FOOD: RUDE FOOD RECIPE 2: PARSNIP, SAGE & BROWN MUSTARD SOUP

For my second recipe as Rude Food ambassador; as I still had a glut of rescued parsnips and potatoes left, I thought I’d do a take on my roasted parsnip & mustard soup.

these are rescued ingredients I was given for this recipe: rescued parsnips, sage, apples & potatoes.

You’ll need:

• 4-5 medium parsnips (roasted)
• 1 onion
• 2 potatoes, peeled & cut into quarters
• 1tbsp German mustard (use wholegrain mustard as an alternative)
• 1tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1tbs dried sage
• 1tbs dried parsley
• 1 Litre of water
• Rapeseed oil

Garnish:

• A handful walnuts chopped and toasted
• Chopped fresh parsley
• 1-2 small golden roasted parsnips
• slice of fried apple (optional)
• Some walnut oil (optional)

 

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C with your baking tray loaded with a generous glug or two of rapeseed oil, then peel and parboil the parsnips and potatoes. Toss the parsnips in the hot oil and roast for 25 minutes or so.

While they’re cooking, chop and fry the onion in a Le Creuset style deep pan with a little oil until they’re soft and mellow. Next, add in the potatoes. When the parsnips are done, remove from the oven and snip into the pot with a pair of scissors (keep one or two smaller parsnips and leave to one side for the garnish). Pour over the water, stir in the mustards, the dried parsley & sage and season generously with salt and black pepper. Put the lid on and let it simmer for a further thirty minutes.

When the soup’s done its thing, take a hand blender and blitz the whole thing into a thick, creamy soup. For the topping, chop and toast the walnuts in apotatoes dry frying pan.  Finish with chopped parsley, a slice of fried apple, walnuts, a drizzle of walnut oil and the whole roasted parsnips you kept from earlier.

Serve with with a good hearty loaf; I served mine with a crusty walnut bread and a good beer!

 

Food: Rude Food Recipe 1: Sage roasted parsnips on a bed of meaty green lentils

New for 2018! I’ve been made the Rude Food Ambassador for the next few months. Rude Food is Sweden’s first food rescuing service and I am lucky that it’s based here in Malmö. They stop perfectly good food from going to waste and promote good food practice to everyone. They usually return the food to the catering world to be used again but in order to help the promotional side of things they have asked me to write two recipes a month using some of their ingredients. Reducing food waste is a massive issue for me, not only for environmental and ethical purposes, but on a practical and economic level too. It just makes sense to make use of what you’ve got, so I’m thrilled to be taking on this role!

This first recipe is for sage roasted parsnips on a bed of meaty green lentils, served with a sour apple purée, blueberry pickled onions, plump sultanas and a sprinkle of fresh sage.,

If you’re wondering, here are the rescued ingredients I was given for this recipe: rescued parsnips, sage, lemons & apples.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the stock and the lentils:

600ml of water,

1 regular onion – ½ cut into half rings; ½ other half finely chopped.

150g of green lentils,

1 tsp of dried sage,

For the parsnips:

• 4 parsnips,
• 3-4 tbsp of rapeseed oil,
• 2 tbsp of cornflour
• 1 tsp of dried sage,
• Salt,
• Black pepper

For the sour apple puree:

• 2 apples
• 1 heaped tbsp of sugar,
• 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar vinegar
• Juice of ½ lemon

For the sultanas:

• 20g of sultanas
• A cup of the stock,

To serve:

• Black pepper
• Salt
• A handful of fresh sage,

 

For the stock and the lentils:

 

To begin you need to create a stock to cook the lentils in, one that’s imbued with the flavours of the main ingredients. To do this, simply peel the parsnips and the onion and add the skins to a Dutch oven of gently boiling water. Season with salt, black pepper and some of the dried sage. Having peeled the parsnips, cut them into decent sized chips; cutting off the thin ends then quartering the thickest part is best. Parboil them in the stock water for 2 minutes and then remove.

Allow the stock to reduce by a third. Ideally allow the stock to do its thing for at least an hour before taking out all of the skins. You can do this by straining the mixture over a bowl and then returning the water to the heat in the dutch oven. (Keep a small cup of the stock aside for the sultanas).

