Norwegian cuisine. Norwegian dishes
The traditional cuisine of a particular region is an integral part of its cultural component. Thus, in some countries, the familiar borscht is considered food for the poor, and okroshka is completely bewildering, while few Russians can boast of a love for tuna eyeballs or rotten cheese. However, Norway will not present any special surprises in this regard - the traditional food here, although somewhat surprising, is almost always to the taste of tourists.
Interesting features of the national cuisine of Norway
The same severity for which this country is so valued, in terms of food, has made it original and unpretentious. For a long time The isolation of the continent contributed to the fact that rather monotonous peasant food reigned on the tables of local residents. However, over time, a real revolution took place in Norwegian cuisine - preserving traditions and at the same time diversifying them with some innovations, local chefs elevated it to the absolute level. Today you don’t even have to wonder what they eat in Russia, since the answer will be clear - exclusively fresh, healthy and tasty food. It’s not for nothing that local chefs are reputed to be the best in Europe.
The basis traditional cuisine Norway consists of fish and seafood. Considerable importance is also attached to meat, cereals and dairy products. The main feature of Norwegian food is the exceptional freshness of all products and ingredients.
Fish and seafood
It’s hard to imagine traditional Norwegian dishes without the inhabitants of the sea, because here it is considered the main type of food production, which is taught almost from the cradle. Norwegians prepare fish in a wide variety of ways - baked, boiled, dried, smoked, dried, pickled. The most popular Norwegian fish dishes include:
Meat and game
First of all, it is worth noting Norwegian lamb, which is rightfully considered the best in the world. Since local sheep graze on ecologically clean meadows, in the bosom of untouched nature, their meat is distinguished by its unimaginable juiciness and tenderness. Traditional lamb dishes in Norway are:
Whale meat is considered a great delicacy in Norway. However, it earned such an honor not due to its special taste, more similar to beef, but because of its inaccessibility and high cost in modern markets.
Game plays a significant part in the Norwegian diet. They either buy it directly from hunters or get it themselves - meat on the shelves in the supermarket is considered bad manners here, which cannot be said about the markets. A tourist should definitely try dishes made from elk, deer or partridge.
Dairy products in the national cuisine of Norway
Norwegians are firmly convinced that the milk of local cows is perhaps the most delicious and nutritious in the world. Local residents have a special love for cheese. In particular, one of the representatives traditional dishes Norway is Brunust. This is a special caramelized sheep's milk cheese that is somewhat reminiscent of boiled condensed milk or toffee. Gamalusta, literally an old cheese, is also popular among the local population. Few tourists dare to try it.
Desserts and drinks
In Norway, the favorite thing to do is baked goods. However, previously the available types of flour were from cereals that were not very suitable for yeast dough. But today, local chefs are happily making up for lost time by baking apple pies, cinnamon rolls, waffles and cookies. Various mousses, soufflés and fruit cakes are also popular here as desserts.
Once upon a time, the most popular traditional drink in Norway was blende - whey diluted with water. However, today the average Norwegian cannot imagine his life without coffee. Among alcoholic drinks, locals love beer and aquavit, which is distilled from potatoes and infused in wooden barrels.
Norwegian cuisine is famous for its fish dishes and seafood, the pride of which is Kamchatka crab. And although most of the dishes of Norwegian cuisine seem familiar and home-like, some of the traditional Norwegian dishes can only be enjoyed by true gourmets.
Fans of gastronomic tourism will certainly find many unexpected dishes, including smoked lamb's head or fermented trout.
Local ingredients
The main ingredient of Norwegian cuisine is fish; Norwegian salmon, dried cod and trout are very popular. Norwegian fish is of excellent quality and unsurpassed taste.
In Norway, meat is eaten much less often than fish; most often on the table in a Norwegian family you can find lamb, much less often beef and extremely rarely pork. The meat is often served with sweet and sour and berry sauces.
The most popular side dish in Norway is potatoes, followed by various cereals.
Dry bread or flatbreads are used as bread.
Despite the lack of a large number of vegetables in the diet, Norwegian cuisine is considered one of the healthiest in the world, and it’s not for nothing that the people of Scandinavia are famous for their longevity and good health.
The national Norwegian drink is Aquavit - a strong potato infusion with herbs. The most famous brand is "linier", which means equator. In order for the drink to be prepared correctly, it is transported in barrels to the southern hemisphere and back, crossing the equator, hence the name. It is customary to drink aquavit ice cold.
Many families prepare homemade beer; there are no leading beer brands in the country.
Norway is the second largest coffee drinking country in the world. Most Norwegians drink coffee without sugar or milk.
Traditional Norwegian cuisine is associated with the gifts of the northern seas. The fishing industry here is very well developed. Therefore among popular dishes Norway's world-famous dishes include salmon, shrimp, and cod. Thus, fried or smoked salmon is called laks, and is sold in most stores in the country. You can also try it in restaurants.
Smoked and dried fish are everywhere, and beer is almost not considered an alcoholic drink here. So you are guaranteed a delicious snack with beer. In addition, whale meat can also be found among the country’s national dishes, although it is quite rare. However, whale fishing is now controlled, and many species are protected.
