Supermarkets abroad are very hard to resist. Even if you don’t need any groceries, it’s worthwhile visiting them: enjoy the lovely packaging, new flavors, unknown products. If you go to Sweden, like I did this summer, buy pickled herring, other small canned fish, delicious mustard, and knäckebröd in many exciting varieties.
In Malmö, I bought a jar of Yoghurtbollar, originally a Palestinian cheese that stands in a long line of tradition. In Nablus, a city at the Palestinian West Bank, this kind of cheese has been made for ages. The fourth generation of the cheesemaking family Godeh lives in Sweden now, making a living out of it. The Yoghurtbollar look like small mozzarella balls. They have the structure of soft goats cheese, but have a much milder taste because they’re made of cow’s milk. To make the following recipe, there is no need to drive to Sweden first: simply replace the Yoghurtbollar with another soft creamy cheese, like mozzarella, burrata, or a young goat cheese. We ate the salad with thick, soft Polarbröd, a Swedish bread brand, but something similar can be found in Swedish specialty shops* or at IKEA.
Side Dish, Serves 4
Action Time: 15 minutes
about 1 lb/500 g mixed cherry tomatoes (red, yellow, wild, small & large)
1 tbsp small capers
a handful stoned black olives
1 tbsp good quality olive oil
4.5 oz/125 g yoghurtbollar or a soft cow’s milk cheese (like burrata or mozzarella) or a soft goat cheese, in pieces
a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
1. Cut the tomatoes in halve; quarter the bigger ones. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and add capers and olives. Season with salt and pepper, toss with the olive oil and leave to rest for a while.
2. Garnish with the cheese and thyme and serve with some bread and butter.
*
Try these webshops for buying Scandinavian food online
For the USA: http://scandinavianbutik.com
For the UK: http://www.scandikitchen.co.uk