Scandinavian inspired Christmas recipes by Irini Tzortzoglou

One of the best things about Christmas is being ready to welcome friends and family into our homes.

It is a good idea to have some quick and easy dishes in your repertoire that can be rustled up at short notice, or to have readymade in the fridge. Avoiding any dishes that resemble traditional turkey, stuffing, pigs and blankets and Christmas pudding which are best saved to serve in all their glory on the big day itself, we turned to Irini Tzortzoglou, MasterChef champion 2019, for some ideas.

Although she is from Crete, Irini is a fan of the Scandi aesthetic and was inspired by the Nordic tradition of the principal festive event taking place on Christmas Eve when the main meal is served and gifts are exchanged.

Dining with friends (Image: Sheenah Allcock) With a ‘night before Christmas’ menu settled upon, Irini turned to her Cartmel neighbour, Sarah Byrne, to provide a venue for our feast at Crumble Cottages where she lives with partner Stewart Cowe. Sarah is a horticulture and landscape design expert and a natural crafter. Together with Jeremy Langmead, Cumbria Life’s ‘master maker’, our creative trio set to work.

First, Sarah and Jeremy set to work making a centrepiece to hang above the table which, thanks to a spectacular fire created by Stewart, could be outside, under cover. Honouring the minimalist Scandi style, natural materials and clear glass dominated.

Handmade baubles by Emma McKintosh, of Nettle + Tansy (Image: Sheenah Allcock) Sarah secured large pieces of ornamental Corylus avellana 'Contorta' or twisted hazel from the garden interweaved with some pine. The lateral growth of the hazel works well as a horizontal decoration while its multiple strands are perfect for hooking decorations, in this case handblown twisted baubles by Emma McKintosh, of Nettle + Tansy (nettleandtansy.co.uk). Discreet, but effective, fairy lights completed the look.

Although Sarah grew up near Rochdale, the main event for her family was also Christmas Eve when relatives gathered and everyone helped lay out a festive table complete with presents to open.

“My father, Thomas Keith McCann, apart from being an architect, was also very artistic and took great delight creating exquisitely decorated selections of Danish open sandwiches – quite avant-garde for 60s Manchester,” recalled Sarah.

Scandinavian style open sandwiches (Image: Sheenah Allcock) “From memory I can see squares of pumpernickel perfectly arranged in neat rows decked with either smoked salmon or mouth-watering, rare, roast beef topped with remoulade sauce and crispy onions, or quail eggs with pyramids of lumpfish roe on top and, of course, Morecambe Bay prawns glistening with butter huddled on triangles of toast.”

Having lost her father last Christmas at the age of 94, it made the memory all the more poignant for Sarah. Inspired by his sandwiches, Irini decided to recreate them for her Night Before Christmas menu.

Sarah continued: “My main memory of Christmas Day is of my father hushing us all as he led us down the stairs very early in the morning until we reached the door of the sitting room. He would crack open the door asking, ‘Has he been?’.

“My father made sure Christmas was such a special and magical time for his four children. Part of it was the anticipation, the getting things ready and the preparation.”

Sarah also makes sure guests at her and Stewart’s holiday cottages (crumblecottages.co.uk) enjoy a special time and are welcomed with handmade Christmas decorations.

Making mini Christmas trees (Image: Sheenah Allcock) An easy Scandi-style decoration to use singly or, as is best, in groups are mini Christmas trees. Sarah and Jeremy started with flat, round ‘coasters’, about four inches in diameter and one inch deep, by cutting through a branch. They made a small hole in the centre of each piece of wood with a drill and pushed in a thinner branch to a height that was proportionate to make a ‘trunk’.

Jeremy then took small pieces of Tsuga canadensis, or eastern hemlock, laying it like fir tree branches and winding floristry wire around each branch to hold it in place against the trunk.

Jeremy too has a connection to Scandinavia having lived in Oslo for three years from the age of seven when his mum’s husband was sent there with his advertising agency. “It was quite fun. I remember there being candlelit smörgåsbord wherever we went – and lots of herring,” he said.

Jeremy is planning to spend this Christmas with his two sons, their girlfriends and his ex-wife and her partner in Suffolk. “She’s a really good cook so it’s very festive and it’s nice being the guest at your own family gathering,” he said.

