Mid-night Sun (Week 16 - Norway)

OUR EXPERIENCE

It was simple hearty food, and surprised us with its tastiness, in particular the cookies. The subtle flavour of the cardamom and lemon was well balanced (although I did reduce the amount of spice a little – but not enough for my son!) We had waffles, which I didn’t make as I don’t have a waffle iron. The Lapskaus (stew) was an old recipe from my mother’s book from the sixties, and I felt it missed a bit of flavour. On conducting some more research, it seemed that the more modern version used beef stock, or gravy to lift it; and more vegetables were added including one version which had mushrooms in it. There seemed to be many versions of Lapskaus, so I stuck to the cooking method and added in mainly root vegetables, in keeping with Norwegian fare. I feel certain, that it matched its ‘hype’ with that alteration! I also cooked some salmon, with salad and a parsley sauce as well as fish balls, which we thought were a bit mousse like; I think it was the cooking method, next time I might fry them instead. Kjottkater or meatballs, had to be on the menu and these I did with gravy and peas and sweet potato (as I had some). I think by the end of the week my husband had had enough of fish (as I did a mackerel and orange salad too), so he was pretty down cast when the next country out of the hat was Iceland!

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Cardamom and lemon stamped cookies………………………70

Lapskaus (Stew)...............................................................85

Fiskeballer (Fish balls)......................................................70

Kjottkater med brunsaus (meatballs and gravy)…………...80

  

Lapskaus – Stew

Source: Woman’s Own Cook Book (1963 edition)

Serves 4-5

¾ lb diced raw beef

½ lb diced fresh pork

2 lb raw potatoes

1 onion

salt

½ tsp pepper

Method:

1. Cover raw beef and fresh pork with water and boil slowly for ½ hour.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes in pieces, add to the meat together with the sliced onion and pepper. Simmer for another ½ hour, or until tender. (Add salt if desired)
3. Serve with crisp salad, boiled carrots or mashed turnips.
   NB: I used beef stock and added some cornflour; I also added some herbs and carrots, sweet potato and parsnip as well as a leek.

Cardamom and lemon stamped cookies

Makes 24

Source: Hairy Bikers

Cardamom is a really popular spice in Norway, used in many cake and biscuit recipes. Some say the spice was first brought back to the country hundreds of years ago by Vikings who worked as mercenaries in what was then Constantinople (now Istanbul). 

Ingredients

225g/8 oz butter, softened

150g/5½ oz caster sugar

1 lemon, zest only

250g/9 oz plain flour

100g/3½ oz ground almonds

3 tsp ground cardamom or 1 heaped tsp cardamom seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment.
2. Using an electric hand-whisk, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the flour, almonds and cardamom until the mixture is well combined and comes together to form a stiff dough.
4. Roll the dough into 24 balls and place 12 on each baking tray – make sure you leave space between each one.
5. Press each cookie with a cookie stamp or the bottom of a glass to flatten and leave decorative indentations in the dough.
6. Bake a tray at a time for 12–14 minutes until the cookies are pale golden brown.
7. Leave them to cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. They will crisp up as they cool. Store the cookies in an airtight tin and eat within 7 days

Fiskeballer – Fishballs

Source: Woman’s Own Cook Book (1963 edition)

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

1 lb haddock (boned and filleted) (I blended mine, as I had seen this in other recipes)

1 dessert spoon potato flour (I used flour)

½ gill cream

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp mace (nutmeg)

¾ pint milk

Fish Stock

Method:

1. Mix the fish for about 10 minutes in a basin with the potato flour and mace. Mix in the cream and milk, cold, one tablespoon at a time, doubling the quantity when half the cream and milk has been used, and stirring all the time.
2. Form into small balls, using a spoon dipped in cold water, put into boiling fish stock and cook gently for about 5-10 minutes. Can be served with shrimp sauce
   Shrimp Sauce (serves 3-4): Cook 1 gill of pickled shrimps (in their shells) in ½ pint of milk and water with a blade of mace and a bay leaf. Use this liquid to make a white sauce with the 1oz of flour and 1oz butter. (Melt the butter with the flour and slowing add the liquid and bring to boil, mixing all the time). Season well, then add the pickled shrimps, anchovy essence (if using) and lemon juice, stir thoroughly and reheat.

