Pancake: Pönnukökur - Traditional Icelandic and Manitoba Style

It’s been a while since I posted. 

I’ve missed you, too.

We’ve been busy travelling and checking items off our bucket lists.

When you’re turning 70 - if you’re very lucky - that becomes the new norm.

We find travel to be wonderful, and I hope you’ve been having a good summer filled with great experiences, too.

I notice that the recipe for Hoito Restaurant’s Finnish Pancakes is one of  last week's top posts.

I posted that recipe in June, 2015, after we had been in Thunder Bay.

It was one of our favourite memories of our trip.

Who doesn’t love pancakes in all their many forms, flavours, textures, with all their toppings and accompaniments?

Well, the Icelandics pride themselves on Pönnukökur, their pancakes.

During the last evening of our trip to Iceland, after a delicious meal in a Reykjavík restaurant, we had a chance to sample Pönnukökur for dessert.

Our guide, Hildur, said her grandmother’s recipe was much better.

That’s saying something - everyone raved about the Pönnukökur we were enjoying.

Still, I do wonder about Grandma’s recipe. Don’t you?

In Manitoba we have a strong connection to the Scandinavian countries.

During Folklorama we have a Scandinavian Pavilion which gives a nod to each country:

Monday: Danish - sausages and tart

Tuesday: Finland - Finnish meat pies, carrot casserole and cookies

Wednesday: Iceland - Fish chowder and pönnukökur 

Thursday: Norway - Lamb Stew and krumkake

Friday: Sweden - Fish and cheese pie and rosettes

Sunday & Saturday: Roast Pork 

Each day’s menu also included meatballs, chicken and asparagus tart, cheese platter, and all the regular desserts – vinarterta, rice pudding, compote.

You never leave hungry when you eat with a Scandinavian - or a Manitoban!

Hints:

Pönnukökur is usually cooked on a special Icelandic pancake pan, which is traditionally never washed or rinsed, not even with water.

The pancakes should be thin. A proper pancake is only about a millimeter thick! 

They are usually served rolled up with sugar (granulated or brown sugar and icing sugar) and rolled up, or filled with jam, folded into quarters and serve with whipped cream.

Icelandic cafés also serve them with ice cream. 

You can also stack them on a plate, sprinkling some sugar on top of each pancake.

They are good either warm or cold.

You can also bake the Manitoba Pönnukökur.

Lightly grease a griddle with butter and preheat.

Remove from heat and pour about 1/5 cup batter on it and bake.

Regrease pan lightly with butter for each pancake.

The Scandinavian Pavilions also served Janson’s Temptation and Kjotkaker.

Enjoy!!

                        Pönnukökur

In a bowl, whisk together  until thoroughly combined

3 Cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Melt in a small pot

1/2 Cup butter

Place in a large bowl

8 eggs

Whisk eggs until well beaten, then whisk in

1 Cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Whisk the flour mixture into the sour cream mixture.

Stir in

4 Cups milk

the melted butter

Stir until you have a thin but smooth batter. 

Heat griddle to 350º - 400º F

Melt in griddle

1/2 teaspoon butter 

Heat over medium heat until the butter is fragrant.

Pour in enough batter to coat the skillet in a thin layer.

Allow to cook until the bottom is lightly browned, then turn the pancake over to brown the other side.

Remove to warm plates and keep warm.

Repeat, re-buttering pan now and then, until all of the batter is gone.

Fill each pönnukökur with brown sugar and icing sugar, and roll up.

                        Manitoba Style Pönnukökur

Makes about 2 dozen.

Sift together

1 1/2 Cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Place in a large bowl

2 eggs

Beat.

Add 

1/3 Cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 Cup sour cream or buttermilk

Stir together.

Add sifted dry ingredients.

Mix under smooth.

Gradually stir in

2 Cups milk

Heat griddle to 350º - 400º F

Melt in griddle

1/2 teaspoon butter 

Add batter a half ladle at a time, making thin circles. 

Let brown on one side.

When bubbles appear on top, flip the pancake over. 

The colour should be golden brown on top and medium brown on bottom.  

Remove to warm plates and keep warm.

Repeat, re-buttering pan, until all of the batter is gone.

Serve hot spread with white or brown sugar and rolled up.

Or serve with blueberries and whipped cream.

