North Wild Kitchen

Category: Meal Type

Multekarameller (Cloudberry Caramels with Sea Salt)

This recipe is not one that you can just make at any time and anywhere. It’s a special recipe featuring Norway’s golden berry. A berry that grows in the mountains and gets the nickname fjellets gull (mountain’s gold) because of its color and the fact that finding them is like discovering hidden treasure. The season is short and those who manage to get a hold of them will usually freeze them and save them for a celebration or a holiday such as Christmas. These berries, known as multebær or cloudberries, are, in short, one of a kind.

With this in mind, it is possible to substitute the berries with another berry of your choice, however, the flavor will not be the same at all. I do hope this recipe will evoke a sense of curiosity and a desire to one day try these berries if you have not been able to do so. They grow in North America and Scandinavia around early August. They have a unique and very aromatic taste; a combination of sweetness and acidity. (more…)

November 9, 2016
Elggryte (Norwegian Moose Stew)

Following on from my story about Moose Hunting in Norway (Elgjakt), here is a recipe for elggryte, a traditional moose stew utilising the flavors of the forest. Gryte means pot in Norwegian, and what better way to cook in the colder months than with everything stewing together in one pot.

The mountainous regions of Norway are famous for moose and other types of venison. These meats are used in a variety of dishes such as karbonader (meat patties), kjøttkaker (meatballs), pølser (sausages), and spekemat (cured meats). Stews are a great way to tenderize the meat and concentrate the flavors. They are warming and filling, and easy to make. Best of all, they cook together in one pot and can be made both indoors and outdoors. (more…)

November 1, 2016
Lapper med Øl (Norwegian Flat Cakes with Beer)

Lapper is a traditional Norwegian flat cake similar to that of an American pancake, but by no means the same. Flat cakes have a long tradition in Norway, particularly in western Norway, which stretches back to the 1300s when the daily lives of most Norwegians were marked by poverty. Every ingredient was used to its fullest so as not to waste it. Sour milk, surmelk, was a common commodity and families would use the leftovers and mix with dry goods to be baked. The cakes were then served alongside Saturday coffee.

I would say lapper is a variation of svele. A sibling, perhaps. They’re family. They have similarities. They have differences. Sometimes they overlap. You may not be able to tell them apart. They have different facets depending upon the ingredients available in various regions of Norway. Yet, svele is the more-well known term deeply rooted in western Norway. Around the 1920s it began to be associated with ferry-travel and tradition stands that customers should eat one aboard as they begin their journey. (more…)

October 25, 2016
Jordskokksuppe (Jerusalem Artichoke Soup)

There’s a certain joy that comes from being able to watch another person prepare a dish. Being the student and able to just listen and learn and see the creativity of another person unfold. I am lucky to have many friends and neighbors who are wonderful cooks and who are happy to share their recipes and techniques with me. One such friend is the beautiful and kind Maj-Lis.

Maj-Lis is already busy in the kitchen when I come through her door. Her hands are dusted in flour and she greets me with a warm hug and smile before she returns quickly to her countertops to carry on kneading the dough.

She is making a couple of her specialties and dedicating the majority of the day to the kitchen. The menu consists of creamy jordskokksuppe (Jerusalem artichoke soup), homemade valnøttbrød (walnut bread) and her famous Glitreboller (sweet pastry filled with cinnamon, sugar and raisins and topped with almonds). She shares the stories about each recipe and works her way between each dish as I sit back and listen. While the dough rises, she cuts the Jerusalem artichokes. While the soup is on, she prepares the boller. (more…)

October 18, 2016
Snurrer with Plums and Almond Custard

Lightly sweetened buns, boller, are one of the most beloved breads in Norway. The sweet-smelling aroma coming from boller just baked in the oven is comfort at its best. The milk-based breads are soft and fluffy and lightly scented with spicy cardamom. They are simply divine in their subtleties. The most basic recipe features nothing other than this golden bun and its cardamom, which deserves its own post as it is the mecca for all other types of boller in Norway. This I will be sure to write about sometime in the near future.

This recipe, however, is a little bit indulgent. Baking like this seems to occur more frequently when autumn is at its height and winter is peaking its head around the corner. Here I use the boller dough as a base while creating a variation on the filling and then rolling it like you would a cinnamon bun, which then gets the name snurrer in Norwegian.

I wanted to utilise the plums which I had picked from our tree and made jam out of a few weeks back. Homemade plum jam with boller. Perfection.

Plums have been cultivated since the 1700s in Norway, making the use of plums in Norwegian cooking a 300 year old tradition.

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October 13, 2016
Rustic Pear Tart with Blue Cheese, Honey & Walnuts (Pæreterte)

Anywhere there is community and a sense of connectedness, there is always the act of giving, sharing and receiving. And that is exactly what I experience daily where I live. When there is a need or a want, there are many who come forward. They share their time, their skills and their resources. There is also an incredible sense of support in aiding in the success of others.

When I was asked to make a recipe which I could share on the blog and on a feature about North Wild Kitchen for NRK, I knew it had to center around what was currently available in and around my area, which I could source locally and which highlights the season. I had received a message earlier from Laila, my not-so-far-away neighbor, that she had an abundance of pears and if I wanted to, I should feel free to stop by. I then knew I should make something which features these amazing little pears. Within a few short hours, I already had the assistance of my community in sourcing the rest of the ingredients. And so it was, the savory pear tart was starting to come to fruition.

This recipe, although not necessarily Norwegian, highlights just a few of the amazing products being produced in this region (and just a little beyond). From the local honning (honey) produced from Rud Gård in Rollag to blåmuggost (blue cheese) from Thorbjørnrud Hotel in the bordering county of Oppland and to gråpære (pears) picked locally from the Juleshuset in Numedal. Even the flour was provided by the local bakery, Veggli Bakeri. In a way, this tart is really just an example of the many flavors and quality products which Norwegians are producing and using.

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October 7, 2016