North Wild Kitchen

Tag: dinner

  • Chanterelle & Goat Cheese Skillet (Kantareller og Geitost)

    Chanterelle & Goat Cheese Skillet (Kantareller og Geitost)

    Skillet Chantarelle and Cheese Fondue (Kantarelle med Geitost) Skillet Chantarelle and Cheese Fondue (Kantarelle med Geitost)

    The forest is full of gold this time of year.  Skogens gull. The time of year when mushrooms can be found by anyone desiring to look. And the mushrooms seemingly worth their weight in gold are the chanterelles (kantareller). With their bright, golden hue and curved caps, they are easily identifiable and almost give themselves away against the green, mossy forest bed.

    Last week, we went on a sopptur, or mushroom hunt, to find these delicacies that grow all over this mountainous region. These hunts are one of life’s little pleasures and Norwegians view this time as a great way to combine fresh air, exercise and a good meal following a successful pick. This was our first hunt. The first of many to come. As we came along the path, not far from where we parked our car, we spotted the first chanterelle. My son had the honor of the first pick and quickly took to becoming one of the best chanterelle spotters and pickers around. We felt like we had hit gold that day. After an hour, we had filled all of our containers to the brim and even came across the biggest spoil right before returning home. Even without the copious amounts of chanterelles the evening still would have been a success as we laughed, chatted, snacked on wild blueberries and took in the serenity of the babbling brook as the sun’s rays shone through the elegant branches of the trees.

    Skillet Chantarelle and Cheese Fondue (Kantarelle med Geitost) Skillet Chantarelle and Cheese Fondue (Kantarelle med Geitost) (more…)

  • Viking Plankefisk and Rugbrød (Plank Fish and Rye Bread)

    Viking Plankefisk and Rugbrød (Plank Fish and Rye Bread)

    Viking Plankefisk and Rye BreadViking Plankefisk and Rye BreadViking Plankefisk and Rye BreadThe woods, blending well into the deep valley, are welcoming on this day. Edged against the great river, a short distance from the main road, and yet well hidden, lies the Medieval Forest. An emerging area dedicated to the preservation of history, culture, and traditional skills. A way to step back into time, learn authentic crafting and become more aware of nature and personal strength.

    It is here that I meet up with Kjell and Maj-Lis for a glimpse inside the eating habits of the Vikings. The husband and wife team are passionate about their country’s history and the area of Numedal. Every year, during July, they, and other enthusiasts, put on a week-long festival featuring local music, courses on textiles, leather, blacksmithing, archery (to name a few) and other festivities centered around the Middle Ages / Viking Age. The week’s festivities held in Stave churches and historical buildings, among other places, create an atmosphere true to Norway’s history for all ages and all types of interests. It’s an opportunity to step back into time – and even ride in a copy of a Viking ship from 850AD.  

    The valley, known as Numedal, is a glimpse into life during the Middle Ages. A place to experience how Norwegians once lived. Today, Numedal has named itself the Medieval Valley of Norway (Middelalderdalen). They can safely make such a proclamation because within the valley lies the largest remaining collection of houses and buildings older than 1537 AD. In Rollag, Nore og Uvdal municipalities, there are between 50-60 buildings including 4 stave churches, dating back to the 1100s. The predominance of so many medieval buildings still intact may be due, in part, to the wealth local people gained from the extraction of iron. They could then afford such high quality materials and craftsmen to build enduring structures. The valley has also acted as a pathway and crossroads for trading between the east and west for as far back as one could imagine. Knowledge, culture, religious beliefs and other outside influences most likely came through this area because of this important pathway. It also offered locals a way to barter and trade for what they could not produce.

