Take a Chance on ABBA
A tiny ruby-beet rose folded over lemon-dill cream on a crisp rye round — your ABBA encore in velvet folds
Greg wants to see ABBA Voyage in London. He spent six or seven years as a professional rock musician and still loves music.
Why this bite? His wish to see ABBA Voyage meets his own musician's instinct for a room that comes alive.
The Story
You never quite stop being the person in the band. Greg wants to see ABBA Voyage: music, staging and a room sharing the same pulse. This Swedish-inspired bite trades a literal record for the sweep of a stage costume: a tiny glossy ruby-beet rose folded over whipped lemon-dill cream on a crisp rye round — the same petite rye base that anchors the whole tray. Pickled mustard seeds bring a bright, delicate pop. One bite, two chews. It is a culinary interpretation of his enthusiasm, not a claim that he has already seen the show — or that this is an ABBA recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp rye flour
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp cold butter
- Cold water as needed
- 1 small roasted beet
- 3 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 tsp chopped dill, plus tiny tips
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp prepared pickled mustard seeds
- Salt
Preparation
- 1.Rub butter into both flours with a pinch of salt; add cold water a few drops at a time to form dough. Chill 20 minutes, roll wafer-thin and cut twelve 3/4-inch rounds — the same petite rye base used across this collection. Bake at 175°C for 8–10 minutes until crisp; cool.
- 2.Whip cream cheese with dill, lemon zest and salt; pipe a small mound onto each round.
- 3.Slice roasted beet paper-thin, cut into narrow ribbons and dress sparingly with oil and vinegar. Coil one ribbon, then wrap two shorter ribbons loosely around it to form a tiny rose no taller than 1/2 inch; nestle into the cream.
- 4.Tuck a few drained pickled mustard seeds and a tiny dill tip into the folds. The whole piece — base, cream and rose — must stay under 1 inch in every direction: one bite, two chews. Assemble shortly before serving.
More from this collection
People — Greg Hitchen
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A petite golden herb-falafel on a dot of whipped lemon tahini, crowned with a pink pickled shallot curl — your favorite, dressed for the evening
Twenty Suns
A petite saffron polenta sun with short crisp rays and a glossy pepper glaze — your Birmingham bet, glowing in one bite
Where the Four Circles Meet
Four tiny vegetable ribbons folded over silken white-bean cream on a crisp rye round — your four circles, woven into one bite