Eat Simply, Eat Well

Smoked Salmon Salad on a baked potato with a side of steamed broccoli

Yesterday was Father’s Day in Finland.  And instead of us treating J’s father to dinner, he instead cooked for all 16 of us.  He’s a great cook, so a meal at his house never disappoints.  We gathered around the large table in the kitchen to share stories and laughter, watch the kids’ antics and enjoyed each other’s company over a meal of roast beef with rowan berry jelly, horseradish cream and gravy; his own smoked salmon with dill sauce and lemon, baked potatoes, roasted carrots, rutabagas and cabbage, a beautiful salad filled with fresh fruit, blue cheese and pecans, and some wonderful fresh bread. And even though there was a big crowd of people, we couldn’t keep up with the vast quantity of food despite valiant efforts and several plate refills.

Leftovers like these are a good problem to have, so we cheerfully said “Yes!” when he offered to send some home with us.  The recipe I share with you here was made in part from those leftovers, but even if you don’t have smoked salmon and baked potatoes at the ready, a quick trip to the store and 40 minutes or so of baking for the potatoes will put you in the position at the table to enjoy this delicious and easy meal.

The first time I had smoked salmon salad was at a lunch place in Finland called Moko Market.  There are actually two Moko Markets – one in Sörnäinen, where we usually go, and one in Punavuori, the original one.  Apparantly Moko Market started out as a place to sell fun, quirky, good quality new and well-loved, but refurbished household goods. One day the owner decided to start serving lunch, and the lines were immediately out the door on weekdays, with the local business crowds lining up for the good, wholesome, healthy food.  The brunches on Saturdays are pretty amazing too, by the way, so put that on your agenda next time you are in Helsinki.

The salmon salad is part of the salad bar offering: you order the salad and then get to choose three toppings, select your house made dressing and fresh bread, and it’s happy days for the next 20 or 30 minutes as you enjoy the impressive and unique flavors coming out of the kitchen.

The smoked salmon salad is so good; I’ve wanted to try it home for a while.  Here is my version, served over baked potatoes with a side of steamed broccoli.  Be sure to use salmon that has been heat-smoked rather than salmon that has been cold-smoked, otherwise you won’t get the right texture for this salad.

Smoked Salmon Salad and Baked Potatoes

Smoked Salmon Salad & Baked Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.  Wash two baking potatoes but do not peel them.  Oil the outside of the potatoes lightly with olive oil.  Pierce each potato a couple times with a fork.  Place the potatoes on a baking tray in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender and pierced easily with a  butter knife.  If your potatoes are very large, you may need more cooking time (and more smoked salmon salad!) Remove from oven and proceed with the recipe below.

Ingredients:
200g / 8 ounces heat-smoked salmon, cold or at room temperature
1/4 cup minced onion
4-5 teaspoons creme fraiche
2 potatoes, baked (see instructions above)
butter, to serve
fresh ground pepper to serve
lemon wedges, one per person

Combine the smoked salmon, onion and creme fraiche in a medium-sized bowl.  Using a fork, smash and mix the ingredients together so that the salmon breaks down into small pieces and is well combined with the onion and creme fraiche.  Squeeze lemon juice over the top and mix again.

Cut the baked potatoes in the center, leaving the bottom half of the skin intact.  Spread each potato open and, using a fork, fluff up the potato inside each half.  Put a dab of butter on each half of the hot potato, and place a big spoonful of smoked salmon salad in the middle of each potato.

Serve with a lemon wedge and steamed broccoli, and have pepper on the table for those who enjoy a little pepper with their baked potatoes.

Serves 2; double or triple as needed.

Bacon, Savoy Cabbage and Barley Casserole

This humble looking and sounding cabbage dish is one of the nicest bits of comfort food I have cooked up in a while.  It started, as new recipes so often do, with a need to utilize raw ingredients in the refrigerator before their use-by date.  But this turned out so well that it’ll be on the menu many more times this winter, I’m sure.

What is it about bacon?  You add a little bit to an otherwise unexciting dish and Wham!  There you are with a flavor-packed forkful that can be highly addictive.  That’s how it was with this casserole.  We both started off with a couple of reasonable scoops.  And then took a little bit more…and a bit more…until we finally agreed that it was pointless to fight it, and divided the remainder between our two plates, scraping every crisp bit off the sides of the dish and nearly licking our plates clean.

