Tag Archives: smorgasbord

March: San Francisco Book Events

February 27, 2019 Johanna Leave a comment

Illustration of Kantine, SF
by © Johanna Kindvall

Big news! I will be in San Francisco for some book events (and some hiking, eating, and drinking) between March 10 to March 16, 2019. I will be doing a book signing with special treats at Kantine, special Fika & Smörgåsbord classes at 18 Reasons, and an author’s talk at Omnivore Books on Food. If you are in the Bay area and would like to learn more about Nordic treats or just say hi, please sign up or come by to any of my scheduled book events and classes listed below. I’m super thrilled and would like to meet you all. A special thanks to my dear friend and awesome writer Larissa Zimberoff who invited me down to San Francisco in the first place! And thanks to all the lovely people at Ten Speed Press (my publisher) for your constant support.

Illustration of Omnivore Books, SF
by © Johanna Kindvall

Sunday March 10
Special Fika & Smörgås event
at Kantine, San Francisco
btw 3pm to 5pm
The Kantine kitchen will create
Scandinavian dishes inspired by my books!
Come by for a bite and a chat.
I will be there with signed books.
Address: 1906 Market Street, SF

Monday March 11
Flavors of Sweden: Cinnamon Buns, Three Ways
hands-on baking & cooking class at
18 Reasons – San Francisco btw 6:00pm to 9:00pm
more info & tickets –> SOLD OUT

Tuesday March 12
Author’s Talk
at Omnivore Books, San Francisco
Talk & book signing
btw 6.30pm to 7.30pm
Its a FREE so come by and hear
me talk about Smörgåsbord,
Nordic breads & Fika.
If you are in the San Francisco area,
I hope to meet you there. Its FREE!
Address: 3885a Cesar Chavez Street
more info –> here

Wednesday March 13
Flavors of Sweden: Smörgås & Fika
hands-on baking & cooking class at
18 Reasons in San Francisco
btw 6:00pm to 9:30pm
more info & tickets –> HERE

If you don’t have any of my books yet, you can easily
get them in almost any online bookstore around the worlds!
Fika – The Art of Swedish Coffee Breaks
Smörgåsbord – The Art of Swedish Breads and Savory Treats

Celebrating Smörgåsbord with a Parisian

September 26, 2018 Johanna Leave a comment

One year ago today my 2nd cookbook Smörgåsbord was published by the lovely people at Ten Speed Press. I wrote this book because I think the classic Swedish smörgåsbord is a perfect display of Nordic Cuisine, with dishes ranging from cured fish to small meatballs, including bread, butter, and cheese. It’s also a wonderful, traditional way to enjoy food with friends and family.

This first year has been loads of fun meeting cooks, bakers and serious eaters. For example, last Autumn I hosted a special Smörgås dinner with chef Renee Baumann at 61 Local (Brooklyn) together with Jamie Schler I held a special Orange/ Smörgåsbord potluck party, and at Union Square market I shared bread and taught market visitors how to bake Swedish thin bread. I have also taught a smörgås/ smørrebrød class at Archestratus in Greenpoint and at COOKS in Philly I created a Smörgåsbord Christmas dinner together with cocktail duo Andre & Tenaya Darlington. And my neighborhood restaurant Otway with chef Clair Welle, cooked up a whole smörgåsbord menu to celebrate the book. I have really enjoyed talking and sharing breads and special treats with you all. Thanks everyone for your support and curiosity to learn more about Scandinavian cooking. The 2nd year I will continue with more classes and dinners so please check my event page for updates.

To celebrate, I’m sharing my Smörgåsbord recipe for parisare, which in the book is translated into the Swedish open-faced burger, as it simply is a burger without a top. A parisare (Parisian in English) is a Swedish retro classic with an unclear past. It might be related to something French but nobody seems to know the origin of this dish.