Of course, cheese remains among the popular dishes in Norway. It can be found everywhere, in restaurants, shops, and fairs. For example, this brown cheese, or brown cheese, has a peculiar taste of boiled condensed milk.
Forikol is made from mutton or tender lamb meat and served with potatoes. Smalakhove is a stewed lamb's head.
Sandwiches with vegetables and sausage, familiar to us from childhood, are called cleverly, smörbröd, and are served in many restaurants as original local dishes. However, they are popular among tourists who want a quick bite.
Due to the harsh climate of the country, there is practically no wheat bread here. Bakery products made from barley and oats, they are hard and dry; some flatbreads are comparable to pita bread. For example, there is lefse, which is included in many dishes. Potatoes are added to this bread, it becomes softer.
Lutefisk meat is popular among fish dishes. This dish is prepared from common varieties of fish; the meat is soaked in alkaline solutions. As a result, the product receives a specific pungent taste and aroma. It is often served with Brunost cheese or regular goat cheese Geitost.
Norway's drinks are quite traditional. Coffee is revered and respected here, and they prepare it well. But beer is considered almost the main drink of the country. Previously, beer was brewed in almost every home independently.
You can also try aquavit. This “water of life” is made from potatoes, and is a bit like regular vodka, or rather whiskey. Aromatic spices are often added to it. The most expensive type of drink is called linier aquavit. Before being poured into glasses, the drink is transported by sea to the southern hemisphere and back, it is saturated with the aroma of wood and is well mixed.
In recent years, a real revolution has quietly taken place in Norwegian restaurants and in ordinary home kitchens - mainly thanks to the appearance of local organic products on the shelves. Of course, this is largely due to the growing prosperity of the population as a whole and the general desire to spend more money on quality products. But a newfound pride in Norwegian culinary traditions also played an important role.
In terms of nutrition, those growing up in Norway in the 70s and 80s had a pretty bleak childhood. The same dishes were prepared day after day (at least that’s how many people remembered it). Therefore, many Norwegians went on holiday to Italy and France, precisely to enjoy their amazing food. Norwegian cuisine is very different, but could we achieve the same sense of self-worth?
The first thing we had to do was to determine what the essence of Norwegian cuisine was. The answer to this question lay in features of Norwegian agriculture. Sheep and goats graze in remote pastures. And the clean environment and cold climate make it possible to grow fruits, vegetables and berries without the use of pesticides. Milk, cheeses and meats are produced on small farms, in disease-free conditions and in accordance with strict animal husbandry laws and regulations. And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the long coastline and sea, rich in fish and seafood.
Norwegians have worked hard to restore national pride at all levels of the food industry, and this work has produced significant results. Local products are taking up more and more space on supermarket shelves, while new small producers of cheeses, honey, baked goods and organic meats are regularly popping up across the country. Not to mention the microbreweries that are experimenting with beer recipes. And since Norway is one of the three countries that consume the most coffee, it is not at all surprising that we strive to come up with the best roast in the world.
You can get acquainted with the traditions of different regions and plunge into the palette of tastes at one of the gastronomic festivals: Gladmat in Stavanger, Smak in Tromsë and Trøndersk matfestival in Trondheim.
In the same time Norwegian chefs have managed to gain a good reputation on the world stage, having received, in particular, several prizes in the prestigious international culinary competition Bocuse d’Or. In 2016, Maaemo became the first Norwegian restaurant to receive three Michelin stars. This restaurant was also named one of the best in the world in the World's 50 Best Restaurants category.
Finally a decent dinner was served. Please join us!
Chapter:
Classic dishes national cuisines
12th page
NORWEGIAN DISHES
About Norwegian cuisine
The harsh nature, inaccessibility of this northern country in former times and the local range of products made its cuisine very original. First of all, Norwegians focus on fish dishes. Norwegian herring is famous far beyond the country's borders, and other fish delicacies from Norway are known to many gourmets around the world. But the Norwegians themselves cannot boast of an abundance of exotic dishes on their menu. The majority of the population views food as a means of maintaining life and energy, and therefore is very demanding of its composition and quality, ignoring unnecessary culinary delights. In fact, from the point of view of most peoples it is difficult to call porridge the central dish at a feast, but the Norwegians, without hesitation, serve oatmeal with sour cream as a delicacy at parties.
Norway is a fishing country, so the main part of the local menu is fish and other seafood, primarily salmon, which Norwegians call salmon ( lacks), from which a huge number of dishes are prepared: for example, smoked salmon ( relax). Prepared in a special way gravlax: salmon is buried in the ground for several hours so that it has a little “smell.” It is eaten mainly at Christmas (this custom is called lutefisk). Norwegians know the difference between fish dried on the rocks of cliffs and those dried on wooden sticks. The uninitiated can distinguish them only by the holes on the fish dried on sticks. Very popular: cod (torsk) of all types, including the famous dried cod clipfix, fried flounder and halibut, a variety of cooked trout.
