For a few reasons, I eat a fair amount of Swedish food. I tracked down a place that serves a traditional Swedish smorgasbord for Christmas here in Charleston and I’m super excited to go at the end of the year. Until then, without a doubt, this is my favorite Swedish dish! I have no idea who Jansson is, but we are tempted by the same things. I ate this for lunch with a slice of meatloaf for an entire week! Traditionally, it’s made with potatoes, but cooked daikon radish is an excellent substitute. It tastes like much more flavorful potatoes au gratin. The recipe is adapted from Sten Skaldeman’s cookbook The Low Carb High Fat Cookbook. (Rush out and get this book if you do not already own it!) I love anchovies and, for me, they really make the dish, but if you can’t find them or you don’t like them, use a tablespoon of fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce mixed in with the heavy cream for a similar depth of flavor.
- 2 daikon radishes, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 onion, sliced into rings
- 1 stick of butter
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic powder
- Fresh thyme
- 2 oz anchovies
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Prepare radishes and boil for 15 minutes, until fork tender. This step is really important. Even though the radishes will bake in the oven later, if you don’t pre-cook them, they tend to come out a bit crunchy. Boiling them gives them the nice, tender texture you’re used to in potatoes au gratin.
- Sauté onion slices in butter until translucent, approximately 10 minutes.
- Drain the radishes.
- In a greased baking dish, layer the radishes, onion slices, seasoning (a sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and fresh thyme), and anchovies, ending with a layer of radishes on top.
- Pour cream over the radishes.
- Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top for color (optional).
- Bake for 50 minutes.
- Let cool and serve.
You’ll need:
- 2 daikon radishes, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 onion, sliced into rings
- 1 stick of butter
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic powder
- Fresh thyme
- 2 oz anchovies
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)
If you haven’t seen them before, this is what daikon radishes look like:
Like a big, pale carrot, you need to cut off the ends and peel off the outer layer of skin with a potato peeler.
Once you’ve done that, slice them thin.
Preheat oven to 375.
Prepare radishes and boil for 15 minutes, until fork tender. This step is really important. Even though the radishes will bake in the oven later, if you don’t pre-cook them, they tend to come out a bit crunchy. Boiling them gives them the nice, tender texture you’re used to in potatoes au gratin.
Sauté onion slices in butter until translucent, approximately 10 minutes.
Drain the radishes.
In a greased baking dish, layer the radishes…
Onion slices…
Seasoning (a sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and fresh thyme)…
And anchovies…
over and over, ending with a layer of radishes on top.
Pour cream over the radishes.
You can stop here, but I like to sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top for color.
Bake for 50 minutes.
Let cool and serve.
This pairs really well with sliced duck, fish like tuna or salmon, or a light side salad.
I’ve never heard of daikon radishes. Would you say they are mild? I never would eat red radishes as a kid, but I don’t know if these are completely different. This dish looks so good and comforting, even though I am one who would skip the anchovies!
Hey Andrea! They are much, MUCH milder than red radishes, especially when cooked. 😀
Radishes lose that sharp, peppery bite when cooked. They are great.
Hey looks good but I don’t see the point for anchovies. Do u think it is important?
Hi Kathy! I like the flavor the anchovies give the dish, but if you prefer to leave them out, I would add a splash of fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce to get a similar flavor. 🙂
Hi Tekesha,
Thank you. This seems like a perfect HFLC recipe. One thing I really miss is a potato gratin, so I will definitely try this! I like the thorough way that you prepared this blog. For example, I was half-way through and wondering how to slice the Daikons and whether to boil after slicing. Then I scrolled down and saw all of those lovely photos. Good work.
Hi Tim!
I hope you enjoy the recipe. Thank you so much for leaving such a thoughtful comment! I sometimes wonder if people enjoy the process shots or skip right past them, lol. Thanks again! 🙂
Tekesha – The Swedish dish Jansson’s Temptation is not made with anchovies. It is made with ansjovis which is the Swedish word for sprats. To get a taste more like the true dish, try soaking the anchovies for a few hours to get rid of most of the salty taste. The sprats used in the Swedish Jansson’s are usually canned in a lobster-flavored sauce which makes the fish slightly softer-tasting. To get the desirably crunchy topping, you dot butter over the fish, onion and potato (in this case radish) and put it in the oven for 15 minutes. THEN you add the cream and finish the cooking.
Thank you, Gun! Unfortunately, I haven’t been to Sweden (yet!), so I was at the mercy of Mr. Skaldeman’s description of the dish. I’m so excited to try it this way! 😀
I have Skaldeman’s book, too, but in Swedish so don’t know if the translation says anchovies. It is a common mistake in many copies of the recipe :0) If you like it the way you made it, I don’t see anything wrong in preparing it that way. However, if you ever want to try the classic version (the one you’ll find on a Smörgåsbord in Sweden if you one day visit the country), you know that one, too, now :0) I haven’t lived in Sweden for many years but bring back the Swedish ‘ansjovis’ when I visit.
I am so excited to try this for the holidays! I completely forgot about daikon and i have a feeling i will be using it a lot more in future meals! What a great low carb option. Texturaly it looks perfect! I went to Sweden and totally forgot about this dish. It is so delicious and i cant wait to have it again!
Yay, Molly! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Can this dish be frozen? I like to make ahead as many dishes as possible during the holiday season!
Hi Marianna! I have never tried to freeze this before, but I probably would not do that. I have had terrible experiences with cream sauces splitting after being frozen. If you did freeze it, I would probably reheat it very, very slowly at the lowest possible temperature, like in a crockpot, to keep the cream sauce in tact. Hope this helps and happy holidays!! 😀
We got one of these radishes in our local rooftop garden coop basket, and I was wondering what to do with it. Stir fry was topping the list after we ate about a third of it raw in slices. We made it with Worcestershire and aged cheddar cheese because we had no sprats or anchovies. Next time I will try Gun’s suggestion for adding the cream later, but it was already delicious!
I love them too, Karen! Always so wonderful to experiment with new ingredients. My brother LOVES to take the same ingredient and serve it a variety of ways at the same time (e.g. onions chopped in different sizes and cooked at different times so some are raw, some are slightly crunchy and some are caramelized). I wonder if some super thin raw slices would go well in a side salad to this dish. Happy eating 😀