North Wild Kitchen

Tag: Mains

  • Rømmegrøt with Homemade Sour Cream

    Rømmegrøt with Homemade Sour Cream

    Rømmegrøt with Homemade Sour Cream (Norwegian Sour Cream Porridge) Rømmegrøt with Homemade Sour CreamMy visit to Slettastølen Seter introduced me to the Norwegian Seter Life, or mountain farm life. Sonja treated me to a banquet of homemade delights with various cheeses (including her recipe for farm cheese), fruit jams, and her homemade rømmegrøt made from her own sour cream using her cow’s milk.

    There’s nothing quite like homemade sour cream. There’s a certain softness to it that is unlike any store-bought sour cream. It’s smooth and not as thick. It’s very enjoyable and it makes for the best rømmegrøt (sour cream porridge) you could ever have.

    Sonja’s rømmegrøt is by far the best I have ever tasted and I believe it is because of the quality of her rømme (sour cream). She uses raw milk that she has milked from her dairy cows. The cows graze among the mountain pastures all summer long, making the milk taste even better. She separates the cream from the milk, then adds in her starter of sour cream from a previous batch and lets it sit overnight until it has reached the desired sourness. It’s a simple process and one that Sonja repeats throughout the summer, which sustains her family and guests. (more…)

  • Savory Berry Tartlets (Bærpai)

    Savory Berry Tartlets (Bærpai)

    Savory Berry Tartlets (Velsmakende Baerpai)Savory Berry Tartlets (Velsmakende Baerpai)Berry season is nearing its end for the year as the tips of the trees give way to yellow, orange and red hues. Cooler days and the welcome of autumn bring a shift in the kitchen from light fare to more hearty and warm dishes. With more than my fair share of wild berries resting on my countertop, my thoughts are immediately filled with dreams of baked goods and their aroma sifting from the kitchen. Berries paired with dough. Their sweetness nestled in a blanket of creamy cheese surrounded by a hazelnut crust and drizzled with local honey. Just large enough to be handheld, cut into little servings and shared among friends.

    Savory Berry Tartlets (Velsmakende Baerpai) (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…)

  • 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…)

  • 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…)

  • Pan-Seared Fish & Radish Salad with Slow-Fried Potatoes

    Pan-Seared Fish & Radish Salad with Slow-Fried Potatoes

    It’s that time of year when winter seems to be letting go of its grasp upon the terrain. The daylight sojourns longer and the trees aren’t wrapped in a constant blanket of snow. It’s that time when you start to anticipate an early spring, even though you know full well winter is not quite ready to say its farewells. And like a passionate game of tug-a-war, you go back and forth between the stronghold of winter and the up and coming burst of spring.

    Instead of serving up a hot lapskus/stew or heartier fare, the plate yearns for something which resembles a longing for spring, but yet still understands its place in the winter. And this salad – a warm & substantial salad – does just that. With fish and almond potatoes from northern Norway at its center, it is dressed up in simple greens, seared radishes and fresh dill. A salad befitting of both seasons. Something to bring harmony to the in-between.  Simple, yet complex. Elegant, yet rustic. Light, yet satisfying.

    Pan-Seared Fish & Radish Salad with Slow Fried PotatoesPan-Seared Fish & Radish Salad with Slow-Fried Potatoes Pan-Seared Fish & Radish Salad with Slow-Fried Potatoes (more…)