5. Aland

Muesli

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1½ cups apple juice
• ½ cup dried cranberries or raisins
• ¼ cup chopped dried apricots
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 medium or 2 large cored apples, skin on, coarsely grated
• 1 cup natural yoghurt
• ½ cup chopped roasted almonds or hazelnuts
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• fresh blueberries or sliced fresh or poached fruit, to serve

Combine rolled oats in a mixing bowl with apple juice, cranberries or raisins, apricots and lemon juice and leave to stand on the bench or in the fridge overnight. It will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.

When ready to eat, mix in grated apple, yoghurt, nuts, honey and cloves. Spoon into bowls and top with fresh blueberries or other fruit to serve.

Åland black bread

Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, it was fairly difficult to get good black bread outside of Åland or the Åbo archipelago. A number of years ago I picked up the following recipe in Åland and started to make my own. It is some of the best bread I've ever tasted. I have a batch going right now so thought I'd share the recipe.

It was given to me as "Ålandsk svartbröd" but to be honest I'm not sure if it is any different from the islanders' bread - skärgårdslimpa or saaristoleipä. I suppose there are many different varieties of this type of bread.

Åländsk svartbröd

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

5 decilitres room temperature buttermilk

¾ decilitres molasses

1 decilitre brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 decilitre malt

250 grams rye flour

12 ½ grams fresh yeast

1 teaspoon warm water

500 grams all-purpose wheat flour

½ decilitre strong coffee

½ decilitre molasses

Day 1

Let buttermilk warm to room temperature. Mix buttermilk, molasses, brown sugar, salt, malt and rye flour until smooth. Cover and sit in warm place for 48 hours until bubbly.

Day 3

Mix yeast in warm water. Add yeast and wheat flour to dough and knead. Let rise for 8 hours (or until doubled - time can vary). Form two round loaves, cover and let rise for 2 more hours. Heat oven to 200 C. Prick bread with fork. Mix strong coffee and syrup. Bake for ten minutes, brush tops with mixture, bake for ten more minutes, and then brush tops again. Lower temperature to 150 C. Wrap loaves in aluminium foil and put them in the oven for 3 hours. Turn off the stove but leave loaves inside until oven is cool.

Let rest one day before eating.

(serve with smoked salmon or pickled herring) 

Cranberry Sauce 

spread on ham, turkey, and/or rye toast. 

Homestyle Potato Chips

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced paper-thin

3 tablespoons salt

1 quart oil for deep frying

Directions

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• Prep
  40 m
• Cook
  20 m
• Ready In
  1 h

1. Place potato slices into a large bowl of cold water as you slice. Drain, and rinse, then refill the bowl with water, and add the salt. Let the potatoes soak in the salty water for at least 30 minutes. Drain, then rinse and drain again.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Fry potato slices in small batches. Once they start turning golden, remove and drain on paper towels. Continue until all of the slices are fried. Season with additional salt if desired.

Åland Pancake

This deliciously filling local snack and dessert is popular in homes and cafés throughout the Åland Islands – especially with cycling tourists keen to recharge their calorie count. (Thanks to Pettas Organic Home Bakery for advice on the recipe.)

2 dl (4/5 cup) semolina (some islanders use the same amount of pudding rice instead of semolina)
1 dl (2/5 cup) wheat flour
1 litre (4 1/4 cups) whole milk
2 or 3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 dl (2/5 cup) sugar
2 tsp cardamom
Serves 4 to 6 people

Heat the semolina in the milk for a few minutes to a porridge consistency, and let it cool down. Mix eggs, sugar, salt and cardamom separately, then stir this mixture and the flour into the semolina.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish greased with butter, and scatter a few small knobs of butter over the top of the pancake. Bake 50 to 60 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit), until the surface of the pancake is golden brown.

Serve hot or cold topped with whipped cream and stewed prunes or jam (popular jams in Åland are made of local apples, strawberries, rhubarb or buckthorn berries).

apple juice or milk is common.

(Good Eats: Eggs Over Easy)