Swedish Cuisine

CHEESE - SWEDEN

ABC - ALL CHEESES

Real Swedes Eat Meatballs

CULINARIA SWEDEN - CALENDAR

SANDWICHES
The open-face Swedish sandwich varies in size from the tiny canape to the giant many-sectioned sandwich that is a whole meal in itself.

Giant Gourmet Sandwich - Delikatesslandgång

1 slice white sandwich bread, cut lengthwise margarine or butter
I. 1 to 2 tablespoons
whipped cream
dill or parsley
1 slice smoked salmon
II. 1 small, curved, light
green lettuce leaf
1 tablespoon mayonnaise paprika
6 to 8 peeled shrimps
1 lemon wedge
III. 2 tablespoons liver
pate or mushroom
paste
2 to 3 large slices cooked chicken sliced pimento or tomato wedges
IV. 1 slice Swiss cheese
1 small triangle Gorgonzola cheese lettuce leaves or
2 to 3 radishes or olives 2 to 3 pretzel sticks

Trim the crust and spread the bread with margarine or butter. Mark the bread in four sections.
I. Mix the whipped cream with enough chopped dill
or parsley to color it a pale green. Spoon the
cream over the first section. Roll up the salmon
and put on top. Garnish with a nice sprig of dill.
II. Cover the second section with lettuce. Season the mayonnaise with paprika and put on top. Garnish with the shrimps and lemon wedge.
III. Spread the third part with liver pate or mushroom paste. Cover with sliced chicken. Garnish with pimento or thin tomato wedges and a small parsley sprig.
IV. Cover the fourth and last section with the two kinds of cheese. Garnish with lettuce leaves, radishes or olives and pretzels.

Three Small Sandwiches
Tre små smörgåsar
Caviar and Egg
white unsliced sandwich bread
margarine or butter salt or smoked cod roe caviar
chopped hard-boiled egg dill
Ham and Prunes rye bread
margarine or butter lettuce sliced ham pitted prunes parsley
Cheddar and Cucumber
white unsliced sandwich bread or rye bread
margarine or butter
thick slices Cheddar cheese
cucumber

Three Small Sandwiches is a very Swedish way to start a dinner. Designed to stimulate the appetite this diminutive form of the famous smorgasbord offers a selection of fish, meat and cheese arranged on small pieces of bread cut in various shapes. Here follows a suggestion for how these sandwiches may be prepared; just before the guests sit down, put one sandwich of each kind at each table setting.

Slice the bread lengthwise and spread with margarine or butter. Trim the crust. Put caviar along the edges and sprinkle with chopped hard-boiled egg in center. Cut across the sandwich strip to make small oblong sandwiches. Garnish with dill sprigs.

Slice the bread and cut in triangles. Spread with margarine or butter. Cover with lettuce and top with ham and prunes. Garnish with parsley.

Slice the bread lengthwise and spread with margarine or butter. Trim the crust. Cover with cheese and cut in triangles or rectangles. Garnish with thinly sliced cucumber.

Caviar Canapé
Löjromssnitt

4 slices white sandwich bread
margarine or butter
2 to 3 tablespoons finely
chopped chives
50 g (about 2 oz.) whitefish caviar
1 lemon
Trim the crust. Spread the bread with margarine or butter and press into finely chopped chives. Cut in triangles. Put a dab of caviar in center of sandwich and garnish with a piece of lemon.
Variation: Instead of sandwich bread, tunnbrod or Norrland crispbread may be used.

Herring Sandwich
Sillsmörgås
4 slices dark rye bread margarine or butter
1 to 2 tablespoons mayonnaise curry powder
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped lettuce
1 can herring tidbits in tomato sauce
dill or chives

Spread the bread with margarine or butter. Season the mayonnaise with curry to taste and blend with the chopped eggs. Put a small lettuce leaf on each sandwich and cover with the egg mixture. Arrange the herring on top. Garnish with chopped dill and/or chives.

Shrimp Sandwich
Räksmörgås

4 slices white sandwich bread
4 lettuce leaves
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
400 g (14 oz.) fresh cooked shrimps
DRESSING
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 dl (1/4 cup) chili sauce
1 egg yolk
2 dl (3/4cup) oil salt and pepper

Trim the crust and cover the bread with lettuce and sliced eggs. Peel the shrimps and put on top. Beat together the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the shrimps. If desired, garnish with a few shrimps on top.

Lapp Sandwich
Lappsmörgås
6 to 8 eggs
1/2 dl (1/4 cup) water
1/4 teaspoon salt
white pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons
margarine or butter
4 large slices white
sandwich bread
margarine or butter
150 g (about 5 oz.) sliced
smoked reindeer meat
parsley

Beat the eggs lightly with a fork. If desired, add the water for softer eggs. Season with salt and a pinch of freshly ground white pepper. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the fat. Add the egg batter and cook over medium-low heat, continually stirring. When beginning to set, remove from heat and let cool. Spread the bread with margarine or butter. Cover with the meat and put a generous spoonful of the cold scrambled eggs on top. Garnish with parsley.
Variation: Substitute dried beef for the reindeer meat.

