A Lingonberry Cheesecake Recipe was the first slice I served from Traditional Swedish Cooking (Skyhorse Publishing, October 22, 2011) by Caroline Hofberg.
Caroline Hofberg notes in introduction to this second recipe that potatoes in Sweden where first only used to make vodka.
Sometimes all one needs to warm body and soul is a good soup.
Here's Caroline's recipe for Almond Potato Soup with Anchovies
In the beginning of the history of the Swedish potato, it was mostly used to make vodka. It wasn’t until home distilling was forbidden in the middle of the 1800s that it was understood that potatoes were an excellent food source.
4 Portions
about 21 oz. almond potatoes
1 big leek
34 oz. chicken or vegetable bouillon
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
1 cup milk
salt and freshly ground white pepper
Topping
2 yellow onions
butter
6 anchovy fillets
2 tsp. anchovy stock
1 tbsp. thyme preferably lemon thyme
Peel the potatoes and cut into smaller pieces. Rinse and shred the leek.
Boil the potatoes, the leek, the bouillon, and the thyme. Cover the pot and boil until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.
Whisk or mix the soup until it is thick and turbid, preferably with a few pieces of potatoes left.
Add milk and simmer the soup for a few more minutes. Add pepper and salt to your taste, but remember that the anchovies are salty.
Topping. Peel and cut the onion into skinny wedges. Sauté it slowly in butter until it is soft, about 10–15 minutes. Chop the anchovies and add to the mix with the stock and thyme and let everything melt together.
(* Almond Potato Soup with Anchovies recipe from Traditional Swedish Cooking by Caroline Hofberg– Skyhorse Publishing, October 22, 2011- reproduced by permission of the publisher, all rights reserved)