The Swedish buffet or “smorgasbord” is world renowned and has brought Swedish cuisine international acclaim.


The History
In years gone by, Sweden was a large but sparsely populated country. When the 'Lord of The Manor', as it were, invited a lot of guests from different settlements he had to be careful what he served. So he relied heavily on dishes that did not need warming up and could be kept for some days — salty herring, potato and vegetable salads, hard-boiled eggs, cold meat and of course various sandwiches.


What's in a Smorgasbord?

Favorites in a traditional smorgasbord are kippered, boiled, fried and dried fish, shrimps omelet, mushrooms, black (blood)-pudding with stewed fruit, jellied meat and fish, leberwurst (jellied pork pieces), metwurst (the same but made of beef), chops, gammon, potato pancakes, basturma (cured and spiced meats), sweet rice porridge, cheese, apple cake, jams, whipped salty cream with caraway-seeds, pancakes with red bilberries, rye-bread, fancy buns…
The main feature of Swedish cuisine is the combination of salt and sugar. For example meat and fish dishes cooked with salt are flavoured with a bilberry sauce with sugar or honey.


Recipe for Juniper Berry Herring


1 Can - Matjes Herring (2 fillets)

'Matjes' - a specially processed young salt herring
1tbs - White Wine Vinegar

2tbs - Water
1tbs - Salad Oil

2tbs - Diced Red Onion
1 - Bay leaf (crushed)

10 - Juniper berries
Drai the herring and cut into bite sized pieces, arrange on a plate. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the herring. Leave to marinate overnight in the fridge - serve cold.


Traditional Swedish Meatballs


This is an old, classic recipe for Swedish meatballs. Serve with sauteed vegetables and fresh bread.

INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided

1 onion, chopped
1 cup dried bread crumbs

1 cup evaporated milk, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch dried parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato sauce

ground nutmeg to taste


DIRECTIONS:
Melt 3 tablespoons butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons of evaporated milk and stir, allowing the crumbs to absorb the milk. Add the ground beef, onion, egg, salt, ground black pepper and parsley to taste. Mix well and form into golf ball sized meatballs.
Heat remaining butter or margarine in the same skillet over medium to medium high heat and add the meatballs. Carefully shake the skillet to turn the meatballs, as needed. Saute for 10 to 15 minutes, or until meatballs are browned on all sides. Transfer the meatballs to a serving platter, reserving the liquid in the skillet.

Add the flour to the skillet and stir until smooth. Then gradually add the evaporated milk, tomato sauce and nutmeg to taste; again stirring until mixture is warmed, smooth and creamy. Strain over meatballs.