Lobster with chili basil pasta

I've been brought home 2 big beautiful lobsters. The kind of lobsters I do not dare to touch. And I've been asked to do something with them, because they are delicious in any kind of meals, expensive and that he is crazy about the way they taste.
I said "ok darling, if you clean them and cut them", because I was too afraid. Silly fear, I know, but still.. Thank God they weren't fresh.. I could never ever boil them alive.., I'd rather run with them to the zoo crying of pity..
Anyway, he cleaned them, I cooked them and we ate them!
All I can say is that as much as I dreaded the look of them, as tasty and exquisite the dish turned out.

I used:

- 2 lobsters (pre-boiled)
- 1/2 lemon
- fresh basil
- 2 chilli's
- 10-12 cherry tomatos
- balsamic vinaigre
- olive oil
- sea food/fish stock
- tomato puree
- thyme



The lobster needs to be cleaned and cut with care. It wasn't me who "butchered" it, so I cannot explain step by step what my boyfriend did, so I ask you to get inspiration from the picture below!



I do think he cut them in the middle, removed the tail and cut each vertebra separately, leaving the shell as it is. He broke the claw shell and took out the meat.And basically he tried to get the meat from all possibly places. Be careful with the brain, the yellow bit, I don't fancy it so we tossed it away.

After all the above operation we were left with some nice juicy meat and the vertebras.



In a pan, on medium fire, I put oil, balsamic vinaigre, the seafood or fish stock and the juice from half lemon. Then I put in the cherry tomatoes, cut in half, the chopped chili and the tomato puree.



I added chopped basil and thyme. Stir, cover and let it on medium fire for around 10 minutes.In the mean time you can boil the pastas.



I added the lobster meat and the shells in the pan. If they were preboiled, you have to cook it for 10 minutes. If the lobsters were fresh, 20-25 minutes it's enough.



Add the pasta in the pan and mix it all together.





It was a culinary delight!

White chocolate and peppermint mousse

I bought myself a Nigella Lawson book and this recipe just caught my attention because it's so simple, it sounds completely delicious and it really is!

I used:

- 250g white chocolate
- 250g heavy cream
- 1 white egg
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract/concentrate
- peppermint leaves



I melted the chocolate over a bain-marie (a bowl over a pan of simmering water). After it's been melted, I sat it aside to cool off.



In another bowl I whisked the heavy cream, the egg white and the peppermint extract together. Be carefull not to beat it into a stiff mixture, but a more fluffy soft one.



Then I blended the 2 mixtures: with a tablespoon I took some of the cream and put it into the chocolate, then I gently incorporated the chocolate into the rest of the cream.



Chill in the fridge before serving.



One thing worth mentioning is that you need to use small glasses, small portions. Don't do like I did (pictures) because the white chocolate's richness, even if it's combined with the fresh mint, may be a little too much! Smaller portions are perfect!



I decorated with peppermint leaves. It's absolutely delicious!

Tochitura moldoveneasca (Moldavian stew)

This is one of the most traditional Romanian dishes there is. And because it is so popular, all regions of Romania have their own version of it: Moldavian tochitura, transilvanyan tochitura, dobrogean tochitura and so on. They're all the same, but different at the same time. The base recipe has to have pork meat and sausages, polenta, garlic, cheese and egg in it. Some use different types of sausages, different cheeses, some usetomato sauce, some use mushrooms.
I am from the region of Moldavia in Romania, so I made the Moldavian version!

I used:
- 500gr pork meat
- 1 smoked sausage
- 200g feta cheese
- sunflower oil
- thyme
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 egg
- polenta corn flower



If I was in Romania, I would normally have used a traditional Romanian cheese called Branza de burduf or Telemea and home made smoked pork sausages. But being in Sweden, I had to replace those with Feta cheese and smoked chorizo sausage. It's aaaaalmost the same :) And you have to use sunflower oil, not olive oil. It's not the same taste.



You have to heat the oil in a pot. Add the chopped garlic cloves and leave them to saute for 2-3 minutes until the oil gets a bit of their flavour, then take them out and set aside.



I added the meat, piece by piece, on high heat and stirred until they start to get a bit of a crust. After the meat starts to get a somewhat white colour I added the cut sausage, added1-2 tbs of water, covered the pot and let it fry on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring now and then.



