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

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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Like @TheCookie, I pickled some vinegar dill fish some 2 weeks ago, I substituted fresh herring with mackerel, as fresh herring is not available here all the time. I read that distilled white vinegar comes with all types of percentage, in Sweden, the vinegar comes between 12 - 24%, and the one I used is 8%, I played around with the sugar and water. The recipe I used from Swedish Spoon required salted herring, so I salted the fish several hours before pickling. Pretty straight forward, added vinegar, water, sugar, white peppercorns, red onion sliced thinly, dill, fennel grains (as I didn’t have a lot fresh dill). Since I sliced the fillets from the fresh fish, I left some the tiny bones on not to over manipulated the flesh. They turned out edible.

Delicious and easy for a Friday night that I didn’t feel like cooking, we watched the UEFA Europa League Italian vs Belgium match with these delices on baguette. We’re happy that the Italian won with their outstanding performance. I bet @harters supports the UK team (how the Ukraine got crushed). I’m waiting to see these 2 teams playing the final the coming Sunday.

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Voting for our next COTQ is open! Summer 2021 (Jul-Sept) Cuisine of the Quarter - VOTING

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Thanks @naf!

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Yours look great. I should’ve thought of mackerel. The recipe I used was very similar except I skipped the salt brine as the herring was already salted & smoked. :smirk:

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Will like to try herring when I will see them. What are the dark spices in your bottle, all spices or black pepper?

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Yes, my recipe also called for white peppercorns but I have black. The other spices are a few cloves, whole allspice, bay leaves & mustard seeds - I have black mustard seeds.

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We didn’t do a deep dive into Scandinavian wine, beer & spirits. Aquavit seems to be a popular choice. We had cold vodka…

This 2016 brut blend of pinots went well with the cured & marinated seafood.

Okay, now I’m really concluding! :relaxed:

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https://www.valabaerjet.com/

My FB friends just launched their new Norwegian site.

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A Swedish/Scandinavian version of a Dagwood sandwich? Not to yuk anyone’s yum but that particular version doesn’t appeal to me much. I have seen others that were more interesting and I had one linked to from a few years ago but the link is broken.

One of these days (maybe)!

Thanks for all these links, btw.

The shrimp salad I made for the Tunnbrödrulle in the hot dog thread was called Raksallad. No lemon juice or onion but did include Dijon, ketchup and paprika. Okay to my taste (on the hot dog) but not something I’d crave. However I understand it’s also used on other sandwiches including burgers and that sounds more appealing to me.

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It’s a Swedish Easter sandwich cake. Use ingredients one likes and make it as extravagant as one pleases.

Getting popular in some other countries as well in recent years around Easter.

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Aha! I hadn’t noticed any connection to Easter.

The Wiki article lists names for the dish in Estonia, Finland and Iceland.

It’s not a Dagwood, and it’s not a version of anything American.

It’s a giant party sandwich.

Easter and MidSommer would be the times parties are held in Scandinavia. Haven’t you had asparagus at Easter? I know I have.

Here are American-style sandwich cakes

Of course other Scandinavian countries would have a version.

Kind of like how Americans have a version of a something Canadian like Apple Pie. :wink:

It’s asparagus season in Michigan and Ontario, and I like asparagus, that’s why I posted the link.