I was in Stockholm with Mary Wilson recently, and I was reminded of the culture, the style and the cuisine of Sweden. One of my favorite “very Swedish” things is lingonberries, lingonberry juice, and lingonberry preserves.
Inspired by the fun Mary and I had in both Stockholm and Jönköping, when I returned to the States, I wanted to come up with a recipe that utilized lingonberries. I immediately thought of mixing lingonberry preserves with vinegar to make a sauce. The first time I made this, I knew it was “a winner!” The crispy baked chicken with the sweet and sour taste of the lingonberry preserves, is outrageously good. It was so good in fact, that I couldn’t quit tasting the sauce while the chicken baked!
Then I started researching other Swedish dishes to round out an entire meal. I found that roasted beets are a big favorite dish there, as well as a salad made of cucumbers and dill in a vinegar dressing. Make this Swedish Lingonberry Chicken meal, and come on a culinary journey with me to stylishly distinctive Sweden. You will be lifting a glass of wine and proposing a toast with a hearty: “Skål!” just like Mary and I did in Stockholm!
Swedish Lingonberry Chicken
Ingredients:
—4 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
—2 Eggs
—2 cups plain or spiced Bread Crumbs
Lingonberry Sauce
Ingredients:
—1 1/2 cups Lingonberry Preserves
—1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
—1 teaspoon powdered Ground Ginger
—1 tablespoon Corn Starch
Cucumber Salad with Dill
Ingredients:
—2 peeled and sliced Cucumbers
—1/4 cup chopped fresh Dill Weed
—1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
—1/2 teaspoon Salt
—1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
—1 tablespoon Sugar
Roasted Beets
Ingredients:
—6-8 medium-to-large Beets
—1 large Onion
—1/4 cup Olive Oil
—1/2 teaspoon Salt
—1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
—1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
—1 teaspoon Dried or Fresh Sage
Directions:
Roasted Beets
If you are going to make this three course meal, you want to start with the beets, because they are in the oven the longest—two full hours. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop off the beet root end, and while holding onto the beet leaf stems, peel the skin off of the beet using a potato peeler. When the beet is clean of skin, up to where the leaves join the bulb, chop off the stem end. Slice all of the beets into vertical or horizontal slices or cubes, and place them in a large baking dish.
Peel and slice the onion, and quarter the slices. Take the quartered onion rings apart, and add them to the baking pan. Pour the olive oil all over the vegetables, and sprinkle them with the salt, pepper, powdered garlic, and chopped sage. With a spoon, mix the beets and onions, evenly coating the vegetables evenly with oil and spice. Place the beets and onions in the preheated 350 degree oven. These beets need a full two hours to roast properly. After one hour remove the pan from the oven, stir the beets and onions, to expose different sides of the vegetables to the heat. Return to the oven, and roast for the second hour. They will be caramelized, and sweet, and fantastic when they reach the two hour mark.
Directions:
Cucumber and Dill Salad
Right after you get the beets in the oven, turn your attention to the cucumbers. Peel and slice the two cucumbers, and place them in a bowl. Chop the dill weed, and add it to the bowl, along with the olive oil, vinegar, salt, ground black pepper, and sugar. Give it a stir, and place in the refrigerator to give the cucumbers a pickled effect.
Directions:
The Chicken
Beat two eggs in a mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl place the bread crumbs. One by one, dip the boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the egg mixture—front and back—and then dredge them in the bread crumbs. Once thoroughly coated with bread crumbs, place them in a baking dish that will also fit into the oven along with the beets.
After the one hour mark comes for the beets and onions, remove them from the oven, stir them, and then ten minutes later, place the chicken breasts into the oven. The goal is to cook the chicken breasts for 50 minutes, timing them so that the beets and the chicken are done at the same time.
Directions:
Lingonberry Sauce
Place the lingonberry preserves in a saucepan, along with the vinegar, corn starch, and powdered ground ginger, and stir together. At medium heat, bring the sauce to a boil, and then turn down to simmer, just to keep it warm until the chicken is done cooking.
The Three Course Meal
If timed perfectly, all three of the courses will be done at the same time. Remove the beets and chicken from the oven, and plate the breasts, adding to them an ample ladle full of the sweet and sour lingonberry sauce. Serve the chicken with the Cucumber Dill Salad and the Roasted Beets. Look out Sweden: here you come!
