Book excerpt: The New Nordic celebrates contemporary Scandinavian cuisine with a focus on seasonal recipes that can easily be recreated at home. Filled with dishes that typify the food of this vast geographical region, this book takes its influence from the traditional ingredients that can be found from Sweden to Finland and Denmark to Norway, and transforms them into modern everyday recipes that are hugely popular throughout Nordic homes. The book is split into nine chapters, based on different food groups including ingredients found 'from the forest', 'from the sea', 'from the land', and 'in the larder', along with a basics chapter that demystifies classic Scandinavian cooking techniques such as smoking food and pickling. Recipes concentrate on modern, everyday dishes that use the freshest of ingredients and are simple to create. Indulge in beetroot carpaccio with goats cheese and minted pea relish, or enjoy the simplicity of fresh radishes with fennel butter and honey; move on to grander feasts such as flaked salmon burgers with mayonnaise, pickled cucumber and fresh horseradish or whole flounder with Nordic bread salad, beef with spiced wine sauce, kale and turnip or wonderful venison cooked with coffee, honey parsnips and rocket; and not forgetting the classics such as Swedish meatballs, Danish smorrebrod, pickled herrings and gooey cinnamon buns. At the end of the book there is a glossary explaining substitutes for hard-to-find ingredients along with a seasonal listing of typical Nordic ingredients. Matched with stunning Scandy-inspired photography throughout including imagery of landscapes, nature and produce shot on location, The New Nordic is a feast for all the senses.