Beeswax candles and moss for the centrepiece (Image: Sheenah Allcock) Next Jeremy and Sarah turned to the table itself. Stewart had already made a long, narrow wooden container to sit along the centre of the table and into this they positioned natural beeswax candles at varying heights by gently melting them on the bottom.

With 16 candles stuck in position, they took moss that grows in abundance in the garden at Crumble Cottages and stuffed it around the candles to fill the container. A few tiny pinecones completed the look.

“Ours is a long table, but you can make the same centrepiece for a much smaller table and the best thing about it is there is no plastic, it’s all natural and looks really festive,” said Sarah.

The finishing touch to the table was to decorate small gifts for everyone with bead embellishments from Sarah’s collection.

Glogg (Image: Sheenah Allcock) With the fire lit and the table ready, Irini served her Scandi feast, but not before pouring some Scandinavian glögg, a more boozy version of our mulled wine. Irini said: “The use of the local clear spirit Aquavit, distilled from grain or potatoes and flavoured with herbs, is one ingredient that makes this fortified drink perfect for colder Nordic climes.

“I decided to stay with the Scandi spirit of things but used Shed One Distillery Vodka which is flavoured with quince, pear and sage. Instead of sugar I used a forest honey for its depth of flavour and malty notes and I served mine with a few dried slices of quince and blanched almonds, another Nordic touch.”

She explained that the food recipes were adapted from Scandinavian classics eaten on Christmas Eve. “They were inspired by the decorations created by Sarah and Jeremy in an effort to transport Jeremy to Norway where he had spent some time as a child.”

Irini Tzortzoglou with the salmon ready for the oven (Image: Sheenah Allcock) The spread included sides of salmon roasted and smoked, a fish roe salad, a beetroot and apple salad, a potato salad and the open top sandwiches. “My bread of choice is rye but you can use sourdough or pumpernickel equally well,” said Irini.

“For a classic Scandi spread, use fish or seafood, eggs, ham, potatoes or pretty much anything you fancy mixed with pickles and flavoured with mayonnaise or horseradish cream on slices of bread with lashings of butter. Thin lemon slices, chopped dill, capers and gherkins are all used to add acidity and flavour.”

Irini and her husband John tend to travel at Christmas, going to Scotland or a European city. When they are at home, Christmas Day begins with the morning service at Cartmel Priory followed by drinks and canapes at friends then a leisurely lunch at home followed by The Sound of Music. Skål!

Roast Side of Salmon with Dill and Lemon (Image: Sheenah Allcock)

Roast Side of Salmon with Dill and Lemon

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

1.2kg side of salmon, trimmed

2 lemons, thinly sliced

30g butter, cut into cubes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp dill, finely chopped

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and line a dish with greaseproof paper.

2. Arrange the sliced lemon on the paper then place the salmon on top, skin side down.

3. Dot small butter cubes all over the salmon, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with half the dill. Bake uncovered for about 20 mins.

4. Serve the salmon hot or cold sprinkled with the remaining dill. Serve with a potato salad and pickles.

Potato Salad (Image: Sheenah Allcock)

Potato Salad

Irini says: I chose to use chives in this salad – which is traditionally flavoured with dill in Scandinavia – only because I used dill for the salmon. Feel free to use herbs and pickles you love to make this recipe your own; sliced gherkins would be perfect.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

750g new potatoes

2 tbsp shallot, finely chopped

1 tbsp chives, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Rocket salad to serve with chive flowers (optional)

FOR THE DRESSING

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1½ tsp caster sugar

1½ tsp Dijon mustard

METHOD

1. Scrub and wash the potatoes well. Place in a pan of salted cold water, making sure the potatoes are covered, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and soft boil until the potatoes are cooked, approx. 15-20 minutes depending on size. Drain and leave to cool then cut in half, quarters or thick slices.

2. To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients in a jug. Add the dressing to the just-warm potatoes and stir well.

3. When the salad is cold, add the finely chopped chives and serve topped with chive flowers.

4. Simply dress some rocket leaves with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and spoon the potato salad over them.

