You’ve watched the dramas, now try the food. Catherine Whyte finds the Scandinavian invasion gathering pace
Whilst writing up an interview with Atul Kochhar, the country’s first Michelin starred Indian chef – and marvelling at the enormous impact of Indian cuisine on the UK – I fell to wondering why Scandinavian influences are not similarly prevalent in our cooking. IKEA meatballs aside, why no great culinary invasion from the north?
These thoughts did not arrive entirely unprompted: my son’s Viking project was partly to blame. If Old Norse could filter through into English, I mused, why has Scandinavian cuisine not been readily adopted by our sceptred isle?
Then, last week, I enjoyed a superlative meal – roasted coley with potato salad, smoked haddock risotto and bay leaf ice cream – at Linnea, by Kew Green, which is celebrating its first anniversary. And while chef/owner Jonas Karlsson is keen to stress that it is not a Scandinavian restaurant per se, his Swedish roots and training do filter through: witness his popular marinated ‘gravad’ beef, horseradish snow and green beans.
In fact, Scandinavian food is finally on the march, out of the metropolis and into the suburbs. Leading the charge is Stockholm Restaurant and Deli in Mortlake, near Richmond, which has developed an excellent reputation for authentic, top quality Swedish food. Fiona Adams, Editor of The Richmond Magazine, visited just after it opened in 2012 to dine on regional staples such as smoked reindeer, grilled elk and creamy mussel and fish stew.
Sadly, such fine Scandinavian fare is less in evidence outside Richmond, as the migration has not progressed further south. Yet. For unwilling travellers, however, other options are available.
One excellent resource is the website swedishfood.com. Here you will find a compendium of recipes and glossary of ingredients for the Nordic novice, as well as articles written by an army of experts to guide you through the relatively uncharted waters of Scandi cuisine. Sourcing authentic ingredients can be a problem – Waitrose wasn’t stocking elk or reindeer last time I looked – but online supermarket Butik Hemlangtan stocks all you need.
Note too that John Ross Jr, in Guildford, sells gravadlax – Scottish smoked salmon marinated in molasses, salt and dill – via its website.
Smaklig måltid everyone!
