A visit to Björk

Björk Café and Bistro

Nothing could have been more Swedish. Apart from the food, everything came from Sweden - the cups, the plates, the cutlery, the Orrefors and Kosta Boda glassware. Even the dining room had a clean, functional and very Nordic look about it. I’m referring to Björk, the café and bistro that recently opened on the ground floor of Scandinavia House on Park Avenue at 38th Street in New York City. As for the food, trust Ulrika Bengtsson to take good care of that. A renowned chef in New York City, who grew up in Sweden, her commitment to her homeland fare is unmistakable.

When she told me about her childhood on a farm in Hyltebruk in southern Sweden, there seemed to be no end to her enthusiasm. “We grew many things,” she said, “and my father was a hunter, so all the Swedish classics were on the table – meatballs, cod in egg sauce, brisket, biff a la Lindström, and much more.”

Recalling the autumns, the time for moose hunts and mushroom picking, she became quite electrified, her face blushing with pleasure as she told me of her unbound love of chanterelles.

There was some talk about cloudberries and lingonberries, after which we turned to the Björk menu. One section, titled DAGENS, features the daily specials, beginning with Monday’s Biff Lindström with honey and mustard sauce, and ending with Friday’s Pytt I Panna with pickled beets. On Tuesdays, there is laxpudding with brown butter and horseradish, a delicacy I was able to taste and photograph.

Next to the daily specials comes CLASSICS, a relatively short listing which seemed to sum up what we all think of as not only Swedish but quintessential Scandinavian food: herring, or smörgåsbord plate, meatballs, gravlax, and Toast Skagen.

Wondering if the shrimp used for Toast Skagen still comes from the waters outside Greenland, I was not only given an affirmative answer, but a plateful of shrimp was brought from the kitchen, and as if to confirm their excellence, Ulrika bit into one of them.

Incidentally, she also later nibbled at one of her famous meatballs and tasted a spoonful of Nordic Borscht.

Another classic prepared during my visit was a potato wrap tunnbröd, or what is known in Norway as lefse, served open-faced with sausages, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber, mustard, and crispy onions. Definitely a winner.

Regarding desserts, I especially enjoyed a crispy Swedish waffle with jam and whipped cream. And the variety of cookies, buns and cakes that came on a separate plate added to my pleasure.

Several times I tried to find out if Ulrika had a favorite dish. It was all in vain.

Then, at one point, she gave me an answer that made perfect sense: “It’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite kid.”

Bo Zaunders

Laxpudding

Among Ulrika’s regularly recurring dishes is laxpudding, a delicious salmon casserole that is a lot lighter than it sounds. If you’re in the neighborhood and it happens to be Tuesday, try it. If not, be adventurous and try Ulrika’s recipe instead—a recipe she shared with us when she ran restaurant Ulrika’s on the Upper East Side.

Laxpudding (salmon casserole)

Serves 4

Ingredients

butter 8-10 Idaho potatoes 1 pound gravlax filet, thinly sliced 1 Spanish onion 1/2 cup finely chopped dill 3 whole eggs 1-1/2 cup whole milk salt white pepper

Instructions

- Preheat the oven to 375-400°F and butter an oven-safe casserole dish. - Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Blanch the slices in lightly salted water until almost soft. Peel and thinly slice the Spanish onion. Sauté the onion slices in butter until nearly golden brown. - Layer in the casserole dish: potato, dill, onion and gravlax, finishing with a nice layer of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that the salmon is already salty. - Beat the eggs slightly and add the milk. Pour this egg-wash over the layered ingredients. - Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until set. - Serve with drawn butter and freshly grated horseradish.

Of course, you’ll need gravlax for Ulrika’s recipe … (Just in case gravlax seems like too much for you there’s a slightly different laxpudding made with salmon filets. We’re partial and prefer Ulrika’s based on gravlax but turn to page 26 for the other recipe) ... however, gravlax is so much easier to make than most people expect, works equally well on its own as in the above casserole and is then often served with a mustard sauce on toast with a lemon slice and a little bit of extra dill. Once cured it also freezes well.

Laxpudding - the salmon casserole - works as a hot dish but is not common on the Swedish Christmas table; however, gravlax is very common. Gravlax with the dill/mustard sauce, along with smoked salmon and pickled herring, are among the most common cold dishes.

