Smorgasbowl Cookbook by Caryn Carruthers

Smorgasbowl Cookbook by Caryn Carruthers

You might have heard of the word smorgasbord (smörgåsbord) before. It’s a Swedish word that translates to “sandwich table” (or if you want to go even further and translate directly, it is “butter goose table” but that doesn’t make much sense…). I’m from Sweden myself so the concept of smorgasbord is very familiar to me and something I saw a lot at gatherings growing up. It’s pretty much a buffet with hot and cold dishes, including some popular favourites like smörgåstårta (sandwich cake). It’s a nice mix of food and flavours and there’s always something for everyone. Over the last century, smorgasbord has become known internationally too and is a word that is recognised in many countries.

Now onto something new but with inspiration from the above – Smorgasbowl which is a new cookbook by Caryn Carruthers. Smorgasbowl is Caryn’s first book and she’s been a part of each of the elements of the book creation process – recipe creation, photography, cooking, styling, book designing and writing. Caryn is a food lover with a passion for healthy eating. You might know her from her blog tastynfree.com where she shares gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free recipes with stunning photography.

She has food allergies and sensitivities herself and when rethinking her diet and meals, she found that serving out of bowls made perfect sense. The dishes that she creates for herself and her family are easy to adapt to people’s preferences and any allergies by changing different elements.

In the book Smorgasbowl, we find lots of inspiration for simple and delicious meals to feed your family everyday or to feed a crowd for special occasions. I love the whole bowl idea as it makes it a fun and creative process building the bowls. It’s the perfect way to get out of a food rut and there are endless variations to try to keep things fresh and fun.

Caryn uses four pillars for bowl building to create balance and a nutritious and delicious meal:

• Taste/Flavour (e.g. spicy/salty)
• Nutrition (e.g. carbohydrate/protein)
• Texture (e.g. smooth, crunchy)
• Temperature (e.g. room temp, hot)

Before you get to the recipes, Caryn guides you through the idea of the smorgosbowl with examples and shares the secrets to a successful smorgasbowl and what to avoid. She also shares what equipment is useful.

Then it’s time for a wonderful selection of recipes for meals for all times of the day. The recipes are beautifully laid out and clearly labelled so that you can easily spot what’s gluten free, dairy free, paleo and/or vegan. It’s a gorgeous book full of recipes and ideas that will inspire you to change the way you eat, making your own exciting and flavoursome smorgasbowls at home.

This book was kindly provided to me for this post. As always, all my reviews are 100% honest and all thoughts and opinions are my own.