Tag Archive for 'balsamic'

Potatoes potatoes potatoes

Published on July 5, 2010 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

So, it’s been a while since we did anything food related here, but I have been experimenting with potatoes recently, trying to find simple ways of making them just a little bit better.

It seems, that for texture and consistency, salt is the trick. When boiling them, add as much salt as you dare, but be careful not to pierce the skin of the potatoes after you have done this, as it will cause them to get very salty and uneatable in the end. It works best with smaller types, like Duchesse and Cherie, but larger, newpotatoes and similiar will also work well, you just need to be patient and give them enough time to boil properly.

The salt trick works when oven baking them as well. Place potatoes with skin on a baking tray, drizzle over as much salt as you dare, as much as 2kg is fine, and again, be careful not to pierce the skin. Bake in oven on roughly 200 degrees celsius until they start collapsing inside the skin, that means they are finished and that the texture is just perfect.

Serve with melted butter and chives with a pinch of fine sea salt, Washington or Maldon are my favourites, and just a twist of fresh pepper. Alternately, mix with balsamic vinegear and olive oil for a fresh take on the potato salad!

Use as a side for almost anything  that needs potatoes, or just as a dish on it’s own!

Real chicken with mango and red wine sauce.

Published on February 18, 2010 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

It has been absolutely ages since I wrote anything of importance here – actually, I never really write anything of importance here, but you get the point. Yesterday however, I created a dish worthy of some words on this meagre blog.

I give you: real chicken with mango and a redwine sauce.

And by real chicken, I mean real chicken. Not some genetically altered superboosted broiler posing as a chicken. But a homegrown (not really) well fed, free-to-walk-around-in-the-open-chicken. You see, this is where all the difference is. If you get a chicken that actually tastes and feels like chicken, it will be that much better. I get chickens from Stange gård, which is sold in grocery stores here in Norway, and it is of the “Liveche” type, which is known to be the best chicken for cooking.

You need: (for two people) 

  • One chicken breast of high quality (approx 500 grams)
  • 1 red onion
  • 6 potatoes
  • 1/2 mango
  • Fresh or dried chili
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1 garlic
  • Olive oil, balsamic vinegear, salt and pepper
  • Some fresh thyme

Slice and dice potatoes french fries style with salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil and put in heated oven (220) for about 35 - 40 minutes. Add fresh thyme and stir after ten minutes. ’

Make a nice mixture marinade of olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegear, lime peel, salt and pepper and put in an oven dish. Fry the chicken breast quickly on both sides to give a crust then put it in the oven dish with the marinade mixture and place in middle of oven for about 10 – 15 minutes. – Trick here is to have the chicken and the potatoes finish at the same time. The chicken is better if left to rest for 5 – 10 minutes after comming out of the oven.

Approx 5 minutes before serving, slice 1/2 a mango into medium slices, season with chili and lime, (I like to add extra lime to the oil in the frying pan as well) and then fry this on very high heat for about 1,5 mins on either side. And leave to cool down for a minute before serving.

I like to top this off with a nice red wine sauce, which is easily made by frying a red onion in butter, then adding a decent amount of red wine and finish it off with a pre-made mixture of flour and water (in a shaker to avoid lumps) then simply bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes and season with salt and pepper if nescesary.

Potatoes for a slow summerday…

Published on June 1, 2009 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

This is a great little treat if you just want something that’s easy to make and tastes really good! The trick here is finding really good balsamic vinegar, one that is 100% natural with nothing artificial in it. I use Oliviers & Co. and haven’t found anything as good yet…

You will need:

Potatoes

3 shallots per person

2 sausages per person, I prefer smoked and skinless

4 cherry tomatoes per person

decent olive oil

decent balsamic vinegear

fresh thyme – lots!

Do the following:

Fry potatoes and shallots on medium heat in olive oil and a few drops of balsamic until almost tender. Then add thyme and more balsamic and olive oil, some salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes more. Add diced sausage and tomatoes and even more balsamic and simmer for about ten minutes. Taste with salt and pepper. Add some more thyme. Stir well and serve.

Eat alone or as a part of a bigger meal. Goes well with both red and white wine, a cold beer or preferably, a fres fruit juice for the warm summer day!