North Wild Kitchen

Tag: new nordic

  • Cheesy Rutabaga, Bread & Beer Bake with Vinegary Greens, Toasted Mustard Seeds, and Horseradish

    Cheesy Rutabaga, Bread & Beer Bake with Vinegary Greens, Toasted Mustard Seeds, and Horseradish

    Cheesy Rutabaga & Beer Bake served with Vinegary Greens, Toasted Mustard Seeds and HorseradishCheesy Rutabaga & Beer Bake served with Vinegary Greens, Toasted Mustard Seeds and Horseradish

    This is the second part of my three-part series of autumn dishes featuring Rutabaga

    Rutabaga (aka kålrot, kålrabi, swede) is one of those vegetables that can easily be overlooked, but has long been used in Norwegian and Scandinavian cooking. It takes on a whole other flavor and quality when cooked and this cheesy rutabaga bake merely affirms just how amazing rutabaga is.

    In case you missed it, the first recipe featured was Flourless Rutabaga Roulade with Cardamom Cream. This time around, I wanted a savory take on rutabaga. When combined with cheese, bread, and beer, it makes for one incredibly rich and delicious comfort dish. To round it off, I pair it with vinegary spinach leaves and top it with toasted brown mustard seeds and some grated horseradish. (more…)

  • Flourless Rutabaga Roulade with Cardamom Cream (Kålrabirullekake med kardemommekrem)

    Flourless Rutabaga Roulade with Cardamom Cream (Kålrabirullekake med kardemommekrem)

    Flourless Rutabaga Roulade with Cardamom Cream (Kålrabirullekake med kardemommekrem) Flourless Rutabaga Roulade with Cardamom Cream (Kålrabirullekake med kardemommekrem)

    This is the first part of my three-part series of autumn dishes featuring rutabaga.

    For me, these days have been all about rutabaga, or kålrabi, kålrot, swede, and neep. Those large, matte-purple, and slightly rough-looking root vegetables, which are a cross between a turnip and a cabbage. They are also referred to as Nordens appelsin, or “the North’s orange” because of their high content of Vitamin C. The idea of cooking one, let alone eating one, can seem daunting – leaving them often overlooked or reserved only for specific dishes throughout the year. But, they are a vegetable I have become quite smitten with since being introduced to the Scandinavian lifestyle. (more…)

  • Crusty Rolls with Oats (Rundstykker med Havregryn)

    Crusty Rolls with Oats (Rundstykker med Havregryn)

    Norwegian Crusty Rolls with Oats (Rundstykker med Havregryn)It’s not difficult to see just how important bread plays a role in Norway. The Nordic food culture is built upon grains and the varieties of bread types have an historic thread throughout the region.

    The most usual practice was to mix a variety of grains for daily bread or porridges. These grains would have been course and unrefined – with refined flours only entering the diet in the 1900s. The most common cereals would have been rye, barley and oat. Wheat and wheat flour were viewed as luxury (high society) items, but they eventually became common for all classes of society in the late 1800s. (more…)

  • Potato Dumplings with Spring Vegetables (Raspeballer)

    Potato Dumplings with Spring Vegetables (Raspeballer)

    Norwegian Potato Dumplings with Spring Vegetables (Raspeballer)Norwegian Potato Dumplings with Spring Vegetables (Raspeballer)One of my first introductions to Norwegian food was raspeballer, potato dumplings. The memory of my husband’s grandmother proudly shaping a mixture of potato and flour into large rounds the size of my fist is one I have imprinted in my memory. She served them with boiled meat and large sausages. Less that was not enough, she also topped them with a generous portion of fried bacon and fat.

    It’s no surprise they lean toward the starchy and dense side with a tendency to stick to your ribs. They are reminiscent of a traditional Norwegian lifestyle, where simple foods that filled you up were the order of the day. Nonetheless, they are good and satisfy those salty, hearty, meat-indulgent, comfort food cravings that pop up now and then. Therefore, it’s easy to see why they have earned a place in the mainstream diet. Even the mere mention of them has people swooning over the memories these conjur up. (more…)

  • Hand-Cut Rye Noodles with Beer-Braised Beef

    Hand-Cut Rye Noodles with Beer-Braised Beef

    Hand-Cut Rye Noodles with Beer-Braised Beef Hand-Cut Rye Noodles with Beer-Braised BeefThis is part 2 of my @noodleholicsparty  challenge – where a group of food bloggers shared their favorite noodle dishes from around the globe. If you missed part 1 from last week, I created an elegant version of Juniper Berry & Barley Noodles with Creamy Chanterelles.

    But just to recap, although noodles are not part of the traditional Norwegian food culture, I found this challenge to be an interesting one to take on. I wanted to showcase just what a Norwegian noodle dish might look like. Because, after all, noodles are made with simple base ingredients. The same ingredients that are the building blocks for Norwegian breads, like lefse and flatbrød. So even though there has never been a distinctive Norwegian noodle, there is no reason there shouldn’t have been or should be one now.

    Hand-Cut Rye Noodles with Beer-Braised Beef Hand-Cut Rye Noodles with Beer-Braised Beef (more…)

  • Juniper Berry & Barley Noodles with Creamy Chanterelles

    Juniper Berry & Barley Noodles with Creamy Chanterelles

    Juniper Berry & Barley Noodles with Creamy Chanterelles Juniper Berry & Barley Noodles with Creamy ChanterellesWhen you think of noodles, you probably conjur up images of Italian pasta or Asian noodles or perhaps even German spätzle. The thought of a Norwegian noodle would probably never come up, and rightly so. Therefore, you might be wondering why I am posting a pasta dish.

    Well…

    I was invited to take part in @noodleholicsparty, a virtual gathering of fellow food bloggers celebrating noodles from all around the globe. That is to say, food lovers from all over expressing their versions of this cross-cultural staple. See the bottom of this post for all the participants and their dishes. I have a love affair with noodles, so I was immediately interested, but also hesitant at the same time because Norway does not have a version of the noodle. In fact, the macaroni did not enter Norway until 1913. Nowadays, noodles are borrowed and usually kept within their respective countries framework.

    However, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to showcase just what a Norwegian noodle dish might look like. Because, after all, noodles are made with simple base ingredients. The same ingredients that are the building blocks for Norwegian breads, like lefse and flatbrød. So even though there has never been a distinctive Norwegian noodle, there is no reason there shouldn’t have been or should be one now. (more…)