A celebration. A feast.  A coming together. Signifying an homage, a compliment if you will, to Numedal’s landscape, its people, its past and its present. A gleeful and relaxed dinner to crown off the day’s festivities. For two evenings the candles are lit, flowers are placed in glass jars, the place settings are arranged and rows of white-clothed tables line up under a large, white tent. A stage, which will be the platform for many laughs and traditional music and dance, overlooks the tables. Waiters, dressed in formal attire and frilly aprons, will begin to scurry around, taking drink orders, filling cups, and, at times, chiming in with song. The nights are centered around food and theater. The Numedalsgruppen, under the charge of Chef Micke Bergvall, have created a 7-course menu to entice the tastebuds and challenge the thinking of traditional Norwegian food. They base each course on local products and ingredients; some plucked and picked from nature only hours beforehand. This is the celebration; an acknowledgment of those who create and cook and utilize what Norway has to offer. The dinner will begin. Drinks will be poured. Plates will start flowing. Music will sound. Conversations will echo. A performance will begin, and laughs will proceed. More drinks, more food, more laughs, more merriment. The whole tent will retire outside where coffee, cooked over flaming logs, will be served from a coffee master’s hand. Cakes will be passed around. And then the dancing will commence. A concert will start. The sun will still give its light, even though the hour is late. This is the Matfestival in Numedal.

The Menu

Brød og Smør / Bread and Butter

(Homebaked bread, flatbrød from Uvdalsleiven, butter from Håvardsrud Seterliv)

Spekemat Fjøl med det beste fra Numedal / Cured Meats from the best of Numedal

(Fenalår from Spælsau lamb, Smådølkurv from Kirkebygda Produkter and Nabosnabben from Nabokjerringan, Flatbrød from Mollas bakery and sour cream from Håvardsrud Seterliv)

Varmrøkt Sik med Eggerulle og Jordskokk / Smoked White Fish with Egg & Jerusalem Artichoke

(Sik fish from the waters of Norefjord, egg fra Prestmoen Farm and Jerusalem Artichokes from Årud Farm)

Vente Pølse i Brød / Sausage in Bread

(Matopplevelser’s lamb and wild garlic sausage served with pickled red onions from Holm Farm, course mustard and tyttebær ketchup and bread from Veggli Bakeri)

Fjellvitt-Gravet Ørret / Cured Trout with Aquavit

(Trout from the Låkåsetvann, cured in Aquavit from Numedal and served with troll-potato croutons, whipped sour cream from Håvardsrud Seterliv and trout roe from Hadangervidda rakfisk)

Fritert Troll-Potetskrell / Fried Troll-Potato Skins

(Served with sour cream from Håvardsrud Seterliv)

Brassert Storfe Bryst av økologisk Telemarks Kalv fra Uvdal / Organic Braised Beef Breast from Uvdal

(Served with carrot purée, carrot pieces from Lågen, onion, and salt-roasted Troll potatoes)

BlåKu med bærbrød / Blue Cheese with Berry Bread

(Blue cheese from Thorbjørnrud, served with dried berry bread, honey from Gardås forest and rhubarb marmalade) 

Tjukkmjølk-Pudding med Skogens Syrlige Bær / Thick Milk Pudding with Forest Berries

(Thick milk from Håvardsrud Seterliv and berries from the local forest)

Bålkaffe og Bakst / Campfire Coffee and Baked Goods

(Coffee made by Ola Hov, snipp from Mollas Bakery, kling and rømmebrød fra Uvdalsleiven Tradisjonsbakst)

Brød og Smør & Spekemat / Bread and Butter & Cured Meats

Varmrøkt Sik med Eggerulle og Jordskokk / Smoked White Fish with Egg & Jerusalem Artichoke

Vente Pølse i Brød / Sausage in Bread

Fjellvitt-Gravet Ørret / Cured Trout with Aquavit

Fritert Troll-Potetskrell / Fried Troll-Potato Skins

Brassert Storfe Bryst av økologisk Telemarks Kalv fra Uvdal / Organic Braised Beef Breast from Uvdal

BlåKu med Bærbrød / Blue Cheese with Berry Bread

Tjukkmjølk-Pudding med Skogens Syrlige Bær / Thick Milk Pudding with Forest Berries

Bålkaffe og Bakst / Campfire Coffee and Baked Goods

Dancing and Gaiety

To read more about the other activities from this year’s Matfestival in Numedal, see my previous post.

