Swedish Winter

Have you ever tasted a sweet, saffron-flavored pastry?

I did not, at least not before I moved to Sweden. As I discovered, winter holidays in Sweden are all about saffron-flavored pastries. Lussekatter, or Lucy's cats, is the one I wanted to introduce to you today. They are made throughout winter, with culmination on December 13 - the Lucia holiday. Lucia (Lusse) is a holiday dedicated to St. Lucy, but also a symbolic holiday of light - which I found particularly culture-fitting given that, even in the south of Sweden where I am, days have gotten extremely short.

Other than getting used to less daylight, the cold season in Sweden has been truly wonderful. We had snow already on December 1, in the spirit of holidays the streets and store windows are decorated, many shops give out pepper cookie treats and organize small parties for their customers... What I really love is that most Swedes light Advent candles in their windows, which stay lit throughout the night! It makes one feel cozy on those long and lonely nights spent studying...

Hope you give lussekatter a try and add some Swedish flavor to your holidays this year.


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Šafran u pecivu? Ne salim se!

Možda su neki od vas imali priliku probati peciva sa aromom šafrana, ali ja nisam, bar ne prije dolaska u Švedsku. Ono sto sam otkrila je da su praznici u Švedskoj nezamislivi bez takozvanih lussekatter - peciva u obliku slova S, ukrasenih grožđicama i sa aromom šafrana. Šveđani ih prave tokom godine a naročito zimi, uz kulminaciju na 13. decembar - praznik Sv. Lucije. Ja sam pod utiskom da je ovaj praznik simbolično i praznik svjetlosti (sto se uklapa u sve kraće zimske dane čak i na samom jugu Švedske).

Pored navikavanja na kratke dane, hladna sezona u Švedskoj je zaista divna. Snijeg je počeo da pada već sa početkom decembra, u duhu praznika ulice i izlozi su ukrašeni, mnoge prodavnice časte svoje kupce paprenjacima ili organizuju mini zabave... Ono sto mi se iznimno dopalo su (električne) svijeće koje se pale sa prvim Adventom i kojim većina Šveđana osvijetli svoje prozore. Uz njih su mi bile lakše duge, usamljene noći provedene u učenju...

Nadam se da ćete probati lussekatter i začiniti ovogodisnje praznike aromom švedske tradicije.

Lussekatter (for 32 buns)

Ingredients

40 g fresh yeast
200 g butter
1 gram saffron
4 dl milk
1 dl heavy cream
200 gr sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1600 gr flour

Final touches

raisins
1 egg, beaten


Method

Crumble the yeast into a mixing bowl. In a saucepan, melt the butter and let it cool. Add saffron, milk, and cream, stir and slowly heat until barely warm to the touch. Add about a cup of the liquid to yeast, stir until it is dissolved and then add the rest.

Combine egg and sugar, stir and add it to the bowl. Add salt. Add almost all of the flour (reserve some for later). Knead the dough or mix with the dough hook until it is manageable. Cover and leave to rise (about 45 minutes - until it doubles in size).

After the dough has risen, work in the remaining flour - if needed. Heat the oven to 250 C. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Separate the dough into two equal halves and keep separating each piece into two equal pieces until you get balls about the size of half a fist. Roll the balls into thin round sticks and roll them in an S-shaped bun. Place them on parchment paper and leave some space between them as they will rise. 

When all the buns are ready (you might need more than one baking sheet), cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 minutes. Brush with the beaten egg and decorate with raisins. Bake for about 10 minutes (start checking them at 7 minutes), until golden.

Serve and enjoy!

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Lussekatter (za 32 peciva)

Sastojci

40 g svježeg kvasca
200 g maslaca
1 gram šafrana
4 dl mlijeka
1 dl jogurta
200 g šećera
1/2 kašičice soli
1 jaje
1600 g brašna

Dekoracija

1 jaje
grožđice

Izmrvite kvasac u veću posudu. Istopite maslac i ohladite ga. Dodajte šafran u prahu, mlijeko i jogurt, i lagano zagrijte do 37 C (tečnost je jedva osjetno topla na dodir). Odvojite pola šoljice tečnosti i dodajte je kvascu - promiješajte dok se kvasac istopi a zatim dodajte i ostatak tečnosti.

Ručno umutite jaje i šećer, pa smjesu dodajte u prethodno spomenutu tečnost. Dodajte sol i skoro svo brašno (ostavite manju količinu za kasnije, oko pola čaše). Zamijesite ručno ili mikserom. Pokrijte i ostavite da tijesto naraste (oko 45 minuta - tijesto treba da se udvostruči).

Nakon što tijesto naraste, umijesite ostalo brašno ako je potrebno - tijesto bi trebalo biti malo ljepljivo i čvrsto. Zagrijte pećnicu na 250 C. Obložite tepsiju pek papirom. Prepolovite tijesto na dva dijela i nastavite da razdvajate svaki novi komad na polovine dok ne dobijete loptice veličine otprilike pola stisnute šake. Razvaljajte loptice u oble, duguljaste štapiće i smotajte ih u peciva oblika slova S (kao na slici). Stavite ih na pek papir ostavljajući slobodan prostor između jer ce one narasti.

