Ingredients
Herring, first course
- pickled herring in mustard sauce
- matjes herring
- herring in onion or sherry
- crispbread, knäckebröd
- boiled new potatoes with dill
- sour cream and chives
- mature cheese, västerbotten
Cold fish, second
- gravlax with hovmästarsås
- cold-smoked salmon
- prawns
- smoked eel, optional
Cold cuts, third
- sliced cured ham
- liver pâté, leverpastej
- roast beef with pickled cucumber
- salads, including rödbetssallad
Hot dishes, fourth
- Janssons frestelse
- köttbullar with lingonberry
- prinskorv, small sausages
- meatball gravy
- boiled potatoes
Dessert, last
- cheeses and fruit
- a simple cake
To drink
- beer
- ice-cold akvavit, with singing
Directions
- Serve them in their own small dishes with boiled new potatoes, sour cream, chives, crispbread and a strong cheese.
- Take a little of two or three herrings rather than a large amount of one. This is where the akvavit is drunk, and it is drunk cold, in small glasses, with singing between rounds.
- Keep the hot dishes genuinely hot in chafing dishes, because lukewarm Janssons is a poor thing. Janssons frestelse is potato, onion and cream baked with ansjovis, which are spiced sprats rather than anchovies, and that distinction matters if you are shopping.
- Serve the meatballs with lingonberry preserve and a brown cream gravy.
- Arrange the table in that same order, so people move along it in sequence.
- Put the herring at one end and the dessert at the other, with a stack of fresh plates at the start. Give each dish its own serving implement, and do not let strongly flavoured things sit next to delicate ones.
- Keep the cold dishes genuinely cold, on ice if the room is warm, since cured fish deteriorates quickly at room temperature. Most of it can and should be made in advance, which is the point of the format.
Technique
- Ansjovis in Swedish means spiced sprats, not anchovies, which matters for Janssons frestelse.
- The julbord is the Christmas smörgåsbord and the most elaborate version.
- Restaurant smörgåsbord is now more common than home ones except at Christmas.
Substitutions
- Shop-bought pickled herrings, which almost every Swedish household uses.
- Any good cured salmon in place of homemade gravlax.
Variations
- Julbord, the Christmas version.
- Påskbord, at Easter.
- A small everyday version with just herring, bread and cheese.
History
Grew out of the brännvinsbord, the schnapps table of the 1700s; it reached a global audience at the Swedish pavilion of the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
Frequently asked questions
What is Smörgåsbord?
Smörgåsbord is a main from Sweden: cold buffet of herring, cheese, cured meats and small hot dishes. Grew out of the brännvinsbord, the schnapps table of the 1700s; it reached a global audience at the Swedish pavilion of the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
How long does Smörgåsbord take to make?
Smörgåsbord takes 2 hr plus curing time of preparation and varies of cooking. The recipe makes 8 or more. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Smörgåsbord?
Yes, within limits. Shop-bought pickled herrings, which almost every Swedish household uses. Any good cured salmon in place of homemade gravlax.
What is the most important thing to get right in Smörgåsbord?
Take a little of two or three herrings rather than a large amount of one. This is where the akvavit is drunk, and it is drunk cold, in small glasses, with singing between rounds.
