Last weekend I was invited to the Raptus festival in Norway and every night they served traditional Norwegian food for us.
The first and third night I was so excited about the food. It all tasted great and I was having a blast. The cured meat was a dream, the potatoes were unusually delicious, the fish was like nothing else and they had the best butter I’ve ever tasted.
But on the second night they served us raspeballer and I was so confused and upset. The potato balls tasted like soggy cardboard and the meat was so salty it hurt my gums, and I usually eat food so spicy Indians tell me to take it down a notch. And I wasn’t alone. The other guests had to excuse themselves too, except the one American who loved it.
So sorry Norway, I like your food overall but I’ll never be a fan of raspeballer.
sounds almost like the Acadian dish “Poutine Rapeé” (not to be confused with the Quebecois dish “Poutine” aka Cheese Fries with Gravy).
Poutine Rapeé is a big potato dumpling made with salted pork and onion inside a mixture of grated potato (with most of the starch removed) and cooked potato. Form into balls the size of two fists and boil until the ghosts of your ancestors tell you they’re done. Delicious!