I can’t remember when I first tasted houmous but I do remember loving the garlicky chickpea dip. Once upon a time in the West it was an ethnic delicacy with a hippy following, now its available in every supermarket! This ancient peasant dish – the authentic version contains chickpeas, mashed and flavoured with sesame seed…
Starters
Warm Winter Salad of Beetroot, Kale & Creamed Goats’ Cheese
I’ve enjoyed the pleasure of growing my own vegetables, for a few consecutive years, but the french partridge and pigeons feasted more on my bounty than myself! I gave up. The location of my garden is just too exposed to the local wildlife! So when I discovered a local supplier Maxwell and Webb Potager who were…
Smoky Aubergine Moutabel with Yogurt Flatbreads
I have spoken at length about my Swedish heritage on my mother’s side but I haven’t yet mentioned that my father was born in Egypt to Maltese parents, I know, I’m an eclectic mix of cultures and nationalities. Many Italians lived in Cairo at that time so this influenced the way they cooked. Both my…
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…
Chilled Cucumber & Crayfish Soup
I was lucky enough to be invited to Chilterns Food Magazine’s first Birthday Party at The Blue Tin Produce Farm Shop a couple of weeks ago. This publication is fabulous, it champions producers of the Chiltern Hills area, one of which is Tims Dairy, a family business located in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, and is…
Beetroot & Horseradish Cured Gravad Lax
Gravad lax these days is so readily available, the lightly cured salmon with a scattering of chopped dill, I find the commercial versions often taste incredibly similar and the accompanying mustard sauce can be too acidic and intense. The salmon I ate in Sweden, prepared by my mother and grandmother always tasted so fresh, with…
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Chanterelles, Lemon, Parsley & Walnuts
Neither from Jerusalem or an actual artichoke, this strange, knobbly vegetable is, in fact, a tuber from the sunflower family. The white flesh of this vegetable is nutty, sweet and is a good source of iron, B vitamins and thiamin. It will discolour if exposed to air so place the peeled vegetable in a bowl of acidulated water until ready to…
Hot Smoked Salmon
I was first introduced to hot smoked fish when I was a child. My family stayed with relatives in the Stockholm archipelago, we would lay fishing nets out in the early evening and hope for a bountiful catch, the excitement when we woke the next morning. The smoked fish I ate in the years after those days…
Whipped Chanterelle Butter
The Swedish word for fungus is ‘svamp’ Popular mushrooms in Sweden include the trumpet chanterelle, black chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms. By far the most famous fungi is the golden chanterelle, with its woody, peppery flavour, it can be picked throughout the summer and into early autumn. You will seem them in abundance in the Food Halls…
