ScandiKitchen: Midsommar E-Book

Bronte Aurell

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Brontë Aurell, owner of the ScandiKitchen Café in London, brings her famous flair to over 65 Scandinavian-style recipes that perfectly capture the joy of summer eating.§

Leseprobe

SCANDIKITCHEN

Midsommar

Simply delicious food for summer days

SCANDIKITCHEN

Midsommar

Simply delicious food for summer days

BRONTË AURELL

Photography by Peter Cassidy

DEDICATION

For Astrid, Elsa and Jonas – with all my love, always xxx

SENIOR DESIGNER

Sonya Nathoo

COMMISSIONING EDITOR

Alice Sambrook

HEAD OF PRODUCTION

Patricia Harrington

ART DIRECTOR

Leslie Harrington

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Julia Charles

PUBLISHER

Cindy Richards

FOOD STYLIST

Kathy Kordalis

PROP STYLIST

Tony Hutchinson

RECIPE TESTER

Cathy Seward

INDEXER

Vanessa Bird

Recipe contributions: Kobi Ruzicka: Curried Cauliflower & Rye Grain Salad (page 62), Birgitte Agger Mote: Buttermilk Panna Cotta (page 152), Jon Anders Fjeldsrud: Aquavit Cocktails (page 172)

Naturally hand-dyed fabrics by Isabella Strambio www.twome.co.uk

Edible flowers and speciality ingredients by the lovely people at Eurofrutta www.eurofrutta.co.uk

Originally published as

ScandiKitchen Summer in 2018.

This edition published in 2021

by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

Ryland Peters & Small, Ltd.

341 E 116th St

New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text © Brontë Aurell 2018, 2021

Design and commissioned photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2018, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-78879-357-5

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-396-4

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed and bound in China.

CIP data from the Library of Congress has been applied for. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

NOTES

* Both British (metric) and American (imperial plus US cups) measurements are included in these recipes; however, it is important to work with one set of measurements and not alternate between the two within a recipe.

* All butter is salted unless specified.

* All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case US extra-large should be used. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

* Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperatures. We recommend using an oven thermometer. If using a fan-assisted oven, adjust temperatures according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

* When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using. If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm soapy water before using.

* Always check that flowers used for garnish are food-safe and pesticide-free.

Photography credits

All photography by Peter Cassidy apart from pages:

4–5 photo division/Getty Images

46–47 Danita Delimont/Getty Images

104–105 Johner Images/Getty Images

126 Ragnar Singsaas/WireImage/Getty Images

127al Christophe Boisvieux/Getty Images

127cl Franz Aberham/Getty Images

127r Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

160–161 Johner Images/Getty Images

174–175 Lilly Husbands/Getty Images

CONTENTS

Introduction

The Scandinavian Summer Pantry

Breakfast & Brunch

Open Sandwiches

Salads & Sharing Plates

Larger Plates & Mains

Cake & Fika

Breads

Desserts & Drinks

Index

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Scandinavian year is one of stark contrasts. It’s often portrayed as the cold north, full of snow and darkness – which is actually true, for a few months. But after the darkness follows the light. When the snow finally melts and the days are once again lit by the sun, we Scandinavians wake up with a force of energy, ready to appreciate everything nature has to offer. No sooner have we packed up our skis and heavy coats than we’re out hiking, cycling, having picnics and sitting in our gardens enjoying every moment outdoors.

In the fourteen years since my husband Jonas and I opened our shop and café, ScandiKitchen, in central London, we have learned how people from other nations view us and our habits. We celebrate all the Scandinavian seasons at the café in true style – so in the first few years of being open we had lots of curious locals stop by to witness us wearing the midsummer flowers in our hair, eating herring, singing at the tops of our voices and dancing around a midsummer pole. Now, many of those customers join in our summer celebrations – even getting into the spirit of things at our crayfish parties which mark the last ‘hurrah’ at the end of the warm months.

Part of what makes the Scandinavian summer magical is the intense energy we seem to find within ourselves. In contrast to the calm and slowness of our winter, the summer is busy, intense and full of promise.