Nakon sto ste savili sva peciva, prekrijte ih čistih kuhinjskim ubrusom i ostavite još pola sata da narastu. Premažite umućenim jajetom i ukrasite grožđicama. Pecite oko 10 minuta (počnite provjeravati vec oko sedme minute), dok ne porumene.

In addition to lussekatter, throughout winter Swedes enjoy pepper cookies and glögg - a warm, aromatic drink (mulled wine of sorts) made usually with fruit and spices. It is a lovely tradition that I plan to share with friends and family back home.

Cranberry and ginger glögg

Ingredients

2 dl concentrated cranberry juice

100 gr sugar

1-2 tbsp grated, fresh ginger

4 slices of lime

1 l water

200 gr cranberries

Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil. Serve warm, with almond pieces mixed in the drink.

Happy holidays!

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Pored lussekatter, tokom zime u Švedskoj se casti paprenjacima i glögg-om, toplim, aromatičnim pićem (alkoholnom i bezalkoholnom verzijom kuhanog vina), koje se obicno pravi sa voćem i začinima. Ova simpatična tradicija odgovara zimskom ambijentu, i ja je namjeravam podijeliti sa prijateljima i porodicom kući u Sarajevu.

Glögg od brusnice i đumbira

Sastojci

2dl soka od brusnice
100 g šećera
1-2 kašike naribanog svježeg đumbira
4 kriške limete
1 l vode
200 g brusnice

Pomiješajte sve sastojke i prokuhajte ih. Servirajte toplo sa svjezim bademima umiješanim u glögg.

Sretni praznici!

When in Sweden...

... make lingonsylt?

Yes, I am writing all the way from Sweden! August has been mad and, to sum it up, I will be living and going to school in Sweden for time to come. Surprise, surprise!

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Pozdrav iz Švedske - gdje ja sad živim. Sad, i u narednim godinama. Ukratko, preselila sam zbog daljeg školovanja u gradić Lund na jugu Švedske. Od sada javljanja idu sa skandinavskim predznakom (wink wink).

I am very excited to learn about this new country! Of course, you will be treated to the stories about my journey. I have been living here for more than two weeks now, and thoroughly enjoying the experience. I live sort of in-between several small cities in the south, and a lot of the past weeks has been about traveling around and getting to know the campus and my new town. 

On one of these exploratory tours of Lund (where my university is), I discovered a tiny marketplace with very rich offer of fresh fruits and vegetables. That is where I first spotted Lingonberries. I have not heard about them before, but apparently they are Sweden's trademark. So what better to start my blogging from Sweden with than Sweden's own lingonberry jam?

I tried this recipe. My niece G. loved it (she has had it in school before so she was the one to try it), and in her funny way, commented: ''Adana, this is very impressive!'. It tasted great but I would have preferred a texture that is more runny (we had guests as I was making it, I got distracted and left it cooking a bit longer than I should have, but if you follow the recipe all should be fine).


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Toliko toga se desilo u proteklih mjesec dana - još se ni sama, ni blizu, nisam naviknula na sve. Prije neke dvije sedmice došla sam ovdje i za sada sve ide veoma dobro, obaveza ima puno, ali sve je novo i zanimljivo. Većinu vremena u prethodnim sedmicama provela sam u neizostavnom upoznavanju sa mojim novim prebivalištem.

U jednoj od šetnji Lundom, naišla sam na malu pijacu sa bogatom ponudom voća i povrća. Tu sam prvi put vidjela i lingon plodove. Zaista ne znam kako da ih prevedem na bosanski - možete o njima misliti kao o dalekim rođacima drijena. Izgledaju kao ribizle, ali su nešto čvršće i oporog okusa. Odmah sam pomislila da bi bilo interesantno javiti se po prvi put iz Švedske sa receptom tradicionalno švedskim.

Probala sam ovaj recept. Mala sestrična G., jedina od nas koja je taj džem probala ranije u školi, je dala svoje entuzijastično odobrenje. Meni se okus također dopada, mada sam ga kuhala malo duže nego je trebalo, pa se zgusnuo. Ako slijedite recept, neće biti problema.

I also wanted to share with you a few photographs that I took during late afternoon mushroom-picking adventure in the woods nearby. It was a great, relaxing experience - one that I hope to repeat soon. 

I am off to bed for an early start tomorrow, but I hope you've missed me and will do my best to check in soon! Oh, almost forgot, I learned to count to 100 in Swedish and one of my first new words was kryddor. Who else is surprised? 

Hejdå!


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Tu je i nekoliko fotografija sa jednog poslijepodnevnog branja gljiva u šumi blizu gradića u kojem živim. Divno i prijeko potrebno iskustvo koje ću, nadam se, uskoro ponoviti.

Sutra ranim pa idem odmah da spavam, ali se nadam da sam vam makar malo nedostajala u ovih mjesec dana koliko me nije bilo. Potrudit ću se da se uskoro javim, možda opet sa nečim tipično švedskim. Zamalo da zaboravim, naučila sam brojati do 100 na švedskom, a jedna od prvih riječi koju sam zapamtila je kryddor. Pretpostavljam da niste baš iznenađeni :)

Hejdå!