Along the way, Tareq visited the places where you can find the best of our local produce and met people who live and work here. This is Sjuhärad. Simple yet delicate ingredients that have been shaped to gove a flvour of our area and our nature.

Here are Tareqs four must-do food stops in Sjuhärad

1. Erikson Cottage

Erikson Cottage is a real dessert place located in the deep forests of Sjuhärad. Elisabeth, who runs Erikson Cottage, left a top job as a manager to invest in her dream of welcoming guests to a place with a focus on the goodness of life, with relaxation and life quality.

Stay overnight in unique glass houses

Here you can spend the night in one of the glass houses, immerse yourself in courses in culinary arts or book in for a gourmet experience with one of the area's - or visiting - star chefs.

Bakery with 48 hour fermentation

The bakery's own sourdough bread has become something of a signature. Not so strange, perhaps - here they put a lot of time and love into the bread and it takes 48 hours for the dough to be ready to be baked.

"In addition to the fact that the bread must taste good, I attach great importance to it also being beautiful when served," says Elisabeth. "With small cuts in the surface of the bread before baking, you can create fantastic patterns and motifs - it's almost like an extra spice on the bread."

Prepare Tareqs sandwich with flavours from Sjuhärad

For Tareq, it felt like an obvious choice to use sourdough bread as a starting point for his cooking at Erikson Cottage. The result was a rustic sandwich with unexpected and lively flavor combinations in the form of, among other things, peas, mint, lemon and goat's cheese. You can find the recipe for Tareq's delicious sandwich here.

2. Knaltens Organic Vegetables

Some people dream of moving to France, with its balmy winds and crystal clear Mediterranean sea. Sonia and Pierre did the opposite and left the country of great cheeses, fantastic wine and sweet pastries to become vegetable growers in Sjuhärad.

After visiting friends in scenic Hökerum, they fell in love with the place and decided to move. Now they use the farm's 14 plots to grow around 40 different organic vegetables. Two workhorses and traditional French agricultural implements help.

Open farm shop during harvest season

At Knaltens Organic Vegetables Tareq selected carrots, cabbage, parsley and garlic to use in his cooking.

If you want to visit the farm, the farm shop is open on selected days during harvest season. Visitors travel here from far and wide to buy vegetables, and we are not the least bit surprised.

3. Hemma på Klev

Hemma på Klev is a Bed & Breakfast with an evening restaurant in the small village of Mårdaklev. The farm is run by Åsa and Janne who fell in love with the place and the hidden garden behind the house. Before they knew it, they had agreed to continue running the farm and restaurant!

Inn since the 17th century

Past the inn, the old country road winds its way through the landscape. The road leads inland from the coast and for years the road was used extensively by horse-borne travellers and traders.

The journey into Sjuhärad's deep forests took longer then than now, and the need to spend the night on the way arose. It was then that the inn that is today Hemma på Klev was built, sometime in the 17th century.

Say hi to the grazing sheep

The farm is also home to the Gästrike sheep, an old Swedish country breed that thrives in the hilly forest landscapes around the farm. Here the sheep can graze, play, grow and live well. They are slaughtered locally and a large part of the meat is cooked for the farm's guests, some is sold in the farm shop.

During Tareq's visit, he prepared a rich ratatouille with local vegetables served with the farm's lamb fillet.

4. Torpa Stenhus

Stepping into the grand stone house at Torpa is like being thrown several hundred years back in time. Here you walk freely in one of Sweden's best-preserved buildings from the Middle Ages and get to experience the dramatic history of the place, the local crafts and the occasional ghost story.

Magical surroundings

The area around Torpa Stenhus is perhaps the most beautiful you can find here in Sjuhärad with lakes, large oaks and blooming meadows. Here there are opportunities for both hiking, paddling and cycling.

Herds of the farm's deer roam in the game enclosure right next to the chalk-white stone house. Using minced venison Tareq cooked venison steaks accompanied by Knalten's fantastic vegetables!

More of Tareqs local tips

During his taste journey, Tareq also used ingredients from a few more of our local food artisans.

The Pantry in Hyssna with fruit, herb and berry farms from which they produce small-scale jam, juice, spices and other goodies.

The Small farm in Uddebo where vegetables are grown in the fields below the old weaving mill in Uddebo. Here, they cultivate with small-scale and sustainable methods, fertilize with stable manure from nearby farms and strive to build up a healthy rich soil.

Rosenhill Bryggeri is the small craft brewery that brews with traditional methods with a focus on the local market.

Björkekullens Ägg och Grönt is a small-scale organically certified vegetable farm in beautiful Gesebol. High quality is a watchword here with a perosnal touch.