Tags
Norwegian Christmas food, Pinnekjøtt, rutabaga pure, tradition Norway, traditional Norwegian food
Pinnekjøtt is a Norwegian dish that is most popular in the west and north of Norway, although we eat it pretty much everywhere, but not every time it is a Christmas dish, that most people eat in the Christmas season, and many eat on christmas eve.
For those who do not know pinnekjøtt is rib or rack of lamb, that is cured, dried and or smoked (curing meat is very popular in the Norwegian cuisine).
After it is cured it is then cooked or steamed for some hours, until it gets very tender, the meat literally falls of the bones, to delicious effect.
It is commonly served with pure of rutabaga with some of the fat from the pinnekjøtt added into it, cooked potatoes, and the fat juice from the pinnekjøtt that I mentioned earlier.
Like most things in the Norwegian kitchen it is all very simple, but food does not have to be complex to be a simple delight to eat.
Like most of our traditional foods in Norway it is salty, and many people might not like the salt taste and be a bit put off by it.
In my own opinion it is great, but I cannot eat much of it without getting sick of the salt taste, so eating it a couple times in the Christmas season is enough for me, but for someone who has never had it before it is a huge recommendation from me, a must try for anybody that likes Norwegian food.
Here is a plate of pinnekjøtt with the rutabaga and carrot pure, potatoes and the nice pinnekjøtt fat sauce.