 

Fry the finely chopped half of the onion gently until soft in a little oil and then add to the water with the lentils and allow them to cook slowly in the Dutch oven for at least 45 minutes. Cooking them low and slow will give them all the time to lose their grittiness and take on all the flavours of the stock, leaving them meaty and moreish.

 

For the parsnips:

 

Preheat your oven to 220°c and layer a baking tray with the rapeseed oil and place in the oven until super hot.

 

Pat the parboiled parsnips down with kitchen towel to remove all excess water. Put the parsnips into a medium sized bowl and rough the skins up a little with a fork. Dust over the corn flour and season with black pepper, a pinch of salt and dried sage. Make sure the parsnips are thoroughly covered with the seasoning mix.

 

Remove the pan from the oven and place the parsnips into the hot oil carefully, they should immediately start to sizzle. Be careful to avoid spitting fat. Make sure the rapeseed oil covers all of the parsnips and return to the oven.

 

Continue to cook for 5 minutes on 200°c before reducing to 180°c. Cook for a further ten minutes before checking them.The undersides should be crispy and golden. Turn them all over and return to the oven for a further ten minutes. When they’re golden and crispy all over you can take them and remove any excess oil with some paper towel.

 

For the sour apple puree:

 

Peel and core the apples, cut them into small cubes and place in a small pan. Cover them with water and add in the sugar, lemon juice & apple cider vinegar. Allow the water to reduce and the apples to break down until you have a thick sauce. When it’s ready, remove from the heat and blend with a stick blender.

For the pickled onions and the sultanas:

 

Quick pickles are really easy to do and they can really add zing to a dish. You don’t need to use fancy vinegars but it is nice if you have a couple of bottles of nice flavoured vinegar ready for dishes like this.

 

Fill a small bowl with a third of water and add the vinegar, break up the half of the onion that’s been cut into half rings and sprinkle into the pickling liquor. Allow to absorb the vinegar for 20 minutes, but ideally a bit longer if you have the time. This can easily be made in advance, in fact they’ll keep in the fridge for a while and can be topped up and reused regularly.

 

For the sultanas, leave some of the stock aside and put in a handful of sultanas in a cup. Let them plump up in the warm stock.

 

To serve:

 

Layer a bed of the lentils in the bottom of a dish and place the parsnips on top. Spoon a little of the apple on the side and sprinkle with the sultanas, the pickled onions and some fresh sage.

 

Food: Madamilen – Malmö 9 December 2017

Recently I was asked by the lovely founders of Madamilen to participate, which roughly translates as “the food mile”. It’s essentially a food tour of the city, where you stop at 10 participating establishments and sample food based around a theme. The movement began in September 2016 and has since had 3000 participants. What with this being the December event, the theme was based around the idea of Christmas gifts. So on a chilly Saturday morning, Tom and I loaded up the camera and headed to the first stop!

 

1. Ingelsta Kalkon – Östergatan 26

Our food journey began in southern Sweden’s premier turkey (kalkon) delicatessen. You can find their products sold throughout the region in supermarkets and great care and attention is given to quality and ethical standards. It’s a smart and high end establishment in the heart of the old city, not far from the train station. Our offering was a festive selection of turkey products, including a style of turkey ham, with a delicious mustard edge, a prinskorv style sausage and a Swedish style meatball. It was served with a coleslaw of red cabbage, kale and cranberry. It was basically like a miniature Christmas dinner and packed with big, festive flavours. The quality of the ham, which we found out was made from the darker thigh meat of the bird, was almost indistinguishable from actual ham. Quite how you could gift the whole thing was a bit beyond us, but any of the ingredients bought as a gift or collectively given as a hamper would be warmly received by anyone.

 

2. Mat och Chokladstudion – Amiralsgatan 16

Stop number two took us south of the old city, near Stadshuset (city hall) and one of the only desserts on the menu for today. Joel Lindqvist is a pastry chef, cook and author of a number of Swedish cookery books. He’s been on Swedish TV and has a simple philosophy when it comes to cookery: don’t compromise on quality. This is seen clearly in the artistry and care on show in his work. We were served a Spruce fir flavoured ice cream with cacao soil, spruce emulsion and Italian meringue pieces. The smell and taste of the fir hits hard with wintery freshness, delivered in the ice cream and complemented by the crunchy texture of the crumb and the meringue. We concluded quickly that any gift bought from Mat och Chokladstudion would be incredible. Again, the question of how you’d package the ice cream with all the elements left us both a bit baffled, but as a dessert to a high end Christmas taster menu, this ice cream would be very welcome indeed. I was even lucky enough to meet the incredible Titti Qvarnström, who was helping out in the studio that day. She is not only Sweden’s first female Michelin Starred chef (for Bloom In The Park) but also the co-founder of the collective ‘Malmö Cooking’ and a Malmö food hero, respectively. She is such an amazing person to talk to and reaffirmed in me that Malmö was the right place to move to.

