The
Foods of Sweden
The famous
Sweden smörgåsbord is known throughout the world.
It is a grand array of wonderful colors and delicious flavors.
The smörgåsbord allows guests to visit the richly
laid table many times and it is known that you do not hurry
through a smörgåsbord. The first trip to the smörgåsbord
always consists of herring, prepared in a variety of ways.
There are various other courses which consist of cheeses,
a variety of fish, potatoes, vegetables, salads, meatballs,
eggs and don’t forget the desserts.
Consider
making the Swedish smörgåsbord a theme for one
of your Christmas get-togethers. To offer some vegetarian
alternatives we have included a recipe for Swedish meatballs
without any meat. Most local grocery stores now offer a good
variety of many vegetarian style cheeses and cold meat substitutes
if you prefer not to eat meat. When we had our family Swedish
smörgåsbord we had a wonderful time learning about
the Swedish culture and tasting the many wonderful flavors
from this rich country.
Kottbullar
(Swedish Meat(less) Balls)
3 –
4 medium size potatoes
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 cup ground almonds (a coffee grinder works well for grinding
nuts)
4 Tbsp ground flax seed
salt & pepper
1 medium size onion, chopped
4 - 5 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
Put potatoes
in medium saucepan, cover with water, add vegetable cube,
and boil until potatoes are soft. Drain water from potatoes
(saving the water to make gravy), mash and let cool. While
potatoes are cooling:
1. Heat oil in small frying pan, add onions and cook until
they just start to brown.
2. Put flax seed in small bowl and add ¼ cup of hot
water, let stand for about 10 minutes for flax seed to absorb
the water.
When the
potatoes have cooled add the soaked flax seed and water, ground
almonds, salt, pepper, and cooked onions. Mix together and
roll into small balls. Heat olive oil in large fry pan; add
the balls and brown nicely on all sides. Transfer the balls
into a shallow cooking dish, and cook for approximately ¾
hour at 350 F. While the meat(less) balls are cooking, make
a vegetarian gravy. Pour over the balls and continue cooking
for an additional 20 mins.
Vegetarian
Gravy
You can purchase a package of vegetarian gravy and make according
to directions, or use the following recipe:
Heat vegetable
broth in small pan, add 1 – 2 Tbsp cornstarch to thicken,
add water, or water that potatoes or other vegetable have
been cooked in. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened.
Vitkals-och
Lingonsallas (Swedish Cabbage and Cranberry Salad)
1 cup cabbage, finely shredded
¾ cup whole cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt
Combine
all ingredients together and gently mix. Chill for a couple
of hours or more.
Rotmos
(Mashed Swedes)
1 medium turnip
2 vegetable broth cubes
¼ tsp of ground allspice
3 medium potatoes
Peel turnips and cut into cubes. Peel and cube potatoes. Put
potatoes and turnips into medium size saucepan with the vegetable
cubes and allspice. Boil until vegetables are soft. Drain
reserving the liquid. Mash the vegetables, adding pepper,
salt and some of the reserved liquid. Use the remainder of
the drained liquid for gravy.
Mandelfyllda
Steak Applen (Swedish Baked Apples with Almond Filling)
Almond paste – see recipe below or
use store bought
6 baking apples
2 Tbsp melted butter, non-hydrogenated margarine or olive
oil
½ cup dried breadcrumbs (if gluten intolerant, use
rice bread crumbs)
Peel apples and core almost to the bottom. Brush apples with
melted butter, or use a spritzer with olive oil and spray
onto apple. Roll apple into bread crumbs. Place apples in
shallow baking dish and fill centre of apples with almond
paste. If you have any breadcrumbs or butter left over, spread
on top of the apples. Bake at 350ºF for 40 to 50 mins,
or until apples are soft. Serve with whipped cream or custard
or by themselves.
Almond
Paste
1 cup ground almonds
¼ cup sugar or fructose
¼ cup water
2 egg whites
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend to a smooth paste.
