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.
Serving 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.
Tag: norskmat
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Påske Lamb with Orange & Dill Sauce
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Cucumber & Radish Salad (Agurksalat med Reddik)
Spring is on the horizon, and I’m beginning to see green amidst all the snow lying heavy over the farm. The tulips, perched near the windowsill, are blossoming as the rays of sunshine cover each stalk & petal. The days are longer, the sun is brighter and the seasons are blending into one another.
It’s around this time of year that a certain fruit makes its start into full-time production mode, thanks to a little help from greenhouses everywhere. The humble, and very popular, cucumber. Each year, Norway produces around 16,000 tons and imports 8,000 tons to meet the high demand of Norwegians everywhere. Norwegians will consume close to 25,000 tons of cucumbers per year.∗ And while cucumbers thrive in the summer months, the demand is such that they has become a year-round commodity. A permanent fixture in the Norwegian home.
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Lompe with Carmelized Onions & Roasted Tomatoes
Brunch is one of those meals, where anything goes. Hot and cold. Savory and sweet. Honestly, it’s just a good excuse to discard routine mealtimes and have people around to share a laugh, some stories and some good food. One of my favorite little dishes to serve is carmelized onions and roasted tomatoes atop gently fried Norwegian lompe.
Lomper are flat, round potato ‘cakes’, or smaller versions of potato lefse. Lompe is incredibly easy to make at home, with only a few ingredients – a recipe we will touch on in the near future. The great thing, about most baked flatbreads, is that it’s versatile. While it is quite common here in Norway to eat a sausage/pølse wrapped in a lompe, or have it spread with something sweet, I like to think of lompe as a creative base that’s at its best when fried in a little oil. By frying the lompe, the taste is more prominent, with a slight sweetness, making it an ideal base for a variety of toppings. It also makes it a little crispier, lending a greater texture.
With winter still dredging its heels, it’s nice to have something that can give a glimpse into summer. Cherry tomatoes are perfect for freezing whole with their skins on. So, if you’re like me and end up with a little too many after the summer harvest, you can simple freeze them and take a couple out when needed to either roast them in the oven or use in soups and sauces.
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Veggli Bakeri & Kafe + Trillemarka Inspired Barley Bread
The smell of bread slowly baking is one of the most delightful and simple pleasures in life. As I walked through the doors of Veggli Bakeri og Kafe, I felt welcomed in by that sweet aroma and the warmth from the ovens hiding behind a single, wide-open door. Even more welcoming were the smiles that beckoned me. And I was eager to learn more about this town institution and about the people who work all sorts of hours to create their breads and baked goods to be served and sold across shops throughout the area.
I was going to learn to make Trillemarkabrød. An homage to the natural reserve of Trillemarka, which lies between the two valleys of Sigdal and Numedal and is Norway’s largest forest reserve. A special loaf they created, packed full of grains and seeds and cooked lovingly in their old oven.
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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.
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Aquavit, Raspberry & Cardamom Sorbet (Akevittsorbet)
A friend once introduced me to the amazing combination of vodka, lemon and black pepper, frozen together in a state of utmost bliss. Saved for a special occasion, and served in the heart of winter. Something about fire and ice. Opposites.
Here in Norway, we have firewater. Aquavit (akevitt), that is. Golden or as clear as crystal and as hot on the throat as lava. There’s a saying that goes:
Drik min ven, men drik med maade;
drik, men lad fornuften raade.
Drink, my friend, but drink with moderations;
drink, but let good judgement rule.∗