But, despite all this abundance of fish, the usual herring has long been, undoubtedly, the most favorite type of fish for Norwegians. Here it is considered one of the staple foods. And there is a lot of truth in the joke: “A true Norwegian eats herring twenty-one times a week.” What kind of dishes are prepared here from herring! These include cold appetizers, pates, salads, soups, hot dishes and even pies. There is a specific Norwegian dish - herring in dough. To prepare it, they prefer medium-sized and always fresh herring. Herring halves are dipped in liquid pancake batter and deep-fried until golden brown. Here it's called: "You'll lick your fingers!"
Today the whole world knows Norwegian herring with white sauce. The Norwegians themselves call it herring "Oslo". These are small rollopgs(boiled rolls) from herring fillet under cream sauce with spices. Fish dishes here are served both hot and cold.
There is so much fish in Norwegian cuisine that you might lose sight of the fact that there is also a place for meat. Although often meat recipes There is also a “marine theme” - for example, in the name of the combination dish of meat, bacon, broth, potatoes and onions so beloved by Norwegians siemansbiff(it means naval meat). But there are also purely meat dishes: various steaks and steaks, roasts and schnitzels, meat stews with herbs, dishes made from wild animals such as elk and reindeer, and birds such as partridges. Meat dishes are usually served with side dishes of various legumes, cabbage and cereals. The national meat dish is beef meatballs kickballer; another traditional dish - fresh venison steak.
Considered a delicacy smalakhologist- whole roasted lamb head. In general, the meat of young lamb, which, due to the unpretentiousness of these animals, is most often consumed, is of excellent quality and is prepared in a variety of ways, such as lamb with cabbage far and calv. Lamb is usually prepared on holidays or for a Sunday meeting of guests. This dish consists of fried pieces of lamb and stewed cabbage, which are then baked together in a brown flour sauce.
But they eat here even more often everyone's favorite fried sausages. This amazing food can rightfully be called an example of Norwegian taste. You definitely won’t find anything like this anywhere else in the world! This one dish almost completely reflects the entire originality of Norwegian cuisine. When cooking, two sausages (like our sausages), fried until golden brown, are suddenly thrown into boiling water, but not boiled. You just need the crust to disappear. Then they are placed on sliced apples! All this is thoroughly flavored with vegetable oil, and in addition, pieces of butter. After this, the resulting culinary masterpiece is generously seasoned. granulated sugar and put it in the oven for half an hour!
Another non-Norwegian dish that has received a local “color” is goulash, who came over long distances from Hungary. But in Norway, before frying, the meat is certainly coated with mustard, and red pepper, so beloved by the Hungarians, is not added at all.
Although goulash is already a modern borrowing, Norwegian cuisine has enough of its own “specialty” dishes, for example bedbug. What is a bedbug? These are dumplings or small cutlets made from minced fish or beef in a milk-starch sauce. The minced meat for them is prepared like a cutlet, with the only difference being that the onions are already sautéed. In Norway there is a saying that “fish like to swim in their stomachs.” Therefore, fish bugs are usually served in large quantities beer.
Here are examples of a few more purely Norwegian dishes: Bergen fish soup(made from freshly caught salmon and cod), Norwegian roll(a piece of cheese is placed on a piece of ham, rolled up, tied with thread and fried), fish dumplings fiskebollar with a sauce made from sour milk, starch, wine, broth and lemon juice, pickled herring(pre-soak in a 1:1 mixture of water and milk for 12 hours), Norwegian puree soup(from kohlrabi with the addition of porcini mushrooms, cream and egg yolks), fish soup(with cod meatballs and ground nuts) and nut cake(prepared without flour with nuts and cracker crumbs).
Other famous dishes include: scallop stewed in milk with celery and garlic; cabbage roll, boiled shrimp(reker). Traditionally eaten whale meat, from which many dishes are prepared - after all, the Norwegians are still engaged in their traditional whaling. (Raw whale meat is large pieces of beautiful fillet of a dark purple color; cooked whale meat is similar in color to beef, it is nutritious and tasty, but the taste is peculiar - as they say, “neither fish nor meat,” i.e. in taste at the same time there are both meat and fish tones; the taste of whale meat goes especially well with peas or cabbage with onions.)
A favorite holiday dish is reindeer and roe deer liver.
Porridge and other cereal dishes occupy an important place on the table. They are served at any time of the day, and they are not considered shameful even on the menu of upscale restaurants. Wide range of products from potatoes, used as both independent dishes and as a side dish.
Almost all dishes are served with flat, crusty Norwegian bread. knekkbred, which is baked from thinly rolled dough. Potato bread is very tasty lefse.
For dessert, traditional pastries are usually served - various muffins, buns with fruit fillings, apple casserole with breadcrumbs and sour cream tislert bondepicker, cinnamon rolls Spillingballer, honey bread or even pancakes swelle.
And, of course, plays a huge role in the life of Norwegians milk. This is the most milk-drinking nation - for every breakfast, lunch, dinner and just like that. All kinds of dairy products are consumed everywhere and in huge quantities; for breakfast, a unique local delicacy is also required - goat cheese with a specific smell.