 

3. OST & Vänner – Ö Rönneholmsvägen 6

Our next stop took us to the cheese course of the day at OST & Vänner near Triangeln in the heart of the city’s shopping district. It’s part of a trinity of quality stores along Ö Rönneholmsvägen that often collaborate closely on food projects and ideas (one of those stores was next on our agenda to visit on the tour!). It’s the brain and love child of Daniel, Elin and Melissa who all have other professional lives but share a passion for cheese and drink. Daniel is a jazz musician, who regularly utilises his music in the experience of tasting the cheese. They are currently up this year for the best bar in Malmö. Here we had a canapé of a Danish blue cheese on a homemade gluten free seeded biscuit, with served with fig jam, flambéed figs in an Österlen VSOP and salted almonds. The smokey richness of the cheese was complemented beautifully by the rich fig jam and the biscuit. The canapé was accompanied by a glass of warm apple Glögg.

 

4. Ola & Ko – Ö Rönneholmsvägen 6

Immediately next door was the equally charming Ola & Ko, a butcher and meat deli with some truly delicious things on display. Ola & Ko prides itself on being totally additive free and mainly sources from producers in Skåne with a smattering from southern Europe too. The emphasis on quality is paramount and clear in the taste of the products too. We were treated to another capapé but this time of pork rillette, made from local Skånian pork on a slice of baguette from Bageri Leve with a topping of the owner’s sister’s homemade caramelised onion marmalade. Perfect for a winter picnic or a hearty lunch.

 

5. AB Småland – Södra Förstadsgatan 25-27

Next on the map was AB Småland, again in the heart of Malmö’s shopping district, a well established face on the city’s lifestyle and fika scene. AB Småland are all about green living, contemporary Scandinavian chic mixed with traditional, sometimes recycled elements, in their homeware and fashion. Their cafe is a big draw in the city with its open plan, indoor garden feel. They served a hearty cauliflower soup with saffron and curry. Served with some crusty baguette with a choice of either herb or chilli infused oil to dip in. Big, hearty flavours, indicative of the kind of flair for taste that AB Småland are famous for.

 

6. Gottelisa – Engelbrektsgatan 20

This little candy store near Gustav Adolfs Torg in the centre of town was one of our shortest stops, but it was arguably the one that hit the brief the best. “Welcome to our world of quality calories!” reads their website and quality is certainly in evidence. Combining well known brands with a range of off piste delights, Gottelisa is a small store but packs a punch. Established in 2002 it is clearly still going strong. They offered a small gift wrapped package of three German chocolates – one white (a lemon truffle), one milk (an apricot truffle) and one dark (A salted caramel truffle). They even threw in an extra morsel of liquorice from Lakrids by Johan Bülow, his 2017 special edition liquorice. Golden balls of chocolate coated, salted caramel liquorice dusted with some gold dust. We weren’t there long but the great service and atmosphere left a great impression!  

 

7. Lanthandeln, Saluhall – Gibraltargatan 6

Malmö’s Saluhall describes itself as a food lover’s paradise and it’s hard to argue with that description given the amount of quality produce available. It’s certainly earned its reputation and its claim to being one of Malmö’s premier food destinations. Lanthandeln is a (literally translated) “country store” and is a relatively new addition to Saluhall occupying three open units along the north side of the hall. Their offering of quality and diverse grocery products have, in part filled the gap that GRAM once occupied. Their Madamilen contribution was another soup, but served and executed with a twist; a cauliflower cappuccino with pickled Shiitake and crispy black cabbage shard, finished with a drizzle of white truffle oil. which was bursting with flavour. They had the ingredients necessary to create the soup around their display which seemed the most sensible way of answering the brief while providing something which isn’t exactly gift ready! We paired it with a tasty Pale Ale Soda by GBG Soda. 

