Swedish husmanskost denotes traditional Swedish dishes with local ingredients, the classical everyday Swedish cuisine. The word husmanskost stems from husman, meaning ‘house owner’ (without associated land), and the term was originally used for most kinds of simple countryside food outside of towns. Genuine Swedish husmanskost used predominantly local ingredients such as pork in all forms, fish, cereals, milk, potato, root vegetables, cabbage, onions, apples, berries etc.
Examples of Swedish husmanskost are pea soup (ärtsoppa), boiled and mashed carrots fishballs (fiskbullar), meatballs (köttbullar) and the very popular potato dumplings (kroppkakor) filled with meat or other ingredients
If you meet two people from different parts of Sweden, they probably won’t agree on how to make kroppkakor potato dumplings; what they will agree on is that you have to make them. From its origin on the southern island of Osland, inland to rustic Smaland, and beyond to cosmopolitan Stockholm, Swedes love their kroppkakor, even as they sniff at others’ recipes. Here’s what never changes: the recipes all involve potatoes which have been mashed and made into balls filled with pork and onion. From there, all bets are off. The earliest recipes are heavy on allspice—but some cooks don’t use any.
Some say you must serve the dumplings with butter and heavy cream, while others prefer sour cream, yet almost everyone pairs it with jam (lingonberry being the most popular choice).
SWEDISH KROPPKAKOR (POTATO DUMPLINGS)
- 10 -12 medium potatoes, boiled and cold
- 1 egg
- 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces bacon, the smoked and slightly salted one, cut into small pieces
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice, coarsely crushed
Mash the potatoes.
Stir in egg and flour making a smooth dough.
Fry onion and bacon in some butter.
Add allspice or white pepper to taste, set aside.
Shape the dough into a log with floured hands cut into 12 pieces.
Make a little pocket and fill with about 1 tablespoon of filling.
Close and shape into a ball.
Put about 4-5 at a time in simmering salted water, big pot, and let simmer for 5 minutes.
The dumplings will sink and when they have floated to the top they are ready.
Serve with a thin béchamel sauce or melted butter.
Source and photo borrowed from: Genius Kitchen
Sources:
https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/swedish-kroppkakor-61420
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_cuisine
https://www.gct.com/community/the-inside-scoop/the-buzz/a-taste-of-sweden-kroppkakor
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get the hang of it!