Danish Meal

Where do I begin? This was one of the meals I cooked twice. I bought a new Æbleskiver pan before I cooked it the second time and switched desserts so I could use the pan. I find it interesting that a similar pan (appe pan) has been used in India for generations to make all kinds of goodies. So the dessert for round two was Æbleskiver, the Danish dessert after which this special pan is named. It tasted great sprinkled with powdered sugar. That was the easy part. As with some of the other European countries it was hard to find vegetarian dishes to make a complete meal.

In the end I was able to find some really nice recipes to put a meal together. Gulerodsbrud or carrot rolls were very interesting to make. The dough is allowed to rise. The carrots are add in later. The dough is then cut up and shaped. I had never baked anything like this before. As a side the cold soup with the amazing rhubarb flavor was very well loved. It was most welcome on the hot summer evening. If a potato salad is part of the cuisine I add it to the menu as my daughter loves potato salad. This variation with a hint of lemon juice in the dressing was delicious. And of course the dessert was Æbleskiver.

The new ingredient I tried for this meal was rhubarb. I have always wondered what you could make with the beautiful colored vegetable. Now I know. During my first attempt at a Danish meal I could not find rhubarb and had to drop the soup from the menu. Instead I made baked cauliflower in white sauce and ginger beets as sides. For dessert we had Æblekage (Applesauce and buttered Breadcrumb layers).

Unfortunately we were leaving on vacation the day after and I was extremely preoccupied. As a result the meal was not up to the mark. After my vacation I worked on the menu again. By this time I had acquired an Æbleskiver pan and so Æblekage was not repeated. It will appear as a separate post in the future.

As they say in Denmark, Velbekomme!

Here are the recipes to the dishes on the menu

• Gulerodsbrud (Carrot Rolls) 
• Rhubarb Koldskål (Rhubarb cold soup)
• Kold Kartoffelsalat (Cold Potato Salad)

And for dessert

• Æbleskiver

Gulerodsbrud (Carrot Rolls)

Carrots rolls with the crunch of sunflower seeds is a unique and very different bun. That is the reason I have wanted to try it. What I found most interesting was the method, the way the bun was put together. Usually you go out of your way to shape the bun such that there is no crack or seam visible. The smoother the top the better it is. These are a whole different story. First you mix the dough and let it rise. Then you add the shredded carrots and sunflower seeds over the top and cut into the dough until everything is sorta mixed in. Break away bun sizes pieces and you are done.

The original recipe calls for sugar but no balancing savory ingredients. I added paprika and some cumin powder to correct this imbalance and appease our taste buds. Feel free to skip them if you prefer a sweeter carrot bun. I could have also added dill or some other herb to enhance the flavor but it tasted great without the herbs.

I halved this recipe but I have not halved the ingredients here as it calls for one egg and I did not want to write up a recipe with half an egg. :)

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
For the dough
25 gm instant yeast
250 ml warm water
250 gm all-purpose flour
250 gm whole wheat flour
30 gm sugar
7 gm sea salt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp. dill (optional)
35 gm butter, room temperature

For the mix ins
1 egg
75 gm sunflower seeds
2 carrots, peeled and grated

Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Sift in the flours and add all the dry ingredients. Form a dough and knead until elastic and smooth. Keep aside for an hour or two until it doubles in volume. In the meantime peel and shred the carrots. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. When the dough is doubled punch a hole in the middle to form a well. Break an egg into it and add the sunflower seeds and carrots.

Using a pastry cutter cut the dough to mix in the new additions. This is a messy gooey process so you might as well enjoy it.

Once everything is mixed in divide the dough in bun sides portions and place them on the prepared sheet.

Let them rise for about half an hour. In the meantime preheat oven to 400 F. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.

Taste best fresh out of the oven.

Kold Kartoffel Salat (Danish Cold Potato Salad)

This is a cold salad perfect for a hot summer day. This potato salad is a Danish variation of a very versatile and popular salad. This version uses lemon juice with the mayonnaise as the dressing.

My daughter loves potatoes and potato salads so I have tried to incorporate those in every meal. I made this salad as part of a Danish meal. I almost ran out of Mayonnaise but luckily I had just about enough at the bottom of a jar in the refrigerator. I had made Canadian salad yesterday which was only slightly different. We enjoyed the subtle variations in all the potato salads I tried.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
1 large potato
3 tbsp. onion, minced

For the dressing
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard (I used organic without turmeric)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Dill to garnish

Boil the potato in a tub of water until fork tender. Drain and let it cool a little. Peel the potato and slice it. Mince the onion and add it to the potato. Keep aside.

In a separate bowl combine the ingredients for the dressing and whisk together until creamy. Add the dressing to the potatoes and mix together. Garnish with dill. Refrigerate until needed.

The cold salad is ready.

Æbleskiver

Æbleskiver is the classic Danish dessert made in an Æbleskiver pan. The recipe is simple and with practice you can learn to make the perfectly round Æbleskiver.

Sprinkled with sugar these pancake like dessert balls make a delightful dessert. As the name suggests these dessert balls were stuffed with pieces of apple. Today the name remains but they are not always filled with apple. I used pieces of gala apple softened in a little butter.

You can serve aebleskiver for breakfast too but I made it for dessert as it is made in Denmark during the holiday season.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need

egg white from 1 egg

1 cup flour

2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder

1 tsp. baking powder

a pinch baking soda

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

salt to taste

1/2 gala apple, peeled, cored, cut into cubes.

Butter for the pan

Heat a little butter in a saucepan and add the apple cubes. Cook until softened. Turn off heat and let the cubes cool.

In a mixing bowl sift the flour. Combine it with sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, melted butter and buttermilk. Add salt to taste. In a separate bowl beat the egg white until white peaks form. Fold it into the batter.

Heat an Æbleskiver pan on medium heat. Add a little butter to each of the holes in the pan and drop a spoonful of batter in. When the batter starts to bubble add a couple pieces of softened apple.

Using a skewer or a knitting needle turn them over in half turns until they are cooked all round to a beautiful golden crust. 

Keep turning them around to prevent burning until cooked through. The skewer pricked in the center should come out clean. Sprinkle sugar just before serving.

Your dessert is ready.

This is my entry for week 36 of the 2014 52 week challenge for the theme apples.