 

8. Favvo Glass, Saluhall – Gibraltargatan 6

Technically speaking, this stop was a bonus one as it brings the number of stops to 11. Must have been an eleventh hour offering, excuse the pun! We were glad it was added however as it gave us an opportunity to sample some of their delicious samples of ice cream. Most were festive inspired so we went for the Glögg and saffron flavours which absolutely delivered on quality and taste. But we couldn’t stop long as the day was winding down and we still had three more stops to get to!

 

9. In the Pink – Neptunigatan 2

Conveniently situated outside Malmö Central station, In the Pink is a small cafe and bistro aimed at health conscious and busy city dwellers who want to be able to go out and eat something but not set back their training regime at the gym! As such, great thought and care has been put into each of their dishes and drinks. It has a flexible dining space that’s ideal for casual customers as well as busy professionals, (it’s even hosted a Creative Mornings: Malmö recently). Their offering for Madamilen hit their own brief perfectly but didn’t quite live up to the brief of the event itself. That said, it was absolutely delicious and hearty too. They served a red lentil dal style soup with spinach, tomato, ginger, garlic, onion, garam masala and vegetarian broth, topped with a mint raita. We decided to pair it with a Roots ginger kombucha, so that it would compliment with the flavours of the dal. The verdict: not really very Christmassy or gift ready but tasty nonetheless!

 

10. Restaurang KP, Posthusplatsen 4

By now we were pretty tired and the night was beginning to draw in, so we headed across the road to Restaurang KP which is situated overlooking the water near Central Station. The building is opulent and grand but the atmosphere inside was very stale. We ate in the bar and the whole experience was quite cold. Kudos for offering a vegan christmas inspired soup (topped with pumpkin kernels, fried kale and soured red onion) but that’s where the good will towards the experience ended. The food itself was well made and delicious, but again it definitely missed the brief and didn’t really tie in with the Christmas spirit. Altogether a bit of a disappointment. By this point the amount of soups that we’d had in quick succession really made us wonder whether or not the restaurant’s approach to the event was balanced enough, but I’ll return to that later.

 

11. Vigårda Grill – Centralplan 10A

Fortunately our final stop of the tour redeemed the experience and restored our faith in the spirit of Christmas. Vigårda is one of those restaurants in Malmö that you see on a regular basis as it’s part of the Central Station complex and immediately opposite the bus station. It’s a high-end burger restaurant that offers a wide variety of options that change regularly. Served American style (with fries and dips), their burgers are often guest created by chefs from the Swedish food scene. As it was quiet, one of the three co-owners brought us our sliders, which were smaller versions of the Cheddar & bacon burgers on their menu and talked with us at length about the place, he even threw in some gratis fries! Again, we did wonder how you would gift someone a slider for Christmas, but at least the effort was made to try and adapt the concept to fit the restaurant. And it was delicious, which helped immensely! We paired it with a great Winter ale from local brewers, South Plains Brewing Co. Great flavoured ale!

 

Closing thoughts:

Madamilen is now an established food event in Skåne region, Sweden, especially with two more events planned for the new year in Malmö (February 10th) and Helsingborg (March 10th). The scope and range of possibilities does seem pretty endless, especially in a city that has swollen in size and diversity over the past decade, and in a region that prides itself on being the food producer of Sweden.

 

The offerings we experienced as part of the December 9th event were delicious, every single one. Fine examples of the quality and attention to detail that good food producers put into their craft. From Ost & Vänner’s bespoke canape to the fir flavoured ice cream from Joel Lindqvist, the imagination was there for the most part. What lacked a little more thought was the tendency towards soups. Maybe if they’d been more spread out we wouldn’t have noticed them so much! Don’t get me wrong, the soups themselves were delicious and included some incredible ingredients, but it would have been nice if there had been a limit on the number of similar types of dish.

 

Despite that, it was great fun going round to the different vendors and sampling what they had. We made some great personal discoveries and we certainly have plans to return again in the future, which was, of course, the whole point of the tour!

 

As a newcomer to the city, this is a great way to introduce people to the bustling, independent food scene that Skåne has to offer. It would be a great idea as an early Christmas gift to a loved one, or an experience for someone visiting the city. The only hitch, would be that the ticket website currently is in Swedish only, but with translating programs, it’s an easy one to get around. I’d definitely recommend this tour to my friends, family and to any foodies out there. Thanks once again to Madamilen and Malmotown for letting me take this opportunity!

