Midsummer food - 15 classics & readers' favourites

Midsummer food, it's a big deal! Midsummer is an important holiday for us Swedes and the food we eat at this time of year is close to our hearts. We're listing 15 classics on the midsummer table, and we want your help! What are your favourites? What do you usually cook and serve during this festive season?

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Midsummer food

Midsummer food is the food we eat on Midsummer Eve, and perhaps throughout the Midsummer weekend. It is common to set up a buffet, where herring and potatoes often play a leading role, and some people also choose to grill, perhaps in the evening.

We've listed 15 classics, and then we plan to list your - readers'! - favourites. Don't miss to comment and tell us about your favourite midsummer food!

1. pickled herring

Pickled herring is an absolute must on the midsummer buffet! Our favourite is actually "regular" pickled herring, but there are also a lot of fun and creative variations. Make your own pickles (if you think it's fun) or buy ready-made. Here are some suggestions:

• Brantevik herring (a sweet and slightly spicy herring)
• Curry Herring
• rotifers
• Onion herring
• Mustard herring
• Archipelago herring (with lumpfish roe and dill)
• Tomato Herring

2. matjes herring

Matjes herring is a favourite at midsummer. Serve with sour cream, red onions and chives. If you wish, you can serve it in the form of a summery "herring plate" with, for example, new potatoes, boiled eggs, radishes, red onions and fresh herbs.

3. herring cake

A slightly more exclusive way of presenting herring is to make a herring cake. There are of course lots of different recipes! For example, you can use caviar and butter as the base. The filling can be made from gelatine leaves, sour cream, matjes herring and herbs. The cake is often nicely decorated with things like dill, chives, radishes and red onions, or perhaps eggs or rum.

4. old man's scrambled eggs

Gubbröra is a midsummer favourite and is perfect on rye bread or hard bread. It can be made in a few different ways. Here is a classic recipe:

You need for 6 servings: About 3 potatoes, 4 eggs, a yellow onion, a tin of anchovies (125 grams), 1 dl crème fraiche, fresh chopped dill and chives, butter, salt and pepper.

• Boil potatoes.
• Hard boil eggs.
• Peel and chop the onion.
• Fry the onion in butter over a low heat until soft. Leave to cool.
• Drain the anchovies and save the stock. Cut the anchovies into small cubes.
• Peel and dice the potatoes and eggs.
• Mix the crème fraiche with the anchovy paste and herbs. Mix in the potatoes, eggs, onions and anchovies. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve on hard bread or rye bread.

5. Gravlax or smoked salmon

Engraved, cold-smoked or hot-smoked salmon is a favourite midsummer dish. Serve for example:

• Gravlax with butler's sauce
• Salmon scrambled eggs with cold smoked salmon, apple and horseradish
• Hot smoked salmon with rum sauce

6. egg halves

Egg halves are popular on the midsummer table. Boil and split the eggs, and serve with some nice topping. Here are some suggestions:

• Moulded roe and red onion
• Horseradish cream (whipped crème fraiche with horseradish whip), prawns and dill
• Prawns and roe with mayonnaise and chives
• Chopped anchovies, mayonnaise and dill

7. prawns

Shrimps may not be as classic on the midsummer buffet as herring and salmon, but many still like to boost the table with this favourite. The prawns can of course be served just as they are, possibly with a little aioli. If you want to come up with something else, here are some suggestions:

• Prawn cake or prawn cheesecake
• Scrambled eggs
• Sandwiches with prawns

8. Fresh potatoes and fresh potato salad

Fresh potatoes are an absolute must at the midsummer meal. You can serve them plain, preferably boiled with dill. If you want to go the extra mile, a potato salad is also a good idea. Here are some ideas:

• French potato salad (French mustard and capers)
• Fresh potato salad with asparagus, radishes and red onion
• Creamy potato salad with dill and capers

9. pie

A pie can be a perfect addition to the midsummer table, especially any kind of cheese or vegetable pie. There are lots of recipes of course. Here are some ideas for pies that might be suitable for Midsummer's Eve:

• Feta cheese pie
• Cheese and salmon pie
• Spinach pie
• Västerbotten pie

10. Bread and cheese

Bread and cheese are important accessories on the midsummer table. Serve both a soft and a hard bread, and maybe some luxurious seed crackers and some savoury biscuits. Choose some cheeses you like, perhaps both a hard cheese and a slightly creamier variety.

