Traditional Christmas roast (oven-baked pork shoulder with honey, mustard and rosemary)

From the recipe archives (originally posted in December 2012. Still my favourite Christmas roast).
Photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the December issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine, 2012 

What's your traditional Christmas roast (assuming you're eating meat)? Turkey? Goose? Duck?

In Estonia it's definitely pork, though roast poultry has become more popular during recent years. I've been flirting with roast goose and actually served duck leg confit on Christmas Eve this year. It was delicious.

However, for years I've been serving pork roast - a pork shoulder (kaelakarbonaad in Estonian) in a mustard-honey-garlic-rosemary marinade, to be more precise. I love that it's a pretty fool-proof recipe, simple to make, with lots of flavour. And - as an added bonus - any leftovers are excellent on top of rye bread on the days after the party, or as part of a salad. So if you're not making it for a big family feast, you can still make the same amount and simply make several meals out of it.

So here you go. Nami-Nami's traditional Christmas roast. On the photo above, it's accompanied by black pudding ('blood sausages') - another traditional Christmas dish.

Wish you all a lovely festive season!!!

Traditional Christmas roast
(Ahjupraad karbonaadist)
Serves about 10

2 kg boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
3-4 Tbsp honey
3-4 Tbsp Dijon mustard or Estonian Põltsamaa mustard
2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs (leaves only)
3 large garlic cloves
2 tsp sea salt

Finely chop garlic cloves and rosemary leaves, then mix with honey and mustard until combined.
Season the meat generously with salt, then spread the mustard-honey mixture all over the pork shoulder and massage into the meat.
Place the pork shoulder into a large ovenproof dish, cover with foil and place into a fridge or cold larder for 1-2 days.
Bring back to the room temperature about an hour before you plan to cook the meat.
If you have a meat thermometer, then stick it into the thickest part of the meat (you can do this through the kitchen foil).
Roast the meat in a pre-heated 160 C / 320 F oven for about 2,5 hours or until the meat thermometer has reached 82-85 C/ 180-185 F.
If you plan to serve gravy with your meat, then pour a cup of hot water into the baking tray half-way through the cooking. 
When the meat is cooked, remove the foil, season the meat once more lightly with salt and then bake for another 10-15 minutes at about 200-220 C/ 390-425 F, just to brown the meat  a little.

Remove the roast pork from the oven, cover again with a kitchen foil and leave to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving into thin slices.

This recipe was also included in my latest cookbook, Jõulud kodus ("Christmas at Home"), published in Estonian in November 2011. 
I also included the recipe in the December 2012 issue of Kodu & Aed magazine. 

Estonian lamb soup with cabbage

Time for soup! Earlier this year I came across a recipe for Islandic lamb and cabbage soup in the blogosphere. Lovely soup and justifiably popular - and almost identical to the Estonian way of making lamb and cabbage soup. Not surprising, giving the fact that both Iceland and Estonia are "up North" and the range of vegetables traditionally available is pretty similar.

It's a simple and rustic soup, as many Estonian soups are. Hope it'll become as well and widely known as the Icelandic one ;)

Note that it's even better on the next day, so feel free to make it a day or two in advance.

Lamb soup with cabbage
(Kapsasupp lambalihaga)
Serves 6 or more as a main dish

500-750 g of lamb on the bone (shank, neck, ribs)
2 l (8 cups) water
salt and black pepper
1 medium head of cabbage
2 medium sized onions, chopped
a handful of pearl barley, soaked (optional)
3-4 carrots, sliced
5-6 potatoes, cut into chunks
fresh dill, finely chopped

Place the meat into a large saucepan, pour in enough cold water to cover. Bring into a rolling boil, let boil for a few minutes. Then drain the whole lot over a colander. Rinse the saucepan thoroughly, return to the hob.

Rinse the meat under a cold running water to remove any impurities. Return to the saucepan. Add 2 litres of water and bring slowly into a boil.

Add the peppercorns and a generous pinch of salt. Bring into a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on a low heat for about 1,5-2 hours, until the meat is really tender and easily falls off the bones. (Skim off any fat or scum that appears at the top of the soup with a slotted spoon). Remove the meat from the soup, put aside.

Now add the onions and shredded cabbage into the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes (if using pearl barley, then add it alongside onions and cabbage). Add carrots and cook for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and simmer until carrots and potatoes are cooked.

While the vegetables are cooking, remove the meat from the bones and cut the lamb into small pieces. Return the meat into the broth and re-heat thoroughly. Season to taste, sprinkle with dill and serve.

Similar recipes:
Icelandic lamb soup @ TastyTrix
Icelandic lamb soup @ Diary of a Tomato
Irish lamb stew with a twist @ Simply Recipes
Scotch broth @ Milk and Mode
Lambalihasupp aedviljadega @ KÖÖK (recipe in Estonian)

Danish meatballs in curry sauce (boller i karry)

Aren't those meatballs cute and bright? It's a popular Danish family dish, boller i karry or meatballs in curry sauce. According to various sources, the dish was created already back in 1840s, when curry powder mixes were first introduced to Danish customers. The popular Danish meatballs were then served with a mildly (!!!) curry-flavoured sauce and rice instead of potatoes - a huge novelty and very exotic back then.

I remember the dish well from my year in Denmark as an exchange student back in 1992-1993, and I liked it. Since visiting Denmark - and my host family - last November, I've been cooking Danish food much more frequently again. With three small kids, it's inevitable that I'm also making so-called "family foods" more often, and boller i karry definitely qualifies as comfort food/family food. Adjust the amount of curry powder depending on the palate of your kids - and remember to use mild Indian-style curry powder, not a spicy or Thai style.

Danish meatballs with curried sauce
(Lihapallid karrikastmes)

Serves 4



Meatballs:
500 g pork or mixed (pork + beef) mince
3 Tbsp flour
100 ml (7 Tbsp) milk
1 egg
1 small onion, finely chopped
salt and black pepper

Curry sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
2-4 tsp mild Indian-style curry powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 Tbsp flour
about 600 ml bouillon (= the water you boiled the meatballs in)
100 ml single or double cream
1 Granny Smith apple, coarsely grated
salt and black pepper

Start by making meatballs. Mix all ingredients, then form into large meatballs (I took heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture).

Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water, bring into a boil and season with salt (you can throw in some bay leaves and allspice berries as well, if you wish). Gently drop the meatballs into the "bouillon" and cook for 7-8 minutes, until fully cooked. Remove from the stock with a slotted spoon and put aside on a plate.

Make the curried sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the curry powder. Stir, then add the onion and fry gently for 5-7 minutes. Stir in the flour, cook for a minute or two, then add about 2 or 2,5 cups of "meatball bouillon". Stir carefully, so no lumps remain. Add the cream, then the grated apple. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then return the meatballs to the sauce and cook until the meatballs are piping hot.

Serve with boiled long-grain rice and some vegetables of your choice.

Similar recipes elsewhere:
Meatballs in spicy curry sauce  (low-carb version) by Josephine Malene @ A Tasty Love Story
Beef meatballs with curried banana sauce by Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet
Danish Meatballs in Curry with Rice (video recipe) @ Scandinavian Today
Boller i karry or curried meatballs by Sandra @ Sandras Kitchen
Danish meatballs in curry @ Paul De Lancey

More Danish recipes here on Nami-Nami:
Brunsviger aka soft cinnamon butter bread
Koldskål aka Danish buttermilk soup
Risalamande aka Rice and Almond Pudding with Warm Cherry Compote
Danish potato salad
Kokosmakroner aka Danish coconut macaroons

More meatballs recipes here on Nami-Nami:
Saucy Asian meatballs
Swedish meatballs
Hakk-kotletid aka Estonian meatballs
Dagmar's spicy meatballs
Lovely Greek meatballs with chilli sauce, mustard and oregano
Zucchini meatballs
Chorizo meatballs

Sibulaklops aka Estonian Onion Steak aka Pan-Seared Steak and Onions

Photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the February issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine. 

Time for another Estonian classic! There are two lovely-sounding dishes in Estonia, kooreklops and sibulaklops. The first one is pan-fried steak simmered in creamy gravy, the other is the kooreklops with a generous amount of fried onions. I've come across recipes for those dishes in Estonian cookbooks from almost a century ago, and they're still popular among Estonian home cooks. They've obviously stood the test of time.

The creamy gravy, thickened with flour and seasoned with smetana or sour cream (crème fraîche would work in a pinch) is an important element of the dish, and makes it different from your regular pan-fried steak and onions.

Cooked potatoes, potato mash, cauliflower or green vegetables would all work as a side dish.

Pan-fried steak and onions
(Sibulaklops)
Serves 6

600-800 g good-quality beef (boneless sirloin steak, entrecôte)
oil and butter, for frying
4 to 5 large onions
salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
500 ml (2 cups) beef bouillon or water
100 - 150 g smetana/sour cream/crème fraîche

Cut the beef into 1 cm (just under half an inch) slices, then gently pat them thinner, trying to give them an oblong oval shape. Season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the beef slices and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Transfer the meat onto a place and put aside.

If neccessary, add another spoonful of butter onto the skillet. Add flour and cook for a minute, stirring carefully. Now and the hot bouillon or water and stir, until you've got a thin gravy. Return the meat into the pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the meat is cooked. NB! If you're not using proper beef ("lihaveis" in Estonian), but meat from a dairy cow, the meat will require considerably longer time to reach the tender stage, so to test for doneness.

When beef is tender, then use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan and keep warm on a plate, covered with a piece of foil.

Add the sour cream to the sauce, cook for a few minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions. Peel the onions, halve lengthwise and then cut into thin slices. Melt another spoonful of butter and a spoonful of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

To serve: spoon the gravy onto a plate, top with a slice or two of beef and garnish with a very generous amount of fried onions. It is an onion steak after all :)

Sibulaklops on other foodblogs:

Tuuli @ Ise tehtud, hästi tehtud (recipe in Estonian) 

Estonian meatballs aka hakk-kotletid aka kotletid aka hakklihakotletid

Here's a posting I didn't think I'd be doing - after all, kodused kotletid are such a humble comfort food and they're not exactly the runner-up for the "Most Photogenic Food" title. Yet I've recently understood that there is something wee bit unique about the typical Estonian hakk-kotlet - namely, the main ingredient. Of course, that's minced meat, but majority of Estonians would use a mixture of beef and pork, 50:50 ratio. And while it's perfectly acceptable to go and buy a packet of one (say, beef) and a packet of another (pork), then more often than not we simply reach out and buy one of the mixes. I'm not talking about seasoned sausagemeat or some other minced meat mixes here, but about a 50:50 mix of pure minced beef and pure minced pork. Here's one by Atria (you can choose between 300 g and 500 g), but all Estonian meat producers have this product in their portfolio:


I hadn't really given this much thought, but at a recent press event a local meat and BBQ guru, Enn Tobreluts claimed that this type of minced meat product is pretty untypical outside the Baltic region, and indeed, I don't think I ever came across it while living in Scotland. Of course, there are plenty of Estonian cooks who make meatballs - flat or round - with just beef or just pork or even just lamb, but a mix of beef and pork is most popular for making this humble dish. We even have a special name for this type of minced meat mix - kodune hakkliha aka domestic minced meat :)

What's your choice of meat for making meatballs? Can you get "domestic minced meat" at your country of residence? I'd love to hear your comments!

Estonian meatballs  
(Lihtsad hakk-kotletid)
Serves 4 to 6



100 ml (about 7 even Tbsp) dry breadcrumbs
200 ml liquid (water, single cream, milk, sour cream)
1 onion, finely chopped
500 g minced meat (preferably a mixture of pork and beef, see above)
1 egg
1 tsp fine salt
0,5 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Mix breadcrumbs and the chosen liquid in a mixing bowl and let stand for about five minutes.

If you don't like the harshness of raw onion, then sauté it gently in a bit of oil until translucent.

