Christmas without Janssons frestelse for a Swede is like Christmas without imbuljuta tal-qastan for a Maltese or mince pies for a Brit!

As with many such traditional recipes there exists a great number of personalised versions, variations and alternatives, though at its heart, Janssons frestelse is a type of potato gratin – creamy and delicious with onion and, most importantly, pickled sprats.

“There are many nationalities living in Malta today. And Christmas is celebrated nearly the same everywhere but the dishes found on the Christmas table are sometimes different,” says Lars Berglund, a Swede living in Malta since 2000.

As a subscriber to this paper, Lars decided to share the recipe for Janssons frestelse (Jansson’s Temptation).

“It’s easy to do and tasty. Maybe something else for the Maltese to add to their Christmas table,” continues Lars.

“One important ingredient in this dish is anchovies. The pickle is different in Sweden and cannot be found in Malta. So we have to spice it, so that it tastes as similar as possible.”

Janssons frestelse

Ingredients
2 large yellow onions
700g potatoes
1 can anchovies (specially spiced)
300-400ml cream
2 tsp butter
3 tbsp breadcrumbs

Method

Pour the oil from a can of anchovies.

In a small bowl, pour 30ml-40ml white vinegar, stir in half a teaspoon salt and put a spice measure of black pepper and a spice measure of ground clove. Add the anchovies and leave in the stock for 15 minutes.

Thinly slice the onion and fry in butter until tender but not brown.

Peel the potatoes and manually cut into thin strips .

Grease an ovenproof dish with butter or some oil. Layer potatoes, onions and anchovies. Make sure that you have a layer of potato at top and bottom.

Pour in the cream and the anchovy stocks – it should not cover the potatoes but remain about one centimetre lower.

Distribute the butter on top and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Bake in the lower part of the preheated oven at 220°C for about 50 to 60 minutes.

After 40 minutes, add 100ml of the cream.

When the top is golden brown, it’s ready to serve.