If plaice (rödspätta) too big - use flounder (skrubba)

One of the most popular flat fish in Sweden is plaice. It is very tasty and there are abundant in southern Sweden. Unfortunately, often one fish is too big for one person to eat. One option that is popular - at least in Skåne - is flounders. They are  slightly smaller and has a sharply skin. Therefore they are often sold skinned.

Today we bought a couple of fine flounders from the fish-truck at Stortorget in Lund.





















We breaded them with flour, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. 

We fried them. They were so big that they got fried in separate pans. We also boiled potato, with shell, from own cultivation.

When the flounders and the potatoes were done it was time to put them on plates and start eating. Melted butter is tasty to pour over the fish. We also had home-grown carrots and peas. I like some ketchup to the fish, but many think it is absolutely wrong.

The fish is not filleted. When the meal is over fish skeleton is left on the plate. Not so beautiful, but it shows that a good meal is finished.

Pork pancake - a Swedish national dish?

If you ask a Swedish child about its favourite foods, the chance is great that the child says, burgers and pizza. As a good third place, I think that child says pork pancake.

It's not just kids who like pork pancake. Me too. And many more. Yes, it's almost as if pork pancake could be considered as belonging to Sweden's national dishes.

Yesterday we did a big pork pancake in the oven. The recipe said that it was meant for four. We were two who ate the whole thing.

The pork is bacon. We cut it down in an oven-proof dish and put it in the oven so that the bacon gets browned.

The pancake batter consists of
- 3 dl wheat flour and half a teaspoon of salt
- 6 dl milk (pour the first of 3 dl and stir into a solid batter; then pour in the remaining milk and whisk)
- 3 eggs (we took 4).

When the bacon pieces are nicely browned we pour the batter into the oven-proof dish. It all gets baked in the oven for about 30 minutes (until the pancake has a nice color and shape).

To the pancake we served lingonberry jam and whole carrots, which we ourselves grown in the garden. Delicate and typically Swedish.

Cauliflower with curry sauce

Swedish press has written a lot that one should not throw food. The message is eg: use leftover food in another dish.

This took us in mind when we found there was a lot of curry sauce over from our meal with chicken and curry sauce.

To be environmentally friendly, we did this the other day:

We boiled a head of cauliflower. We cut a few slices of smoked pork into strips and fried them lightly. Then we served cauliflower and smoked pork with the leftover (and heated) curry sauce. A tomato improved on the color scale and the nutritional value.

For this we drank a soft drink made ​​from blueberries and lime.

This is the curry powder we have used.

Chicken curry - simple and tasty

Chicken curry is a simple and tasty dish.

The easiest way is to thaw frozen chicken fillets. These are cut in pieces once they are thawed. You then add the chicken meat in water with salt, allspice, white pepper and bay leaf. This should cook for about 10 minutes. Check that the chicken meat is thoroughly cooked!

The sauce: add 1-2 teaspoons curry powder in a pan with melted butter / margarine where it will fizz (it may even have a grated apple clove). Stir in 3 tablespoons of flour and dilute with the decoction that chicken meat is cooked in (about 5 dl). Optionally, you can add a cube of chicken broth to enhance the flavour. The sauce may cook a few minutes. Then put it in the cooked chicken meat.

Serve with boiled potatoes and - in this case - with slices of fried eggplant and cucumber.

For this, we drink tap water - inexpensive, environmentally friendly and healthy.

Simple but very good.

The traditional Midsummer Eve meal - today

Ask any Swedish what he or she will eat on Midsummer Eve (this year on June 21). 85% will respond that they eat soused herring (matjessill) with new potatoes, sour cream and chives.

This is one of the most traditional meal dishes in the Swedish culture.

It is at the same time also one of the most popular summer dishes. Thus, not only on Midsummer Eve.

Today, my wife and I had this for lunch.

Cooked home-grown potatoes.

Chives from our own garden - cut into small pieces.

Sour cream (gräddfil). And of course: soused herring. This we have bought in cans at the grocery store and it comes from the village and island Klädesholmen on the Swedish west coast.

A piece of tomato does not do the meal worse.

To this you should be drinking beer and schnapps. But I would drive just after the meal so I drank water from the tap.

Breakfast on the garden terrace

Breakfast on the terrace in the garden. Today will probably be the warmest day here in Lund.

A traditional Swedish breakfast looks like this:

• Home made soft rye bread with smoked ham and cheese as toppings. A slice of cucumber and a piece of tomato makes it even tastier.
• Good bread from a bakery in town. Spreads are Swedish caviare (widespread) on one bread slice and honey on the second slice.
• For this, we drink strong black coffee (no sugar).

Here the caviare is on a slice of crisp-bread - curled as it comes from the tube. Crisp-bread is a kind of bread we love in Sweden.

We also need to read the newspaper during breakfast.

This is how you start a good day!

More fish: Brantevikssill and Skånsk kryddsill

Sweden's southernmost place is named Smygehamn. You can not come more south in Sweden. Outside Smygehamn is the Baltic Sea - with an unbroken horizon line.

Close to Smyges small port is a fish smokehouse situated. Its shop sells fish in all its forms.

We were there a couple of days ago and bought two sorts of very tasty pickled herring. One is called Herring of Brantevik (Brantevikssill) and the other is called Scanian spiced herring (Skånsk kryddsill).

Back home we boiled egg, put up Brantevikssill and Skånsk kryddsill on plates and supplemented with Danish rye bread, lettuce, tomato and cucumber. To this we drank beer and schnapps. 

We had the meal in our garden.

When I write about this meal watered it in my mouth. So tasty it was.