'With equal parts of birch wood and passion, we keep the flames alive. We cook all our ingredients over an open fire. Charcoal and smoke are our most powerful tools. No electric griddle, no gas stove – only natural heat, soot, ash, smoke and fire. We have chosen these ways to prepare our food as a tribute to the ancient way of cooking. At Ekstedt it is the flames that are superior.'
Through his bold flavours at the eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant, Niklas Ekstedt ignites our primal fire-side instincts. His abandonment of modern technology may be a little difficult to replicate in your own kitchen, but his spirit will convince you to get back to basics where you can.
The restaurant, Ekstedt, is at the very heart and centre of the book, providing the foundation for Niklas' stories of seasonal, and regional, traditional Swedish cooking. Dishes from the restaurant, and in the pages of this sumptuous book, include braised lamb shoulder with seaweed butter and wild garlic capers, juniper-smoked pike and perch, ember-baked leeks with charcoal cream, pine-smoked mussels, and wood-oven baked almond cake.
Stunning photography from David Loftus brings Niklas' recipes and the Nordic seasons to life.
