A Taste of... Sweden with Renee Coulter from Coco's Cantina

Coulter holidayed on an island off the coast of Gothenburg called Smögen. Photo / Getty

Twenty years ago, I went to Sweden to stay with a friend I had worked with in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

I was only 19 and two things stand out about that trip: the food we had there and the fact we got back on the plane afterwards loaded down with cheeses and meats and feasted on Swedish charcuterie for the next fortnight.

We stayed at my friend's family's holiday home on an island off the coast of Gothenburg called Smögen. There were beautiful old fishing huts, a fish market and a long wooden pier.

It seemed like each family on the island had its own little boat shed with a boat in it. They'd take their boats out to giant boulders - some the size of a house - in the middle of the water and spend the day lounging on them and swimming.

The family made the most amazing meals. I still dream about the breakfasts we had. I've never been a breakfast person: I'm not fussed about eggs and I don't drink coffee.

But when breakfast is fresh fish, straight off the wharf, cooked in butter and served with new potatoes and a delicious concoction called lingonberry jam, well that is worth getting out of bed for.

Renee Coulter of Coco's Cantina. Photo / Supplied

I loved that the dish was made from simple, sustainable ingredients. I've replicated it hundreds of times since, with sardines or kahawai. I serve it with herby new potatoes, but a creamy mash with a little creme fraiche would be delicious too.

Renee's Swedish Breakfast

½ cup rye flour
⅓ cup dry breadcrumbs
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons chopped dill, plus extra to garnish
800g herring or mackerel fillets or any other oily fish
50g salted butter
50ml sunflower oil

Mix together the flour, breadcrumbs, a little salt and the dill in a shallow dish.

Coat the fish thoroughly in this mixture and use a little of the mix to sandwich two fillets together, skin sides facing out.

Melt the butter with the sunflower oil in a non-stick or cast-iron frying pan over medium heat.

Fry the paired fillets for three minutes, flipping them over halfway through so they cook evenly.

Serve with boiled new potatoes dressed in butter and herbs and lingonberry jam on the side. (I have used cape gooseberries to make my own jam in the past, but cranberries are also a good substitute too, if you can't find a jar of lingonberry jam.)

Garnish with extra dill.