Category: Occasion

  • Vannkringler (Bergen Pretzels)

    Vannkringler (Bergen Pretzels)

    Vannkringler Vannkringler Kringler. Nordic pretzels of various forms of sweet, salty, filled, crispy and soft. But one kringle stands out as one of the most well-known in Norway and it hails from Bergen. It also happens to be a permanent fixture on the 17 Mai (Grunnlovsdag) table, as it finds its place alongside spekemat (cured meats) and rømmegrøt.

    Bergen is known in Norway for their vannkringler, a traditional pastry still consumed today. The recipe is simple: flour, water, yeast and salt. The technique is masterful, as the dough is rolled out thinly and then tossed and twisted around before being sealed with a gentle blow. Before being baked until a golden brown, they are placed in a hot water bath, hence bestowing them the name vannkringler, or ‘water ring’.

    This tradition is thought to be influenced heavily by Dutch and German salesman operating in the area of Bryggen, the old trading wharf of Bergen. Being easy to store and with a long shelf-life, vannkringler was purchased by many fisherman, who would take them along their journeys. It is said that empty caskets would be used as storage for the vannkringler by northern Norwegian fisherman as they headed back home. (more…)

  • Gravlax with Dill-Stewed Potatoes and Mustard Sauce

    Gravlax with Dill-Stewed Potatoes and Mustard Sauce

    Norwegian gravlax with dill-stewed potatoes and served with a classic mustard sauce (Gravlaks med sennepssaus og dillstuede poteter)Norwegian gravlax with dill-stewed potatoes and served with a classic mustard sauce (Gravlaks med sennepssaus og dillstuede poteter)Lifting the weight and removing the board revealed a two-day culinary journey. Nothing difficult, nothing too time consuming. An act of osmosis. Curing. Transformation. And as the sharpened knife slowly pierced into the orange-pink, dill-infused delicacy, the thrill of knowing the next time step would be getting a taste reached across to everyone in the kitchen. A smooth, grainy and subtly sweet mustard sauce and a warm, hearty bowl of creamy potatoes dancing with dill to round it all off. Luxury at its finest and also its simplest.

    Yet, the delicacy we know today has a much different story than its beginning. Gravlax (gravlaks) first appears in documents from the 1300s, informing us of the preservation methods used during these times. During the Middle Ages, people ate many forms of saltwater and freshwater fish that we continue to enjoy today. Salmon held a special place, valued and desired. Unlike today, where we have greater access to fresh salmon, salmon was more of a prized possession. In fact, in a well-known story about the god Tor, who is referred to as the ‘big eater’, Tor has his fill of eight whole salmon (among other things) at a wedding banquet in Jotunheimen. This gives us an idea as to the value placed on salmon and that protecting the surplus of salmon was important, and worth the risks. (Notaker, Ganens Makt)

    Norwegian gravlax with dill-stewed potatoes and served with a classic mustard sauce (Gravlaks med sennepssaus og dillstuede poteter)Norwegian gravlax with dill-stewed potatoes and served with a classic mustard sauce (Gravlaks med sennepssaus og dillstuede poteter) (more…)

  • Snipp

    Snipp

    Snipp - Norwegian 'collar' cookiesMy sister recently collated and copied my Great Grandmother’s recipes as gifts for the whole family. Reading through the recipes brought back so many wonderful memories. Her cookies were always a highlight of our holiday traditions. Cookies that, today, seem classical and perhaps a bit vintage. Something our grandmother grew up with and baked for us in our childhood, but we rarely, if ever, bake in our own kitchens.

    Not long ago, I was visiting a friend here in Numedal, and she served me coffee with a side of snipp. I certainly had never come across it and neither had my Norwegian husband. It’s one of those pillowy & soft sugar based cookies, with a sweet cloud of cardamom and cinnamon aroma surrounding it. It’s simplicity at its best and perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

    Snipp - Norwegian 'collar' cookies (more…)

  • Eggs til Påske

    Eggs til Påske

    Egg til PåskeEgg til PåskeAs the sun rises, I find myself in the room I grew up in. The interior may have changed over the years I have been gone, but the memories have been imprinted across the walls, something that new paint cannot erase.

