Chicken breast + Bacon + Bananas + Whipped Cream + Peanuts + Chili Sauce = Flygande Jakob, Swedish for Flying Jacob. (Though known in some parts of the country as "Jumping Jacob").
Yes, a Swedish dish. Though the combination of bananas, chili and peanuts made me think, "West African?"
As the story goes, the dish was named for its inventor, Swedish freight pilot Ove Jakobssen and published by his chef friend in the magazine, "Allt om mat" in 1976. It became an overnight sensation and took Swedish households by storm. A family favorite in Sweden to this day, although every family apparently has their own slightly different version of the recipe.
The rather odd sounding combination reminded me of the sandwiches (remember peanut butter and marshmallow fluff?) and casseroles (the excellent macaroni, canned tuna, frozen peas, canned cream of mushroom soup and - the best part - crumbled potato chips - variety) I used to eat as a kid growing up the Midwest.
They may have sounded odd, but they tasted fantastic.
And so did the Flygande Jakob at Café Frau Larsson. The recipe came from Frau Larsson herself, i.e. it is the one Annika's Swedish mother served to enthusiastic eaters at the family dinner table.
If anyone is interested in Frau Larsson's fabulous recipe, perhaps Annika will share it. Otherwise, below is the original recipe, published in 1976 in "Allt om mat" (issue 13).
Original and traditional Swedish Flying Jacob (serves 8)
Ingredients:
4 rotisserie chickens
1 tsp Italian salad spice
4-5 bananas
4 dl double cream
2 dl "ketchupish" chili sauce
2 packages bacon
1 dl salted peanuts
Instructions:
1. Set oven to 225 degrees celsius.
2. Strip all the meat of the chickens and put in an oven pan. Taste the chicken and if needed season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the salad spice on top.
3. Peel the bananas. Cut them first once in half and then split them length wise making four pieces of each banana. Put on top of the chicken.
4. Whip the cream lightly and mix with the chili sauce.
5. Distribute cream and chili mix over the chicken and banana. Bake in oven about 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, cut bacon to small pieces and fry until crispy.
7. Spread crispy bacon and peanuts over the baked chicken.
Serve with a salad and boiled rice.
Delicious!!!
Now here is an interesting recipe! It must serve a crowd, too, with the meat of 4 chickens.
ReplyDeleteAbout the bacon: What is a package? 250g, 500g per package? "Packages" are different in different countries. Most savvy expats and travelers can deal with ounces, kilos, dl, quarts, and cups, but when it comes to a bunch of this, a jar of that and a package if something else, we're at a loss ;)
Found your blog via TBEX. Looks like a fun one!
www.lifeintheexpatlane.com
Hi Miss Footloose,
ReplyDeleteHmm I think your guess is as good as mine with regards to this 1976 recipe from a Swedish Good Housekeeping magazine. What I can tell you is what I observed in Frau Larsson's kitchen - I would say roughly six chicken breasts, and perhaps 12 meaty strips of bacon, one large package from an American supermarket. Although, as I mentioned, apparently everyone has there own variation of this recipe - so I would say, experiment a bit. If you are bacon lover, add more.
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