Book review: The Little Swedish Kitchen

In her twenties, looking for adventure, Rachel Khoo headed for Paris to do a Cordon Bleu patisserie course. After graduating she started a tiny pop up restaurant in her Paris flat with room for only two diners and approached a UK publisher to publish a book of her recipes. Her first book My little Paris Kitchen turned out to be a big hit! Several TV series and more books followed.

Then love took her to a new life in Stockholm where she now lives with her Swedish husband and baby. She began experimenting in her kitchen with local produce. Family and friends were willing tasters and generously shared their own food stories. The Little Swedish Kitchen, a very stylish cookbook, was the result and contains 100 of her Scandi recipes.

She divided her book into the four seasons because Swedes like to celebrate each one. Yes, even winter when temperatures sink to sub-zero (something Rachel Khoo still finds it difficult to adjust to at times).

 ‘The secret of Swedish food is that it makes you feel good even when it’s dark and gloomy outside. Food brings a bit of sunshine into your home,” she writes.

So on a wintry day, I decided to put some of her recipes to the test.

Porcini toast with bacon and thyme:

Rashers of crisply fried free-range bacon and very finely sliced raw mushrooms are drizzled with a smidgeon of hot bacon fat to make a topping for toasted sourdough. A sprig of thyme completed this very tasty dish. It was perfect for brunch. And as the mushrooms were not fried in butter, which I usually do, there were less calories.

Yellow pea soup

This very popular Swedish soup is made with whole yellow peas and smoked bacon. Rachel Khoo gives it her own twist by including a couple of tablespoons of toasted yellow mustard seeds which added an only slightly discernible nutty flavour. It was a rib-sticking comfort soup which I’d happily make again except for the squeeze of sweet mustard at the end. That’s a Swedish tradition we haven’t quite developed a taste for yet.

Gingerbread and Blue cheese biscuits

Glogg (mulled wine) fuelled get-togethers are a popular Swedish pastime in winter. And they are always accompanied by plenty of delicious treats like gingerbread biscuits served with blue cheese. The combination of ingredients which includes rye flour, spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom) and coffee sounded so unusual I just had to give them a try. After rolling the dough out thinly I simply cut it into squares, which was faster and easier than using a cookie cutter. And I served the blue cheese and cream cheese mixture alongside. Together they tasted really good, and for old teeth, it was an added plus that the biscuits were melt in the mouth rather than tooth-breaking crunchy!

Glogg poached pears with citrus Chantilly cream

After a glogg (mulled wine) party at Rachel Khoo’s home, there’s often a bottle left behind brought by generous guests. But if you don’t happen to have one she includes an easy recipe for it.

The pears simmered in mulled wine were a very easy do-ahead dessert. In fact, they must be made hours ahead to allow the pears to soak up the liquid and become a rich ruby red colour. They were delicious with the lightly whipped Chantilly cream flavoured with orange zest. There was a lot of leftover juice. Rather than waste it I thickened it and turned it into a sauce.

Tempted to try soon

I have my eye on the DIY wedding cake which Rachel Khoo created for her own wedding. This yoghurt lemon cake, filled with zesty fresh lemon curd and covered with a whipped cream frosting looks absolutely spectacular and perfect for a special occasion.

The Verdict

One of the best ways to appreciate another culture is to taste its food. I love the way Rachel Khoo makes her recipes come alive with anecdotes and stories about her new life in Sweden. The photographs are enchanting. And there are lots of tempting recipes in this book!

The Little Swedish Kitchen by Rachel Khoo is published by Michael Joseph. RRP $55.00.

This book is one of the titles in our August Book Club. If you want to win a copy of this book, and share your own (brief) review with other members, enter the competition here. 

Reviews by Lyn Potter

Parent and grandparent, Avid traveller, writer & passionate home cook

Read more by Lyn here.