Archive for category Food and drink
Where to eat: Bakgården, Halden
Posted by admin in Food and drink on August 30, 2010
This restaurant, in a side street just off Halden’s main pedestrian street, is a reliable option for both lunch and dinner. You can sit in the secluded patio in summer, and make the most of the sunshine, or opt to eat inside in winter. The main dining room is cosy, with its wooden interior, original art on the walls, table cloths and candle light, and there are a couple of additional smaller rooms, as well as a room reserved for private functions, should you want more privacy. The reasonably priced menu features brasserie-style food at lunchtime, including salads, sandwiches, omelette, tapas and even English breakfast and fish and chips (yes!), while in the evening slightly more elaborate dishes make their appearance (often featuring locally caught fish or meat from the grill) and prices go up a notch – but not as much as one would expect. Pleasant atmosphere and service, together with good food, make this a good all-round choice.
Storgate 22B. Tel: 69 18 82 90, http://bakgarden-halden.no. Expect to pay around 100-150Kr for a main course at lunchtime, and around 200Kr for dinner.
Worth their weight in gold
Posted by admin in Food and drink, Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on August 16, 2010
The chanterelle (cantharellus cibarius)
Posted by admin in Food and drink, Nature and the great outdoors on August 16, 2010
This highly prised mushroom, which comes in season here in Norway from as early as June, is super tasty, easy to recognise and can grow in big amounts – hence its popularity among wild mushroom enthusiasts. The Østfold forests are full of chanterelles this time of year, and it won’t take you long to find a spot where to pick some. Chanterelles like mixed woods (this means both pine and conifer) but also often grow along forest roads, so just keep your eyes peeled for dashes of gold on the forest floor as you drive around.
How to identify them:
- The cap: bright yellow to orange, smooth, often becomes wavy at the edge as the mushroom matures.
- The flesh: firm and white, tinged with yellow and smelling slightly fruity.
- The stalk: thick and full, not hollow.
- The gills: not true gills, but thick ridges, similarly coloured or lighter than the cap, that run part way down the stem.
Eat them fresh, dry them (on a tray covered with newpapers for 2-3 days, thereafter in a net, preferably somewhere airy), or freeze them (cook them first to get rid of as much of the water as possible). My preferred way of eating them is just fried, with a bit of salt and pepper, on a slice of bread. Or add cream, and a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon – they are delicious prepared this way too. And of course you can use chanterelles in many dishes (see links below). Don’t feel restricted to use them with meat only though. My sister makes a fantastic salmon and chanterelles lasagna – the two go very well together too.
More info, and some recipes, at www.mssf.org/cookbook/chanterelle.html and www.wild-harvest.com/pages/chanterelle.htm
Where to eat in Fredrikstad (New town)
Posted by admin in Food and drink on August 3, 2010
- Brasserie 88: A little bit of everything here, from sushi to tapas, as well as an exciting regular menu. The bad news? Mains will set you back 270-300Kr. Dinner only. Storgata 21. Tel: 69 30 84 88, www.bra88.com
- Chang Cheng: Reasonably priced restaurant offering standard Chinese fare in spacious, modern surrounds. Mains around 160Kr. Open for lunch and dinner. Storgata 15. Tel: 69 31 71 77, no website.
- Felix: Stylish restaurant in the Quality Inn Hotel, serving international food. Mains around 250Kr. Open for lunch and dinner. Nygardsgata 2-6. Tel: 69 39 30 00, no website.
- Gaffel og Karaffel: A cosy, informal restaurant offering sushi and Norwegian dishes, as well as wraps, sandwiches, soups and salads. Mains around 150Kr. Open for lunch and dinner. Stortorvet 2. Tel: 69 31 03 60, no website.
- Jacob Aall: Good but rather pricey food at this trendy brasserie by the riverside. Big patio. Open late. Mains around 250Kr. Storgata. Tel: 69 31 11 00, www.jacobaall.no
- Mother India: Excellent food, friendly service and good prices make this restaurant a popular option year round. Mains between 120-190Kr. Dinner only. Storgata 20. Tel: 69 31 22 00, no website.
