From ocean and fjord

Poached salmon/trout steaks

(Serves 4)

Allow 2 steaks per person. Clean and gut the fish if you buy it whole. Cut steaks about 2 cm thick, and rinse them carefully. Boil a large quantity of water, for each litre of water adding 3 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp whole peppercorns, 1 wedge of lemon and 1 leek leaf (optional). Place steaks in water, reduce heat and simmer the fish until the flesh loosens easily from the backbone (6-8 minutes). Serve immediately. This dish is traditionally accompanied by cucumber salad, Sandefjord butter and boiled potatoes.

If the fish is to be served cold, reduce the quantity of salt to 1 tbsp per litre of water and the cooking time to 3 minutes. Allowing the fish to cool in the poaching water will keep it moist. Cold salmon is delicious served with a green salad, sour cream or horseradish sauce and hot boiled potatoes.

Sandefjord butter

2 dl cream
a large quantity of chopped parsley
200 g butter

Boil the cream until it is reduced by half. Stir in lumps of soft butter and add parsley. The mixture should be thick and must not boil after the butter has been stirred in. The cream may, if desired, be mixed with half the amount of fish stock.

Cucumber salad

2 hg cucumber

Dressing:

2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 dl water
white pepper
salt
parsley

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Slice the cucumber in very thin slices. Mix vinegar, sugar and water. Add pepper and salt to taste. Pour the mixture over the cucumber slices. Cucumber salad should be prepared well before it is served.

Recipes from the Norwegian Seafood Export Council

Salmon roll

(Serves 4 for a first course)

450 g boned, skinned salmon
4 large or 8 small white
or green asparagus
1 bunch parsley
1 lemon
salt
ground white pepper

Butter sauce

200 g butter
1 shallot
1/2 dl cream
1 dl dry white wine

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Cook the asparagus, and allow it to cool. Cut the salmon fillet into 4 large, thin slices 10-12 cm in diameter. The slicing is a bit tricky, but give it a try. If it doesn't work, you can easily patch smaller slices together. Lay a slice of salmon flat on the kitchen counter. Place 1 or 2 stalks of the cooled asparagus in the centre of the slice. Season with salt and white pepper and roll the salmon around the asparagus. Cook the rolls on a rack in a steamer for 3-4 minutes.

Sauce

Mince the shallot and cook in white wine until the liquid is reduced to one tablespoon. Add cream and bring to the boil. Cut butter into small cubes and add little by little while stirring continuously. Use low heat and keep the sauce just under boiling point while adding the butter. The sauce may separate if it boils, so keep an eye on the heat!

The sauce may be prepared ahead of time and reheated over boiling water. The shallot may be removed by straining before serving, or kept in the sauce.

Recipe from Norsk mat uten grenser, Universitetsforlaget A/S 1988

Arctic fish soup

(Serves 4)

Every region has its fish soup. This recipe is a "white" fish soup with ingredients that make it suitable for party fare. For an everyday meal, serve it with fish balls or pieces of fish and omit the shellfish and shrimps.

2 1/2 tbsp butter
3/4 dl flour
8 dl fish stock
salt
pepper
1 small carrot
30 g leeks
butter
12 peeled shrimp
12 mussels or Iceland scallops
60 g wolffish or monkfish, steamed
1 dl heavy cream
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tsp lumpfish caviar

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Melt the butter and mix in the flour. Stir in hot fish stock. Boil for about 10 minutes before seasoning with salt and pepper. Cut carrots and leeks into thin strips, sauté them in butter and add to the soup. Finally, add shrimps, shellfish, fish and cream. To serve, garnish each plate with 1/2 tbsp sour cream and 1/2 tsp caviar.

Recipe from Vårt norske kjøkken,

KOM forlag 1993.

Shellfish salad

(Serves 4)

Shellfish are a gourmet's delight.

2 lobsters, about 250 g each
or 12 crayfish tails
15 steamed mussels (or 1 tin)
150 g peeled shrimps
150 g fresh mushrooms
1 tin (approx. 400 g) asparagus tips
1/2 iceberg lettuce
dill

Dressing:

1/4 dl olive, corn or soya oil
2 tbsp wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed

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Cut the lobster in two lengthwise and remove the stomach and intestines. Remove the meat and cut it into bite-size pieces. Carefully crack the claws and remove the meat. Slice the mushrooms. Arrange the ingredients attractively on a dish or in a bowl. Drip the dressing over the salad and refrigerate for one hour before serving.

