Inspired by fellow writer and native gal Anna Brones’ recent Swedish Autumn blog post and long gone summer days, thought I’d share a few foodie shots of some of my favorite typical Swedish fare.
I love making these homemade smörgåsar (“sandwiches”) topped with anything and everything; from boiled eggs and shrimp to fish roe and black caviar (the cheap kind).
Here’s a close up shot. The ingredients – a mixture of salty, creamy, and doughy- all work wondrously well together.
A dish I could literally eat every single day…gravad lax (cured, not smoked which makes it very different from lox in taste) with almond or dill potatoes and gravlaxsås. The taste really is indescribable. It needs to be tried.
A tomato-based seafood stew on a cool, rainy day?….Toppen!
Pancakes with lingonberry and grädde (cream)… doubles as dessert (or breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
My mom digging into the quintessential kanelbullar – cinnamon buns.
Another major player at fika tables – a sugary pistachio bun called pistagelängd
My mother-in-law’s blackberry topped sugary butter cake-like scones.
And the mother of all fish – the pungently unpleasant fermented herring called surströmming. Notice the white spots of rot on the little piece of fish dangling off the right edge of the crispy bread.
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So there you have it, an explanation for the recent summer weight…
Could I get the recipe for those blackberry topped sugary butter cake-like scones?
@Angela – Swedish food is really interesting. Once you get used to the taste of caviar from a tube, cream-based sauces, all forms of salmon….it sort of becomes like comfort food.
That looks totally mouthwatering, I didn’t know Sweden had a so wide range of dishes. I went to eat out yesterday here in Shanghai with a friend from Sweden and she said she misses Swedish food, so next time we’ll be looking for a Swedish restaurant!
@Fly Girl – Haha. For real. I can’t stomach the fermented herring.
@Nancy – The last one IS disguisting!
@Darrin – Same difference. They both understand each other perfectly fine too 🙂
@Audrey – It really doesn’t taste any better! So funny about your Swedish roommate. Salmon roe and egg go quite well together.
@Neha – It’s on sugary point!
Those blackberry topped sugary butter cake-like scones look to die for!
I was with you until that last photo of the herring. Can’t say that looks very appetizing, but I’m sure it tastes better than it looks.
We’re currently renting a flat in Berlin from a Swedish guy. For the first few days, we shared the place together and every morning he’d make boiled eggs and pull out his tube of salmon roe and stash of special Swedish cheese. Salmon roe for breakfast actually is much better than it sounds.
Geez, did I say Norwegian? I meant Swedish… :O
Yummmm. All of those made me salivate…except for the last one. 🙂
Great photos, Lola. They look good enough to inspire me to learn Norwegian (except for the rotting fish — I’d rather catch a fresh one :).
Swedish food has never been my favorite but your pix make it all appear tantalizing. Give me pancakes with lingonberry anyday and the pistachio cake as well but that rotted herring? Ewww!