Pålegg

I am not a 'foodie'. I do enjoy food though, and will go as far as to say that food is an essential part of my diet. 

I thought I'd have a go at doing some food-blogs to educate peeps on norsk cuisine, and here is my first attempt. This post is focused on my favourite food-type in Norway so far: the wonder of 'pålegg'... pronounced "poor-leg", as in a lower limb without much money. Or "paw-leg" as in, that dog's hand covers the entirety of its leg.

Pålegg would be literally translated into English as 'on-lay', loosely translated to 'on-bread' or maybe 'toppings'. You basically get shit-tons of awesome things out of the fridge and cupboard, carve some slices of brown, freshly baked bread and whack a load of the good stuff onto said bread. Then eat.

It might not sound ground-breaking, but it has changed my life. We now have two or three types of salami in the fridge, a big old elg-sausage (moose), spreads, cheeses and tubes full of weird and wonderful food. It is easy, quick and tasty - some people might call it an open sandwich. But it isn't. Its pålegg. 

Below is a pic of our first pålegg in Norway, and I shall attempt to describe some of it and provide a lengthy description of how to prepare and eat it.

Pålegg

Lets start from the bottom left. 

Black coffee - staple. I like to use a french press and then drink it.

Blue tube = kaviar (caviar) in a tube. I know. I've never had caviar and absolutely cannot stomach it (or the smell) in the morning. Put it on bread, eat it.

Plate with græddost (cheese) and cucumber, complete with ostehøvel (cheese slicer) - this cheese is flippin' wonderful - quite creamy and a little nutty. Put it on bread, eat it.

Melk (milk) - Nordmenn love a glass of milk to accompany their meat, cheese and bread. Vikings and that.

Brød (bread) - We're still waiting for a load of stuff to come over from England so I am without all my baking shiz... We opted for par-baked baguette things that you pop in the oven for 10 mins. Quick, easy, tasty and you get that fresh baked smell. There are no strict rules for what type of bread you get påleggy with, as long as you put stuff on it and then eat it.

Mormor's jordbærsyltetøy (strawberry jam) - Best jam I've had. Even better than that Bonne Maman stuff you get in the fancy jars. This goes great with the græddost. Simply pop it on bread and eat it. 

Blue packet behind the margerine = strandamør - slices of mørpølse, a sort of processed salami made form various animals. More compact and tough than salami but real tasty. This requires quite a bit of prep, you have to put it on the bread first, then eat it.

Smør = butter... In this case, more of a margarine. You know what to do.

The little yellow tub with blue on the side and a kids face on the top = leverpostei (liver pate) 

Again, I cant get my head round this first thing in the morning, but its quite a cute tub. I have heard viscous rumours that you can get your own face onto the tub. I could do it. Then people could upload pics onto the Internet saying they "found Jesus on a tub of liver pate". 

Down the right hand side there is basic salami and skinke (ham) and the off-white bag laying there is mayo. It is popular to have it in a bag with a corner snipped. I like it that way. 

I have deliberately moved past one item, and saved it for a special mention toward the end of this post: Sitronpepper, situated at the back of the table. Sitronpepper is one of the best things to come out of Norway, behind Stine and Ole Gunnar Solskjær - I put it on absolutely everything. For those without a degree in Latin, its basically a blend of rock salt, black pepper and granulated lemon zest. 

Missing item: Brunost (brown cheese) - I don't think I could post this without mentioning this slightly salty brown cheese that is also available as a spreadable cheese called Prim. This is a real classic in Norway and I might be pillaged if I don't big it up.

So there we have it: Pålegg, deconstructed and then reconstructed three-ways onto artisan bread and eaten with your mouth.

Ha det bra :)