What about forgetting the turkey this year, and trying something a bit more exciting? Like a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner for example  There are lots of different Christmas dishes to choose from here in Norway. Here are my favourites:

- Ribbe: Roasted pork belly, usually served with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes, Christmas sausage, meat balls and gravy. Easy to prepare and not too expensive – little wonder it’s such a popular option.

- Pinnekjøtt: Dried and smoked lamb/mutton cutlets traditionally cooked over birch twigs or pinne (hence the name), and served with mashed swede and boiled potatoes. Originally from the western coast, but now eaten all over Norway.

- Lutefisk: Cod treated in lye and served with bacon bits, green peas, butter sauce and (no point for guessing!) boiled potatoes. The fish acquires a jelly-like texture (the more pronounced the longer you cook it), so some find the appearance rather off-putting, but it’s gorgeous stuff. Be brave and try it once!

- Multekrem: Multe (cloudberry) is the queen of Norwegian berries, with a pronounced boggy taste (little wonder when you think it grows in… yes, bogs). Because it’s quite rare and difficult to harvest, it’s pricier than other berries. Multekrem is whipped cream with cloudberries, and is often the dessert of choice for special occasions – including Christmas dinner.

- Pepperkake: You will see these dark waffer-thin biscuits everywhere if you visit Norway this time of year. The closest equivalent is gingerbread biscuits, although pepperkaker are slightly different. Here in Østfold the tradition is to have 7 different kinds of biscuits for Christmas (all home-baked it goes without saying), and pepperkake is one of them. I think I might cheat and buy the ready-made ones, but ssshhh… don’t tell anyone.

I’ve already posted a few Christmas recipes on this blog, and will be adding more in the coming weeks, so watch this space… Beer (lager or Christmas beer) and aquavit are the drinks of choice with the above dishes. Watch the video above to learn more about aquavit, Norway’s national tipple. Cheers!