Elizabeth Lavin
Courtesy of Jessica Nowitzki — President of the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation
“I spent most of my childhood in Sweden. My Kenyan mother embraced the Swedish culture and would make the most amazing Christmas dinners for the family. Typical Swedish Christmas delicacies include ham, köttbullar (meatballs), a variety of herring dishes, liver pâté, boiled potatoes, salmon, lutefisk, rice pudding, and Janssons frestelse, which translates to Jansson’s temptation—essentially a twist on the traditional potato au gratin. It was always one of my favorite dishes.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 medium potatoes
2 onions
10 anchovy fillets with marinade
9 fluid ounces cream
Handful of breadcrumbs
1 ounce butter
Directions
Peel potatoes and cut into matchsticks. Place in cold water to extract the starch. Preheat oven to 430°. Peel onions and chop coarsely. Grease ovenproof dish. Remove potatoes from water, pat dry. Remove anchovy fillets from tin and drain. Reserve anchovy marinade. Halve large anchovies. Place half of potatoes in baking dish. Cover with onions, then a layer of anchovy fillets. Cover with remaining potatoes. Pour anchovy marinade and half the cream over mixture. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and dot with butter. Bake 50-60 minutes. After 30 minutes, pour in remaining cream.