Gravlax

serves 10

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh salmon, midsection of one filet, of the highest quality 2 teaspoons oil 4 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons salt 1 teaspoon crushed white pepper corns 1 big chopped bundle of dill

Instructions

- Wipe the salmon clean. Ask the store to filet the salmon or do so yourself with a pliers, remove all surface fat and bones. Leave the skin. Moisten the salmon with oil, mix the herbs with the dill and rub the mix onto the salmon. - Put a good quantity of dill in an appropriate bowl (some actually use a plastic bag instead), place the salmon skin side up on the dill and put more dill on top. Cover with a chopping board or similar light weight and leave the salmon in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours. Flip the salmon a couple times. Just under 24 hours should be right, leaving the salmon for too long will make it hard and dry. - Scrape off the herbs and cut the salmon in thin slices or 2.5-inch thick straight cuts, free from skin. The skin (which has to be peeled) may be cut into half-inch wide strips, dipped in oil, fried and served with the salmon. Tip: Freezing the cured salmon will take care of any remaining bacteria and make the slicing much easier while the dish is still half frozen.

- Fillet the salmon and remove all the bones, but leave the skin. Dry the fish with paper towel and halve it. Mix the salt and sugar with coarsely ground pepper. - Spread a little of the mixture on a plate and sprinkle with fresh dill. Place one of the salmon pieces on the plate with the skin down. Sprinkle more than half the remaining spice mixture and dill on the fillet. Then place the other piece of salmon on top of the first, skin side up. Sprinkle with the rest of the spice mixture, and the dill, and cover with plastic wrap. - Store in the fridge for 48 hours and turn the fish regularly when the liquid comes out. Remove the spice mixture and slice the cured salmon in thin slices. Mustard sauce - Gravlax Sauce

1 tablespoon mild Swedish style mustard 1 teaspoon dark French mustard 1/2 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon red vinegar salt and pepper lots of chopped dill

- Put the mustard sauce in a bowl and serve with the cured salmon.

Gravlax is often served with fresh dill and a mustard sauce and this is how you’ll often find the dish on julbordet, the Swedish Christmas table.

To create your own mustard sauce, mix mustard, sugar and white wine vinegar and add the oil gently, while stirring. Season with dill, salt and white pepper.

Laxpudding made with salmon filets and served with green peas, which always work well with this dish.

Salmon pudding with melted butter and green peas

Serves 4

Ingredients

1-3/4 pounds (800 g) potatoes, preferably firm and waxy 1 bunch dill 2 onions butter (for frying and greasing the pan) 1-1/3 pounds (600 g) salmon fillet 4 eggs 1 cup (2 dl) cream 1 cup (2 dl) milk salt and pepper 14 ounces (400 g) green peas 3-1/2 tablespoons (50 g) butter

Instructions

- Peel and boil the potatoes with some of the dill. Drain and let the potatoes cool. - Preheat the oven to 400°F. - Peel and thinly slice the onions. Fry in butter until golden brown. - Slice the salmon and chop the remaining dill. - Whisk together the eggs, cream and milk and season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be quite salty because it will flavor both the potatoes and the salmon. - Grease an ovenproof dish with butter. - Slice the potatoes and layer potatoes, salmon, onion and dill (but save a little dill for garnish) in two or three layers. - Pour the egg mixture evenly over the layers and bake for 35-40 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the pudding.

- Heat the water to boiling and add the peas. Cook for around 15 seconds, then drain. Sprinkle with salt. - Melt the butter in a saucepan and skim off the white protein that bubbles up. When the butter is pale golden brown, it is ready to serve. - Garnish the pudding with the remaining dill and the peas. Drizzle melted butter over and serve immediately.

Titanic Sailing Again

by Lilly Setterdahl

The passengers dress in period clothing, dance, flirt and fall in love on the maiden voyage of the newly-built Titanic Princess sailing from Jiangsu, China to Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2018. But will the ship reach Southampton, England and New York without serious threats?

True to her tradition, the author creates Scandinavian characters and fits them into the story. Whether or not you are a Titanic fan, you will love reading about the surprise onboard meeting of the grandsons of two Titanic survivors, the lady’s maid Anna and her rescuer, Roberto, both featured in Setterdahl’s previous Titanic novels.

Mail to: Nordstjernan, P.O. Box 680, Minneola FL 34755

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