Scandinavian

Have creamed spinach and sautéed carrots with these updated Swedish meat loaves. Then serve applesauce and spice cookies.

We like making our own pickled beets with spices and herbs that give these sandwiches a true Scandinavian flavor. You can, however, use bottled pickled beets if you don't have two days for marinating.

Called limpa in Sweden, this impressive bread is flavored with a combination of molasses, orange peel, crushed aniseed, and caraway and fennel seeds.

The lingonberry, a relative of the cranberry, grows wild in the Scandinavian mountains. It adds tartness to the following traditional Danish sweet.

In Sweden various combinations of matjes herring — a type of herring cured in a spiced sweet-and-sour brine — are eaten with the first tender white potatoes of the season. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The long cooking time makes this lamb meltingly tender. Offer noodles alongside.

The Finns rely on cereal as one of the mainstays of their diet, since barley, rye and buckwheat grow well in their country. The barley pudding is a good substitute for potatoes, noodles or rice.

A Scandinavian table is seldom without them.

After lingonberry preserves, these pickled cucumbers are the most popular condiment in Scandinavia. They are a traditional accompaniment to Swedish Meatballs, simple salmon dishes, and roasts and other meats. They are even served with frankfurters sold at street kiosks, much like the sauerkraut that often tops the hot dogs sold here.

Noodles enriched with the deep golden yolks of farm-raised chickens were a frequent starch on heartland tables. Modern cooks may not have the time to put together noodles from scratch, but when glossed with a Swedish-style, caraway-scented butter, even commercial pasta makes a fine accompaniment to the menu's main dish.

The standard Scandinavian way of cooking a goose or duck is to stuff it with apples and prunes. When cooking a duck, adjust amount of stuffing to the size of the fowl; a 5-6 pound duck takes about 2 cups of stuffing.

For a luxurious brunch, split open these rich biscuits and top them with smoked salmon, cream cheese and caviar.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted from Andreas Viestad's book Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking. People tend to differ as to what the real, authentic food traditions are. These differences can cut across countries, regions, or even families (my wife and I can never agree on what to have for Christmas dinner). But on one subject, there is no disagreement among the people of Norway, Sweden, and Finland: Gravlaks should be served with a sweet mustard sauce.

This is a rich, filling way of serving mussels. Make sure to have a lot of good bread to sop up all the juices.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted from Andreas Viestad's book Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking. _Viestad also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. Traditional gravlaks is made from two whole salmon fillets and flavored only with salt, sugar, dill, and pepper. If the fish is good, there is nothing better. The gravlaks found in American markets is normally very mild, sometimes slightly scented, often with dried dill. Fresh dill has a taste that is discreet and subtle; it flavors the salmon nicely without competing with the fish's own flavors. Some cookbooks suggest freezing the salmon before you prepare it, to get rid of harmful microorganisms; with modern hygienic treatment of fish, this should not be a big issue. If you do freeze it, do it after it has been cured. Some of the proteins that may be damaged when freezing fresh fish will have broken down in the cured fish, so gravlaks can stand up to freezing better than fresh salmon can. The gravlaks will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Gravlaks is normally served as one of many cold dishes in a buffet or smorgasbord. Serve with Sweet Mustard Sauce and scrambled eggs and dark rye bread for open-faced sandwiches, or with pickles and capers.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted from Andreas Viestad's book Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking. Homemade fish dumplings are an important part of Bergen Fish Soup. The goal is to make them as light as possible. The dumplings can also be served on their own, or with a dill-flavored béchamel sauce.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted from Andreas Viestad's book Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking._Viestad also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. There are different, equally authentic ways of making this soup. The big schism is between those who like to thicken the soup with a combination of flour and cream, so it becomes like a chowder, and those who prefer it thin. I think it is easier to appreciate the unique sweet-and-sour freshness of the soup when it is made with only the minimum of thickener.

This Danish dessert consists of layers of applesauce and sweet cinnamon-scented bread crumbs, veiled with whipped cream.