Recipe: Crispy sunflower rolls

2 Hungry Birds - Tina on September 15, 2023

Tina: The traditional Danish weekend breakfast always consists of fresh baked morning rolls from the bakery. The Danes traditionally eat the rolls with butter, cheese, and/or jam. We call them “rundstykker”, meaning round pieces. Since I don’t have rundstykker available where I live, I have to make my own. I don’t mind making them – there is nothing better than the smell of fresh baked bread in the morning. Although this recipe makes sunflower rolls that are different than the Danish rundstykker (which are white flour rolls), I like these better because they are a bit more rustic and have more of a bite to them.

This recipe is ridiculously easy to make and takes no time to throw together. You don’t have to stick your hands in the sticky dough and knead, or even shape the dough into rolls. It’s that simple. The dough is made the day before and left overnight to rise in the fridge until next day. The dough gets bubbly, sticky and gooey, and when baked the rolls will have a beautiful crispy crust and a soft inside. Of course you don’t have to just eat these in the morning – they are also really good for lunch to make sandwiches. The crispy crust will disappear after a day, but toast them or heat them in the oven and the beautiful crust comes right back again.

Recipe: Crispy sunflower rolls

Recipe by 2 Hungry Birds – Tina Course: BakingCuisine: Denmark

Servings

rolls

The dough gets bubbly, sticky and gooey, and when baked the rolls will have a beautiful crispy crust and a soft inside. Of course you don’t have to just eat these in the morning – they are also really good for lunch to make sandwiches. The crispy crust will disappear after a day, but toast them or heat them in the oven and the beautiful crust comes right back again.

Ingredients

17.6 oz 17.6 (500g) cold water
0.28 oz 0.28 (8g) dry yeast or 20 grams of fresh yeast
5.8 oz 5.8 (165g) white whole wheat flour (or normal whole wheat flour)
8.8 oz 8.8 (250g) all-purpose flour
2.1 oz 2.1 (60g) sunflower seeds
1.5 teaspoons 1.5 (8g) salt
Decoration
Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds

Directions

Make the dough in the evening the day before you want to bake the rolls.
With a wooden spoon, mix water and yeast together in a bowl until the yeast has dissolved. Add the flours, sunflower seeds and salt and stir together. The dough should be sticky and not too firm or fluid. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the bowl and dough sit in the refrigerator over night.
In the morning preheat the oven on convection bake at 450°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and use two spoons to scoop the dough up into balls of about 1/2- 3/4 cup in size. Each baking sheet should hold about 6 rolls. Brush with water and sprinkle with seeds on top of each for decoration.
Insert one baking pan at a time in the oven on the middle rack and bake for about 8 min. Then turn down the heat to 400°F bake for another 7 min or until the rolls turns golden and crisp.
Take them out of the oven and let the rolls cool for about 5 min on a rack before serving.
Repeat step 3 with the other baking sheets of rolls. Now you’ve got fresh baked bread straight from the oven and a really nice smell in the house!

Recipe: Coconut and Marzipan Macaroons

2 Hungry Birds - Tina on September 14, 2023

I recently had one of those days where I craved for something sweet and was in the mood to bake. I remembered that I loved eating coconut macaroons (‘kokos toppe’ in Danish) when I was growing up in Denmark – they were one of my favorite baked sweets. It struck me that I hadn’t eaten these for years. I had a giant roll of marzipan (almond paste) in my cabinet, and mixing in some marzipan with coconut sounding intriguingly good.

I baked four dozen, which were quickly long gone, and I am already thinking about making my next batch. For my gluten-free friends, you will love this recipe.

Recipe: Coconut and Marzipan Macaroons

Recipe by 2 Hungry Birds – Tina Course: BakingCuisine: Denmark, Nordic

macaroons

Ingredients

3 3 medium eggs
8 oz 8 (225g) sugar
10½ oz 10½ (300g) unsweetened shredded coconut
3½ oz 3½ (100 grams) shredded marzipan (almond paste)
5 oz 5 (150 grams) dark chocolate

Directions

Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until the eggs and sugar turn white, about 2-3 minutes. Add shredded coconut and marzipan together until the dough is evenly mixed.
Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest in the refrigerator for one hour. This will help the dough stick together easily.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175°C).
In the meantime use your fingers to shape the dough for each macaroon into small cones (I like them bite-sized, but you can shape them any size you prefer). Make sure to press the coconut as tightly together as possible, as any coconut that is sticking out will burn easily.
Bake the coconut macaroons about 15-20 minutes or until they are lightly golden and crisp.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool off.
Melt the chocolate and dip/brush the bottom of the coconut kisses with chocolate. Let them rest while the chocolate hardens (you can also put the tray in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to speed up the chocolate hardening process). Devour these with some coffee or tea:)

Recipe: Flæskesteg – Danish Pork Roast

2 Hungry Birds - Tina on September 5, 2023

Flæskesteg is a classic Danish roast, usually served with boiled potatoes, caramelized potatoes, gravy and cooked red cabbage (or on a piece of rye bread with red cabbage, as I recommend in this post). Flæskesteg is still a popular dish, particularly for Sunday dinner among the older generation, and some people in Denmark eat flæskesteg for Christmas.

Flæskesteg is not easy to find in the U.S., mainly because you need to buy a piece of the pork neck or breast with the rind still attached. As a result, my flæskesteg recipe substitutes the traditional cuts with with a piece of pork belly, which is cheaper and easier to find.

My mum discovered that a great place to find pork belly for flæskesteg is at the “Mulberry Meat Market” on Mulberry St. between Canal St. and Bayard St., in New York’s Chinatown. Just walk to the back where the guys are slicing the meat and ask for a big piece of pork belly, and they will custom slice to the size you want. I usually get a piece that is approximately 13” x 7”. The slab sometimes has bones, which you can tell them to keep or remove. My husband loves the bones so I always keep them in the cut.

