Norway

STAPLE FOOD

• Wheat
• Fish
• Meat
• Potato

Smoked Salmon

1 whole salmon (7-8 pounds) filleted 
2 cups canning/pickling salt 
2 cup brown sugar 
1 tbs. crushed juniper berries 
1 tbs. crushed pink peppercorns 
1/4 cup dry red wine (merlot or pinot noir) 
1/4 cup Meyer's rum

Clean and fillet the salmon into two fillets, skin on, and place skin side down in a container large enough to hold the fillets without folding or stacking.

Mix the cure ingredients together into a uniform slushy paste and pour on the fillets.

Let fillets cure for 6-10 hours and then rinse lightly with running water to remove any remaining salt/sugar crystals. Pat the fillets dry on both sides, place in a large Ziploc bag in the refrigerator and let the cure permeate the flesh for a few days.

Prepare your smokehouse or smoker in the way you normally do, with the goal being to have the smoking temperature as low as possible. When the smoke is under control, place the salmon on the smoking rack or screen and smoke.

Unless you want to poach or cook your salmon, I would advise never smoking at a temperature above 160º F. This salmon recipe is intended for cold smoking - which must be done at temperatures less than 85ºF.

Dessert

Norges storartet fruktpie

(norway’s Grand Fruit pie)

Pie Dough: 1/2 to 5/8 cup (120 to 160 g) margarine 1 1/2 to 2 T. sugar 1 1/8 to 1 1/2 cup (150 to 200 g) flour 3 to 5 T. water, cold Vanilla Cream: 4 egg yolks 2/3 cup (1 1/2 dl) sugar 1 1/2 T. vanilla sugar 1 3/4 cup (4 dl) whole milk, boiling 1/2 cup (50 g) flour Glaze: 2 T. sugar 1/4 cup, scant (1 dl) currant jelly or apricot marmalade

Follow these easy steps to make this mouth-watering fruit pie. Large enough to serve 12 people. Pie Dough: Be sure to use only chilled utensils as this pie dough must not get warm; use your hands as little as possible. Cut chilled margarine into 1-inch (2 1/2 cm) squares. Place margarine, sugar, and flour in a medium sized bowl and cut margarine in with a pastry blender. Then gather it all quickly together with fingertips. Add the cold water, a little at a time using your fingers to form the dough. It should be pliant and smooth, not grainy and moist. Divide dough in fourths. Take one piece and place on counter. Place heel of your hand on dough and with one stoke, press and stretch out dough. Scrape dough up with scraper and set aside. Repeat with remaining pieces. Gather up all dough, sprinkling a little flour on top. Wrap in plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator for at least on hour. Remove dough and gently press into 9 x 12-inch (23-30 dm) tart pan with removable bottom. Dough should be about 3/16-inch (8 mm) thick. Make edges even, by cutting off excess dough with a knife. To prevent dough from rising, prick with fork. Let rest 15 minutes. Bake at 395 degrees F (220 degrees C) in middle of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. It is ready when it begins to leave edge and has a light, golden color. Air circulation makes pie crust crisp. Cool on rack. If finished pie will stand more than two hours before eaten, "seal" bottom with currant or apricot glaze. If you want to keep it longer, brush with melted chocolate. (The glaze recipe makes enough to seal the crust and to brush on the berries.) Before berries are added, cover bottom of pie shell with vanilla cream. Vanilla Cream: Beat egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. It should be stiff enough that when it falls back into itself, the drips lay on top. Beat in the flour. While beating add the boiling milk, drop by drop at first, then in a thin stream. Pour mixture into a heavy bottomed pan and place over medium heat. Stir vigorously while it is being brought to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes after boiling has begun. Remove from heat and cool. Add berries of your choice. Quickly rinse berries and remove all foreign objects. Drain well on a paper towel while you prepare glaze. Glaze: Stir sugar and jelly or marmalade together in sauce pan. Place over medium heat and warm 2 to 3 minutes. Glaze should thicken to the point that drippings from a spoon are viscous. Do not simmer too long, it may turn to caramel. Brush the glaze over the pie crust to prevent it from becoming soggy. Spread vanilla cream in bottom of pie crust. Place berries closely together, forming a decorative pattern. Brush a thin layer of glaze over berries. Serve as is with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.