Understanding the concept of lagom (not too much, not too little, but just right) is to appreciate that the spirit of our countries is based around ensuring that everything we do is in balance. The stereotype is generally true: excess is limited in Scandinavia. We are practical in our approach to anything, from design, furniture and homes, to how we live and what we eat. Yes, we love cake, but we balance it out with fresh salads. If we enjoy a heavy lunch, we have a light dinner. Open sandwiches on fibre-rich rye bread means we don’t skimp on the mayo.

This isn’t a diet book. I don’t subscribe to the idea of restrictive eating, and I don’t think that would be a true representation of how Scandinavians really eat. We devour the summer months and celebrate them as much as we can, so of course there’s going to be cakes and treats. The recipes in this book will produce good food with respect to both tradition and modern trends in healthy eating. I’ve included plenty of indulgent cakes and bakes, as well as salads and a few leaner dinners. This is how I eat, with lagom, and for the love of good food.

Brontë x

The Scandinavian Summer Pantry

Across a landmass that stretches from the flat lands of Denmark to the rocky fjells of northern Norway, our fields and forests are varied and plentiful and our store cupboards are diverse. The summer months across Norway, Sweden and Denmark are full of light, which produces an abundance of colourful produce. Our fields are green and lush, our berries plump and bright. Here are some of the most common ingredients we use in our cooking over the summer months.

BERRIES

Cloudberries/multebær/hjortron

Found in the wild and very hard to cultivate artificially, these orange berries (which look a bit like plump orange raspberries) grow on stalks. In North America, they are often referred to as ‘bakeapples’. They can’t be picked by machine, only by hand, and even this can be tricky – most burst when picked. The cloudberry season is only around three weeks long. For all these reasons, this delicious berry is expensive and hard to get hold of, so most commonly, we use a cloudberry jam/jelly or frozen berries. If you know of a cloudberry patch in a forest, keep it to yourself. These berries pair very well with the flavours of apple, vanilla and strong cheeses. If you need to replace in a recipe, a tart raspberry is the closest ingredient in taste.

Lingonberries/tyttebær/lingon

This is a little red, tart berry found in abundance in Sweden, Norway and Finland. From the same family as cranberries, the tartness lends itself well to being served with meat (it is most famously served with meatballs). Lingonberries can also be used in cookies and cakes – pair them with something quite sweet if you use the frozen or fresh ones as they are really quite sharp in flavour. If you cannot get hold of lingonberries, substitute with raspberries (for sweet recipes) or cranberries (for more savoury dishes).

Strawberries/jordbær/jordgubb

We have two varieties of strawberries: the normal ones from the garden, available in all shops – and then the little wild strawberries. The latter can be found in Norwegian and Swedish forests towards the end of July. Wild strawberries are very sweet, small berries (often less than 1 cm/¼ inch long). If you have ever tasted wild strawberries yourself, you will know that they are utterly delicious.

Blueberries/blåbær/blåbär

The type of blueberries you buy in the shop are called blueberries, of course. The type of blueberries you find in the wild all over northern Scandinavia we also call ‘blåbär’, but in English, these are actually known as bilberries. Wild blueberries or bilberries have a delicious sweet flavour and are a lot smaller. If you can get them then go for them – they are a deep blue colour even inside. Bilberries can be bought frozen from speciality shops or online.

Elderberries (elderflower)/hyldebær/blomst/fläder

In Scandinavia, elderflower is used mostly in jams/jellies, cordials and cakes. The Elderberry is also used a lot in Denmark to make elderberry cordial – a strong-tasting drink which is full of vitamins.

VEGETABLES

Beetroot (beet)/rødbeder/rödbetor

Used pickled, cooked and raw, this vegetable is a real staple of Scandinavian food, in everything from salads to dips or hot dishes. If you use a store-bought beetroot/beet pickle, do check if it’s filled with sweeteners. Eastern European and Scandinavian versions tend not to be and therefore give a better result, in my opinion.

