SIMPLE PLEASURES

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‘'My experience of Scandinavian, particularly Swedish cooking is that it's much like its design,” says Rachel. “It embraces simplicity and minimalism and that’s where the beauty lies. Simple ingredients (often ones you will already have in your fridge or cupboard) prepared in a non-fussy way but still resulting in a delicious dish.’’

GRILLED WHOLE CHAR WITH FENNEL, REDCURRANTS AND DILL

SERVES 4

PREPARATION TIME 20 MINUTES

COOKING TIME 30 MINUTES

“Catching my own dinner isn’t something I’ve done a lot in the past. But since moving to Sweden, the opportunity to do some fishing arises quite often. It’s mainly freshwater fishing with the abundance of lakes. Char, brown trout or perch and the odd pike (although they’re a pain to eat as they have too many bones) have all been reeled in. More often than not, the fish ends up going back into the water to live another day. With fish this fresh I like to keep it simple with a few tart flavours.”

INGREDIENTS:

2 whole char (roughly 500g each, or you can use rainbow trout)

Sea salt

2 knobs of soft butter

2 handful of redcurrants

1 large fennel bulb, save some of the fronds

To serve

2 handfuls of redcurrants,stems removed

2 tbsps rapeseed or olive oil

1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

Method

• Preheat the oven to 70 °C.

• Prepare the char by patting it dry, rubbing it with salt and smearing it with soft butter inside and out. Stu with redcurrants. Put it on a tray lined with baking paper. Place in the oven. After 20 minutes, turn on the grill. Grill on one side for a couple of minutes or until slightly charred and crisp. Carefully turn over and repeat.

• Crush half the redcurrants and mix with oil and salt. Thinly slice the fennel and toss with the crushed redcurrants, dill and whole redcurrants. Taste for seasoning.

• Once fish is ready, eat immediately. L

Rachel Khoo is a broadcaster and bestselling food writer from London who fell in love with Swedish cooking after moving there. This recipe is taken from her book The Little Swedish Kitchen, £20 (Penguin)