semiswede

There are beet-lovers, and beet-haters. If you are the latter, I’m not going to pretend this is the recipe to win you over to the beet camp. You are better off with baby steps and the Swedish classic Biff à la Lindström. This recipe is a decidedly beet-lovers moment and even for that crowd adjusting to […]

This is one of my all-time favorite salads and whenever I share it with others it gets rave reviews. The honey vinaigrette in combination with the tang of the blue cheese, crunch of toasted hazelnuts, and sweetness of the currants is heavenly. I kid you not. I can’t get enough of this salad and I’ve […]

As much as I appreciate the crust on a beautifully pan-fried meatball, I just don’t have the time or the patience to stand over the stove and fry up all of those little darlings. My Swedish grandmother (born in the U.S. to Swedish parents) used to make her meatballs a “shortcut” way by broiling and baking […]

I still have a mother lode of golden Lucia buns burning a hole in my freezer and the holiday season in Sweden officially ends on the 20th day after Christmas or tjugondagknut (which happens to be Friday the 13th this year…how cheery). In my efforts to come up with creative ways to use all of […]

Ostkaka, literally cheese cake in Swedish, is a specialty of the Småland region. Historically its earliest mention is in the 1520s in a list of foods served on New Year’s Day in the household of Bishop Hans Brask in Linköping. Today you can buy it ready-made in any supermarket making it an easy and popular […]

As promised, this is a quick follow-up to my Lucia and lussekatter post. In my efforts to provide a great recipe for Lucia buns that are common for the Lucia celebration on December 13th in Sweden, I tried two different recipes. The results left me with around 55 good-sized sweet saffron buns for a family […]

Filled with candlelight, white robes, singing, and saffron buns, Lucia in Sweden has evolved into a unique tradition that is observed throughout the country on December 13th. Although it isn’t an official holiday, Lucia celebrations are prominent from schools to universities and small towns to big cities. The origins and history of Lucia are quite […]

One of the things I really enjoy about Sweden is the access to wild meats. Moose, wild boar, reindeer, and venison are readily available in supermarkets. The cost is generally comparable to beef and you can get wild meats ground or in the form of roasts. I don’t have a lot of experience with wild […]

Pea soup on Thursday has been a tradition in Sweden since the Middle Ages. It stems from the Friday fasting historically observed by the Roman Catholic church as a reminder of Jesus’ suffering and death on Good Friday. Thursdays had a somewhat festive aura and peas were considered a luxury item. 

Äggakaka is a dish I would normally associate with breakfast or brunch, but it’s considered lunch or even dinner fare in Sweden.