True North Kitchen

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Roasted Salmon Smørrebrød with Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce and Pickled Beets

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Roasted Salmon Smørrebrød with Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce and Pickled Beets

Whenever I am in Minneapolis, I make a point of visiting the American Swedish Institute. Part museum and part cultural center, the ASI offers a glimpse inside the historic home of Swan and Christina Turnblad, Swedish immigrants who settled in Minnesota in the late 1800’s. Attached to this grand mansion is the Nelson Cultural Center, a sleek, modern building that houses exhibition space, a gift shop, classrooms and Fika, the institute’s delightful Nordic-inspired cafe.

The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The last time I had lunch at Fika, I ordered a delicious open face sandwich (called smørrebrød in Danish and smörgås in Swedish) that inspired this recipe. Dense rye topped with buttery salmon, creamy mustard dill sauce and diced pickled beets, this sandwich is a dinner-worthy affair that is deceptively simple to prepare. The mustard sauce comes together in a snap while the salmon roasts in the oven, and the whole thing can be on the table in less than half an hour. I may not be able to visit the ASI or Fika as often as I would like, but I can whip this sandwich together on a Tuesday night for a quick (and delicious) Nordic fix. Thank you, Fika, for all of the delicious lunches I’ve enjoyed over the years and for the ongoing culinary inspiration. I’ll be back soon!

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Roasted Salmon Smørrebrød with Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce and Pickled Beets

Dense rye bread topped with watercress, roasted salmon, creamy mustard dill sauce and pickled beets

  • Author: Kristi
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4 sandwiches 1x
  • Category: smørrebrød
  • Method: sandwich
  • Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian
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Ingredients

For the Smørrebrød:

4 this slices of dense rye bread

Butter for spreading

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

4 small salmon filets (skin-on is fine)

Olive or canola oil for drizzling and brushing

A few handfuls of watercress (baby arugula or spinach would be a fine substitute)

Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce, recipe follows

Spicy Pickled Beets, for serving

Fresh dill, for serving

 

For the Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce:

2 teaspoons olive oil or canola oil

1 shallot, minced fine

¼ cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean-up) and brush with olive or canola oil.  Don’t bother to brush the pan with oil if you are using skin-on filets. Set aside.

  2. Place salmon filets, skin side down, on the prepared baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and roast until done to your liking.  (I like mine just cooked all the way through which will take about 10-12 minutes).

  3. Meanwhile, make the Creamy Mustard Dill Sauce:  Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering.  Add shallot, reduce heat to medium-low and sauté until soft, 1-2 minutes.

  4. Add white wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

  5. Add mustard, cream and water.  Simmer until thickened slightly, 2-3 minutes.

  6. Remove from heat and add fresh dill.

  7. Arrange bread slices on your work surface.  Butter the bread.

  8. Add a handful of watercress to each slice of bread.  

  9. Remove salmon from the baking sheet, leaving the skin behind if necessary by coming between the salmon and the skin with a thin metal spatula.  It should come up quite easily. Place a salmon filet on top of watercress on each slice of bread.

  10. Artfully arrange a generous dollop of mustard sauce and a spoonful of pickled beets around or on top of the salmon.  Garnish with fresh dill. Serve immediately.

Notes

Recipe inspired by a dish at Fika, the cafe at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Keywords: smørrebrød, Nordic, Scandinavian, smörgås, sandwich, salmon, mustard, pickled beets

Creamy Asparagus Soup

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Cream of tomato soup gets a lot of hype, and rightfully so. Who can resist its simplicity and comfort, perhaps even the fond childhood memories of tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch? But in the spirit of seasonal eating, I encourage you to look beyond the basic tomato soup as we transition from winter to spring. This creamy asparagus soup is just the thing. Warm and satisfying, it pairs nicely with a toasted goat cheese sandwich and a glass of white wine for an easy springtime supper.

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Creamy Asparagus Soup

A simple, creamy asparagus soup to celebrate the spring season.

  • Author: Kristi
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: soup
  • Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian
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Ingredients

2 large leeks, white and light green parts only

2 pounds asparagus, woody bottoms trimmed and chopped into one inch lengths

1 tablespoon plus 2 cups of water, divided

Coarse salt

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3 tablespoons flour

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

½ cup frozen peas (no need to defrost)

3 tablespoons cream

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Trim the ends of the leeks and cut in half lengthwise.  Rinse thoroughly under running water being careful to get in between each layer of the leek (they can be very dirty).  Transfer to a cutting board and cut into half inch pieces.

