Three-course menu

Chanterelles, Red Deer and Almond

When autumn starts to show in the treetops and the chanterelles begin to pop up in the forest, it is especially cosy to be in the kitchen with something slow-cooking. The porter-braised roast is the star of this menu, flanked by the gold of the forest on one side and the almond cake with its slightly tart lingonberry cream on the other. It doesn't get better than this!

Starter

Chanterelle Soup

45 min 4 servings

Chanterelles are the hidden gold nuggets of the autumn forest, a real delicacy that can be hard to find unless you know where to look. Once you have found your chanterelle spot, which sometimes turns out to be the vegetable aisle of the supermarket, you can enjoy this culinary treat. Chanterelles go especially well with butter and cream, and together they make a gastronomic highlight. The soup is fairly quick to make, but it can of course also be made the day before and warmed up when the guests arrive. As the host, it is nice to have time for your guests too.

Servings

Ingredients

Chanterelles8.8 oz
Shallot2 pcs
Cream1.3 cups
Milk1.3 cups
Honey2 tsp
Bread slices4 pcs
Butter1.4 oz
Fresh thyme
Salt
Black pepper

Nutrition per serving

Energy535 kcal

Protein8.7 g

Carbohydrates29.8 g

Fat42.1 g

Fiber3.6 g

Instructions

Set aside a few nice small whole chanterelles for garnish. Roughly chop the rest and fry them in butter with the chopped shallots for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan and add the cream, milk, honey, black pepper and fresh thyme. Simmer for 5 minutes, then blend with a stick blender until smooth. Let it simmer and reduce for about another 10 minutes, stirring. Finally, season with salt.

Cut the bread slices diagonally and fry them in butter until golden brown. Then fry the chanterelles you set aside for a few minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the fried chanterelles and a sprig of fresh thyme if you like. Serve with the bread and enjoy!

Tips & Inspiration

Chanterelles

Chanterelles are best not rinsed, as they soak up water. Brush off soil and pine needles, and trim away anything dirty. Dry-fry the mushrooms in a hot pan without fat until the liquid has cooked off, and only then add butter and perhaps onion. That way the chanterelles brown and get a firmer texture instead of stewing in their own juices.

Taste as you go

Taste the food throughout the cooking, not just at the end. A dish that tastes flat often needs acidity, a splash of lemon or vinegar for example, rather than more salt. Salt lifts flavours, acidity freshens, sweetness rounds off and heat adds depth. Cold food also needs more salt than hot food, since flavours seem weaker when food is cold.

Main Course

Porter-Braised Red Deer

3 h 40 min 4 servings

If the elk is the king of the forest, the red deer is its prince. With its mild but very tasty game flavour, it is a real treat to serve, and perfect for an autumn Sunday dinner. You can also use another meat such as elk, and even beef works very well thanks to the rich, full-flavoured sauce.

Servings

Ingredients

Red deer roast2.2 lb
Blackcurrant juice (concentrate)0.8 cups
Porter beer1.7 cups
Soy sauce3.4 fl oz
Juniper berries8 pcs
Pearl onions6 pcs
Garlic cloves2 pcs
Thyme (fresh)1.5 fl oz
Black peppercorns10 pcs
Beef bouillon cubes2 pcs

Potatoes (small)20 pcs
Carrots (small)12 pcs
Butter

Nutrition per serving

Energy632 kcal

Protein63.8 g

Carbohydrates69.1 g

Fat5.7 g

Fiber7.5 g

Instructions

Halve the pearl onions and mix all the ingredients for the braising liquid in a casserole so that it just covers the meat. If it doesn’t, turn the roast regularly. Simmer slowly for about 3 hours. The meat is done when it almost falls apart on its own.

Take about 200 ml (¾ cup) of the braising liquid and mix it with 200 ml (¾ cup) of cream. Boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly, and add more of the braising liquid if you want a stronger sauce. Save the rest of the liquid and freeze it; it makes an excellent base for sauces for other meals.

Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water. Drain, add a knob of butter and toss so the potatoes turn slightly glossy.

Blanch the carrots in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then fry them in plenty of butter.

Carve the meat, remembering that the end piece belongs to the cook. Plate the meat, potatoes, carrots and sauce with a spoonful of blackcurrant jelly on warmed plates. Serve at once.

Tips & Inspiration

Carving

Carving means cutting meat, such as a roast, into thin slices before serving. Straight after cooking, let the meat rest for 10 minutes so it cools slightly; it settles and stays juicier.

Game

Game such as red deer, roe deer and elk is lean, with a full, slightly foresty flavour. The low fat content means the meat dries out easily, so large roasts are best cooked slowly in liquid, as in a stew or a porter-braised roast. Smaller, tender cuts such as fillet are seared quickly and served pink. Juniper, thyme and blackcurrant are classic flavours with game.

Dessert

Almond Cake with Lingonberry Cream

1 h 25 min 4 servings

To finish this late-summer menu we enjoy a cake that smells of summer and brings to mind old red Swedish cottages with white corners, the scent of freshly cut hay and bumblebees buzzing in the background. The cake is crowned with whipped cream that has taken on flavour and colour from the first freshly picked lingonberries of autumn.

Servings

Ingredients

Almond cake

Sweet almonds7.1 oz
Butter4.4 oz
Sugar1.1 cups
Eggs4 pcs
Wheat flour0.6 cups
Milk1.7 fl oz
Baking powder1 tsp
Vanilla sugar1 tsp
Breadcrumbs

Lingonberry cream

Lingonberries3.5 oz
Cream0.8 cups
Sugar1 fl oz

Nutrition per serving

Energy1143 kcal

Protein20.4 g

Carbohydrates89 g

Fat77.9 g

Fiber5 g

Instructions

Almond cake

Blanch the almonds by putting them in boiling water and letting them boil for 1 minute. Rinse them quickly in cold water; the skins now slip off easily. Let the skinned almonds dry on kitchen paper. Then grind them, ideally in an almond grinder. A food processor works too, but the result is more uneven. An almond grinder should be a given in any well-equipped kitchen.

Melt the butter. Meanwhile, separate the eggs and whisk the yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar until fluffy. Carefully stir in the melted butter. Then mix in the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and milk to a smooth batter. Whisk the egg whites until really fluffy and gently fold them into the batter. Butter a springform tin of about 24 cm (9½ inches), add breadcrumbs and turn the tin so all the sides are coated. Pour in the batter and bake at 175°C (350°F) for about 45 minutes.

Let the cake cool for an hour or so before serving.

Lingonberry cream

Mix the lingonberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar. If the lingonberries are completely fresh, you may need to crush them a little with a fork. The lingonberries and sugar are best left to stand for an hour or two. Whip the cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until softly whipped, then stir in the lingonberries.

Serve the almond cake with a generous dollop of lingonberry cream on top, ideally with a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Tips & Inspiration

Blanching

Blanching means cooking an ingredient in lightly salted water for about a minute and then cooling it quickly. It leaves the ingredient lightly cooked and very fresh, while toning down the sharp flavours some raw ingredients have. Blanching should not be confused with parboiling, where the ingredient cooks for 3–10 minutes.

Dessert wine

The wine should be at least as sweet as the dessert, preferably sweeter, or it will taste sour and thin. Sweet white wines such as Sauternes go with fruity and creamy desserts. Chocolate desserts can take more powerful wines such as port. With tart berries and citrus, a light, sweet sparkling wine such as Moscato d'Asti works well.