The best parisare is made with the Swedish iconic biff à la Lindström, which are tasty patties spiced with pickled beets, capers, and mustard. Unlike a traditional burger, a parisare is assembled on a slice of toasted bread (preferable a light sourdough) and topped off with a sunny side egg, peppery garden cress (similar to mustard greens or watercress), and sprinkled with freshly ground white pepper. I also recommend frying the bread together with the patty which unite the bread and the meat into a perfect deliciousness (see recipe below).

Serve parisare with roasted potatoes and condiments such as horseradish relish, pickled cucumber, and mustard. All these condiments are super easy to make and I share my simple recipes of all three in the book.

If you bake or cook anything from the book, I would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment or tag me if you share it on social media. I’m @johannakindvall on instagram and @kokblog on twitter. You can also tag your bakes and dishes with #ArtofSmorgasbord. I will most likely share your post with the rest of my followers.

Cheers!

Parisare
(The Parisian – Open-Faced Hamburger)
From Smörgåsbord: The Art of Swedish Breads and Savory Treats

makes 4 to 8 open-faced burgers

1 pound (450 g) ground beef
2 tablespoons minced shallot
¼ cup (1.5 oz, 42 g) finely chopped Pickled Beets*
2 tablespoons finely chopped capers
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

4 to 8 slices of sourdough bread**
unsalted butter, for frying

topping
4 to 8 eggs, at room temperature
salt and freshly ground white pepper
garden cress (mustard greens or water cress)

In a small bowl, combine the beef, shallot, beets, capers, mustard, and egg. Add the salt and pepper and mix until evenly blended. To check the seasoning, take a small piece of the meat mixture and fry it in a pan; adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Prepare the ground meat mixture. Shape 4 large or 8 small flat patties. If necessary, cut the bread slices in half to match the patties; the patties will shrink slightly when cooked, so the individual bread slices can be slightly smaller than the meat. Place the patties on top of the bread and press them down a little so the meat sticks to the bread.

In a large skillet, heat some butter and fry the patties over medium-high heat with the meat side down. When the meat is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes, flip them over and cook until the bread side is a nice color, about 1 minute. Adjust the heat, if necessary.

In a separate pan, fry the eggs in butter on one side, over low heat, for 3 to 4 minutes. Place the eggs on top of each patty and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

* Smörgåsbord has a simple and delicious recipe for pickled beets but you can also find these type of pickles in many well stocked supermarkets as well as in any Scandinavian or eastern European food shops.

** From the Smörgåsbord book, I suggest to use the Rustic Rye Bread (page 46) or the Cast Iron Whole Wheat Bread (page 43). You can also use this bread or this one (or any other light sourdough bread) .

related links

If you want your own copy of
the Smörgåsbord cookbook you can get it here.

Smörgåsbord cover animation

my christmas table + recipe of vörtbröd

more about the Smörgåsbord book here and here

my 1st book: Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break
by Anna Brones & Johanna Kindvall
(Ten Speed Press, 2015)

SMÖRGÅSBORD EVENT – JANUARY

January 8, 2018 Johanna Leave a comment

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – EVENT 1 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Smörgåsbord tasting at OTWAY – Thursday, January 18

On this special evening, chef Clair Welle & the rest of the lovely team at Otway will, together with me, offer a special 5 course Smörgåsbord tasting addition to their regular menu. On the menu will also be my Open Faced Burger – which we in Sweden call Parisare (the Parisian). It’s a Swedish retro classic made simply with a beef & pickled beet pattie on toasted sourdough bread topped with a sunny side egg!
Signed books will be available at a special price!

