SCANDINAVIAN SMORGASBORD

Our Menu
Gravlax with mustard sauce
Cucumber salad
Herring salad
Cold loin of pork with figs
Beet and orange salad
Selection of cheeses
Breads and crackers
Aquavit and vodka
Beer
Swedish cookies

After a season of grilling chicken breasts on the patio and tossing pasta salads until we’re blue in the face, are we ready for something a little different this Indian summer? How about a smorgasbord?

Now, there are smorgasbords and then there are smorgasbords. The term generally has come to mean any groaning board of food that eclipses a mere buffet, regardless of ethnic origin. In Sweden, however, it’s an enormous spread of specific hot and cold foods, from herring salads to Swedish meatballs. But for our purposes, we’re going to stick with the cold stuff. And we’re also going to enlist the aid of dishes from other Scandinavian countries, most notably Denmark.

Why Scandinavia? Just thought we’re all becoming a wee bit weary of Mediterranean cuisine. Wouldn’t you like to offer your guests something that doesn’t have Nicoise olives or balsamic vinegar in it for a change?

In addition to the change of culinary pace, our September Smorgasbord has the advantage of being entirely cold. That’s perfect for the warm days of the second summer. And cold food also means that we can prepare dishes hours, and in some cases days, in advance.

Scandinavian cuisine is larded with two major elements, dairy products and seafood. We can cut back or modify the butter and cream (especially since much of it goes in hot dishes). But there’s no getting around the seafood. And who wants to, with all those heart-healthy Omega-3 oils?

Our smorgasbord begins with gravlax, fresh-cured salmon. This will impress the heck out of your friends who pay $25 a pound for smoked salmon at upscale delis. But don’t tell them it only takes about 15 minutes of work. (Tell them you had to take a special course in Copenhagen.)

The texture of gravlax falls somewhere between sashimi and store-bought lox. You’ll need a very sharp knife to get very thin slices that go on thin breads or crackers. A nice presentation is to put one of the two fillets of cured salmon on a cutting board for show. Put the slices from other fillet next to it. Arrange bread and mustard sauce nearby and garnish the whole thing with sprigs of fresh dill.

No smorgasbord would be complete without herring in some form. (An authentic smorgasbord may have as many as 20 versions.) Since most herring comes already prepared in jars in the refrigerated section of supermarkets, our task is again very simple. Some herring salads call for sour cream or mayonnaise or a combination of the two. You can use low fat versions of both, but I prefer to use a recipe that doesn’t need either. Tart apples, onions, and chopped eggs are the usual companions in herring salads.

Denmark’s favorite meat is pork, and one of its favorite meat dishes is a roast loin of pork stuffed with apples and prunes, served hot. But I have also had pork loin stuffed with figs and it was delicious. And figs are in season now, so your Danish friends will forgive you for taking liberties.; If you don’t like them or can’t find good ones, use prunes soaked in boiling water.

The key to cold, or more accurately, room temperature pork is to make sure the meat is cooked to no more than 155 degrees. That may seem low if you’ve cooked pork to 170 degrees in the past. But hogs are remarkably clean these days, and the pesky trichina worm is killed at 137 degrees.

If pate rather than pork loin appeals to you, pork liver pate (called liver paste) is an authentic smorgasbord component.

You’ll want at least two cold salads. Beet salad and cucumber salad are traditional. You can also try some potato salad with pimentos and chopped anchovy mixed in, or a fresh mushroom salad tossed in a dressing of cream and grated onion.

Scandinavian breads and crackers are neat. They’re thin and nutty with lots of texture. FinnCrisp and Wasa Crispbread are available in supermarkets. Most markets also have a thin Danish pumpernickel. A thinly sliced dark rye rounds out the group.

With the emphasis on dairy, Scandinavian cheeses are abundant. Swiss-like Jarlsberg and Finlandia are the most common, along with Danish blue, Swedish fontina (which tastes nothing like Italian fontina), and creamy Havarti, which comes plain or flecked with dill, caraway or mustard seed.

Lesser known, but worth trying, are mild Tilsit, low fat King Christian, and creamy blue Castello. Try the latter with apple slices for dessert.

Arrange the rounds, blocks and wedges of cheese in a geometric pattern near breads and crackers.

If there is an official drink of Scandinavia, it’s aquavit, literally "water of life." The most common brand of this caraway vodka is Aalborg Taffel Akavavit in the green bottle with the red and white label. Drink it straight and very cold from a cordial glass. If that’s too bracing, mix it with tomato juice or spicy V-8 juice for fabulous Bloody Marys. The same can be said for Finlandia and Absolut vodkas.

The most impressive way to serve any of these spirits is to freeze them in a block of ice. Simply put the bottle in plastic container such as a one-quart ricotta or cottage cheese container. Fill the container with water and freeze. (Don’t worry, the alcohol will prevent the bottle contents from freezing.) Remove the container and serve.

If vodka is too high-test for you, Denmark’s Carlsberg beer (in light and dark versions) is the best known of several available Scandinavian beers. Others include Nordick Wolf (Sweden), Aass Pilsner (Norway), and Elephant Malt Liquor and Tuborg (Denmark).