But milk played a tragic role in the fate of the Vikings who discovered America. Great lovers of milk, they once shared it with the Indians, with whom they had already established good neighborly relations. The Vikings could not even imagine that most adult Mongoloids had a natural intolerance to milk (lack of the enzyme lactase). The consequences of this joint festive feast for all the Indians were terrible, and they decided that the Vikings had insidiously poisoned them. From that moment on, the embittered Indians began to everywhere pursue and kill the newcomers, who were already very few in number. The connection between Europe and America was interrupted for half a millennium, but the descendants of the Vikings, who came later, no longer stood on ceremony with the Indians - instead of milk they “treated” the natives to a hail of bullets. The Europeans' dependence on the indigestion of the Indians was overcome.
Centuries ago, with the then shortage of southern spices, to flavor and add piquancy to foods, the Norwegians developed their own methods for improving the taste of dairy products, fish and meat. In many hot dishes, sour cream is often used, which replaces spices for Norwegians.
The Norwegians' favorite drink is coffee, which is drunk at any time of the day and in huge quantities. Various herbal tinctures, kefir and yoghurts, unique fruit “compotes” (apple drinks with honey are especially popular) and tea are also widely used.
From alcoholic drinks the most popular are beer, whiskey, vodka, gin and various liqueurs, but amber is considered a “purely Norwegian drink” Linier-aquavit(“living water”) or akevit- a kind of local moonshine made from potatoes seasoned with caraway seeds. LINIE means "equator". This drink owes its name to the fact that it is first transported in oak barrels by sea to the southern hemisphere and back, crossing the equator twice. Thanks to the constant movement inside the barrel, akevit absorbs the aroma of wood, acquires a pleasant velvety taste and yellowish color. And only after that the drink is bottled and goes on sale. On the inside of the label of each bottle you can read which ship transported the drink across the equator. Aquavit should be drunk slightly warmed.
NORWEGIAN HERRING SALAD
Ingredients
:
- salted herring 420 g,
- onion 100 g,
- vegetable oil 20 g,
- eggs 6 pcs.,
- vinegar 3% 60 g,
- table mustard 12 g,
- sugar 12 g,
- parsley 20 g,
- salt to taste.
Preparation
Soak the herring, then cut into clean fillets and cut into cubes. Chop the onion into crumbs and lightly sauté in oil. Beat 4 eggs with vinegar, pour in the sauteed onion and heat (the eggs should curl).
Then season with sugar, mustard and cool.
Place the prepared herring pieces into the cooled sauce.
Garnish with herbs and slices of two boiled eggs.
GLAMESTARSIL (GLAZER'S HERRING)
Ingredients
:
- herring (very fatty and lightly salted) 8 pcs.,
- onion 200 g,
- carrots 150 g,
- horseradish 30 g,
- vinegar 3% 300 g,
- water 400 g,
- powdered sugar 300 g,
- table mustard 30 g,
- ground red pepper 15 g,
- black peppercorns 10 g,
- bay leaf 10 pcs.,
- ginger, salt to taste.
Preparation
Clean the herring and soak in water for 12 hours, changing the water until it becomes clear. Cut into fillets with bones and finely chop.
Peel the onion, carrots and horseradish, chop, combine with pieces of herring, add spices.
Boil water with vinegar and powdered sugar and pour in the herring until it is completely covered (you can lightly press down with a weight).
Place in a cool place for 5 days (if more long-term storage the dish will become even tastier).
PELAMIDE IN NORWEGIAN
Ingredients
:
- bonito or sea bass 1.5 kg,
- carrots and celery root 100 g each,
- onion 50 g,
- vinegar 3% 50 g,
- shrimp 220 g,
- mayonnaise 400 g,
- anchovies 30 g,
- parsley, bay leaf, salt to taste.
Preparation
Clean the fish, cut into portions and simmer with the addition of carrots, onions, celery, vinegar, salt, bay leaf.
Cool the finished fish, place on a plate, and decorate with herbs.
Serve shrimp salad with mayonnaise and anchovies as a side dish.
NORWEGIAN SOUP
Ingredients
:
- broth 1 l,
- carrots 80 g,
- turnip 60 g,
- parsnips 120 g,
- onion 30 g,
- kohlrabi 80 g,
- porcini mushrooms 80 g,
- cream 80 g,
- egg yolks 2 pcs.,
- butter 20 g,
- salt to taste.
Preparation
Make puree from kohlrabi, dilute it with broth. Peel the remaining vegetables, cut into strips and sauté.
Place prepared vegetables and finely chopped boiled mushrooms in the soup, add salt and boil for 10 minutes.
Then season with cream, egg yolks and butter.
SPRING SOUP
Ingredients
:
- chicken 400 g,
- cauliflower 400 g,
- onions and carrots 60 g each,
- celery 20 g,
- spinach 160 g,
- parsley 12 g,
- green peas 250 g,
- white sauce 200 g,
- ice cream.
For the white sauce:
- flour 20-30 g,
- chicken broth.
For leison:
- egg yolk 1 pc.,
- cream 140 g,
- salt to taste.
Preparation
Pour water over the chicken, cook until tender, then strain the broth and cut the chicken into pieces.
Finely chop the cabbage, onion, celery, carrots, add green peas, pour in a little broth and simmer until tender. Finely chop the spinach and simmer with the addition of broth.
Prepare white sauce from browned flour and broth.
To prepare leison, mix raw yolk with cream, salt and boil in a water bath until sour cream thickens.
