This is my favourite fish dish this summer (and spring). I've made it on several occasions already and will make another one today for our Midsummer Night party tomorrow night. The idea is so simple and yet so brilliant - you bake/grill/roast the fish fillet (both salmon and trout are fine), then pour the marinade over hot fish, and stuck it in the fridge to marinate and cool. Then, when the guests arrive, you simply take the fish out of the fridge and serve. You can even prepare the fish on the previous night, so there's no need to switch on the oven in the middle of a hot summer day.

The recipe is slightly adapted from a Finnish women's magazine Anna (autumn/winter 2010 issue; Balsamicolohi) - yet another excellent recipe idea I've found while browsing those magazine issues at the beauty salon :) I've stuck with the original flavour combination - balsamic vinegar, capers, sun-dried tomatoes and chives, but feel free to come up with your own favourite marinade.

Grilled salmon in balsamic marinade
(Grillitud lõhe palsamiäädikamarinaadis)
Serves 6 to 8



800 g salmon or trout fillet, skin on
sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil, for brushing

Balsamic marinade:
4 Tbsp nice balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil (from the sun-dried tomato jar, preferably)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
3-4 Tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (preserved in oil)
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

Take a suitably sized oven tray* and brush it slightly with oil. Place the fish on the tray, season with sea salt and black pepper. Bake in the middle of 225 C oven until done (it'll take about 15-20 minutes, at the most, depending on the thickness of the fish.)
Mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and drizzle on a hot fish fillet.
Mix the sun-dried tomatoes, capers and chives, spread evenly over the fish.
Place into a fridge for at least 2 hours to marinate.

* I love using my Iittala Teema rectangular tray for this (sized 16x37 cm) - I cook the salmon on that tray, and then use it for serving later on as well.

Although rhubarb will thrive for another few months, my annual Spring-time romance with rhubarb is coming to an end. I've made more muffins and cakes than I care to count, and local strawberries have just hit the markets, so bye-bye to Rheum rhaponticum and hello to Fragaria family :)

To end the rhubarb season, I'll share a very popular Estonian cake recipe with you. I've baked no less than three batches of this during the last two months (including one last night), and I've been doing that for umpteen years. Before that I either ate my mum's (or bought from a Tartu University café - I've got fond memories of long leisurely mornings, sitting at the uni café, drinking copious amounts of tea and eating this cake). If there is one rhubarb cake that every Estonian knows - and probably likes - then that's the one.

Note that it works also very well with gooseberries and even apples later during the year.


Did you know that rhubarb has such lovely-looking seeds?

Estonian rhubarb cake
Biskviitkattega rabarbrikook
About 16 pieces



Sweet pastry (pâte sablée):
150 g butter, at room temperature
100 g caster sugar
1 large egg
250 g all-purpose flour
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp baking powder

Filling:
400 g rhubarb (about 4 large stalks)
85-175 g caster sugar (100-200 ml)

Sponge topping:
4 large eggs
4 Tbsp caster sugar
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour

First make the sweet tart pastry. Cream the butter with sugar in a mixing bowl, then and the egg. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl, then tip into the mixing bowl and stir until combined. Using your hands, press into a medium-sized baking tray (mine is 24x32 cm) and place into a fridge for about 30 minutes. (I must admit I sometimes skip this part to no ill effects).
Pre-heat the oven to 200 C/400 F.
Take the rested pastry out of the fridge and pop into the pre-heated oven. Bake the pastry for about 10-15 minutes, until it looks dry and is slightly golden.
Reduce the oven heat slightly.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the rhubarb stalks (I never peel young local rhubarb), then cut into short 1 cm (just under half an inch) lenghts. Mix with sugar, scatter over the partially baked base.
Break the eggs into a clean mixing bowl, add the sugar and mix until very thick and pale and foamy. Gently sift the flour into the mixing bowl, then very gently fold it into the egg and sugar mixture.
Spoon over the rhubarb layer.
Bake at the 175 C/380 F for about 35-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and fully cooked.

Ingrediencie:

• kuracie prsia
• paradajky v konzerve
• čierne konzervované fazule
• cibuľa
• cesnak
• tabasco
• kyslá smotana
• avokádo
• miešaný listový šalát
• cukor
• soľ
• čierne korenie
• olivový olej

Dobrú chuť praje Paloma :-)

Ever since we've been keeping our own chicken that give us a regular supply of beautiful eggs, we've been eating many more omelettes and frittatas. They're cheap, filling, tasty and quick to make. Here's one from last week, based on Sue Lawrence's recipe in A Cook's Tour of Scotland: from Barra to Brora in 120 recipes. I always keep a packet of smoked salmon in the fridge, just in case, so dishes like this can be whipped up without a trip to the nearest supermarket.