Nettles/brændnælder/nässel

Fresh nettles have an earthy taste similar to spinach, but with a coarser texture and stronger after-taste. Make sure you wear gloves for foraging and pick only the new top leaves in spring time – nettles in late summer tend to be harsh and tough. Boiling them in water for 2 minutes before using them will kill the stings. Dried nettles are a good, easy option and can be bought online and added to salads or crackers or used as a general flavouring like dried herbs.

Wild mushrooms/champignons/svamp

The autumn/fall is usually the time for foraging for fresh mushrooms – and we like to use fresh whenever we can. During other seasons we use a lot of dried mushrooms, most often the Swedish ‘Kantareller’ (chanterelles) or ‘Karl Johan’ (porcini).

HERBS AND SPICES

Cinnamon/kanel

Some cheaper varieties of cinnamon are made from an inferior type of bark, called ‘cassia bark’, which contains high levels of coumarin that is not good for you in large doses. If you can, go for high grade ceylon bark cinnamon instead, which has lower levels of coumarin and a better flavour.

Vanilla/vanilje

Most Scandinavian cookbooks will call for vanilla sugar, which is a quick and easy substitute for whole vanilla pods/beans. You can buy this in Scandinavian food shops, or make your own at home by grinding together 275 g/2 cups of icing/confectioners’ sugar with 2 dried vanilla pods/beans in a food processor or spice grinder until the pods are pulverized. Sift to remove the woody bits and use as needed. You can normally just substitute with vanilla extract or vanilla pods/beans too.

Cardamom/kardemumma

Vikings first brought this spice back from their raids on Constantinople. We use it a lot in baking recipes, including the dough for our buns. For maximum flavour, you can buy the whole shelled seeds online and grind them yourself using a spice grinder.

Salt

Scandinavians have been preserving food in salt for centuries, and it turns out we have a love for anything salty – from well-seasoned savoury dishes, to sprinkling it on cookies or cakes.

Liquorice/lakrids/lakrits

The Finns became hooked on the flavour of liquorice, used in a lot of cough medicine, at the turn of the 19th century. Someone had the bright idea to add the flavour to sweets, and from then ammonium chloride began to be added in greater quantities (this is the salty flavour also known as ‘salmiakki’). The salty flavour in Scandinavian liquorice is now so strong that most non-Scandinavians can’t eat it. Although, if you become hooked on the acquired taste, you will need the stronger stuff. Use as a syrup or powder in cakes, meringues or ice creams.

Dill

We use dill a lot throughout the summer months to give a lift to salads, fish or even chicken dishes. For crayfish served at crayfish parties we use crown dill for its strong flavour – which is dill that has been allowed to flower. It is quite hard to get hold of outside Sweden, but you can always grow your own or use normal fresh dill instead.

OILS, VINEGARS & MUSTARDS

24% Vinegar/ättika/eddike

A very strong pickling vinegar, this needs to be diluted to the strength required for what you need to use it for. It is usually 5–6% for veg and 12% for herring or other cured fish.

Rapeseed oil/rapsolie/rapsolja

Healthy rapeseed oil is popular all over Scandinavia and has found fame in other countries. However, not all rapeseed oils are created equal and an inferior one won’t do your dish any favours, so always use the best-quality oil can find, whether it’s olive or rapeseed.

Mustard/sennep/senap

We favour sweet, strong mustards. You can substitute with a grainy Dijon, although in some recipes you may need to add a pinch of sugar, too.

YEAST AND LEAVENERS

Fresh yeast/gær/jäst

25 g/1 oz. fresh compressed yeast is equivalent to 13 g/2½ teaspoons of active dry yeast granules. Instant dried yeast sachets are also an option – follow the guidelines on sachets for dosage and always add these to the dry ingredients. Note that liquid over 36–37°C (97-99°F) will kill fresh yeast – as will salt added directly to the yeast.

FLOURS AND GRAINS

Rye flour/rugmel/rågmjöl

You can’t work your way through Scandinavian food without encountering rye flour. White rye flour is milled without the outside shell and loses most of its goodness, so I tend to use the wholegrain variety. While you can’t replace wheat for rye, you can experiment with replacing 10% of the white flour, then a little more next time.

Spelt flour/speltmel/dinkelmjöl

An older variety of wheat grain which is less refined. The white variety is milled without the outer husk and is more refined, so again I would go for the wholegrain variety if you’re using it for health reasons.