A range of pickles (Image: Sheenah Allcock)

Pickled Beetroot and Onion

Irini says: Cucumbers and radishes also pickle well. Feel free to use aromatics and whole spices that you like.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PICKLING SOLUTION

200ml cider vinegar

200ml water

100g sugar

25g salt

2 bay leaves

2 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tsp dill or celery seeds

VEGETABLES

4-5 small beetroot (yellow and rainbow), roasted and cut into discs

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

METHOD

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Place the beets and onion in separate lidded, heatproof containers.

3. Divide the boiling liquid among the containers and cool to room temperature. Cover and chill for eight hours or overnight.

Pickled figs

Irini says: This is a little different in that honey is included in the pickling liquid. These figs go beautifully with cheese open sandwiches as well as cold meats.

INGREDIENTS

450g green figs

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

450ml cider vinegar

340g thyme honey

150ml water

3-4 sprigs of thyme

METHOD

1. Trim the green, unripe figs and cut a cross in the top. Put the figs in a glass bowl and cover with water in which you have diluted the bicarbonate of soda. Soak the fruit overnight with a plate weighing them down.

2. The next day, rinse the fruit then place in a pan of boiling water and cook until soft but not mushy.

3. Remove from the pan and drop the figs in icy water to stop them cooking then drain when cool. Transfer to a sterilised jar putting the thyme sprigs in between the figs.

4. In a saucepan, bring the cider vinegar, honey and water to the boil then turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Pour the vinegar solution over the figs, put a small dish as a weight at the top to keep the figs submerged, close tightly and store in the fridge. They are ready to eat after two-three days but will keep for a few weeks.

Creamy Rice Pudding with Cherry Sauce and Almond Brittle (risalamande) (Image: Sheenah Allcock)

Creamy Rice Pudding with Cherry Sauce and Almond Brittle (risalamande)

Irini says: I first had this delightfully rich and creamy rice pudding in Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, which I was keen to visit on a pre-Christmas trip to Denmark. In Sweden the same Christmas tradition is called ris a la Malta and in Norway, riskrem. It is best to make the pudding the night before or at least a few hours ahead of time, but not vital.

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

650ml full fat milk

55g caster sugar

120g pudding rice

150ml double cream

1 vanilla pod, sliced in half lengthwise

A pinch of salt

1-2 tbsp of almond syrup or kirsch

FOR THE ALMOND BRITTLE

75g almond flakes

75g caster sugar

10g unsalted butter

FOR THE CHERRY SAUCE

450g cherries, fresh, tinned or frozen

125g sugar

½ vanilla pod

½ lemon, zest only

1 tsp cornflour

METHOD

1. To make the pudding, put the milk, rice, sugar, salt and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan partially and cook for 30-35 minutes stirring occasional so it does not catch. You will need to stir more towards the end of the cooking time.

2. When the rice is cooked, transfer to a shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap and leave to cool. Store the pudding in the fridge overnight.

3. To make the brittle, preheat the oven to 160C and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Roast the almond flakes for about 15 minutes.

4. Five minutes before the almonds are ready, heat a small frying pan on medium high heat and, when hot, sprinkle in half the sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted and is starting to turn golden. Add the remaining sugar and cook to a medium amber colour. Add the butter and whisk to fully blend. Take off the heat and add the warm almonds. Stir to coat and transfer the mixture back onto the lined tray. Set aside to cool. Roughly chop and store in an airtight container until needed. It will keep for up to two weeks.

5. To make the cherry sauce, wash and pit the cherries. Put in a saucepan with the other ingredients and 100ml water. Bring to a soft boil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the cherries from the pan to keep their flavour and vibrancy intact, but leave the liquid. Continue cooking the liquid for another 15 minutes.

6. Dissolve the cornflour in 2-3 tbsp of water and mix into the syrup. Stir while the syrup thickens. Return the cherries to the syrup, stir and turn off the heat. When cool, transfer to an airtight container or sterilised jar and store in the fridge where it will keep for up to a week.

7. To finish the risalamande, you will need to add a little liquid to loosen it – I use almond syrup but you may use a liquid of choice, such as kirsch. Whisk the double cream to a Greek yogurt consistency and spoon into the pudding. Stir to blend.

8. Serve in glasses topped with the cherry sauce and the almond brittle. If you can’t get hold of fresh cherries you may use tinned or even a shop bought product such as the two star Great Taste Award Thursday Cottage cherry curd.