Jansson's Frestelse

Sometimes the strangest things will lead me to trying a recipe. Matt got the book Make the Most of Your Time on Earthfor Christmas. I was reading through the section on Scandinavia the other day & this dish was mentioned as a standard on the Swedish smorgasbord so then I had to go find out what it was.

What I discovered, thanks to recipes on the internets, is that Jansson's Frestelse (or Temptation) is basically a hot dish of potatoes, onions & anchovies. I don't know why but something about that just sounded good to me (maybe its ingrained in my Swedish genes). Matt was a little wary of the whole thing.

We decided to switch out the anchovies to sardines because Matt felt that the recipe was really for larger anchovies that we don't really see around here not the ones in the can. He was afraid the ones in the can would be too salty. Sardines are something we've been wanting to see if we like because they, like other oily fish, are so good for you. (Apparently in Sweden this dish is traditionally made with pickled sprats which is basically a pickled sardine.)

I thought the end result was really tasty & different. I like the taste of sardines right out of the can so potatoes & onions can only make them better, right. Matt thought it was just ok but he did eat the whole thing. We needed to add salt to the finished dish which I think the pickled fish would have added if we had them. Perhaps anchovies are the way to go.

Jansson's Frestelse
(adapted from Primordial Soup Kitchen)

2 russet potatoes
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
salt
1 tin sardines packed in oil
1/2 c heavy cream
2 t butter
bread crumbs
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Peel & finely grate the potatoes. Soak in water for 15 minutes to a couple of hours. Drain & squeeze out as much water as possible.

Butter two 2-cup ramekins. Put 1/4 of the potatoes into the bottom of each ramekin. Top with 1/4 of the onions in each. Sprinkle with a little salt. Layer in the sardines, splitting the tin between the two ramekins. Top with the remaining onions & then potatoes. Pour 1/4 cup of cream into each ramekin. Cut the butter into small pieces & scatter around the top. Cover with bread crumbs, some fresh pepper & a little salt.

Bake for 40 minutes until the potato on top is crispy & brown. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

Serves 2

Update: My mom just called me & said according to her Swedish cookbook lox would be a substitute for the Swedish anchovies as well.

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