The national dish of Norway is a polka dot stew, a stew with fucking polka dots! I was right on it and didn’t even bother looking for other contenders to cook for our Norwegian night. Polka dots!
I couldn’t find any mutton so I substituted with lamb and my gosh it was delicious. The meat was melt-in-the-mouth, I could eat it again and again. Alas Cosmin wasn’t convinced, he grew up with pork and chicken and isn’t keen on the musty taste of lamb. Thankfully I’m fairly confident I’ll get to eat this once more as my parents have a flock of sheep and always need new ways of eating them up.
Don’t be unnerved by the seeming lack of water the recipe calls for, stir intermittently, add a dash more if it looks like it is drying out, make sure you put a lid on it and you too can have a bowl of braised perfection.
ingredients
Stew
- 1.5 kg white cabbage (53oz / approximately 2 whole)
- 2 tbsp plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1.5 kg lamb (53oz)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2/3 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 340ml boiling water (0.6 pints / 1.4 cups)
To Serve
- Boiled, salted potatoes
- Dill sprigs
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT PER PORTION
- Calories | 458
- Fat | 19.6g
Serves | 8 portions
Prep Time | 10 minutes
Cooking Time | 2 hours
Method
- Cut the cabbage into wedges.
- Dice the lamb into 2.5cm cubes. Coat half of the meat with the flour.
- Melt the butter in a large heavy based saucepan and remove from the heat. Add a layer of the floured meat, followed by some of the cabbage, salt and peppercorns. Continue layering until the pan is full.
- Add the bay leaves and pour on the water. Cover and simmer for two hours topping up the water as needed.
- Serve with boiled potatoes and garnish with dill.
Based on a recipe found at www.frutimian.no
