On my plate: Real Swede dreams are made of… a healthy diet, dash of spice and variety

Horrible – that’s how Niklas Ekstedt sums things up when asked how he’s fared during the pandemic.

“It’s so difficult, because I’m used to travelling all the time and meeting people from all over the world… and now I’m just stuck,” admits the Swedish chef, 42.

There are some upsides to being stuck at home, though, Ekstedt tells me on the phone from Stockholm, where he’s on the way to pick up his eight-year-old son from school and it’s already gone dark at two in the afternoon.

“I’m really now sure I’ve met the love of my life,” he says of wife Katarina. “We haven’t had one fight during this time. I made the right choice there.”

Not that it’s non-stop matrimonial bliss in the Ekstedt household, however. “My wife gets crazy when she opens the refrigerator and it’s filled with cans that smell.”

With more time on his hands, the chef has recently got into fermenting (which is why the family fridge is overflowing with vegetable-filled receptacles), inspired by what he learned while working on his latest book, Happy Food For Life, alongside journalist Henrik Ennart.

The follow-up to bestselling Happy Food, once again it focuses on how what we eat can affect how we feel, combining the latest research with health-boosting recipes.

“The research has moved on so dramatically quickly and so many new things have come up. So we thought we would make an update,” Ekstedt explains.

Now well-versed in the importance of nourishing one’s gut bacteria with a varied diet and fermented foods, the cook says he “wasn’t aware at all” before he teamed up with Ennart.

“I knew nothing. It’s been a very personal journey,” he reveals, saying he’s had to pay more attention to his diet as he’s got older.

“When you were in your 20s, you could just consume but now you quickly gain weight and it’s more difficult to get rid of it.

“Also you feel more depressed. At least I feel more affected by bad food. I need to eat healthy food to stay alert and be ready for battle.”

So what’s his key advice for staying fit in mind and body?

“I think the secret to a healthy lifestyle is to eat a lot of different things. Broaden your variety of foods when you shop, so don’t get stuck on just one thing”

Ekstedt and Ennart believe a largely plant-based diet, using whole ingredients, rather than processed foods, is best – but they don’t say you must cut out meat altogether, unless that is your preference.

In a bid to choose more plant-based meals, Ekstedt originally started eating more salad, but quickly realised the leafy dishes didn’t give him enough energy.

“Less salad and more food,” was what he was craving. “I needed to complement my meal with something warm. So soup is really good. Also use a lot of spice when you eat plant-based, like chilli sauce, so you feel alive when you eat it.”

Variety is key, but veggies don’t have to be fresh from the market every day. “We have this almost obsessive thing about everything’s supposed to be fresh,” Ekstedt says.“We forgot the way to can and preserve and ferment foods.”

And while a surplus of sugar and fats isn’t advisable, there’s no reason you can’t indulge in a bit of what you fancy every now and again. In fact, Ekstedt says it’s OK to “go crazy” when you treat yourself, as long as it’s not too often.

“That’s something we apply here at home with the family, so once a week we do this massive dessert or chocolate party!”

With the chef’s Stockholm restaurant, called Ekstedt, closed for two months in the summer, he says he relished having more time at home with his sons, aged eight and 12, but was sad not to be able to travel to the UK for a holiday.

“I’d like to go to Cornwall. We were planning a trip there this summer but we never went. I’m usually busy when I’m over there, it’s my second home.”

In the meantime, he’s enjoying evangelising about the mood-boosting powers of a plant and grain-heavy diet and isn’t afraid to speak out about the dangers of junk food – even when faced with criticism.

“Suddenly when you cook something and you tell people this can actually make you feel better, this could increase your longevity, people get really interested, but also you get criticised for it,” he says. “It’s kind of like our war.”

Ultimately, Ekstedt is committed to teaching people that a healthy diet doesn’t have to be bland or boring. “I think we need to highlight these things in a positive way, in a very delicious way.”

Tomato dip recipe with sourdough bread and olive oil

With garlic, vinegar and a hint of chilli, this flavoursome dip makes the most of fresh tomatoes.

Heaped on sourdough bread and topped with olive oil, this delicious tomato dip by Happy Food’s Niklas Ekstedt makes a healthy starter or side dish, or even a simple but tasty brunch.

You’ll need:

• 500g sweet and ripe tomatoes
• 3 shallots
• 1 clove of garlic
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 red chilli
• 6-8 basil leaves, wood sorrel or herb of your choice
• Salt

Method:

1. Cut the tomatoes in half and roughly chop or grate the cut surface coarsely with a grater (hold the tomato by the skin).
2. Add salt and suspend in a fine sieve for approximately one hour. If you grated the tomatoes you will obtain a thick consistency.
3. Finely chop the shallots and garlic and quickly fry without allowing them to brown in a hot pan with one teaspoon of the olive oil.
4. Mix with the tomato mixture, the remaining olive oil and red wine vinegar and season with salt.
5. Halve the chilli and remove the seeds.
6. Shred the basil leaves, sorrel or chosen herbs.
7. Top the tomato dip with chilli and herbs.
8. Serve with freshly toasted sourdough bread or roast chicken breast with grilled salad.

Happy Food For Life by Niklas Ekstedt and Henrik Ennart, photography by David Loftus, is published by Bloomsbury Publishing, priced £22. Available now (bloomsbury.com).