Treats à la David

Growing up in Australia, I remember Christmas as a time of family and family tradition. Our Christmas was always spent with my grandparents on the North Coast of New South Wales and the Christmas dinner we ate was deeply rooted in the food traditions of Old Mother England.

Roast pork, chicken, ham and potatoes with stuffing, apple sauce and gravy. For dessert it was boiled Christmas pudding and custard, I looked forward all year to this

meal. Even though I remember it with great fondness, this European culinary tradition never really fit the thirty plus degrees celcius we enjoyed on Christmas day!

For the last eight years I have called Sweden home and here the Christmas culinary traditions are almost enough to make the long and dark winter bearable - almost! I speak of course of the Swedish “Julbord” or Christmas table.

Swedish julbord has been around since Viking times, it was however the arrival of Roman Catholic Christmas traditions that tied this yearly celebration to the birth of Christ. Fasting during advent led to the vast array of pork dishes served from liver pate, head cheese, pigs feet, pork ribs and different varieties of sausage: the Christmas table is a real celebration of the pig. Along with all this pork, red cabbage and potato dishes, are served salt cod, gravadlax and pickled herrings.

Christmas is a fantastic time to stay in, cook way too much food and invite your friends and family to join you so here’s one of my favorite Swedish Christmas recipes.

God Jul och Smaklig Måltid! By David Knight

David Knight has been a chef for over twenty years and works for Krogbolaget in Stockholm, the parent company to Tennstopet, Vassa Eggen and Boqueria

Gravadlax

Ingredients:

200 gms course salt 100 gms sugar 50 ml Swedish Vodka Bunch of dill

Hovmästarsås

100 ml sweet mustard, 200 ml rape seed oil, 100 gms sugar 4 tbsp white wine vinager 4 tbsp honey, 1 tsp salt and a small bunch of dill, finely chopped.

Ingredients:

1kg medium sized potatoes 2 large onions 1 small jar of Swedish anchovies 300 ml thick cream

METHOD

Mix 200gms course salt, 100gms sugar, 50mls Swedish vodka and a big bunch of dill roughly chopped, stalks included.

Take a side of boned salmon and rub it with the salt, sugar and the Swedish vodka mix, lay the dill under the salmon in a long ceramic oven tray with the dill underneath the salmon. The salmon should be turned once a day for three days and then should be rinsed in cold water and towel dried. Slice thinly against the grain and serve with Hovmästarsås (dill and mustard sauce).

Hovmästarsås

Mix the mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt and honey. Continue mixing until the sugar has melted then add the oil very slowly. As you continue mixing at this stage the sauce will thicken. Finish with the chopped dill. Serve as part of your Julbord or simply with boiled potatoes and a

Janssons Frestelse

lemon wedge.

METHOD

A handful of breadcrumbs and 100gms room temperature butter for the topping, gently mixed together.

Preheat your oven to 180c. Peel the potatoes and cut them into batons about 5mm thick, halve the onions and slice them. Mix the onions with the potatoes then spread a layer in a large and deep ceramic baking dish with a few anchovies layered over this. Continue this way until you have filled your dish. Pour over the cream and sprinkle the breadcrumb and butter mix over the top. Put in the oven for around one hour, check the potatoes are soft with a knife before removing from the oven.