Norwegian potato porridge
Potetgrøt/Jordeplegraut
Potato porridge has historically played a tremendously important role in the Norwegian diet, although it has fallen out of favour since its last time of great popularity, during the second world war. It has all but disappeared from the Norwegian everyday dinner table. A quick internet search reveals only 634 results for “potetgrøt” while “pizza” returns a good 319,000 hits from Norwegian websites alone.
Serve the potato porridge with a good knob of butter melting into it and some slices of fried salt pork – or why not with some cultured buttermilk? Sugared lingonberries are also often served with potato porridge.
(Serves 4)
1.2kg floury potatoes, peeled but left whole
500ml milk, with extra ready if needed
100g barley or wholegrain flour
A good pinch of salt
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover them with water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Tip the water away. Off the heat, pour in the milk, then add the flour and mash the hot potatoes vigorously until no lumps remain. Continue working the mixture for at least 5 minutes; it should be shiny and a bit gluey. The residual heat from the potatoes should be enough to cook the starch in the flour. If it gets too thick, add a little more milk – but warm it first, so that you don’t cool the porridge down too much.
Danish ‘Burning Love’
Brændende kærlighed
This Danish everyday dish of mashed potato, bacon and onions is often served with pickled beetroot and a slice of rye bread on the side.
(Serves 4)
For the mashed potatoes
700g floury potatoes, skins on, but cleaned and rinsed
350ml milk
100g butter
salt and white pepper
freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
For the Burning Love
300g bacon, cut into small pieces
6 onions, finely chopped
Chopped parsley or snipped chives (optional)
Put the potatoes in a large pan. Cover them with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
While the potatoes are cooking, combine the milk and butter in a separate pan and heat until the butter has melted.
Drain the potatoes thoroughly and peel them (yes, they do have to be hot when you do it). Mash them (or push them through a mouli or potato ricer), then beat in the hot milk mixture with a wooden spoon or a stiff whisk. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and nutmeg, if using, and keep warm.
Put the bacon in a pan over a medium heat and fry until just enough fat has rendered into the pan to make it shiny. Add the onions to the pan and continue frying over a medium heat until the onions are deeply caramelised.
Spoon one big dollop of mash onto a warm serving platter (or divide between 4 plates), top with the bacon and onion mixture and sprinkle with your choice of chopped herbs, if using.
Swedish coarse potato cake
Rårakor
Like the potato porridge, these potato cakes can be served with some slices of fried salt pork and some sugared lingonberries.
(Serves 4)
1kg starchy potatoes
Butter, for frying
Salt and white pepper
Peel and grate the potatoes coarsely. Use your hands to squeeze them tightly so as to remove any excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl and season well.
Melt some butter in a frying pan (non-stick is preferable) over a medium heat. Add a thin layer of grated potatoes to the pan. It mustn’t be too thick; about 8mm is ideal. Fry until the underside is deeply golden, then flip the potato cake over and fry the other side. Do not flip it back and forth. Each potato cake should be really crisp on the exterior but it is also important to make sure that the interior is cooked through; it should not taste of raw potato.
If you want, you can fry your potato cakes in multiple pans, but if you only have one pan, then you can fry the cakes one at a time, and keep them warm in a 120°C oven. A few grinds of white pepper just before serving is a great idea.
- Magnus Nilsson is head chef at Fäviken in Åre, Sweden, and author of The Nordic Cookbook (Phaidon Press, £29.95). To order a copy for £23.96, go to bookshop.theguardian.com
