Monday, January 30, 2023

Tuna, egg and avocado sandwich with a tahini, miso and black garlic sauce

Constructing a sandwich is one of my greatest pleasures in the kitchen. I am a sandwich girl.

 


 

I don’t like going overboard or adding too many ingredients; I want to taste each of them and not get lost in a huge quantity of any single one.

 


I’m also a tuna girl. Give me a tuna sandwich and I’m the most satisfied person in the world. And even though no one can beat the simple tuna-mayo combo, this tahini and miso sauce with black garlic will be your go-to for all your sandwich needs, not just for tuna sandwiches. Because what can make or break a sandwich is the sauce, which needs to be as good as the bread and as good as the main ingredient, if not better.

 



 

In this sandwich, we have tuna, rocket, boiled eggs and sliced avocado on good sourdough, multigrain bread, with the most delectable, full of umami, earthy sauce. Rich and creamy, with salty miso and buttery tahini, with the caramel-y, balsamic flavor of black garlic, the freshness and acidity of the lemon and the fruitiness of the extra virgin olive oil, it is such a perfect combo.

 

 


 

 

 

Tuna and egg sandwich with avocado and a tahini, miso and black garlic sauce

The sauce is not too thick, so it can be easily spreadable on toast for a sandwich, and it can of course be used in an array of salads.

It pairs beautifully with beef, as well as with chicken, and of course with vegetables. Oh, and give me a piece of salmon with this sauce and I’m in heaven.

 


Yield: 4 sandwiches

 

Ingredients

for the sauce

90 g tahini

1tsp white (shiro) miso

2 black garlic cloves, peeled

4 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ tsp sea salt, plus more if needed

Black pepper, 3-4 turns of the pepper mill

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Iced water, as needed

for the sandwiches

8 slices bread of your liking, I use sourdough or multigrain

2 handfuls rocket leaves

4 boiled eggs, halved or sliced

2 small avocados, sliced

1 can tuna in olive oil, drained

Lemon juice

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

 

Special equipment: stick blender (or regular blender)

 

Preparation

for the sauce

In a large jar or large measuring jug to avoid splatter, add the tahini, miso, black garlic, lemon juice and salt, and using the immersion blender, blend everything until smooth. Then, add the olive oil in a low and steady stream, blending continuously, until it is completely incorporated. Add some ice water, one teaspoon at a time, until you have a spreadable sauce that is a little more runny than mayonnaise.

Taste and add more salt if needed.

You can store the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.

 


assemble the sandwich

In a bowl, add the tuna and 2-3 tsp of the sauce, and mix with a spoon.

On one slice of bread, add a few avocado slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then add some of the tuna and squeeze a little lemon on top.

Add a few rocket leaves, boiled egg, salt and pepper again, some extra sauce and finish with a little olive oil. Top with the second slice of bread and enjoy!

 


 

 

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Kladdkaka – Swedish chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache

Kladdkaka is a dense, creamy and fudgy chocolate cake of Swedish origin that I decided to make even more intensely chocolaty with the addition of a dark chocolate ganache on top. It became almost decadent.

 

 

 

What’s even more special about this cake, apart from its beautiful texture and intense flavor, is the fact that it is a fuss-free cake that takes no more than fifteen minutes to bring together, using just one pan. No mixer in sight.

 

 


Kladdkaka – Swedish chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache

Slightly adapted from Fanny Zanotti

 

Yield: 1 cake / 10 servings 

Special equipment: 22-23 cm round springform pan

 

Ingredients

for the cake

190 g salted butter, plus extra for greasing the pan

320 g golden caster sugar (or regular caster sugar)

3 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla paste (or 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract)

135 g all-purpose flour

55 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder

½ tsp sea salt

for the ganache

160 g heavy cream, full-fat (35% fat)

130 g good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used a combination of 70% and 64% cocoa solids chocolate)

Good pinch of coarse sea salt

 

Preparation

for the cake

Preheat your oven to 160°C.

Butter the bottom and sides of your pan and line the bottom with a round piece of baking paper. You can see here how to cut a round piece of baking paper.

Add the butter in a large saucepan and melt over a medium heat.

Take pan off the heat, add the caster sugar and mix well with a wire whisk. Let the mixture cool down a bit, for 2-3 minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix through.

Finally, add the flour, cocoa powder and salt, and mix until you have a smooth batter. Dont overmix.

Pour the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely before pouring the chocolate ganache over it. Allow the ganache to set completely over the cake before you cut it otherwise it will run off your cake.

for the ganache

Add the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized bowl.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot and steamy but do not let it boil.

Pour it over the chopped chocolate and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Add the sea salt, and using a rubber spatula, stir until you have a creamy and smooth mixture. 

Leave to cool and set slightly before using it for the cake.