Recipe: Flæskesteg – Danish Pork Roast

Recipe by 2 Hungry Birds – Tina Course: Dinner, roastCuisine: Denmark

Servings

servings

Ingredients

4.5 lbs 4.5 pork belly (13″ x 7″ cut – ask you local butcher to cut it for you)
salt
bay leaves
Optional ingredients
2 2 carrots, chopped roughly
1 1 onion, chopped roughly
2 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 482 °F (250°C).
With a sharp knife, slice grooves into the rind of the pork belly with a knife, at about ¼ inch spacing. Slice the rind only – if you slice through the meat, juices will run out and make the rind soft instead of crispy.
Place the pork in a roasting pan with the rind facing downwards. Boil water and pour it into the pan just enough to cover the rind.
Insert the meat on the lower shelf for about 15 min. in the oven.
If you want to make gravy with the meat juices, you can add chopped carrots, onion, and fresh thyme to the water in the roasting pan. If you just want to eat the meat, you can skip this step.
After 15 min in the oven, remove the meat and place a grill on the roasting pan. Place the meat on the grill with the rind side upward. Rub plenty of coarse salt on the pork belly rind, including the spaces in the sliced grooves. The salt will make the rind crispy. Stick a few bay leaves in between the grooves in the rind, and reduce the oven heat to 320°F (160°C). Be sure to level the meat as much as possible before putting back in the oven. You can use foil under the flæskesteg to make it level. This will help ensure the flæskesteg is evenly roasted.
Roast the flæskesteg for about 50 min in the oven, or until the internal temperature reaches 130 °F (160°C). Be sure to add more water to the roast pan if the liquid disappears.
Set the oven temperature to 482 °F (250°C). Choose an oven setting with a heat source above the meat (instead of below), such as Roast, Grill, or Broil.
Put the meat in the middle shelf of the oven and roast until the internal temperature reaches 158-167 °F (70-75°C). Keep and eye on the flæskesteg to make sure that the rind is not burning. It can be a little challenging to make the rind crispy.
Remove the flæskesteg from the oven and let it rest for about 10 min. Do not cover the meat since the rind will turn soft.
Cut the meat until right before you are about to serve the food. The meat will turn grey if you cut it too early. Cut into the meat through the grooves that were previously made in the rind.
If you are making gravy, decant the fat out of the liquid and strain the rest into a pot. While heating the gravy in the pot, mix ¼ cup of water with about two tablespoons of cornstarch, stir well, and then pour into the pot with the gravy. The gravy should slowly thicken. If you want the gravy thicker, repeat with water and cornstarch. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe: Cold Rhubarb Soup with Ice Cream and Figs

2 Hungry Birds - Tina on June 24, 2023

Tina: The first time I heard the term “rhubarb soup,” I couldn’t help but feel skeptical about whether it could possibly be a real, appetizing dish. I was introduced to this culinary curiosity by my Danish friend Anne. She’s the same friend who once mistook a toilet brush for a dishwashing brush while showing her American kitchen to her visiting mom – a mishap that hardly boosted her culinary credibility. Nevertheless, Anne surprised us all by proving she had legitimate skills in the kitchen. Not only did she serve an extraordinary main course, but she also followed it up with a dessert that was nothing short of amazing: rhubarb soup.

To say that rhubarb soup is one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted would be an understatement. The soup was a harmonious blend of tartness and sweetness, offering a refreshing finish to a sumptuous meal. In fact, the experience was so delightful that I am seriously considering stocking up my freezer with rhubarb just to ensure I can recreate this mouthwatering dish out of season.

So, if you’re in search of a dessert that’s both refreshing and effortless to prepare, don’t hesitate to try rhubarb soup. The recipe is straightforward, and the end result is nothing less than heavenly. Even if you’re skeptical at first, like I was, this dish is certain to win you over with its unique, delicious flavors.

Recipe: Rhubarb Soup with Ice Cream and Figs

Recipe by 2 Hungry Birds – Tina Course: DessertCuisine: Denmark

Servings

servings

Indeed, rhubarb soup turned out to be one of the best desserts I have ever had, so hurry up and make this dish because it is wonderfully refreshing and really easy to make. I would even stock up my freezer with rhubarb so I can make this dish again, even when rhubarb isn’t in season.

Ingredients

Rhubarb Soup Ingredients
2 lbs 2 (1kg) rhubarb, , cut into
¾ inch pieces
8.8 oz 8.8 (250 grams) sugar
2 2 vanilla pods, flaked and vanilla beans scraped
10 oz 10 (300 ml) water
Caramelized Figs Ingredients
3 3 dried figs
½ tablespoon ½ butter
6 scoops 6 vanilla ice cream
6 sprigs 6 mint

Directions

Clean and cut the rhubarb into 3/4 inch pieces, and throw it in a pot with water, sugar, whole vanilla pods and scraped vanilla beans. Heat the mixture in the pot and let simmer for about 10 min.
Strain the rhubarb liquid (the ‘soup’) into a bowl, and transfer the rhubarb pieces that are retained (the ‘compote’) into another bowl, removing the vanilla pods. Let both bowls cool off in the refrigerator for a few hours or over night.
Cut the stems off the figs and flatten each fig so the stem is centered. Cut the figs into small “pizza slices” for a consistent look. Heat the butter in a small pan and sauté the figs for a few minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
Divide the cold rhubarb soup into six bowls or deep plates, and add the compote on top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle with caramelized figs and garnish with a sprig of mint.