Into the boiling chicken bouillon put the stewed vegetables, white sauce and boil everything.
Before serving, cool the soup slightly, season with lemonade and sprinkle with chopped herbs.
FISH cabbage soup
Ingredients
:
For the broth:
- fresh fish 300 g,
- carrots 60 g,
- celery 30 g,
- parsley root 15 g,
- wheat flour 15 g,
- egg yolk 1 pc.,
For the meatballs:
- fish fillet 150 g,
- egg white 1 pc.,
- starch 15 g,
- sour cream 30 g,
- ground nuts 15 g,
- salt to taste.
Preparation
Make broth from pieces of fish, heads, bones, celery, parsley, 1/3 of carrots with added salt. Just before it's ready, season with browned flour. Strain the finished broth, remove the roots from the remainder, rub the rest (fish) through a sieve, add the remaining finely chopped carrots, peppers and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat, add the yolk, previously well mixed with a small amount of broth (or cream - to taste), into the soup while vigorously stirring and do not boil anymore.
Cooking meatballs. Pass the fish fillet through a meat grinder, add whipped egg whites, starch, nuts, sour cream, salt and form into small balls.
Boil the meatballs separately in salted water for 10-15 minutes.
When serving, place the meatballs on a plate and pour in the cabbage soup.
HERRING "OSLO"
Ingredients
:
- herring 500 g,
- butter 20 g,
- cream 100 g,
- black peppercorns 6 pcs.,
- bay leaf 1/2 pcs.,
- lemon juice or vinegar 20 g,
- ground black pepper, dill, salt to taste.
Preparation
Peel the herring, remove the entrails, cut into fillets with skin. Roll the fillets into rolls (roll-mops) and secure with wooden sticks.
Boil for 10-15 minutes (to taste and depending on the type of herring) in a small amount of salted water, adding bay leaf, peppercorns and dill.
Combine melted butter with cream, add ground pepper, salt, lemon juice and mix well.
Pour the prepared sauce over the herring and serve with boiled potatoes or vegetables.
Fiskebollar - fish bug, national Norwegian dish. It is usually served in white sauce, with a lot of herbs. As one proverb says, “fish love to swim in the stomach.” Therefore, this dish is usually served with a lot of beer.
FISKEBOLLAR
Ingredients
:
- fish fillet 500 g,
- bacon 25 g,
- margarine 20 g,
- onion 100 g,
- white bread 100 g,
- cream 40 g,
- ground red pepper, parsley, salt to taste,
For the sauce:
- butter 25 g,
- milk 250 g,
- curdled milk 120 g,
- starch 20 g,
- lemon juice,
- salt to taste.
Preparation
Pass the fish fillet through a meat grinder. Melt the diced bacon in a frying pan, add margarine, add finely chopped onion and lightly fry it. Soak a slice of bread in cream and knead.
Mix the prepared products, add salt, pepper and herbs. Form small dumplings and boil them in salted water over low heat for 20 minutes. Then remove the dumplings from the water and place in a warm place.
Preparing the sauce. Dilute starch in milk, pour into 200 g of boiling broth obtained from cooking dumplings, boil, add lemon juice, curdled milk, butter and salt.
Boil the fish dumplings in the sauce over very low heat.
Serve with potatoes.
SJEMANSBIFF (NAVY MEAT)
Ingredients
:
- beef pulp 400 g,
- onion 50 g,
- potatoes 600 g,
- bacon 90 g,
- meat broth 400 g,
- fat for frying,
- ground black pepper, table mustard, salt to taste.
Preparation
Cut the beef into portions, beat on both sides, coat with mustard, fry in fat and put in a clay pot.
Cut the potatoes into slices, the onion into slices, fry in bacon and place on the meat. Lightly salt and pepper each layer.
Pour the prepared products with broth, cover with a lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
KOTTBULAR (MEAT MEATBALLS)
Ingredients
:
- lamb (cutlet meat) 400 g,
- water 200 g,
- sour cream 200 g,
- wheat crackers 200 g,
- egg yolks 4 pcs.,
- butter 40 g,
- ground black pepper, salt to taste.
Preparation
Prepare minced meat from lamb, add water, sour cream, ground crackers, yolks, pepper, salt and beat to form a viscous mass. Form small balls from it and place them on a board moistened with water.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the balls in it. To ensure that the meatballs fry evenly, shake the pan periodically.
Serve mashed potatoes as a side dish.
LAMB WITH CABBAGE AND PEPPER
Ingredients
:
- lamb pulp 500 g,
- fresh white cabbage 1 kg,
- margarine 60 g,
- wheat flour 40 g,
- ground pepper, salt to taste.
Preparation
Cut the lamb into medium-sized pieces and fry in margarine, then add a little water, add salt and simmer. Shortly before it is ready, remove the meat and simmer cabbage, cut into large slices, in the resulting juice. When it is ready, transfer it along with the meat into a fireproof dish.
Mix the remaining juice with sautéed flour, add salt, pepper, a little water, boil to make a thick sauce, pour it over the cabbage and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve boiled potatoes with cumin as a side dish.
NUT CAKE
Ingredients
:
- walnuts 450 g,
- sugar 280 g,
- eggs 10 pcs.,
- lemon 1 pc.,
- cracker crumbs 80 g.