Fold the (fried) onion, the meat, egg and seasoning into the breadcrumb mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.

Using wet or oily hands, form the mixture into meatballs or patties. Fry in hot oil or batter on both sides for a few minutes, until golden brown and thoroughly cooked.

PS I LOVE cold meatball, halved, on my rye bread, so these are also perfect for a lunch box!

Sauerkraut with pork and barley (Mulgi kapsad)

Mulgi kapsad aka mulgikapsad is a traditional dish from Southern Estonia, consisting of pork, sauerkraut and barley (either pearl barley or barley groats). It doesn't sound much - but it's another one of those dishes that tastes much more and better that you'd imagine when looking at the (short and rather bland) list of ingredients. It's also cheap, filling and substantial, a perfect winter dish, which deserves attention outside Estonia as well. Hence this blog post.

You'll need fresh sauerkraut for this dish. When I say "fresh sauerkraut", I mean the uncooked, fermented and unpasteurized sauerkraut. Look for "barrel cured" sauerkraut, not the "wine cured", and find it either in Eastern European stores or in your local health food store. Or ferment your own! :)

* PS This dish is wheat-free. If you want a gluten-free version, then feel free to use porridge/pudding/risotto rice instead of barley. 

Sauerkraut with pork and barley
(Mulgikapsad)
Serves 6 to 8

1 kg fresh sauerkraut
0,5-1 kg fatty pork (belly or Boston butt/shoulder)
200 g pearl barley, rinsed and drained
about 500 ml (2 cups) water
salt, to taste
sugar, to taste (optional)

Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.

Spread the sauerkraut at the bottom of the pot, then top with meat cubes, and scatter barley on top:
 

Now sprinkle with salt (about half a teaspoon should be enough in most cases) and pour over enough water to barely cover the ingredients. Cover with the lid, bring into a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about 2-3 hours, until the food is done. NO NEED TO STIR IT, though you may want to peek under the lid couple of times and add a little water, if it seems too dry. (You can also cook it in the moderate oven, if you prefer).

This is how it'll look like when done - the pearl barley has swollen and the meat is tender:



It's only now that you're supposed to give it a good stir, so the sauerkraut, barley and pork would be nicely and evenly distributed:



Taste for seasoning - if you need, add a bit more salt. Some people add a bit of sugar as well, but I don't - it all depends on the flavour of your sauerkraut. Mulgi kapsad is not supposed to be sweet-and-sour, but you may need some sugar to balance the acidity, if your cabbage is very sour.

Serve with boiled potatoes, with a good dollop of nice thick sour cream on the side, if you wish.



Other bloggers writing about mulgikapsad:
Kiilike köögis (recipe in Estonian)
kokkama.blogspot.com (recipe in Estonian)
The Kitchen Mouse (recipe in English)
Estonian Cooking and Eating (recipe in English; some helpful comments there)
Emmanuel Wille (recipe in Estonia; slightly fancier "restaurant-style" version)
Talerka (recipe in Russian)
Suhkrusai (recipe in Estonian)
Ave köök (recipe in Estonian)
Sille toidublog (recipe in Estonian, she uses turkey)
Minu kodunurk (recipe in Estonian)
Silgud ritta (recipe in Estonian)
Igapäevane kokakunst (recipe in Estonian)

Lamb and Puy lentils

January 6th - or today - is the last day to wish happy new year here in Estonia, so I'm just in time - Happy New Year, dear readers of Nami-Nami near and far! Wish you all a peaceful and productive year, full of delicious and nourishing food, with occasional treats and decadent moments!

We're in the middle of a very awkward winter here. While friends in the US and Canada are facing huge snowstorms, then we had a green and mild Christmas with temperatures hovering at around couple of degrees above zero (Celsius, that is). Most unusual and weird, though not unheard of. We're promised that the temperature drops towards the end of January and we'll get some snow as well, but I won't believe it until I see it. Still, hearty soups and stews are what we're cooking most at the moment - it is winter, after all - and this lamb with lentils was a great and promising start to the culinary year or 2014.

Oh, and as you can see, I'm now a proud owner of a beautiful red Staub Oval Cocotte - a Christmas present from my dear K (with special thanks to Tigu's Kristel for shipping one for me from Germany). I've already put this to good use.

Lamb with lentils
(Lammas läätsedega)
Serves four to six



about a kilogram of lamb pieces (on the bone)
rapeseed or olive oil
2 large onions
5 large carrots
2 celery sticks
70 g (about 3 Tbsp) concentrated tomato paste
100 ml dry red wine or port
600-800 ml (about 2,5-3 cups) beef bouillon/stock
175 g green (Puy) lentils, rinsed and drained
fresh parsley and/or rosemary, chopped

You can finish cooking this dish on the stove top or in the oven. If you're going to cook it in the oven, then preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F.

Peel the onions and carrots. Chop onions finely, roughly chop the carrots and celery sticks.

Season the lamb pieces with salt. Heat oil in a heavy cooking pot/Dutch oven and brown the meat pieces on all sides. Put aside.

Add the onions to the pot, sauté for 5 minutes on a moderately low heat, stirring every now and then.

Add the carrots and celery, increase the heat a little and fry for another 5 minutes.

Add the concentrated tomato pureé, fry for a couple of minutes. Pour in the wine, reduce by half.

Now return the browned lamb into the pot again, fitting the meat snugly between the vegetables. Pour over enough beef stock to nearly cover the meat. Put the lid on and simmer on a low heat or in the oven for about 2 hours, until the meat is pretty soft.

Now remove the lid and add the lentils. If the dish looks too dry, add a little stock or hot water as well. Cover again and cook for another 45-60 minutes, until the lamb is soft and falling off the bones and the lentils are cooked.

Season to taste, scatter fresh parsley and/or rosemary on top and serve.

We ate this as this, but you could serve it with rice or crusty wholegrain bread, if you wish.

Great comfort food: cold weather hotpot recipe

Now that I have five mouths to feed on a daily basis, I need to cook dishes that are easy to put together and suit all the members of the family, be they 11 months or 41 years. That means they must be flavourful and tasty, as I don't have the time, will or energy to cook separate meals for the still-toothless baby, two active toddlers and two food-loving adults. To be honest, I don't think it should even be necessary.

