Recipe – Midsummer pies

Midsummer weekend is upon us – and as tradition dictates in Sweden, Västerbottensost, a local hard cheese with a very intense, aromatic taste, will be served in homes and summer cottages across the country. These pies are an easy way to bring a taste of this wonderful cheese to the Midsummer table – hope you can get your hands to some of it even if you don't live in Sweden! I normally cheat and use store-bought puff pastry, but you could naturally also make your own. 

Photo: Per Ranung

Midsummer pies

400 g puff pastry
150 g garlic cream cheese
1⁄2 dl grated Västerbottens-cheese

12 stalks of green asparagus

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees C. Roll out the puff pastry dough to a rectangle and cut out four equal size pieces, slightly longer than the asparagus stalks. Spread a generous amount of cream cheese over the pieces and drizzle some of the Västerbottens cheese on top. Cut off the rough ends of the asparagus stalks and place them on top of the pies lengthwise. Top evenly with the rest of the grated cheese. Bake for 10–15 minutes.