 

Food: Brekkieklubben launch

Whilst being here in Malmö, I’ve noticed the lack of breakfast options. Sure, Malmö is a culinary hotpot of different cultures & cuisines, but they don’t really ‘do’ breakfasts here. Sure, there’s the Scandi style cold-cuts frukost and then on the weekend plenty of places offer a ‘brunch’ but, it’s yet again a buffet affair, where people queue up and many miss out to what they want. Seeing the gap in the market, this is where Brekkieklubben (literally, The Brekkie Club) comes in.

Together with my Aussie mate, and fellow Swedexpat, Anya Trybala (who I’d check out her music project & label Ninoosh & Synth Babes Records) came together to bring the best of a Melbourne & British Brekkie to Sweden! And as I’d been listening to a lot of Kate Bush that morning and with Stranger Things 2 (then) on its way to be released, we wanted it to have a cool 80s & early 90s vibe.

We’ve been working together with Gro’up, an amazing community run space & restaurant founded by Nina Christensson (one of the founders of both SMAK & Bastard) and run by the bloody stellar duo of Project manager, Edith Salminen and Head Chef Marcus Schön. They are such a great addition to the food scene in Malmö and conveniently around the corner from our apartment.

So, myself, Anya and Tom spent from the end September to mid November honing our idea & concept, Tom creating original art for the project with his illustration business, Jom Tones Illustration, myself pitching the idea at Ideon’s ‘Pitcher’s Corner’, until we set the date for our launch on Sunday the 26th of November. Selling Tickets through Eventbrite, we managed to drum up both trade, in the guise of 19 tickets (plus a further 4 walk-in orders) and interest by regularly updating our social media channels. With the menu written up, containing our spin on British & Aussie favourites and classics such as Eggs Benedict that you simply cannot get easily here, we were ready for the launch!

The prices for the tickets were 146kr for a Brekkie plate (that you ordered, in advance, especially for you), coffee & a special surprise (which were vegan bread & butter puddings, inspired by the very British combo of ‘tea, toast and marmelade’, topped with Oatly fraîche. I Even made my own bitter orange marmelade for them!). We catered to people of all diets with a gluten free ‘Punked Porridge’ option and I made it my mission that most of the dishes were or could be made Vegan Friendly.

 

 

On The launch day itself, Edith thankfully helped us through our very first service. It went amazingly well considering, albeit, I’m an accomplished cook and have worked in the service industry, but I had never been this side of the kitchen before. We got the food out, with relative ease and every customer was satisfied, together with some 80s & early 90s hits rocking out on the speakers. Edith then gave us a de-briefing on how to improve next time.

Check out Brekkieklubben on

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Brekkieklubben

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brekkieklubben

So, people of Malmö look out for the next opening of Brekkieklubben, very soon!

 

 

Drink: Kladdkaka cocktail

This week in Sweden it was kladdkakans dag, which is a day for the unctuously good gooey chocolate cake, called a kladdkaka (sticky cake), like a Swedish brownie. I wanted to do a vegan version, but instead of just re-creating the cake, I’ve used it as inspiration for a cocktail.

Serves 2

To make you’ll need:

• Handful of lightly burned oats, soaking in 100ml water
• 100ml of leftover coffee, I like to use what’s leftover in my French-Press, (so for this I used Coaltown Coffee’s Black Gold No.3)
• 400ml oat milk, I used Oatly
• 1tbs cocoa, sifted
• 50g good quality chocolate (at least 70%), melted, I used Svenska Kakaobolaget
• 3 shots of Vodka, I used Stoli
• 1tbs vanilla sugar
• Ice

Serve:

• Vegan whipped cream
• Pinch of cocoa

Start by placing your oats in a pan and toasting them on low. Rather than letting them go golden brown, you need to take it just a bit further so they start to burn, not too much however. You need the nutty-bitterness that will be imbued in the liquid. Take off the heat, place into a bowl and pour in the water. Let the oats soak until they make the water a golden hue. like the picture below:

 

 

After this, leave it to cool. When ready, strain the liquid through a sieve and place the golden liquid in a separate bowl. Now, take your melted chocolate and whisk that into the liquid, before adding in the cocoa, whisking thoroughly. Then add in the vanilla sugar.

