fish au gratin

Serves 4

Ingredients

Approx. 5 dl (2 cups) cod fillets
Approx. 1.5 dl (0.6 cups) macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
4 dl (1.7cups) milk
Salt
Pepper
A little grated nutmeg
2 eggs
Breadcrumbs

Procedure

Boil water in a pan. Add a little salt and the cod fillets. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the fish in a colander and cool.
Boil 1.5 dl macaroni according to the package directions. Drain the macaroni in a colander and cool.

Make the white sauce as follows:
Melt the butter in a pan. Whisk in flour and let it sputter a little bit. Add a little of the milk. Stir well to make sure there is no lumps in the sauce. Add the rest of the milk a little bit at a time. Let the sauce cook for a little while, to be sure it does not taste of flour. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in one egg yolk at a time. Mix the sauce, the macaroni and the cod fillets. Let it cool.

Whisk egg whites stiff and stir them lightly into the mixture. Grease a casserole dish and add the mixture. Sprinkle bread crumbles on top.

Gratin at 200 C degrees (392 F) for 40-50 minutes.

Serve with potatoes, bacon and a green salad.

Bidos - traditional sami cuisine

Up north i Norway the Sami people has lived for ages. They are indiginous and a part of our contry's history. In Home Economics the pupils at my school have to learn how to make some Sami meals. Bidos actualy tastes very good, and I guess it is a healty dish. 

Some of the pupils thought it was a mean thing to eat reindeer, but at the end everybody tried it. There was not enough reindeer meat at the grocery store so they had to add some moose as well. Lovely meat!!

The dish is served with a traditional Sami bread.

Ingredients:
18 oz (500 g) steak of reindeer
4 tablespoons wheat flour
1 l (35.3 fl oz ) water
4 potatoes
2 carrots
½ onion
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper


Directions:
Cut the meat into cubes before you lay them in a casserole. 

Make a flour thickening by mixing the flour and 3 dl of the water (cold). Pour the thickening and the rest of the water over the meat. Let it boil, stir constantly to avoid lumps in the sauce. To get the nice color and good taste, it is important to add the flour thickening to the meat before you boil it.


Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Peel the carrots and cut them into thick slices. Chop the onion. Add potatoes and vegetables in the casserole and cook until the potatoes are tender.
 

To make the bread you nead:
1/2 packet of yeast
1 dl milk, lukewarm
1 1/2 cup water, lukewarm
2 tbsp margarine
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup whole wheat
6 dl wheat flour

Directions:
Crumble the yeast into a mixing bowl. Add a little bit of the lukewarm milk and stir. Add lukewarm water, liquid margarine and syrup. Add whole wheat and knead the dough until it is smooth and flexible. Let the dough rise until it has doubled. 

Divide the dough into four parts. Roll four round bread without any cracks. Place them on baking paper on a tray. Press them flat with your fingers, 1-2 cm thick.

Cover with plastic and let them rise until they double.
Bake the bread until it is golden brown and cool on a baking grid.