Copenhagen Cuisine

A couple of weeks ago i went to Copenhagen for the weekend. Denmark is now world renowned for its food and fine dining, it also famous for being very expensive.

We had a fantastic weekend with lots of delicious food, mainly thanks to our hosts James and Tali. Their local knowledge and home cooking meant we ate very well but didn't spend a fortune.

Here are some of the foodie highlights!

First stop when i arrived in Copenhagen was the organic hot dog stand next to the Rundetarn. Delicious with lots of sauce, mustard, gherkins and 2 types of onion.

 

On our first evening in Copenhagen Tali cooked Danish meatballs (frikadeller), we had them with veg and pickled red cabbage.

 
 In Copenhagen there is an area called Christiania, it was set up in the 1970s when a military barracks was taken over and became a commune. It is governed by its own laws. We sat by the lake and had a couple of beers and then headed to the vegetarian restaurant. The menu is small but the food is great. I had a cheesy, beany bake thing with a noodle salad and watermelon salad.

This is as close as we got to a table at Noma, one of the best restaurants in the world.

The bakery in Valby near where we were staying had an amazing selection of bread, the Danish really know how to make rye breads and loaves packed with seeds.

 For our last meal before saying goodbye, Clare and Tali opted for the famous Danish open sandwich - Smorrebrod with traditional toppings of prawn, herring and roast beef.

Thanks Tali and James for welcoming us to Copenhagen.

Rachael x

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A Taste of Tahiti

Poisson cru au lait de coco

My first taste of poisson cru on the island of Moorea. Rum Punch in the foreground.

 As if my holiday on an island in the Pacific wasn't paradisiacal enough, my host approached me with concern to inquire whether I minded eating a lot of fish.   Fresh and delicious, fished straight from the ocean and cooked on an open fire.  Or alternatively not cooked at all; the Tahitian national dish, Poisson Cru, is a ceviche-like dish made from raw fish, preferably tuna.

UM hello did I mind??  I nearly fell of my deckchair in delight.

I feel it necessary to share the joy of this simple dish.  Unlike ceviche it does not cook in the marinade - the aim is to serve is raw.  So you need a really fresh, good quality catch, sustainably sourced of course.  It melts in the mouth and is good for the body and soul.  Take a taste and be transported to the paradise islands of French Polynesia.

Best served on a private island in the Pacific, with fish freshly caught by beautiful Tahitian men, with coconut milk freshly pressed from the laden palm trees, sitting on a beach overlooking a blue lagoon, at sunset.  Failing that, a dose of imagination is required.

Mass coconut shredding in preparation for Flo's wedding feast

Beautiful men fishing off the reef (le récif) into the Pacific

Poisson cru au lait de coco

(Raw fish in coconut milk)

With many thanks to Flo's Aunty for sharing her recipe.  (NB given age-old recipe and lack of scales on deserted island, this recipe is less exact than usual and quantities are approx - don't feel constrained by them)

Ingredients:
Serves 6
500g fresh, sustainably-sourced tuna
3 tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
coconut milk (2 tins but may not need all)
To season: lemon or lime (1 or 2 small ones), salt, pepper

Method:

1. Cut the tuna into cubes and rinse in salted water (pref. the sea!)

2. Dice the tomatoes and cucumber. Finely slice the onion and crush the garlic.

3. Season the coconut milk with salt, pepper and lemon/lime juice. (So if you don't have a bowl of fresh milk pressed straight from the day's windfall, I'd advise putting 1 1/2 tins in a bowl and seasoning.  You can add the rest later if you think it needs it).

4. Add all the veg and finally the fish to the coconut milk and serve immediately (you don't want to allow the fish to 'cook' at all in the lemon/lime juice).

Ma'a (aka food): Délicieux

by Jules 

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Glastonburger

A world of extremes on Worthy Farm.

Devoted Keston Kitchen followers will have enjoyed, and been somewhat overwhelmed, by Charlotte and Matt's food diaries from their gastronomic tours (see On Location Paris and On Location Sicily for the comprehensive documentation of their holiday feasting).

Not to be outdone, Rachael and I decided to document our food consumption at our annual trip to Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts; the funnest five days of the year.

A scary prospect, given that we usually abandon our foodie ways and focus on finding excellent bands and dancing like lunes; relying on cider and rum to fulfil our nutritional needs.

However, as we have developed into mature women, we have become increasingly aware of the fine eateries that can be found on our treks between stages. In fact, there is an array of local, health-restoring, delicious meals to be bought.

But Glastonbury is a world of extremes. You will see from the food catalogue below that we have not abandoned our festival roots - there is an irrepressible urge for fried bacon in the mornings (of whatever quality) after particularly riotous nights. And Rachael has been on autopilot on the pre-festival supermarket run for over a decade: I had to point out that there is no need for a 29 year old woman who has been on Leith's cookery courses to eat dairylea dunkers. But the shopping list hasn't changed since Reading back in '99.

Thursday

(to note Rachael has already been here for a day guarding the pitch, but no food record exists)

I arrive at midday and decide that I must immediately have a pint of cider and a burger.

This was to reward the extreme mission I had just completed - it is too traumatic to go into, but involved carrying twice my body weight in camping equipment, sequined clothing, wellies and cider through the London rush hour - train/tube/train/bus - trekking through many many muddy fields and a heroic effort with an airbed and a £2 pump.

I was just at the point of collapse when Rachael announced that Meat Wagon were making their debut appearance at Glastonbury. Halleluiah.

Rachael and Julia both ate Dubble Bubble burgers.

Generally Glastonbury involves one proper meal a day*, followed by snacking on random items from the '99 list. Therefore for dinner:

Julia: Snack a Jacks. Hummous. Bread.

Rachael: Sainsbury's pasta salad. Dried apricots.

Friday

Breakfast

Rachael: cereal bar, carton of apple juice, satsuma.

Julia: woke to the immediate realisation that cereals bars wouldn't cut the mustard and headed straight for the nearest bacon buttie vendor.

Lunch

Rachael: Bread roll, hummous, french fries (s&v), caramel chocolate wafer biscuit (those ones with the red and gold foil), apple, dairylea dunkers

(Julia still full of bread and meat)

Dinner

Rachael: Stonebaked pizza: peppers and mushrooms

Julia: Stonebaked pizza: meat feast

Saturday

Breakfast

Rachael: Cereal bar, carton of apple juice, satsuma.

Julia: Bacon baguette the size of my forearm

Lunch

Rachael:Bread roll, avocado, McCoys (steak flavour), caramel chocolate wafer, apple, dairylea dunkers

Julia: no need

Dinner

Rachael:Thali Cafe butternut squash curry with rice

Julia: Realised severe lack of veg in recent days - headed to Manic Organic for a vegetable stir fry and side salad.

Sunday

Breakfast

Rachael:Cereal bar, carton of apple juice, satsuma

Julia: Sorreen malt loaf, apple, orange juice

Lunch (or more accurately, random snacks dispersed though the day)

Rachael: carrot cake, smoothie, doritos (cool original), apple

Julia: carrot cake, watermelon, iced-coffee

Dinner

Rachael: Made a pilgrimage to Pie Minister for a Henny Penny pie (of course) - chicken and porcini mushroom. With mash and mushy peas

Julia: Discovered an amazing organic falafel stand with no queue. Falafel on flat bread with hummous and three salads (carrot and orange, beetroot, leaves)

Monday:

Let's just say it involved a service station and a very long drive. Best not to divulge.

*Unless you are Robert or Jack, in which case you buy 4 meals a day, at least one of which is a Meat Wagon burger.

**not necessarily consumed in the am.

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