The FRESH WAY of EATING It’s modern Nordic cuisine, and it’s taking over dining tables everywhere. Driving the new food movement: creative herb combos, healthy ingredients, and memory-making flavors that hit every note, from deliciously delicate to daring and bold.

Photographs by KANA OKADA

SWEDEN AND CALIFORNIA ARE more than 5,000 miles apart, but in their San Francisco restaurant, Pläj (pronounced “play”), the husband- and-wife team of Roberth (the chef) and Andrea (the manager) Sundell brings the cuisine of these two foodcentric cultures together. “We take traditional family recipes Pickle-Poached from Sweden and present them Salmon With in a new, modern way, highlight- Cucumber ing California produce,” Roberth and Fennel says. In reinventing these nostalgic dishes of his childhood, he’s made them lighter but also bolder, with Smore intense tastes. “The true flavors and textures of the fresh vegetables and fish stand out; they’re not masked with heavy sauces,” Roberth says. It’s that focus on produce and seafood (along with vegetable-based oils, low-fat dairy, whole grains, lean meats, and fruit) that makes Nordic food so good—and so good for you.

174 OCTOBER 2015 SHAPE.COM SHAPE.COM OCTOBER 2015 175 (Previous page) Pickle-Poached Salmon With Cucumber and Fennel Serves: 4 Cook time: 10 minutes Total time: 20 minutes

1 cup distilled vinegar 2 cups water 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon whole allspice 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 bunches dill 4 5-ounce salmon fillets 3 egg yolks 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon honey 1/4 cup molasses 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup canola or vegetable oil 1 fennel bulb Fall Beets and 1. In a pan over medium heat, 1 long cucumber toast hazelnuts in 1 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper Sunchoke Salad olive oil and sugar; stir until lightly Serves: 4 caramelized. Remove from heat. 1. In a pan large enough to hold salmon fillets Cook time: 50 minutes 2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Fill in a single layer, bring vinegar, water, bay a large pot halfway with water Total time: 1 hour leaves, allspice, sugar, salt, and 1 bunch dill and bring to a boil; add beets and to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off cook until soft, about 45 minutes. 1 leek (white part only) and onion. Heat remaining heat and add fish, making sure it’s covered 2 ounces hazelnuts Remove beets from water to cool, Spiced 1 tablespoon oil in a soup pot by the liquid. Cover pan and let fish rest for 1 yellow onion 2 teaspoons olive oil, then peel and slice them. 5 to 10 minutes or until it’s poached. Remove Cabbage over medium heat. Add cab- plus more for reheating 1/4 teaspoon white pepper fish and drain on paper towels. bage, leek, onion, remaining vegetables 3. While beets cook, drizzle Soup With 1 teaspoon salt, white pepper, sunchokes with 1 teaspoon olive 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon sugar 2. Chop remaining bunch of dill. In a small Rye Croutons nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, Peppery oil. Roast until semisoft, 20 to bowl, whisk together egg yolks, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/2 pound baby golden beets Serves: 4 and sweat vegetables for 30 minutes; set aside. When cool, honey, and molasses. Continue to whisk as Food styling by Jamie Kimm; prop styling by Sarah Cave/EH Management 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves about 5 minutes to build flavor. 1/2 pound baby Chioggia slice, leaving skins on. you add red wine vinegar, and then, once Cook time: 1 hour greens 2 carrots, grated Put a lid on pot for a few min- (candy cane) beets combined, the oil. Fold in chopped dill. 5 minutes utes to let vegetables steam. 4. In a small jar with a lid, combine 1/2 pound sunchokes extra-virgin olive oil, truffle oil, Total time: 1 hour 1 tablespoon molasses 3. Trim fennel, reserving fronds, and thinly 3. Add carrots, molasses, complement and vinegar. Shake the jar to 10 minutes 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil slice bulb with a mandoline. Using a vege- 1 cup port or any dark beer port, and water to the pot, combine. Toss watercress with table peeler, remove about half the cucum- along with bay leaves. Let 1 tablespoon white truffle oil the vinaigrette. ber peel, creating stripes lengthwise. Cut 2 thick slices rye bread, 41/4 cups water the sweet cut into cubes simmer until vegetables are 2 tablespoons cider vinegar cucumber in half lengthwise; remove seeds tender, about 1 hour. Discard 5. Reheat beets and sunchokes 1–2 bay leaves 8 ounces baby watercress with a spoon and slice. Toss fennel and 1 teaspoon butter bay leaves. in a hot pan with some olive oil. Chopped parsley beets and Season to taste with salt and cucumber in 1/4 cup mustard dressing; top 1 tablespoon plus Kosher salt with pepper and chopped fennel fronds. 4. Serve in soup bowls, pepper. Add to salad, along with 1 teaspoon olive oil Black pepper 1. Sauté rye cubes in a pan topped with rye croutons toasted hazelnuts and cheese. 4. Serve salmon with salad and remaining 1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic earthy with butter, 1 teaspoon olive and chopped parsley. 2 ounces västerbotten, Serve with a sprinkling of sea salt. dressing on the side if desired. 11/4 teaspoons salt oil, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, thinly sliced (A cow’s milk and black pepper. cheese; you can substitute Freshly ground black Nutrition score per serving: sunchokes Parmesan or any other Nutrition score per serving: 418 Nutrition score per serving: 314 calories, pepper 284 calories, 6 g fat (1.5 g satu- hard cow’s milk cheese.) calories, 33 g fat (5.6 g saturated), 16 g fat (2.1 g saturated), 11 g carbs, 30 g 2. Chop cabbage into small rated), 39 g carbs, 5 g protein, 25 g carbs, 10 g protein, 6 g fiber, protein, 2 g fiber, 354 mg sodium 1 head white cabbage pieces and thinly slice leek 8 g fiber, 908 mg sodium in this salad. Sea salt 398 mg sodium

