Norwegian Labscouse Food

BJARNE'S NORWEGIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a jelly roll pan.
• Combine bread crumbs, milk, eggs, onion, ginger, salt, nutmeg, garlic, and black pepper in a mixing bowl. Let stand until bread crumbs absorb milk, about 5 minutes. Stir until just mixed and add ground beef. Mix until well blended. Shape mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place on the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned, about 18 minutes. Set meatballs aside.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Slowly add broth; cook and stir gravy until smooth and thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Blend in cream, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
• Gently stir cooked meatballs into gravy and heat through, but do not boil, about 5 minutes more.

NORWEGIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Combine eggs, milk, bread crumbs, onion and seasonings. Let crumbs absorb milk. Add meat.
• Shape into 1 inches size.
• Place on greased pan and bake 400 degrees for about 18 minutes.
• For gravy, melt butter and saute onions until tender. Stir in flour and brown lightly. Slowly add broth. Cook until smooth and thickened.
• Blend in cream, cayenne and white pepper.
• Add meatballs and heat till boiling.

NORWEGIAN POTATO FLATBREAD (LEFSE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line an oven-safe skillet or baking pan with aluminum foil.
• Poke the potato skin all over with a knife and place on the prepared pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven until very tender and easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Let sit until cool enough to handle but still very warm.
• Scoop potato flesh out into a bowl. Mash smooth with the back of a spatula until there are no lumps left. You can also use a potato ricer. Add the butter and mix until it disappears. Add the salt, sugar, and cream; mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
• Mix in flour in several additions until the dough is able to be kneaded by hand. Add enough flour to form a soft, but not too sticky, dough. You need to be able to roll it out fairly thin without it falling apart.
• Wrap dough with plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Divide dough into 8 portions. Dust each with flour and roll out onto a well-floured kitchen towel to 1/8-inch thick, or thinner.
• Heat a very lightly buttered nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook the lefse in the hot pan, poking the surface lightly with a fork, until golden brown blisters form, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Stack on a plate as they're cooked and keep covered with a towel. Serve warm.

NORWEGIAN LEFSE

Steps:

• Cover potatoes with water and cook until tender. Run hot potatoes through a potato ricer. Place into a large bowl. Beat butter, cream, salt, and sugar into the hot riced potatoes. Let cool to room temperature.
• Stir flour into the potato mixture. Pull off pieces of the dough and form into walnut size balls. Lightly flour a pastry cloth and roll out lefse balls to 1/8 inch thickness.
• Cook on a hot (400 degree F/200 C) griddle until bubbles form and each side has browned. Place on a damp towel to cool slightly and then cover with damp towel until ready to serve.

LOBSCOUSE (LOBSCOWS)

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes and dice (1 inch).
• Scrape carrots and slice.
• Peel onion and slice.
• Dice meat into 1 inch pieces.
• Place meat in a large saucepan with carrots onions salt and about 2 pints of water.
• Boil for 30 minutes.
• Add potatoes and boil for 30 more minutes.

NORWEGIAN LABSCOUSE

Steps:

• Using the pound for pound corned beef to potatoes wash off any seasoning on corned beef, use any juice on a none seasoned corned beef in the boiling water. with onion and garlic.
• Figure 20 minutes per pound for cooking.
• Cook at a low boil, high boil will produce a tough roast.
• Boil beef with salt and pepper until half way through cooking time.
• Remove meat. Cut off all the fat and dispose; dice meat into small tiny pieces and put back into pot. i have actually chopped it up a little more in my food processor.
• Wash, peel, and dice potatoes; add to the pot, continue to low boil until potatoes are done.
• Be careful not to over cook potatoes.
• Drain well over a large bowl to reserve juices (pot liquor).
• In another large bowl mash potatoes and beef together adding milk, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. and making sure all are blended well and you have a smooth texture.
• If additional liquid is needed, you can use some of the reserved "pot liquor" instead of more milk.
• **TIP** For breakfast; fry up some like hash and have with eggs.
• Its great!