Janssen's Temptation--Sweet Pickled Anchovies

[Willy]

Paging Henrik! Help!

I am mightily interested in making Janssen's Temptation, but it seems impossible (for me) to find the sweet pickled anchovies the recipe calls for. Even Ikea didn't have any, though I know they used to carry them,--ABBA brand in pink tins. Amazon has listed the ABBA tins as being unavailable for two months now. The other pickled anchovies, which I can obtain, aren't listed as "sweet". Is there some issue with availability in Sweden too? Second question: Is Janssen's Temptation really that good? The Swedish part of me needs to know!

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[MBMorgan]

Perhaps these (imported from Sweden and sold on Amazon) will do?

[Willy]

Thanks, but been there, looked at those--and many others. The trouble is they don't appear to be "sweet" which seems to be the key. Mebbe adding sugar to 'em?

[Spinaker]

Ask Henrik That is his neck of the woods!

[Henrik]

Ha ha! Love it! It seems hard to find sweet anchovies. They're not really sweet, by the way, I wouldn't have guessed they're called "sweet" in a million years. Either way, here's a real good brand, only available in the UK though:

https://www.totallyswedish.com/sv/shop/mat/kott-fisk/abba-grebbestads-ansjovis

Whaddayaknow, a few internet searches later and I found this:

http://www.tastefullyswedish.com/ABBA-Grebbestads-Anchovy-Fillets-ansjovis-fileer-original-_p_72.html

That is EXACTLY what you want. Good stuff!

Jansson's temptation is a traditional dish for Christmas in Sweden. I really like it, grated potatoes, cooking cream, and some anchovies. It is kind of like a potato gratin.

[Willy]

Thanks. Alas, like every other place I've located, these folks are also out of stock. Perhaps too many people are enjoying JT?

Are anchovies a seasonal catch?

[Willy]

Interesting that you say "grated potatoes",; the recipes I've seen call for sliced taters. Grated sounds more to my liking. I'll keep searching for recipes.

[Troutman]

Dang I love anchovies, I can eat a whole tin of those little fishes. Would love to try this Swedish favorite !!!

[aladdin4d]

Try searching for anchovy style sprats

https://www.ingebretsens.com/anchovy-style-sprats-fillets.html

https://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/Anchovy-Style-Sprats-Fillets-by-Abba-of-Sweden.asp?cat=swedish&subcat=All&cf=usp_ListProducts_Sel&cprod=

[Willy]

By Jove, Ingebretsen's has 'em in stock (not so igourmet)! Thanks!

[aladdin4d]

Woot!

[Henrik]

Go with Ingebretsens, the sell the right type of anchovies. Grebbestad is gold.

[Henrik]

They (Ingebretsens) even have a good recipe that I can recommend:

https://www.ingebretsens.com/media/upload/file/Janssons%20Frestelse.pdf

The only addition I would make to that recipe is to pour the juice from one of the anchovies over the potatoes (together with the cream).

The potatoes should be sliced like thin french fries. I got the terminology wrong when I said grated. See the photo in the recipe.