The last day in Lisbon I got grilled octopus. It was a nice dish, so I recreated it here. Octopus
is not something I've had so often, so it's fun to try when you come to a country where they eat a lot of it. And they did have some really good recipes.
Chickpeas are cheap, healthy and can be used for a myriad of dishes. Unfortunately, they have to be soaked many hours before they can be cooked. Who of us remember to do that? So it usually ends with canned chickpeas, or with something else entirely. Fortunately, you can cook them in under an hour with a pressure cooker.
This is a very traditional Danish bread. In the 1600's a lot of half and partial penance and holy-days where combined into one day of prayer. "Bededag" (day of prayer). But the baker had that day of too, so he prepared some bread that could be easily roasted. Hveder (Wheats). It is a recipe from mid 1800. So all Danes knows this tradition and eats Hveder on Bededag. The fourth Friday after Easter.
The religious aspect does not play that big a role anymore for this tradition, but the bread has become its own tradition, and we still make and eat them on Bededag.
We also eat a very similar bun the rest of the year, but then it is called a "krydderbolle" (spice bun).
I also use this recipe for burgers and sandwiches. Which it is very suitable for.
The easiest rhubarb recipe that exists. At least of those I know. An unusual way to cook rhubarb, and one that can be used for many things. For example, I have used it as sour-sweet accessories for salmon tartare, yogurt, as a side for braised meat, in smaller pieces in a salad or on / in my homemade sorbet or in cakes etc. Only the imagination sets the limit.
You also get a good rhubarb syrup out of it which you can lighten up with a little water and use as lemonade, or in a rhubarb mojito.
A really nice recipe for lemonade / juice. This recipe is at least in the top 2 of the most simple recipes I know with rhubarb. Fifteen minutes from start to finish. Including the 10 minutes where it just stands and simmer. If you have lots of rhubarb in the garden, and a large freezer, then this is the a really good way to use them. Or pour it on a nice bottle and give it away as a gift.
The rhubarb sherbet can only be made in a very short period in the spring. Simply because the rhubarb season is so short. So you have to try it out while you can. For a Dane rhubarb is the taste of spring, and we look forward to it every year, as the leaves starts to populate the trees. The sherbet is a nice creamy, airy and tasty ice cream that is at least equal to everything you can get from fruits from anywhere in the world. Regardless of the season.
Is it oatmeal porridge, stewed strawberry or stewed rhubarb that is the main national Danish stew? I do not know. But at this time of year there is no doubt that it is rhubarb stew. It takes only 10 minutes to cook and packs a bunch of flavor.
Chutney is a great side dish for both spicy Indian dishes and slow cooked or braised dishes. And curries. The most famous version is probably mango chutney, but rhubarb chutney is at least as good, and a really good variation.
Video recipe - Peanut-date-balls have a taste that is similar to snickers. But not as sweet. It is a really good recipe to make with the kids. It is easy and quick enough that they don't lose their interest along the way. And they love how it tastes.
