I have to say that Nik and I are really enjoying ourreturn to Norway as we cook our way around the World Showcase. Not only is the food delicious, but we get to relive our entire Norwegian adventure. Have I mentioned that it was the best family trip we've ever taken? Ok, I know I've said that a million times, but it really was. Part of the joy of this adventure is sharing it with you!
Here, you can see Nik pretending to be a Viking at the Arkeologisk Museum in Stavanger. Ths museum was about a mile from the port and a great little find. It was tucked back in a picturesque neighborhood away from the tourist area and was nearly empty on the day we were there. We were able to wander among the Norwegian artifacts undisturbed. It was well worth the walk to get there!
Stavanger itself was a picture-perfect Norwegian town. If you ever rode the Maelstrom at Epcot, you will remember the mock-up of a Norwegian town at the end of the ride. I always wondered if Norway really looked like that. Well, all of Norway may not, but Stavanger does!
If you ever get the chance to go, GO!
So, as we were reliving amazing family memories, we decided that we should probably eat something. As I've mentioned before, when you look for Norwegian recipes you find a lot of bread and cake, but no so many entree recipes. My Norwegian friend, Jonas, confirmed that Norwegians love their bread and cake, but they do, in fact, eat real food as well.
As you might expect from a country with 15,626 miles of coastline, they eat a lot of fish. Now, Nik and I don't hate seafood, but we aren't huge seafood eaters either, so this posed a bit of a problem. However, we have committed to trying to eat authentically during this experiment, so we looked for a fish recipe we thought might work. We found Bacon-Wrapped Cod with Herb Roasted Vegetables. Bacon and fish don't really seem to go together but, then again, bacon improves everything so we decided to give it a try. I am so glad we did!
This recipe uses cod which is a very mild fish (it's the same fish traditionally used in English fish and chips). When you add the bacon to it, the flavor is elevated to the sublime. The fat from the bacon permeates the fish and gives it a velvety feel in your mouth without being too greasy. The flavor of the bacon combines with the fish to make it super flavorful and moist. The herb-roasted vegetables have a caramelized texture and flavor that pairs perfectly and the Norwegian cucumber salad's vinegary bite balances out the meal. Even our resident food barometer (i.e. Bil, the super-picky eater) loved this. Better still, this meal was extremely easy to prepare so it was the perfect answer for a busy night. Give it a try! You won't be sorry.
Stay tuned for some more yummy, Norwegian food. We've been cooking up a storm. I'm just a little behind on the blogs. :)
See ya real soon!