Janssons Frestelse

By John, 6 February, 2022
Region
Sweden
Description

Jansson's Temptation is apparently hugely popular in Sweden, but I can say that this unassuming casserole of shredded potatoes, onions, ansjovis, and cream was not a favorite at our Swedish Christmas Dinner.

I'll have to look for a few other recipes to see if I did anything wrong, but I am including it here now because of its reputation, and because I did serve it at that otherwise fine dinner.

The recipe calls for ansjovis, which are a sort of spiced and brined anchovy, but with a completely different flavor. I saw them at the Simply Scandinavian Swedish market in Portland, but I didn't buy them at the time, assuming incorrectly that they were just regular anchovies from a Swedish maker. If I try this again, I'll be sure to get proper ansjovis. 

Yield
8 Servings
Preparation time
10 minutes
Cooking time
1 hour
Total time
1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb Baking Potatoes (peeled)
1 Onion
1 125g tin of Ansjovis (not anchovies)
3⁄4 c Light Cream
1⁄4 c Milk
1 T Dried Breadcrumbs
4 T Chilled Butter
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  2. Peel the potatoes and then cut them into juliennes in a food processor.
  3. Peel the onion and cut into julienne strips.
  4. Fry the onion in butter until it is softened without browning.
  5. Drain the spiced brine from the ansjovis tin into a cup. Add the cream and milk.
  6. Cut the ansjovis into ½-inch lengths.
  7. Lightly grease an ovenproof baking dish.
  8. Cover the bottom of the dish with a third of the potatoes, then add half the fried onions and half the ansjovis pieces.
  9. Add another third of the potatoes, followed by the remainder of the onion and then the remaining ansjovis pieces.
  10. Add the remaining third of the potatoes then season with pepper (you probably won’t need salt as the ansjovis are very salty).
  11. Flatten the surface then pour the cream, milk, and spiced brine mixture over it all.
  12. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top, then dot the surface with butter.
  13. Bake for about an hour until golden brown.
  14. Serve warm as part of a smörgåsbord (buffet).
Source

https://www.swedishfood.com/swedish-food-recipes-main-courses/405-janssons