We've used the baby-led weaning* approach when introducing solids to our three kids, and that means our littlest has been eating family food from Day 1 (not the first day of her life, but the first time she was offered any solid food, e.g. when she was 6 months old). So much more convenient for the whole family and especially the cooking parent (that's me, at least on most days). This stew - enjoyed both by parents and the toddlers (aged 2 and 4), was perfect for the 11-month old as well.

The cold weather hotpot is a great comfort food and midweek dinner. The humble vegetables can be varied - you could add some turnips or parsnips as well, or even broccoli. Sometimes I've used gnocchi instead of potatoes, adding them at the end, so they'd have the chance to soak in the broth. The can of Heinz's baked beans you throw in at the end - well, this adds some protein as well as thickens the stew. Overall it's yet another dish that tastes much better than you'd expect from simply looking at the list of ingredients.

We love a spoonful of thick sour cream on top, but a crusty bread would be good, too.

* New to baby-led weaning aka BLW? Read all about it in Gill Rapley's book - see Amazon UK/Amazon US. I highly recommend reading it if you've got a small baby who's about to start solids soon! 

Cold weather hotpot
(Hakklihaga ühepajatoit)
Slightly adapted from BBC Good Food, March 2003
Serves six

2 Tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
4 small onions
4 good-sized carrots
8 medium-sized potatoes
450 g lean minced beef
1 l hot beef stock (you can use a stock cube or bouillon extract)
a good splash of Worcestershire sauce
a handful of chopped parsley

To serve:
some good sour cream (optional)

Peel the onions and cut into quarters. Peel the carrots, halve lengthwise and cut into thick slices. Peel the potatoes and cut into smallish chunks.
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan, add the minced beef and fry quickly, stirring all the time, until browned evenly.
Add the vegetables, give everything a quick stir. Pour over the beef stock. Bring into a boil, then partially cover with the lid, reduce heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked.
Season with Worcestershire sauce, pour in the baked beans. Stir gently and then heat through. Taste for seasoning, then scatter parsley on top and serve.
Ladle into bowl and enjoy with a spoon.

Recipe for Beef Stroganoff with Chantarelle Mushrooms

Recipe by Nami-Nami. Above photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the September 2013 issue of Kodu ja Aed ("Home and Garden", an Estonian monthly magazine. I've been their food writer since October 2012)

Boeuf Stroganoff, a popular family classic, gets an seasonal-autumnal touch here from fresh chanterelle mushrooms. As I've mentioned in another post, stroganoff doesn't usually include mushrooms over here. Yet I can see why mushrooms are often paired with beef in this classic Russian dish. While cultivated mushrooms are all right during the winter season, it'd be silly to use the pale and rather bland-tasting white button (or even small brown cremini) mushrooms when the local forests are full of wonderful wild mushrooms. Hence the use of chanterelle mushrooms here instead.



Beef Stroganoff with Chanterelle Mushrooms
(Kukeseentega böfstrooganov)
Serves 4

vegetable oil for frying
300 g beef sirloin or tenderloin or "stroganoff" or stir-fry strips
salt and black pepper
1 Tbsp mild paprika powder
1 onion, finely chopped
300 g fresh chanterelle mushrooms
3 Tbsp concentrated tomato purée
200 ml fresh cream*
fresh parsley, finely chopped

If you're using sirloin or tenderloin, then cut the meat into thin stirps about 1 cm wide and 5 cm long (1/2 inch wide by 2 inch long). Clean the mushrooms thoroughly, cut into smaller pieces, if necessary.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the beef strips and brown quickly on all sides (in batches, if necessary). Transfer the meat onto a plate, sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika pwider.

Add a little more oil to the pan, reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and fry gently until softened.

Increase the heat to medium-high again, add the chanterelle mushrooms and fry for 4-5 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked.

Add the tomato concentrate, cook for a minute. Return the seasoned beef strips to the pan, alongside any liquid that's dripped into the plate. Add the cream and cook gently until heated through, the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender.

Taste for seasoning, add more salt and/or pepper, if necessary. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

We like to eat our stroganoff with mashed potatoes, but buttered wide egg noodles would also work well.

* You can use single cream, double cream, pouring cream, whipping cream, even half-and-half. Any of those would work well, giving you a lighter or richer stroganoff.

More Stroganoff recipes:
Kurzeme stroganoff aka Latvian pork stroganoff with pickles @ Nami-Nami
Oven-baked pork stroganoff with mayonnaise @ Nami-Nami
Mushroom stroganoff (vegetarian recipe) @ Nami-Nami
Classic beef stroganoff @ The Cook Who Knew Nothing
Mushroom stroganoff (vegetarian recipe) @ Cook Sister
Skinny mushroom stroganoff (vegetarian recipe) @ Skinny Taste
Ribeye and mushroom stroganoff @ Farmhouse Delivery Blog
Beef stroganoff @ Simply Recipes
Beef strogranoff @ My Baking Addiction
Beef stroganoff with gnocchi @ Eat, Live, Run
Chicken stroganoff @ Kayotic Kitchen
Venison stroganoff @ Hunter. Angler. Gardener. Cook
Maria's Russian beef stroganoff @ Natasha's Kitchen
Stroganoff (recipe in Finnish) @ Pastanjauhantaa
Savumakkara-stroganoff (recipe in Finnish) @ Hellapoliisi
Böfstrooganov (recipe in Estonian) @ Da Vahtra Residence
Böfstrooganov (recipe in Estonian) @ Ise tehtud, hästi tehtud
Böfstrooganov sinepi ja kartulipüreega (recipe in Estonian) @ Puhas rõõm

Saucy Asian Meatballs recipe

There was a day in early December last year that involved a small round turning table, a batch of beautifully styled Saucy Asian Meatballs from Ali's Gimme Some Oven blog, one of my favourite white serving plates, our beautiful white and heavy cotton living room curtains, and our almost-two-year-old son Aksel. I don't want to go into details, but let me assure you that when you immediately remove those curtains and tuck them immediately into your washing machine, the sticky sauce consisting of hoisin sauce and dark soy sauce does wash off. Eventually.