Note that 'smoked salmon' in English recipes usually ask for cold-smoked salmon, whereas in Estonia you would have to specify whether you mean cold-smoked salmon (külmsuitsulõhe) or hot-smoked salmon (kuumsuitsulõhe) - both are widely available and used. (Either one would work in this recipe, and of course, you can use good-quality smoked trout instead).

Works as a substantial weekend breakfast as well as a filling lunch or dinner, especially with some dressed salad leaves.

Smoked salmon frittata
(Suitsulõhe-frittata)
Serves 2 to 3



6 large free-range/organic eggs
200 ml creme fraiche or double cream
2 tsp grated horseradish (from a jar)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
a small handful of chives, finely chopped
1 Tbsp butter
100 g thinly sliced smoked salmon
juice of half a lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Beat the eggs, cream and horseradish until combined, season with salt and pepper.
Lightly sauté the onion in butter over a medium heat until just softened, then add the chives and sauté for a minute or two more.
Now tip in the egg mixture. Leave for a few minutes, then push in from the sides with a wooden spatula. Cook over a low heat for 8-10 minutes or until almost set.
Place smoked salmon slices on top, then place under a preheated hot grill ("salamander") for a couple of minutes, until the eggs are just set.
Squeeze some lemon juice on top, sprinkle with more chives. Cut into wedges and serve.

Yep, it's exactly six years since my first post here. Back then I was a carefree PhD student living in Edinburgh, Scotland, cooking in a rented under-equipped kitchen and taking pictures with the tiniest of digital cameras. Now I'm back home in Estonia, and a lot has changed. Amongst other things, I'm a happy mum of two gorgeous kids:



owner of a handy vegetable patch and tomato greenhouse:



keeper of four lovely chicks:



and author of one beautiful cookbook:



and hopefully also a good partner to my lovely K - I wouldn't be still blogging if it weren't for his support and enthusiasm and good appetite :)

I have enjoyed those six years of foodblogging immensely - especially the encouragement from fellow readers and meeting of other foodbloggers - both in Estonia and abroad. I hope you've been enjoying reading Nami-Nami and will be coming back for more..

Previous blog anniversary posts:
2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006

Is there a self-respecting food blogger out there who has not yet tried Joy the Baker's fabulous cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread? Not here in Estonia, I suspect - this cinnamon bread has popped up on pretty much every Estonian blog on my reading list :) I've made it thrice myself, and love it. I've used three different dough recipes - my cinnamon roll recipe, my korvapuusti dough recipe and finally slightly adapted version of Joy's recipe. The last one was the winner for this particular one :) I've simplified the process considerably, however. I'm quite experienced in making and comfortable with using sweet yeast dough and I would say the complicated dough-making process involving several steps described by Joy isn't simply justified. It's a simple pastry, the fabulousness of it is in the way it's shaped, and not in the way the dough is made.

Special thanks to Jaanika (blogging @ Maitse asi) who came up with an excellent Estonian name for this type of bread!

It's best on the day it's made (and probably won't last much longer anyway), but you can wrap it in a clingfilm and keep it for up to two days at the room temperature.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
(Kaneelilõõts)
Makes 1 loaf



360 g plain flour (600 ml)
4 Tbsp caster sugar
1 packet of instant dry yeast (11-12 g)*
0.5 tsp salt
125 g (125 ml or half a cup) milk
50 g butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
200 g caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
50 g butter, melted

* Note that I've used instant yeast that can be simply mixed with dry ingredients. If you're using active dry yeast, you need to activate and proof it first. 

In your mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, instant yeast and salt.
Break the eggs into a small bowl. Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan until the butter has melted. Cool a little, then whisk in the eggs. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir and knean, until combined and the dough breaks loose from the sides of the bowl. (If it's too dry, add a spoonful of milk; if too sticky, add a spoonful of flour).
Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rise until doubled in side in a warm draught-free room. (Or, if you prefer, let rise for about an hour at the room temperature, then transfer into your fridge overnight. Then you can quickly and easily bake warm cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread for breakfast).
Mix the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling in a small bowl. Melt the butter (you can brown it a little, if you prefer the flavour).
Take a loaf tin (mine was 22x12x7 cm), butter it generously or line with a parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the yeast dough into a rectangle about 30x50 cm. Brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly on top.
Cut vertically into six even strips. Gently lift them on top of each other, then cut into six square towers again.
Place these, side down, into the loaf tin. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise for 30-45 minutes.



Bake in a preheated 200 C/400 F oven for 30-35 minutes, until dark golden brown on top (just golden brown isn't enough - the bread will be still slightly under-baked inside then).
Remove from the oven, leave to cool in the tin for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the tin and serve, letting everybody pull a slice of delicious cinnamon bread :)