Fiskefrikadeller - Danish Fish Cake with Wheat Germ

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 600 - 675 g cod or salmon or a combination, skinned, boned and cut into smaller pieces
2. 1-2 eggs
3. 1 carrot diced or any other vegetable such as squash, fennikel, celery, leek or even potato
4. 1/2 red pepper bell or chili diced
5. 1 clove garlic
6. 1 slice of ginger diced (optional)
7. 1 handful of parsley or chives chopped
8. 3 TBS wheat germ or rolled oats or a combination of both
10. 1 TBS flax seeds ground
11. 1 TBS herbs such as dried basil, thyme or oregano (optional)
12. 1 TBS lemon juice or capers diced
13. 100 ml low fat fresh milk (traditional Danish recipe uses heavy cream)
14. 1 tsp salt
15. 6 turns black pepper mill
16. 2 TBS cooking oil (or you can use a mixture of butter and cooking oil)
17. Dill for garnishing

Directions:

1. Dice carrots and red pepper fruit by hand, food processor or blender. If using blender, you need to add water and pulse it. Drain off the liquid and press dry the carrots and red pepper fruit.

2. Blend all ingredients (except cooking oil and butter) by hand or in a blender/food processor til combined and smooth. The mixture will be a bit sticky.

3. Let the mixture rest for 15-30 minutes in the fridge.

4. Heat cooking oil and butter on a pan.

5. Use a tablespoon to form the mixture into fish cakes and fry them on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until golden using medium heat to ensure the fish is cooked without burning the fish cakes. It's important to have patience when frying the fish cakes and not rush it with a higher heat.

6. Sprinkle some chopped dill and serve.

Tips:

You can also bake them in the oven at 180 degree celsius. Give it 7 minutes on each side.

Video Demonstration:

Additional Information:

Recently, I am reading up about nutrition and did a detailed analysis of the different nutrients in food. Fish comes up on the top for almost all the nutrients, especially salmon at the very top comparing with all the different kinds of food including vegetables. Thus, I am more determined than ever to incorporate more food into our family's diet.

But alas, it hasn't been an easy task. Our Little FECS started liking fish as a toddler, and then somewhere along the way(I don't know what happened), he doesn't like fish anymore. Our Baby FECS hasn't really like fish from day one as a toddler, although she does like salmon on good days (phew). Daddy FECS prefers beef to fish. Although he does eat fish, we just don't eat it as regularly as is recommended by the Danish health authorities to consume fish two times a week.

If I prepare fish the Chinese way - by steaming them... the kids run away and Daddy FECS eat them, but not as heartily as he would eat the Danish fiskefrikadeller.

Then bingo, I thought why don't I try to make the Danish fish cakes "fiskefrikadeller" that all the Danes love. Apparently, I read that this is the method the Danes make their kids fall in love with fish. I don't know why I waited almost 18 years in Denmark to try making it myself!!!

But better late than never. I got down to it as soon as I could today. Daddy FECS and Little FECS ate many of them. Baby FECS only add half a fiskefrikadeller :-( She snacked too much along the day to have sufficient appetite for dinner.

I dice the carrots and red pepper bells using the Magimix blender, using water and pulsing it. You can actually use half of the water than what was shown in the picture above.

Drain off the liquid and press dry the carrots and red pepper fruit.

Don't throw away the water. You can drink it like you are drinking your regular water. It tastes like water, but with all the vitamins in it.

Add all the ingredients into the blender... such as 1 table spoon of oats

2 tablespoon of wheat germ

Crack in 2 eggs

Add 1 teaspoon of salt

Add a few turns of the peppermill as desired

I added leek here

Add a handful of parsley. Pre-chopping it is not required.

Add a clove of garlic

Add 1 tablespoon of dried herbs... here I added dried basil...

Add in the diced carrot and red pepper fruit

Add in the fish - here I added a combination of cod fish and salmon. I first cut the fish fillets into smaller fishes. I then add it into the blender with the other ingredients... 

Lastly, add 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds and a teaspoon of chopped ginger

Add 50 ml of milk. Some recipes call for 150 ml. The Magimix blender works fine with just 50 ml of milk, but it will be faster if more liquid is added.

