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Saturday was Midsummer, or Summer Solstice, known as the longest day of the year and celebrated all over the world.
However, since that date is always in flux, due to the rotation of the planet and the changing of calendars from the Julian to the Tropical, many people celebrate this holiday between June 21-24, because the actual astronomical solstice usually falls somewhere between these two dates. Midsummer is originally a pagan holiday, called Litha, and has since been Christianized to be the celebration of the nativity feast of Saint John the Baptist. This is a festival of fire and light, and of thanks for the sun and its importance for survival and fertility.

In the North of the Northern hemisphere, like Scandinavia, it means that the sun does not set this day in many places, nor the few weeks before and after this day. When I lived in Norway (Trondheim to be specific, located in the center of the country) at Midsummer, we got two hours of twilight and the rest of the day was as bright and sunny as a summer’s day. It was a remarkable thing to experience, especially when you are not used to it. It usually means staying up late, enjoying time with friends and family and cooking up some good food to celebrate. Scandinavian bashes are usually known for their simple and delicious seafood. This holds especially true at Midsummer, when fresh seafood is at the height of freshness – crab and shrimp figure prominently, as does the ubiquitous salmon.

So I decided to create a Midsummer Feast, by cooking up some crab and corn fritters with garlic aioli, crostini with goat cheese and smoked salmon,

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a nice salad full of goodies, like cucumbers, olives, pickled garlic, and roasted red peppers with a delicious avocado dressing.

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We enjoyed some lovely cocktails, mixed up with an awesome blend of superfruit juices from Genesis Today and spent a lovely evening listening to Caribbean music and enjoying our veranda until the arrival of night.

Crab and Corn Fritters with Garlic Aioli

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INGREDIENTS:

fritters:
1 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne or red pepper
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 TBS sweet chili sauce
1 lb fresh crabmeat
1 TBS butter and 1 TBS olive oil

aioli:
2 TBS sherry vinegar
1 egg
2 cloves garlic
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
juice from 1/2 lemon

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 200F. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat up the olive oil. Add corn and onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown – about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and red pepper – mix thoroughly. Using a whisk, add milk and eggs to the mixture, then stir in the sweet chili sauce. Stir in corn mixture and then the crab. Heat up the skillet again, and add the butter and olive oil. Drop the crab mixture, by large spoonfuls, into the hot oil/butter and pan fry until golden brown on each side, then place in the warm oven until you are finished frittering.

To make the aioli:
Place the egg and garlic in a food processor or blender. Whirl until the garlic is smooth. Add the olive oil in a slow stream while the motor is still running, until the mixture is thick. Add vinegar, salt and lemon juice. It will not be as thick as mayonnaise, but it will not be runny either. Serve with the fritters.

Stay tuned for more information about Genesis Today’s line of 100% Super fruit Juices and the cocktails we created for this meal using them.