Denmark: Ragout Of Lamb with Dill Cream Sauce and Burning Love Potatoes

July 22, 2023

Denmark: Ragout Of Lamb with Dill Cream Sauce and Burning Love Potatoes

The Scandinavian Kingdom of Denmark is said to be one of the happiest places on Earth. Famed for its Viking past, the popularity of its sleek and sophisticated ‘Scandi’ designs, and the invention of Lego toys, this Northern European country is arguably home to the oldest monarchy in Europe. A bit over 1000 year ago Harald ‘Bluetooth’ Gormsson (who supposedly inherited his nickname from his love of eating blueberries), unified Scandinavia under one crown. Harald Bluetooth was forgotten for centuries until his story and the rune for his name was unearthed and used to name Bluetooth wireless technology in the late 20^th century.

The Danes have been farming the fertile yet extremely seasonal land of Denmark for over 5000 years. Not surprisingly, Danish cuisine is rooted in millennia of Nordic peasant traditions celebrating high-quality fresh foods grown, wild-caught and gathered in the warmer months and the preserving of this summer excess to sustain them through seasons of extreme cold when food is almost impossible to grown. Danish cuisine is unashamedly linked to the food practises of the past and out of that past comes echoes of French and German cooking methods. Stars in this earthy culinary scene include pork, seafood, fresh herbs (such as dill, chives, parsley, thyme and oregano), and imported tropical spices like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and black pepper that found their way to Denmark centuries ago on Viking ships.

our

DANISH

Menu included

RAGOUT OF LAMB WITH DILL CREAM SAUCE

and

BURNING LOVE POTATOES

with sides of

Pickled Baby Beetroots

Dill Pickled Cucumbers

and

Danish Rye Bread

RAGOUT OF LAMB WITH DILL CREAM SAUCE

In Denmark this recipe would be called a gryderet rather than ragout. In English it would be called a stew but it’s far too sophisticated to be called stew.

INGERDIENTS:

· 1 kg Lamb (eg boned shoulder), cut in 2cm dice

· 2 tbs plain flour

· salt and white pepper to taste

· 2 tbs butter

· 1 tsp crushed garlic

· 2 bay leaves

· 1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

· 200ml Icelandic Skyr, thick Greek yoghurt or low fat cream cheese

· 2 cups of water

· 1 bunch dill, picked and chopped

METHOD:

1. Season the flour with salt and white pepper

2. Toss the lamb in the seasoned flour until each piece is coated with flour. For a mess free process put the meat and flour in a large paper bag or sealed container and shake until the meat is coated with all the flour

3. Melt the butter in a medium to large pot with a solid bottom

4. Sauté the floured lamb in the butter until it is browned on all sides adjusting the heat as you go to ensure the bottom of the pot doesn’t burnt

5. When the lamb is browned turn the heat to medium and begin slowly pouring in the water stirring often with a wooden spoon to ensure a smooth consistency of the newly forming sauce that should be just simmering

6. Add enough water to cover the lamb, and as you are stirring with the wooden spoon gently scrap up any crispy bits from the bottom of the pot into the sauce until the pot bottom is smooth

NOTE: this step has two important purposes: the first is that the crispy bits on the bottom of the pot that are left from sautéing the lamb have left a lot of flavour that will enhance the sauce, and secondly if they are left on the bottom of the pot through the next process they will likely burn and ruin the sauce flavour, so capture that delicious goodness for your sauce now

7. When the bottom of the pot is clean and sauce is smooth stir in the onion, garlic and bay leaves and bring the pot back to the boil stirring as you go

8. Now turn the heat back and let the pot simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes or until the lamb is tender, regularly skimming away any froth that rises to the top and stirring the pot occasionally including running the wooden spoon over the bottom to ensure nothing is sticking

9. After the meat is tender it’s time to discard the bay leaves and adjust the seasoning by adding extra salt and white pepper if necessary

10. Now stir in the skyr/yoghurt and bring the pot back to the boil then turn back to simmer, stirring often until the sauce has thickened

11. Finally, stir in the fresh chopped dill and let its fragrance mix with the sauce for a few minutes just before serving

BURNING LOVE POTATOES

This is a classic Danish dish that fills the stomach and elevates mashed potatoes to heavenly proportions with caramelised onion and crisp bacon

INGERDIENTS:

· 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut in small cubes

· 2 tbs butter

· 2 extra tbs butter cut in small dice if needed for the onions

· 200 ml double cream

· 350 gm diced bacon

· 2 onions, peeled and finely diced

· salt and white pepper

· 1 bunch chives, chopped finely (or parsley)

· 2 tsp sugar

METHOD:

1. Begin by frying the bacon in a dry frypan. Stir with a wooden spoon to stop it burning on the bottom of the pan and when it is crisp scoop the bacon out and put it aside on a plate and save the bacon fat in the pan

2. Now put the potatoes in a large pot, add 2 tsp salt, cover with cold water and bring the pot to the boil

3. Once the pot is boiling half cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat back until the pot is simmering

4. Cook the potatoes this way until tender, around 20 minutes

5. Whilst the potatoes are cooking gently sauté the onions in the pan the bacon was cooked in. If there was not enough preserved bacon fat in the pan to sauté the onions add an extra tbs butter

6. Turn the heat back and cover the pan with a lid to let the onions gently cook for about 15 minutes until they become transparent and a little golden, stirring often with the wooden spoon

CAUTION: when you take the lid off to stir the onions there may be hot steam caught in the top of the lid. So, when you lift the lid off turn it away from yourself so you don’t get a steam burn on your hand or wrist

7. When the onions are turning transparent and golden remove the lid, stir in the sugar and cook uncovered, stirring often for about another 5 minutes until the onions are caramelised. If needed add more butter along the way

8. When the onions are caramelised add the bacon back into the pan, stir and cook a little longer to combine all the flavours then turn off the heat

9. By now the potatoes will be done. Strain them through a colander and put them back in the hot dry pot they came out of and let them steam off a little

NOTE: If the potatoes are still watery you can gently heat the pot on the stove for a few minutes beating the potatoes with the spoon to dry them

10. Now put the pot away from the heat and mash the potatoes until they

are smooth with a hand masher. Then use a hand whisk or electric

beater to whip through 2 tbs butter, the cream, salt and white pepper

11. To serve, place a mound of the potato mash on the plate, make a hole in

the top of the mash, then top with the bacon/onion mix and sprinkle the

chopped chives (or parsley) over the top

These are all Q-ZINE original recipes informed by multiple sources including:

https://almostnordic.com/braendende-kaerlighed-recipe/

https://nordicfoodliving.com/danish-burning-love-braendende-kaerlighed/

https://www.danishfoodlovers.com/danish-burning-love-braendende-kaerlighed/

https://danskmadpaaengelsk.wordpress.com/tag/lamb/