Definitely try to find Savoy cabbage for this.  If you can’t use Brussels sprouts or Chinese cabbage sliced thinly.  Regular white cabbage may be a little too tough for this dish.

Bacon, Savoy Cabbage and Barley Casserole

Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F.  Butter or grease a 2 liter/2 quart casserole dish

1/2 cup/ 1.25 dl pearl barley
1 cup / 250 ml boiling water
4 strips of bacon, cut into 1/4″/ 1cm pieces
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cups / 9 dl thinly sliced Savoy cabbage
1/4 cup/ 1/2 dl cool water
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves / 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup/250 ml milk (oat milk or rice milk would make a good substitute)

Combine the barley and boiling water in a small bowl.  Let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a frying pan over medium high heat, cook the bacon until it begins to crisp.  Add the onion and cook until the onion begins to soften; about 5 minutes.  Add the cabbage and 1/4 cup water.  Stir; then place a lid on the pot and allow it to cook for 5 minutes until the cabbage is steamed and softened.  Remove the lid, and allow it to cook until most of the water has steamed off.

Combine the eggs, milk, thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  When the cabbage has finished cooking, pour in the barley and its water  over the cabbage and stir well to combine.  Pour the cabbage- barley mixture into  the casserole dish and spread it out evenly.  Pour the egg mixture over the top and smooth out the top.  Place it in the oven to bake for 40 minutes or until the barley is cooked to all dente.

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.

Savory Roasted Asian Almonds

I’ve put off the thought for as long as possible, and now I can’t avoid it any longer.  The holiday season is here.  Its never too early to start planning what your going to cook or bake for all of those holiday parties, host/ess gifts, office snack table, or, most importantly, something to sustain you as you shop and wrap and make yourself merry and bright.

In Finland, where Halloween has, for better or worse, become a thing so October is filled with colorful squashes, harvest decorations and a few scare faces. Thanksgiving, however is only celebrated by those of us Americans and Canadians who have somehow found our way, via one road or another, to this distant shore.  This means that in Finland, the beginning of November, after a brief respite to honor All Saints Day, finds the entire retail sector taking a deep dive into all things Christmas.  And “everyone knows” that Santa Claus comes from Finland ;), with visitors from around the world making a visit to Santa Claus land in Rovaniemi every year, you can bet that the Jolly Old Fellow makes his appearance on every corner as well.

Just out of the oven

And of course during holiday season people gather together for parties and dinners and general good times, which means there is will be a great need for good food.  Since I’m happy to be in the kitchen strumming up new ideas anyway, this time of year is perfect for me.  I can make a batch of something, taste it, and give the rest away with a “Happy Holidays!” or happy something, anyway. and not be stuck with more food than I/we can reasonably consume.  There is always a good excuse to show up on someone’s doorstep this time of year with a plate, box, jar full of something.  It’s a good problem.

So this weekend, someone is going to get a big jar of Savory Roasted Asian Almonds.  I was actually aiming for Wasabi almonds with the nasal clearing impact of Wasabi pea or a sushi roll topped with a good wad of Wasabi paste, but the amount of Wasabi required to pull that off was clearly beyond the limits of my pantry, so I opted instead to add soy sauce (Tamari), maple syrup and sesame seeds to the Wasabi mixture for a bold savory flavor and loud, satisfying crunch.

Don’t be tempted to speed up the oven time by increasing the oven temperature.  These need to cook long and slow so the almonds crack between your teeth when you bite into one.

Savory Roasted Asian Almonds

Savory Roasted Asian Almonds

Preheat oven to 150°C / 300°F

Ingredients:
500g / 1.25 lbs raw almonds, soaked 4 hours or overnight in water
4 teaspoons Wasabi powder (available at Asian food markets and in most large grocery stores)
3 teaspoons soy sauce (preferably Tamari)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds

Drain the almonds.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth.  Add the almonds and stir well until all the almonds are coated.  Spread them out in a single layer on a parchment covered baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and stir the almond mixture really well so that any liquid pooled onto the pan will be redistributed to coat the almonds.  Return the pan to the oven and reduce the heat to 125°C / 250°F.  Bake for another 45 minutes, removing the pan every 15 minutes to stir the almonds and spread them back out into a single layer again.

After 60 minutes, remove the almonds from the oven and set them on the counter to cool completely.

Almonds will keep well in a tightly sealed container for 4 weeks.

Makes 4 cups / 1 liter / 500g