Рецепт Brændende kærlighed (Burning Love)
It's time for another Danish recipe.
Actually, the truth of the matter is this, I've been craving this dish for awhile now, and the stars finally lined up and I made it.
OK, so I made them line up. Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love, is a dish my mother would make from time to time. I don't know if it was one of those dishes made just before payday or if it was a special request from my father or... All I know is I LOVED IT! And so do did Dad. Mom kinda cringed when Dad and I dug into it, and tried for as much fat on the fork as possible.
What can I say, I'm my father's daughter. Mom was a semi vegetarian, and really hated to eat fat.
I digress.
Burning Love is basically a mound of mashed potatoes topped with crisp cooked bacon and onions and bacon fat. The basic recipe is probably more than 100 years old and was a fairly common dish that originated on the farms in Denmark. It was inexpensive, filling and easy to make. And as the farm hands and farmers migrated to the big cities they brought this dish with them.
I'm so glad they did. Of course my dad was a farm boy, and he probably requested this dish from my mother. And if she didn't know how to make when they got married, she learned how to make it for him. History lesson is over, let's get onto the good stuff.
You do have to serve this piping hot. Hence the name Burning Love.
I played with this a little though. I made the mashed potatoes and added some Buttermilk instead of regular milk this time. And it was pretty darn good.
Recipe: Brændende kærlighed - Burning Love 2 servings 4-6 potatoes - cooked til soft and mashed with 1/2 cup buttermilk and 2-4 tablespoons butter. No salt, there's plenty in the bacon. 4 slices bacon cut into lardons and fried til crisp
1 onion, diced, fried til browned in the bacon fat ( or just fry the onion to how you like it, personally, I like mine well browned)
Sliced pickled beets on the side ( I didn't bother this time).
Chopped parsley or chives (opt.)
Cut the bacon into lardons or pieces and fry them in a pan with 1 diced onion. You can make the bacon crispy or not, however you like your bacon cooked. Fry the onion til it is at least translucent, or do as I do, brown or caramelize it. Cook the potatoes and mash to your liking. (My personal preference is to have them a little dry for this recipe, with little chunks of potatoes.) Mound the mashed potatoes on a plate, and make a hollow in the middle.
Put the bacon and onions in the middle and pour the bacon fat over the whole thing. Yes, I did say to pour the bacon fat in with the bacon and onions.
Just like this...
And before you can start eating it, you need to 'pynt' it up a little. I used chives from my plant, my poor little plucked plant.
You can also 'pynt' or pretty it up with a sprinkle of parsley on top. I neglected to do so, mainly cause my parsley plant has been sacrificed to the swallowtail caterpillars, yet again. sigh.
It happens every year, I provide the food for them so they can transform themselves into something beautiful.
Then dip your fork in and start eating.
And if you happen to have any leftovers, just add an egg and a half cup of flour to it and transform the leftovers into potato cakes.
I'll show you how in a day or so.
Right now I need to finish eating.