    Yearning for the new day, as every morning person does, I walk down to my favorite room in the house. Mom’s already in the kitchen. Stove warming, coffee brewing. Eggs being cracked along a well-worn bowl. Our family traditions are always evolving. We keep to a few habitual rituals, but otherwise, our tradition is to be untraditional. And as I sit back, I reflect on the traditions which families and cultures set. Questions about where they come from and what does our table say about the way we celebrate and embrace them dance around in my head. Food is the heart and soul of any celebration and taking the time to the understand what’s on our plate and why can be just as important as the celebration itself.

    The Norwegian Easter, or Påske (from the Hebrew word pasach or passover), is a mixture of traditions stretching far back throughout the ages. The traditions stemmed out of evolving Lutheran practices, pre-Christian or heathen times, Judaism, and some from the era prior to the Reformation when Norwegians were Roman Catholics.  The Easter egg, coming from an old heathen tradition symbolizing fertility, did not take hold in Norway until the 1900s, when keeping hens made it ways into the country’s animal husbandry. During fasting times, eggs were banned, so on Easter Sunday, people were once again allowed to eat boiled eggs for breakfast and this became known as the Easter egg. For Norwegians, the egg is a more natural symbol of rebirth and Easter than the bunny. For this was the time of year when hens began to lay eggs. (Science Nordic) (more…)

  • Påske Lamb with Orange & Dill Sauce

    Påske Lamb with Orange & Dill Sauce

    Visiting friends usually means finding yourself sharing cake and coffee amongst a centerpiece of overflowing, grapefruit-sized oranges gleaning from a warmer Spanish climate. A tradition owning itself to a time when merchants would return to Norway in the Spring with the year’s first harvest from Southern Europe. It’s a recently new tradition, very much like most of the traditions practiced today. From yellow adornments to colorful eggs to chocolate and the Sunday meal. Most borrowed, all evolved. History, combining a variety of faiths and practices, to today’s more global and commercial influences have all contributed to the celebrations surrounding Easter, whether practiced religiously or not.Paske lamb with orange & dill sauceServing lamb, for instance, is not an old tradition. For the long, dark Norwegian winters delay the gestation period for sheep, meaning lambs are not large enough to be ready by Easter. The lamb is either imported or from last year’s yield. Nonetheless, lamb is important to the table today. Often served on the bone, it is roasted with simple herbs and seasonings.

    Paske lamb with orange & dill sauce (more…)

  • Fastelavnsboller

    Fastelavnsboller

    Fastelavn. Shrovetide. Carnaval.

    Seven weeks before Easter, and sitting at the cusp of Lent, is a celebration spanning the centuries, and evolving to what is known today in Norway as Fastelavn, or ‘the fast evening’. Three days encompass the fastelavnsfeiring celebrations, starting on Fastelavnssøndag (Sunday), followed with Blåmandag(Blue Monday) or Fleskemandag and concluding with Feitetirsdag (Fat Tuesday) or Hvitetirsdag (White Tuesday).

    The roots of Fastelavn tie into the fertility cult. When those with life – women, animals & trees – would be awakened to fertility by being struck with the branches of birch trees. This practice is known as Fastelavnris. Birch trees often had buds at this time of year, and those twigs were referred to as life twigs. It was believed that those branches which did not bear buds at this time, had the fertility effect in itself, and were regarded with even more favor. The blossoming buds were also used for crop and weather predictions. Later, with the associations of Christianity, the twigs were regarding as symbols of the Passion of Christ and as the beginning of Lent.

    FastelavnsbollerThe concept of awakening later turned into an old tradition of waking early from bed and grabbing birch branches to then playfully spank those who were not yet awake. It was normal, up until far into the late 1900s, for children to whip their parents for fun and to be treated to a cream-filled bun afterwards. These buns are still eaten on Sunday.

    The star of Fastelavn: a bun. A boller, to be exact. Freshly baked. Sweetened cream nestled inside. Topped with a generous dousing of powered sugar – just enough to crown the lips of the one lucky enough to take a bite. These are decadent, yet simple. Sometimes, a spreading of jam will grace its interior as well, or custard, but traditionally, the cream should suffice. It’s possible these buns originated from the dumplings which previously were eaten with fatty soup and meat on Sunday as a practice of gluttony.

    fastelavns3

    Fastelavnsboller

    (more…)