Potatoes · Recipe · Sweden · Reference page

Janssons frestelse

Name: Janssons frestelse
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 piece yellow onion, thinly sliced; 3 tbsp butter (1 tbsp for the onion, 2 tbsp on top); 750 g firm (waxy) potatoes, peeled and cut into thin strips; 125 g Swedish ansjovis fillets (one tin), with their brine; 300 ml whipping cream; 1 tbsp dried breadcrumbs

A Swedish gratin of potato strips, soft onion and tinned ansjovis, baked in cream with the fish's spiced brine until golden. It belongs on the Christmas and Easter table. This is Arla's recipe for four.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 20 min
Cooking: 50 min
Resting: 10 min
Total: 1 h 20
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Ovenproof dish, about 20 × 30 cm
Frying pan

Servings4

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 tbspbutter (1 tbsp for the onion, 2 tbsp on top)
750 gfirm (waxy) potatoes, peeled and cut into thin strips
125 gSwedish ansjovis fillets (one tin), with their brineSwedish 'ansjovis' are spiced, cured sprats, not Mediterranean anchovies; the taste is different.
300 mlwhipping cream
1 tbspdried breadcrumbs

Shopping list

Method

Heat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan). Soften the onion in 1 tbsp butter.
Cut the potatoes into thin strips. Mix the ansjovis brine into the cream.
Why The sweet-spiced brine seasons the whole gratin; there is no other salt in the recipe.
Butter the dish. Lay in a layer of potato, then the onion, then the ansjovis, then the rest of the potato.
Pour over the cream, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and dot with the remaining 2 tbsp butter.
Bake in the lower part of the oven for 45–50 minutes, until cooked right through. Cover with foil if it browns too fast.
Timer · 48 min48:00
Let it stand a while before serving so the flavours settle. A slight wobble in the middle is fine; it firms as it rests.
Timer · 10 min10:00

To drink & serve with

Part of the Swedish julbord and Easter buffet, with herring, meatballs and ham; snaps or beer alongside.

Substitutions

Swedish ansjovis → Mediterranean anchovies give a saltier, different dish; use fewer and add a pinch of sugar and allspice to the cream.
Breadcrumbs (gluten-free) → Leave them out.

Common mistakes

Using Mediterranean anchovies in the same quantity: far too salty.
Cutting the potatoes into slices instead of strips: they cook unevenly.

Storage & reheating

Can be fully made up to 2 days ahead and kept chilled. Keeps 3–4 days covered in the fridge, or 2–3 months frozen (thaw in the fridge before reheating).

Safety

Contains fish, milk and gluten (breadcrumbs). Reheat until steaming hot.

Allergens

Fish · Milk · Gluten

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

A festive classic

Arla, the Nordic dairy cooperative, calls Janssons frestelse a beloved classic of the Christmas table, the Easter buffet and other festive occasions, and notes that it can be made ahead and is as good reheated. Popular stories about who Jansson was circulate widely, but none was documented in the sources we opened, so we leave them out.

[1]

Strips, brine and cream

The potatoes are cut into thin strips, not slices, so the cream runs between them and they cook evenly. The ansjovis brine, sweet and spiced, is mixed into the cream and seasons everything. Swedish ansjovis are tinned spiced sprats rather than salted Mediterranean anchovies, which is why swapping one for the other changes the dish.

[1][2]

How it connects

Place

origin Sweden In preparation

Potato

made with Charlotte

Recipe

related Gravlax