A Norwegian Christmas Feast: Lefse, Klubb, Glögg & Holiday Traditions

Merry Christmas, everyone! I decided it was time to serve a Christmas meal with more of a Norwegian twist this year. We always have lefse, of course, at Christmas time as well as several kinds of Norwegian Christmas cookies. (You can find many of the cookie recipes in last year’s December blogs if you’d like to make your own.)

Here’s the menu I came up with: smoked salmon lefse pinwheel appetizers, Lingonberry glazed carrots, Klubb (Norwegian potato dumplings), and buttered lefse. Sour cream raisin pie for dessert following the meal with Glögg and cookies as a mid‑afternoon treat. Other family members bring additional side dishes as well.

The smoked salmon and cream cheese pinwheels made a perfect appetizer that harkened back to Norway, using Norsland Lefse. The Lingonberry preserve glazed carrots were a great side dish, using Lingonberry preserves from Norsland Lefse and a root vegetable. Root vegetables which are easy to store over the winter have always been popular in Norway.

I remember our family mixing up our own Glögg using assorted spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves when I was young, but I’d never had the Glögg concentrate from Norsland before. It was so easy to add Glögg to the menu!

Sour cream raisin pie with its use of dried fruit (raisins) and sour cream and eggs which were plentiful on the farm when I grew up has always been a treat for our family at the holiday season. The holidays aren’t complete for our family without that pie!

I’d heard of Klubb before; my family made a potato dumpling similar to it when I was young, but I hadn’t had it for a long time. As a child, I hadn’t liked it, but I was ready to try it again. I think the Klubb turned out correctly; my husband noted the flavor was similar to a mouthful of lefse.

Klubb is very filling, however, and I ultimately decided the young people in our family would probably not appreciate it. I’m lucky I always do a trial run of recipes before making a big meal. I decided to switch to a bit more American entree—scalloped potatoes and ham. Below you’ll find the recipes for the meal, including my scalloped potatoes and ham recipe. You’ll also find step‑by‑step pictures.

Smoked Salmon & Lefse Pinwheels

Ingredients

• One round of Norsland Lefse
• 3 ounces approximately cream cheese spread (plain, chive and onion or herb/dill flavored)
• 3 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
• Optional fresh dill or other fresh herbs, finely chopped

Instructions

Step 1: Lay one round of Norsland Lefse on a clean, dry surface.

Step 2: Spread the cream cheese spread over the lefse, covering the entire surface. I used chive and onion cream cheese spread.

Step 3: Place the 3 ounces of smoked salmon on top of the cheese.

Step 4: Sprinkle chopped dill or other herbs over the salmon if desired.

Step 5: Carefully roll the lefse into a cylinder; slice into 1 inch wide segments and serve.

Lingonberry Glazed Carrots

(serves 4 to 6 people)

Ingredients

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lingonberry preserves
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 to 2 teaspoons honey (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of cardamom (optional)
• Fresh parsley or dill for garnish

Instructions

Step 1: Cook the carrots in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and enough water to cover. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until just tender. Drain well.

Step 2: Make the glaze by melting butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in lingonberry preserves and orange zest. Add honey if you want a sweeter taste. Add a pinch of cardamom for a bit more Norwegian flavor.

Step 3: Toss carrots in the glaze in the skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes; this will allow the glaze to reduce and cling to the carrots.

Step 4: Transfer to a serving bowl and finish with a sprinkle of parsley or dill.

Klubb - Norwegian Potato Dumplings

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ pound ham
• 5 tablespoons butter melted to serve with the dumplings
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a hard simmer.

Step 2: While the water is warming, grate the potatoes and place in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Add flour, egg and salt to the bowl; mix and knead until firm. Add more flour if needed to bring the dough to a stiff consistency.

Step 4: Cube ham chunks and wrap dough around the ham cubes. Each dumpling should be the size of a large meatball. You should get about 12 dumplings.

Step 5: Drop dumplings into simmering water and allow to cook for 45 minutes, making sure that the dumplings do not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Step 6: Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and serve with melted butter, salt and pepper.

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

Ingredients

• 10 raw potatoes
• 1 yellow onion
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1½ cups milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 pound diced ham
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.

Step 2: Butter a large casserole dish.

Step 3: Combine milk, 6 tablespoons butter and cornstarch in a glass mixing bowl.

Step 4: Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes; stir and repeat microwaving for 1 minute increments, stirring each time until the mixture is thickened; salt and pepper to taste. This will take about 4 minutes total.

Step 5: Peel the potatoes and take the skin off the onion; cut into chunks and slice using a food processor or a kitchen aid attachment into the greased casserole.

Step 6: Cut the ham into cubes.

Step 7: Add the ham and sauce into the potatoes; stir to mix.

Step 8: Bake at 360 degrees for 90 minutes uncovered.

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Crust - Ingredients

• 1½ cups flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup shortening
• Scant ⅓ cup water

Crust Instructions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Step 2: Measure the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl; cut or mash the shortening into the flour. (I use my hands.)

Step 3: Add a scant ⅓ cup of water and mix in.

Step 4: Divide the dough in half and roll out on a floured board. (You can use the remaining dough for another single shell pie.)

Step 5: Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork; bake at 475 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Pie Filling - Ingredients

• 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup plus two tablespoons white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1½ cups sour cream
• 4 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue)
• 1½ cups of raisins
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pie Filling Instructions

Step 1: Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees after baking the pie crust.

Step 2: Blend cornstarch, sugar, salt and nutmeg in a 2‑quart saucepan. Blend in the sour cream.

Step 3: Stir in egg yolks, raisins and lemon juice.

Step 4: Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the filling thickens and boils.

Step 5: Boil and stir for one minute.

Step 6: Pour hot filling into the baked pie shell.

Step 7: Top with meringue.

Meringue - Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue Instructions

Step 1: Beat the egg white and cream of tartar with an electric mixer using the wire whip attachment if available until foamy.

Step 2: Beat in sugar a tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Step 3: Beat in vanilla extract and spread on the pie filling. Be careful to seal the meringue to the pie crust edge.

Step 4: Bake in the 400 degree oven for 10 minutes until light brown. Cool away from drafts.

Glögg

Ingredients

• Glögg concentrate from Norsland Lefse
• Red wine or rum (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
• Water

Instructions

Step 1: Pour into a medium‑sized saucepan two parts Glögg concentrate to one part water and one part wine. If you’d rather have non‑alcoholic, simply do one part Glögg concentrate to one part water.

Step 2: Warm the mixture but do not bring to a boil.

Step 3: I like to serve this with sandbakkels and krumkake mid‑afternoon.

I hope you’ll have a chance to try one or more of these recipes as you plan your celebrations; have a Merry Christmas and God Jul!