Homemade Yule classics

Yule tide food SauerkrautTraditional Norwegian side dishes at Yule tide. Picture: Frukt.no

Homemade Yule classic side dishes

Yule (or Christmas, if you prefer) is a time for traditions, and those should be maintained. Smells, tastes and music are some of the ingredients that evoke memories, and at Yuletide, we are reminded of many of the best memories from childhood, before frozen pizza and tacos became staple foods for some. Sauerkraut (Surkål) and swedes (neeps) are still the most used side dishes for the Yule dinners.

 

“Half of Norway’s population eat pork ribs on Christmas Eve, and staple companionship to the crackly dish is potatoes and sauerkraut, red cabbage or both. More than Half of the population does not know how to make Norwegian style sauerkraut themselves. It’s not that difficult at all, and home-made on Christmas Eve tastes extra good.”

~ Food Advisor in the Information Centre for Fruit and Vegetable, Toril Gulbrandsen.

Half of Norway’s population eat pork ribs on Christmas Eve, and staple companionship to the crackly dish is potatoes and sauerkraut, red cabbage or both. More than Half of the population does not know how to make Norwegian style sauerkraut themselves. It’s not that difficult at all, and home-made on Christmas Eve tastes extra good, says Food Advisor in the Information Centre for Fruit and Vegetable, Toril Gulbrandsen.

Sauerkraut with apple is a classic companion to the pork ribs. With the “Pinnekjøtt” (cured rack of lamb, dried, salted and/or smoked) stewed swedes (neeps) is a delicious must. The neeps have become much sweeter and tastier in recent years, but many still like to add some potato and carrot to the stew. That adds both sweetness, texture and colour.

A small number of Norwegians use game, Turkey or pigeon as their Yule dinner. Then Brussels sprouts or the beautiful Flower sprout is a nice companion. For “Lutefisk” (Lye fish) and Skrei (Codfish), pureed pea adds nice taste and colour, some lightly boiled carrots are not despicable either.

At the Christmas table, some cold variants are good too. A favourite is red cabbage salad with apple and orange. The red cabbage is beautiful in colour and tastes good both as traditional boiled red cabbage and in salads. And last but not least, the classic Waldorfs salad is delicious on the Yule table.

Please try the goodies out beforehand as well and get more great tips from frukt.no. 

Sauerkraut (serves 4)

Norwegian Sauerkraut: step by step

Ingredients

750 g Cabbage

2 Apples

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Cumin (seeds)

2 ½ dl water or stock

2 ts 7% (Apple Cider) Vinegar

2 tsp Sugar

Preparation

Divide the cabbage into two halves and remove any ugly leaves and the rough stem.

Shred the cabbage finely and place it in layers together with apple wedges, salt and Cumin in a suitable cooking pan.

Add water or stock, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for approx. 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add vinegar and sugar to taste.

If you make sauerkraut from red cabbage, put some vinegar in the liquid – the cabbage will then retain its colour.

Swede stew (serves 4)

Ingredients

1 ½ kgs Swedes

1 Carrot (medium size)

2 Potatoes (medium size)

2 dl Cooking cream

2 tbsp butter

¼ tsp Nutmeg

(Ginger,) Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation

Clean and peel the vegetables and cut them into 2-3 cm cubes.

Tenderise (boil) the vegetables in lightly salted water – pour the boiling water off, but keep it for later. If you use fresh ginger, that should naturally go in with the veggies

Mash the boiled vegetables, add room temperature butter and cream together with some of the stock.

Add spices to taste.

 

© Frukt og Grønt / #Norway Today