  2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Add a handful (about ½ cup) of attractive asparagus tips and 1 tablespoon of water.  Cover and steam until asparagus tips are bright green and nearly tender, about 2 minutes.  Uncover and sauté until completely tender, about 1 more minute, adjusting the heat as necessary to keep the butter from getting too dark on the bottom of the pot.  If your asparagus tips are on the thicker side, this may take longer. Remove asparagus tips from the pot, sprinkle with coarse salt and reserve for garnish.

  3. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to dutch oven.  Once the butter has melted and foaming subsides, add leeks, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt.  Saute leeks and thyme in butter until leeks are soft and beginning to brown, about 5-7 minutes.

  4. Add flour and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

  5. Add remaining asparagus, broth and 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5-7 minutes. (The time it takes will depend on the thickness of your asparagus spears.  The thicker ones will take longer. The best way to know if they are tender is to test one.) Add frozen peas and remove from heat.

  6. Puree soup in three batches in a blender until completely smooth.  Return to pot. Add lemon juice, cream and just a pinch or two of cayenne pepper.  Season generously with salt to taste. Serve, garnishing each bowl with a few the reserved asparagus tips.

Notes

*Be sure to clean your leeks thoroughly.  They grown in sandy soil and are notoriously dirty.  No one wants to eat a spoonful of gritty soup!

 

*This soup will not be delicious unless it is seasoned properly with salt.  Be sure to taste and season well before serving.

 

*Remember your blender safety when pureeing hot liquids.  Fill the blender jar no more than half way up, cover with a clean kitchen towel and hold onto the lid firmly with one of your hands as you push start.  Hot liquids will jump up and out of the blender given the opportunity, possibly landing on you or your clean kitchen counters (and even ceiling) if you are not careful.

 

*If you wish to freeze this soup, wait and add the cream and lemon juice when you are ready to serve.  This soup freezes nicely for about 2 months.

Keywords: asparagus, soup, Nordic, Scandinavian, spring

Golden Beets with Arugula, Lightly Pickled Shallots, Rye Berries and Herbed Yogurt Sauce

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earthy roasted beets pair beautifully with spicy arugula, bright pickled shallots, toothsome rye grains and a creamy yogurt sauce

The Nordic region is famous for its wide array of rye breads, but cooked rye berries are delicious in and of themselves. Much like you might use barley or farro, rye berries make a tasty and nutritious addition to salads, soups or even as a side dish tossed olive oil and fresh herbs.

The inspiration for this recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks, Deborah Madison’s In My Kitchen. Deborah is known as THE expert on vegetarian cooking and wrote the indispensable Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. She was also a student (and sometimes cook) at the San Fransisco Zen Center for 18 years. You will find this book on my nightstand just as often as you will find it on my kitchen counter. There is something very peaceful and meditative about Deborah’s writing and her approach to food: simple and essential with immense respect for the ingredients themselves. This is what I imagine that new Nordic home cooking should be, the kind of cooking I strive to do more of in my own kitchen.

This dish pays homage to the idea of the simple, seasonal new Nordic kitchen. Beautiful, hearty and delicious, this combination of beets, rye berries, greens and creamy yogurt sauce is not to be missed. It makes an excellent lunch (see my notes below for taking it on the go), and it also makes a satisfying light dinner or first course. Whatever you do, don’t skip the Herbed Yogurt Sauce! It really takes this dish from good to great.

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Golden Beets with Arugula, Lightly Pickled Shallots, Rye Berries and Herbed Yogurt Sauce

A beautiful combination of roasted beets, rye berries, dressed greens and an irresistible creamy yogurt sauce.