Serve with white bread or toast.

Recipe from Ingrid's beste, Skjell og skalldyr. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag A/S 1991.

Clipfish à la Harald Osa

(Serves 4)

Clipfish can be prepared in a variety of ways. A traditional dish in Norway is bacalao, which involves cooking the fish in oil with potatoes, onions, tomatoes and spices. However, Norwegian chefs have composed a number of other recipes, and the following is a speciality of Harald Osa.

1 kg clipfish
400 g leeks
150 g carrots
5 dl heavy cream
8 thick slices of bacon
salt, ground white pepper

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Soak the fish in water for 2 days, changing the water occasionally. Remove the skin and bones (it does not matter if there are a few small pieces left) and cut the fish into small thin slices.

Cut the leeks and carrots into thin slices. Place in a wide saucepan. Add cream, salt and white pepper. Bring to the boil so that the vegetables become tender. Continue to boil for a few minutes. Set aside to cool and the contents will continue to thicken.

Cover the bottom of an ovenproof serving dish with alternate layers of small thin slices of clipfish, vegetables, clipfish, etc. until the entire dish is filled. There should be vegetables over, under and on each side of the fish.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes at 200°C. Garnish with crisp slices of bacon and either pour the bacon grease over the dish or serve it as an accompaniment, along with good, floury potatoes.

Recipe: Norsk mat uten grenser, Universitetsforlaget AS, 1988.

Conversion tabeles for weights and measures are given on page 4 of "Sweet Temptations".

Fried mackerel

(Serves 4)

1-2 mackerel fillets per person
flour, salt, pepper
butter or oil for frying
1-2 dl sour cream or heavy cream

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Fried mackerel with sour cream is spring mackerel at its very best. Clean and fillet 2-3 mackerel and dry them well. Coat the fillets in flour, salt and pepper and cut 2-3 diagonal slits in the skin of each filet. Fry the mackerel in margarine until golden brown and add 1-2 dl sour cream or heavy cream just before serving.

Cod baked in foil

(24 rolls)

This recipe can be used for almost every type of fish. You can use fillets or fish steaks. Make one &laqno;package" per person.

Butter a piece of aluminum foil and place the fish on it. Season with a little salt and chopped parsley, chives or dill. Add a little chopped onion, spinach, apple wedges or leek rings and a dab of butter.

Seal the foil packages tightly and place them in a roasting pan in the centre of the oven. Bake the fish at 200° C for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the packages.

Serve the packages unopened on hot plates with boiled potatoes.

Recipe and photo from the Norwegian Seafood Export Council

Lye Fish
(Lutefisk)

(Serves 4)

3 kg lye fish
3 ss salt
200 g bacon
1-2 packages of ready-made creamed peas

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Poaching

Place the fish in a cold steel pan, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt. (Aluminium pans should not to be used as they will turn black.) Let the fish stand for 10 minutes, then place the pan over low heat. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and let the fish simmer for about 10 minutes.

In the oven

Place the fish skin side down in a roasting pan or an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with salt, and cover with a lid or aluminium foil. Bake at 200°C for about 40 minutes.

Prepare the creamed peas according to the recipe on the package.

Cut the bacon in cubes and fry over low heat until the fat melts and the bacon is crispy.

Serve on hot plates or dishes with boiled potatoes and dry mustard. Lutefisk is traditionally accompanied by beer and aquavit.

In the microwave oven

Place the fish, skin side down, in a covered dish suitable for microwave cooking. Sprinkle with salt, and cover. For best results, cook 1 kg at a time. Cook 1 kg fish for 6 minutes at 600 watts. Check to see whether the fish is cooked. Thick pieces may require another 2 minutes, perhaps more. Let the fish stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe and photo from the Norwegian Seafood Export Council

Mixed Norwegian vegetables

All kinds of root vegetables can be used in this dish, combined with a little leek or garlic. Allow about 100 g of each, depending on how many types you have, and expect each person to eat about 150 g.

carrots
rutabaga or swede
celery root
parsley root
parsnip
leeks cut into rings
or whole cloves of garlic
parsley

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Wash the vegetables and cut them into small pieces. Brown them lightly in a little oil or butter. Cook gently under a lid over low heat, or place in the oven in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving. These vegetables are an excellent accompaniment to both meat and fried fish.