And luckily, the recipe makes loads. So even if you have to throw half of the saucy meatballs away, as the tiny shards of your favourite serving plate and white sesame seeds are almost indistinguishable from each other, and we're not really encouraging eating stuff off the floor in our household anyway, then you still have enough to eat - and photograph - as well.

These have a pretty strong flavour, so they're more for nibbling than consuming in huge quantities.

Saucy Asian Meatballs* 
(Aasia lihapallid) 
Source: Gimme Some Oven
Serves about 8



Meatballs:
1 kg mince (I used a mixture of beef and pork)
2 tsp sesame oil
250 ml (1 cup) panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp ground ginger
2 eggs
1 Tbsp grated garlic
100 ml / 7 Tbsp finely chopped scallions/spring onions
0.5 tsp salt

Sauce:
175 ml hoisin sauce
4 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sesame oil

Garnish:
white sesame seeds
finely chopped scallions/spring onions

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Mix together the meatball ingredients in a big bowl. Shape into balls about 3 cm (just over 1 inch). Place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until meatballs are golden brown and cooked through.

Meanwhile, whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until well blended.

Once the meatballs are cooked, dip them into the sauce until covered.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions/spring onions and serve warm.

* I have to thank Estonian food blogger Juta, who reminded me about these meatballs earlier today :)

Chickpeas with chorizo (Garbanzos y chorizo)

Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, as they're known in the US), that excellent store-cupboard ingredient that helps one to make many an excellent meal. A filling chickpea and tuna salad with smoked paprika powder. A healthy vegetarian side dish consisting of chickpeas and pomegranate molasses. A quick tortilla wrap with chickpeas and tuna. A chickpea and tomato soup with smoked paprika.  A chickpea and tomato soup with Moroccan spices. A quick hummus with beets. Or a quick hummus with wild garlic, come ramp or ramson season. Or a quick hummus with harissa paste, if you want something a wee bit spicier.

I always keep some in the cupboard, as they are indeed an excellent stand-by.

Chickpeas and smoked paprika powder (pimentón) is a match made in heaven, and this is utilised in this wonderful Spanish creation, garbanzos y chorizo. No pimentón or smoked paprika powder - pimentón de la Vera is considered the best - is needed, but you need a good-quality Spanish cooking chorizo that is seasoned with pimentón to start with. I came across a locally-made chorizo sausage last weekend - produced by Liivimaa Lihaveis - and decided to try an old favourite chorizo-and-chickpea (or chorizo-and-garbanzo) dish of mine*, and see, if the locally produced chorizo stands up to the proper Spanish one.

It did, I'm happy to admit.

Chickpeas with chorizo
(Kikerherned chorizo-vorstiga)
Serves four to six

 

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
1 red or yellow bell pepper
300 g cooking chorizo
400 g canned chopped tomatoes
800 g canned chickpeas (that's 2 regular cans)
about a cup of water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh parsley, finely chopped

Peel the onion, halve and cut into thin slices. Halve and deseed the pepper, then cut into thin strips. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Cut the chorizo into thin slices.

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan or a large sauté pan. Add the onion and pepper and a sprinkle of salt and sauté over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Increase the heat, add the chorizo and fry for another few minutes, until the chorizo is slightly browned.

Add the chopped tomatoes, then pour about a cup of water into the tomato can, give it a quick swirl and pour into the pan. Add the chickpeas. Bring into a simmer, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some herbs on top and serve with some crusty bread and a fresh green salad.

NOTE: This reheats well (you can add some water, if too dry), and it also tastes great when cold. 

 

* This dish is indeed a regular in our kitchen - I discovered this photo from August 2011 and this photo from April 2009 as well this one from April 2008 in Flickr :)

Similar recipes in other foodblogs:
In my Life (very similar to mine)
Morsels & Musings by Anna
Lindaraxa
Spanish Recipes pic by pic
Flanboyant Eats (much soupier version)

Estonian recipes: yellow split pea soup with smoked pork (hernesupp suitsulihaga)

Originally posted in February 2012, slightly edited.


It's Shrove Tuesday tomorrow, and before feasting on delicious Lenten buns (I've blogged about the classic ones, chocolate ones and luscious raspberry and marzipan ones), Estonians eat split pea soup. Thick, hearty, well-flavoured (smoked pork!) and textured (peas + pearl barley) - all the elements of a substantial and delicious winter soup are present. Here's a recipe that I've been using for years to make a big (I mean it!) pot of delicious soup.

It's a fusion recipe, of a kind. You see - apparently in the Southern Estonia, they used to put barley in the split pea soup; in the North, they replaced the pearl barley with cubed carrots and potatoes. I use them all, so it's a meet-me-in-the-middle soup :)

Note that the soup reheats very well. As it thickens when cooling, you may need to add some water when reheating it, and adjusting the seasoning again, if necessary. 

Estonian Yellow Split Pea Soup with Smoked Pork
(Hernesupp suitsulihaga)
Serves eight to ten



200 g yellow split peas
150 g pearl barley
3 litres of water
about 1 kg of smoked pork - rib, cheek or hock
1 large onion
2 to 3 large carrots
2 large potatoes
salt to taste
2 to 3 tsp sharp mustard (or to taste)
fresh herbs (parsley, celery, dill, thyme, savory)

ON THE PREVIOUS NIGHT OR IN THE MORNING:
Pick through the peas and pearl barley to remove any grit. Place into a bowl, pour over enough cold water to cover by couple of centimetres and leave to soak. (This reduces the cooking time considerably).

