Rømmegrøt

When we visited Norway in June 2014 one of the treats we had was Rømmegrøt.  It is hard to explain to Americans who do not have Scandinavian roots what this dish is like.  I had heard of Rømmegrøt from childhood but I don’t remember my grandmother or my mother ever making it.  It is often served combined with a plate of thin sliced lunch meats and crackers. 

The best way I can think of to describe it is as a cross between a soup, porridge, and pudding.  It is both sweet and slightly sour and can be dressed up with more melted butter, sugar (brown or white), raisins, cinnamon or whatever else appeals to the appetite.  We had it hot like a soup for lunch with lunch meats but it tastes wonderful cold too. 

When we returned home I looked on-line and found several recipes, selected one and tried it out.  Disaster!  It didn’t have the consistency or the flavor we remembered from our trip.  I found a recipe card from a friend with another version that looked simple enough to make but didn’t look quite the same either.  Next a small Norwegian-American cookbook was consulted and it had two recipes to choose from but neither looked like it would taste exactly as I recalled.  What to do?  Mix them up and see what happens.  Here is my own Rømmegrøt recipe.  Three bowls later Bob agrees that this version tastes the most like what we experienced in Norway.  He had seconds and asked for more.  


Rømmegrøt

1 cup butter (two sticks)
¾ cup flour
3 cups milk
1 ½ cups half & half
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Melted butter, sugar (brown or white) raisins, cinnamon to put on top when served

Melt the cup of butter and add flour to make a roux.  Cook about 5 to 10 min. over medium low or low heat stirring constantly so as not to scorch or burn the bottom.  Meanwhile heat the milk, half & half, cream and sour cream to boiling using medium to medium high heat. The milk & cream have to be stirred more or less constantly also to prevent burning or scorching. [At one point I had a spatula in each hand and was stirring both pans at the same time.]  Add the hot milk/cream mix slowly to the roux.  Cook a few minutes and then add the 1/3 cup sugar.  The soup/porridge mixture should be like a medium thick soup not runny and not too thick.  Serve in a cup or bowl topped with melted butter, sugar, raisins, cinnamon etc.

yum!

Be warned this is very filling and rich.

[Maybe my Norwegian cousins will tell me how close I got to the real thing.]