Swede Eating With Rachel Khoo
Optimum Nutrition|Autumn 2018

Cook, food writer and broadcaster Rachel Khoo has several books and TV programmes to her name; but having moved to Sweden, there was always room for one more. Here, she tells us about The Little Swedish Kitchen and why there is much more to Swedish cuisine than (the rather iconic) meatballs

Cook
Swede Eating With Rachel Khoo
What have you learnt from Swedish cuisine, comparing it to French cuisine or the food that you grew up with? “That it takes a lot of confidence and skill to only work with a few ingredients rather than have a whole buffet full available to cook with.” What do you think Swedish cooking can bring to the British kitchen? “The simplicity and creativity with few seasonal ingredients. Most of them people have in the kitchen already.” How important are buns in Sweden; what is your favourite bun and why? “The Swedes have a word fika which means to take the time to have a coffee and bun. People don’t ask you whether you want to go for a coffee, they ask you if you want to go for a fika.

“I think it says it all if a culture has a term for coffee and bun time. In terms of favourite buns, nothing beats the light, airy semla. [This] is a brioche bun spiked with cardamom, filled with an almond paste and topped with whipped cream — a bun which is only made around pancake day/before lent. I do a version with a pistachio cream in the cookbook.”

How does the Swedish concept of lagom [enjoying just the right amount of the good things] apply in the Swedish dining room?

“You probably wouldn’t use the word lagom when it comes to food but more in terms of ambiance and overall feeling. The food was spot on, the service was warm but not overbearing and the interior was comfortable but not over the top. A bit like how Goldilocks’ porridge was just right.”

What would be your go-to supper and why?

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