Swedish Meatballs
Delicious Magazine
Meatballs with spaghetti are one of our staples all throughout the year. But for something all the heartier and more warming, why not try them Scandi style – which is to say, served up in a luscious creamy sauce, lifted with a little lemon and Worcestershire sauce. One to gobble by the fire alongside a good dollop of creamy mashed potato. Get the recipe.
Shrimp Skagen (Skagenröra)
Olive Magazine
One of the things we most love about Scandinavian food is its sublime simplicity. This prawn starter, which comes courtesy of executive chef Henrik Ritzén at London-based Nordic restaurant Aquavit, lets the fresh ingredients – prawns, mayo, dill, horseradish, lemon, sourdough and salmon roe – do all the talking. Think prawn cocktail but with a contemporary twist and an extra, fiery bite. Get the recipe.
Scandi Beetroot Soup
Riverford
The colour of this beetroot soup – which is strongly reminiscent of Eastern European borscht – is reason enough to make it. It could not, after all, fail to brighten a drab winter’s day. It also happens to be wholly delicious as well as nourishing. The earthiness of the beetroot, the creaminess of the yogurt, the freshness of the dill and the tang of red wine vinegar and sauerkraut: it is, truly, the perfect medley of flavours. It must, of course, be served up with rye bread – whatever else? Get the recipe.
Labskovs
Edible Communities
Stew and mash is, of course, a classic winter combination. The Scandinavians, being famously good at streamlining, have done just that with Labskovs, a century-old recipe that combines the steak and the mash into one mega medley of comfort food. Flavoured with thyme, peppercorns and cloves, it’s one to make more of than necessary and eat over two glorious nights. All that remains, then, is to can curl up into an armchair with a piping hot bowl and submit bodily to the warmth and the flavour. Get the recipe.
Real Scandi Cinnamon Buns
Scandi Kitchen
One of our favourite Scandi foodie traditions comes in the form of the cinnamon bun, whose consumption is encouraged throughout the day, whether with morning coffee or as a pick-me-up in the afternoon. A few points of note from Bronte and Jonas, the good folk behind Scandi Kitchen: ‘Real cinnamon buns, the ones Mamma makes at home, are made using a yeast dough, not a laminated dough. Real buns are strong, full of cardamom and cinnamon. Real buns don’t have icing on them’ But, rules aside, they stress, ‘There are as many different buns in the world as there are people who make them. This is because the essential ingredient in cinnamon buns is love. Yes, love. Everybody bakes differently, and adds some of themselves in the kneading, so the result is… Buns that taste the way they were made.’ So, armed with this key info and brimming with love, go forth, make and happily munch with friends and family throughout the day. Joy. Get the recipe.
