…was saved this year, thanks to relying on a regular Swedish ham instead of the more desirable American ham. The Swedish ham is cured in a salt brine and this year’s choice was one that already was cooked.

Attempting a compromise between both cultures, I placed cloves in the fatty part, rubbed in brown sugar and brushed “Liquid Smoke”, diluted 1:2 with water, over the top before popping it into the oven to heat up. A “normal” Swedish ham should be rubbed with mustard and covered with bread crumbs.

The rest of the dinner consisted of boiled eggs and two types of pickled herring. One ordinary type, pickled with the normal combination of spices and a 50/50 mix of sugar and special Swedish “vinegar” type called ättiksprit, and definitely not to be confused with normal vinegar which is completely different. The other pickled herring was in a great mustard and dill sauce that I make. Also on the table was a small toss salad, using a base of rosé lettuce with cherry tomatoes etc., home-grown baby potatoes splashed with dried parsley, small Swedish sausages with a strong, but sweet, mustard and the fantastic traditional soda “Julmust” to drink.

I can’t complain. Just enough to celebrate the Christmas day, but not too much to make small regrets of eating too much. As well, I got the opportunity to act as a gastronomy photographer and create a new blog category about food and its consumption in Lapland. Could be an interesting section?

Photo: A small Swedish Christmas dinner for two