Savory Swedish Salmon Soup and Sandwiches

We had been planning to take our family friend Monica (whom the girls call their "in-town grandma") to Suzanna's concert this afternoon and then go out for supper afterwards.  However, it's terribly icy out, so Monica (who had hip surgery not long ago) opted to stay in and invited us to come to her home for supper after the concert.  We were going to take pizza to her, but this is Scandinavian Saturday in our household, and I wondered if there would be time before the concert to prepare something ethnic to pick up and take over to her after the concert.  It was Abigail's turn to be my helper, and she was game for fixing Scandinavian food to share with Monica for supper . . . so that's what we did.

Monica had the table decorated in a Valentine's Day theme.

Monica was expecting us to come with boxes of pizza, and she provided some extras, such as pickles, mixed fruit, juice to drink, and German chocolate cake for dessert.  She was surprised when we arrived with Swedish sandwiches and soup instead! This week's recipes came from Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson:

majs soppa med rökt lax ["corn soup with smoked salmon"] -- In the oven, we roasted potatoes and whole-kernel corn in olive oil, kosher salt, and ground pepper.  In a stock pot, we sautéed shallots and garlic in canola oil before adding chicken stock to simmer.  We added the roasted vegetables to the stock and used an immersion blender to puree the mix.  We stirred in sour cream and added tarragon, chopped fresh cilantro, and chunks of smoked salmon.  The soup stayed warm on the oven while we were at the concert, and we wrapped the whole thing in towels to bring it to Monica's.

gravad lax smörgås ["marinated salmon club sandwiches"] -- We finely chopped red onion, tomato, jalapeño pepper, and fresh cilantro. We pitted, peeled, and mashed two avocados and then stirred in the other ingredients along with the juice of two freshly squeezed limes.  We seasoned it with kosher salt and ground pepper and then packed it up to take to Monica's along with a loaf of rye bread, a head of red leaf lettuce, and a couple packages of cured salmon.  At Monica's, we toasted the rye bread, spread it with the guacamole, and topped it with lettuce and salmon to make the sandwiches on the spot.  The recipe recommended that we deep-fry our own root vegetable chips to serve with the sandwiches, but instead we opted just to buy a bag of veggie chips (beets, sweet potatoes, and taro root).

Monica was a willing guinea pig in yet another weekly experiment in Scandinavian cooking.  It was a savory, satisfying meal with salmon as its star.  And while Abigail and I tended to final details before serving the meal, Suzanna was able to show Monica video of her concerts, so Monica enjoyed the music without having to go out on the slippery sidewalks and steps to get to the auditorium.  Fun night!