For cream:
- sugar 200 g,
- powdered sugar 100 g,
- flour 60 g,
- milk 180 g,
- eggs 5 pcs.,
- butter 250 g,
- vanilla sugar 5 g.
Preparation
Combine egg yolks with half the amount of sugar, beat until thick and add chopped nuts. Beat the whites until stiff, add the remaining sugar and combine with the yolks. Then add lemon juice, cracker crumbs, mix thoroughly and divide the mass into three equal parts.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 175°C.
Making custard. Grind the eggs with sugar, then combine with flour and mix until smooth. Continuously whisking the mixture, pour in hot milk in a thin stream, then put on the fire and cook, stirring, until thickened (the consistency of thick sour cream). Remove from heat, cool to 30°C, add softened butter and powdered sugar, vanilla sugar and continue beating until white and fluffy.
Layer the finished cakes custard and let stand in the cold for 1-2 hours.
Invitation to Norway!
The Tale of Fishermen and Fishes,
or
Magic in Norwegian
(impressions of a Russian tourist)
Severe and gentle, open and original, she welcomes you into the warm embrace of the Gulf Stream, spreads landscapes of unique beauty and grandeur at your feet and generously treats you with such treats that by the end of the first day of your stay in this country you want to become her eternal guest.
Royal meal
Only when you are here do you truly understand what a country of fishermen is. This is when there is so much fish that you can forget about meat without regret and enjoy discovering new ones every day. fish dishes. Salmon, halibut, trout, flounder, sea bass, mackerel, eel, haddock, moth, lure, cod, pollock, herring...
And this is not to mention lobsters, squid, crabs, mussels, shrimp and other seafood, the existence of which you don’t even suspect until you find yourself in this amazing country. They say that at the beginning of the twentieth century, the main dish of ordinary Norwegian workers was salmon in sour cream. Looking around, I readily believe it.
So, the first point of our “delicious” journey will be Stavanger - one of most beautiful places southwestern part of Norway. This city seems like a toy: cobbled streets with white wooden houses of ancient buildings, neat fences, and on them multi-colored ceramic pots with flowers, sparkling ships in the blue harbor, small shops with colorful shop windows, snow-white swans in the park pond... Like a children's artist only that he painted it all with fresh colors, Stavanger looks so clean and carefully washed.
Our Norwegian guide invites us to a cozy traditional restaurant, Food Story. Once upon a time, at the dawn of the last century, there was a fish storage area here. Now only the multi-tiered interior with log cabins and nets and other fishing utensils decorating the walls remind of this. Steeply wooden stairs we rise to the very top. And the candles are already burning on the table...
A Norwegian meal is a royal feast, for which it is worth saying goodbye to your diet for a while. Well, can you resist the most delicate salmon soup with saffron and mussels, cooked in cream with the addition of white wine? A fresh salad with shrimp and fennel, dressed with olive oil? It is sprinkled with grated nutmeg and sprinkled with lemon juice. Divine taste! Whatever you say, in this country the seafood prepared is simply magical.
By the way, in recent years, Norwegian chefs have managed to win a number of prestigious international awards for their culinary art. Today the country exports seafood to more than 150 countries, so local delicacies are known to many gourmets around the world. But let's go back to our restaurant, where so much was eaten and drunk during a leisurely conversation that not everyone managed to get up from the table. This is, of course, a joke.
In fact, the satiety of the Norwegian treat evokes extremely pleasant emotions. I want to sing with pleasure. Especially when the optimistic voices of young people are heard on the street, celebrating with beer and lively songs the victory of their native football team, which defended the honor of Stavanger. We go down, move along the embankment and enjoy the beauty of the stunning fjord.
Night. A warm gentle breeze pleasantly blows on your face. The water, shimmering with lights, reflects the colorful houses, decorously lined up on the opposite bank... Bliss...
“And tomorrow you will try another wonderful dish...” the guide warns. Of course, no one objects. The local cuisine is no less delicious than the local nature!
We like their tastes
It is simply surprising that the majority of Norwegian residents do not make a cult out of food, but treat it as a means of sustaining life. At the same time, the originality of culinary traditions is justified by the conditions offered to people environment. And all sorts of delights are rather a tribute to the modern mutual penetration of the cultural characteristics of different peoples.
So in recent years, national Norwegian cuisine has begun to mix with Mediterranean cuisine. But its main principle remained unshakable - maximum proximity to nature. No preservatives or surrogates, only environmentally friendly products! The first courses are fish soup, meat broths, puree soups. For the main course - fried or stewed fish - flounder, halibut or cod, smoked salmon, salted herring with a side dish of potatoes or spinach. The sauces here are usually seasoned with sour cream.
This may seem strange to us, not too big fans of porridge, but it is especially popular in Norway. flötegröt - wheat porridge, cooked with cream and raspberries. It is always served even at Norwegian diplomatic receptions. In general, cereals occupy one of the leading places in the diet of local residents, and, interestingly, they are proudly included in the menu of the most upscale restaurants. So don’t be surprised when you’re offered oatmeal with sour cream as a special treat. And what seems unusual to others is common food for Norwegians, the recipes of which go back to the distant past.
