Today I have some Christmas food inspiration for you, courtesy of Louise Hurst from Nordic Kitchen Stories. Louise is based in Buckinghamshire, southern England, and shares delicious recipes, often inspired by her Swedish mother and always with a focus on seasonal ingredients and sustainability. I’ve been following her blog and Instagram for years and she’s one of my go-to sources for cooking ideas – in fact her pepparkakor (ginger thins) and knäckebröd (Nordic crisp bread) have become festive staples in our house! She also makes bespoke cakes to order (do take a look at her past creations – they’re absolutely stunning), and runs regular baking workshops from her home.
I chatted to Louise about Nordic Christmas traditions, favourite food memories and how to take some of the stress out of festive meal preparation…
Hi Louise! Please can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and how Nordic Kitchen Stories came about?
“Of course! Food has always played a huge part in my life. I’ve had an interest for as long as I can remember, and for me cooking is a great joy. Growing up, we had a big vegetable garden and each year we made our own jams, chutneys and fermented vegetables for the winter ahead. I also loved baking bread from a very young age. It was no surprise that I went on to work in the industry, and once I’d gained enough experience I set up my own catering company while bringing up my three sons. I still cater for my favourite clients occasionally, but now I focus mainly on recipe development and making celebration cakes.
“My knowledge of Nordic food is fairly extensive, so with that in mind I came upon the idea of writing a blog. It’s a blend of traditional Nordic recipes along with my own.”
What are your earliest food memories?
“Baking with my grandmother in Stockholm, probably aged four. She was a very accomplished baker. We spent every summer with my grandparents and of course I always requested cinnamon buns when we visited!”
Above: Louise’s rye sourdough rolls and cinnamon buns
How do you celebrate Christmas, and does your Swedish heritage play a big part?
“I absolutely love the run up to Christmas and on the whole we do things the Scandinavian way, lighting candles for Advent and celebrating Lucia (the festival of light on 13th December). That said, we mark both Christmas Eve, as is traditional in Sweden, and the 25th, as done in the UK. As you can imagine, there’s plenty of food!”
What festive traditions do you most look forward to?
“I try to attend a Lucia performance every year. It’s a beautiful and evocative tradition dating back to the fourth century, when a young girl called Lucia, wearing candles around her head, served food and drink to persecuted Christian prisoners in the catacombs of Rome.
“Nowadays, children are clothed in white. The girls wear a wreath of lingonberry foliage and the boys a pointy hat, but the greatest honour goes to the eldest daughter of a local family, who gets to wear a crown of seven candles and a red sash around her waist. She leads the procession of children into the local candlelit church or community hall singing the Sankta Lucia hymn. Glögg (mulled wine) is served with freshly baked Lussekatter buns and melt-in-the mouth pepparkakor.”
Above: Lussekatter saffron buns and a festive saffron and cinnamon bread star
Which ingredients do you love cooking with at this time of year?
“Plenty of spices! Especially saffron, which you may find surprising. It’s added to enriched doughs to make buns or sweet-filled bread loaves. I love cinnamon, cloves and ginger, too.”
What are your go-to festive recipes?
“Firstly pepparkakor, the baking of which is a bit of a ritual – they’re actually eaten year-round in Sweden, but they’re particularly popular at Christmas. Gravadlax and mustard sauce is always on the menu, and I absolutely adore Janssons Frestelse (‘Jansson’s Temptation’). It’s a delicious potato gratin, cooked with cream, onions and Swedish anchovies, which are very different to the salted kind you find in the UK.”
Above: beetroot and horseradish cured gravadlax with mustard sauce and knäckebröd, and Janssons Frestelse
And what’s the one Christmas food treat you wouldn’t be without?
“I definitely favour savoury over sweet, but I can never resist saffron and almond buns. They’re to die for!”
What will be on your Christmas table this year?
“Christmas Eve will be a pared-down Julbord (Christmas buffet) with pickled and cured fish, Jansson’s Temptation and Swedish veggie meatballs. On Christmas Day we’ll have game – venison, in fact. I buy it locally and it’s sustainable, too. We don’t like Christmas pudding so it’ll be a carrot cake trifle or a panna cotta with boozy clementines. A LONG walk is planned for Boxing Day… and leftovers, of course!”
Above: venison casserole with wild mushrooms and lingonberries, and carrot cake trifle
Do you have any tips on how to take some of the stress out of festive cooking?
“Be well prepared, and do as much as you can in the few days before Christmas. You can par-boil the potatoes and blanche the vegetables the night before, for example. I also write a time plan for the big day.”
Finally, what can we look forward to from Nordic Kitchen Stories in 2023?
“I would love to publish a book. Last year I put together a little e-booklet, but my dream is to write a proper lifestyle and cook book all about living the Nordic way in the UK.”
Thanks Louise!
See more of Louise’s wonderful recipes on her website and Instagram. You can also sign up to her newsletter for details of upcoming workshops.
All photography via Louise Hurst
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