 

In your cocktail shaker, place the chocolatey mixture, along with the cold coffee, oat milk and your 3 shots of vodka over the ice. Shake vigorously and serve in a tall glass. Top with some vegan whipped cream and a sifting of cacao.

 

Enjoy!

 

Food: Lime & lavender marmalade

As I mentioned in my previous recipe of my raspberry limemade, I still had a surplus of limes, that needed using. The solution: this delicious & floral marmalade. Great in porridge, on toast or atop a decadent cheesecake and so simple to make!

To make you’ll need:

• 8 limes, sliced thinly
• Juice of 2 limes
• 400g sugar
• 600ml water
• 1tbs dried lavender

Start by placing the lime juice, sugar and water in a pan. The sugar should start dissolving in the acid of the lime juice. Place on the hob and turn the heat up high. Now, start slicing the limes up thin, by using a mandolin. Make sure you use the safety guard provided with the mandolin as otherwise, it’s a guaranteed trip to the emergency room, for you.  After you’ve sliced up the fruits, drop them into the now bubbling water and cook on a simmer for 40 minutes. During the last 10 minutes sprinkle the dried lavender and stir, so it disperses evenly.  Set aside and leave to cool slightly before pouring into your chosen bowl/ jar. The pectin in the pith and flesh should help set the marmalade overnight.

Enjoy!

Food: Vegan Carbonara

Last week in the ICA store in Möllevången, here in Malmö,  I saw these awesome new soya bacon pieces. Well, I just had to buy them and make myself a vegan spaghetti carbonara didn’t I 😉

Here’s a recipe for an equally creamy sauce as the original, but 100% plant based.

To make, you’ll need:

• 1/2 pack soy bacon (87g)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1tsp vegan butter,
• 100ml Oatly cream (or any other plant based cream)
• Glug of garlic infused oil
• 1tbs nutritional yeast
• 1tbs vegan mayo
• Lots of black pepper, around 8-9 cracks

To serve:

• Handful of chopped fresh parsley,
• Lots of vegan Parmesan ( I used Astrid och Aporna’s Riv-iera)

 

Start by putting on the spaghetti, the dish isn’t going to take long to make! Once the spaghetti is starting to simmer in it’s salty water, start by melting the butter in the pan and adding in the vegan bacon. I used ones from ICA here in Sweden, but I’m sure there are definitely nice bacon alternatives you could use, like smoked tofu, or tempeh bacon etc. Fry off until it starts going crisp, then add in the garlic. Fry until it cooks out its raw bite. Now, add in the Oatly cream, black pepper, nooch and garlic oil. Turn the heat down to low and stir. When they have thoroughly mixed together take the pan off the heat. By this time, the pasta should be nice and al-dente. Strain into a colander. As the sauce has started to cool down, you can add in the vegan mayo. This will give the same unctuous taste and feeling as using eggs in a traditional carbonara. Stir through the pasta evenly, so that each strand of spaghetti is enrobed in the sauce.  Serve with the chopped parsley and a generous helping of vegan Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Drink: Raspberry Limemade

After visiting Möllan market on Monday, I came home with more than a surplus of limes for only 10kr (like 94p!) thus, limes were on the menu. I’ve made homemade lemonade in my time, why not limeade? Well, with this simple recipe, you can make a tasty, zingy drink that will refresh & tingle your tastebuds. To make, you’ll need:

• 7-8 limes, juiced
• Handful of frozen raspberries, thawed
• 200-300g raw sugar
• 1 litre of water

Start by cutting the limes in half and juice them into a mixing bowl or a jug. Once this is done, add in the raspberries that have being thawing for roughly 10-15 minutes, they should be a lot softer now and exude their crimson juice. Mash them with a fork or muddler into the lime juice until it all turns bright red. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved (the acid in the juice should do this fairly quickly). Once it’s all dissolved into the juice, add the water, stir again. Strain the mixture into a second mixing bowl/ jug, leaving the pulp and seeds behind. Finally, pour into a bottle and place into the fridge to chill for a couple of hours. When ready it will be a zingy, tangy, yet sweet and fruity for you to enjoy! Good on its own, but try it with a bit of white rum for an amazing long drink!

