Surprisingly good

Today was one of those days when I just wanted a pizza. Last night was a healthy dinner for my dear son Roland, of fish cakes (from the local fishmonger -- don't you love that word? -- Laksen), boiled potatoes and cauliflower. White food. Bland food. Today I wanted a pizza.

But my larder is full of vegetables and leftovers. OK, I don't have a larder. But my fridge is then. Because I subscribe to Kolonihagen I get a crate of fruit, vegetables and bread, all organic, every week. Now, this stuff is really tasty. I got into organic food first for the improved flavor, though I am likely to rant off in a later post about poising the planet and such.

Jeg kan virkelig anbefalle Kolonihagen, de leverer flotte produkter, man får et variert utvalg og det blir ofte en smaksopplevelse. Men noen ganger blir det for meget av det gode, som i dag...

So I had too many fish cakes (Roland didn't eat his...) and parsley root in my fridge to justify ordering a pizza. Time to experiment. It was white food again today but it turned out suprisingly well. So here is my new dish of the day:

1-2 fish cakes
1 leek
1-2 parsley roots
1 potato
dried herbs & chilli
drop of dry vermouth
milk
butter
goose fat (optional)

I always keep goose fat around to make vegetables taste better, so I melted some in a hot pan, and added the washed and chopped leek. I let it sweat for a good 10-15 minutes til it is limp and smelling really sweet. Then I added the parsley roots, choped into small cubes, and let it brown very briefly. Then I added a drop of vermouth, my secret weapon, and let it almost boil off. The vermouth gives it an herby almost sweet flavour. Then I turned the heat down and added just enough boiling water to just not cover the parsley root cubes. You can add the potato, chopped, at this stage, and some herbs like thyme and oregano and a little chilli to give this white sweetness heat. Let it simmer with a cover on for a good 15-20 minutes until the root is mushy and the water almost completely absorbed, then add some butter (however much you like) and mash. Add a little milk at a time til it is kindof like stringy mashed potatoes. Season well with salt and a little pepper. Now put in the cubed fish cakes (or whatever) and heat through. If you are feeling decadent, add a dash of sour cream.

This was suprisingly sweet and flavorful, partially due to really good parsely roots, but also to the addition of so many sweetish ingredients like leek and goose fat. The herbs and vermouth gives it some ommph.

So it was good comfort food, and I (almost) didn't miss my pizza.