Cheese and fresh garlic spread

Huge fresh bulbs of pinkish garlic are on the market now. I love garlic in every season, but those new ones are especially tasty. This salad or spread, made of grated cow cheese, garlic and mayonnaise, is a very common estonian party-dish. Sometimes we have it on fresh or grilled white bread and sometimes we roll it inside thin slices of good ham. It takes just some minutes to make, so it´s all good, if you´re a garlic-addict, like me. You need:

100 gr of cow cheese (you can use edam, emmentaler, gouda, cheddar or any other you like)

2-4 gloves of garlic

100 ml of mayonnaise

black pepper and salt for seasoning

Grate the cheese. Chop the garlic as thin as possible. Mix cheese, garlic and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh bread or roll inside a thin slice of ham.

Alexander salad with smoked cheese and chicken

This salad actually is not an old estonian recipe, but it´s been in our family for years by now. Smoking food - chicken, cheese or fish, is a very traditional thing to do around here. The recipe came with my sister from a restaurant called Alexander. My sister had this salad there and she liked it so much, so we copied it. And copied it again and again over the years. It is easy to make and so full of flavour. And it´s a rich salad, enough for a lunch with just a slice of bread aside.

You need:

1 cucumber (about 20 cm long), cut in small pieces

1/2 medium sized chinese cabbage, cut in small pieces

200 gr smoked cheese, cut in small pieces

300 ml of small cubes of smoked chicken fillet

200 ml mayonnaise

100 ml sour cream

salt and pepper for seasoning

Mix all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper! Keep in cool for about 15 minutes before serving. It cannot be easier! :)

Alexandri salat suitsujuustu ja suitsukanaga

1 ca 20 cm pikkune kurk, väikesteks kuubikuteks lõigatuna

1/2 keskmise suurusega Hiina kapsast, väikesteks kuubikuteks lõigatuna

200 gr suitsujuustu, väikesteks kuubikuteks lõigatuna

300 ml väikseid suitsukanaliha kuubikuid

200 ml majoneesi

100 ml hapukoort

soola ja pipart

Sega kõik koostisosad kokku ja maitsesta soola-pipraga!

Hearty soup of potato and smoked cheese

If there is one thing that is the basis of estonian cuisine, then that must be potato. Our families eat it almost every day, either baked, boiled, mashed, roasted, fried or in salads. Also, estonians are good in smoking food. A beautiful snack of ours, is smoked cheese with it´s strong taste and smoky aroma. In this soup, potato and smoked cheese work together. The idea comes from a great little farm restaurant in Southern Estonia, Tammuri Talurestoran. You need:

600 gr of potatoes
200 gr of smoked cheese
1 tbs of butter
50 ml of heated milk and 150 ml of cream (around 20 % of fat)
Salt and pepper
Smoked ham or bacon

Boil the potatoes until they are soft, smash them to puré. The soup will turn out especially silky, if you push the potatoes through a thin sieve. Use a blender to mix together the smoked cheese and cream-milk mixture. Heat up the cheese mixture, add butter and mashed potatoes. If the soup seems too thick, add a bit more of milk and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Grill quickly under high heat some strips of smokes ham or bacon until crispy. Serve the soup garnished with fresh dill and grilled ham on top.

Kartuli-suitsujuustusupp Tammuri Talu moodi

600 gr kartuleid
200 gr suitsujuustu
1 spl võid
50 ml soojendatud piima ja 150 ml vahukoort
soola/pipart
veidi suitsusinki

Keeda kartul pehmeks ja tambi püreeks (eriti ilusa supi saab, kui kartulid läbi sõela ajada). Purusta saumikseriga juust ja vahukoore-piima segu. Aja juustusegu potis kuumaks, lisa või ja kartulipüree. Kui supp on liiga paks, vedelda piimaga. Maitsetsa soola ja musta pipraga. Grilli suitsusingi või peekoni ribad grilli all krõbedaks. Pane serveerimisel supile värsket tilli ja grillitud suitsusingiribad.