In the end I added the chopped thyme, salt and pepper and the garlic I removed in the beginning. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes more.



In the meantime you make the polenta (mamaliga). I used 1/2 liter of water, salt and polenta corn flower. Bring the water with salt to boil, turn the fire low and pour in the flower, stirring with a whisk. Let it boil for 1round 15 minutes, if you don't want stomach ake the next day! :)



Take an egg and fry it "Romanian style", in a pan with oil. Set everything on a plate: some polenta, the cheese, the meat and the fried egg on top. Enjoy!



It is very tasty and when you make it, it smells incredible. Being in Sweden, I like it so much and I like to say that "it smells like home" ! :)

Romanian Chicken Soup

In the original recipe for chicken soup you need to use all or most parts of a chicken. I only used the chicken breast, and even thought it wasn't as flavoured as it could have been, for sure it's moredietish! :)
The base recipe I took it from Sanda Marin.

I used:
-2 chicken breasts
-carrots
-parsley root
-celery root
-leeks
-parsnip
-potatoes
-onions
-2 Knorr cubes
- parsley leaves (chopped)
-laurel leaves, salt



In a pot, on medium fire, bring to boil water and the chicken breasts. Let it simmer until it gets foamy at the surface. At this point you should remove the foam with a spoon, and put back in, one tablespoon of cold water. Repeat the process one more time, or until there's no more foam forming.



The soup needs to simmer on very low flame (not boil) because this way, all the flavours from the meatwill be transfered into the soup liquid and the soup will be clear. Now it's also the time to add some salt too.

I did not give any quantities for the veggies, because you can use as much as you want and you can use all or leave aside a few. For instance you can skip the potatoes, or the onions (if you use leeks).



The veggies can be cut in small cubes or whatever shape you want.I added them all to the soup, except the potatoes. They have to be put in half an hour before the soup is ready. I added the Knorr cubes as well (mine were chicken and vegetables flavoured).
After you added the veggies, you have to cover the pot (leave a tiny whole open) and let it simmer for 3 hours. Don't forget to add the potatoes 1/2 an hour before finish.



After the soup is done, I filtered it, added the chopped parsley and 1-2 laurel leaves.



It is an excellent soup for this time of year. It is recommended for flus and colds, a natural remedy, because it contains so many vitamins and minerals.

Flygande Jakob (Flying Jakob)

It's a traditional recipe specific to the Swedish cuisine. First time I tried it, I was in a restaurant, and I became very impressed with the combination of sweet, salty and spicy. It's basically chicken with bananas, nuts and bacon. It sounds strange and Chinese (it is not!) but all these ingredients just complement each other.
The recipe was first published in 1976 and was invented, apparently, by Ove Jacobsson, who used to work in the air freight industry, hence the name.
There are lots of varieties of Flying Jakob in Sweden... lots. I prepared the dish after the original recipe as it was written in Rutiga Kokboken, with a few modifications on the used quantities.

I used:

- 1 chicken
- 140g bacon (1 package)
- 2 bananas
- 100-150g peanuts
- 250-300g cream
- 50-100g chili sauce
- curry



I bought the chicken ready grilled/roasted, it's easier this way. If you don't have the possibility, just cut the chicken in pieces and fry them in a pan with some butter and the bacon.

For the sauce, you have to beat the cream and mix it with the chili sauce and add curry. It will become pinkish. If you don't have chili or you don't like the hotness of it, you can use ketchup.

Now, I gave variable quantities because every person likes it different, but the base recipe indicates minimum 250g cream and 50g chili sauce.



I buttered a baking pan and layed the chicken bits in it.



For the second layer, I peeled the bananas and cut them in small pieces. Then I layed them on top of the chicken.



I put the bacon as well.



Then the peanuts. Again, the quantity depends on everyone's taste.



In the end I poured the sauce.



I baked it in the oven, 225 Celsius degrees for around 15-20 minutes.



Traditionally it's being served with rice and salad. I really recommend this dish, because in some strange way all these ingredients work so well with each other and it's delicious! Some people will not find it that tasty,but I've been told it's not many :)



Smaklig måltid! Enjoy!