A Swedish-Themed Dinner Party with Rekorderlig

I love all things Scandinavian (hello, stylish knitwear and chic wooden furniture) and with an upcoming trip to Denmark on the horizon, I’ve been thinking about this region and its culture a lot lately.

So when Rekorderlig got in touch and asked me if I wanted to host my own autumnal Scandinavian-themed dinner party to celebrate their Swedish heritage, I jumped at the chance.

Firstly, let me say that I am already a big fan of the brand. I love fruity cider – particularly during summer – but especially this brand as it’s pear-based as opposed to apple.

I also love pairing drinks with food, which was the aim of this three-course Swedish dinner party of mine. Rekorderlig sent me several different flavours of their cider and tasked me with creating a menu that would pair perfectly with the flavour profile of the drinks. I was definitely up for the challenge.

Another element of the dinner party that I had to be sure to execute if I was to replicate a true Scandinavian get-together? Hygge.

Hygge has become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, but it is something which really comes into its own during the darker, cooler autumn and winter nights. It is essentially the feeling of being cosy and comfortable, while spending time with loved ones. 

Usually hygge also revolves around food, too; sometimes just cake and coffee, sometimes a full-blown dinner party such as mine. Either way, it’s a notion I can fully support one hundred percent. 

First course was snitter or smørrebrød, which acted as a wonderful appetizer while the main course cooked. It is essentially an open-faced sandwich consisting of thin slices of rye bread topped with any number of savory ingredients.

This was made to pair with the mango-raspberry cider, which has a sweet and tropical flavour and complements creamy cheese perfectly, hence why the snitter was made with creamy goat cheese.

I have to say I’ve never tried this flavour of Rekorderlig before (or seen it in shops/bars) but I loved it. It has a light fruity flavour with isn’t too overly sweet – perfect for those who usually find fruity ciders a little too saccharine.

Cucumber and Goat Cheese Snitter (Smørrebrød)

Recipe by Julia

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 3.5 oz (100g) creamy goat cheese

• Large handful watercress leaves

• 4 slices rye bread

• 12 slices of cucumber

• Sea salt and black pepper

Directions

• Mix the goat cheese with half of the watercress in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper
• Spread the cheese mixture on each slice of bread, then top with the cucumber slices (3 per sandwich) and the rest of the cress.

The main course was a Scandinavian-inspired baked chicken recipe with a juniper berry-based cream sauce.

This dish was created to pair with strawberry-lime cider, which is sweet and zesty. The sweetness of the cider balanced out the slightly bitter, pine flavour of the juniper to a tee.

Dessert was perhaps my favourite pairing (surprise, surprise). I was trying to complement the flavours of the spiced plum cider, whose rich, cinnamon notes go really well with gingerbread. Hence, my Scandinavian ginger cake was born.

This cider is the only one of the bunch that you can actually serve warm or cold, so as it was dessert (and as the weather has turned colder), I served it warm, in small mugs. The hygge went through the roof. Soft, crumbly gingerbread devoured while holding a warm cup of spiced cider in your hand? It doesn’t get much more autumnal than that, my friends.

So my first ever Swedish-themed dinner party went off without a hitch! I enjoyed having a properly-laid table filled with candles so much that I’ve vowed to give at least one meal a week a ‘hygge’ feel. And I’ll definitely be getting more adventurous with my international flavours, as well as trying to be more mindful of what flavours work well with the alcohol I’m pairing the meal with.

Skål! (That’s “cheers” in Danish, to you and me)