Time for part two of my Scandinavian Christmas Eve celebrations (click here for part one).. After a few wines and smörgås, my family, friends and I sat down to enjoy a traditional Scandinavian Smörgåsbord, similar to what we had the year before.

Traditionally, you begin by eating the fish dishes. This year, I made salmon gravlax (as I do every year!), Jansson’s temptation (potatoes with anchovies), and bought a range of marinated herring, including matjes herring, dill herring, onion herring and mustard herring.

Next comes the meat dishes. This year, I made my own Swedish meatballs which I served alongside some mini pork sausages, red cabbage, a crunchy vegetable salad (from Jamie Oliver’s book Jamie Does), and a selection of ham and cheeses which I served with mustard and rye bread.

To finish, my younger sister E helped out by making a batch of cardamom coffee buns, also known as kanelbullar. I love these, and ate them for breakfast every morning until they were all gone!

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

1kg pork & veal mince
1/2 cup soda water
2 brown onions, finely grated
1/2 cup plain flour
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic salt
oil and butter for frying

1. Combine all ingredients, except for oil and shape into 50 small meatballs.
2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Add a small nob of butter, and fry meatballs on all side until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Keep warm.
3. Serve warm with lingonberry jam.

Makes 50 meatballs / Serves 8 as part of a smörgåsbord / Serves 6-8 as a meal

CRUNCHY SALAD
(recipe by Jamie Oliver)

1 cucumber
2 small carrots, peeled
1 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly
1 bulb baby fennel, finely sliced
6 small radishes, quartered
1 bunch fresh dill
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 tbsp white vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt and sugar

1. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Cut into small half circles and place in a large bowl. Using a peeler, peel strips of carrot and combine add to cucumber.
2. Place remaining ingredients in the bowl and toss well.

Serves 12 as part of a smörgåsbord / Serves 8 as a meal

SWEDISH CARDAMOM COFFE BUNS

80g fresh yeast (available from the bakery)
500ml warm milk
2 eggs
1kg flour
200g demerara sugar
150g soft butter
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cardamom 

FILLING
80g soft butter
1/2 cup demerara sugar
3 tbsp each cinnamon and cardamom 

DECORATION
1 egg, roughly beaten with 1/2 tsp water
pearl sugar (substitute with demerara if unavailable)

1. Crumble yeast into warm milk and stir until it dissolves. Add eggs and gently combine before adding half the flour. Leave to proof, covered, for one hour.
2. Add the remaining flour, sugar, butter, salt and cardamom and work into a smooth dough. Add a little more flour if the batter is too sticky. Transfer to a clean bowl and leave again to proof for 30 minutes.
3. FILLING: Divide the dough in half and roll each into a large rectangle. Spread each with the butter for the filling and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. With the long edge facing you, roll each rectangle into a tight roll and cut each roll into about 20 pieces. Place each piece in a paper cup and transfer to a baking tray. Cover and leave to proof for 30 minutes.
4. DECORATION: Brush each bun with the roughly beaten egg and sprinkle over pearl sugar.
5. Bake at 250°C for 6-8 minutes, until golden.

Makes 40