Inspired by the fun Mary and I had in both Stockholm and Jönköping, when I returned to the States, I wanted to come up with a recipe that utilized lingonberries. I immediately thought of mixing lingonberry preserves with vinegar to make a sauce. The first time I made this, I knew it was “a winner!” The crispy baked chicken with the sweet and sour taste of the lingonberry preserves, is outrageously good. It was so good in fact, that I couldn’t quit tasting the sauce while the chicken baked!
Then I started researching other Swedish dishes to round out an entire meal. I found that roasted beets are a big favorite dish there, as well as a salad made of cucumbers and dill in a vinegar dressing. Make this Swedish Lingonberry Chicken meal, and come on a culinary journey with me to stylishly distinctive Sweden. You will be lifting a glass of wine and proposing a toast with a hearty: “Skål!” just like Mary and I did in Stockholm!
Swedish Lingonberry Chicken
Ingredients:
—4 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
—2 Eggs
—2 cups plain or spiced Bread Crumbs
Lingonberry Sauce
Ingredients:
—1 1/2 cups Lingonberry Preserves
—1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
—1 teaspoon powdered Ground Ginger
—1 tablespoon Corn Starch
Cucumber Salad with Dill
Ingredients:
—2 peeled and sliced Cucumbers
—1/4 cup chopped fresh Dill Weed
—1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
—1/2 teaspoon Salt
—1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
—1 tablespoon Sugar
Roasted Beets
Ingredients:
—6-8 medium-to-large Beets
—1 large Onion
—1/4 cup Olive Oil
—1/2 teaspoon Salt
—1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
—1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
—1 teaspoon Dried or Fresh Sage
Directions:
Roasted Beets
If you are going to make this three course meal, you want to start with the beets, because they are in the oven the longest—two full hours. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop off the beet root end, and while holding onto the beet leaf stems, peel the skin off of the beet using a potato peeler. When the beet is clean of skin, up to where the leaves join the bulb, chop off the stem end. Slice all of the beets into vertical or horizontal slices or cubes, and place them in a large baking dish.
Peel and slice the onion, and quarter the slices. Take the quartered onion rings apart, and add them to the baking pan. Pour the olive oil all over the vegetables, and sprinkle them with the salt, pepper, powdered garlic, and chopped sage. With a spoon, mix the beets and onions, evenly coating the vegetables evenly with oil and spice. Place the beets and onions in the preheated 350 degree oven. These beets need a full two hours to roast properly. After one hour remove the pan from the oven, stir the beets and onions, to expose different sides of the vegetables to the heat. Return to the oven, and roast for the second hour. They will be caramelized, and sweet, and fantastic when they reach the two hour mark.
Directions:
Cucumber and Dill Salad
Right after you get the beets in the oven, turn your attention to the cucumbers. Peel and slice the two cucumbers, and place them in a bowl. Chop the dill weed, and add it to the bowl, along with the olive oil, vinegar, salt, ground black pepper, and sugar. Give it a stir, and place in the refrigerator to give the cucumbers a pickled effect.
Directions:
The Chicken
Beat two eggs in a mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl place the bread crumbs. One by one, dip the boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the egg mixture—front and back—and then dredge them in the bread crumbs. Once thoroughly coated with bread crumbs, place them in a baking dish that will also fit into the oven along with the beets.
After the one hour mark comes for the beets and onions, remove them from the oven, stir them, and then ten minutes later, place the chicken breasts into the oven. The goal is to cook the chicken breasts for 50 minutes, timing them so that the beets and the chicken are done at the same time.
Directions:
Lingonberry Sauce
Place the lingonberry preserves in a saucepan, along with the vinegar, corn starch, and powdered ground ginger, and stir together. At medium heat, bring the sauce to a boil, and then turn down to simmer, just to keep it warm until the chicken is done cooking.
The Three Course Meal
If timed perfectly, all three of the courses will be done at the same time. Remove the beets and chicken from the oven, and plate the breasts, adding to them an ample ladle full of the sweet and sour lingonberry sauce. Serve the chicken with the Cucumber Dill Salad and the Roasted Beets. Look out Sweden: here you come!