Janssons Frestelse aka Jansson's Temptation - a tasty potato gratin from Sweden

Jansson's frestelse, 2011

Did you know that the 'ansjovis' in Jansson's Temptation, the ever-popular creamy Swedish potato gratin, is not anchovis (Engraulis encrasicolus), but sprat (Sprattus sprattus)? Sprats in brine have been called 'ansjovis' in Sweden since 17th century, which is obviously rather confusing for an English-speaking recipe translator. That's why you see 'anchovies' in most English recipes. However, the Swedish 'ansjovis' are pickled in a rather sweet brine, so substituting regular anchovies wouldn't give you the same flavour sensation. It'd be still a tasty potato gratin, but not the same..

Luckily you can find Swedish ansjovis at the food aisle of your nearest IKEA - alongside cloudberry and lingonberry jam and gingerbread cookies.


(For my readers in Estonia - I used "Kipperi anšoovis" - a sprat preserve with a highest sugar content).


Janssons Frestelse
(Janssoni kiusatus)
Serves 6


Jansson's frestelse, 2009

1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
3 large onions
100 g spiced and pickled Swedish 'ansjovis' (sprat filets)
500 ml (2 cups) whipping cream/heavy cream
3-4 Tbsp breadcrumbs
butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut into thick matchsticks (I used my food processor for that).
Peel the onions and cut into thin slices. Fry in butter for about 5 minutes, but do not brown.
Butter a large oven dish, spread half of the potato over the base. Cover with fried onion slices, place 'ansjovis' filets on top.
Cover with the rest of the potatoes. Season moderately with salt and pepper.
Pour over the cream - you may need a bit more or a bit less - it depends on the size of the dish you're using. You want the cream to almost cover the potatoes.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and dot some butter slices over the breadcrumbs.
Bake in a preheated 220 C oven for about 1 hour.
Remove from the oven, let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve either alongside a green salad or a meat roast.

This recipe was also included in my second cookbook, Jõulud kodus ("Christmas at Home"), published in Estonian in November 2011.

Caraway teacake

Adding caraway seeds to your teacake does not seem like an obvious idea, but it works. Caraway seeds are much beloved in the Northern and Eastern Europe. In Estonia we add them liberally to rye bread, to oven-baked potato wedges, into sauerkraut soups and side dishes. We usually do not add them to desserts, but there's something about the spicy earthiness of caraway seeds that complements the rich flavour of this typical Estonian teacake.

The recipe below results in a flavoursome cake with nice, dense and moist crumb. Perfect with a cup of afternoon tea..

Caraway Cake
(Köömnekeeks)
About 10 slices

180 g butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
170 g caster sugar (200 ml)
250 g all-purpose flour (450 ml)
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
2 Tbsp whole caraway seeds
200 ml sour milk or kefir or fermented buttermilk

Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Stir in the kefir or fermented buttermilk.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and caraway seeds, then gently fold into the egg mixture.
Finally stir in the cooled melted butter.
Pour the batter into a lined 1-litre cake tin.
Bake in a pre-heated 180 C oven for 40-50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle remains clean.
Cool before cutting into slices.

Chorizo choux puffs (chorizo profiteroles recipe)

Selection of cured sausages at La Boqueria, Barcelona.

Another recipe that I've adapted from Eric Treuille's Canapeś (sold as Hors d'Oeuvres in the US). I served these at a brunch couple of weeks ago, and although there were enough of these for everyone, I barely managed to save one for Kristjan - these disappeared just so quickly!

There's no need to fill these with anything, as the chorizo lends plenty of flavour.

Chorizo Choux Puffs
(Chorizo-profitroolid)
Makes about 24 large profiteroles or many more tiny ones



200 ml water
100 g butter
0.5 tsp salt
120 g plain flour/all-purpose flour (200 ml)
3 large eggs
100 g chorizo sausage

Peel the chorizo sausage and chop finely.
Put water, cubed butter and salt into a medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Take off the heat and stir in all the flour. Return to the heat and "boil" for about two minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until you have a smooth paste that leaves the sides of the saucepan.
Remove from the heat and cool for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the eggs one at a time, totally incorporating the egg before adding the next one. This is best done with electric beaters!! The resulting paste should be glossy and slowly drop from a spoon.
Stir in the finely chopped chorizo sausage.
With a help of two tablespoons, place small heaps of choux paste onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 180 C oven for about 30 minutes, until the choux puffs are nicely puffed up and golden brown.