Norwegian Christmas Dinner

Pinnekjøtt

Lutefisk

Multekrem

I had a typical Norwegian christmas dinner tonight, and it was so delicious, I decided I had to blog about it right away. It was a going away dinner for myself and Paula, the Scottish exchange student, and it was a gift of the dental school. We were taken by our favorite instructor here, Gunhild (see earlier post), and we invited a few of the other dental students who have been especially wonderful hosts to us during our stay.

I ordered the christmas dinner that is typical for western Norway, Pinnekjøtt. This is lamb that has been smoked and cured in salt and dried, then reconsituted with water before cooking over a layer of birch twigs. Everyone keeps talking about this dish, so I was very curious about it. I have seen the scary-looking racks of dried lamb appearing in the grocery store for the christmas season, and my neighbor Juliane tried it the other day and was not very enthusiastic, so I was a bit nervous about trying it. But it was really delicious: salty, and a little smokey, and very rich. It is served with mashed rutabagas and potatoes. So yummy.

Gunhild ordered lutefisk, which is another dish I have been quite afraid of. I'm sure all the Minnesotans know about this already, but it is cod that is preserved in lye and other scary solutions until it becomes a bit gelatinous. Truly frightening stuff. But it is served with bacon on top, which makes everything better. And the fish itself was nice and light, it didn't have a funky taste, it almost melted in your mouth. It tasted soft and fresh, and it was almost like sushi. My Minnesotan ancestors would be so proud that lutefisk has won over another convert.

For desert, I had multekrem served with krumkake. Multe is called Cloudberry in english, and it is a rare berry that only grows in northern climates. They have multe yogurt here, and I was previously warned by the other dental students that I might not like it and it's just something that old people like (they say the same thing about brown cheese, which I also love, so I guess I have the palate of an old Norwegian person), but multe yogurt is incredibly delicious. Multe with whipped cream is a traditional christmas desert, and this one was served with krumkake, which are delicate cookies.

Finally, a really fabulous restaurant meal in Norway! Norway isn't really known for its food overall, but this was a really wonderful meal. I have included some pictures from the internet (not my actual meal tonight) for demonstration purposes.