Tag Archives: Scandinavian Dad

A beautiful start

January 16, 2011 by Scandinavian dad


I would say that this is a rather decorative sourdough starter. This weekend I made a few sourdough starters, and this is one of them, based on Bramley apple peels. It’s about 250 grams of apple peel and 2 liter of water, all resting inside an vintage Norgesglass (in Norwegian).

We frequently bake our own bread, but we have always used yeast. This time we are going to try something a bit different, sourdough. During our time in Norway we always bought sourdough based bread from our local bakery, Åpent bakeri, and this is also where I have picked up the recipe.

If everything goes as planned, I’ll be able to share the first results in 2-3 weeks, wish me luck :)

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Sandkaker

December 19, 2010 by Scandinavian dad

Sandkaker must be one of the easiest of all Christmas cookies, with only 4 ingredients and hardly any preparation before you start baking. Children can easily take part in the whole process, since you only mix everything together with no heating or long waiting for everything to settle.

The only ingredient that can take a while to prepare are the almonds, since you first have to remove the shell by blanching them, and then ground it all. Alternatively you can buy them pre-ground if you don’t have a food grinder capable of grinding almonds.

You blanch the almonds by soaking them in boiled hot water, and leaving them for about 15 min. Remove the almonds from the water, and when you are able to touch the hot almonds you squeeze the nut out of it’s shell. When done, dry the almonds in the oven on low temperature till they have dried out, and you are ready to start grinding.

The girls love making these cookies as they are so easy and quick to make, but most of all they enjoy popping the almonds out of their shell, it can be a bit tedious but it pays off at the end with the difference in taste.

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Cloudberry Pannacotta

January 16, 2010 by Scandinavian dad

Cloudberries is a slow-growing alpine or sub-Arctic fruit. They turn golden yellow in late summer or early autumn. That’s when the Scandinavian people will go hiking in the mountains searching for these golden natures treasure. The ripe fruit is soft and juicy and rich in vitamin C. When eaten fresh, cloudberries have a distinctive tart taste. In Norway it’s a tradition to have cloudberries with whipped cream for Christmas dessert.

Today’s recipe is a Scandinavian twist to a classic Italian dessert, Panna cotta. Fresh cloudberry is a rarity in UK shops, but it is possible to get a jar of cloudberry jam that will do. IKEA stocks it in the food section.

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Lamb Burger with Potato Wedges, this weeks dish by Scandinavian Dad

November 22, 2009 by Scandinavian dad

Traditionally in Norway we would eat a lot of lamb at this time of the year, in fact our national dish “Fårikål” (cabbage and lamb stew) even has it’s one special day, the last Thursday every September. Another classic is “Smalahove” (sheep’s head), which is only for the bravest of the brave. Both “Fårikål” and “Smalahove” is often served as party food. You would gather all you friends and family and serve lots of food, beer and aquavit.
On a rainy day in with your loved ones homemade lamb burgers will also do, as proper comfort food. Prepare meaty lamb burgers full of delicious flavors and with chunky potato wedges alongside.

All the best and “God apetitt”

Scandinavian Dad

Homemade lamb burger with potato wedges

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Pasta Bolognese, this weeks dish by Scandinavian Dad

November 13, 2009 by Scandinavian dad

Today’s recipe is real comfort food on a windy and wet day; Pasta bolognese, or in Italian; ragù alla bolognese, which in reality is a meat based sauce (not tomato based as we usually see bolognese presented as in the shops), so try to forget everything you know about chopped tomatoes

and soggy pasta :)

When you cooking the bolognese sauce, make sure you make more than one portion, after all it takes a while to make… So make a large batch, today’s recipe serves 10-12, and freeze what is left afterwards.

This isn’t a typical Scandinavian dish, but our cuisine is very much influenced by the rest of Europe and countries like Italy and France in particular. The one thing about this dish is that you can easily swap the beef with either moose, red deer or reindeer using either of them would just add to the great flavor of a classic bolognese.

The bolognese sauce should when finished be a concentrated wealth of different flavors. It both looks and tastes great.

All the best and “God apetitt”

Scandinavian Dad

Pasta Bolognese

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Pan-fried fillet of trout with warm beetroot salad, this weeks dish by Scandinavian Dad

November 6, 2009 by Scandinavian dad

This weeks recipe brings back some childhood memories, from one of those many lakes and rivers you can find in Norway. I started fishing, and trout in particular, when I was still in primary (yes I was fishing on my own, no Health and Safety regulations where I grew up, luckily), it was really great when you were able to catch a few, and then get it served later the same day for supper. Today’s dish is inspired by one classic recipe from when I grew up.
The beetroot, which seems to have been in hiding for a while, is finally back in season and easy to get in the shops again.

Hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we do, and please do feel free to comment with any questions or feedback you may have.

All the best and “God apetitt”

Scandinavian Dad

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