Folklorama: Janson’s Temptation and Kjotkaker

Janson’s Temptation

In 1980 the Scandinavians did something a little different from the approaches used by the Irish and Ukrainians.

Instead of two pavilions about the same country, or two pavilions representing two different locations in the same country, they decided to present a pavilion focusing on one country, Sweden, and another pavilion giving a small taste of Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway.

A cultural smorgasbord, so to speak.

The Swedish pavilion was at the Vasalund retirement home at 5429 Roblin Boulevard, and was sponsored by the United Swedish Canadians.

Along with displays of ethnic costumes, handicrafts and artifacts, there were demonstrations of rya making, Dalamoining and straw weaving.

They had trays and other household items that had been decorated with rosmålning, which is called rosemaling in Norway.

I still have a couple of trays and a cutting board we had bought there, and they are quite pretty.

There were folk dancers, songs, and a live band to provide music for dancing.

The Smorgasbord table was laden with hot and cold dishes, sandwiches, coffeecakes, waffles and cookies.

And then there was the The Scandinavian Pavilion, which extended a hearty Velkommen, Terve Tuloa, Välkommen and Velkominn to all!!

It was sponsored by St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church’s Action 70’s Group and was set up in the St. James Civic Centre.

That was quite a busy place that week, packed with folk songs and dances.

The lineup was: Iceland on Monday, Denmark on Tuesday, Finland on Wednesday, Sweden on Thursday and Norway on Friday.

Sunday and Saturday featured entertainment from all five countries.

They presented Lila Platt, the Songbird of the North; the Vopnfjords and Hecla Chorus of Islandingadagurinn fame, the New Iceland Choir, Saga Dancers, and Kris Bjornson.

There was a Norwegian Folk Dance Group from Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday.

Each night’s menu depended on the featured nation.

There was also a “Tasters’ Table” of snacks from all five nations: Vinatertas, Rullesill, Rullupyisa, as well as a smorgasbord and many pastries.

The Scandinavian Pavilion will be open during Folklorama this year.

It’s still a great way to visit a few countries at one time.

Hints:

The cream and milk mixture for the Janson’s Temptation depends on how much fat you want in your recipe.

The Scandinavian Pavilion had this hint for the meatballs:

Form meatballs the easy way by wetting a teaspoon in a glass of cold water and rolling them in the palm of your hand.

                        Janson’s Temptation

Butter a baking dish.

Peel, rinse and cut into thin strips

5 - 6 medium potatoes

You’ll need 4 Cups of thin strips.

Leave the strips in cold water until needed. 

Before using wrap strips in paper towels to get the water out.

Peel and slice thin 

2 - 3 onions

You’ll need 2 Cups of thin slices.

Combine in a small dish

1 Tablespoon fine dry breadcrumbs 

salt and ground white pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400º F

Heat in frying pan

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

Sauté the onion slices

Spread the slices in the prepared baking dish.

Evenly distribute on top of the onion slices

10 - 12 anchovy fillets (Swedish or Norwegian, of course)

Cover with the dried potato strips.

Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top and dot with

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

Bake 15 to 20 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350º F

Remove the baking dish from the oven and pour over the potatoes

2 - 3 Tablespoons brine from the canned anchovies

1 - 1 1/2 Cups cream and milk

You want the level of the liquid to be even with the potatoes.

Bake 45 minutes until golden and the liquid is almost absorbed. 

                        Kjotkaker  (Norwegian Meatballs and Gravy)

Finely chop 

1 small onion

You want 6 Tablespoons chopped onion

Melt in a large frying pan

2 Tablespoons butter

lightly fry the onion.

This can be added to the meat mixture, or you can set it aside for the gravy, or you can use some in each.

Place in a large bowl

1 pound ground beef

1/4 pound ground lean pork

1/2 Cup soft bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1/2 Cup milk

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Mix together and form into 1-inch balls.

Brown them in a large fry pan over medium heat, and keep rotating until they are browned on all sides.

Remove the meatballs to a dish and make the gravy.

Add to the fat in the pan

3 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Heat until the mixture thickens, then remove from heat and stir in

1 Cup water

Heat 5 minutes, stirring, then add the meatballs.

Simmer for 5 minutes over low heat.

Swedish Cardamom Wreath for Saint Lucia Day (Christmas Bread) - Margaret Ullrich

What's a holiday without a fancy bread?

