My Recipes
nordic fennel tartiflette
Tartiflette is a recipe invented in the 80s to promote the French Reblochon cheese. Needless to say, it has a lot of calories in it but after a day of hiking in the mountains, or after skiing, it is the perfect warming dish. This recipe is a vegetarian and Nordic interpretation with fennel and anise seeds. In Sweden, mild or strong flavours of anise and liquorice are used to give flavour to both savoury dishes and sweets.
Biff Rydberg
Named after the old Hotel Rydberg in Gamla Stan (1857-1914), Stockholm, Biff Rydberg is simply three main ingredients, good quality beef, potatoes and onions, but is surprisingly difficult to do well. The result depends on proportion, time, and temperature and this is why the dish is one of the more expensive ones on restaurant menus in Stockholm. What I like the most about this recipe, is the idea of simple ingredients raised to be extraordinary.
gubbröra – Swedish classic egg and herring canapé
This is my own adaptation of a Swedish recipe, which dates to the 1920s.
The main ingredients in this mixture is egg, anchovies, dill and chives and the result a combination of creaminess, saltiness and fresh herbs, which is wonderfully satisfying.
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 with soft or toasted rye bread.
Jansson’s Temptation – creamy potato and anchovy gratin
Jansson’s Temptation is comfort food at its best and one of my favourite dishes, a gratin made with potatoes, onion, anchovies, and cream. The anchovies are what make the dish special adding depth and saltiness while the cream rounds it off.
Creamy Beetroot and Apple Salad
This beetroot salad is very versatile as the base for a vegetarian or meat dish. It pairs beautifully with boiled eggs or feta cheese, and with meatballs, burgers, and sausages. In Sweden, it is a staple side dish on the Smörgåsbord or combined with meatballs as an open sandwich.
Rustic Split Pea Soup
Pea soup is a Swedish classic dish, which dates to the middle ages. In the French Alps, I discovered a very similar kind of soup made with green split peas instead of the yellow peas we use in Sweden. The key flavours in this flavoursome soup are cloves, mustard, thyme and pork.
Punchy Caesar salad
Caesar salad is an international recipe and as popular in the Nordic countries as everywhere else. In my version, the sauce has a real anchovy kick, making it more powerful than the bland, standard Caesar sauce. I am also generous with the parmesan and lemon in the dressing, and for an extra indulgence, I added my own croutons.
Midsummer Berries
This is so simple to almost not be a recipe, but that is why it is so good. All you need is strawberries, cream, milk, and sugar. I also added raspberries and wild strawberries, which I grow in my small garden. Wild strawberries are special in Swedish culture and the title of Ingmar Bergman’s most copied and referenced film, Smultronstället. It does not literally mean a place where wild strawberries grow but it is a metaphor of an individual idea of what a special place is.
three midsummer pickled herring – mustard, curry, and garlic
Pickled herring is a Nordic delicacy served all year round, and especially at Christmas, Easter, and Midsummer. Historically, pickling was a way to preserve the herring. Today, we combine it with a great variety of flavours, and here are three different recipes, including a mustard herring, a garlic herring, and a curry and apple herring.
Classic homemade Swedish meatballs
Meatballs belong to the traditional Swedish cuisine, which we call “Husmanskost” or “House owner’s food” and is simple peasant food made with good and local ingredients. It is everyday food in the home but also served in the finest restaurants.
