THIS MONTH with Gurdeep Loyal

Our trends expert shares a recipe featuring a smoky Mexican chilli paste and explores a must-visit

Swedish foodie hot spot

SERVES 6-8 | PREP 15 MINS | COOK 10 MINS

EASY | V GF

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

2 x 480g tins of pinto beans, drained

2 tbsp soured cream pinch of sugar

3 tbsp salsa macha (I used Luchito) thumb-sized piece ginger, minced

3 tbsp lime juice, plus 1 tsp of zest 10g coriander, very finely chopped corn tortillas, to serve

1 Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat, then gently sizzle the onions for 6-7 mins or until they turn soft and translucent.

2 Add the garlic and cumin, warming through for 1 min, before adding the beans. Stir well, warming through the beans and coating them in the spices.

3 Empty the mixture into a blender along with the soured cream, ¾ tsp of fine sea salt and a pinch of sugar. Whizz to a fine paste, adding a splash of water if needed to get a creamy consistency. Empty into a serving bowl.

4 In another bowl, mix together the salsa macha, ginger, lime juice and zest, and coriander. Ripple the citrussy salsa mixture through the dip. Serve with corn tortilla chips and ice-cold beers.

PER SERVING (8) 160 kcals | fat 9G saturates 1.3G | carbs 12.6G | sugars 2.9G fibre 4G | protein 5.2G | salt 1G

Situated in the middle of Sweden, Östersund is a Unesco Creative City of Gastronomy and boasts one of the highest numbers of small-scale food artisans and organic farmers in the country. Innovative bistro Republiken Bar & Kök (republiken.net) serves everything from moose carpaccio to cellar-matured goat’s cheese from local farmers. Nästgårds Farm Restaurant (open in summer) and its sister BUA (nastgard.se) create menus with sustainability at their heart, with dishes such as halibut with coriander seeds, rose pepper, green tomato and fried sourdough. The menu at Hamngatan 12 (hamngatan12.se) fights against food waste by using surplus produce and with upcycled dishes including its potato and leek soup topped with crispy pork belly. But for something iconic to the region, Wedemarks Café (wedemarks.se) is where the smörgåstårta was invented, a savoury layered ‘sandwich cake’ of rye bread, shrimps, salmon and pickled vegetables.