Forget about the saffron buns for Saint Lucia Day.

This is a lovely loaf of holiday bread.

And it's Swedish.

If you're baking ahead, the dough can be frozen.

Allow the braids to thaw and rise before baking.

The baked braids can be frozen, uniced.

Warm them in the microwave and ice.

Who's to know? 

Serve a wreath on December 13.

At a decent hour.

Who really wants to wake up at 3 a.m. anyway?

For an extra touch, bruise a couple of cardamom seeds and add them to 

the coffee grounds while brewing.

Happy Saint Lucia Day!

                        Swedish Cardamom Wreath

Grease 2 large baking sheets

In a small pot, melt and cool

3/4 Cup margarine

In a large bowl combine

1 Tablespoon yeast

1/4 Cup warm water

Let sit 10 minutes

Stir in

2 1/2 Cups warm milk

the melted margarine

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Cup sugar

2 teaspoons cardamom

7 - 7 1/2 Cups flour

Mix until blended.

Knead thoroughly, about 20 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise 2 hours.

Divide the dough into six even pieces.

Roll a piece between your hands into a 24 inch rope.

Take 3 ropes, fasten together at one end, make a braid, form the braid 

into a wreath and tuck the loose ends under the fastened end.

Place the braid on the cookie sheet.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cover and let rise 40 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350º

Bake 40 minutes until lightly golden.

Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes.

Frosting

Combine

1 Cup confectioners' sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Cardamom Cinnamon Cookies (slice and bake Christmas Cookies) - Margaret Ullrich

This is a handy slice and bake cookie recipe.

Great for this time of year.

Make the dough when you're watching television.

Slice and bake for a warm treat when company's coming.

They'll never know.

Well, they might notice there aren't any dirty bowls around.

For a little variety...

Make slightly fatter logs, then flatten the dough to form a long rectangle which, when cut, would make square cookies.

Or you can leave it as a long log, to make regular round cookies.

                        Cardamom Cinnamon Cookies

Have 2 large baking sheets, ungreased

In a large bowl sift together

1 1/4 Cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large mixer bowl beat together until light and fluffy

1/2 Cup margarine 

1/4 Cup packed brown sugar

Add the sifted dry ingredients.

Mix until blended.

Roll the dough between your hands to form logs

8 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide (see above).

Wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or longer.

Slice cookies about 1/4 inch thick with a sharp knife, dipped in flour.

Place them on the cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.

Preheat oven to 350º

Bake 12 minutes until lightly golden.

Transfer to racks and cool completely.

Cardamom / Sugar & Spice Christmas Blend - Margaret Ullrich

When it comes to spices, Swedes are big spenders.

First, there's the saffron for the buns for Saint Lucia Day.

I've already said enough about Saint Lucia and saffron.

Making real Swedish saffron buns is still on my Bucket List.

Saffron is often not found among the usual spices.

I've heard of women asking, weeks in advance, if it could be ordered for their 

holiday recipes.

Tradition is a bitch.

Now we're going to take a look at cardamom.

Don't panic.

Cardamom can be found year round.

Well, it can, if your grocery store has a large spice section.

It's costly, but a little goes a long way.

In Scandinavia cardamom is used in pastries, much as North Americans use cinnamon.

A favorite in India, it was brought to Scandinavia by the Vikings.

East Indians use cardamom in curry and desserts.

Cardamom is a member of the ginger family.

It's often sold as is, in pods.

Each pod holds about 20 tiny black seeds.

Open the pods over a bowl.

At these prices, you don't want to lose even one.

Bruise 2 or 3 seeds and add to coffee grounds while brewing.

The seeds can be ground and used the same as you would any ground spice.

Cardamom combines well with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in cakes and cookies, 

as well as in pumpkin and apple pies.

Ground cardamom is also excellent in mashed potatoes and squash.

Mix it with sugar and sprinkle on French toast, or on hot or cold fruit compote.

Add some cardamom to waffle batter.

You can also nibble the seeds after a rich meal.

Just like anise, which the Romans chewed after a big meal.

Handy at this time of year.

We'll get to anise later this month.

Just in time for New Year's.

Sugar & Spice Christmas Blend

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Makes a scant 2/3 Cup

Sugar & Spice Blend would also add a nice touch to rice pudding.

Or egg nog.