Make sure to get a seat by booking your table here!

time: 5.30pm to 10.30pm
address: Otway, 930 Fulton Street, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NY
subway: C to Clinton Washington
phone (917) 909-1889

Otway was recently announced as one of the best new restaurants in 2017 by New Yorker and Village Voice, and their Uni Crepe was listed by the NYTIMES. And their Yeast Semifreddo with Huckleberry & Rye is magnificent!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – EVENT 2 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Smörgås baking class at Archestratus – Wednesday, January 24

Want to learn how to make Danish Rye Bread from scratch? Now’s your chance!
On this special evening at Archestratus you will also learn how to make stove top fresh cheese, chicken salad with curry, and intense horseradish fish salad with quick pickles.
Beer & a signed copy of Smörgåsbord are included in the ticket price ($80)! The meal will also include a few extra condiments from my book and something to bring home to share with your loved ones. It will be a hands-on cooking experience as well as a tasty meal with some new friends. Looking forward to cook with you!
Looking forward to bake and cook with you!

Get your ticket here.

time: 7pm to 9.30pm
address: Archestratus Books + Foods, Greenpoint, 160 Huron Street, Brooklyn
subway: G to Greenpoint Ave.

Archestratus is one of my favorite places here in Brooklyn. It’s a cookbook shop that also offers delicious Sicilian baked goods, coffee, tea, beer, & wine. And it’s also a space for classes, talks, book clubs, and more. And I love Paige’s arancini (Sicilian rice balls)!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – –

Smörgåsbord – Art of Swedish Breads and Savory Treats,
Ten Speed Press 2017

Food52 – How to Get Your Smörgås On

read more about the Smörgåsbord book here

find more events here

Smörgåsbord in NPR

Smörgåsbord review by Tara’s Multicultural Table

My Christmas Table + Recipe of Vörtbröd

December 20, 2017 Johanna Leave a comment

It’s the holiday season and time to get cozy with warming glögg and a stack of ginger cookies. Like many Swedes, I will be cooking up a traditional Swedish julbord. A julbord is a seasonal Smörgåsbord and something that most Swedes prepare for themselves and their loved ones every Christmas. If you’d like to learn more about the Swedish Christmas table, please read Larissa Zimberoff’s smörgåsbord story on NPR Salt.

As I am married to a Pole, we have decided this year to mix up the table with some traditional Polish dishes. We think the mix will work splendidly as both Poles and Swedes share an equal devotion to pickled herrings, dill, horseradish, caraway, and vodka. I have learned that even if most of their dishes can be very different, they share a great amount of flavors that are very similar. So if you are planning to add some Baltic flare to your holiday, I hope my menu for our Christmas eve table will inspire you:

glögg
(Swedish mulled wine)

mustard herring
herring with apples
hard boiled eggs, and aged hard cheese
Aquavit & Zubrowka

barszcz (clear beetroot soup)
with wild mushroom dumplings

hot smoked salmon
with fresh pickled cucumber
& horseradish sauce

charcuterie platter:
liver pate, sausages,
julskinka (traditional Christmas ham),
red cabbage, pickles, and other condiments

cheese board
specially selected by my friend
Tenaya Darlington aka Madame Fromage

pierogi with sauerkraut & mushrooms

my mother’s Joulutorttu
Finnish Christmas Tarts

julgodis
traditional Swedish sweets

Along with everything I will be serving a selection of different kinds of breads that go well with the dishes on the table. One of the breads will be my vörtbröd (malted rye bread) from the Smörgåsbord cookbook (see recipe below). Traditionally a vörtbröd is baked with wort (malt extract from brewing beer), whole raisins and aromatic spices like orange zest powder, cardamom, cloves, and ginger. My version is baked with porter instead of the wort and, just because I don’t like soggy raisins, I first soak and mash them before adding it to the dough. This method makes an all through fruity flavored bread that is excellent with cured ham or cheeses like blue cheese.

I wish you all a delicious holiday and a happy new year!

If you are looking for some last minute gifts,
here are a few from my food & art creative friends:

New Cocktail Hour by André and Tenaya Darlington
the guide to crafted cocktails
with both classical and modern recipes.

