As a citizen of southern suburbs of Athens, never had I seen real snow that lasted at least two days. Ok, it has snowed once or twice during my 27 years of existence, but never this long or this much. Since Friday it has been snowing here in Zurich quite a lot and everywhere you look it is covered in white, pillowy snow. I find myself acting like a kid again, building snowmen and throwing snow at everyone at my sight. Not to mention, that there is something so magical and mysterious about snow. For me it always reminds me of Scandinavian novels written to be in places where no sane man would ever set foot or else he/she would freeze to death.
This mention of Scandinavia reminds me that I ordered a few cooking books and other books to arrive in a week's time and among them is one about Nordic cooking, which I adore. I mean what is not to like about Scandinavians? They are minimalistic, have great taste in interiors and decor, use wood and other fine materials and look like they are very connected to earth and nature. It would be a great adventure for me now that I have a lot of time in my hands to explore their cuisine as well and learn how to master "hygge" in my life.
But as I am expecting my new cookbooks to arrive, I have to come up with inspirational recipes to make this icy cold winter seem a bit sweeter than it is. That's why today I really pushed myself and decided to make some potato cakes I've been wanting to do some time. These are not difficult to make, the only thing that takes an effort or time is peeling and then boiling the potatoes and poaching the eggs. Other than that, easy peasy!
You have to give it to yourselves on the days that you have that extra time to really engage into cooking. I don't get it when people say "Oh I hate cooking" or "I am horrible at cooking". Yes, we are not all born to be head chefs in a haute cuisine restaurant and master the art of touching a hot pan with bare hands, but common people. Give it a try at least. And when I say try, I don't mean once try to poach eggs and fail. You have to try a lot of recipes to start getting used to the mentality and joy of cooking. Who knows? Maybe in a few years you will master something extremely extravagant and your friends and family will be amazed. It's worth giving it a shot!
Potato cakes wih salmon and poached egg
ingredients (for 2 people)
350gr boiled potatoes
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 spring onion chopped
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
salt, pepper
2-4 slices of smoked salmon
2 poached eggs
how do I make it?
1. Boil your potatoes as you normally do. Let them drain and cool for a few minutes.
2. Grate your potatoes in a cheese grater inside a bowl. Add your butter, flour, spring onion, parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Start mixing everything together with your hands until you get a sort of smoothe dough. Do not overdo it!
3. Heat a medium pan with some butter. Shape small sizes of potato dough (in the size of pancakes, but a bit smaller). Place one or two potato cakes on the pan and cook from each size 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
4. Transfer the cakes on plates and lay a layer of smoked salmon. Top with a lightly poached egg or soft boiled egg. Season with some extra pepper and salt.
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