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.
Now you made me curious …
Anyone has an authentic raspeballer recipe at hand?
1kg raw potatoes, minced through a meat grinder
300g coarse flour
Mix into a homogeneous fough, then shape into balls and drop in near-boiling stock
Optionally put pieces of fatty meats inside of the balls while shaping them, or have it on the side
Leave it near-boiling (not boiling, as bubbles can knock them around and make them fall apart) for about an hour,
serve straight out of the pot, with butter and sugar
And how much salt?
Whatever your neighborhood can muster
No salt, except for however much is in the stock
au gusto