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Caption: Cosy Friday The best start of the weekend
Caption: COSY FRIDAY
In the 1990s, the term fredagsmys, or cosy Friday, established itself in the Swedish consciousness. The expression stems from a long tradition of making the start of the weekend a bit special in combination with… a marketing campaign for crisps. Terminology aside, it is a much-needed way to mark the end of the working week and gear up for the weekend. It is a culinary semicolon. Fredagsmys takes on different shapes depending on who it is for: a couple, a family with kids, and friends will all have their own variation. A key ingredient, however, is easy meals for which everyone is the master chef. Finger food and snacks are preferred to cooking and cleaning a pile of dirty pots and pans. On a Wednesday evening the kids may sit in front of the computer while the parents are busying themselves in the kitchen, but on Friday it is all about time together. Many also associate fredagsmys with watching television.se
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Caption: Homemade Pizza Pizza with mushroom and spinach
In Sweden, pizza parlours are found in every town, every neighbourhood, and they have incredibly imaginative toppings (such as kebab meat with French fries or filet mignon with Béarnaise sauce). But Swedes also love home-made pizzas, which open up for personal exploration in terms of toppings. It is a perfect meal to make together with family or friends. Try to make the base as thin as possible, the Swedish way.
1 batch/4 portion pizzas
25 g fresh yeast
250 ml water, 37°C
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil
350 g strong white bread flour
500 g fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp butter for frying
5 handfuls freshly grated cheese, mature, semi-hard
60 g baby spinach
olive oil
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the sea salt and olive oil and blend in a food processor until the yeast has been completely absorbed.
2. Add the flour a little at a time and work the dough vigorously until it no longer sticks to the edge of the bowl and is smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. Leave to rise under a cloth for 30 minutes until it has doubled in size.
3. Meanwhile, cut up and fry the mushrooms at medium heat for about 7–8 minutes. If you are using mushrooms that you have picked yourself, you should begin by ‘dry-frying’ all the liquid out before adding the butter. Season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly knead the dough and divide into four. Roll and press it out and try to get it as thin as possible.
5. Preheat your oven to 250°C.
6. Spread the cheese and mushrooms on the base. Top with spinach and bake the pizzas for about 10 minutes until they begin to brown at the edges. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and serve.
Tip!
You can add cold-smoked or dry-cured ham as extra topping after the pizza is prepared.
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Caption: Don't forget that children love helping in the kitchen.
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Caption: QUESADILLAS WITH SMOKED ROAST REINDEER
(Quesadillas med rökt renstek)
A perfect snack that once again exemplifies the successful mixture of local flavours with new trends. Mexican food is a popular starting point in Swedish kitchens, with less chilli and more reindeer. Game meat can work as an alternative if reindeer is a challenge to find.
16 pieces
4 large flour tortillas
2 handfuls freshly grated Swedish Västerbotten cheese*
200 g smoked roast reindeer, thinly sliced
30 g rocket
butter for frying
1. Lay out two of the tortillas and sprinkle the cheese on top.
2. Add the roast reindeer and the rocket. Place the other two tortillas on top and press lightly together.
3. Heat up butter in a large pan and fry each double tortilla for about a minute on both sides. If you like, press lightly with a spatula so that the contents melt together.
4. Place on a chopping-board and cut each into eight pieces.
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Caption: *Västerbotten cheese takes its name from the province of Västerbotten, West Bothnia, in the north of Sweden. It is a hard cow’s milk cheese with a firm texture and a high fat content. The long maturation period on spruce shelves gives it its distinct character and strong flavour.
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Caption: GRAVLAX WRAP
4 wraps
4 large rounds of flat bread, freshly baked
200 g gravlax, thinly sliced, or cold-smoked salmon
70 g mixed pieces of lettuce
freshly ground black pepper
Yogurt-dill sauce
1 apple
3 tbsp chopped dill
200 ml strained yogurt, 10%
1 tsp clear honey
1. Start by finely chopping the apple and mixing it with all the sauce ingredients into a dill cream.
2. Lay out the bread and spread the pieces of lettuce, salmon and dill cream on top. Add a light sprinkling of pepper.
3. Fold up one of the edges of the bread and wrap round so that the sides overlap.
4. Wrap a little tin foil round the base to keep everything together.
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Caption: Making your own gravlax is easy if you prepare it in advance.
You need 1 kilo of fresh, boned salmon fillet with the skin intact. Mix 4 tablespoons of salt with 4 tablespoons of white sugar and 2 teaspoons of freshly ground white pepper.
Rub the mixture into the salmon and strew 3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh or frozen dill over the flesh side. Wrap the salmon in double layers of cling film and place in a dish. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 48 hours. Turn occasionally. Scrape off any excess seasoning and slice the salmon into thin, diagonal pieces.
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Caption: Photo: Susanne Walström, Per-Erik Berglund, Lola Akinmade Åkerström
Recipes: Liselott Forslin
Texts: Rikard Lagerberg
#stellerfood #recipe #sweden