ON THE DAY:
Place the smoked pork into a large bowl (definitely larger than 5 litres!). Add the 3 litres of water and bring slowly into a boil. Remove any froth and scum that appears on the surface.
Rinse the soaked barley and peas, drain and add to the saucepan. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for about an hour.
Meanwhile, peel and chop (or grate coarsely) the onion, carrots and potatoes. If you wish, you can sauté the onion and carrots in some oil - this enhances the flavour.
Add the vegetables to the soup and continue simmering for about half an hour, until the meat and vegetables are fully cooked.
Take the pork out of the soup, remove the meat from the bones and chop finely. Return the chopped meat into the saucepan.
Season the soup with mustard and salt, add some herbs of your choice and serve.

Braised rabbit with mustard (lapin à la moutarde)

Photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the November 2012 issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine.

It's snowing outside, and once again I'm craving something belly- and heart-warming. This braised rabbit with mustard sauce (lapin à la moutarde) hits the spot. Rabbit has become more easily available here in Estonia for an average shopper (read: you can get it vacuum-packed in your local supermarket), and this rabbit stew with a creamy mustard sauce is an excellent way of cooking rabbit.

The recipe is French-inspired and adapted from Anthony Demetre, the chef patron at the London restaurants Arbutus, Wild Honey and Les Deux Salons; more specifically, from his book Today's special: A new take on bistro food - Recipes from Arbutus and Wild Honey. Demetre uses rabbit legs, but for a home cook, using a whole rabbit makes much more sense - and is much more economical, of course.

It's my favourite way of cooking and serving rabbit - I included the recipe in my first cookbook, as well as in the November 2012 issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine. You can braise this one on the stovepot or bake in the oven - the choice is yours.

Braised rabbit with mustard
(Sinepine küülikuhautis)
Serves four to six


1 rabbit
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

75 g butter

75 ml white wine vinegar (5 Tbsp)
3 Tbsp good Dijon mustard
500 ml (2 cups) hot chicken stock
200 ml double or whipping or heavy cream
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika powder (pimentón de la Vera)
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
5 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves

If braising the rabbit in the oven, then pre-heat the oven to 200 C/400 F.

Cut the rabbit into serving pieces (here's a photo of me tackling another rabbit, I usually end up with two shoulders, two legs, two belly flap pieces, 2 saddles; I throw the rib cage into the stew as well to give extra flavour, but I don't eat it; here's Hank Shaw's very detailed step-by-step guide, which I find a wee bit over-complicated, but perhaps the rabbits here and there are somewhat different :); and finally, here's Saveur's guide).

Season the meat with salt and pepper.

Take a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven or casserole dish. Melt the butter, then brown the meat pieces on all sides (you'll need to do that in 2-3 instalments probably). Remove the browned pieces and put aside.

Pour the wine vinegar into the saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring into the boil again. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then return the browned rabbit pieces into the saucepan again.

Once again, bring into the boil, cover tightly with the lid and transfer into the pre-heated oven. Cook for about 1,5 hours, until the meat falls off the bone.

(If you opt for stove-top braising, then simmer over moderately low heat, covered, until the meat falls off the bone).

Serve with seasonal vegetables.

Similar recipes:
Hank Shaw's rabbit in mustard sauce @ Simply Recipes
Raymond Blanc's braised rabbit with mustard @ BBC Food
Rabbit cooked with Dijon mustard @ Saveur
Rabbit with mustard @ Gourmet Traveller WINE
Mustard rabbit @ The Evening Hérault
Rabbit in mustard sauce @ French cooking for Dummies
Rabbit in mustard cream @ Lindaraxa

Oven-baked pork stroganoff with mayonnaise

Stroganoff, for most of you, is associated with the Russian dish boeuf stroganoff, a creamy sauce based on thin beef tenderloin strips and perhaps button mushrooms (interestingly, mushrooms aren't included in böfstrooganov over here). But stroganoff it's also used as a shorthand for various hot dishes using long and thin meat strips. Say, something you'd probably call pork or beef stir-fry strips in English-speaking countries, are called stroganoff pieces over here (you can also buy "maksastrooganov" or thin beef or pork liver strips over here).

Here's a popular Estonian family dinner - oven-baked pork stroganoff that uses less than five ingredients (pork, onions, mushrooms, mayonnaise and seasonings). It tastes lovely with some mashed or simply boiled potatoes, and is a perfect for those cold winter nights.

More stroganoff recipes here on Nami-Nami:
Latvian pork stroganoff "Kurzeme stroganoff"
Mushroom stroganoff

Oven-baked pork stroganoff with mayonnaise
(Sealihast ahjustrooganov majoneesiga)
Serves 4

500 g lean pork (stroganoff/stir-fry strips)
2 large onions
250 g white or button or cremini mushrooms
225 g mayonnaise (I used the local Jaani Provansaal mayo)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil, for frying

To garnish:
fresh chives, finely chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C/400 F. Lightly oil a medium-sized oven casserole dish, put aside.

Peel the onions, halve and cut into thin slices. Clean the mushrooms and cut into thin slices.
Heat oil on a heavy skillet/frying pan, add the pork and fry until lightly browned on all sides. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put into a casserole dish.

Fry the onions on the same pan, adding some oil, if needed. You don't need to caramelise the onions - around 5 minutes, until the onions are just starting to soften, is all you need.

Scatter the fried onions and the sliced mushrooms on top of the pork. Drizzle or spoon the mayonnaise on top.

Cook in a preheated 200 C oven for about 30 minutes, until the meat and mushrooms are cooked and the mayonnaise topping is lovely light golden brown.

Garnish with chopped chives, and serve with either simple boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes.

Oxtail ragout with celeriac mash

Oxtail - isn't it beautiful? I admit that I blatantly nicked the idea for today's post from the wonderful Jeanne in London, who wrote about a 20-hour sous vide oxtail stew in her award-winning blog, Cook Sister! Here's my oxtail story.


