A Sunny Spring Day
When spring turns, the light, the greenery and the longing for lighter food return. A spring menu should be delicate and full of early produce: asparagus, new potatoes, rhubarb and the first herbs. After the heavy food of winter, it is time to treat family and friends to something that tastes new, perhaps entirely vegetarian.
A spring menu with the freshest early produce
In spring we can enjoy fresh Swedish vegetables again. The classic salad vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumber and iceberg lettuce, are back as home-grown produce. Other greens now in season are fresh dill and parsley, spinach, radishes and asparagus, along with a long list of onions. Nettles make a spring menu feel extra springlike, and they are free and very nutritious. When produce is as fresh as it is in spring, you can enjoy it both raw and lightly cooked. There is something quite special about fresh white cabbage, for example, both raw and cooked. Eating with the seasons is good for both your health and your wallet.
In spring you really feel the inspiration to cook coming back. A spring menu goes very well with fish and seafood, or with slightly wilder flavours such as lamb and venison. Since we long for light, fresh flavours at this time of year, the food doesn’t need long cooking. Why not have a hearty open prawn sandwich for lunch? For dinner you can serve grilled lamb with asparagus and other spring vegetables; if they are grilled too, the flavours really take off. Asparagus is lovely with garlic, Parmesan and a little good olive oil. For a vegetarian option, bake or grill whole small cauliflowers with fresh herbs. And at the end of spring come our beloved new potatoes!
Spring sweets for your spring menu
The first Swedish sweet treat of spring to come up out of the ground is rhubarb. A spring menu doesn’t feel quite complete without it. It is a versatile vegetable, even though it is often mistaken for a fruit because of its sweet-and-sour flavour, which really matches the lively mood of spring. Bake a pie or make a compote. Creamy vanilla ice cream goes beautifully with rhubarb pies of all kinds. Another Swedish treat is elderflower; both elderflower and rhubarb make excellent cordials, and both are easy to find outdoors. Peaches and lemons are among the imported treats of the season. Lemon ice cream or peach pie feels fresh and zesty, ideally together.
When the sun’s rays hit your face, you want something good to drink. Coffee from grandma’s fine cups out in the garden, of course, but why not also drinks made with elderflower or rhubarb cordial? A light, fruity drink makes a spring menu feel wonderfully springlike. Why not make a Cosmopolitan with rhubarb cordial instead of cranberry juice? Instead of plain ice cubes in the water, try frozen pieces of rhubarb or ice cubes with pretty edible flowers and herbs. Spring also brings crisp white wines and rosé, and dry cider or a light beer suits the season too. At the end of spring come our beloved strawberries, which immediately bring champagne and other sparkling wines to mind.
White, airy and green
In Sweden we love light, pared-back interiors all year round. At Christmas and in winter, though, there are often lots of strong colours and heavy fabrics, so spring feels like a chance to clear out the heavy stuff and make the home light and airy. Whether you eat indoors or out, it is lovely to lay a white tablecloth; a white curtain or sheet works just as well. Decorate the table with fresh vegetables and flowers to bring out the season, like a painting on the table. A spring menu is presented the same way as what it contains: light and fresh. Use pale china and glass to really show off all the beautiful colours of your spring menu. Swedish meadow flowers make wonderfully pretty bouquets for the dinner table.
Welcome spring with your very own spring menu
Why not bring yourself, your friends and the spring to life by serving a wonderful spring menu? On our site you will find lots of recipes, with fish, meat or vegetarian. Perhaps you will find something that inspires you, something that brings on that spring feeling? Then share it with someone you are especially fond of. Enjoy your meal!
Menus in this theme
Spring Menu
As spring slowly begins to make its entrance, so does our appetite for lighter, fresher flavours. Fresh vegetables return to the kitchen, and the food becomes a little greener, crisper and brighter – much like the season itself. We start with asparagus gently sautéed in butter and served with air-dried ham, a simple combination where a few really good ingredients are allowed to speak for themselves. For the main course, we serve stuffed chicken breast with a fresh, crisp salad – light, yet still satisfyingly filling. Finally, lime brings the menu to a refreshing close in the form of a creamy frozen cheesecake. A dessert that feels just right after the meal and offers a little taste of the warmer, brighter days still to come.
Cauliflower, Plaice and Rhubarb
This light late-summer menu pairs the creaminess of the starter soup with the crunch of the breaded plaice, and finishes with a wonderful rhubarb pie and a homemade vanilla custard that turns out just the way you want it.
Shrimp, Arctic Char and Italian Meringue
A summery menu with shrimp cocktail and avocado mousse, butter-fried Arctic char and fruit salad with Italian meringue. Almost everything can be prepared in advance, so you can sit down with your guests. The Italian meringue for the fruit salad takes the most time, but it too can be made ahead and simply added when it's time to serve. With the avocado mousse ready and the potatoes cooked, all that's left is to assemble the shrimp cocktail, fry the char and plate up.
A Green Feast
An all-vegetarian menu that leaves nothing to be desired. The starter pairs crisp deep-fried cauliflower with a creamy cheese sauce. The main course brings together fresh beetroot and a full-flavoured chèvre sauce, and it all ends with a heavenly green tea ice cream topped with crunchy coconut cookies.