Stave Church, Ulmes

 

For Christmas fare you might like your Christmas beer - julel, gingersnaps and sandkager, pinnekjott lamb ribs with mashed swedes, or even rice cream with stewed fruit, but if you call yourself Norwegian what you REALLY want is a nice big plate of Lutefisk.

 

Yes folks, from those crazy Scandinavians, who brought you Leiv Eiriksson, stave churches, Peer Gynt, Henrik Ibsen, skiing, the Edvards - Greig and Munch, Roald Amundsen, Jan Garbarek and the nationalised alcohol monopoly, comes the ultimate in Christmas treats - Lye Fish.

 

To make from scratch:

 

First head out into the North Atlantic in your longboat (horn helmet optional) and catch your cod.

Clean and bone and leave out for a few weeks to dry.

Store until about two weeks before you plan to eat.

Saw into serving sizes of your choice.

Soak in water for 5 or 6 days, changing water daily.

Soak for 4 days in lye water.

Rinse and let soak in fresh water for 5 days, again changing the water daily.

By now it should have softened and swollen up, weighing about 5 times its original dry weight.

(Should you not have the time you can also buy pre-prepared frozen lutefisk.)

Steam or boil and serve with your choice of melted butter, ground pepper, white sauce, bacon fat, mustard sauce, potatoes and dill, melted goat cheese and syrup, peas and a stack of the unleavened potato bread Lefse.

 

Some aficionados suggest that for the genuine experience everything on the plate should be grey, whilst others recommend drinking aquavit until you can’t taste anything as the perfect accompaniment -  Skål!

 

 

Sandkager  -  Sand Cookies with Almonds

 

1/2lb/225g butter

1 cup sugar

1/4lb/110g shelled almonds, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups flour

granulated sugar

 

Melt butter and stir until light in colour.

Add sugar and beat in.

Add almonds with the beaten eggs and mix in.

Add flour and mix well, then let the dough cool.

Place in the middle of a baking sheet then work it toward the edges with your thumbs to cover the whole sheet as thinly as possible.

Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake in a moderate oven (preheated to 190C/375F ) until golden.

Cut into squares to serve.

 

 

In Norway presents often come delivered in person by Julenissen (the local Santoid), but don’t forget to leave out some porridge with a big eye of butter in the middle for the other Nissen, little red capped nixies who help out around the farm (unless you offend them), or there will be trouble!

 

In a centuries old custom Norwegian children don fancy dress and go Julebukk (Christmas Goat - don't ask, no-one knows), going from one home to another, where they are given festive treats of cake and cookies - sound familiar?

 

If you are lucky you can stretch the celebrating until January 13^th, when St Canute drives away Christmas.

 

 

God Jul og Godt Nyttår