> Other than a lazy dig at "bland Nordic cuisine"[1]... > [1] ie a culinary tradition of letting the taste of the ingredients stand for themselves, rather than covering them up with spices (originally a measure to make up for the fact that things spoil easily in warm climates)

I'm afraid if you think that Swedish food is about "the taste of the ingredients stand[ing] for themselves, rather than covering them up with spices" then you really don't have a good familiarity with this cuisine.

Historically the need to preserve food through the long winter, or even make scarce food appetizing during the summer, means that Nordic food has always been much more processed (salting, pickling, smoking, smothering with dill or mustard, and so on) than the much more fresh and unadulterated recipes of the Mediterranean, where fresh fish, fruit and vegetables have always been more plentiful, and a greater part of traditional recipes (together with the sausage and other 'winter' food I mentioned).

I'm also sad to hear that you think my comment amounted to a "lazy dig".