I don't know where the name comes from, but the dish is really called Jansson's Temptation. And it's delicious. One of my faves from the christmas foods, but it's also served at Easter or as a late night snack. It's very salty but still sweet - Swedish anchovies are cured in a sweet brine and not very fishy. My favorite way to eat this is to pair it with meatballs. Yum!
Jansson's Temptation
4-5 medium potatoes, roughly grated
1 small can of Swedish flat anchovies (125 g)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
salt, pepper
300 ml of heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 225°C. Mix the potatoes with the onions, and add a little bit of salt and pepper. Put half of the mix in a buttered oven proof dish. Top with all of the anchovies. Add the rest of the potatoes and onions. Drizzle over half of the cream, and put in the oven. After about twenty minutes, add the rest of the cream. Bake until it has some color - about twenty more minutes, so 40 minutes in total.
15 comments:
I love Jansson's Temptation too...I use peeled, sliced celery root for half of the potatoes. This version the taught in a New-Age Scandanvian (sp) Class. sue
I was telling a friend about this dish last week. I made it years ago for a party and everyone loved it. I'll look for Swedish anchovies. Now I want to make it again. It is very tempting.
One of my favorite recipes. To cut some calories you can substitute half of the cream with milk, but I like the all-cream version better. I like the idea of using celery root. Parsnips might work too.
We learned to make this years ago and it's been one of our favorite potato recipes. Absolutely delicious!
Surprised you didn't know the answer to the name, this classic Swedish dish gets its name from the story that this was the food that tempted Jansson, a religious fanatic, to renounce his vow to give up earthly pleasures. It perfectly illustrates the thrifty technique of adding a little of something rich and flavourful (in this case, cream and anchovies) to lots of something mild and filling (good old potatoes). A temptation indeed.
Anonymous - that was a new one for me. There are many, many theories on the name, and another one is on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janssons_frestelse
hELLO aNNE
Have just discovered your blog and think its brill! We have just moved from UK to Sweden and I would like to do the traditional Swedish thing... and have a Julbord AND jULSKINKA was searching for recipes and hey ho I'm on your blog. HEAVY CREAM??? Is this what we know in England or call Double Cream as opposed to Single Cream which I guess is lighter in thickness/density not necessarily in calories LOL!
Yeah - heavy, double- just use the most fatty cream you can find :) It's called Vispgrädde in Swedish, which literally translates to whipping cream, but in some countries, whipping cream is sweetened. Very confusing!
Did you know that Finns also call this dish Jannson's Temptation and the recipe seems the same. My son's grandmother makes it but I've never tried to make it.
Can you tell me the name of the brand of swedish anchovies? Do they sell them at Ikea? I have wanted to make J. T. for years but I'm a stickler for authenticity and wanted to get the right kind of anchovies.
Kookiegoddess - I don't really know what the IKEA stores abroad carry, but I'd imagine they'd have this, yes. Grebbestads is one brand (look for a pink tin), but IKEA sometimes sells things repackaged under their own brand.
I really like this christmas food.
I work at IKEA and this dish is always an hit at the events we do for Easter and Christmas. A couple of times our supplier runs out of anchovies so i use the gravad lax and its amazing!
Hi Anne
Is it ok yo use normal anchovies? I will not be able to obtain Swedish anchovies in time.
Also do you rinse the anchovies or use some or all of the oil?
Thanks
Rachael
Rachael, so sorry, but it won't work the same at all. Swedish anchovies aren't really anchovies - they're actually "sprattus sprattus", related to herrings, and pickled in a spicy marinade, not in oil. It's decidedly different from anything else.
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