Little Scandinavian

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. Scandinavian Kitchen stock it, alternatively IKEA stocks it in the food section.

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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

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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

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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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