Hot smoking fish sounds intimidating but it’s something anyone can do. I have used my Big Green Egg to smoke mine but all you need is a kettle barbecue or a stove top smoker. The process takes a few hours but the only tricky part is the ability to control the heat if you’re using…
Preserving
Dehydrated Sourdough Starter
So you’ve taken up the challenge of sourdough baking. You’ve made a starter, fed and nurtured it over several weeks. Basically it’s become your favourite pet! Well I’d like to share a handy tip with you. Your starter is wonderfully bubbly and active. You’re baking once or twice a week because you have time and…
Scandinavian Quick Pickled Red Onions
Generally you’ll always find a jar of these in my fridge. Pickled red onion transforms raw onion from pungent and crunchy to delicate and mellow. Occasionally I add chilli flakes for extra spice or herbs for extra flavour. The perfect topping for an open sandwiches or condiments for burgers, salads and tacos. Quick pickled red…
Spiced Preserved Pears
As winter is almost upon us I like to have a few hidden gems stored away in my larder to pull out at the last minute. These are just that, fragrant autumn jewels that see me through the winter months. Simple as they are, they bring warmth to salty cheese and work perfectly with game….
Pickled Blackberries
I love the ritual of blackberry picking, time spent, basket in hand choosing the ripest juiciest fruit for dessert. When my children were small it was a family affair and a competition as to who could pick the most berries. Now I’ll take a friend and my dogs to forage and chatter. Is it me…
Brined Salmon with Creamy Dill Infused Potatoes & Lightly Pickled Cucumber
Most of you are familiar with Gravad Lax, a popular delicacy in the English-speaking world, and English has naturally adopted the short version of its name, gravlax. There seems to be endless ways to flavour this fish from beetroot, horseradish to gin and juniper. You may not be aware of the lesser known Swedish classic…
Elderflower & Lemon Cordial
If you are really quick and very lucky, you may just get the end of the elderflower season. Ambling home after a dog walk last week I spotted a glut of elderflowers on the edge of a field, which I duly and promptly helped myself to. I made sure I picked evenly and left enough…
Beetroot & Horseradish Cured Gravad Lax
The salmon I ate in Sweden as a child, prepared by my mother and grandmother always tasted so fresh, with vibrant flavours, accompanied with dill flecked mustard sauce, invariably had a given place on the smörgåsbord served at Midsummer parties and the Christmas celebration Julbord. Swedes enjoy it at any celebration, served cut into fine slices,…
The Scandinavian Open Sandwich
Open sandwiches (smörgås) are a favourite of mine and also one of the simplest things to create. You don’t need a recipe for them, it’s really just about using your favourite kind of bread and adding the toppings that you’d like to go on it. Begin by spreading just the right amount of butter on your chosen bread. On…
Venison Casserole with Pickled Chanterelles
In the north, they have the advantage of being able to indulge in a lot of game during the autumn. Approximately 300,000 Swedes have hunting licenses. In total, they contribute 20,000 tonnes of wild game to the Swedish table every year. As only a certain number of animals can be killed each year thanks to decades of…
