesn’t set in.  Mostly, we’ve eaten it either smoked whole or filleted and pan-fried over the open fire.  Excellent, finger-licking stuff.

Final moments over open flame – ideally the fire could have been a bit lower.

This time, I wanted a lighter, juicier version, but one that still didn’t involve heating up the kitchen.  Open fire cooking is another great advantage of cabin life, and who wouldn’t want to eat a fresh meal in the great outdoors with the wind blowing softly off of the lake?  I’ve had success cooking fish in parchment or foil in the oven, so decided to try this over the open flame, and to serve foil-wrapped vegetables as side dishes cooked up in the same fashion.

Dinner is served

I started with the vegetables first:  root vegetables tend to take a long time to roast, and I wanted to give the carrots time to caramelize and the turnips and potatoes time to soften.  The carrots & potatoes were excellent; next time I’ll par-cook the turnips for 5 – 7 min to get them to a delicious softness before putting them in foil.

L to R: new potatoes, turnips, carrots

The red fin perch was a delight to eat this way:  with a skin that peeled away easily with a fork and knife (make sure you descale/suomustaa the fish before you try this method).  The steam trapped in the foil softened the fish into tender, moist flakes that pulled away from the bone, and the fish disappeared pretty quickly.  Note: this will work pike perch and trout as well.

Foil-wrapped redfin perch Foil-wrapped Redfin Perch One redfin perch per person Onion, peeled, cut into slices Fresh Dill fronds Lemon slices (best) or lemon juice Salt Olive Oil First, get your campfire/nuoti going.  You want to give it a chance to burn down so it’s mostly hot coals and low flame.  Arrange a grill over the top of the flame. Clean and descale your redfin perch.  Lay out a large piece of foil per fish.  Salt the fish inside and out. Lay each fish on one side on the foil lengthwise in line with the foil.  Arrange onion slices (or the green tops if you have them), lemon slices and dill into the cavity of each fish and arrange them over the top of the fish as well.  If you don’t have fresh lemon, do as I did in the picture above and sprinkle the cavity and the top of the salmon with lemon juice instead.  Drizzle olive oil over the top of each fish.  Bring the long sides of the foil up over the top of the fish, fold them over carefully several times, and press to seal.  Roll up each end and seal.   Place the fish on the grill over the fire, and cook for 20-25 minutes.  To check for doneness, open the top of one package (watch for the steam that will come pouring out) and push the tines of a fork into the fish near the spine and the neck opening; pull down lightly with the fork.  If the fish pulls easily away from the bone and is moist a slightly flaky; it’s done (I always taste to make sure; (ahem) quality control).  Remove from heat and serve. Roasted Carrots Fresh carrots; greens trimmed but with one inch or so remaining Salt Honey Butter Arrange the washed, trimmed carrots on a piece of foil.  Sprinkle with salt; drizzle with honey; and set a few pats of butter over the top.  Close the foil; seal the package; and place on a grill over the open fire. Roasted Potatoes  New potatoes washed and cut into chunks Butter Salt & Pepper Green onion tops, cut into rounds, optional Lay the washed, cut potatoes on a piece of foil.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper and set a few pats of butter over the top.  Close the foil; seal the package; and place on a grill over the open fire. Roasted Turnips Raw turnips, washed, peeled, and cut into chunks Butter Salt & Pepper Green onion tops, cut into rounds, optional Place the turnips in a small pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Place the cooked turnips on a piece of foil.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper and set a few pats of butter over the top.  Close the foil; seal the package; and place on a grill over the open fire.

Tomato Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella

I am betting that if you grow tomatoes, your garden is starting to burst at the seams with them by now.  If you don’t have a backyard tomato crop (unfortunately I’m in this category), rest assured that they are arriving at the grocery stores and markets in all shapes, colors and sizes, and there is no time like the present to put them to good use.  They are at peak flavor right now, so all you need are a few great ingredients to make a perfect meal.

One thing to remember about tomatoes: they don’t like to be cold.  Not when they are growing and not once they are picked.  There is nothing like an uncomfortable chilly session in your refrigerator to take the sweetness out a tomato, so leave them on the counter in a pretty bowl, and use them quickly before they start to soften and go bad.

I picked up a couple of baskets of Finnish tomatoes at the local market yesterday, in two colors simply because I couldn’t resist.  Along with a fresh red onion, a ball of buffalo mozzarella, basil off of the balcony, a drizzle of great olive oil, and a pinch of Maldon salt, we were sitting down to a dinner salad accompanied by some nice crusty sourdough bread.  Summer perfection.

Tomato Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella

Tomato Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella

400g / 1 lb of tomatoes in various sizes and colors
1/2 small red onion, diced; about 2 tablespoons
1 ball of buffalo mozzarella, drained and cut or ripped into chunks
15 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and sliced into thin strips
2-3 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
a large pinch of Maldon salt
Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, optional, but highly recommended

Cut the tomatoes into slices and/or chunks.  In a small serving bowl or on two plates, arranged the tomatoes, sprinkle with the 1/8 teaspoon salt and toss lightly to combine.  Top the tomatoes with the mozzarella and then sprinkle the onion and shredded basil of the top.  Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil over each salad, a sprinkling of Maldon salt, and if desired, a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar.  Serve with a good quality bread for mopping up the juices, and let the sun shine in.

