大象传媒

The Little Library Christmas by Kate Young
Published by Head of Zeus on 1 October 2020
Photos © Lean Timms

Jansson’s temptation

I think this might be my favourite part of the smörgåsbord. It’s really just an extravagant potato bake, filled with cream, and salty-sweet sprats, and so of course it’s entirely delicious. The leeks here are terribly inauthentic – they should really be diced onion – but my pal Lean (who photographed this book) is sensitive to onion, and so I made this version for her. It was one of those perfect, happy discoveries; we actually preferred it that way. Traditionally, this is eaten on Christmas Eve, but it’s worked its way onto my ‘Friday night supper’ list too – a welcome dish of comfort throughout winter.

Serves 6–8 (or more as part of a smörgåsbord)

INGREDIENTS
• 60g/¼ cup cold butter
• 1.2kg/2¾lb Charlotte potatoes (or another waxy variety)
• 2 medium leeks, washed and finely diced
• 250g/9oz sprat fillets/ansjovis*
• 400ml/1¾ cups whole milk
• 300ml/1¼ cups double/heavy cream
• 2tbsp Kalles caviar (optional)
• 1tbsp tomato purée/paste
• A pinch of white pepper
• 3tbsp dried breadcrumbs
* Try to find tins of cured Swedish sprat fillets, like Grebbestad’s, rather than substituting anchovies, which will be far too salty (and I say this as a devoted tinned anchovy lover). They’re easy to find online.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 200魛�怌/400魛�怓/Gas 6 and grease a large baking dish with a tablespoon of the butter. Peel the potatoes and cut into thick matchsticks, about the size of a French fry.

2. Put a third of the potatoes in the base of the dish, then add half the leeks. Arrange half the sprats over the top, retaining the liquid from the tin. Cover with more potatoes, more leeks, more sprats, and then finish with the final third of the potatoes.

3. Pour the milk, cream, liquid from the sprats, caviar (if using), tomato purée and pepper into a jug, and pour over the potatoes. You should just be able to see the liquid through the top layer of potatoes.

4. Slice the rest of the butter into thin slices and lay over the top. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, then bake in the centre of the oven for an hour. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.