You may be surprised to learn you can find some really good tomatoes in Scandinavia, as there are many growers working with a vast number of varieties. Our tomatoes are sweet and juicy in August, and the season lasts well into September. This tart is one to make on a warm day when you feel like something light that carries the full flavour of summer. We serve it with rygeost, smoked fresh cheese, which is a speciality from Fyn, the island where my mother’s family comes from. Outside Denmark, you may find it in Scandinavian delis, but the tart goes well with ricotta too.
For the rye pastry
125g plain flour, plus extra to dust
125g coarse stoneground rye flour
1tsp fine sea salt
75g unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra to grease
75g full-fat natural yoghurt
For the filling
200g rygeost or ricotta
100g crème fraîche
10 tomatoes, ideally in different colours, sliced
3tbsp olive oil
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 dill sprigs, roughly chopped
For the pastry, mix both flours and the salt together in a mixing bowl and, using the tips of your fingers, rub in the butter until the mixture looks like crumbs. Mix in the yoghurt. Knead the dough lightly with your hands, either in the bowl or on a work surface, just until the ingredients come together. Or pulse-blend everything together in a food processor. In either case, if the dough does not come together, sprinkle in a little water.
Roll the pastry out on a floured surface. Butter an approx 28cm pie dish and use the pastry to line the dish, then transfer to the fridge to rest for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Cover the pastry case with baking paper, fill it with baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for 15 minutes more. Remove and leave to cool in its dish on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the cheese with the crème fraîche in a bowl.
Add the cheese cream to the pastry case and spread it out, then arrange the tomato slices on top in a circular pattern. Drizzle the oil over and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Top with the spring onion and dill and sprinkle with more pepper to serve.
Photography by Kim Lightbody (Quadrille, £25)
In Scandinavia, summer is lived outdoors – perhaps, at times, wrapped in blankets – and food traditions revolve around a seasonal hygge that invites lingering over meals with conversation stretching into the night. Trine Hahnemann, chef, food writer and owner of Copenhagen’s Hahnemanns Køkken bakery, recalls her childhood through favourite recipes.