I start at speed 1 and slowly work it up to speed 2 and ended with the last few seconds on speed 3.

I also use the spatula while blending to scrap down the side and guide the mixture towards the centre of the blender.

The blending is done :-) Ideally let the mixture rest in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.

Heat up pan with 2 tablespoon of cooking oil and 1 teaspoon of butter.

Use a tablespoon to form the mixture into fish cakes and fry them on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until golden using medium heat to ensure the fish is cooked without burning the fish cakes. 

Thus, it's important to have patience when frying the fish cakes and not to try to quicken the cooking with a higher heat.

9

Danish Fish Cakes called "fiskefrikadeller" ready to be served with mashed potatoes or Danish rye bread along with tartar sauce or remoulade sauce :-)

References:

https://thegutenappetit.com/2018/01/06/178-fiskefrikadeller/
https://sweetsoursavory.com/blog/2013/9/16/fish-cakes-fiskefrikadeller
https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/danish_fish_frikadeller_98237
http://thefamilydinnerbook.com/recipes/2013/12/31/fish-cakes-danish-fiske-frikadeller/
https://lineh.dk/opskrifter/fiskefrikadeller-uden-mel
https://hjerteforeningen.dk/opskrifter/mini-fiske-frikadeller-med-kartoffelsalat/
https://www.meyersmad.dk/lav-mad/opskrifter/fiskefrikadeller-med-hurtig-remoulade/
https://www.valdemarsro.dk/fiskefrikadeller/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-uUrqprqe4
https://youtu.be/gIeYHsTRIfc
https://youtu.be/K3ei9nAxbGs
http://farskoekkenskole.dk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Fiskedeller-og-mos.pdf

Healthy Oats Coated Crispy Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 4 chicken thighs

2. 2 TBS rolled oats ground

3. 2 TBS flax seeds ground

4. 1 TBS wheat germ

5. Salt & Pepper to taste

6. 1 stalk spring onions diced

7. 1/2 cucumber sliced

8. 1 red pepper bells sliced

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix ground oats,ground flax seeds, wheat germ, salt and pepper together.

2. Coat chicken with mixture.

3. Roast chicken in preheated oven at 180 degree celsius for 45 minutes or until golden.

4. Garnish with spring onions, cucumber, red pepper and serve with french fries.

Additional Information:

This is a very healthy crispy chicken that is made in the oven. It is coated with oats, wheat germ and flax seeds, which makes it more healthier than coating with white flour, but yet equally tasty.

1. In a bowl, mix ground oats,ground flax seeds, wheat germ, salt and pepper together.

2. Coat chicken with mixture.

3. Roast chicken in preheated oven at 180 degree celsius for 45 minutes or until golden.

4. Garnish with spring onions, cucumber, red pepper and serve with french fries.

Quick Oven-Roasted Chicken Drumsticks with Red Pepper Bells

Inspired from homemate.dk

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1. 6 chicken drumsticks

2. 1 parsnip sliced

3. 1/2 red pepper bell sliced

4. 1 onion quartered

5. A handful of unsalted cashew nuts

6. A handful stigs of fresh rosemary

7. A bit of cream (piskefløde)

8. 1-2 TBS olive oil

9. Salt & pepper to taste

10. 1 tsp cayenne (optional, if you wish it spicy)

11. A handful of parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper and cayenne if you wish it to be a little spicy

2. Roast in a pre-warmed oven for 15 mins at 220 degree celsius.

3. Serve :-)

Jamaican-inspired Roasted Jerk Chicken with Pepper Bells

Recipe adapted and simplified from http://www.inner-gourmet.com/2016/12/whole-roasted-jerk-chicken.html

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole chicken
2. 1 red pepper bell sliced
3. 1 yellow pepper bell sliced
4. 1 yellow pepper bell sliced
5. 1 orange for stuffing cavity
6. 1/2 orange sliced
7. 1 onion quartered
8. 1 stalk of spring onions chopped long
9. 4 TBS green seasoning
10. 1 tsp black seasoning
11. 1 tsp jerk seasoning
12. 1 tsp paprika
13. 2 TBS olive oil
14. Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Season chicken all over (including the cavity) with green seasoning, black seasoning, jerk seasoning, paprika, 1 TBS olive oil and salt. Store chicken in a zip-lock bag and refrigerate overnight.

