For most of us, our interpretation of Swedish cuisine might be limited to IKEA meatballs and Swedish fish. But the Land of the Midnight Sun has food so abundant and diverse that to compare the IKEA cafeteria menu to traditional Swedish husmanskost is a red herring at best – delicious as those meatballs are!
While we might associate Smörgåsbord with Asian take-outs, the word is actually of Swedish origin and refers to an assortment of dishes laid out for the diner to help themselves to all they can eat. Take for example, julbord (YULE-bord) which is a classic Christmas Smörgåsbord. First come the three fish courses, which could include herring, gravlax (dry-cured salmon) and lutefisk (dried whitefish). Cold sliced meats such as ham make the fourth course and the fifth course is typically warm dishes (enter meatballs), sausages, and side dishes. Sixth is a cheese plate and seventh a dessert plate. After everything has been eaten, the Swedes have a long hibernation until spring. Not really, but that sounds like the best idea after such a banquet!
If you’re planning a Smörgåsbord of your own, there are some traditional Swedish foods you might like to consider. One is lutefisk – dried fish, usually cod. To return the fish to an edible state requires days of soaking, with fresh water added every day. Sounds terribly difficult, so it must be delicious. Wallenbergare is a flavoursome combination of ground veal, egg yolks, and cream, coated in breadcrumbs, and generally served with mashed potato, peas and lingonberry jam. Knäckebröd or crispbread is a light snack that can be served with pickled herring, cheese and savoury dips, or simply spread with salted butter. Comparable to lavosh, it is easy to make – just make sure you roll and cut the dough on baking paper, to enable easy transfer to your baking tray, as it is very fragile. No Swedish feast would be complete without surstromming of some type, which is arguably the world’s smelliest food. Essentially, it’s a salted fish that is fermented in a brine for at least 6 months.
Still thinking about the meatballs? So are we! In fact, we wish we could buy them flat-packed to whip out at the last minute. There are several ways you can serve Swedish meatballs, but the most common is with mashed potatoes, cream sauce, and lingonberry – a small red berry similar to cranberries.
So launch your longboat and get prepped for a salty, sweet and quintessentially Swedish Smörgåsbord.
