As promised the culinary delights series is moving away from red meat to the bounty of the sea.
In this instalment of "Norwegian Culinary Delights" I am proud to showcase what is possibly the most stereotypical Norwegian dish in existence. The world famous Lutefisk. This dish is not exclusive to the Norwegian festive table however, Sweden is also known for their own version which is often served with nasal clearing mustard.
Today I give you my family's version of this unique dish from the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. The name lutefisk comes from the unique processing the fish undergoes before it is even cooked. The fish originates as cod which is dried in order to preserve the fish. It is in this state that the fish most often arrives in the home and the final unique preparation begins. The dried cod is cut into appropriate pieces and soaked in cold water for up to 8 days. For best results the water is changed twice daily with the fish being thoroughly rinsed each time. This soaking of the fish ensures that it becomes fully bloated again, to its original size. What really makes this fish special is the next step which involves the soaking of the cod in lye for 3 days. The process of soaking in lye gives the fish a distinct flavour, but most importantly it gives it a flaky, jelly like texture. After the fish is soaked in lye it is further soaked in water for a couple of days to rid the fish of too strong a lye flavour. After all of this painstaking work the fish is finally prepared in the standard way, boiled in water.
Lutefisk is served with fried bits of bacon, boiled potatoes, steamed carrots and that wonderful pea mush you are now all familiar with.
This dish is commonly served in areas of Norway during the Christmas holiday or at other special times during the year. Although lutefisk is very typical of traditional Norwegian cuisine it is not widely used these days, likely due to the enormous amount of work required in its preparation. The fish shown here was brought home by my parents after a festive evening at the local Scandinavian Center.
Lye is the key to the jelly like texture.
4 comments:
Jelly-like texture huh? I'm not sold on this one! Maybe it tastes better than it sounds.
The texture is devine, melts in your mouth. It really doesn't have much of a taste. The bacon and/or melted butter you pour over it gives it a very rich feel. It is a very special dish to eat, interesting experience.
Maybe we can have a cook-evening when you come to Belgium, I'll make a typical belgian dish and you can make something norwegian?!
Post a Comment