North Wild Kitchen

Tag: snack

Pinnekjøtt with Flatbread, Rutabaga, Crispy Potatoes & Lemon Browned Butter

Traditions are like threads. Threads pieced together from generation to generation. Some threads break loose and are replaced with newer ones, but others remain at the core. The dishes we eat are just a few of those threads. Everyone has their favorites, their must-haves, and when those are satisfied, there’s room for a few new threads.

Tradition is a celebration of time past and tells the stories that make up our memories, but it also celebrates the present and our evolving tastes. In tradition, there is room for innovation and the embrace of individual desires.

While reflecting over Norwegian Christmas traditions, I was asked, dare I say challenged, to come up with a unique way of presenting the dish that one third of Norwegians consume every Christmas Eve. Pinekjøtt. Rather than create smoke and mirrors, I decided to package it all in a different way.

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December 19, 2016
Sirupskake (Layered Spice Cake with Candied Oranges )

The sound of wood crackling in the fireplace. A good friend stopping by for the day. The trickle of snow seen from the window. Folk music resounding and the smell of fragrant spices filling the air. The atmosphere seems too enticing, as if you could eat it all up. It can only mean one thing. Holiday baking has begun.

Quite recently I visited the Rollag Bygdekvinnelag, a wonderful group of ladies who meet throughout the year to swap stories, share meals, go on excursions, and maintain traditions, which have been shared and passed down through the women in the area. I was invited to look through some old cookbooks that had been kept within each respective family for generations. Some dated back to the 1800s and some were as recent as the 1970s. Mostly all were handwritten and well-used with smudges and small tears caressing the pages.

Pages filled with exciting and interesting recipes. Some still popular today, some forgotten, some a bit more unusual and some, perhaps, better left as ink on the page. With the holiday season fast approaching, a few of the traditional baked goods popped out at me. One of them being, sirupskake or syrup cake.

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December 1, 2016
Multekarameller (Cloudberry Caramels with Sea Salt)

This recipe is not one that you can just make at any time and anywhere. It’s a special recipe featuring Norway’s golden berry. A berry that grows in the mountains and gets the nickname fjellets gull (mountain’s gold) because of its color and the fact that finding them is like discovering hidden treasure. The season is short and those who manage to get a hold of them will usually freeze them and save them for a celebration or a holiday such as Christmas. These berries, known as multebær or cloudberries, are, in short, one of a kind.

With this in mind, it is possible to substitute the berries with another berry of your choice, however, the flavor will not be the same at all. I do hope this recipe will evoke a sense of curiosity and a desire to one day try these berries if you have not been able to do so. They grow in North America and Scandinavia around early August. They have a unique and very aromatic taste; a combination of sweetness and acidity. (more…)

November 9, 2016
Lapper med Øl (Norwegian Flat Cakes with Beer)

Lapper is a traditional Norwegian flat cake similar to that of an American pancake, but by no means the same. Flat cakes have a long tradition in Norway, particularly in western Norway, which stretches back to the 1300s when the daily lives of most Norwegians were marked by poverty. Every ingredient was used to its fullest so as not to waste it. Sour milk, surmelk, was a common commodity and families would use the leftovers and mix with dry goods to be baked. The cakes were then served alongside Saturday coffee.

I would say lapper is a variation of svele. A sibling, perhaps. They’re family. They have similarities. They have differences. Sometimes they overlap. You may not be able to tell them apart. They have different facets depending upon the ingredients available in various regions of Norway. Yet, svele is the more-well known term deeply rooted in western Norway. Around the 1920s it began to be associated with ferry-travel and tradition stands that customers should eat one aboard as they begin their journey. (more…)

October 25, 2016
Surost (Homemade Farm Cheese)

Following a magnificent seter feast filled with Sonja’s homemade products of cheese, cream, jams and cured meat, Sonja shared her recipe for surost.

Surost is a farmhouse cheese made from fresh cow’s milk which has been left to sit overnight in a warm spot to allow for curdling. The milk takes on a slightly sour taste, hence the name ‘sur’ ost. When it is ready, Sonja takes some of the sour milk from the container into a large pot and places the pot into a water bath on the stove. Within a short time, the curds separate from the whey and are placed in a colander where the whey continues to strain out.

This process is very simple and very effective. The cheese is similar to cottage cheese, yet with a tad more tanginess that comes from the milk being sour. I debated whether to provide an alternative recipe using pasteurised milk, but this simply would not be the same since pasteurised milk can not be left to sour. True surost must be made out of soured milk. You can, however, make a simple farm cheese with pasteurised milk by adding an acid to it, such as vinegar, while you heat it directly in a pot over the stove. A good recipe for this can be found from the Nourished Kitchen. (more…)

September 9, 2016
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.

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August 26, 2016