Serves 2.

Nectarine Mint Jam

But making nectarine jam is something you really ought to make time for.  I mean, I love a good, juicy peach – especially if the skin isn’t the fuzzy kind that pokes the tender skin above your lip as you bite into it; this is a challenge unique to peaches, and usually means you need to rub the outside of the skin vigorously on a paper towel or the thigh of your jeans to remove the fuzz. A perfect peach has minimal fuzz, and is so big that it overflows the palm of your hand when you hold it, and so sweet and juicy that you need to bend forward at the waist, chin forward as you bite into it, so that the juice that will inevitably spill over with every delicious bite runs down onto the ground rather than covering the front of your shirt.  That’s a good peach.

And then there’s the slightly tart, slightly sweet curious combination that comes with a perfectly ripe apricot – the kind that breaks open neatly beneath your thumbs so you can remove the pit, with just the right amount of softness and give between your teeth and that makes one of the best types of jams I can imagine.  Apricots are easy.

Nectarines aren’t something people get as excited about. The reason for this, I think, is that nectarines are picked, shipped, and arrive at a store or market near you, raw and crunchy and just not tasting that great.  Biting into a underripe nectarine is like sinking your teeth into an apple, except that you aren’t hoping for an apple at that point, you are hoping for the lovely juiciness that a peach brings, but you get something else entirely and it feels disappointing.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  Nectarines, (as long as they are ripe) because of their thin, smooth skin, don’t need to be peeled or undergo any laborious preparation before you use them.  Just take out the pit, slice them up, and they are ready to go.

Fresh Nectarines over oatmeal with Plum Licorice Jam, Basil and Sprouted Almonds

So try this:  Next time you buy a batch of rock-hard nectarines, let them hang out undisturbed in your warm kitchen for 2 or 3 days.  They’ll be perfect.  Eat a few.  Cut some over your oatmeal.  Layer them beautiful over the top of a vanilla or lemon tart.  And then, make jam.

I paired this jam with mint and it worked beautifully.  Usually when working with peaches and apricots, I’ve used rosemary, but somehow, with a garden full of mint and some perfectly ripe nectarines, this combination felt right.  The mint adds just the right, bright note against what would otherwise be a very sweet jam.

This jam is good on everything I’ve tried so far, including as the sweetener for a salad dressing in replacement of honey.  It’s especially good on toast spread with ricotta and topped with this jam.

The jam is nearly ready…

Nectarine Mint Jam

2 kg / 4,5 pounds of nectarines, pit removed and fruit cut into 1/2″ / 1.5 cm chunks
660 g / 3 cups of granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 large mint stems (10-15 leaves per stem, leaves left attached – use peppermint or another strong mint)

In a large stockpot, combine the plums, sugar, lemon juice.  Stir well to combine; cover; and allow the fruit to macerate for 1 hour.

Set the pot over high heat and bring to a rolling boil.  Reduce the temperature to medium-high, stir; and set the timer for 15 minutes, allowing the fruit to bubble undisturbed.  Meanwhile, place five teaspoons on a plate in the freezer.  You’ll use these later for testing whether or not the jam is ready.

While the jam cooks, prepare your jars:  Wash in hot, soapy water and then fill with hot water and set aside.  Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add your one piece lid, or the cap part (with rubber seal) of your two piece lid and boil for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave the lids in the hot water until you are ready to use them.  This sterilizes the lid and softens the rubber which helps the seal.

After 15 minutes, add the mint to the jam.  Continue to cook the jam, stirring regularly, for another 15 minutes.  At this point, turn off the heat, remove the mint, and discard.  Take one of the spoons you have in the freezer.  Fill it with jam and return it to the freezer for five minutes.  If the jam wrinkles slightly when you push it with your finger, it is ready.  If not, cook it for an additional 5 minutes and test again; repeating as necessary.

Once the jam has gelled to your liking, remove from heat.

Using a wide mouth funnel placed in the jar and a ladle, spoon the jam into the jars, leaving a 1/2″ / 1.5 cm space at the top.  Repeat until all of the jars are full.  Using a damp paper towel, wipe the rim of the jar so there is no jam residue left.  Place the hot lid on the jar, and, using a towel to hold the hot jar so you don’t burn your hand, tighten the lid finger-tight (don’t over tighten; the best way to ensure that you don’t is to use your thumb and first to fingers to tighten the lid, which means you won’t have enough finger strength to push it too far.)

Wash the big jam pot.  Put a dish towel in the bottom and place the jars on top.  Fill with water to cover the jar by at least 1″/ 2,5 cm.  Put the lid on and bring the pot to a boil.  Once boiling, set the timer for 15 minutes.  When the timer stops, turn off the heat and let the jars rest for 5 minutes.  Remove the jars from hot water and set on a dish cloth on the countertop, right side up, to cool completely.  Check to make sure the lids have sealed:  the top dome of the lid should be pulled in tightly and shouldn’t move when you press it with your finger.  Sometimes you’ll hear a ping as the jars cool and the lid seals, but not always.  If the lids are sealed, label the jars and store them in a cool, dark place for up to one year.  If your jar doesn’t seal, put it in the fridge and use it within one month. 

Makes 1 liter / 1 quart of jam