Posts Tagged Recipe
Venison fillet with brown cheese sauce
Posted by admin in Food and drink on November 23, 2010
Autumn is the best time to eat game, and it is worth splashing out a bit to get really good quality meat, ideally from a farmers market or direct from the producers. I love this dish because it brings together several typically Norwegian ingredients while being super tasty – always a winning combination.
You will need (Serves 4):
- 800g of venison fillets (you can replace with moose or reindeer meat if you so wish)
- juniper (a tiny handful)
- lingonberry gelée or jam (tyttebær in Norwegian)
- 1 pinch of fennel seeds
- 1 spoonful of flour
- 2 dl of beef stock
- 2 dl of sour cream (rømme in Norwegian). Crème fraiche will do if you can’t get hold of sour cream.
- 30g of Norwegian brown cheese
- 20g of butter
- 2 spoonfuls of aquavit
- salt and pepper
…
1. Crush half of the juniper with the fennel seeds in a mortar, add the salt and pepper and mix. Rub onto the meat with your bare (washed) hands. Leave to the side while you make your sauce.
2. Crush the remaining juniper and mix with the flour in a small pan. Add a few spoonfuls of the beef stock and mix, making sure you don’t have any lumps. Add half of the stock and cook at low temperature, stirring all the time. When the sauce has started to thicken, add the remaining stock and continue cooking. Add the brown cheese, the sour cream, and the rest of the juniper, reduce the heat and let it cook for a further 5 minutes. Take the sauce off the hob, and cover the pan with a lid.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan on a high heat. Fry the fillets for about 5 minutes, turning them often. This is enough if you like your meat cooked rare, allow a bit longer if you prefer it medium, but don’t overcook it, as it will lose its flavour.
4. Just before you serve, add the aquavit to the sauce, and reheat for a couple of minutes. Adjust the seasoning.
5. Cut your meat in 2cm-thick slices, pour the sauce over it, and place a spoonful of lingonberry gelée or jam to the side. Serve with boiled potatoes. Fried fresh wild mushrooms (chanterelles for example) make another good accompaniment to this dish.
Adapted from a recipe by Norwegian chef Andreas Viestad. More info about him at www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/04/10/
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!
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!
Pepperkake recipe
Posted by admin in Food and drink on December 21, 2009
Pepperkaker are Norwegian Christmas biscuits. Tradition dictates that each housewife should bake no fewer than seven different kinds for Christmas, although in practice most people nowadays bake one sort, and buy the rest. Here is a fool-proof recipe that even novice bakers can successfully pull off. An ideal one to try with the little ones.
You will need:
660g flour, 220g thick dark syrup, 220g sugar, 220g butter, 2 eggs, 1ts cinnamon, 1ts cloves, 1ts ginger, 1/4ts pepper, 1ts baking soda
Melt the butter and add the sirup while stirring. Mix this with the whisked eggs, sugar and spices, then sieve in the flour and baking soda. Your dough should rest in a cold place for a few hours, or overnight if possible.
Roll out the dough. Use shapes to cut your biscuits, and remember to make a hole in them if you are planning on hanging some of them.
Cook at 210°C for 8-10 minutes, or a little bit less if the dough is thin and your biscuits small.