Oh wow, the food here is out of this world. There seems to be some kind of food hall around every other corner here in Stockholm. I popped along to one that local Fiona recommended hotorgshallen, i could have easily stayed there for my whole trip! It’s underneath a film centre in one of the main squares in the city, so you travel down the escalator into an Aladdin’s cave of salami, fish, tea, any cured meat you can think of, fruit, veg, tea, coffee, etc. It’s all the best of the best and crafted by expert producers from all over the world.
After a quick walk round i settled on the one that seemed to have the most Swedish specialities Saluplats and asked for a mix of everything. The lady had a field day piling a board high full of what she called “fun things” and this is what she came up with
A feast fit for a cake lady! including Stekt strömming (fried herring), Blodpudding with lingonberry jam, 1 creamy cheese with a malibu and pineapple jam, and one more manchego type one with a fig chutney, Swedish salami, rosemary roasted lamb, Swedish beer sausage and pickled carrots. There is always something pickled on the plate! All accompanied by some delicious rye bread, butter and a chilled vino bianco.
Once again i don’t think she thought i was going to finish it all, but there was no way i was leaving any of that good stuff to go to waste. It was divine. After a stroll to walk some of that off, hopped on the train out to Alvik to meet Fiona for an evening of more Swedish delights. We had a little drive round the area so i could see all different types of Swedish houses including the royal residence (you can get so close to all the palaces, and the prime ministers house!) and the summer cottages that people retreat to in the warmer months for a bit of relaxation.
This was followed by some real Swedish comfort food cooked by Johan, Janssons Temptation. A creamy gratin like dish with potato, cream and anchovies, accompanied with seriously smoky Swedish sausages and salad. The guys knew that i was all up for trying any local treats so also got to try the breakfast caviar Kalles after dinner, Swedes around the world rever this stuff! It was quite funny as everyone at the table braced themselves for me to hate it, i actually quite liked it! It’s a Marmite kind of thing, you either love it or really hate it as it’s a very strong taste. But being a stinky cheese, olive and marmite lover i was quite at home with Kalles.
We wrapped up the evening with a couple of glasses of wine and chatter, it was a fabulous evening learning lots about all the different parts of Sweden that Fiona has explored in her time here and even a bit about my family when she used to hang out with my aunt. Thank you Fiona! 🙂
Ciao a tutti, one very full cake lady! x
