SCANDINAVIAN - Cuisine of the Quarter, Spring 2021 (Apr-June)

Good reading

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Very interesting background. Foto: ***Michelin Starred Chef Bjorn Frantzen. King crab, fermented apricot and Ikura Caviar with Wasabi …

In Stockholm, they have quite a penchant for Caviar too !

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This caught my attention because stuffed grapeleaves and cabbage rolls are 2 of my favourite foods.

Turks and Greeks also make cabbage rolls.

Dolma refers to the roll or wrap.

Lahanodolmades , with tomato or egg lemon sauce, is the Greek term for cabbage rolls.

Lahana sarmasi is the Turkish term.
Turks, Bosnians, Serbs and other formerly under Ottoman rule cultures call their cabbage rolls sarma.

Dolmades or yiaprakia, and in Turkish yiaprak, are the word for stuffed grapeleaves.

I’d think it isn’t rocket science to cook meat and grains inside leaves. I would think cooks all over the world came up with the idea of cabbage rolls. Same with meatballs and dumplings.

There’s a really long 600 post thread about the origin of cabbage rolls on Chowhound.

People can get a little possessive, nationalistic, pedantic and territorial about foods they see as their own . :rofl:

As you can see above, I’m an annoying pedant!

I might try this recipe:

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I think you can put lingonberry on anything and make it Scandinavian. Pizza sadly comes to mind. Someone will come up with a picture and a recipe.

Pedants unite! grin

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Interesting. I’ve been watching the New Scandinavian Cooking show for inspiration. A lot of the dishes are very similar to the “American” dishes we already post on WFD. With a few tweaks here and there they could easily be a Scandinavian DOTQ.

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Karjalanpaisti, Finnish meat stew - I made a few weeks ago, when the weather was still cool. It was elected as the national dish a few years ago by the readers of a local newspaper in Finland, according to Wikipedia. The dish is easy to prepare, a mix of meat, usually beef, lamb and pork and cook for 4 hours in an oven according to my recipe (from the book Fire and Ice), or 8 hours according the other recipes. I used only beef and pork some bone in and some boneless part for long cooking. Chopped them in 2 inch cubes, seasoned with salt. Without browning, I placed the first layer of meat in the cast iron pot, topped with onions, carrots, allspice, peppercorns, juniper berries, repeated the layers until all the ingredients have been used. Tucked in the bay leaves and poured water over. Covered the casserole and cooked for 20 minutes at 440ºF, lower to 275ºF for 4 hours or until the meat was tender. Served with pickles and mashed potatoes.

We’ve eaten it just after cooking and found the meat a bit bland. Reheated the next day, we found it much better after the night rest.

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My mother was German, and used the same mixture for both meatloaf and frikadellen. Being patties or logs that are sauteed, they have added flavor and textute from the browning, and cook faster. I include onion, bell pepper, wilted cabbage, tomato paste, and sometimes grated carrot too. I make gravy with the fond left in the pan, adding condensed cream of mushroom soup, milk, beef base, and soy or teriyaki sauce. Frikadellen also have the advantage of leftovers being ready to pop into a bun for a cold sandwich. All rather a long way from the original, but awfully tasty.

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Rømmegrøt - Norwegian Sour Cream Porridge w/Poached Egg & Prosciutto

Traditionally, Rømmegrøt was a delicacy prepared for special occasions & holidays during “meager times”. We had it for breakfast…

Simmer sour cream, add a little flour, continue simmering until butter fat rises, skim & save.

I’m thinking American sour cream isn’t as fatty as European because this yielded a lot less fat than the one I saw on the New Scandinavian Cooking show.

Added the rest of the flour (too much actually).

Then scalded milk & salt…

Topped w/the reserved butter fat, a pad of unsalted butter, S&P, sugar, cinnamon, prosciutto & egg.

I was skeptical of sugar & cinnamon w/sour & savory ingredients, so didn’t add a lot. I wish I had. So good! The recipe calls for air-dried ham but it looked just like prosciutto on the show, so…

Toasted Ezekiel Bread w/Butter & Ligonberry Jam

It was a tasty novelty but I think we’ll stick w/grits. Husband? He said it tasted much better than it smelled. :slightly_smiling_face:

A little late to the party. I was making things but lost track of time. :blush: More yum to follow…

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All of that looks totally scrumptious!!!