 

Food & Design: How to do Malmö on a budget

 

Everyone says Sweden is expensive. I knew it was going to be expensive. In the back of my mind I brushed it off, “Yeah, yeah – I know, I know!” After all, I’d been there on holiday, I’d seen the prices in supermarkets, I knew what I was talking about. That is, until I actually moved here and began living with the reality of it being as expensive as it is. 30% tax on your wage plus nothing costs less than a pound in supermarkets. The bargains aren’t as tempting, the staples aren’t as cheap and you’re surprised on a daily basis by the things you’d assume would be a similar price are actually three times the price!

This was my reality for the first week of living here while my partner and I found our feet. Everything we did was tinged with a sense of “can we really afford to keep up our old eating habits long term?” So much so that the both of us started losing sleep over it. So far, our Swedish adventure wasn’t working out the way we expected it to. After a week or so we knew that things would have to change but we weren’t prepared to totally give up on quality. Having lived on a budget before I knew we had to be canny about what we bought, where we bought it and when we bought it to make our SEK stretch further.

Two months on and here we are, making it work in Malmö! I’ve gathered some of the best tips and hints for basic survival, but also ways of maintaining those treats that keep you sane. Living here can work long term if you’re on a budget and a bit sneaky!  Here are some of the solid gold tips and tricks I’ve picked up over the past few months:

 

Food and Drink

Checking your local ICA Nära from 7-8pm for cheap sourdough, fikabröd & rolls should become part of your weekly (if not nightly) routine. Conveniently, ours is just around the corner but chances are wherever you’re living in Malmö you’ll be close to one too. You can pick up sourdough for 12kr, big baguettes for 5kr & rolls & pastries for 3kr a piece if you catch them at the right time.

Livs (grocery) stores are the way to go in Malmö. Cheap, good quality produce, good variety & they reduce their prices in the evening around about the same time as ICA. I’ve often got big bags of passionfruit, apricots & strawberries for 10kr & big sacks of potatoes for 25kr. Picking up a “ten bag” of fruit and veg has become a staple of our evenings!

Möllan market is like the beating heart of the city when it comes to food. With so much competition in the area you can be sure that prices are always as low as they can be. If you catch them just before closing you may end up picking up some mega bargains, but be warned you’ll have to compete with other people to get the best stuff!

 

 

If you’re looking for snacks in Malmö then you’re also in luck. Cheap falafel can be found practically on every street corner, but the cheapest storfalafel I’ve found is for 25kr at Chaplin Grill on Bodekullsgatan and Värnhem. Babylon Grill near Folkets Park also offer a great range of Vegan alternatives. There’s a lot of competition here too so you won’t be out of pocket wherever you go.

If you know where to go you can always get a cheeky gratis coffee when you’re out and about in Malmö. How about some free organic coffee, tea & hot chocolate at the design shop Bolia, with a free chocolate accompaniment? So you can have a cappuccino whilst you ‘windowshop’ all of the lovely interior design pieces. Think of this as flicking through a real life catalogue over a nice cuppa!

IKEA Malmö (like other IKEAs) offer free coffee & tea on weekdays for IKEA FAMILY card owners. Even in the most unlikely places you can get a cheap coffee a free påtar (second cup), like at the Form Design Center in the middle of town. Enjoy the stunning examples of cutting edge or classic Scandinavian design (for free) AND not feel guilty about it!

 

 

Out and about.

The JOJO (pronounced yoyo) SOMMER KORT is the best way of getting out and about in the summer. It’s only 640kr (£62 ish) and is available from June 15th to August 15th. It will take you all over of Skåne, working on busses & trains, so you can visit the beautiful features & quaint little towns of the whole Skåne region. Public transport in general is very good and the prices can be flexible. You’re encouraged to use the regular Jojo Kort or your phone with 10% discounts and the ability to pick and choose where you go (why pay for all of the city when you only go to half of it?).

Malmö city is ideally designed for biking. Picking up a second hand bike on Blocket is pretty straightforward but biking is always available for the whole year for 250kr, around (£25!) with Malmö City Bike. You just have to sign up to the service. You get the bike for an hour before having to put it in one of the many docking stations dotted around the city at key locations, where you can simply pick up another if you need to. Nothing in Malmö is more than an hour’s cycle ride away. They even have a handy app to show you where your nearest docking station is in realtime, showing you how many stations are free and ready to use.