SALADS

All of the salads presented here may be served as part of a smorgasbord. The Herring Salad arid West Coast Salad both make an excellent first course or late supper dish; the other salads may be served as accompaniments for a fish or meat dish.

West Coast Salad
Västkustsallad

200 g (7 oz.) fresh cooked shrimps
1 fresh cooked lobster or 6 to 8 cooked sea-crayfish or equivalent amount
canned shellfish
100 g (3 1/2 oz.) raw mushrooms
1 head lettuce
2 tomatoes
1 small can asparagus and/or
1 small pkg frozen peas
DRESSING
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt, white pepper
6 tablespoons oil

Peel the shrimps. Pick the meat from the lobster or sea-crayfish; cut in small pieces. Slice the mushrooms and shred the lettuce. Cut the tomatoes in thin wedges. Mix all the ingredients. Shake together the ingredients for the dressing, blend with the salad. Chill before serving. Serve the salad with toasted bread as a first course or as a luncheon or supper dish.

Herring Salad
Sillsallad

2 to 4 fillets of salt herring
2 to 3 cold cooked
potatoes
2 pickled beets
1 large apple
1 pickled cucumber
100 to 150 g (3 1/2 to 5 oz.)
cooked ham
1 to 2 tablespoons liquid
from pickled beets
white pepper
1 to 1 ½ dl (1/2 to 3/4 cup)
whipping cream
1 hard-boiled egg
finely chopped parsley

Soak the fillets in lots of cold water for 6 to 8 hours. Cut the potatoes, beets, apple, cucumber, ham and herring in small cubes. Mix it all and combine with liquid from pickled beets and a little pepper. Whip the cream and fold into the salad. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with strips of finely chopped egg white, egg yolk and parsley. Or pack the salad in a bowl, then unmold and garnish.

Tomato Salad
Tomatsallad
4 to 5 large tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion
finely chopped parsley
DRESSING
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
white pepper
2 teaspoons chervil
4 tablespoons oil

Cut the tomatoes with a sharp knife in very thin slices; arrange these in rows on a platter, one slice overlapping the other. Or dip the tomatoes in boiling water and peel before cutting in half, then remove the seeds. Chop the onion finely and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Beat together the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the salad. Chill. Sprinkle with chopped parsley immediately before serving.
Variation: Add 100 to 150 g (3 1/2 to 5 oz.) sliced raw mushrooms to the salad. Or add sliced olives.

Cucumber Salad
Inlagd gurka

1 medium cucumber (about 500 g or 1 lb.)
DRESSING
3/4 dl (72 cup) Swedish spirit vinegar
2 1/2 dl (174 cups) water
3/4 dl ( 1/2 cup) sugar
finely chopped parsley

Cut the cucumber in thin slices. Mix the vinegar, water and sugar; set aside for a few minutes, stirring now and then till the sugar is dissolved. Pour the dressing over the cucumber and add a generous sprinkling of finely chopped parsley. Chill for about 2 hours before serving.

Mushroom Salad
Champinjonsallad
200 g (7 oz.) raw mushrooms
DRESSING
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons oil
salt, white pepper

Trim and cut the mushrooms in thin slices. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the mushrooms. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour; stir the salad now and then.

Beet Salad
Rödbetssallad

2 to 3 pickled beets
2 cold cooked potatoes
1 small apple, peeled
2 tablespoons thinly sliced leek
DRESSING
1 1/22 to 2 dl (3/4 to 1 cup)
cream-fil or sour cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped pickled cucumber
prepared mustard, salt, white pepper

Dice the beets, potatoes and apple; mix with the leek. Flavor the cream with chopped pickled cucumber, mustard and spices. Blend the salad with the dressing. Chill before serving. If desired, garnish with thin rings of leek.

White Cabbage and Lingonberry Salad
Vitkålssallad med lingon

1 wedge white cabbage (200 g or 7 oz.)
1 dl (1/22 cup) lingonberry preserve

Shred the cabbage finely. Mix with the lingonberry preserve and chill before serving.

Red Cabbage Salad
Rödkålssallad
1 wedge red cabbage (200g or 7 oz.)
1 dl (1/2 cup) apple sauce(unsweetened or lightly sweetened)
2 to 3 teaspoons grated horseradish

Shred the cabbage finely. Mix the apple sauce

SOUPS

Compared with other European nations, Swedes cannot be called a soup-loving people. Still, a common lunch is a bowl of soup with a crispbread sandwich and cheese. At a formal dinner, soup is often the first course. And at least once a week, a rich hearty soup is served for supper in Swedish homes. Yellow pea soup and pancakes is the traditional Thursday supper since centuries back. During Catholic times, the heavy fare probably served to fortify the people before Friday which was fasting day. Sweden converted to the Lutheran church in the sixteenth century but the pea soup tradition is still cherished.

