Swedish fast food, smoked salmon and mustard stewed potatoes
Sometimes there is no room for waiting for dinner. Perhaps you have been out all day or you might have just realized just how hungry you are. For these occasions I am always thinking that the take away will take at least forty minutes and what can I cook faster than that?I was only thinking about this as I was so hungry!
Smoked salmon is a perfect ingredients. One of my friends (raised in England) went to Sweden and came back and said “välkommen” and “dill” with a big smile. He said he had learnt the word “Välkommen”, which means welcome, and had hardly eaten a dish containing fish without dill. Thinking about it, that was quite spot on.
One of the true Swedish classics is smoked or cure salmon, thinly sliced and potatoes in a dill stew. This is hearty, a littrle bit on the stodgy side if cooked by the wrong person but perfect as a fast food. The thing is I was hungry and with some cold smoked salmon in the fridge I wasn’t in the mood for anything slow cooked so peeled a few potatoes, made a white sauce, a bechamel, and decided to add some Brussels sprouts.
At first I wanted to slice them but then I decided to separate the leaves.
I was sure I had some dill in the freezer but no matter how hard I looked I couldn’t find it so I opted for a mustard bechamel. This is a quick and healthy version, you can use any type of milk you prefer and a table spoon of light cream will make the sauce delicious and rich.
I peeled and cut up five medium potatoes. As they were cut up they boil in about 10 minutes, perfect for a quick clean up and to make the bechamel. I added the Brussels sprout leaves when five minute cooking time remained.
Quick mustard bechamel
preparation time 10 minutes
cooking time 5 minutes
serves 2-3
Ingredients
- 4 dl or 2 cups of semi skimmed milk
- 1 tbsp cream (I used light cream)
- 4 heaped tsp corn flour
- 1/2 dl or 1/8 cup cold water
- salt
- white pepper
- nutmeg
- 1 tbsp grainy mustard
Place the milk in a pan and start to heat it up. When it is getting warm mix the corn flour with the cold water and add to the hot milk. Let boil a few minutes and taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. When you are happy with the taste keep warm until the potatoes are done.
Drain the water from the potatoes and Brussels leaves with a handful of frozen peas and add to the bechamel. Last add the mustard.
Mix before serving. Mustard and salmon is a lovely combination.
Plate up the salmon with some lettuce and tomatoes and serve.The whole meal took about 15 minutes from start to serving, perfect for any week night!
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