What is that delicious smell?
It's the lutefisk time of year!
One of our oldest and most beloved Christmas traditions.
In December, many restaurants serve lutefisk, and it's common to have a lutefisklag — the Norwegian term for a get together with good friends to enjoy a delicious lutefisk meal.
The dish is often accompanied by beer or Norwegian aquavit, but many prefer a glass of sparkling wine or fresh eplemost, apple juice from Norway.
Many people also love the traditional accompaniments and side dishes.
Learn to make lutefisk like a true Norwegian!
Check out the recipe:
(makes 4 servings)
2 kg lutefisk (You can prepare the stockfish by soaking it in a lye solution yourself, but we recommend purchasing the finished product)
1.5 tbsp salt
800 g almond potatoes, Ringerike potatoes or Gulløye potatoes (or whatever potatoes you prefer)
400 g bacon in cubes
Source: Matprat.no
Time: approx. 40 min
Difficulty level: Easy
1. Place the lutefisk skin-side down on a baking tray or in a large baking dish. Sprinkle with plenty of salt and place in the fridge to rest for 2 to 3 hours. Rinse the salt off of both the lutefisk and the dish and replace the lutefisk inside the dish. Add salt and a little ground pepper to taste. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and place in a preheated oven at 225°C for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size and firmness of the lutefisk.
2. Rinse and peel the potatoes. Boil them in water until tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Fry the bacon in a pan until crispy.
Serve the lutefisk with potatoes, bacon, and mashed peas, or experiment with side dishes to find your own combination!
Lutefisk is not only delicious to eat, the stockfish from which it is made has also been an essential source of livelihood and survival for the people of Norway for more than a thousand years.
Thanks to the skrei (migrating Atlantic cod), seafood export quickly became an important source of income for Norwegians, particularly in Northern Norway.
You can catch your own fish on a skrei adventure around Lofoten between January and April, when the cod migrates there from the Barents Sea to spawn.
You can also go on a whale safari in Vesterålen and see the giants of the sea! This is a sight you will never forget!
Explore a Norwegian tradition!
Make bacalao, salmon in lefse, and other tasty seafood dishes from Norway.
Christmas traditions in Norway are as varied as the country itself. Here are some of the tastiest Norwegian holiday treats.
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