- Peppe’s Pizza: Big American style pizzas to share. Outdoor sitting in summer, with occasional live music. Expect to pay around 250Kr for a big pizza. Open for lunch and dinner. Nygata 2-6. Tel: 2222 5555, www.peppes.no
Prices given are for dinner. For in-depth reviews of the above venues, search for the individual restaurant’s name in the search box to the right. For restaurant recommendations in the Old Town (Gamlebyen), see http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2009/12/where-to-eat-in-gamlebyen-fredrikstad-restaurants/
Chilled Norwegian rhubarb soup
Posted by admin in Food and drink on July 29, 2010
Rhubarb soup is a popular summer dessert here in Norway. This is an easy recipe that features seasonal ingredients, and will be ready in minutes. Why not give it a go?
What you need (Serves 8):
- 4 sticks of rhubarb
- 1 pint (4.5 dl) of water
- 100-150gr sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon (some prefer orange, another alternative)
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise pods
- 4 sprigs of mint or one small fresh ginger root (optional)
What you do:
Peel the rhubarb and cut it into thin slices. Put the rhubarb slices in a saucepan with the water, cinnamon, star anise, vanilla, lemon/orange juice and bring to the boil, then let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender. Remove the cinnamon stick, vanilla pod and star anise, then add the sugar to the pan and stir until it dissolves. Taste and add more sugar if you like it sweeter. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool. Serve the soup ice-cold with vanilla ice cream (if you’re a purist) or, alternatively, mascarpone, sour cream, or whipped cream, according to your preference.
This is the traditional recipe for Norwegian rhubarb soup. You could add mint leaves for flavouring, or even ginger, for a more oriental-inspired variation – both go very well with rhubarb. Many other recipes for this traditional Norwegian dessert also feature strawberries, so feel free to add them to the mix of ingredients above if you want to give this variant a go – about 400g Norwegian strawberries (nothing else will do of course!) should be sufficient. Enjoy!
Hvaler prawns
Posted by admin in Food and drink on July 1, 2010
Did you know that Hvaler was famous for its prawns? Many argue they indeed are the best in Norway. The prawns are cooked on board the boats before they return to shore, in big pans of seawater to which salt has been added – this is what gives them their distinctive taste.
You can drive to Utgårdskilen and buy them straight from the fishermen when they return from their day at sea. At Utgårdskilen you’ll find Fjordfisk’s wharehouse and shop, which receive the largest delivery of fish and shellfish in Eastern Norway. 400 tons of the prawns brought in every year are sold ready-to-eat as fresh Hvaler prawns, while a further 600 tons are delivered to the industry for processing (freezing mainly).
Fishing has always been a mainstay of Hvaler’s economy, be it cod, herring, makrell, lobster or oyster. Around 1900 the first attempts to fish prawns with trawlers were carried out in the Oslofjord, and by 1914 all the fishermen in Utgårdskilen on Hvaler used this method. Business was good, and Hvaler prawns were even exported, tinned, to Germany.
The day started early for prawn fishermen, typically 1am or 2am, and it was not unusual for them to be out at sea until 5pm-6pm. The price of prawns varied from place to place, and year to year, but in 1934 the average price per kilo was 62 øre! Today fishermen on Hvaler still work long hours (particularly when the catch is good!), but the price of fresh prawns has gone up somehow – around 150Kr per kilo. Frozen prawns are much cheaper (no doubt because they are easier to handle), and sell for as little as 30Kr a kilo when on special offer – although 60-70Kr is more common.
Try fresh Hvaler prawns in one of Skjærhalden’s restaurants (Første Reis on the harbour serves them with aioli and its own special shellfish sauce), or eat them au naturel, like most Norwegians do, on white bread and butter, with just a dash of lemon juice. Great for a summer dinner with friends, or why not, a posh picnic by the sea – perfect with a glass of chilled pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.
Sizzling sometime soon…
Posted by admin in Food and drink, Nature and the great outdoors on June 26, 2010