Albarracín at night, March 2008

I still remember my first encounter with oxtail - on a plate, I mean. My dear K. and I were travelling in Spain in March 2008, visiting the lovely Ximena of the Lobstersquad fame in Madrid, and visiting some other off-the-beaten-track cities that Ximena and her also very lovely husband J. had suggested. One late afternoon we arrived in the picturesque Albarracín in Aragon (yep, on the lands of the medieval Kingdom of Aragón). After checking into our hotel for the night, we wandered on the streets of Albaraccín, looking for a tiny restaurant called Rincón del Chorro. Somebody somewhere had recommended it, you see. The night was already dark, but we were obviously too early for dinner, as all we found was a locked door. We returned an hour later, to find a small but busy restaurant. The menu wasn't long - I opted for the pickled partridge (a local speciality, I was told), K. ordered the rabo del toro or oxtail.



Both were brought to the table pretty quickly. While the partridge was lovely, the oxtail was wonderful and although the idea of cooking it myself seemed a wee bit daunting initially, I've become a huge oxtail convert over the years and cook this particular cut of beef regularly.

My favourite oxtail dish takes slightly less time to cook than Jeanne's and as there's definitely no sous-vide machine in my kitchen, it can be cooked in a simple stovetop saucepan. But I guarantee it'll be just as delicious ;) The inspiration for the dish is from a blog written by an Estonian restaurateur, Mme Randrüüt - see here. It's an interpretation of the French classic, mijotée de queue de boeuf et purée de céleri rave or stewed oxtail with celeriac pureé. If you haven't cooked oxtail before, then slowly cooked oxtail has the most wonderful sweet and meaty flavour, which is pretty much universally liked. While we happily gnaw away on the slowly cooked oxtail pieces (there's a link to another oxtail stew recipe here on Nami-Nami at the bottom of this post), it can be intimidating to somebody who's new to oxtail - or if you're wanting to serve oxtail in a slightly more elegant manner. This oxtail ragout is the perfect solution then.



In Estonia I usually get my oxtail cut into chunks and packed neatly on a tray. Very convenient, even if it is only sold in one major supermarket and only on certain days, so one has to pre-plan carefully. If you have a friendly butcher at your favourite market, you can obviously order some whenever you need it.

Oxtail ragout with celeriac mash
(Veisesabaraguu)
Serves two to three (can be easily doubled)



1 kg oxtail pieces
2-3 Tbsp oil
500 ml (2 cups) boiling water
few fresh parsley sprigs
few fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
3-4 whole black peppercorns
3-4 whole allspice berries
salt, to taste

Season the oxtail pieces with salt.
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan, sauté the oxtail pieces until dark golden brown on all sides.
Add the water, herbs and seasonings. Bring into a boil, then reduce heat and cover the saucepan. Simmer gently for about 3-4 hours until meat falls off the bones easily.
Remove from the heat, cool. Remove the meat off the bones, discard the bones and return the meat into the stew.

(This can be done a day in advance). 

Skim the excess fat from the top of the stew. Re-heat the stew and simmer gently for another hour or two, until the stew has thickened. Taste for seasoning.

Serve with a celeriac/root celery mash - prepare like your regular potato mash, just use root celery instead.

Looking for more oxtail inspiration? Here are some recipes:

Papardelle with oxtail ragu by Skye Gyngell
Oxtail ragout with papardelle by Sammy and Bella (My Kitchen Rules)
Oxtail braised in dark beer by Nami-Nami
Coda alla vaccinaria by Food Lover's Odyssey
Glazed oxtails by Simply Recipes
Korean braised oxtail by Kitchen Wench
Alsatian oxtail stew by Choosy Beggars

Finnish mince and cabbage gratin

You've already got the recipe for the Estonian cabbage and mince stew (recommended!), here's a Finnish version that's similar, yet totally different. Whereas Estonians like their mince and cabbage as a stew alongside some boiled carrots, the Finns throw in some rice (and syrup or honey - they've got a sweeter tooth!), layer it into a oven dish and bake it slowly until done.

Both are lovely. You could even make a large batch of the Estonian one, and use any leftovers for the Finnish version on the next day :)

The traditional condiment is lingonberry jam (you'll find a jar in your nearest IKEA store), but sour cream works just as well.

Finnish mince and cabbage gratin
(Kapsa-hakklihavorm riisiga)
Serves 6

150 ml short-grain "porridge" rice, uncooked
400 ml water
0.5 tsp salt

about 1 kg white cabbage, finely shredded
1 onion
400 g beef mince
1 tsp salt
0.25 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram
1-2 Tbsp sugar syrup or honey (or use cornsyrup, maple syrup or even agave nectar)
400 ml beef stock

Place rice, salt and water into a saucepan, bring into a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the rice has absorbed the water. Remove from the heat and put aside.
Chop the onion. Put beef mince and onion into a large and heavy frying pan and fry until slightly browned. Season with salt, pepper and marjoram, then add to the rice.
Add the cabbage to the frying pan, season with a bit of salt and heat, stirring regularly, until the cabbage is slightly coloured and "collapsed". Season with syrup, then combine with the rice and the fried minced beef.
Pour into a medium-sized oven casserole dish, pour beef stock on top.
Bake in a preheated 200 C oven for one hour to one hour and 15 minutes. Use your judgement and cover the dish with a piece of foil at the end, if necessary.

Canteen classics: Solyanka, Estonian style

 
(This recipe was originally posted in December 2006. Fully updated in May 2012).
 
Here's a recipe for a soup that must have frequently featured in one disguise or another in every single canteen and many households across the former Soviet empire: solyanka (see also this informative article about Russian soups). A hearty soup originally from Russia and Ukraine that can be just as humble or elegant as you want. If you're a flashy Slav, you use seven types of meat (incl. kidneys) and throw in a handful of black olives, a slice of lemon and a generous pinch of capers. If you're a more modest Estonian, you stick to sweating onions and a choice of sausages. You can add cabbage or other vegetables, make a vegetarian, fishy or meaty solyanka.

Whatever you do, you must use salted/brined cucumbers (aka pickles), which give the soup its characteristic salty-sour note.