If you are lucky enough to become a guest of this country during the Christmas holidays, you will certainly be treated to lutefisk- a dish of dried cod soaked in a special solution (about lutefisk, see this section in the article on the “Swedish Cuisine” page). It is usually served with bacon and fresh potatoes or pea pudding.
Scallop stewed in milk with celery and garlic is incredibly tasty. Another popular delicacy is roe deer liver prepared according to a special recipe. You should definitely try local mussels, but not farmed ones, but wild ones. Their taste is particularly tender and richly saturated.
A waiter at a local restaurant will teach you a simple and very convenient way to eat mussels: you take an empty shell in your right hand as a fork and use its flaps as tongs.
You will be enchanted by meat truffles in cranberry jelly and salmon marinated in sugar syrup - a recognized delicacy and a real discovery even for the most sophisticated gourmet.
Many will like it bedbug. These are small cutlets - the most delicate dumplings made from minced beef or fish in a milk-starch sauce. In general, milk is a favorite drink in Norway. It is drunk from morning to evening and is actively used as an ingredient for hundreds of different dishes.
Another delicacy worth trying is whale meat, although hunting for these sea giants has recently been restricted by law.
Traditionally, smoked leg of lamb, pork ribs, and beef meatballs are served at the Christmas table. kickballer or a whole fried sheep's head - smalakhologist. But this is not for everyone. As well as the exotic dishes of the Sami reindeer herders: venison smoked on marrow bones or Finnybiff- thin slices of it, fried in sour cream and goat cheese.
By the way, the cheese itself is the real pride of Norwegians. Brown in color, smelling like boiled condensed milk and sour-sweet in taste, it is an indispensable component of a sandwich. But let’s return to fish, because while in Norway it is impossible to forget about it even for a second.
Silver of the sea
This is how Norwegians call herring, and this story is worth special attention. Here they like to repeat: “A true Norwegian eats herring twenty-one times a week.” To a Slav inexperienced in the methods of preparing herring, such a statement may seem strange. But how little, it turns out, we know about how to prepare this amazing fish!
Salads, pates, soups, hot dishes and cold appetizers, which is worth just the herring in dough, fried in narrow slices in a deep fryer in olive oil until an appetizing golden crust. The Norwegians call it “finger lickin’ good!”
And what a delight - tartlets with herring and cottage cheese mousse. And a salad of herring and gherkins in mustard sauce! On the second day of our stay in Norway, we were lucky enough not only to watch the work of the master chef of the culinary institute, but also to taste the dishes he prepared. We are happy to share the recipes we received.
Norwegian herring on skewers, seasoned with olives and lettuce
- 8 strips of fresh Norwegian herring fillets;
- 8 wooden skewers;
- 1 teaspoon ground lemon zest;
- salt and ground black pepper - to taste;
- 100 g mild oil for frying.
For seasoning:
- 4 tbsp. spoons of olives;
- 1 large pickled cucumber;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of capers;
- 1/4 clove of garlic;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of fresh, finely chopped parsley;
- 3 tbsp. spoons of olive oil;
- lemon juice - to taste.
Prepare the seasoning. Grind the ingredients and season lemon juice. Then put the herring on skewers, add salt and pepper and fry in a preheated hot frying pan with a generous layer of oil for 1 minute on each side. Add lemon zest at the end. Serve with seasoning.
Norwegian herring Matjes wrapped in bread
(recipe makes 4 servings)
- 8 pieces of Matjes herring fillet (salted herring);
- 4 pieces of bread for wrapping, soft tortillas or other thin bread;
- 1 avocado;
- 2 boiled eggs;
- 1 red onion;
- 2 fresh tomatoes;
- 4 tbsp. spoons of sour cream;
- 1 bunch of any lettuce;
- 2 pickled cucumbers.
Cut the herring into thin slices, peel and chop the avocado, eggs, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. Distribute the vegetables, lettuce and herring evenly on the bread. Season with sour cream and sprinkle with herbs. Then roll it up and cut it into pieces.
Remember: Norwegian fish is a unique and self-sufficient product. Therefore, the seasonings and sauces chosen for it should emphasize the natural shades of the rich range of its taste, and not clog or distort it.
Omega-3 - Secret Weapon, or Ordinary Miracle
Everyone knows about the benefits of fish. In outline. I honestly admit that much of what we heard about the magical properties of omega-3 was a revelation for me. It turns out that these fatty acids, which are found in fish such as trout, salmon, mackerel and herring, protect us from cardiovascular diseases, strengthen brain and nerve tissue, relieve inflammation and even protect the skin from sunburn. They also save you from stress and prevent depression, which often worsens in winter as daylight hours decrease.
As they explained to us, two “Omega days” per week are enough, and the necessary balance in the body is ensured. But, to be honest, we didn’t have to particularly advocate for the consumption of fish containing fatty acids. The result was obvious. Or more precisely on the faces of the surrounding Norwegians. Optimistic, friendly, childlike open people. Looking at them, I want to smile.
