Easy Rhubarb tart
I brought some fresh rhubarb back from our summerhouse - and made this easy treat for Johannes, Karstens youngest son, who is visiting tonight - after his rugby training.

1 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup milk or buttermilk

1 pound fresh rhubarbs
4 Tbsp sugar

Cream butter and sugar and add the egg. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and chopped nuts and add it together with the milk. Spread the batter in the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan.
Wash the rhubarbs and slice them in 1 inch pieces. Layer them on the raw batter and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the tart in the oven at 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C.) for about 1 hour.
Enjoy warm or cooled with whipped cream or sour cream.

No Knead bread

Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery has made the recipe for No knead bread, which was published in New York Times in 2006. Ever since food-bloggers all over the world have posted the recipe and their results on the internet.
Read the original recipe here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

Now it is my turn. I have used the recipe for an article in Hjemmet and tried it out with various kinds of flour, different lengths of rest and in pots of cast iron, Pyrex and clay.

My conclusions are:
1. Use whatever flour you like. If you use strong wheat flour you will get very beautiful domed bread with a crispy crust and a great crumb. If you use whole wheat flour the bread may be more flat, but the taste will be very good – and as you know: looks are not everything!
2. I have let the dough rest in the bowl for 8, 10, 12 and 18 hours – and the only difference is that a longer rest makes the taste of “sourdough” stronger. The crust and the bread itself are wonderful even by 8 hours rest.
3. I did omit the 15 minute rest on the table and have also cut the second rest with 1 1/2 hours – with perfect results.
4. Use a cast iron pot – you can use Pyrex or ceramic – but the bread will not be as good as baked in the cast iron – sorry guys. I actually went out and bought a new 4 liter Le Creuset pot just for this project – and it was worth it!
5. I use a warmer oven then in the original recipe: 480 degrees F/250 degrees C.

My recipe in European measures:

500 g flour (after your choice)
5 g fresh yeast (we don’t use instant yeast in Denmark)
2 tsp salt (I like the taste of salt to be more prevalent – is that the correct word?)
4 dl water (+ 3-4 TBSP extra if using whole wheat flour)

I just crumble the yeast into the flour, add salt and water and stir the dough together – just until there is no more dry flour – this will take less than 1 minute.
Cover the bowl and let it rest on the kitchen table for as long as you can wait – 8-18 hours.
Let the dough “fall” out of the bowl on to a lightly floured table. Fold the dough over on itself 3 or 4 times, turn it seam side down and place it on a floured cloth. Dust a little more flour over the dough, fold the cloth loosely over and let it rest while the oven and pot reaches 480 degrees F/250 degrees C – about 20-30 minutes.
Flip the dough into the hot pot, put the lid on and put it in the oven 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake the bread 15-20 minutes more. Let in cool on a rack at least 30 minutes.




The dough has rested in the cloth


The dough in the very hot pot


The bread is finished

Fingers off - it is cooling on the rack

Fried Garfish
In Denmark we call them hornfisk – “horn” hinting the long beak.
They arrive in our seas in April and are really a delicacy.
The traditional way to serve them is filled with parsley and fried in butter – and they taste really good!

Buy the fish as fillets – that’s the easiest way.

4 fresh fillets of garfish
1 big bunch of parsley
Durum flour or rye flour
Salt and pepper

I cut the fillets in half (they are so long) and season them with salt and pepper.
Wash the parsley in cold water and dry it in a clean cloth.
Put the parsley on the fish and roll them up. Fasten with string and dust them with flour.
Fry them on a frying pan with butter and olive oil about 12 to 15 minutes turning them so they get golden brown on all sides.
Serve with new potatoes.
Last time I served them with an apple and celery salad: slice apples and celery thinly and toss them with crème fraiche flavored with a little lemon juice, a little sugar, salt and pepper.

Rhubarb Compote

Rhubarb compote baked in the oven
In our garden (at the summer house) we are growing 3 different sorts of rhubarb; an ordinary sort, wine rhubarb and strawberry rhubarb.
I use them for desserts, pies and jam – and some time for breakfast with yoghurt and muesli.

Enjoy the compote as it is – maybe with a little fresh cream or yoghurt and some muesli. Or use it in a dessert.

1 pound (500 g) fresh rhubarb
1 vanilla pod
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar

Rinse the rhubarbs in cold water and cut them in 1-11/2 inch pieces. Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds out. Mix them in the sugar and then toss it with the rhubarb.
Put it in a baking dish and put the lid on or use some aluminum foil. Put the dish in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 20-30 minutes – just until the rhubarb are tender – they should not be mushy.
Pour the compote over in a cold bowl and let them cool.

You can give the compote a twist by substituting the vanilla pod with some fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks or star anise.
Serve the syrup as a drink with ice water. Or reduce it to thick syrup and serve it on ice cream.