2. Pre-heat oven to 180  degree celsius.

3. Place orange inside the chicken cavity and place chicken in an oven-proof dish.

4. Arrange spring onions, onions, orange slices and half of the pepper bells around the chicken.

5. Sprinkle the vegetables with 1 TBS olive oil and some salt to taste.

6. Roast for 45 mins or until the thermometer reads 75 degree celsius.

7. Arrange the rest of the raw pepper bells around the chicken for color and it is ready to serve :-)

* You can also roast the chicken at 150 degree celsius for 1.5 hour in the oven. If you have an errand to do, you can dump the chicken into the oven, set the temperature to 130 degree celsius for 2.5 hrs. When you return, the chicken is done and dinner is ready to be served :-)

Additional Information:

I stumbled across this interesting recipe: hhttps://www.alicaspepperpot.com/whole-roasted-jerk-chicken/. Today with a bit more time and for a change, I decided to dress the chicken with more seasoning then the usual garlic and salt. I have also thrown in a parsnip.

Orange is used instead of honey to sweeten this dish.

Fancy serving a dish that look like burned chicken to your guests, but doesn't taste like it, to your guests - a good seasoning to use on April's fool day :-)

This is how my "burned chicken" looked like after using the blackened seasoning. Don't be fooled by its burned appearance, it actually tasted good :-)

But what a name! If you ever have a boss that bullies you, you could consider serving this to him :-)

Oops, I served it to Mr. FECS for dinner tonight through the roasted jerk chicken dish, but no pun intended here.

References:
https://www.alicaspepperpot.com/whole-roasted-jerk-chicken/

Quick Oven-Roasted Lamb with Asparagus

Inspired from homemate.dk

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium pieces of lamb

2. 1/2 red pepper bell sliced

3. 1 onion quartered

4. 1 leek sliced

5. A few cloves of garlic unpeeled

6. A few stigs of fresh rosemary

7. 1 TBS olive oil 

8. Salt & pepper to taste

9. A handful of parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper.

2. Roast in a pre-warmed oven for 15 mins at 220 degree celsius or when termometer reads 58 degree celsius, if you want your beef perfectly medium rare

3. Garnish with parsley and serve :-)

Additional Information:

I served with roasted whole potatoes with skin and cut vegetables on the side.

All done, cut and garnished :-)

Quick Oven-Roasted Beef with Red Pepper Bells

Inspired from homemate.dk

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1. 3 pieces of beef of 150g each cut into pieces

2. A handful of oyster mushrooms sliced

3. 1/2 red pepper bell sliced

4. 1 onion quartered

5. 1 carrot sliced

6. 1 leek sliced

7. A handful of capers

8. 1-2 TBS olive oil 

9. Salt & pepper to taste

10. A handful of parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper.

2. Roast in a pre-warmed oven for 15 mins at 220 degree celsius.

3. Garnish with parsley and serve :-)

Additional Information:

Choose beef with more marble lines, and it will be more tender. I bought the beef from Netto supermarket, but IRMA has the best beef. Fortunately mine turned out tender after roasting :-)

If you wished the beef to taste more like "pan-fried," placed on them on top of the vegetables and drizzle a bit of olive oil on them.

Baby Food of the Day: Red Pepper Bell for the First Time (7M10D)

25 December 2016 (7M10D): Baby FECS tasting red pepper bell for the first time

https://youtu.be/jkK30gGaIiE

Beef Pizza

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 red pepper bell

2. 1/2 packet of grated mozzarella cheese

3. A few slices of Ermmentar cheese

4. 90g beef sliced

5. 1 TBS tomato ketcup

6. 1 wholemeal pizza dough (bought from supermarket)

7. A few ruccola salad leaves

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 150 degree C.

2. Unroll pizza dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper

3. Spread a layer of tomato sauce on pizza dough as base.

4. Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese as base.

5. Add toppings such as red pepper bells, ermmentar cheese, sliced beef

6. Bake in oven for 20-30 mins or until beef is cooked and cheese is melted.

7. Remove from oven and sprinkle with ruccola salad, cut and serve :-)

Additional Information:

This is our favorite pizza at the moment :-)