We don’t always want to cook from scratch so smorging allows you to simply dive into your fridge and store cupboards to pull together a smörgÃ¥sbord using whatever you have to hand. Scandi TV chef and food writer, Trine Hahnemann, has created some scrumptious and innovative smorg pairings and recipes
Choux pastry with pineapple cheese with ginger glazing (makes 22-24 buns)
1 Castello Pineapple Halo
Choux pastry:
100g butter
100g plain flour
200ml water
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1tsp caster sugar
pinch of salt
Icing:
1tsp freshly grated ginger
8-9tbsp icing sugar
1tbsp hot water
Method
Put the butter in a saucepan with 200ml water and let it melt over a gentle heat. Now increase the heat and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl.
Take the saucepan off the heat and add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a firm, smooth paste is formed. Beat until it comes away from the edges of the pan and forms a ball, then remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.
Whisk the eggs together and add to the dough a little at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. You may not need all the beaten egg.
With two teaspoons place little round balls the size of walnuts on baking trays lined with greaseproof baking paper.
Bake for 20–30 minutes. Do not open the oven door for the first 10 minutes or the pastry may not rise. The pastries are done when they are golden brown and firm.
Transfer to a wire rack and, with a sharp knife, pierce holes in the side of each to let the steam out. Leave to cool. Cut the choux pastry in half and place a slice of the Castello Pineapple Halo inside the bun.
To make the icing, mix the grated ginger with icing sugar and add 1tbsp hot water. Whisk well adding a bit more water if not smooth enough. Decorate the top of the choux buns with the icing. Let them sit for 5 minutes before serving.
TIP
Serve with fresh pineapple. Pineapple juice can be used instead of water in the icing.
Matt’s Drink Match: Egg Coffee
Thanks to the added egg, it has a unique smooth texture and a subtle aroma and won’t overpower the choux filled with delicate cream cheese.
Ingredients
• 4 egg yolks
• 10tsp condensed milk
• 9 cups water (to boil) plus 1 ¼ cups of cold water
• ¾ cup freshly ground coffee (medium to coarse grind)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 egg shell, crushed
Method
• Put the yolks and the condensed milk in a small, deep bowl and whisk vigorously until you end up with a frothy, fluffy mixture
• Bring 9 cups of water to a rapid boil in a saucepan
• Stir together ground coffee, ¼ cup water, egg and shell
• When water is boiling, carefully pour in the egg-coffee mixture, turning down the heat if necessary to prevent it from boiling over
• Boil the coffee for 3 minutes. You’ll see that the coffee grounds will gradually bind together into a single mass that floats at the top of the pot
• At this point remove pot from heat and pour in 1 cup cold water. Let the coffee settle for 10 minutes; the “lump†of grounds will settle to the bottom of the pot. The flavor of the coffee grows stronger, without becoming bitter, the longer that it simmers.
• Pour through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer into a glass coffee cup
• Top with the eggy foam
Castello blue cheese and asparagus tart on spelt crust (serves 4-6)
Dough
125g fine spelt flour
125g wholemeal spelt flour
100g fromage blanc or skyr (similar to fromage fraiche)
75g salted butter
1tsp flaky salt
Tart filling
500g asparagus
200g spring onion
125g Castello Traditional Danish Blue
300ml crème fraiche
4 large eggs
1tbsp olive oil
2tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 5.
Begin with the pastry. Mix both flours and the salt together in a large bowl then rub in the butter with your fingertips. Mix in the fromage blanc, or fromage frais. Knead the dough lightly with your hands just until the ingredients are combined. Alternatively you can blend it together in a food processor. In both cases, if the dough does not come together, sprinkle in a little water. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and butter a 28 cm pie dish. Use the pastry to line the dish, then leave to rest in the refrigerator for one hour.
Cover the pastry case with baking parchment and pour in some dried beans or raw rice to weigh it down. Blind bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for five minutes more.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Cut the spring onion and asparagus into 2cm pieces (discarding of the ends of the asparagus). Sauté the spring onions in olive oil for five minutes, without browning.
Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl, and then fold in the crème fraiche and nutmeg, with a wooden spoon. Now add the spring onion and asparagus and Castello Traditional Danish Blue and mix again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the blind-baked pastry case and return to the oven to bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the filling has set. Serve with green salad or wilted spinach.
TIP
Instead of asparagus, spinach can also be used.
Matt’s Drink Match: Glebe Farm Gladiator Spelt Beer (www.thealeroom.co.uk/£2.49) or Thwaites Very Nutty Black (Ocado/£1.99)
Asparagus is a ‘wine killer’ so beer is a much better choice here. The nutty beer echos the nutty spelt crust and the fresh bubbles help to cut through the richness of the blue cheese filling.