 

 

Malmö is a hive of activity, especially in the summer when it seems there’s a festival or event every other week. Malmöfestivalen is a week long festival of culture, food, music and entertainment that sprawls across the city offering free performances from some big name Swedish acts.

In addition to that there are regularly free shows & events at Folkets Park where you can see a wide variety of things in a small area. The park draws together people of all ages as there isn’t a square inch of it not buzzing with something going on. There are plenty of free art exhibitions at Malmö Konsthall, Form Design Center & Moderna Museet Malmö. If art is your thing then you’ll find the quality and variety is high.

There’s also Malmö Gallerinatt & Malmö Art Walk, which happened on the eve of September 30th. They are events in which open spaces around Malmö from 6pm till 12am to showcase the city’s galleries and up-coming artists and designers. That night the city is overflowing with great exhibitions, talks and projects to become a part of; FOR FREE!

 

Shopping

Loppis hunting is a big thing and a great way to pick up some bargains. Literally translated as “flea”, loppis stores are the equivalent of second hand and charity shops. This being Sweden you can pick up some big design names like Höganäs, Iittala, Stelton and many more. Emmaus near Triangeln is like a second hand department store with a huge range of men’s, women’s and children’s wear, not to mention household items and books. You can also visit Humana second hand clothes shops. Loppis Lounge on Djaknegatan also offers free black coffee and biscuits for its customers. So while you’re on the hunt for bargains, perusing the shelves for some Scandinavian design gems, you can rest assured you’re not bleeding cash as you go.

 

 

Getting stuff done.

Need to do some DIY? Can’t afford to just drop 500SEK on a drill? Then ToolPool is the place for you. Situated in a handyman shop on Störa NyGatan, they offer a service where you sign up and are allowed to take any of their power tools/DIY equipment for 24hrs, free. It’s a great way of getting things done cheaply and is a perfectly Swedish solution to a potentially expensive problem.

Malmö is a hotbed of startups and small companies eager to make money and get recognised. That means there’s plenty of talent and competition out there, but it’s great for getting the ball rolling with meeting people, creating new business or job searching, which can otherwise be a daunting prospect.

Sign up to Creative Mornings: Malmö, for free events. They are great places to network and offer free coffee. Minc Malmö StartupLabs offer the possibility of a free-of-charge workspace, with wifi & coffee included for up to 6 months. Even though the tickets for ‘The Conference’ business networking event are expensive, there are many side events, talks and workshops for free. Also, Boxspace Malmö, offer a quick and easy sign-up to their free day-pass; including wifi & coffee.

I hope my little guide has helped any budding travellers or people wanting to move to this great city!

Food: Broccoli, spinach & parsley soup

This is a great soup with a big burst of green to help beat the up-coming illnesses this Autumn, and will make you feel generally more hyggelig (cosy)!

You’ll need:

• 3-4 medium potatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 head of broccoli, chopped
• Broccoli stem, finely cut
• 20g frozen spinach
• Handful of fresh parsley
• 1 tbs dried parsley
• 100ml veg stock
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 litre of water
• Rapeseed oil
• Salt & pepper

 

Garnish:

• 1 tbs walnut oil
• Chopped fresh parsley

 

Start by chopping the potatoes into chunks, parboil them in a pan of salted water. Once done, drain and set aside.

Chop and fry the onion & minced garlic in a cast iron pot on a medium heat with a little oil until they’re soft and mellow. Next, add in the potatoes, dried parsley and the broccoli stem. Pour over the water and veg stock and stir. Add in the broccoli and bring to a simmer. Simmer for at least 20 minutes before adding the spinach and fresh parsley, and stir lightly until it starts to thaw. Place the lid on, turn the heat down onto its lowest setting and leave the mixture bubble and cook for a further 8-10 minutes. Now, stir in the nooch (nutritional yeast) and the mustard.

When the soup’s done its thing, take a hand blender and blitz the whole thing into a thick, velvety green soup. Season to taste.

Serve with a drizzle of walnut oil, a crack of black pepper and some chopped parsley. It goes really well with a crusty loaf and I’d recommend pairing it with a Æro Valnød Øl (walnut ale)  by Danish brewery, Rise Bryggeri, as the flavours complemented each other so well, but any gold ale would work here!

Enjoy!