    And so here we are today, meeting at a crossroads, to delve into Norway’s past. Kjell starts a fire in-between the stone walls of the hand built oven. The dough has finished rising and a locally-caught trout lies on a wooden plank near the fire pit. We are making a small feast of plankefisk (plank fish) and rugbrød (rye bread with barley grains). Kjell is also showing me a fun way to cook eggs over an open fire. (more…)

  • Numedal Matfestival { A Gathering }

    Numedal Matfestival { A Gathering }

    A celebration. A feast.  A coming together. Signifying an homage, a compliment if you will, to Numedal’s landscape, its people, its past and its present. A gleeful and relaxed dinner to crown off the day’s festivities. For two evenings the candles are lit, flowers are placed in glass jars, the place settings are arranged and rows of white-clothed tables line up under a large, white tent. A stage, which will be the platform for many laughs and traditional music and dance, overlooks the tables. Waiters, dressed in formal attire and frilly aprons, will begin to scurry around, taking drink orders, filling cups, and, at times, chiming in with song. The nights are centered around food and theater. The Numedalsgruppen, under the charge of Chef Micke Bergvall, have created a 7-course menu to entice the tastebuds and challenge the thinking of traditional Norwegian food. They base each course on local products and ingredients; some plucked and picked from nature only hours beforehand. This is the celebration; an acknowledgment of those who create and cook and utilize what Norway has to offer. The dinner will begin. Drinks will be poured. Plates will start flowing. Music will sound. Conversations will echo. A performance will begin, and laughs will proceed. More drinks, more food, more laughs, more merriment. The whole tent will retire outside where coffee, cooked over flaming logs, will be served from a coffee master’s hand. Cakes will be passed around. And then the dancing will commence. A concert will start. The sun will still give its light, even though the hour is late. This is the Matfestival in Numedal.

     

    The Menu

    Brød og Smør / Bread and Butter

    (Homebaked bread, flatbrød from Uvdalsleiven, butter from Håvardsrud Seterliv)

    Spekemat Fjøl med det beste fra Numedal / Cured Meats from the best of Numedal

    (Fenalår from Spælsau lamb, Smådølkurv from Kirkebygda Produkter and Nabosnabben from Nabokjerringan, Flatbrød from Mollas bakery and sour cream from Håvardsrud Seterliv)

    Varmrøkt Sik med Eggerulle og Jordskokk / Smoked White Fish with Egg & Jerusalem Artichoke

    (Sik fish from the waters of Norefjord, egg fra Prestmoen Farm and Jerusalem Artichokes from Årud Farm)

    Vente Pølse i Brød / Sausage in Bread

    (Matopplevelser’s lamb and wild garlic sausage served with pickled red onions from Holm Farm, course mustard and tyttebær ketchup and bread from Veggli Bakeri)

    Fjellvitt-Gravet Ørret / Cured Trout with Aquavit

    (Trout from the Låkåsetvann, cured in Aquavit from Numedal and served with troll-potato croutons, whipped sour cream from Håvardsrud Seterliv and trout roe from Hadangervidda rakfisk)

    Fritert Troll-Potetskrell / Fried Troll-Potato Skins

    (Served with sour cream from Håvardsrud Seterliv)

    Brassert Storfe Bryst av økologisk Telemarks Kalv fra Uvdal / Organic Braised Beef Breast from Uvdal

    (Served with carrot purée, carrot pieces from Lågen, onion, and salt-roasted Troll potatoes)

    BlåKu med bærbrød / Blue Cheese with Berry Bread

    (Blue cheese from Thorbjørnrud, served with dried berry bread, honey from Gardås forest and rhubarb marmalade) 

    Tjukkmjølk-Pudding med Skogens Syrlige Bær / Thick Milk Pudding with Forest Berries

    (Thick milk from Håvardsrud Seterliv and berries from the local forest)

    Bålkaffe og Bakst / Campfire Coffee and Baked Goods

    (Coffee made by Ola Hov, snipp from Mollas Bakery, kling and rømmebrød fra Uvdalsleiven Tradisjonsbakst)

    Brød og Smør & Spekemat / Bread and Butter & Cured Meats

    Numedal Matfestival (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…)

  • Norwegian Spring Potato Salad (Potetsalat)

    Norwegian Spring Potato Salad (Potetsalat)

    Norwegian Spring Potato SaladThe roosters and hens have given a whole new meaning to the term ‘free range’ these days. Making their rounds, they circle up into the woods and around the kitchen garden just before sunbathing and slumbering below my kitchen window. They continue on following a makeshift pathway down a small slope to the main lawn and heading back to their coop for another siesta. They make this journey a couple of times a day and the roosters crow every once in awhile as if to give me some sort of sense that their journey under the sun is going well. Very well.

    Norwegian Spring Potato Salad

    Norwegian Spring Potato Salad (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…)