11. incisions

Some nice canapés always look delicious on the midsummer table. Or you can serve them as an aperitif. Here are some ideas. Get inspired and feel free to come up with your own variation!

• Crustaceans with onion roe - Fill rye crisps with whipped crème fraiche and onion roe. Top with chopped chives and red onion.
• Crusts with scrambled eggs - Fill the rye crisps with the scrambled eggs and decorate with dill sprigs.
• Salmon rolls with horseradish - Arrange thin slices of cold smoked salmon in a circle. Spread with horseradish-flavoured cream cheese and sprinkle with chopped chives. Roll and cut the roll into slices.
• Slices with strawberries and ham - Mash the avocado and top with crackers or pieces of thin crispbread. Add thin pieces of air-dried ham and sliced strawberries.
• Slices of cold smoked salmon - Spread cream cheese on crackers, top with pieces of cold smoked salmon and decorate with chives.

12. grilled meat

Grilled food is also part of Midsummer! Maybe you're having a midsummer buffet with herring for lunch and want to grill in the evening? Or maybe you serve everything at the same time? Whatever the case, here are some tips on how to prepare midsummer food on the barbecue:

Grilled midsummer food - meat, fish and cheese

• Fish and prawns in foil packets
• Rib steak
• Haloumi
• Whole pork fillet
• Whole salmon side
• Rack of lamb

Grilled midsummer food - green on the grill

• Corn on the cob, served with chilli butter
• Potatoes in foil with garlic and rosemary
• Asparagus (possibly with bacon wrapped around it)
• Split cabbage, served with browned butter and chopped, roasted nuts
• Tomatoes stuffed with feta cheese and herbs

Tasty sauces and accompaniments

• Chilli sauce
• Feta cheese cream with herbs
• Pickled red onions
• tzatziki

13. summer salad

If it is grilled, it is of course fresh with a good summer salad. Or why not serve the salad on the lunch buffet? A summer salad can really be put together in any way you like. Here are some suggestions:

• Avocado salad with tomatoes, radishes and sugar snap peas, for example
• Melon salad with feta cheese and for example cucumber, tomato, red onion
• Tomato salad with mixed tomatoes, red onion and chives

14. Dessert with strawberries

On Midsummer's Eve, you can serve a dessert with strawberries. This could be strawberries with ice cream or cream, or a dreamy strawberry tart. You can also think of more creative ways to serve strawberry desserts. Here are some different ideas:

• Glass cake with strawberries
• Grilled fruit salad, with strawberries and peaches
• Strawberry pie
• Strawberry tiramisu
• Pavlova with strawberries
• Roll cake with strawberries

15. Other summery desserts

If you're a fan of sweets, and of making desserts, you might not want to stop at strawberries. There are so many other sweet and savoury things you can eat in summer! Here are some suggestions that might inspire you:

• Elderberry pannacotta
• Raspberry cheesecake
• Rhubarb pie with custard
• White chocolate mousse

Drinks for the midsummer meal

Midsummer food is great, but what do you drink with it? Traditionally, you could say that beer and schnapps are part of the Midsummer celebrations, but today many people choose wine instead. And of course, you can choose non-alcoholic drinks.

Beer and wine

Personally, we prefer beer (preferably a good Lager) with the herring, but of course you can drink white wine or rosé if you prefer. With the grilled meat, there are certainly many who choose red wine.

Snaps

When it comes to schnapps, we like classics like Skåne. If you want to try several different ones, it's nice to have small bottles.

Non-alcoholic alternatives

• Non-alcoholic beers there are many good ones! Our favourites are Brooklyn and Carlsberg.
• Non-alcoholic white wine, or maybe rosé
• Cider or apple juice
• There are actually non-alcoholic schnapps too! We have not tried this...

More to read about midsummer and midsummer food

Here you can find even more reading about midsummer and midsummer food:

You might also like:

13 dishes on the Christmas table - the history of Christmas food New Year's celebrations - a New Year's menu with 8 small dishes Swedish food - 25 classic Swedish dishes Crayfish in Sweden - when, what and why? Testing Christmas beer - and Christmas food in a new way 3 simple and delicious casseroles with stir-fries