I bought two Scandinavian cookbooks awhile back and have been neglecting them for some of my more recently purchased books. On Thursday, I watched a Swedish film and it reminded me not only of my ancestry but also of the lovely books on the shelf in my office-turned pantry. Looking through them, they appealed to me because a lot of the ingredients are ones that I would think of as important or traditional to the Canadian food I grew up eating. There is an obvious hunter-gatherer vibe with recipes calling for things such as moose tournedos, crayfish and chanterelles. Multiple rhubarb and blueberry recipes appear and it seems that just like in my moms house, dill is the most popular herb.
The two books are unpretentious and lovely. They are filled with photos (a must for me in a cookbook!) and have a bit of cultural background with most of the recipes. The following are two simple recipes that would be in season right now for us in Canada.
This recipe is from "Kitchen of Light" by Andreas Viestad.
Veiled Farm Girls
1-1/2 cups bread crumbs
3 tablespoons superfine sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1-1/2 cups applesauce,chilled
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
In a nonstick skilled, combine the breadcrumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, heat over medium heat until the crumbs are uniformly golden. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff.
Layer the applesauce, bread crumbs, and cream in individual glass bowls. The top layer should always be whipped cream, "veiling" the dish. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts and serve.
This simple and elegant recipe is from "The Scandinavian Cookbook" by Trina Hahnemann and is inspired by shopping with my friend Amy. She picked up some jerusalem artichokes today in Leslieville!
Jerusalem Artichoke Salad
3 lemon slices
1-1/3 pounds Jerusalem artichokes
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/2 pound grapes, seeded
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
Have ready a bowl of water with the lemon slices. Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and cut them into very thin slices, adding them to the water as you go to prevent browning.
Whisk together the mustard, sugar, vinegar and walnut oil to make a dressing.
Drain the artichokes and place in a bowl with the grapes and walnuts. Fold in the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