But this is not the only thing that attracts attention to them. I don’t immediately understand what’s going on, you just look around and catch yourself thinking: there’s something else about them... Well, of course - leather! Young, elastic, striking with a fresh, healthy shade. Regardless of age. It is at this moment that every tourist finally and irrevocably decides: I will be friends with the fish on my table. It’s not so difficult to provide two meals of fish a week, but what a result!
By the middle of their trip to Norway, all tourists begin to discover unexpected abilities. In some, half-forgotten knowledge of English suddenly awakens, while others are amazed by the geographical information that emerged from the school course. Of course, Omega-3 works! Or maybe all of amazing Norway in general.
And when the sea is rough...
“Dress warmly, we are flying north,” tourists are warned before flying to Lofoten Islands. Along the way, harsh panoramas of sparse landscapes, the discreet beauty of rocks against the backdrop of a whitish sky begin to be imagined in advance...
However, what you see here after landing is amazing. Northern Norway is a land with unreal, simply fantastic landscapes. The emerald green valley and the piercing blue of the sky meet on the horizon on one side, and on the other, mighty cliffs rise straight out of the sea. The dazzling sun plays on them, fabulously changing color from gray to blue. Milky clouds cover the tops of the mountains, and the air is permeated with such intoxicating freshness that you feel dizzy. One of the Norwegian writers once said: “In search of light, go north.”
Before you have time to recover from the first aesthetic shock, it is followed by a second, third, fourth... The Lofoten Islands are a northern paradise, lost in cold latitudes.
By car we get to Henningsvar - one of the local fishing villages. An amazingly beautiful place: colorful well-kept houses, open terraces overlooking the bay, wooden frames for drying cod and flowers, flowers, flowers... The facade of literally every building is decorated with them, and how these delicate plants do not freeze at night - only God knows .
In the evening we will have dinner at a local restaurant. On a special stand they bring us small glasses with three types aquavita, which translated means “water of life.” This Norwegian potato vodka has an amazing history. It was invented in early XIX century thanks to the ban on the production of alcohol from wheat, which was scarce at that time.
In 1907, a batch of this vodka was sent across the equator to Australia. A little later it turned out that the change in temperature amazingly changed the taste of the drink, giving it a special shade and aroma. Since then, transportation across the equator has become a tradition, as proudly announced on the bottle labels. Each offered glass of aquavit comes with its own herring appetizer. But all this is just an aperitif. A whole feast follows. It is customary to serve with all dishes knekkbred- crispy flat bread baked from thinly rolled dough. You won't try anything like this in other places! It’s so delicious that it’s simply impossible to stop.
And the next morning we set off on a new journey. You can’t miss the chance to go to sea on a real fishing schooner - it’s not just exotic, but pure delight! There is a piercing wind on deck. For protection, we will certainly put on the same blue overalls, which will make us look like participants in an unknown polar expedition. They are warm and cozy, and surrounded by a unique play of colors. This is just happiness for the photographer... There is no need for an artist with his easel here! Point the lens in any direction, and here it is - a masterpiece.
The schooner rocks on the waves. Seasickness? But her symptoms immediately disappear when the captain offers her fish soup. Real rich Norwegian soup, splashes of foaming waves, seagulls over the sea... Romance! The cherished dream of almost every resident of a stuffy metropolis.
It doesn't matter that we didn't catch any fish. But we got a huge crab from the nets, which we immediately sent to the kitchen. While the cook is preparing it, the captain of the tourist boat tells his sea stories. Believe them or not - everyone decides at their own discretion. The main thing is that at sea everyone can feel an amazing sense of belonging to the great, powerful element of an amazing and unique region - a truly magical kingdom of a dream come true.
Food for thought
Alcoholic drinks came to Norway in the 16th century and for a very long time were classified as medicines, due to the fact that they were infused with medicinal herbs. But Norwegian beer has a thousand-year history. Mungoth, festive mied and strong bierre The Vikings also cooked, conjuring recipes that included water, hops and spices sweetened with honey.
Drying is the oldest way to preserve fish. Dried cod (Norwegian style) stokfisk) was the first export product even before the Viking Age. Stokk- huge wooden frames on which the fish are hung and dried for several months in the open air.
Usually, most of us have the wrong idea about the Norwegian climate. Thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, it is much warmer here than in other points of these latitudes. Even in the northern part of the country in summer the air warms up to 20-30 degrees. C. And in winter the average temperature in Lofoten is somewhere from 0 to +1 degrees. S. After all, climate depends not only on latitude, but also on location on the planet. For example, many who are not too knowledgeable about the climate of different places on Earth are sincerely surprised when they learn that there is not a single frozen port on the Alaska Peninsula! This is again the effect of a warm current, only this time it’s a Pacific current.
In the north it is cold where there are no warm ocean currents. The Far North is considered to be permafrost areas. If you move from west to east in Russia, the first signs of permafrost appear in the Arkhangelsk region. As we move further east, we will notice that the permafrost boundary begins to rapidly move south and in Siberia reaches Mongolia, i.e. to the latitude of Warsaw and Berlin. This is because there are no warm sea currents in the Russian sector of the Arctic Ocean. But in Siberia there are many rivers that take the heat from the south of Siberia and carry it to the Arctic Ocean. They annually carry into the ocean the amount of heat that could be produced by burning 3 billion tons of the best coal.