Danish chef Trine Hahnemann offers a collection of simple Scandinavian-inspired recipes perfect for late summer, focusing on the best of seasonal produce. The recipes, featured in her book "Midnight Sun," highlight straightforward preparation and fresh flavors.
Among the featured dishes is a Tomato Salad with Goat’s Cheese Dressing, described as more of an assembly than a cooking process. It uses a mix of green, red, and yellow tomatoes, dressed with a blend of goat cheese and yogurt, and topped with toasted coriander seeds and fresh herbs. This salad is designed to complement other dishes, including a Courgette Filo Tart.
The Courgette Filo Tart utilizes thinly sliced green and yellow courgettes layered on buttered filo pastry. It is baked until crisp and can be served hot with a salad or cold the following day.
For a heartier option, Hahnemann presents Scandic Porchetta (Rullesteg), a rolled pork joint stuffed with a mixture of sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and lemon. The pork is roasted until it reaches an internal temperature of approximately 58C.
A Summer Frikassé is offered as a vegetarian alternative to traditional stews, featuring seasonal vegetables such as new potatoes, fennel, asparagus, and pak choi, all simmered in white wine and cream with fresh tarragon and chervil.
Another recipe for utilizing summer produce is the Crunchy Herbed Chicken Salad, which can be made with leftover chicken or pan-fried chicken breast. It incorporates asparagus, cucumber, and radishes, dressed with a lemon-Dijon vinaigrette and served with rye bread.
Seafood lovers can prepare Skagen Toast, a classic Scandinavian summer dish. It consists of fresh prawns mixed with mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, and dill, served on butter-fried white bread.
For a refreshing starter or light meal on hot days, Chilled Cucumber Soup is recommended. This soup requires advance preparation, needing to chill for at least eight hours. It features blended cucumber, shallots, white wine, vegetable stock, and a medley of fresh herbs, finished with lemon juice and served with yogurt and crispbread.
The collection also includes a Marzipan Cake with Strawberry Cream, a personal favorite of Hahnemann's from her childhood. The cake is topped with a chocolate glaze and served with a cream infused with vanilla seeds and fresh strawberries and raspberries.
"Midnight Sun" by Trine Hahnemann, with photographs by Kim Lightbody, is published by Quadrille and available for purchase.