QUICK MARINATED CUCUMBER SLICES

CHEF THOR'S FRESH MARINATED CUCUMBER SLICES.

Ingredients:

Fresh long cucumber ,  fresh fennel flowers,  white wine vinegar, sugar and salt.

Slice so much cucumber you need for the occasion. Split between the slices fresh fennel flowers or still soft and green seeds. Add first   salt , only so much that it tastes only a little bit salty. Then mix so much sugar that it will give a sweet and sour taste together with white wine vinegar.

When adding vinegar, look carefully that the liquid level in  the beginning covers only the bottom of the pot. Now let the slices "sweat" in the fridge two hours while the juices from the cucumber marinates the pickle.

HERB SPREAD

I made this vegetarian spread to show that you can make a tasty and low fat mix using only vegetables and green, fresh herbs. All herbs were alive and direct from our garden.

Chickpeas  was  cooked using  dried  beans and was the only ingredient that was boiled  . The green olives was only marinated in  salt and water  without additives.

Other ingredients like olive oil was Spanish Virgin Extra from nearby village called "Culebron"  pressed using ancient mechanical  "Almazara" method.

INGREDIENTS: CHICKPEAS
                             GREEN OLIVES WITHOUT STONES
                             RECENTLY PRESSED VIRGIN EXTRA OLIVE OIL
                             FRESH  PARSLEY LEAVES, AT LEAST HALF A LITER
                             OTHER HERBS: DILL, MINT  AND CELERY.

Chop the herbs into small pieces.  Put this mix in a pot and grind  well using "Bamix" and  adding same time olive oil in small amounts .

Last add the chickpeas and the olives and mix the paste till it is creamy spread.

This spread  contains  60% live green herb ingredients, rest is only marinated green olives and boiled chickpeas softened with Spanish additive free Virgin Extra Olive Oil.

                           
                           

CHEF THOR'S BOREAL FUNGUS CONCEPT.

The Finnish forest hide over 2000 types different fungi and of them over 500 species are edible. To manage only the wild  mushrooms which have culinary values and can be used in modern cooking is enormous.
Here is our selection of the most common species from Finnish nature.

Cep, (Boletus edulis) The most popular way to use "Cep" in Finland is the soup called "Herkkutattikeitto"

Chantarelle (Cantharellus cibarius) When you have fresh silky Chantarelles , only you need to do is clean them from trash, put on the pan and fry with churned butter and  finish with cream. Season only with salt (optional pepper). Of course you need to  have new under the midsummer sun matured  quail egg sized boiled  potatoes  to experience the taste of Aroma Aurora Borealis.

Funnel chantarelle (Chantarellus tubaeformis) Same cooking  method as with the average chantarelle.

False morel (Gyromitra esculenta), Finnish name "Korvasieni"is considerd poisonous fungus and it is widely used in Finnish kitchen. Drying and cooking destroys the poison.Very delicious when it has been handled and used right way. The traditional  famous mushroom sauce is  called "Korvasienikastike".

Matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake), Finnish name is "Männyntuoksuvalmuska".Mystique ,shamanism and traditions.

                                    CHEF THOR, the Sovereign of Finnish Kingdom of Fungi.

DRIED REINDEER MEAT "KUIVALIHA" FROM LAPLAND

Dried reindeer meat is a rare delicacy in Finland. You must travel to Lapland and try to find a local producer or a retail dealer who still have it in stock.
To make "kuivaliha"  or "puukkoliha" as it is also called ,you need boneless long shaped reindeer meat pieces , smaller  than 1 kg .Then let them stay some days in salt and later  dry them well and hang up outside  under the eaves of the house.The weather must be cold and the temperature vary between -7 C - + 5 C. Better to avoid direct sun shine and protect the meat against birds and other animals.In Lapland the insects and flies are not a problem earlier than in May. The "puukkoliha" is ready when the meat is stiff and doesn't droop when pressed. "Puukkoliha" is an excellent "tapa" cut in thin slices and served together with Finnish Black Label Emmental cheese.

                                     CHEF THOR

EXOTIC SPICES AND BALTIC SKIPPERS MAKES "MAUSTEKALA".

"Maustekala" is a Finnish  marinated delicacy made from small Skippers (Sprattus sprattus). Also you can use Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras). Here in Spain I have used Sardelles (Engraulis encrasicolus) also called Anchovy and making them from fresh and small fish  fillets to avoid Anisakis.

When you have available small  Baltic Skippers, you only wash them and dry.

Ingredients for thousand's flavor's "Maustekala" marinated delicacy from Gulf of Bothnia Finland.

-1 kg fresh small Skippers

-80 g sugar

-100 g sea salt

-20 g "Maustekala" spice mix

-2 g dried bay leaves

Blend well the spice mix, sugar and salt. Make  the first layer in a ceramic pot with Skippers , strew above it  bay leaves and spice mix, next layer with Skippers, bay leaves and spice mix and repeating each step same way with all fish. Cover the fish pot with a load and let it mature two (2) weeks in a refrigerator.

When the "Maustekala" is ready, there is a reddish liquid above the fish, which comes from the Indian sandalwood (Santalum album).

"Maustekala" spice mix:

Indian sandalwood,Allspice , White pepper, Nut-meg tree mace,Cinnamon, Cloves and  Ginger.

The perfumed, sweet and salty fillets are a basic ingredient for many surprising "tapa"-style snacks.

CHEF THOR

THE FLAT BREAD CHEESE ," LEIPÄJUUSTO" FROM LAPLAND

" Leipäjuusto" is a typical ethnic cheese from Lapland and Northern Finland. People used to eat it with coffee or as a dessert with arctic cloudberry jam.
Leipäjuusto ingredients:
-whole milk 3 l
-liquid rennet (liquor seriparus) 2 teaspoonfuls
-salt 1.5 teaspoonful
Mix the rennet with tepid milk and stir about 15 minutes.
Break the thin cheese mass and heat it till the mass settles in the bottom.
Collect the cheese mass and press it in a gauze.
Make from the mass a ball and shape it to a round and 2 cm thick cake.
Frye the cake on a birch wood board in front of a hot open fire, and  on both sides, till the cheese has a yellow brownish color.
Serve cold with arctic cloudberry jam.

"Leipäjuusto " slices

FROM AROMA AURORA BOREALIS  AND  CHEF THOR.

LAPP AND BOLIVIAN ETHNIC COOKING MEETS IN AROMA AURORA BOREALIS!

With my recent connection in internet with this proud country, I decided to make an effort to try combine, if it is  possible, Bolivian and Lapp food traditions.The origin of our foodstuffs like potato is the Andean area, maize and tomato comes from  more north, from Mexico.So if we think our daily European  cooking without these plants,it sounds very poor?
 Cheers! Vamos a tomar un Bolivian Mocochinchi!
PS. Mocochinchi is a traditional drink in Bolivia.

CHEF THOR