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Thanks @GretchenS!

I’d been making things during the quarter but lost track of the time for reporting. :crazy_face: More to follow…

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Things look great @TheCookie! Colorful and visually appealing, BUT the sour cream porridge is intriguing and looks delicious!

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I have a strange question. What are you seeing? I only see my porridge post now, not the smorrebrod.

Very bizarre. All those gorgeous pics after the toast and jam disappeared.

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Thanks for the feedback! Long story but I had some tech difficulties and wasn’t surprised that part got deleted. Thankfully, I saved it somewhere else and can post again. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Inlagd Sill (Swedish Pickled Herring) :sweden:

Things I learned. Fresh Herring is almost impossible to find in L.A. I called my spots and they all said yes, but when it came to it they really only had smoked or already pickled. :unamused: I finally found someone who claimed to have fresh frozen but when I got their the co-worker misunderstood and gave me what I later found out was smoked! Ugh! I skipped the brining part and pickled it anyway. I hated it. Smoked and pickled herring? Blech! Hubs said “Mmmm Mmm. I like it!” So that’s good, lol.

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GROUNDHOG DAY! The Recovered Report

Smørrebrød (Danish Open-faced Sandwiches) :denmark:

Anchovy, Calamares Rellenos, Sardine, Mayo/Sour Cream, Red Pepper Flakes, Chives, Sunflower Rye Bread

I opened these conservas for a seafood salad - put the leftovers together in one container and stuck them in the fridge most likely to be forgotten. Wrong! A few days later I used them to make Smørrebrød and the different oils & juices had melded together into a super delicious marinade. :heart:

Home-cured Steelhead Trout, Salmon Roe, Red Onions, Fresh Lemon, Dill, Chives on a Schmear of Herb Cheese & Sunflower Rye Bread

Steelhead Trout

Salt, Sugar, Peppercorns, Allspice, Vodka, Dill

I read the cutting directions wrong and screwed this part up a bit. Shrug. Seasoned, wrapped, fridged & basted with its own liquid for a couple days.

Rinsed, patted dry & sliced…

It was oily enough but salmon probably would’ve been more flavorful. Also, I would grumble if a restaurant served it to me this thick. But not bad for my first try!

Bay Shrimp, Mayo, Preserved Lemon, Cucumbers & Dill

No fresh, cold water shrimp to be found in L.A. But! the bay shrimp are flavorful. I :heart: shrimp salad.

Creamy Pasta w/Leftover Smoked Trout, Shrimp, Roe

Black Forest Ham, Mayo, Sour Cream, Peas, Radish, Capers, Preserved Lemon, Scallions on Buttered Sunflower Seed Rye Bread

I copied this recipe from a Danish friend who served them at a holiday party. They were good but not quite as good as his. :thinking:

I could seriously eat Smørrebrød everyday. :heart:

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Leftover Rømmegrøt (sour cream porridge) w/Lucky Egg, Crostini, Normandy Butter & Ligonberry Jam

This time I used more sugar & cinnamon. The sweet, sour & salty bits of prosciutto did indeed go well together. :heart:

I thought this egg looked rather big. Two yolks! Lucky.

Almond “Jello” w/Cara Cara Oranges, Grapefruit, Stone Fruits, Mango, Goji Berry, Lychee Jelly

A gift from our homie @porkybelly. It comes from one of our favorite Cantonese spots, Needle. So good :heart::blush::heart:

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This concludes my Scandinavian journey. But I could go on! :heart:

@Phoenikia’s post is so correct - there is lots of Turkish & other influences in Scandinavian cooking. This made it slightly difficult selecting dishes that are considered wholly & traditionally Scandinavian. But that’s life when you’re surrounded by the sea… it’s a melting pot of flavors.

Happy Scandinavian Eating!

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Love your Smørrebrød, and your other meals, all delicious!

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