  • Author: Kristi
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour (largely unattended)
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
  • Yield: 2 generous servings
  • Category: salad, lunch, dinner
  • Cuisine: Scandinavian, Nordic

Ingredients

½ cup rye berries

1 bunch golden beets, preferably small to medium size

2 small shallots, cut thin into rings

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on beets

1 teaspoon honey

4-6 cups baby arugula

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Herbed yogurt sauce for serving

Instructions

  1. Place rye berries in a bowl with plenty of cold water.  Cover and soak overnight at room temperature.  Drain and rinse. Bring a medium size pot of water to a boil. Add salt.  Add rye berries. Simmer vigorously until grains are pleasantly tender but still have a little bite to them, about 50-60 minutes.  Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

  2. Meanwhile, roast the beets:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim beets.  Rub with olive oil and place inside a tightly sealed foil pouch.  Roast until the beets are tender, about 45-60 minutes. The time will depend on the size of your beets.  Open the foil pouch and set aside to cool. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paper towel to help remove the skins from the beets.  They should slide off quite easily.

  3. Cover shallots with vinegar and set aside for 10 minutes.  Whisk in honey and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Assemble the salad:  Slice beets into wedges or circles.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Toss arugula and ½-¾ cup of the cooked rye berries with the dressing and the shallots (you will have leftover rye berries).  Season with more salt to taste if necessary. Artfully arrange on a platter with beet slices. Place a large dollop of Herbed Yogurt Sauce on the platter.  Serve.

Notes

Feel free to substitute red beets for for the golden beets.

 

This would make a lovely mason jar salad to bring with you on the go!  Layer the cooked rye on the bottom, then the beets, then the arugula. Package the dressing and yogurt sauce seperately.

 

Keywords: beets, salad, rye, herbed yogurt sauce

Herbed Yogurt Sauce

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herbed yogurt sauce
garlicky, creamy and herby yogurt sauce

This versatile sauce is an excellent one to have in your kitchen repertoire. Easy and packed with garlic and herb flavor, it goes nicely with all manner of vegetables, as a sauce for your lunchtime smørrebrød, or stirred into cooked lentils or chickpeas. You can play around with the types of tender herbs you use here. I chose dill and chives for spring, but come summer I might use basil, Italian parsley or cilantro. Or a combination of all three!

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Herbed Yogurt Sauce

herbed yogurt sauce

A creamy, garlicky, herby sauce that goes nicely with just about everything.

  • Author: Kristi
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cup
  • Category: sauce
  • Cuisine: scandinavian, nordic

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, minced with a little salt and mashed to a paste using the side of your knife

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ cup chopped dill

¼ cup chopped chives

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Season with salt to taste. Cover and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use, preferably at least an hour or so to allow the flavors to marry.  The sauce can be stored for up to three days refrigerated.

Notes

Adapted from In my Kitchen by Deborah Madison.

 

Keywords: yogurt, sauce, dill, chives

Pytt i Panna

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Now that you have a batch of Spicy Pickled Beets in the fridge, what to do with them (other than eat them straight from the jar)?  Pytt i panna is a great place to start.  Swedish for “pieces in a pan”, pytt i panna is traditionally made with leftover meat and potatoes, very much like what we call hash here in America.  At its heart, pytt i panna is a dish that honors resourcefulness and creativity, it’s about using up the bits and pieces of whatever is languishing in the fridge and repurposing them into something delicious.  This particular version is vegetarian, trading protein-rich chickpeas for the meat and including a little fresh spinach for brightness and green, earthy flavor.  As far as I’m concerned, the fried egg and pickled beets are essential components of this dish.  It would still be a tasty mix without them, but it is these ingredients that make this pytt i panna quintessentially Scandinavian.

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Pytt i Panna

pytt i panna

A tasty mix of leftover potatoes, chickpeas and spinach….topped with a fried egg and spicy pickled beets, of course!

  • Author: Kristi
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 2 1x
  • Category: Dinner, Lunch, Easy, Vegetarian
  • Cuisine: Scandinavian, Nordic, Swedish
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Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil, divided

1 onion, finely diced

2–3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups leftover boiled new potatoes, cut into quarters

½ cup cooked chickpeas

2 cups packed baby spinach

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 eggs

Spicy Pickled Beets, chopped, for serving

Instructions

1.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium-size skillet (preferably nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron) over medium heat.  Add onion and sauté until soft and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.

2.  Add garlic and thyme and sauté until aromatic, about 1 minute.  Add butter.  Once it has melted, add potatoes.  Cook until warmed through and beginning to brown, 3-4 minutes.

3.  Add chickpeas and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.  Add spinach, in handfuls if necessary, and cook until wilted, another 2 minutes or so.  Season everything to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside and keep warm.

