Scandinavian Summer Recipes: Cucumber Soup and Tomato Tart
Summer in Scandinavia is a season of abundance, where the midnight sun barely sets and the light is beautiful. The long days call for light meals featuring fresh vegetables. Trine Hahnemann shares two perfect dishes for a summer evening: a chilled cucumber soup followed by a tomato tart with creamy ricotta and rye pastry.
Tomato Tart
This tart is ideal for a warm day, offering a light yet flavorful taste of summer. In Denmark, it is traditionally made with rygeost, a smoked cream cheese, but ricotta works well as a substitute.
Ingredients
- For the rye pastry: 125g plain flour, 125g coarse stoneground rye flour, 1 tsp fine sea salt, 75g unsalted butter (cubed), 75g full-fat natural yoghurt
- For the filling: 200g ricotta, 100g creme fraiche, 10 tomatoes (mixed colors, sliced), 3 tbsp olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, 1 spring onion (sliced), 2 dill sprigs (chopped)
Method
- Mix flours and salt, rub in butter until crumbly. Add yoghurt and knead lightly. Roll out to 4-5mm thick, line a buttered 28cm pie dish, and rest in fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan). Blind bake the pastry with baking beans for 15 minutes, then remove beans and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Mix ricotta and creme fraiche. Spread over cooled pastry base, arrange tomato slices on top, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and scatter spring onion and dill. Serve sliced.
Chilled Cucumber Soup
Cucumbers are refreshing and versatile, perfect for a cold soup on hot summer days. Prepare at least 8 hours ahead.
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Ingredients
- For the soup: 3½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 2 shallots (chopped), 2 cucumbers (roughly chopped), 200ml white wine, 1 litre vegetable stock, 2 tbsp each parsley, tarragon, mint (finely chopped), sea salt and black pepper, juice of 1 lemon
- To serve: 200g full-fat natural yoghurt, crispbread
Method
- Sauté shallots in oil until translucent. Add cucumbers and wine, bubble for a few minutes, then add stock. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, then cool to room temperature.
- Blend soup with remaining oil, herbs, and seasoning. Add lemon juice to taste. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.
- Adjust seasoning before serving. Serve chilled with yoghurt and crispbread.
These recipes are adapted from Midnight Sun: A Scandinavian Cookbook for Long Summer Days by Trine Hahnemann.
