Food for Easter

I rarely cook a whole lot of food for Easter, since we're usually away visiting family. And the same goes for this year. However, I've gotten a few e-mails asking about Swedish Easter food so I thought I'd give you a few links to appropriate dishes.

Now, most Swedes approach Easter eating as they would Christmas or Midsummer: with a Smorgasbord. You'd see several small dishes, beginning with cold ones and then moving on to warmer. Cold dishes always include several sorts of sill, usually gravlax, sometimes smoked salmon or other fish. Always boiled potatoes, and sauces. Some of my recipes are Caviar Sill, Lemon Sill, and a great Dill-Mustard sauce for the gravlax. Also usually present are one of my favorites - hard-boiled egg halves, topped with mayonnaise and boiled shrimp. Delicious! I also included Lena's red onion cheesecake in this round-up - that'd be perfect for an Easter starter.

For warm dishes, I like to have lamb. Try this slow-braised lamb, or some sort of lamb meatballs - I made one kind yesterday, but these with pine nuts are also great. A lot of people eat ham as well - try this coca-cola baked one! A popular side dish is Jansson's Temptation - do try that if you can get your hand on Swedish anchovies.

As for dessert, this is actually a time where a lot of people would serve cake. Something yellow, decorated with marzipan chickens, is popular. I don't have a specific recipe though - I'll attempt something myself this year and get back to you! (Last year I made this one.) Something light would also be nice - this white chocolate mousse with mixed fruits, or a rhubarb mousse perhaps?

If you want to know more about Smorgasbord, I'm giving away a great, great book on the subject - so check back tomorrow!