Recipes: A taste of Scandinavia

Serves 4

Ingredients

Fish stock

1kg fish bones, from flat fish

1 garlic clove

1 onion

1 leek

1 carrot

1 large ripe tomato

2 tbsp olive oil

200ml dry white wine

3 bay leaves

10 whole black peppercorns

1 tbsp salt

2 litres water

Soup

100ml dry white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

200ml double cream

½ tsp saffron strands

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 carrot, cut into small cubes

200g crayfish tails

12 giant prawns

100g salmon fillet

100g pollack fillet

salt and pepper

dill sprigs, to garnish

Method

First make the stock. Rinse the fish bones in cold water. Roughly chop the vegetables then sauté them slowly in olive oil for 3-5 minutes so that they do not colour. Add the white wine, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt and boil for five minutes. Add the fish bones and the water. Bring back to the boil, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 30 minutes. Pour the stock through a strainer, reserving the liquid and discarding the fish bones and vegetables.

To make the soup, put the white wine in a large saucepan and let it simmer for five minutes. Add the reserved fish stock, the lemon juice, cream and saffron and bring slowly to the boil.

Add the leek, carrot, crayfish and prawns to the soup. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the salmon and pollack into 2cm cubes. Add the cubed fish and let it simmer for two minutes more. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, then serve very hot garnished with dill.

Mint, apricot and celery stuffed lamb

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

75g organic dried apricots, coarsely chopped

30 mint leaves

2kg rack of lamb, boned

salt and pepper

3kg spinach leaves

50g butter

½ tsp nutmeg

1kg new potatoes, halved

3 mint sprigs

4 tbsp olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C (Gas 6). Mix the celery, apricots and garlic with the mint leaves. Lay the lamb out on a chopping board. Rub the top with salt and freshly ground pepper and spread the mint-apricot mixture over the surface. Fold it so that the two sides meet. Take some kitchen string and tie it around the lamb at even intervals to make a roasting joint. Place the lamb in a roasting tin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 80 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the spinach and potatoes. Remove any tough stems from the spinach leaves and rinse them three or four times in cold water. Drain and set aside in a colander.

Boil the new potatoes with one of the mint sprigs in a large saucepan of salted water until the potatoes are tender. Drain well.

Pick the leaves from the remaining mint sprigs. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and fry the cooked potatoes with the mint leaves. Season with salt and pepper.

To cook the spinach, melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Add the spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach wilts. Take it off the heat immediately, being careful not to over-cook – spinach is at its nicest when still green and fairly toothsome.

Carve the roast lamb into slices and serve immediately with the spinach and potatoes.

Kartoffelkage

Makes 8

Ingredients

Choux pastry

80g butter, plus extra for greasing

200ml water

pinch of salt

100g plain wheat flour

2-3 eggs, beaten

Cream

1 vanilla pod

250ml single cream

3 egg yolks

3 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

100ml double cream

Marzipan topping

400g ready-rolled marzipan

100g cocoa powder

Method

To make the pastry, put the butter and water in a saucepan over a low heat and allow the butter to melt. Now turn up the heat and bring the mixture to the boil. Sift the salt into the flour. Turn off the heat under the pan, add the flour to the liquid and stir with a wooden spoon until a firm, smooth paste is formed. Beat the paste until it comes away from the edges of the pot in a ball. Leave to cook for about 10 minutes. Add the beaten eggs little by little, beating well each time. Continue adding egg until it is smooth and glossy. Sometimes you need to use all the beaten eggs, sometimes not,.

Put the dough in a piping bag with a 0.5cm plain nozzle. Lightly grease a sheet of baking paper and place on a baking tray. To one side of the paper, pipe a 6cm line of choux pastry. Follow with a second line parallel to the first one, so that they cling together. Pipe a third line on top of the other two. Repeat to give eight of these choux buns.

Preheat the oven to 200C (Gas 6), then bake the buns for 20–30 minutes. Do not open the oven door before the choux has set or the pastry may not rise. The pastries are done when they are golden brown and firm. Place them on a wire rack. Cut a small hole in the side of each bun to let the steam out, so the pastry will not go soft inside. Leave to cool. Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife. Put the vanilla seeds with the single cream in a saucepan and heat until steaming hot.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a mixing bowl until the mixture turns pale and fluffy, then whisk in the cornflour. Stir one-third of the hot cream into the egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture into the saucepan. Stir over a low heat until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. When the cream filling is cold, whip the double cream until it forms stiff peaks and fold it in. Split each choux bun in half horizontally and place a couple of spoonfuls of cream filling on the bottom half. Place the other half on top, being careful not to press them together.

Take the marzipan and cut it into eight oval shapes about 8cm long, using an oval pastry cutter or a small, sharp knife. Lay the marzipan ovals on a piece of baking paper and dust them with cocoa powder until they are completely covered. Carefully lay one over each cream-filled pastry.Place the filled pastries on a serving dish and keep cool until serving time. I prefer them served with espresso – the bitterness of the coffee goes well with the gateau.

• The Scandinavian Cookbook by Trine Hahnemann (Quadrille, £12.99)