Mother nature has been busy these past few days. Our snow has almost entirely melted and our skies have been clear and bright. The sunrises and sunsets have been a vibrant aura of orange, red, yellow, pink and purple hues. Temperatures have been higher than normal and it almost feels as though spring is just around the corner. The weather has a calmness to it, like the stillness of a snow globe when it rests on a shelf, unsuspecting of change. Seemingly ignorant that at any moment everything could change. (more…)
Tag: Nuts & Seeds
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Rutabaga & Apple Salad (Kålrabi Salat med Epler)
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Snurrer with Plums and Almond Custard
Lightly sweetened buns, boller, are one of the most beloved breads in Norway. The sweet-smelling aroma coming from boller just baked in the oven is comfort at its best. The milk-based breads are soft and fluffy and lightly scented with spicy cardamom. They are simply divine in their subtleties. The most basic recipe features nothing other than this golden bun and its cardamom, which deserves its own post as it is the mecca for all other types of boller in Norway. This I will be sure to write about sometime in the near future.This recipe, however, is a little bit indulgent. Baking like this seems to occur more frequently when autumn is at its height and winter is peaking its head around the corner. Here I use the boller dough as a base while creating a variation on the filling and then rolling it like you would a cinnamon bun, which then gets the name snurrer in Norwegian.
I wanted to utilise the plums which I had picked from our tree and made jam out of a few weeks back. Homemade plum jam with boller. Perfection.
Plums have been cultivated since the 1700s in Norway, making the use of plums in Norwegian cooking a 300 year old tradition.
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Rustic Pear Tart with Blue Cheese, Honey & Walnuts (Pæreterte)
Anywhere there is community and a sense of connectedness, there is always the act of giving, sharing and receiving. And that is exactly what I experience daily where I live. When there is a need or a want, there are many who come forward. They share their time, their skills and their resources. There is also an incredible sense of support in aiding in the success of others.When I was asked to make a recipe which I could share on the blog and on a feature about North Wild Kitchen for NRK, I knew it had to center around what was currently available in and around my area, which I could source locally and which highlights the season. I had received a message earlier from Laila, my not-so-far-away neighbor, that she had an abundance of pears and if I wanted to, I should feel free to stop by. I then knew I should make something which features these amazing little pears. Within a few short hours, I already had the assistance of my community in sourcing the rest of the ingredients. And so it was, the savory pear tart was starting to come to fruition.
This recipe, although not necessarily Norwegian, highlights just a few of the amazing products being produced in this region (and just a little beyond). From the local honning (honey) produced from Rud Gård in Rollag to blåmuggost (blue cheese) from Thorbjørnrud Hotel in the bordering county of Oppland and to gråpære (pears) picked locally from the Juleshuset in Numedal. Even the flour was provided by the local bakery, Veggli Bakeri. In a way, this tart is really just an example of the many flavors and quality products which Norwegians are producing and using.
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Eplekake (Apple Cake)
Apple trees across the valley hang a little heavier these days, their branches full of the fruit which has been growing and ripening over the past few weeks. The ground beneath them is dotted with hues of red and green and yellow as if it were merely a reflection of the tree itself covered in the same hues. The branches hang low and graze the grass, having given way to gravity and appearing in need of having their seasonal burden lifted. And so, kids and adults alike grab baskets and bowls and pluck the fruit from the low branches and climb on ladders to reach those on the very top. It’s a joyous time, when nature’s bounty can be harvested and enjoyed.Apples have been a part of Norway and Northern Europe for quite some time, stretching back to the Stone Age and possibly beyond. Linguistically, the word eple is common in Northern European languages. Findings from the Viking Ship, the Oseberg, revealed 54 well-preserved wild apples, which are just slightly smaller than the wild apples we have today. Much of the apples in Norway have been cultivated and have derived from the practice of grafting, or taking a branch from one tree and attaching it to a different tree so that it may heal quickly and become part of that tree. The art of grafting was quite common among monasteries in Norway following the introduction of Christianity in the 1000’s. Nursery catalogs from 1895-1902 talk about wild stems which were sold by the thousands for grafting purposes, leaving the question of just how ‘wild’ are the wild apples in Norway today. (more…)
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Savory Berry Tartlets (Bærpai)
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. -
Knekkebrød (Norwegian Crisp Bread)
A Norwegian breakfast and lunch is never complete without a slice of bread or a type of knekkebrød. These ‘crisp breads’ or ‘breaking breads’ which are flat and dry, resembling a cracker, probably originated in Scandinavia close to 500 years ago. Some sources say that crisp bread was a staple of the Vikings as they could store them for long periods of time. These crisp breads would have been baked on hot stones, while today’s knekkebrød is baked in the oven. Baking them in the oven is what makes these crisp breads so different from the Norwegian flatbrød, which is baked on a flat griddle, much like lefse.Once considered a poor man’s diet, knekkebrød has become widely popular boasting a healthy lifestyle with numerous variants from slightly sweet to nutty to herby & salty. They are easy to make, forgiving, and require only a few ingredients, which can be interchanged depending on what you have available in your cupboards. All one needs is a little imagination and water.
