Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Finnish Swede Bake



I apologize for the silly name, but really, that's what it is. This is a traditional Finnish dish, made from swede, or rutabaga. It's very tasty, and usually served as part of the christmas buffet. It goes particularly well with christmas ham. It's pretty sweet, so it's perfect with salty meats. And not just for christmas!

This recipe comes from Vajlet, who is my dad's ex-wife. She would always make it and bring when she spent christmas with us and a couple of years ago I insisted on the recipe. It's pretty vague - more of a sketch really - but it always turns out just fine.

Finnish Swede Bake

swede (rutabaga), about 2-300 g, peeled and in large pieces
2-3 carrots, peeled and in large pieces
2-3 tbsp milk
golden syrup
breadcrumbs
butter

Boil the swede and the carrots in lightly salted water. Drain when soft, and mash with the milk. Butter an oven proof dish, and pour the mashed veggies into it. Drizzle over golden syrup, and a thin, even layer of breadcrumbs. Put a couple of pats of butter on top.

The original instructions said to bake for quite a long time in quite a low temperature. I usually do it at 175°C for an hour or so. The breadcrumbs should be soft and golden.

Finsk Kålrotslåda

6 comments:

Anna said...

Sounds pretty authentic! My mother's traditional recipe eliminates the carrots and uses a very big slosh of double cream. Finns and Swedes so many food traditions - this must be one of the few dishes that is truly Finnish.

During Christmastime, I tried to find a swedes/rutabagas in my local supermarket in Manhattan. There were several different turnip-like varieties, but no labels, so I couldn't really tell them apart. Whatever big, waxed yellow root I ended up with, it seemed to work...

Over the weekend I realized that green papayas taste quite a bit like uncooked turnips. So maybe this year I'll make a green papaya bake for Christmas ;)

Alanna Kellogg said...

I'd completely forgotten this - it's so good. And I'm intrigued by the idea of green papayas too.

Toronto1 said...

I made this with Christmas ham and it was very good.
I put crunchy brown sugar in with it and butter and everybody was happy with the meal.
I will try this recipe and see how it goods. Thanks!!
Also used half and half cream with it.

John Thompson said...

Thanks for the recipe Anna, my mum makes this and it is perfect winter grub. Cheers John

Unknown said...

Finnish food rocks

Unknown said...

Swede bake rocks