4.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small to medium-size nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack eggs into the pan, season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium-low.  Once the bottom of the eggs are set, carefully tip the pan and spoon some of the hot oil over the top of the eggs.  Reduce heat to low and cover the pan.  Cook until eggs are done to your liking, another 1 or 2 minutes if you like a runny yolk.

5.  Serve the pytt i panna topped with a fried egg and the pickled beets.

Keywords: pytt i panna, hash, Scandinavian, Nordic, Swedish, vegetarian

Spicy Pickled Beets

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spicy pickled beets in bowl with fresh beets and spices
Not your mother’s pickled beets!

Pickled beets have long been a Scandinavian food staple.  My Norwegian grandmother canned many batches of them each fall so that they might be enjoyed on their southwestern Minnesota farm through the cold winter months.  

My mother would bring jars of pickled beets back with her when we visited the farm, and she would eat them as a little relish with all manner of dinners.  I was not an early fan.  When I went to my very first cooking school class, the instructor asked us to introduce ourselves and name our least favorite food.  When it was my turn to share, I very quickly said beets, probably making a little disgusted face to go with it.  The chef looked at me for a moment and then said, “I promise…you will like beets by the end of this class.”  And so it was.  I learned how to roast them in a hot oven, caramelizing their exterior and accentuating their earthy sweetness.  I learned how to shred and sauté them in olive oil and fresh herbs, finishing them with a little tarragon vinegar.  And since that first cooking class, almost 20 years ago, I have also learned to eat them shredded and raw in salads and on sandwiches, juice them and roast them whole. And I have loved beets in all of these forms.  So why not pickled beets?  I decided it was time to revisit them.

First, I decided I wanted to do a quick pickle variation rather than traditional canning process.  The whole sterilizing of jars business is a production and, quite frankly, intimidates me a little bit.  So these pickled beets are not designed for long-term storage.  They are intended to be stored in the refrigerator and polished off within a couple of weeks.  Second, I wanted a firmer texture than what I was accustomed to growing up.  After doing a fair amount of research, I found that most pickled beets are boiled prior to pickling.  One recipe I found, Alton Brown’s, called for roasting the beets instead.  I thought that might improve the texture and decided to incorporate it into my own recipe. Finally, I began investigating the differences in the pickling brine itself.  There were vastly different types and amounts of vinegar, spices and sugar in all of the recipes I researched.  Because I feel that Nordic cuisine is meant to be simple in nature, I settled on a brine that called for good old-fashioned distilled white vinegar and a mere 1/4 cup of sugar.  The spices I’ve chosen are some of the classics….bay leaf, peppercorns, all spice berries and juniper berries.  One recipe that I found inLagom: The Swedish Art of Eating Harmoniouslyby Steffi Knowles-Dellner called for red chile pepper flakes.  I couldn’t get the idea of a spicy pickled beet out of my mind.  The pepper flakes were in.  The final result is a spicy, briny, not too sweet, firmly textured pickled beet, ready to be used in or alongside all manner of Scandinavian dishes. 

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Spicy Pickled Beets

spicy pickled beets

Pickled roasted beets with a kick!

  • Author: Kristi
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 12 ounces 1x
  • Category: Beets
  • Method: Pickles
  • Cuisine: Scandinavian, Nordic
Scale

Ingredients

12 ounces small to medium-sized beets

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 cup water

1/4 sugar

1 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt

5 all spice berries

10 juniper berries

10 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Scrub and trim beets.  Place beets on a large piece of foil and drizzle them with olive oil. Using your hands, rub oil onto the surface of the beets.  Fold foil over and seal the edges making a pouch.  Place pouch on a baking sheet and transfer to oven.  Roast beets for 45-60 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife.  Smaller beets will take less time than larger ones.

2.  Remove beets from oven and open pouch.  Let cool before handling.  Once the beets are cool enough to work with, rub the skin off with a paper towel and slice into 1/2 inch thick wedges.  Transfer to a quart sized mason jar.

3.  Meanwhile, heat remaining ingredients over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.  Pour mixture into the jar with the beets.  Allow to cool at room temperature.  Cover and place in the fridge.  Consume beets within two weeks.

Keywords: beets, pickled beets, roasted beets, Scandinavian, Nordic, Swedish