Norwegian Apple Soup {Food of the World}

Food of the World takes us to Norway this month. I haven’t made many Nordic recipes other than Swedish Shrimp Salad Sandwich, but whenever I watch a cooking show or documentary featuring Nordic cuisine it looks fab, especially the smorrebrod and the seafood. UPDATE: Not to mention all the good stuff we ate when trapped in Iceland last spring.

Norwegian food is game and seafood centric. With Lent coming up, I already had seafood on the menu plan. As for game, well, I’ll be honest…I’m happy to try it, but game (as well as goat and rabbit) is something other people cook for me.

As usual I turned to Pinterest for advice on how to proceed with the ingredients I hadn’t eliminated and came across an interesting recipe for Norwegian Apple Soup on Outside Oslo blog. Daytona, the blog owner, has a nice collection of beautifully photographed Scandinavian recipes. I was sorely tempted by the cauliflower soup with cardamom but the bowlful of apples sitting on the counter made the decision for me.

I love apples in a savory application, especially in combination with root vegetables and cabbage, or as an accompaniment to pork. This soup is intended to be a dessert. It can be served warm or cold, depending on the weather and time of year. I served mine with walnuts and plain yogurt. I would have used vanilla ice cream if I’d had any on hand. It’s like a liquid apple pie.

Rick didn’t care for this at all, although he was in favor of reducing the soup into a syrup to serve over desserts. For that reason, I recommend making a small batch the first time…use only a couple apples, a little sugar and just enough water to cover the apples while they cook. You can always add more water to improve the consistency. The squeeze of lemon juice right before serving brightens the flavors of the soup. A little salt and pepper adds some interest, but none is better than too much. The salt helps to bring out the sweetness of the apples.

Norwegian Apple Soup {Food of the World}

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Nordic

Servings: 6 servings

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca flour
• 5 small apples, peeled, sliced, and cored (just over a pound)
• juice of a lemon
• pinch of salt
• a good grind of pepper
• 1 scoop plain yogurt or ice cream per serving
• Chopped walnuts or pecans for garnish

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients except for the lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large saucepan.
• Bring to a near boil and reduce the heat to low.
• Continue to cook until the apple are soft but still maintain their shape.
• Remove some of the cooked apples and use a stick blender to puree the rest.
• Return the reserved apples to the soup.
• Stir in the lemon juice along with a little salt and pepper.
• Serve plain or with ice cream or yogurt. Garnish with the walnuts.

Notes

Serve with: ice cream OR plain or vanilla yogurt OR whipped cream AND your favorite butter cookies for dunking.

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I will make Norwegian Apple Soup again and make sure to have ice cream next time. We had Maria cookies on hand, but would love to try this in the Fall when the really snappy gingerbread cookies are available.

Do you have a favorite Norwegian dish? Tell me about it in the comments. I have had a lot of fun researching and cooking food from other cultures for the Food of the World Party. There are a number of surprising similarities. 🙂 UPDATE 2020: Unfortunately the Food of the World Party no longer exists. I enjoyed participating while it lasted. If you click on the Food of the World tag below you’ll see other recipes I made while exploring world cuisine.