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Smorgasbord

A Swedish term that has entered the English language is "smorgasbord". This is a type of buffet, which includes a variety of different dishes. Here is some info about smorgasbords:

• Many restaurants in Sweden offer a smorgasbord as part of their menu.
• Families generall prepare their own smorgasbord during holidays such as midsummer (in June) and Christmas.
• Ideas for a sampling of items for a local smorgasbord include meatballs, lingonberries, blueberry and/or rosehip soup, lingonberry drink, Swedish pancakes (crepes), bullar (a type of sweet roll), knäckebröd (cracker bread), limpa (orange-flavored rye bread), Kalle's kaviar, korv (sausages), gingerbread cookies, cheese, and Swedish candy (for example salt licorice and Swedish fish).
• We include a sample menu as a PDF document that is the menu from one event we have organized. The font used in this PDF is Herculanum, which provides the text with an old-style Scandinavian appearance.

Many possible dishes appear on the remainder of this page. We have also found this general site with Swedish recipies in English.

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Main dishes

• Kale soup with halved hard-cooked eggs:
  • A recipe for kale soup
• Yellow pea soup (usually served with Swedish pancakes):
  • A recipe for pea soup
• Pickled herring (inlagd sill)
  • A recipe for pickled herring
• Swedish meatballs (köttbullar)
  • Often served with a cream gravy or with lingon preserves
  • A recipe for Swedish-style meatballs
• Swedish hash (pytt i panna)
  • Chopped boiled potatoes, chopped meat, generally served with an easy-over fried egg and sliced beets. 
  • The Swedish name, pytt i panna, means "put it in the pan" 
  • A great dish for using up leftovers. The core of the recipe is chopped potatoes, onions, and different types of meat. 
  • Ideally the fried egg should have a soft or even runny yolk that can be blended with the rest of the dish. 
  • This is a favorite item to order for lunch!!
  • A recipe for Swedish hash
• Cabbage rolls (kåldolmar)
  • A recipe for cabbage rolls

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Side dishes

• Boiled potatoes cooked with fresh dill (kokt potatis med dill)
  • A recipe for Swedish-style boiled potatoes
• Brown beans (bröna böner)
  • A recipe for brown beans
  • Recipe from a Swedish cookbook (written in English):
    1 1/2 c. brown beans
    1 to 1 1/2 qt. water
    2 t. salt
    molasses
    white vinegar
    Wash beans and soak overnight. Cook slowly in same water until tender (1 1/2 to 2 hours). Season to taste with salt, molasses and vinegar.
• Herring salad (sillsallad)
  • The recipe generally includes red beets, apples, and other tasty ingredients
  • Herring-free version from a Swedish cookbook (written in English):
    diced boiled potatoes (about 1 1/2 c.)
    diced pickled beets (about 1 1/2 c.)
    diced pickled gherkin pickles (about 1/3 c.)
    diced apple (about 1/2 c.)
    chopped onion (about 1/4 onion)
    4 T. vinegar
    2 T. water
    2 T. sugar
    Blend. Typical recipes in Sweden include whipping cream, but some of us eliminate this due to allergies.
• Jansson's temptation (Janssons frestelse)
  • A scalloped potato dish that contains anchovies
  • A recipe for Janssons frestelse
• Swedish cucumber salad
  • Thinly sliced cucumber in a vinegar brine with dill
  • A recipe for cucumber salad (in vinegar brine with dill)
• Christmas rice porridge (risgrynsgröt)
  • Associated with the tradition of including a blanched almond in the porridge; the person who ends up with the almond must invent a rhyme
  • A recipe for Christmas rice porridge

Breads

• Swedes eat many types of very good bread, including cracker breads. We only include rye bread here because it is quite special for Sweden.
• Rye bread (rågbröd)
  • Traditional recipes for Swedish rye bread
  • A recipe for Swedish rye bread that includes mashed potato as an ingredient

Pastries and desserts

• Swedish pancakes (pannkakor)
  • True Swedish pancakes are very thin!
  • Generally served with lingonberry preserves or strawberry jam (and often with whipped cream)
  • A recipe for Swedish pancakes
• Swedish-style cinnamon rolls (kanelbullar)
  • A recipe for Swedish-style cinnamon rolls
• Semlor
  • A puff pastry prepared with almond paste and whipped cream, eaten on Fat Tuesday. Often served in a bath of warm milk.
  • A recipe for semlor
  • Another recipe for semlor
• Saffron rolls (lussekattor)
  • Eaten on St. Lucy's day in mid-December
  • A recipe for saffron rolls
  • Another recipe for saffron rolls (2nd on the page)
• Gingersnaps (pepparkakor)
  • A recipe for pepparkakor
  • Another recipe for pepparkakor (1st on the page)
• Swedish almond cookies
  • Recipe for Swedish almond cookies (4th on the page)
• Jelly roll or chocolate roll
  • Basically a very flat sugar cake that is rolled up with a filling
  • While this recipe is in Swedish, it includes a very good picture of a jelly roll
  • This recipe comes from a Swedish cooking cookbook (written in English):
    3 eggs
    1/2 c. sugar
    2/3 c. flour
    1 t. baking powder
    Filling: jam or apple sauce
    Sift flour and baking powder together. Beat eggs and sugar until white and fluffy. Add flour, stirring until well blended. Pour into oblong pan lined with buttered waxed paper. Bake in moderately hot oven (425 F) for 5 minutes. Turn out on waxed paper sprinkled with sugar. Remove bottom paper. Spread with filling. Roll lengthwise. Wrap in waxed paper. When cold, cut crosswise in slices.
• Mazarin
  • An almond torte
  • A recipe for a mazarin cake
• Swedish spritz cookies
  • A recipe for Swedish spritz cookies