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Swedish Buttermilk go anywhere Pancakes With Wild Berry Jam in Sweden and Whipped Cream without seeing Serves: 4 pancakes on Cook time: 45 minutes Total time: 55 minutes the menu,” 3 eggs chef Sundell 1 cup buttermilk 11/4 cups low-fat milk says. 11/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup plus 11/2 teaspoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 11/2 teaspoons vanilla paste or 11/2 tablespoons vanilla extract 1 cup mixed berries, such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries 1 cup water 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon butter Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

1. In a large bowl, beat eggs, then add buttermilk and low-fat milk and whisk to combine. Add flour, 11/2 teaspoons sugar, and salt and stir to combine. Add 3/4 teaspoon vanilla paste and mix until com- bined. Place batter in the refrigera- tor for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the berry 2 tablespoons olive oil Pork Chop leaves for the last 2 minutes of sauce: In a small bowl, mix together With Roasted 1 teaspoon salt, plus more cooking. Remove baking sheet berries, water, cornstarch, 1/2 cup for seasoning from the oven, transfer vegetables sugar, and remaining vanilla paste. to a serving dish, and top with the Kohlrabi, 1 teaspoon black pepper, plus Transfer to a saucepan and simmer more for seasoning grated blue cheese and a sprinkling over low heat until berries break Rutabaga, and of sea salt. 8 kale leaves, torn down and sauce thickens, about Wild Kale 2. Meanwhile, coat an ovenproof 30 minutes. Let cool. 1/4 ounce Danish blue cheese, Serves: 4 pan with cooking spray and heat frozen and finely grated 3. Heat a nonstick pan over medium- Cook time: 30 minutes over medium-high heat. Season high. Add butter, then pour about Sea salt pork chops with salt and pepper, Total time: 35 minutes 3 tablespoons of batter into pan Cooking spray add to pan, and sear until golden and swirl until pan is evenly coated. on the bottom, about 3 minutes. When air pockets appear, flip pan- 2 kohlrabies, peeled and cut 4 5-ounce pork chops Flip chops and transfer pan to cake. Cook 1 to 2 minutes; repeat into wedges oven; cook 5 to 10 minutes or until 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a with remaining batter. 2 rutabagas, peeled and cut pork is 145°. Transfer to a serving into wedges large bowl, toss together kohlrabi, dish and let rest for a few minutes. 4. Serve pancakes with berry sauce rutabaga, garlic, rosemary, thyme, Serve with vegetables. and whipped cream if desired. 1 tablespoon shaved garlic olive oil, and 1 teaspoon each of 1 teaspoon rosemary, finely salt and pepper. Transfer vegeta- chopped bles to a rimmed baking sheet and Nutrition score per serving: 350 Nutrition score per serving: 402 calories, 12 g fat (2.5 g saturated), calories, 6 g fat (2.7 g saturated), 1 teaspoon thyme, finely roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until 24 g carbs, 39 g protein, 8 g fiber, 71 g carbs, 14 g protein, 2 g fiber, chopped vegetables soften, adding kale 915 mg sodium 596 mg sodium

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