Looking through my old holiday photographs, I found a picture from my visit to Capri a few years ago. My husband and I were interrailing in Southern Europe, and I wanted to visit Villa San Michele on Capri, where my grandfather, a painter, had spent a long time.

The villa was built in the 1890s by Axel Munthe, an important doctor, and donated to the Swedish state in 1948. It still welcomes artists in residency.

The villa is suspended on the steep slopes of Capri with surrounding terraced gardens. I especially remember this beautiful floor laid with a mixture of small pieces of marbles of different colours. This savoury mixture is my adaptation of a dish, which dates to the time of my grandfather’s visits to the villa.

The main ingredients in this mixture are eggs, pickled herring, dill, and chives, combining creaminess and saltiness with the freshness of herbs.

Serve it as a canapé with Swedish Knäckebröd or other rye crackers, or serve it as part of a Smörgåsbord or buffet as I often do. It also goes well on a thin piece of soft or toasted rye bread.

Serves: 8 as a canapé    Total time: 20 min

Serves: 8 as a canapé or as a buffet side dish. 4 as a starter.
Total: 20 min

4 eggs
5 IKEA Matjesill fillets or approximately 50 - 75g of other pickled herring
2 tsp herring brine
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp crème fraiche
2 tbsp dill, chopped
2 tbsp chives, chopped
Pinch of white pepper
Salt if necessary

Tips: For the ultimate Swedish experience, swap the mayonnaise and crème fraiche for raw egg yolk and add chopped fried onion. The egg will act as the binding agent.

If you do not eat fish, capers are a good substitute. Pickled herring can also be swapped for anchovies.

METHOD

Hard boil the eggs and finely chop. Chop the pickled herring fillets into small cubes. Chop the dill and chives.

Mix it all together with the mayonnaise and crème fraiche and the small amount of herring brine.

Season with a pinch of white pepper and if necessary with salt. The herring is salty already.

Serve on a Swedish Knäckebröd or Finncrisp as a canapé, or serve it as part of a Smörgåsbord or buffet. It also goes well on soft or toasted rye bread.

Tips: I make my boiled eggs starting with the eggs submerged in cold water before bringing to the boil. Once boiling, I take the pan off the stove and leave the eggs in the hot water for 10-12 min. I then rinse the pot with cold water until I only have cold water left and leave the eggs to cool for another 10 minutes before peeling.