Solyanka, Estonian style
(Seljanka eesti moodi)
Serves: 4

3 large onions (about 400 grams in total)
4 Tbsp oil
100 ml boiling water
100 grams of concentrated tomato puree
1 litre beef stock (use boiling water and 2 beef stock cubes, if necessary)
3 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
3 salted cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced
300-400 grams of cooked lean meat products (choose a mixture of Frankfurters, Polish kabanos or Krakow sausages, sliced cooked beef, mild chorizo sausages etc - 2-3 different types)

To serve:
sour cream or smetana or thick plain yogurt

Quarter the onions and slice thinly crosswise.
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan, add onions and fry gently for 5 minutes. Add peppercorns and bay leaves alongside 100 ml of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes, until onions have softened.
Add tomato puree and stir until combined.
Add the hot stockm sliced cucumbers, and chopped meat products.
Bring slowly to the boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer gently for about10 minutes, so the flavours can develop.
Taste for seasoning - you can add some lemon juice to sharpen the soup.Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some rye bread.

More solyanka recipes:
Salmon and wild mushroom solyanka @ Nami-Nami
Frau T's solyanka  @ Urban Foodie
Solyanka @ Eastern Europan Food (About.com)
Russian meat solyanka  @ Food.com
Solyanka @ Pavel Chuchuva (in Melbourne)
Simple Solyanka @ Windows to Russia

Estonian recipes: fried pork escalopes in marinade

I'm thrilled to share another wonderful Estonian dish with you - fried pork slices in marinade, served cold. It's been a popular dish on various buffét tables for many decades, and as it can be made ahead - and it keeps well in the fridge - it's a useful recipe to have in your repertoire. You can eat it alongside a traditional potato salad, or perhaps on a slice of good dark rye bread - remember, it's a cold dish.

I've used pork shoulder (kaelakarbonaad) for making this, but you could also use any other soft boneless cut.

Fried pork in marinade
(Praetud sealiha marinaadis)
Serves 10 to 12

1 kg boneless pork (blade shoulder, Boston butt, loin)
a scant cup of all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 large eggs, lightly whisked
oil, for frying

Marinade:
1.5 litres water
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 onions, peeled, halved and sliced
10 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1.5 Tbsp sugar
1.5 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp vinegar (30%)

Cut the pork into 1 cm slices, across the grain. Place the meat between two sheets of cling film or parchment paper. Using a mallet or a rolling pin, pound the meat on both sides until it forms a thin escalope. Cut each escalope into smaller pieces, about 4x5 cm in size.
Season the flour with salt and pepper, dip the meat pieces into flour and then into whisked egg.
Heat the oil on a frying pan over moderate heat. Fry the meat slices until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Remove from the pan and transfer into a bowl and let cool.

Now make the marinade. Place all the ingredients - apart from the vinegar - into a small saucepan and bring into a boil. Simmer gently, until the carrot slices are al dente (crisp). Remove from the heat, add the vinegar, and let cool.

Pour the marinade over the meat slices. Cover and let stand for at least 24 hours before serving.

Estonian recipes: Barley with Smoked Pork (vastlapuder)

February 2012

It's Shrove Tuesday today, and I'm sharing a traditional Estonian Shrove Tuesday recipe with you. You'll need exactly three ingredients - pearl barley, smoked pork and water (and some salt to taste, if necessary). Cheap, simple, filling, flavoursome, and surprisingly delicious :)

You'll need a good chunk of smoked pork - ribs are perfect, though I've often used a fattier smoked cheek. This particular piece of meat is called maasuitsuribi (country-smoked ribs) in Estonian:



Note that this porridge reheats rather well - just slowly warm it until piping hot on your frying pan. I like to serve this with some sour cream.

Barley Porridge with Smoked Pork
(Vastlapuder)
Serves four to six



200 g smoked pork (rib, cheek or thickly cut bacon)
175 g pearl barley, rinsed and drained
1 l boiling water
salt, to taste

Cut the smoked pork into dice:



Fry the pork cubes in a heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, until browned and slightly crispened. (Drain off the excess oil, if necessary - various cuts of pork are rather different. Leave about a tablespoon or two of pork fat).
Add the pearl barley and sauté for about a minute, stirring.
Add the boiling water. Reduce heat, cover the pan with a lid. Simmer on a low heat for about an hour, stirring couple of times, until the barley is just ever so lightly al dente (you don't want it to go too mushy).
Taste for seasoning, add some salt, if necessary.


February 2008

MORE DELICIOUS SHROVE TUESDAY RECIPES @ NAMI-NAMI:
Yellow split pea soup with smoked pork
Traditional lenten buns
Lenten buns with raspberries and marzipan
Chocolate-y lenten buns

Pork tenderloin with leeks, raisins and warming spices

This was our family's last proper home-cooked lunch back in 2011. I didn't expect to like it, but I did, just like the rest of my family. You see, I had some young leeks and a pork fillet in the fridge, and a putting those two ingredients into the search box of my Estonian recipe site yielded this recipe that I had scribbled  down from a Swedish Arla-site back in 2002 (Gryta med julens kryddor was it called). Pairing pork and leeks wasn't a problem, it was the addition of raisins and the spices (cinnamon and ginger) that worried me. However, a positive reader comment encouraged me to go ahead with it, and I'm so glad I did.

This is not a dish I'd be making for my family on a weekly basis, but it's definitely one I'd happily make every now and then - and perhaps even use for a casual weeknight entertaining during the cold months.

Pork with leeks, raisins and warming spices
(Jõuluhõnguline siga porruga ehk porru-rosinaliha)
Serves four

500 to 600 g pork tenderloin
2 leeks or a handful of young leeks
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a knob of butter
200 ml whipping cream/heavy cream (a cup minus 3 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp concentrated veal stock (I used Bong's Touch of Taste)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
4 Tbsp seedless raisins

Cut the pork tenderloin fillet into thick slices (about 2 cm each). Season with salt and pepper.
Heat some butter in a non-stick frying pan, brown the pork slices on both sides over moderate heat. Put aside.
Cut the leeks into thick slices (larger ones) or 5 cm lengths (younger ones). Add those to the pan and sauté gently.
Now add the cream, veal stock concentrate, raisins and spices to the frying pan and simmer for a few minutes.
Return the pork slices to the frying pan, cook for another 4-5 minutes until heated through.
Serve with boiled potatoes or potato mash.