Smalandsk
ostkaka (Swedish Cheese Cake)
2 cups cottage cheese
¼ cup flour
3 eggs
¼ cup fructose or sugar
2 cups of light cream or plain soy milk
½ cup coarsely chopped almonds
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Grease
a 10” fluted pie pan or 8” cake pan. Pour mixture
into pan. Bake at 350ºF for one hour, or until knife
inserted in centre comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream
and jelly, or frozen raspberries (or lingon berries if you
can get them).
Janssons
Frestelse (Jansson’s Delight)
It is said no smörgåsbord would be complete without
this potato and anchovy dish. Swedish anchovies are significantly
different than the anchovies commonly found atop pizzas in
North America. If you can’t find Swedish anchovies (or
sprats as they are sometimes called), do not use the other
type of anchovy. Instead, try replacing them with salmon.
If you are seeking a vegetarian dish, this is great made without
the fish, though no Swede would recognize it as the beloved
Janssons Frestelse.
6 –
8 potatoes
2 medium onions
2 tbsp butter or non-hydrogenated margarine
2 cans Swedish anchovies
1 ½ Cups light cream or plain soymilk
Peel the potatoes and cut into thin sticks. Slice the onions
into rings and sauté lightly in 1 tbsp butter or margarine.
Drain and dice the anchovies, reserving the liquid for later
use.
Place
the potatoes, sautéed onions and anchovies in layers
in a greased baking dish – starting and ending with
potatoes. Dot with butter or margarine and pour half of the
anchovy liquid and half of the soymilk or cream on top.
Bake at
400 F for 20 mins. Pour rest of cream or soymilk on top and
bake until the potatoes are tender (about 30 mins).
Julgröt
(Christmas Porridge)
This rice porridge is a Swedish favourite for Christmas Eve.
With just one almond hidden in the rice, the superstition
says the one who finds it will marry within the year. Swedish
children sometimes leave a bowl of the porridge out for the
hus tomte, who takes care of the household all year in exchange
for a bowl of rice porridge on Christmas Eve. Tomte, the Swedish
Christmas gnome, is also said to be very fond of this recipe
and when he comes to share presents, he is always presented
with a dish.
The following
recipe makes a surprisingly large pot. Double only if you
are expecting quite a crowd.
1 c rice
1 tbsp butter or non-hydrogenated margarine
1 c water
5 c milk (soy or cow’s)
Cinnamon
1 blanched almond
Rinse rice with boiling water. Melt ½ tbsp of butter
or margarine in a large saucepan, add rice and water and boil,
uncovered, for 10 minutes or until the water disappears. Add
soymilk and cook, still uncovered, until rice is tender (this
will take approximately an hour). Season and add remainder
of butter or margarine. Serve with the almond hidden inside
and cinnamon sprinkled on top. Add cold milk (again either
soy or cow’s will work) if desired.
Glögg
Glögg is a traditional beverage drunk by Swedes in the
winter months. The traditional recipe is made with sherry
and brandy, but we have created a non-alcoholic version of
the mulled wine. This is a warming drink to enjoy after time
spent in the wintry outdoors.
6 Cups
apple cider of non-alcoholic wine
¾ Cup blanched almonds
5 sticks cinnamon
10 cloves
1 Cup organic raisins
10 cardamoms
Simmer
the spices in just enough cider or wine to cover for 15 minutes
in a small saucepan. Once it has simmered, bottle the contents
of the saucepan with the remainder of the cider or wine. Let
sit for 1-3 days, then warm thoroughly before serving. Always
serve warmed.
Swedish
Brown Beans
Swedish brown beans can be found in Scandinavian grocery stores.
If you can’t find brown beans, try using adzuki beans
in this recipe.
2 Cups
brown beans
5 Cups water
4 tbsp maple syrup
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Rinse
beans thoroughly and add them to the water in a large pot.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 3 hours until tender
(but not mushy). Add hot water as needed to keep beans covered.
Drain beans, add syrup and vinegar, adjust to taste and serve.
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