Tag Archives: norwegian

Apple, Whipped Cream and Cinnamon Almond Parfait

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This is a traditional Norwegian dish called “Tilslorte Brudepiker”. The literal translation is “veiled bridesmaids”. Sound lovely? It is! It is a beautiful dessert but surprisingly simple.. layers of apple sauce, cream and toasted almond meal with sugar and cinnamon. It’s one of those dishes you remember forever..

The recipe usually calls for toasted breadcrumbs or cookie crumbs but as mentioned I used almond meal, a little sugar and cinnamon, and it was perfect! Using different shaped glasses (flutes, punch, or even a large glass serving bowl), you can have a lot of fun with the presentation. Enjoy!

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Ingredients

  • Apple sauce, unsweetened)
  • Cream (you can whip it yourself with some vanilla and sugar or just get a can of whipping cream like I do for super short cut!)
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1-tsps cinnamon

Directions

  • In a skillet melt butter on low and add almond meal and sugar and cinnamon, stir constantly and do not let burn or get too toasty! You just want slightly toasted almond meal and to melt and crystalize the sugar a bit so that you get a crunchy topping.
  • In clear glasses (for individual servings) or in a large glass bowl (for group serving) layer applesauce, whipped cream, and almond mixture two or three times.. ending with a topping of the almond mixture.
  • Serve immediately.
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Marzipan Chocolate Miniature Sandwiches

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I grew up making marzipan, but just last year discovered the secret ingredient to marzipan perfection.. rose water! See the recipe here. This year I made tiny Marzipan “sandwiches” for a holiday party. You roll a bit of marzipan into a ball and press two discs of chocolate to make the sandwich. I found dark chocolate ‘discs’ at the local gourmet foods grocery store, but chocolate coins could work well too! Because the marzipan is quite sweet, the less sweet dark chocolate is a nice complement!

I made these for Christmas, but marzipan is popular year round in Scandinavia and Germany (especially again around Easter).

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Ingredients

  • One batch of Marzipan (you can also find this pre-made at some grocery stores.. look for almond paste if not marzipan)
  • Chocolate ‘discs’ (dark chocolate, should be around 1″ in diameter)

Directions

  • Roll a bit of marzipan into a ball (the size of a large marble) and press two discs of chocolate to make the sandwich.
  • Store in an air tight container and refrigerated for a week or more, or frozen for a month or so!

Super Mom Tip: Marzipan has the consistency of play dough and is a lot of fun for (older) kids to roll into various shapes and cut out with small cookie cutters, or decorate with chocolate chips!

Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango

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This is great as a chilled summer dessert! Creamy rice pudding, sweetened naturally by milk and cinnamon, topped with chopped mango – a delicious balance of tart and sweet. The dish draws on Indian and Scandinavian flavors, where both cardamom, cinnamon and rice are staple ingredients in a variety of dishes.

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Ingredients

  • 6 cups whole milk (or coconut milk if you prefer)
  • 1/3 cup uncooked basmati rice
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon + more for garnish
  • 2 cups chopped peeled mango (about 2 large mangos)

Directions

  • Combine whole milk and rice in large saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  • Reduce heat and gently boil for 40 minutes or until mixture thickens
  • Stir in coconut milk, cardamom and cinnamon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly
  • Spoon~1/2 cup servings into dessert bowls (makes 8 servings)
  • Top with chopped mango and a sprinkle of cinnamon

dit-elle-Esther

Marzipan

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Marzipan is a totally delicious treat with Scandinavian roots. In it’s most simple form – it’s ground almonds and honey. You work the two ingredients together into a sticky dough and then make balls or a loaf that you cut into slices. I remember as a kid making marzipan..  I don’t think you could get almond meal/flour in the stores where we lived in Norway so this was quite the cooking project.. First you had to blanche, dry and grind almonds (or just grind them with skins intact) with a hand held grinder until you had a fine almond meal. Then you would work in the honey. The best part was making shapes with mini cookie cutters. We would often make marzipan for Easter. We would roll the dough into small egg shapes and dip them in chocolate. After they were dry we wrapped them in tinfoil and hid them outside for our Easter egg hunt!

You can definitely make the honey/almond version, but the recipe below is a total winner. You use almond meal (yes, from a bag! :)), powdered sugar, egg whites, almond essence and the secret ingredient – rose water! Totally delicious and tastes like marzipan from a gourmet candy shop in Europe. I’ve made about 5 batches in the last few months but they kept disappearing (house elves?). I finally got a chance to dip them in chocolate and take some pictures! 🙂

Have fun, unleash the creativity and enjoy!

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Ingredients

  • 1½ cups almond flour/meal
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon quality food grade rose water (it is strong!)
  • 1 egg white (this is a few tablespoons and I used pasteurized egg whites from a carton)

Instructions

  1. Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined and any lumps are broken up. Add the almond extract, rose water and egg white and process until a thick dough is formed. If the mass is still too wet and sticky, add more powdered sugar and ground almonds. Keep in mind that it will become firmer after it’s been refrigerated.
  2. Turn the almond marzipan out onto a work surface and knead it a few times. Form it into a log, wrap it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
  3. This will keep for at least a month in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before using in any recipe.
  4. Makes about 12 ounces of marzipan or almond paste

I modified this from the original – thanks for the inspiration Daringgourmet.com

dit-elle-Esther

Scandinavian Shrimp Pie

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Scandinavian shrimp pie – a delicate blend of flavors – eggs with cream cheese, chopped fresh dill, and a golden toasted cheese topping!

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Ingredients

  • 1 frozen pie shell (I use a gluten free version)
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked shrimp (I get small salted frozen shrimp)
  • 1/4 cup (2 oz) cream cheese, softened
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cheese (mozzarella, parmesan, Havarti or fontina work well)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

Directions

  • Beat eggs, add cream cheese and milk and beat until well blended
  • Put shrimp in pie shell, sprinkle with dill and pour egg/milk mixture over
  • Top with cheese
  • Bake at 375 for ~50 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean

dit-elle-Esther

Gluten Free Waffles

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Need a great staple waffle recipe? Having a hard time finding a good gluten free version? Here you go! This is a great gluten free waffle recipe. To quote Adam, “how are these so good?” I think that about sums it up.

I have a little Norwegian waffle iron – makes beautiful hearts that were a huge hit with the kids! Scandinavians like to serve waffles for dessert with strawberry or raspberry jam and sour cream – or with a large scoop of ice cream! Shown below with whipped cream, some powdered sugar and raspberries!

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Ingredients

  • 3/4  cup rice flour or a gluten free flour mix
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal (omit if you are corn free and add another 1/4 cup of the rice flour back)
  • 1/2 cup potato starch (NOT Potato Flour)
  • 1/4 cup tapioca flour
  • 2  teaspoons baking powder
  • dash of salt
  • 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (regular milk works, too)

Directions

  • Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another
  • Combine and mix
  • Scoop in portions onto waffle iron and cook
  • Serve with butter & sugar, jam & sour cream, maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar or other favorite toppings

dit-elle-Esther