Kjottkater med brunsaus

Source: http://food52.com/recipes

Serves 5-6

1/3 pound lean ground beef

1/3 pound ground pork

1/3pound ground veal (if veal is unavailable use 1/2 lb each of beef and pork)

1 egg

2/3 cup Panko bread crumbs

½ cup whole milk

1teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

6 tablespoons butter

¼ cup flour

4 cups chicken broth

½ onion, skin removed but left in tact

¼ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons red wine

dashes gravy browning agent (eg. Kitchen Bouquet)

3-4 thin slices of gjetost, Norwegian brown goat cheese (optional, since this is an acquired taste)

salt and pepper to taste 

1. In an electric mixer, mix together the ground meats, the egg until combined. Form a well in the middle and add the breadcrumbs then pour the milk onto the breadcrumbs and allow to sit for a minute or two to soften them. Then add the spices and whip the meats, crumbs, milk, and spices together for several minutes until very well combined and lightened in texture.
2. Form the meat into balls about the size of golf balls. Heat a couple of Tbs. or so of butter in a large Dutch oven and fry the meatballs, carefully turning until they are well browned on all sides, but not cooked through. Do not crowd the meatballs in the pan, you may have to fry them in two batches to make sure they don’t steam each other.
3. Once all of the meatballs have been browned, return them all to the Dutch oven, add the half onion, and pour the broth over them, using enough broth to cover them halfway. Simmer until they are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and remove the onion.
4. To make the gravy, in a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the remaining 4 Tbs. of butter. Stir in the flour to make a roux and allow to cook for a minute. Then (this is the slightly tricky part), bit by bit, whisk the broth that the meatballs were cooking in into the roux, whisking vigorously to prevent clumping.
5. If you didn’t use all of the broth to cook the meatballs, add the rest of the broth to the gravy and bring to a simmer. Turn to very low heat. Whisk in the sour cream, wine, gravy browner, and gjetost if desired. Stir in salt and pepper to test. Also adjust the rest of the flavorings to taste.
6. If the gravy is too thick, add in a little hot water from the potatoes that you should be boiling at the same time (you always eat meatballs and gravy with potatoes!).
7. When the gravy is seasoned to your liking, pour it over the meatballs in a serving dish. Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes, sweet-sour red cabbage, and a green vegetable.

Country

Norway is the place where the town with the shortest name is A. The northern part of this long country is within the Arctic Circle, so has practically continuous sunlight during May and July, but darkness during midwinter. Oil, gas and fishing are the basis for this country’s economy, the North Sea production platforms make Norway the largest producer of oil and natural gas in Western Europe. It is also known for its beautiful steep-sided inlets called fjords. Each part of Norway has its own traditional clothes, called ‘bunad’, they are worn for all kinds of celebrations.

CUISINE

Norway, (like many countries, it seems) does not have a reputation as a foodies' destination, we tend to think of aquavit and smoked salmon, its distinct and delicate flavour makes it an excellent basis for tasty dishes. But other fish are worth mentioning. Among them are tørrfisk (stockfish), dried cod traditionally produced in the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway, where the fish is hung to dry in the winter months, and rakfisk, fermented fish eaten raw (a speciality from Valdres in Eastern Norway). Local ingredients such as king crab from the Barents Sea, excellent fish such as cod or halibut, organic Lofoten lamb used for fenalår, a cured and seasoned leg of a lamb; fårikål, a popular autumn dish of lamb simmered with cabbage and whole peppercorns or the tasty cloudberry for example; a vast array of local specialities; and traditional dishes for all seasons. They also have dishes that test you out, such as 'smalahove', salted and smoked head of sheep, a delicacy that foreign tourists rarely dare try.  One dish that is considered a luxury is smoked reindeer tongue. Very seasonal food, in the land of the mid-night sun, in autumn roast ptarmigan is a national delicacy. Vegetables are often imported, although they have plenty of root vegetables, such as potatoes and many berries. Oats and barleys are used, as well as dairy products; lots of cream sauces accompany meals. It is a cold climate, and the Norwegians lead an active life through sustaining plain meals.

Literally translated as “cotter’s fare”, husmannskost is synonymous with traditional Norwegian home cooking. Many of Norway’s popular dishes fall in that category, like for example meat balls (kjøttkaker), invariably served with brown sauce (brun saus) and potatoes, another staple of the Norwegian cuisine, and fish cakes (fiskekaker). Many soups (among them pea soup, or ertesuppe) and stews such as lapskaus also fall in that category.  Porridge (rømmegrøt) made from natural sour cream and served with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and rice pudding (risgrøt) are two other classics.