Termed by food activist and entrepreneur Claus Meyer and a number of Scandinavian chefs in 2004, New Nordic cuisine is becoming a growing trend that promotes “purity, simplicity and freshness”. It’s also growing in favour for chefs not only as a cooking style but also a cooking philosophy. Going directly against the wave of technical, molecular cooking, it emphasises hyper-local and in-house recipes, and uses traditional food preparation such as drying, smoking, pickling, and curing. It’s about making food in a natural way.

With Copenhagen’s Noma Restaurant being the flagship for the movement and winning the world’s best restaurant in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, New Nordic is now attracting international recognition and inspiring both chefs and restaurants around the world, one of them the Pelikan restaurant in Shanghai.

Kasper Elmholdt Pedersen, head chef at Pelikan shares with us one of his popular New Nordic signature dishes.

Rolled Zucchini with Spiced Dill Cream

Dressing ingredients

200g               Cream cheese           

100g               Cream

50ml               Vinegar          

1tsp                Cayenne pepper powder    

20g                 Ginger (chopped)    

2tsp                Coriander seed powder      

2tsp                Five spice powder    

50g                 Chopped dill 

Plating ingredients

2pcs                Zucchinis       

2 bundles       Fresh dill       

½ bundle       Chives            

2pcs                Pickled beetroots (sliced thinly)    

1pcs                Lemon           

Olive oil         

Method

Dressing: Add all ingredients into a bowl and stir until smooth. Taste and season with salt and lemon juice.

Assembly and Plating: Take your serving plate and put a heap of dressing in the middle. Flatten into a large circle so it is about 0.5 cm thick and covers most of the plate. Slice zucchini into long thin strips. Take each strip of zucchini and roll loosely, place standing on top of the dressing. Continue to do this until the middle of the plate is covered with zucchini rolls. Add the thinly sliced pickled beets on top of the zucchini rolls. Dress the salad with chopped dill and chives and a sprinkle of lemon zest and olive oil. Serve.