Cabbage Soup
Brynt vitkålssoppa

¼ to 1/2 head white cabbage (about 500 g or 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 1/4 liter (5 cups) beef bouillon
salt, white pepper

Trim the cabbage and shred or cut it in small even pieces. Discard the coarser parts. Melt the margarine or butter in a kettle, add the cabbage. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until the cabbage is nicely browned. Add the bouillon. Cover and let the soup simmer until the cabbage is tender: fresh summer cabbage 15 to 30 minutes, winter cabbage up till IV2 hours. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the soup with meatballs or pork sausage. The sausage may be cooked in the soup.
Variation: The cabbage may be cooked without browning; the soup will then be lighter and have a milder taste. Add, if you like, sliced carrots and leek to this soup.

Yellow Pea Soup
Gul ärtsoppa

4 dl (1 2/4 cups) dried
yellow peas
1 liter (4 cups) water
1 tablespoon salt
300 to 400 g (10 1/2 to 14 oz.) lightly salted side
pork or
1 small pork shank
1 pinch ginger, thyme or marjoram
water

Rinse the peas and let soak in the water with salt for 10 to 12 hours. Bring the peas to a boil in the same water they have been soaked in, add 1 liter water. Cover and cook rapidly for a few minutes. Skim off the shells floating on the surface. Add the whole piece of pork. Or cut the pork in cubes and add when the peas have cooked for 30 minutes. Let the soup simmer for 1 to IV2 hours or till peas and pork are tender. Add more water to the soup if too thick. Season with salt, ginger, thyme or marjoram. Remove the pork, cut in cubes and return to the soup.

Cauliflower Soup
Blomkalssoppa

4 medium potatoes (300 g or about 10 oz.)
1 1/4 liter (5 cups) beef bouillon
1 cauliflower (about 500 g or 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
2 tablespoons flour salt, white pepper (nutmeg)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Peel the potatoes and cut in slices or cubes. Let cook in the bouillon till tender. Add the cauliflower divided into florets; cook until soft. Stir together the margarine or butter and flour, add this to the soup and let cook for a few minutes. Season with salt, white pepper and, if desired, a pinch of grated nut-meg. Sprinkle the soup with chopped parsley.
Leek Soup may be prepared in the same way. Follow the recipe above but instead of cauliflower use 2 or 3 fat leeks. Rinse and trim the leeks, then cut in a little less than 1 cm thick slices.

Vegetable Soup
Grönsakssoppa

1 small cauliflower
2 dl (1 cup) fresh peas or 1 small pkg frozen peas
4 tender carrots
1 leek
8 dl (3 1/2 cups) water salt
4 to 5 dl (1 3/4 to 2 cups) milk
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
salt, white pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Rinse and trim the vegetables. Divide the cauliflower into florets and cut the carrots in pieces. Cut the leek in thin slices. Let the vegetables cook in the water with salt until almost tender. Add the milk. Stir together the flour and margarine or butter, add to the soup and cook for a few minutes. Season the soup to taste. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.

Nettle Soup
Nässelsoppa

2 liter (8 cups) young
tender nettles
1 1/4 liter (5 cups)
beef bouillon
2 to 3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons margarine
or butter
salt, white pepper
1 teaspoon chervil
finely chopped chives

Rinse the nettles well, let cook in the bouillon till tender. Strain and chop or grind the nettles finely. Return the nettles and cooking liquid to the kettle; bring to a boil. Stir together the flour and margarine or butter, add to the soup. Let cook for a few minutes. Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper, pounded chervil and chives. Serve with hardboiled eggs cut in half or poached eggs. Spinach Soup and Kale Soup may be prepared in the same way. Frozen kale or spinach may be substituted for fresh.

Stromming Soup
Strömmingssoppa

1 leek
1 to 2 carrots
1 piece celery root
50 g (about 2 oz.)
margarine or butter
1 to 2 tablespoons flour
1 liter (4 cups) fish
bouillon or water
1 bay leaf
4 to 5 white peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
300 g (10 1/2 oz.) fresh or frozen fillets of stromming (Baltic herring)
(paprika, tomato sauce)
finely chopped chives

Trim and slice the leek and carrots, cut the celery root in small cubes. In a kettle, heat the margarine or butter. Add the vegetables and let cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle with flour. Add the fish bouillon or water and spices. Let the soup simmer, covered, till the vegetables are almost tender. Then add the fish fillets and allow the soup to simmer for a few minutes. Taste it and correct the seasoning. Add, if desired, paprika or tomato sauce. Sprinkle the soup with chopped chives.
Fresh large herring may be used instead of stromming.

Jamie Oliver - Jamie Does - Stockholm 1:4
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