xo amys

‘Countryside dinner inspo that is easy and delicious’

There has been daily swimming at the countryside and I can’t think of anything more refreshing than a lake swim where the water is basically drinkable. We did a little bit of fishing today, took a long log-heated sauna followed by numerous dips in the lake and ended the day with a glorious feast. This post will entail a few Nordic style recipes that are perfect for cooking over hot summer days.

Nordic Style Fish

In terms of absolute ease, nothing beats roasting a whole fish. In terms of flavour, it is my favourite as the heat of the chargrill does wonders to the fish skin making it dry and crispy and cooking over hardwood coal adds that extra dimension of flavour. So you can cook this fish in a basic grill, open log fire or stone oven over the charcoal. So begin by setting up your grill and then prepare the fish.

Grilled whole white Fish (serves 4)

• 4 whole fish of choice
• lemon
• herbs of choice (parsley, thyme, sage)
• dill
• salt/black pepper
• oil

Oil the surface and stomach of cleaned fish and add salt and pepper everywhere. Add your favourite herbs into the cavity along with lemon slices. Place each fish into a “iron grid or fish-grilling basket” that holds the fish together will cooking over the remaining charcoal that is left from the burning logs. This will take about 20 minutes depending on the size of your fish but really so the fish flakes beautifully off the bones. Turn it around midway through so both sides cook evenly. Once they are cooked, add lemon juice all over and sprinkle lots of dill on top. May need more salt and pepper.

Shrimp Canapes: Toast some bread and let it cool. Cut each toast into four pieces. Make the skagen mixture (see below) that will be used as the canape filling. Add some shrimp on top of each toast piece and garnish with spring onions and black pepper.

Easy Skagen (makes 4 servings)

• 1 cup creme fraiche
• 1/2-1 cup mayonnaise
• handful chopped dill
• 4 cups shrimps
• Salt/black pepper
• 1/2 juice of lemon
• about 4 tablespoons small capers

Garnish: whole shrimps, dill, black pepper, lemon wedge, rye bread

In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients and place into the refrigerator before serving. You can play around with the proportions of the creme fraiche, mayonnaise and lemon juice depending on what flavour you wish to pop out and on the consistency of the mixture. Make sure though, that it is not too soggy and should be rather stiff as the skagen should hold its structure once placed in a mold.

Ready to serve: Use a mold (7.5⌀) and scoop the skagen mixture into the circle. Press down the surface to firm the mixture and remove the mold away. Add some freshly chopped dill, whole shrimps and ground black pepper. Serve with toasted rye bread and a lemon wedge. Repeat the same process for the rest of the plates.

Baked Camembert for dessert

A gooey and fragrant baked camembert is always a must at a dinner party. It is possibly the easiest dessert aswell and for a cheese lover, like myself, it is a heavenly way to end any meal. As a tip, you can add garlic into the cheese aswell that works beautifully with wine.

• camembert cheese
• toasted nuts
• rosemary twigs
• olive oil
• honey
• rustic bread

With a knife, cut the camembert cheese from the surface and roughly place rosemary twigs into it. Drizzle a little olive oil and honey on top and place into an oven (200 C) so it begins to melt. Serve with toasted nuts and scoop the cheese with rustic bread