Swedish cuisine tends to be practical and sustaining but due to Sweden's large north-south extent there have been regional differences. Historically, in the far North, meats such as reindeer and other (semi-) game dishes were eaten, some which have their roots in the Sami culture, while fresh vegetables have played a larger role in the South. Many traditional dishes employ simple, contrasting flavors; such as the traditional dish of meatballs and gravy with tart, pungent lingonberry jam (slightly similar in taste to cranberry sauce).

Conversion Table - Deciliter [dl] to Gram [g]

Chokladbollar

Ingredients: (Metric Units)

Directions:
1. Combine butter, sugar, oats (mind you don't use the instant packets), cocoa powder, vanilla, and coffee.
2. Roll into balls about the size of a meatball.
3. Roll balls in coconut or pearl sugar to decorate.

Eat right away, or refrigerate, or freeze if you prefer a harder consistency.

Makes about 15.


No Knead Pear Yogurt Bread With Spelt

Soda bread has been around since 1980 or so. It is loaded with sugar and syrup. Now, thirty years later, better variations on this basic soda bread recipe have began to develop. For example, it can be made with healthy dinkel flour.

Dinkel flour, also known as spelt flour, is now available at a reasonable price at every Swedish supermarket. Some people who are allergic to wheat can tolerate dinkel flour without adverse effects. It does contain gluten, but the gluten in dinkel flour has its own form. It is more easy to digest because it is water soluble. But, be sure to check with your doctor before trying it, if you are allergic to wheat.

A healthy soft bread with a coarse texture and dark brown color.

Ingredients:

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Line a rectangular oven pan with baking paper. Grease the bottom of the pan, before applying the baking paper, to prevent it from sliding around. The size of the baking do not have to be precise. Mine is 25 x 35 cm (approx. 10 x 14 inch).
3. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. In another, smaller bowl, mix yoghurt, grated pear and honey.
4. Mix everything just until all the ingredients come together. Scrape the sticky mixture into the baking paper lined oven pan. Lightly sprinkle the top with spelt flour.
5. Bake in the lower part of the oven for approx. 60 minutes, or bake until the center is done when tested. How long depends both on the size of your pan and your oven peculiarities.
6. Serve cut into squares. If the squares are too thick, cut them in halves. Freeze what you don't plan to use in the next couple of days.

Comment:
This is a very flexible recipe that allows you to experiment:
You can substitute pear with apple as well.
You can use raisins instead of dried apricots.
You can use fiber rich oats instead of porridge oats.
You can substitute hazelnuts with almonds, or leave nuts out altogether.

Foolproof Swedish Pickled Herring Recipe

Ingredients:

Directions:
1. Soak the herring fillets in plenty of water overnight.
2. Bring white distilled vinegar, sugar and water to the boil.
3. Remove from stove and cool the liquid.
4. Add red onion, allspice, dill sprigs, and bay leaf.
5. Wipe the herring fillets dry before cutting them into chunks (0.6").
6. Put the herring chunks into a large glass jar.
7. Pour over the cooled liquid.
8. Keep in a cool place for 24 hours before serving.

Good with rye bread and hard boiled eggs.


Svanberga Herring

Svanberga is a famous restaurant in Norrtälje, near Stockholm.

Ingredients:

pickled herring chunks

Directions:
1. Wipe the pickled herring dry between paper towels.
2. Sieve 50 ml of the herring pickling liquid.
3. Mix all the ingredients and chill for 24 hours before serving.

Svanberga Herring will stay fresh in the fridge no more than 3-4 days covered.

Swedish "Semla"

Ingredients:

Filling and Topping:
almond paste, roughly grated
whipping cream
milk
icing sugar

Directions:
 1. Melt the margarine in a sauce pan, add the milk and make it lukewarm.
 2. Put crumbled fresh yeast into a bowl, add some of the liquid and dissolve yeast.
 3. Add the remaining liquid, salt, cardamom, 1 egg, sugar and 6 dl of the flour. Mix together and work into a dough, a kitchen-machine makes this easy.
 4. Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes, covered with a towel.
 5. Then mix baking powder and the remaining flour and work the mixture into the dough.
 6. Knead dough until smooth.
 7. Form dough into 12 small balls, if you want big buns, fewer.
 8. Place the buns on lightly greased baking sheets, cover and let them rise for 35-40 minutes.
 9. Beat 1 egg and brush onto the buns for glazing.
10. Bake in the middle of the oven at 250 C about 10 minutes.
11. Let them cool off at a wire rack, cowered with a towel.

Do This Before Eating:
Cut off a circular piece on top of the bun. This piece will make a lid on top later on.
Scoop out the interior of the bun with a spoon to make a hole.
Mix grated almond paste with the bread crumbs from the bun, add some milk and put this smooth mixture into the hole of the buns.
Whip the cream and put on top of the filling.
To crown the buns, place the lid on top of the filling and decorate with some icing sugar.


Swedish Brown Beans

One main Swedish meal to be eaten with Semla is brown beans served with thin slices of salted fried pork.

Ingredients:

Directions:
1. Rinse the brown beans and soak them in cold water overnight. 2. Let them simmer, well covered by water, add some salt, until they are very soft. This normally takes 1 and 1/2 hours. Check now and then and add more water if required.
3. Add the white  vinegar, then the potato flour suspended in cold water as a thickener.
4. Heat briefly.

Some of the typical combinations for this bean in Swedish cooking includes pairing it with bacon, ham, chunks of pork or Swedish meatballs.


Swedish Schwarzwald Cake

Cakes have a very long history. They are attributed to a famous baker, Thearion, living in the 5th-century-BC.

Ingredients:

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to  347°F
2. Grate the hazelnuts and mix with powdered sugar.
3. Beat egg whites very stiff, then carefully fold the nut mixture into the egg white mixture.
4. Grease baking trays and dust them with plain flour.
5. Spread the meringue batter out to three circles - ab. 23 cm
6. Bake the meringue layers for 10 - 12 minutes and then cool.
7. Whip the cream, add vanilla and grated hazelnut seeds.
8. Arrange one meringue layer on a platter and spread evenly with cream, cover with another meringue layer and spread evenly with cream, cover with remaining meringue layer and spread remaining cream evenly over top and sides of cake.
9. Garnish with chocolate "kringlor" biscuits and grated chocolate.