More famous for the open sandwich, Lurpak and smoked bacon than world-class cuisine, the Danes are now pioneering a new culture of cooking.

For the last five years, acclaimed Danish chefs have been working on a New Nordic Diet. Chef Rene Redzepi, co-owner of Copenhagen’s ground-breaking two-star Michelin restaurant, Noma, which opened in 2003, has been pushing his fellow citizens to eat musk ox served with apples and raw nettles, rather than McNuggets.

Following his lead, Danish TV chef and foodwriter Trina Hahnemann has combined the traditional ingredients and principles of Scandinavian home cooking with a light, modern approach to eating in her new book, The Scandinavian Cookbook .

Try her twist on traditional Scandinavian meatballs.

Meatballs in curry sauce

This filling and nourishing family dinner is great when the temperature drops. This recipe will serve a family of four for two evenings.(Serves 8).

500g minced pork, 500g minced veal, 1 small onion, chopped, 2 garlic cloves, crushed, 200ml milk, 50g plain wheat flour, 1 tbsp curry powder, 5 tsp salt, pepper, 4 eggs, 2 bay leaves.

For the sauce: 30g butter, 2 onions, chopped, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, 2 tbsp curry powder, 2 tbsp plain wheat flour, 200ml double cream, 1 leek, sliced, 2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks, 2 apples, cored and sliced.

Combine the minced meats, onion and garlic in a bowl. Add the milk, flour, curry powder, two teaspoons of the salt and some freshly ground pepper and mix together.

Add the eggs and mix again for about five minutes so that the mixture is as light and fluffy as possible.

Heat four to five litres of water in a pot. Add the bay leaves and the remaining salt to the water and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile, use your hands to shape half the meat mixture into little balls about 2cm wide. Pop them in the water and let them simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the broth with a skimmer and place on a tray. Shape and cook the other half of the meat mixture in the same way.

Set all the meatballs aside until the sauce is done, reserving 800ml of the cooking liquid.

In another pot, melt the butter, add the onions, garlic and curry powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the flour and stir well.

Add 100ml of the meatball cooking liquid and stir until smooth. Pour in the rest of the cooking liquid and bring to a simmer.

Add the cream and return to the boil. Reduce the heat, add the meatballs, leek and carrots and simmer for five minutes. Add the apples and continue cooking for three minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with rice.