Blog
A little bit of Sweden in your kitchen
Welcome to my blog! Here you can explore traditional and innovative Swedish recipes influenced by the San Francisco food scene. You’ll also find posts about Swedish traditions, gastronomy, and my personal experience with growing up Swede-ish.
Skagenröra (Swedish Shrimp Salad)
Skagenröra or Swedish Shrimp Salad lightened up with non fat Greek yogurt and brightened with a hint of lemon juice and lemon zest. So delicious to pile atop rye bread for an open faced sandwich, in small phyllo cups for a fun summer appetizer, or on crispbread as part of a smörgåsbord.
Copycat Lucinda’s Deli “Baja turkey sub” Swedish Sandwich Cake
If you’re on this page, it is officially week two of my Swedish Sandwich Cake series. This all started a few months ago when I posted a traditional Swedish sandwich cake to social media (rye bread, salmon, cream cheese, cucumbers, and herbs) and realized just how different these “cakes” were to most people. So many followers messaged me to share that they’d never seen anything like this and were excited to share what their sandwich cake would be made of (roast beef and cheddar, prosciutto and arugula with mayo, etc). This got me thinking - what if I recreated some infamous sandwiches in the Bay area and made them into sandwich cakes?
Cardamom chocolate chip cookies
Cardamom is one of my all time favorite spices there is. It’s has a somewhat earthy, floral, aromatic smell (with a hint of mint and citrus) that comes alive in baked goods. It’s important to air on the side of caution when adding cardamom to recipes, because it is a strong spice and adding too much can result in a soapy taste that is a little overpowering. While Cardamom is a spice that originated in India, Sweden is one of the top countries that consumes the spice.
Copycat Palm City Wines “shrimp sub” Swedish Sandwich Cake
Swedish sandwich cakes are a dazzling and somewhat bizarre concept to most Americans, yet they’re incredibly popular (and tasty) during summer months in Sweden. Americans LOVE sandwiches and they love cake - so what’s not to love about combining the two? Traditionally, the cake leans more towards a cream cheese “frosting” with thinly sliced veggies, smoked salmon, hardboiled eggs, and tons of fresh herbs decorated around the cake. Truth be told, this version is tried and true and doesn’t need a facelift. But, I live in San Francisco - arguably one of the best sandwich cities there is - so I wanted to try something a little different.
Interview: Unlocking the health benefits of Lion’s Mane mushrooms
Let’s chat with Marissa Hughes, herbalist and owner of Sunshower Wellness, about the power of Lion’s Mane mushrooms. In addition to being clinically proven to reduce cognitive decline, they are also a tasty vegetarian substitute for shellfish in recipes!
What’s Swedish food all about?
Swedish dishes are largely influenced by what’s in season, such as root veggies in the winter and fresh strawberries in the summer. Spices like cardamom and saffron show up in baked goods, while dill brightens dishes like new potatoes or shrimp salad.
Swedish cheese tart with asparagus and mushrooms
When I set out to make this dish, I was aiming for the more dense cheese tart “Västerbottenpaj”, or Swedish cheese pie. I’ve had this dish in Sweden around the Midsommar holiday, but it’s also served on Easter and for other special occasions. I ended up a little off on the egg-to-cheese ratio…but voila, you have more of a quiche!
Dill poached shrimp with horseradish cream cocktail sauce
Shrimp is incredibly popular in Sweden year round, but it definitely feels like it’s around every corner during the summer. There are bay shrimp (little tiny guys) all the way to large prawns. I was reading up a little more on the biggest fishing regions in Sweden and found that there’s even a Swedish proverb about shrimp "Att glida in på en räkmacka" which means "gliding in on a shrimp sandwich." Apparently it is referring to anything done effortless, because the shrimp slip and slide around an open faced sandwich loaded with mayonnaise and creme fraiche. I’ll have to ask the Swedes what they have to say about this one!
Whole wheat Swedish pancakes (pannkakor) with fresh kumquat jam
I recently took a poll on my Instagram page asking how many of my followers had made Swedish pancakes before - and I was a little surprised to see over 75% of respondents had never tried!
Seasonal bright citrus smörgås (Swedish open-faced sandwich)
It’s March in San Francisco, and the farmers market at the SF ferry building is bursting with citrus stands. This seasonal smörgås (or open-faced Swedish sandwich) celebrates local citrus and avocado alongside smoked salmon and salmon roe and comes together in minutes.
Coconut cardamom caramel sauce
Coconut cardamom caramel is the perfect topping for your ice cream, Swedish pancakes, oatmeal, or apples!
Chocolate cardamom buns (choklad kardemummabullar)
Chocolate cardamom buns or Choklad Kardemummabullar are the perfect sweet treat or accompaniment to your afternoon “fika”
Cardamom Espresso Martini
It’s officially ‘Tini Tuesday! In my opinion, the Tuesday after a holiday weekend (for some) calls for a cocktail. If you’re an espresso martini fan, you have to try this! I offer two ways to make a cardamom simple syrup, and while I used mezcal tequila for the base, you can use vodka or an N/A spirit too.
Vegan yellow split pea soup with garlic dill croutons (Ärtsoppa)
This healthy, comforting, and nourishing vegan split pea soup with garlic dill croutons comes together so easily and has a simple yet balanced flavor profile that will have you coming back for seconds
Swedish Sandwich Cake (Smörgåstårta)
Time to make a Smörgåstårta aka a Swedish Sandwich Cake! This fun recipe is the adult equivalent of decorating a gingerbread house for kids. Let your creativity fly with cream cheese frosting, radish flowers, and sprout grass. What combo will you dream up?
