Recipes
Ola’s acorn crispbread
Ingredients
1 dl finely ground acorn flour
1 dl pumpkin seeds
1 dl sunflower seeds
1 dl sesame seeds
1 dl dried cranberries (roughly chopped)
2 dl boiling water
1 tbsp neutral oil (sunflower, rapeseed, or similar)
1 tbsp starch (acorn, corn, or potato)
A pinch of salt
Optional toppings
Flaky salt
Dried edible flower petals, such as tulip, calendula, or rose
Method
Preheat the oven to around 140–150°C (285–300°F) to avoid burning the flowers.
Combine all the dry ingredients, except the flaky salt, in a bowl and mix well.
Add the oil and boiling water.
Stir thoroughly and let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes.
Spread the mixture thinly onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. I usually place another sheet of paper on top and press it out with my hands. Alternatively, shape the mixture into small round crackers.
Sprinkle with flaky salt and chopped or crushed flower petals, then gently press them into the mixture.
Place the tray in the middle of the oven, leaving the oven door slightly ajar, and bake for about 40–60 minutes.
When the bread has developed a dark brown color and feels hard when tapped, it is ready.
Under Ekarna’s Acorn Rolls
Ingredients
1 dl finely ground acorn flour
2 tsp psyllium husk
2 tbsp coarsely ground acorn flour
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 tsp syrup
1½ dl cold water + 10 g yeast
Method
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add the syrup and oil.
Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the mixture to the bowl.
Stir until a loose dough forms.
Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let the dough rise for about 40–50 minutes.
Turn the dough out and divide it into two portions, then gently shape them into two round rolls.
Preheat the oven to 225–250°C (435–480°F).
Let the rolls rise on a baking tray (preferably lined with parchment paper) for another 40–50 minutes.
After the second rise, you can dust the tops with a little flour or another topping if desired. Score the dough to create a more rustic and interesting surface.
Place the tray in the middle of the oven and bake for 25–30 minutes.
Let the rolls cool under a cloth.
Ola’s City Hall Burger
Berättelsen om Stadshusburgaren
The story behind the City Hall Burger
It was Innovation Week 2023, and the City of Stockholm hosted a lecture called “Innovation in an Urban Food System.”It took place in the Golden Hall at Stockholm City Hall.
The event description read:
“We look into the future. What could Stockholm’s food supply look like? What role do cities, businesses, and research play in the urban food system? And what kind of innovative work is required for us to eat good, healthy, and sustainable food?”
I didn’t have particularly high expectations, but I still thought it might offer something.
And in that sense, I was right.
I left with total anxiety that lasted for several days.
It all began with Stockholm’s Finance Commissioner delivering an incredibly enthusiastic pep talk, declaring that Stockholm was world-leading in this field and that the entire world wanted to learn how Stockholm was approaching these issues.
As someone who has been involved in urban farming for nearly six years, my experience tells a very different story. But this event wasn’t about real, old-fashioned solutions. It was about innovation.
In other words: new ideas and technologies (that we can impress others with and sell to other countries).
One panel discussion followed another. Among them was Stockholm Vatten och Avfall (Stockholm’s municipal water and waste management company) , speaking about wastewater purification and their innovative collaboration with IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Nya Carnegiebryggeriet. Together, they had successfully brewed a crisp, crystal-clear North German-style pilsner using recycled wastewater.
Out of pure survival instinct, I stepped out of the room just as representatives from Sweden Foodtech entered the stage.
I walked down into the steel-grey, windy courtyard of Stockholm City Hall.
There stood a lonely oak tree, squeezed into a corner, trapped between brick walls and surrounded by cobblestones. Acorns were scattered across the ground.
It felt ironic that one of the solutions to everything the conference was discussing was growing right in front of us.
But is it innovative?
Perhaps the exact opposite.
I picked up a few acorns to clear my head. Standing beneath the oak’s canopy, I felt calmer.
Eventually, I made my way back upstairs for lunch and networking.
The head chef of Stadshusrestauranger AB presented the menu. The theme was locally sourced ingredients. It was beautifully presented and felt a little like a preview of the upcoming Nobel Banquet.
Even so, I found it difficult to imagine that this is what we would be eating in the future if a real crisis were to reach Stockholm.
Still, I felt challenged in some way.
So I walked home and created my own small Nobel-inspired dish using the acorns I had gathered from the City Hall courtyard.
The result was a City Hall Burger made from leached and steamed acorn mince, using acorns collected from the courtyard of Stockholm City Hall, with a splash of chanterelle stock, chopped spring onion, and a pinch of potato starch, salt, and pepper. I shaped the mixture into two burgers and fried them in a little oil.
They were topped with mayonnaise flavored with spruce shoot oil, lingonberry jam infused with juniper from Skogens Rubin, and pickled chanterelles. Toasted sourdough bread framed the whole dish.
One of the best things I’ve ever made with acorns.
Ola’s City Hall Burger
Ingredients
A couple of handfuls of fresh acorns from the City Hall oak (any oak will do)
Chanterelle stock
Spring onions
Potato starch
Lingonberries mixed with sugar and flavored with juniper
Mayonnaise flavored with spruce shoot oil
Pickled chanterelles
Sourdough bread (or any bread of your choice)
Flat-leaf parsley
Salt
Pepper
Tillvägagångssätt
Method
Gather fresh acorns.
Shell the acorns.
Grate the acorns using a hand-cranked nut grinder (they should reach a consistency similar to grated Parmesan).
Leach the acorns using cold filtration (see the section on cold leaching).
Steam the acorn mince so the starch activates and the mixture becomes sticky.
Mix it with a splash of chanterelle stock, chopped spring onions, and a little potato starch (add gradually until the mixture becomes easy to shape).
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Shape into two burgers and fry in oil (if they fall apart, add a little more potato starch).
Toast the bread and cut it into rounds.
Top with spruce shoot mayonnaise, pickled chanterelles, lingonberries, and a little flat-leaf parsley.