This kind of meal dictates something reasonably light for dessert. That knocks out rice pudding, cheesecake, and rich Scandinavian pastries. Strawberry snow" isn’t a bad idea. It’s pureed strawberries with egg whites and heavy cream. But I’ve chosen cookies called Swedish jelly slices (recipe below). I have no idea if this Maida Heatter dessert is authentic, but it’s awfully good.

Skoal!

MENU RECIPES

All of these recipes are remarkably easy. A Sunday afternoon smorgasbord is made even easier by starting the gravlax on Thursday night.

I took or adapted the first three recipes from "The Cooking of Scandinavia" by Dale Brown (Time-Life Books). The herring salad recipe is from San Francisco caterer Marlene Levinson.

GRAVLAX

• 2 1-1/2 pound center-cut salmon fillets, cleaned of small bones
• 1 large bunch fresh dill
• 1/4 cup salt, kosher if possible
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons coarsely ground black or white pepper

Put one salmon fillet, skin side down, in a deep glass, stainless steel, or enamel dish. Wash and shake dill dry, and spread it on the salmon. Mix remaining ingredients together. Sprinkle evenly over dill. Top with second fillet, skill side up. Cover with foil. Set a plate on the foil and weight down with a few cans of food. Refrigerate 48 hours (or up to 72 hours). Turn fish every 12 hours, basting salmon with accumulated juices.

Remove from marinade, scrape off dill and seasonings and pat dry with paper towels. Put fillets on cutting board, skin side down. Slice very thin slices on the diagonal, discarding skin. Serve with mustard-dill sauce (recipe follows) on one or several of the Scandinavian breads mentioned above.

MUSTARD-DILL SAUCE

• 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh, chopped dill

In a small bowl, mix mustards, sugar and vinegar into a paste. Slowly whisk in oil until a thick mayonnaise-like emulsion forms. Stir in dill. May be refrigerated in a sealed jar several days. Shake well before using. Makes 3/4 cup.

PICKLED CUCUMBER SALAD

• 2 8-inch cucumbers
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh, chopped dill

Scrub off any wax coating from cucumbers and dry them. Score lengthwise with a fork. Slice as thin as possible. Arrange slices in a colander. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and put a shallow bowl over them, weighted down to extract moisture. Remove the bowl after an hour. Pat cucumbers dry with paper towels and put in the shallow bowl. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over cucumbers. Cover and chill 2-3 hours. Drain slightly before serving. Serves 4.

PORK LOIN WITH FIGS

• 6 medium or 3 large fresh figs cut in half, lengthwise
• 1/4 cup Cognac or rum
• 3-pound boneless pork loin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Soak figs in Cognac or rum for about an hour. Butterfly pork loin lengthwise. Season with salt and pepper. Put figs end to end down center of opened pork loin. Close up and tie securely. Season outside of pork with salt and pepper and rub in any leftover marinade.

Bake in a 350-degree oven about 1 hour 10 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reaches 155 degrees. Remove and cool. Cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices, each showing a cut fig in the center. Serves 6.

BEET AND ORANGE SALAD

• 1 16-ounce can sliced beets
• 1 medium orange
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet onions
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 tablespoons each orange juice and cider vinegar
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Drain beets and set aside. Peel and slice orange into thin rounds. Alternate beet and orange slices on a platter. Spread onion slices on top. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 4.

HERRING SALAD

• 1 12-ounce jar wine-marinated herring
• 1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped
• 1 small tart apple, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Finely chop herring and mix with remaining ingredients. Let sit at least an hour for flavors to develop. Spread on Scandinavian breads or crackers.

SWEDISH JELLY SLICES

• 2-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4-1 cup apricot preserves or any thick, tart jam or jelly
• 2-1/2 ounces almonds, blanched and finely sliced
• 1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons boiling water

Adjust oven rack one-third down from top. (If using two cookie sheets – see below – adjust second rack one-third from bottom.) Preheat to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter. Add vanilla and sugar, and beat well. Beat in egg. On lowest speed, add dry ingredients, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat until well mixed. Turn out onto a lightly flowered board. Shape into a ball and cut into 4 equal parts.

With your fingertips, work each piece into a roll about 12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Place rolls crossways on a large, unbuttered cookie sheet about 14 by 16 inches (or lengthwise on two smaller cookie sheets). Leave 2-3 inches between the rolls. Make a narrow trench down length of each roll with you finger. Don’t make the trench too deep, and stop a litte short of each end. Fill trenches with preserves (filling should be level or slightly higher than the sides.) Sprinkle with almonds.

Bake about 25 minutes, until cookies are sandy colored on top and golden brown around the edges. Turn pan during baking to ensure even color. (If using two pans, switch top and bottom positions halfway through baking.) Shortly before removing cookies from oven, make glaze by mixing powdered sugar and water to consistency of heavy cream.

Remove cookie sheets from oven and pour over or spoon glaze down length of each roll. Slide rolls onto large rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to cutting board and, with a sharp and heavy knife, cut each roll on an angle into slices about 1 to 1-1/4 inches wide. Replace cookies on rack to finish cooling. Makes 42-48 cookies. (From "Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts," Alfred A. Knopf publisher.