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

Thanks, it was fun to do!

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Yes, I agree it is common in Northern European dishes. I mostly use it in Greek and Turkish dishes. Also common in Jamaican, Grenadian and other West Indian kitchens.

Quite a few North Americanized Swedish meatball recipes call for nutmeg, but no allspice. Or no nutmeg and no allspice. Fairly bland dish over here, usually.

We ate at an IKEA for the first time in Iceland. B didn’t get the meatballs, but he loved it! image

People in Reykjavik actually go there to eat because it’s one of the better values in town.

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This is going to sound very snobby. And probably is. But my local Ikea’s cafe is usually really busy in the morning, with folk eating their very cheap breakfasts. They do not look to me like your typical Ikea shoppers (that’s the snobby bit)

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Baked cod with fennel

Recipe from the book From the North. Believed to be modernized Icelandic. Oven baked cod with smoked salt and black pepper with dill. Cooked fennel bulb with butter, mixed with sour cream and butter to make fennel purée. Infused cooked fennel with water and milk with evoo and salt, mixed to foam.

Monkfish with radish dressing

Second recipe adapted loosely from the same book, I replaced beet with radish for the purée. The pink colour came from the red onion. Other ingredients included honey, lemon juice and skyr. Fish is coated with flour and pan fried with butter. Served with a cucumber, radish, red onion, parsley salad with white wine vinegar and evoo.

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Lovely adaptation and cod (Skrei) …

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Kanelbullar / Kanelsnegle (swedish / danish) or cinnamon bun, recipe I used was from the book Scandilicious Baking by Signe Johansen.

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@naf beautiful!!!

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Thanks! Next time I’ll make individual flatter ones, I especially like the crispy part.

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Reading more on cinnamon buns, found this article.

A Nordic cinnamon bun is typically made with a bit of ground cardamom in the dough.

A real cinnamon bun (a Scandi one) does not have icing on the top. In Norway, a sprinkle of normal granulated sugar – in Sweden those lovely big-ish sugar crystals called Pearl Sugar.

I tried it both ways, just with granulated sugar and with frosting. Liked both ways. The French similar snails bun used puffy pastry instead.

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Nice buns, @naf!

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My wife tells me I have no buns. sigh

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Truly amazingly wonderful.

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Thanks all!!

@Auspicious
You can bake, can’t you? No need of wife’s approval…

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The buns Auspicious mentions his wife says he doesn’t have were a double entendre, @naf.

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:joy: thanks!! Got it now!

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Your dishes are always on the professional next level tip @naf.

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I threatened to talk about lutefisk in my nomination of Scandinavian foods. Here it is.

Lutefisk is a traditional dish in Nordic countries. It is reputed to have originated in Norway but no one actually wants responsibility. Interestingly many if not most Norwegians don’t like it much.

I describe it as any white-fleshed trash fish left to marinade in a bucket of gasoline on the back porch for a month. The truth is not much different. It is a white-fleshed fish, usually cod, that is dry aged with lots of salt to dry and then pickled in lye before being rinsed. Very few people make it from scratch - it’s generally purchased vacuum-packed. Preparation is to open the package, air out the house, and steam over lowest possible heat for 20-25 minutes. It is served in my experience with bacon, potatoes, and assorted hard cheeses.

When prepared perfectly it is flaky and tastes pretty horrible. Often it is mushy and still tastes bad. During my business travel to Norway, much of which was one in the winter, Americans on my team were served lutefisk while the locals laughed and ate something else.

When I was the senior American I ate the stuff. Otherwise I filled up on potatoes and cheese.

I highly recommend the Norwegian practice of laughing and eating something else.

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Frikadeller :denmark: (Danish Pork Meatballs) w/White Gravy, Buttered Boiled Potatoes, Dill & Gherkin Pickles

Frikadeller are very similar to Swedish Meatballs. They’re a little flatter & cakier w/more flour & breadcrumbs. Sometimes a mix of meats are used, but the recipes that seemed most traditional and what my Danish friend uses is pork. Another difference is they’re served dry with a side of white or brown sauce or mustard, of course, lingonberries, but not submerged in sauce.

Mixed together Ground Pork, Minced Onions, Flour, Breadcrumbs in one bowl. In a separate bowl whisked Eggs, Milk, Jamaican Allspice, Salt & Pepper then slowly added to Pork mixture. Recipes say “the more mixing the better they are”. Pan fried in butter, oil or both. The White Gravy is basically Béchamel (sans nutmeg) w/Chicken Broth Concentrate. After reading the Swedish Meatballs are really Turkish article I almost drizzled some Pomegranate Molasses on them :slightly_smiling_face:… next time.

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That’s funny. It sounds horrible. Why is it a thing?