Some of my ancestors were Swedish, so I sometimes look around for some Swedish or Scandinavian dishes to serve up to my family. Periodically I’ll do up some Swedish Meatballs or a simple salmon with dill and creamed kale. Recently, though, I ran across this odd-sounding Swedish recipe that came out of the seventies — remember when casseroles were so much in vogue? This one is a casserole, too, and it’s apparently been a sort of guilty secret among the Swedes. Widely liked, but somewhat looked-down-upon by folks as though it’s food for kids.
It sounds weird, too — this dish, called “Flygande Jakob” or “Flying Jacob”, contains the unlikely ingredients of chicken, bananas, bacon and peanuts! While I rarely incorporate something like bananas in a savory dish, the combination of fruit with meat sounded like something that just might work — sort of like how pineapple compliments Canadian bacon on a Hawaiian pizza, or orange beef in Chinese restaurants is often fantastic. So, I just had to try this!
I found quite a few variations on the recipe, and most sites are using metric measurements which just doesn’t quite work for my American kitchen. I’ve tried to replicate the original recipe as closely as possible, and perhaps you’ll find my conversion of the measurements easy if you want to try this out as well. I also reduced the size, considerably, so this can comfortably feed a family of four.
After cooking one up, my take on it is that it’s definitely still just a bit strange, but not bad. It just surpasses the weirdness for the flavors to be interesting and delicious!
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings
- 500 calories
- 48 grams of fat
- 1 rotisserie chicken
- 1.25 cups heavy cream
- 0.5 cups Heinz Chili Sauce
- 2 teaspoons Good Seasons Zesty Italian dried salad dressing mix
- 8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 cup salted peanuts
- 2-3 bananas
Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Debone and deskin the chicken and line the bottom of a ceramic or Pyrex casserole dish with it. Sprinkle the salad dressing mix over the chicken. Peel the bananas and slice them lengthwise in four quarters. Lay the quartered banana slices across the chicken -- there should be enough for one layer of bananas to cover the chicken. Use a whisk to whip up the cream lightly in a mixing bowl, and then fold in the Heinz Chili Sauce. Pour the cream mixture over the bananas. Cook for 20 minutes, until hot through. Serve over cooked rice and sprinkle the bacon and peanuts over the top.
