INGREDIENTS:
500g salad potatoes (peeled)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (melted)
1/2 tablespoon breadcrumbs
1/2 tablespoon parmesan cheese (finely grated)
salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 200ºC.

To prepare each potato, pierce a potato down its length with a wooden skewer about 1/3 from the bottom, now slice the potato at 3mm intervals from the top downwards until the knife is stopped by the skewer. Repeat with all the potatoes.

Combine the cheese and breadcrumbs and season well with salt & pepper, then set aside. Combine the oil and butter and toss the potatoes in the mixture. Arrange in a roasting tin, sliced side up. Sprinkle with a little breadcrumb mixture and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the potatoes are soft on the inside and the outside crunchy and brown.

SERVING:
I served mine with a big fat pork chop, but potatoes can be served alongside pretty much anything.

This little side dish split the jury! I found it heavenly in taste and texture, yet the other half decided it was like nursing home food. I urge you to follow my opinion. If this is the kind of food served up at nursing homes, the pack my bags now. I followed a Scandinavian recipe for this dish and served it with a big fat steak. I for one loved it – and I’m 100% sure you would too!

INGREDIENTS:
2 large potatoes (coarsely grated)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh sage (finely chopped)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
1 knob of butter

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 200ºC. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish with the butter.

Whisk the eggs then add the milk and flour and whisk till smooth. Stir in the salt, sage and pepper. Combine with the grated potato then tip the mixture into the ovenproof dish. Dot with a little more butter then bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Sprinkle over the cheese and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Cool slightly before serving.

SERVING:
Serve as a side dish to almost anything you like.

If there’s one saving grace of the self-torture that is going to any IKEA store it is the opportunity to, while there, gorge yourself on their delicious meatballs. It takes the edge off queueing for hours to pay for 12 wooden coat hangers and a pack of teatowels you didn’t need.

I am obsessed with meatballs. Most nations have some kind of meatball in their repertoire and I intend to make it a quest to try each and every variety. Swedish food is a little dull in my opinion, and they do tend to pack in as many calories as they can, but once in a while it’s a nice alternative. Try these meatballs. They’re pretty easy and the gravy is pretty tasty too.

INGREDIENTS:
750g lean beef mince
250g lean pork mince
2 eggs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 level tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoon onion (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup beef stock
1/4 thick cream

DIRECTIONS:
Combine, by hand, the meats, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, onion and 1 cup of warm water until smooth.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large frying pan and add small balls (about 1 heaped teaspoon) of the meat mixture until they are lightly browned. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Once all the meatballs have been fried, add another tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan and stir well, pour in the beef stock and 1/2 cup water and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and add the meatballs back to the pan. Simmer gently for 30 minutes until the sauce reduces slightly. Stir 1/4 cup thick cream, when the sauce begins to simmer again, remove from heat.

SERVING:
Boiled potatoes and a little cranberry sauce on the side.