Istanbul and Beyond by Robyn Eckhardt
and photographed by David Hagerman
amazing cookbook as well as a
terrific culinary travel guide of Turkey

Cult Vinegar & Cult Vinegar Vase
by Jonathan Brown & Billy Lloyd
read more about their beautiful
design and delicious vinegar here

Orange Appeal: Savory and Sweet
by Jamie Schler and photographed by Ilva Beretta
amazing selection of different ways
you can cook with an orange

Kaukasis by Olia Hercules
an amazing culinary journey through
Georgia, Azerbaijan & beyond

And if you need a post-holiday gift I suggests:

Live Lagom by my Fika collaborator Anna Brones
About the Swedish concept of lagom – the balanced way of living
(will be released in US on December 26)

Pan de pueblo by Iban Yarza, Grijalbo (in Spanish)
Recipes and history of Spain’s breads & bakeries
(will be released in US on January 30, 2018)

Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver
How living with less can lead to so much more
(will be released on December 26)

and last…

If you are thinking of remodeling your front facade I suggest your hire my friend Katie Merz.

Vörtbröd (Malted Rye Bread)
recipe from Smörgåsbord

makes 1 loaf

sponge
2 cups (8.5 oz, 240 g) rye flour
1¾ cups (420 ml) water
¼ cup (2 oz, 57 g) sourdough starter

soaker
1/3 cup (2 oz, 57 g) raisins
½ teaspoon orange zest powder (see below)
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed
¼ cup (60 ml) porter (or stout)

dough
2 cups (10 oz, 284 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

To prepare the sponge, place the rye flour in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, then remove it from the heat, and pour it over the flour. Work the flour and water well together to create a thick porridge like batter. Set aside to cool. When the scalded rye flour has cooled completely, add the sourdough starter and mix well. Cover the bowl with a dampened tea towel and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.

To prepare the soaker, in a bowl, soak the raisins, orange powder, cloves, ginger, and cardamom with the porter, then cover and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight. In a blender or food processor, mix the soaker until smooth and sticky.

To prepare the dough, in a large bowl, combine the sponge and pureed raisins with the all-purpose flour and salt. Transfer the dough to a floured flat surface and knead the bread into a ball, about 1 minute. If the dough sticks to your hands, wet them before kneading the mixture together. The dough will be dense and tacky. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with a dampened tea towel, and let rise for 3 hours.

Shape the dough into 1 oblong loaf, following the directions on page 21. Place it in a well-floured rectangular proofing basket that is approximately 12 by 5 inches (30 by 13 cm). You can also let it rise on a well-floured tea towel supported with two rolled-up tea towels on either side of the loaf (see diagram below). Cover with a dry tea towel and let rise for another 2 hours. To test when the bread is ready to bake, poke your finger gently into the dough; the indent should slowly spring back, about 3 seconds.

Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) 30 to 60 minutes before baking. Arrange a baking sheet or baking/pizza stone on a rack in the middle of the oven. (Please note that a stone will need more time to heat up than a baking sheet.)

When ready to bake, carefully invert the shaped loaf onto the hot baking sheet (or stone). With a sharp knife or razor blade, slash the top of the dough. Mist the bread with a water spritzer before closing the oven door. Lower the temperature to 400°F (200°C) and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 208°F (98°C). The bread should have a dark brown color, and if you knock at the bottom of the loaf, it should have a hollow sound.

Remove from the oven, cover with a tea towel, and let the bread cool completely on a cooling rack before cutting the bread. It’s best if the bread can rest for at least 8 hours or overnight.

The bread will keep fresh for several days, at room temperature, covered in a plastic bag. For longer storage, freeze bread when cool, well wrapped in plastic, sliced or whole, for up to 3 months.

Orange zest powder is simply made by drying the outer layer of the orange in a sunny spot for a couple of days or in the oven at 200°F (95 °C) for 1 hour. The orange skin is easy to peel with a potato peeler and, to make the drying go faster, cut the peels into thin strips. When the peel is dry, place them in a coffee grinder or food processor and pulse until you have a nice orange powder. Use the powder to flavor bread, cakes, and stews.