Nothing makes me happier than a traditional, Norwegian dinner. That usually involved boiled potatoes and gravy, with some type of vegetables. There is something so comforting, simplistic, and hearty about it that truly evokes the flavor of ‘home’ for me. I realized I have posted recipes for meatballs on my blog before, or as we call them in Norway, kjøttkaker, but I’ve never shared a recipe for karbonader, which is slightly different.

I had all sorts of plans to publish this post over a month ago but it seemed like a beast of an article to write so I kept postponing it. But as the saying goes, all good things are worth waiting for, so I hope you will agree that there will be a lot of valuable info (and recipes!) in this post.

Norwegian ‘tekake’…such a simple and satisfying cake, really no Norwegian food blog should be without a recipe for it…Tekake literally translates to “tea cake” but can be considered Norway’s coffee cake. I remember buying this cake at bakeries as a special treat as for some reason it wasn’t something my mom made at home. I remember the cake being doughy (it is made with yeast not baking powder), but had this deliciously crunchy, sweet, and cinnamon-scented topping that made me swoon.

Potatoes. What could be more Norwegian than that? … Today, Norwegians are more adventurous when it comes to preparing potato dishes. We eat them mashed, fried, and baked, and shred them to form special potato dumplings called “potetball” or “kumler.” During midsummer, however, new potatoes are in season in Norway and the most popular dish to make is undoubtedly the potato salad.

It’s no secret that Norwegians love bread. Not only do we love and eat a lot of it in general, but many are also fantastic bakers. I think it’s generally more common for people in Scandinavia to make their own loaves at home than in any other region of the world. We eat bread for breakfast, lunch, and even as a late evening snack before bed. Whether it’s for our lunch box or the more fancy open-faced sandwiches, bread has always played a huge part in our diet.

Pytt i panne is a Norwegian everyday classic dish I probably would most closely compare to Asian stir fry, or a British bubble and squeak or even a good old American hash. Made up of leftovers, it typically consists of fried potatoes, onions, and meat.
Pytt i panne loosely translates to ‘small pieces in a pan’, and that’s exactly what it is. Pytt also indirectly means “everything is going to be ok”, and perhaps that is what they refer to with this dish, as not much can go wrong when you throw in a little bit of this and that.