Scandinavia: Recipes and Ingredients

This is a warmly traditional introduction to the foodways of Scandinavia, shaped by Icelandic authors who also run a guesthouse and clearly understand the pleasures of good, honest cooking. Divided by season, the book presents 55 recipes from across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland—many rooted in long-standing culinary traditions, all with a sense of comfort and quiet generosity.

The ingredients are familiar to the region: potatoes, beets, dairy, preserved fish, summer berries, and fresh herbs appear often. The tone is straightforward and welcoming, with no nods to culinary trendiness—no burrata, no avocados. Instead, this is food made to be cooked and shared, shaped by climate, season, and memory.

Recipes include:

• Swedish flatbreads with cumin

• Danish liver pâté with cucumber and beets

• Finnish potato pancakes

• Crayfish with dill mayonnaise

Roughly three-quarters of the recipes are accompanied by photographs.

The book does come with some challenging design choices. Country introductions are printed in black text on a deep green background, which can strain readability. (The preface sample page in the illustrations here has the type reversed out in white, which is not how it appears in the printed book). Ingredient lists, meanwhile, are set in small type at the bottom of recipe pages with bullets separating the items—an arrangement that makes it harder for a cook to quickly check quantities mid-preparation.

Still, charming and evocative.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.