Finally, I leave you with Numedal’s song, which everyone sang at the dinner. 

Numedalssangen

Du Numedal du vene med fagre fjell of fjord

Frå Kongsberg ytst i dalen til vidda i mot nord

Eg ingin andre stadir kan liva glad og sœl

I heile vide verdi, det kjenner eg so vel

Med Norefjell of Blefjell til livd i aust og vest

Her bygde våre fedrar og her var hugen fest

Og sut og saknad skifte, med lukka, liv og liek

Men trufast arbeid gav dei den rette livsens kveik

Solengje Lågen logne igjennom dalen renn

Og fossen dyn og dunar utover bygd og grend

Skal fedraåndi stråla som sol frå høge hall

Og vigsla onn og yrkje i nye Numedal

Enn byggjer det i dalen eit folk med merg i bein

Med sterke, kvasse tankar, med hugen ung og rein

Som dyrkar odelsgarden, som elskar far og mor

Som lyfter fridomsmerkje – og framtidsvonir gror.

The post Numedal Matfestival { A Gathering } appeared first on North Wild Kitchen.

Numedal is a valley, nestled in the belly of Norway, on route between Oslo and Bergen, with an enormous variety of excellent ingredients and products. This is a valley where culture, history, tradition and food collide. A gem; hidden among the towering mountains, lush forests, and winding rivers. Summertime brings a handful of activities which highlight the area’s natural environment, creativity and people. One of these events brings together a variety of food producers and artisans from the valley to entice locals and visitors alike. Now on it’s fourth year, the Numedal Matfestival is an annual two-day event featuring a local food market, cafe and pub, concerts, food courses, competitions and a nightly creative restaurant headed by a group of young chefs.

Here is the first part of the festival – the day’s activities – which I’d like to share with you. It’s the heart of the festival, where local food and local producers are showcased.

Taking place in Rollag, the atmosphere is a triumphant one when you see the splendor of the mountains, the flowing river and the green valley. It’s a small town, of course, but with a large and cheery personality. The old train line from Kongsberg to Rødberg remains and the imagination only has to fill in what once would have been the clanking of steel against the tracks. The old train station, converted into a cafe and a brewery, overlooks the market and restaurant, acting as a pivotal landmark.

Rain could not put a damper on the day’s activities. Fun games for all included milking a makeshift cow and a potato peeling competition. Visitors could sign up for food courses including beer brewing, sausage making, preparing and cooking fish and making kling. Local producers, selling everything from sausage to lefse to jams and salts and fur hides, happily greeted visitors and passed out samples of their wares, making it impossible for visitors not to indulge in aged goat cheeses, wienerbrød and other baked delights as they made their way around the tents.

Norway has some of the best ingredients on offer and local producers and farmers are ensuring that quality and tradition are at the forefront of Norwegian cuisine. They keep to generational recipes and techniques, such as lefse and kling, lomper, and brunøst, to name a few. While flavors of spruce tips, wild berries, nettle, wild garlic, and edible flowers make their way into the sausages, teas, juices and jams. The method of smoking plays a vital part as well, in products such as flaked salt and fish. The range is varied and exciting. A taste of the past and the present, all in one.

Innovation is an important concept for the area of Numedal, and food is no exception. Unveiled at the festival are the new, local food boxes which can be ordered to personal taste and lifestyle. Competitions for the best amateur beer brewer in two categories received a handful of local entries as well as the competitions for best kling/lefse and sausage in Numedal. Up and coming artisans are sprouting up all over the valley, raising the level of quality and range. With greater interest in food and local ingredients, farmers, producers and hobbyists are able to do what they do best and enhance their products.

Local food festivals are a unique way to connect with the community and natural surroundings. Supporting local farmers and producers means preserving tradition and quality. If you find yourself in the area of Numedal, be sure to stop by one of the local markets or attend the annual food festival. You can always bring a part of the Numedal Matfestival into your kitchen and here are a couple of traditional recipes from local producers which I have already featured here on North Wild Kitchen:

Mollas Lefse 

Snipp from Rollag

Kling from Uvdal

Rømmebrød

The post Numedal Matfestival {Local Food, Local Producers} appeared first on North Wild Kitchen.