Swedish Dinner NIght

After having spent 6 weeks this summer in Sweden, one of my lovely room mates suggested that we do a Swedish dinner once a month. Now, you might ask yourself, "what exactly does Swedish dinner entail?" Well at our house, it means I make a Swedish dish, we enjoy it and talk about Sweden, maybe I teach him some words or phrases.

So this weekend will be the first of hopefully many of these Scandinavian feasts. I thought I would share the menu with you.

Appetizer: Gubbröra

This is a popular Swedish appetizer served in the summer around midsummer. You can buy it premade in the grocery stores in Sweden but since I live in Montgomery, AL, I will be making it myself. First time!!!

Here is what I will need for 4-6 people:

4 hard boiled eggs
A small can of anchovies finely chopped (Around 2 oz)
2 Tablespoons of chopped red onions
2 Tablespoons of chopped chives
2 Tablespoons of dill
1 tablespoon of creme fraiche 

Gubbröra

Rye bread(pumpernickel) or Wasa crackers 

Anchovy paste is a good alternative if you can find it. You won't use a whole can and a tube of paste is easier to save for later. If you like more texture I suggest you still go for the fillets in the can.

I will use Sour cream because I don't need a lot and I don't even think I can find creme fraiche where i live. The texture is not quite right but it will work.

I always buy my rye bread and Wasa crackers at Big Lots. It is half the price there compared to the regular grocery store. Most well assorted grocery stores will have something similar as well.

1. Peel and chop the hard boiled eggs.

2. Chop the anchovies, dill, chives and onions finely.

3. Mix all of it in a mixing bowl along with the creme fraiche (sour cream). Add a bit more if you need to.

4. Serve on a piece of rye bread or Wasa cracker. I you prefer, you can serve it in a bowl garnished with chives and serve the crackers on the side.

The Main Course: Västerbotten Cheese Pie

Västerbotten Cheese Pie

This is really meant to be a appetizer/buffet type of dish but I am making it my main dish for the evening. It is a cheese pie made from a regional, sharp tasting Swedish cheese. I bought mine at Dekalb Farmer's Market in Atlanta but if you don't have a store like that where you live, you can use any aged white cheese with a lot of flavor, like sharp cheddar.

Pie crust:

1 1/4 cup of regular white flour or substitute half of the flour with whole wheat flour.
9 tablespoons of room temperature butter. (1 stick and 1 tablespoon)
1/2 tablespoon of water.

Filling:

3 eggs
1/2 tsp of salt
a pinch of white pepper
3/4 cup of cream (any fat content will do) or 1 1/4 cup of Turkish or Greek yogurt.
2/3 cup of Västerbotten cheese or your choice of aged, sharp, white cheese.

Turn the oven to 450 degrees F or 225 degrees C.

Mix flour, butter, and water together in a food processor,  electrical whisk with dough hook attachments or by hand. I had to add a bit of extra flour.
Distribute dough in a 9 inch round pie form.
Place in fridge for 30 min or freezer for 5 min.
Use a fork to poke airholes in the pie crust and bake in the oven for 10 min.

In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk eggs, salt and pepper together.
Stir in cream or yogurt.
Grate and carefully stir in the cheese. Stop stirring as soon as everything is blended.
Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F or 200 C and bake for an additional 25-30 min.

Serve with a salad and a light dressing.


Dessert: Ginger Pears with yogurt and Dulce de Leche

For dessert I am trying something different that i found here. I am modifying it slightly but I think it will be just as good.

 You will need:

14 tablespoons of sugar
14 tablespoons of water
3 pieces of candied ginger
2 pounds of pears
 Yogurt or whipped cream

1. Peel pears and put them in some lemon water. 
2. Boil water and sugar into a syrup.Chop the ginger and mix it in.
3. Place pears in the syrup. Let them simmer until soft ( about 30 min).
4. Place pears in a mason jar and pour syrup over it. close the jar. 

Place the unopened can of sweet condensed milk in a pot with water and let simmer for around 2 hours. When you open it, it will have become dulce de leche!!

Serve pears with dulce sauce and a dollop of yogurt...I added cardamom, ground cloves and cinnamon to my yogurt, just a pinch of each. So yummy!!

Smaklig Måltid!

If you need any of the recipes in their original version in Swedish click the links below. they have metric measurements and are in Swedish. Google may be able to translate the pages, I am not sure though.

Gubbröra

Cheese Pie

Ginger Pears