Rye flakes/rugflager/rågflingor

Give a more wholesome bite and taste to granola, flapjacks and porridge. If it’s a bit too wholesome for your taste, use half oats and half rye flakes.

Rye kernels (rye berries)/rugkerner/rågkärna

There are two kinds on the market – the whole rye kernel and the kibbled one. You need the whole one if boiling for salads etc. – and the kibbled one is essential when making good rye bread (see page 149), where the whole one would be too hard to use. If you can only get the whole variety, you can chop the rye kernels in a food processor with a few quick pulses (not too much – you only just want to cut them in half).

Malt

You can buy barley malt protein powder or syrup online. We also sometimes use a low-alcohol malt beer in our rye bread dough.

Oats/havre

We tend to use a lot of cut oats or jumbo rolled oats – we rarely use the finely-ground oatmeal.

Crispbread/knækbrød/knäckebrød/knekkebrød

Not a flour or grain, but such an important part of our store-cupboard that it needs to be mentioned, as they are on the dining table for most meals, especially breakfast. A good homemade crispbread is made with rye, water, yeast and a little salt. You can use my recipe on page 143 or buy them from Scandinavian food shops. It takes a lot of drying in a warm oven to get the homemade ones nearly as crisp as the store-bought ones, as the professional bakers use really hot ovens heated to 400°C (750°F).

DRINKS

Aquavit

A grain-based alcoholic drink, flavoured with herbs and spices. Most people often enjoy as part of a smörgåsbord or with pickled herring or crayfish. See my recipes for easy versions of dill and fennel-flavoured aquavit on page 171.

OTHER

Buttermilk/kærnemælk

In Danish cuisine, buttermilk often makes an appearance – especially in the summer dish ‘koldskål’ (see page 152). I like using buttermilk in batters for pancakes and in cakes – it has sour notes and is very fresh tasting for summer.

Marzipan

We use a lot of marzipan in baking but never the cheap kind which has a low almond content – go for 50% almond content as a minimum, or make your own (unless you’re using it to cover a cake).

breakfast & brunch

As the days get lighter, I long for my parents’ cottage by the sea. Mostly because I savour eating breakfast there outdoors, while listening to the wind in the trees and the waves crashing onto the shore in the distance. As my family gather around the table and talk excitedly about the day ahead, I always feel that there is something magical about eating in the fresh air first thing in the morning. It wakes you up with its (often broken) gentle promises of sunshine and warmth. We plan the day ahead – on the beach or hiking – while savouring the young sunrays and hoping they will last the day!

Rye & Banana Bread

At our café, people used to ask for banana bread a lot. As it’s not really a traditional Scandinavian thing, we wanted to make it our own with a Scandi twist. So, we created this version with rye flour to make it more wholesome. We like to serve it with a delicious cinnamon butter, that just melts on toasted slices of this loaf.

4 very ripe bananas

100 g/scant ½ cup Greek/plain Greek-style yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

125 g/1 cup minus 1 tablespoon plain/all-purpose flour

125 g/1 generous cup wholemeal/wholewheat rye flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda/baking soda

125 g/1⅛ sticks butter, softened

150 g/¾ cup dark brown soft sugar

2 UK large/US extra-large eggs

cinnamon butter, to serve (optional)

500 g/1 lb. loaf pan, lined with non-stick baking parchment

Makes 1 loaf

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.

Mash the bananas and mix with the yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla and set aside.

Mix the flours with the salt and bicarbonate of soda/baking soda and set aside.

Cream together the butter and dark brown soft sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand-held electric whisk. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition to ensure they are fully incorporated.

Add the mashed banana mixture and mix until incorporated, then add the flours and mix briefly until smooth. Do not over-mix.

Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf pan. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for around 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out just clean. Leave to cool a little before turning out of the pan. Cut into slices and serve toasted, with plenty of cinnamon butter (see below).

Cinnamon butter

Mix three tablespoons of strong cinnamon sugar (ratio 1:3) with half a packet of soft unsalted butter

– re-chill and use as needed.