Posts Tagged Norwegian specialities
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.
A Norwegian speciality: Rakfisk
Posted by admin in Food and drink on March 21, 2010
Here is another Norwegian speciality that’s not for the squeamish. Rakfisk (literally brine-cured fish) is fish, usually trout, sometimes char, that has been salted and left to ferment in brine for two to three months. It is then eaten raw, on a slice of flat bread, and usually accompanied with raw onions or leeks, sour cream, butter, and boiled potatoes. The first sources mentioning rakfisk date back to the Middle Ages. Back then the fish was buried in the soil in the autumn so that it would be ready for Christmas. These days, however, a barrel is more often than not used as substitute, and rakfisk is eaten all throughout the winter. If you’ve ever tried hákarl (fermented shark) in Iceland, or surströmming (same with herring) in Sweden, you’ll have an idea of what to expect. Pungent it is, and definitely an acquired taste. Not all Norwegians are converts, but 500 tonnes of the stuff are nevertheless consumed in Norway every year. This strange speciality even has a festival dedicated to it – the Rakfisk Festival, taking place in Fagernes, Valdres (eastern Norway, the birthplace of rakfisk) in November, which attracts thousands of enthusiasts every year.
Poached skrei, traditional style
Posted by admin in Food and drink, Photos and videos on February 24, 2010
For more info on skrei, including recipes, see www.seafoodfromnorway.com
Skrei, or Arctic cod
Posted by admin in Food and drink on February 24, 2010
The arrival of the skrei, or Arctic cod, in the Lofoten Islands every winter is a big event, and one eagerly awaited by gourmets all around Norway. Skrei (and Old Norse word meaning ‘wanderer’) is much prized for its lean, firm white flesh, and the unique flavour of its tongue, liver and roe, all of which are delicacies much loved by Norwegians. It doesn’t just taste good – it’s also an extremely healthy food, low in fat and a rich source of vitamin D in the sunless winter months. And because it’s only fished seasonally, it’s also a sustainable species.
More good news? Now is the time to try skrei! The spawning season, which lasts from January to March, has started, and skrei has as a result started to appear on menus in restaurants up and down the country. Do give it a go – you won’t be disappointed.
If you’d rather try skrei at home, do as the Norwegians do (they cook skrei in very much the same way they cook cod): bring a pan of water to the boil, slice the fish into thick slices, then remove the pan from the hob and let the fish stand in the just-boiled water for about 10 minutes. You’ll know the fish is ready when the flesh starts to come off the bone.
Skrei is usually served with boiled potatoes and melted butter, sometimes with hard-cooked eggs. Its mild and delicate flesh is also used in gratin and fish balls, although I personally think this is a bit of a waste… such gorgeous fish is best eaten on its own, to reveal all its flavour.
Read more about skrei here www.seafoodfromnorway.com/News/News/View+media+article?key=23066 and www.seafoodfromnorway.com/Fishlovers/News/View+article?key=23067
Crusty and golden – just perfect!
Posted by admin in Food and drink, Photos and videos on February 5, 2010
Norwegian waffles
Posted by admin in Food and drink on February 5, 2010
Norwegians are very fond of their waffles, and waffles are on sale pretty much everywhere in Norway, from local cafes to petrol stations, kiosks, school fetes, open-air markets, mountain or ski huts, etc. They taste delicious, particularly when served still warm, and I personally can’t think of a better snack on a cold winter afternoon. Want to try making your own at home? Here is an easy recipe that’s been tried and tested a few times, and always gets the thumbs up.
You will need:
- 2 eggs
- 100g sugar
- 500g flour
- 50g butter
- 5dl milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- A pinch of salt
…
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and let it cool for a few minutes.
Mix the sugar, the eggs and the melted butter in a bowl.
Add a pinch of salt (you can add a bit of cinnamon or vanilla too if you like).
Add the milk in and stir.
Incorporate the flour gradually until you get a smooth batter (it should be a bit thicker than a pancake batter, but still runny).
Add the baking powder in.
Let your batter rest in the bowl with a kitchen towel over it for about 30 minutes (the batter needs to settle a bit).
Preheat your waffle iron and have a bit of butter on it so that the batter doesn’t stick to it.
Use a laddle to pour the batter onto the hot iron so that it roughly covers the surface (don’t pour too much as it may overflow once you close the iron).
Leave to cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden. Note that the first couple of waffles usually take a bit longer than subsequent ones – it then gets quicker as the iron gets hotter.
…
Norwegian waffles are traditionally eaten with either strawberry or raspberry jam and sour or whipped cream. Enjoy!
Brunost: A Norwegian dairy oddity
Posted by admin in Food and drink, Photos and videos on January 20, 2010
