New Scandinavian Cooking

This special bonus episode introduces a new member of the cast, Norwegian chef Ida Gran-Jansen. She is known for making delicate pastries, but in this episode, Ida visits the rich fishing grounds on the west coast of Norway. She meets local fishermen, then prepares a fish soup packed with flavors from Øygarden.

Cereals are a staple food in Scandinavia, so Andreas visits Sokna in Eastern Norway — one of the few places in the country where farmers are able to grow wheat, barley and rye. Andreas makes sourdough bread with homemade butter and baked pigeon. Like most Scandinavians, he uses cereals to make a porridge that, like risotto, is cooked with vegetable stock and duck breast.

Andreas visits Savalen in Eastern Norway, where he makes some of his Christmas favorites. He serves his best porridge with pinnekjøtt, a special holiday dish made with salted and dried goat ribs and served with almond potatoes. Andreas also prepares and savors the most common Norwegian holiday food: pork ribs, cooked twice.

Andreas joins a pack of hunters in Aalborg, Northern Denmark to make a generous wild duck, with red cabbage and potatoes cooked in duck fat. During the crossing to Norway, he makes classic Danish meatballs. Once Andreas arrives at Langesund, safely back on Norwegian soil, he prepares another wild duck with herbs.

Andreas travels along the coast of Western Norway. He starts his journey in Bergen, where colorful wooden houses surround the historic wharf, and makes a classic dish from the city: salted and cured cod. Andreas stops in the old Norwegian town of Stavanger before continuing on to Denmark, where he brews a perfect fish stew from freshly caught fish and mussels.

Andreas visits the small town of Cardamom, in Kristiansand, Southern Norway, to make ice cream using liquid nitrogen. Next, he picks the first potatoes of summer, and forages for ramsons — wild garlic from the Norwegian forest. Then, Andreas uses the trees of the forest around him to flavor a long-cooked pork neck, wrapping it in an inedible rhubarb leaf to lock in moisture.

Every day for lunch, whether at school, at work, or hiking outdoors, Norwegians everywhere unwrap the same sandwich. Andreas heads to the beautiful ski town of Geilo in Eastern Norway to investigate the packed lunch Norwegians eat every day on the run—identical, plain, bland open-faced sandwiches called matpakke—and what this sandwich reveals about the culture of modern Norway.

Andreas travels to Ringerike in Eastern Norway, the land of fairytales and historic farms. On the edge of the forest, he flips some traditional Norwegian pancakes with local berries. Then Andreas heads deep into the woods to demonstrate a technique for smoking fish inside a tent. He also prepares salad with dressing, plus roast steak with peas and local vegetables.

Muscular combine harvesters roam the landscape of Eastern Norway, where Andreas visits the municipality of Nes. He fishes in a local river and grills the fresh catch over an open fire. Andreas also introduces a whole new world of porridge. Finally, he makes a dish with king crab, served with barley risotto and roasted vegetables.

In autumn, the Scandinavian forest is full of berries, mushrooms and wild game. Andreas visits the town of Hønefoss in the woods of Eastern Norway, where he makes lunch for a group of hunters. Then, he investigates the origins of one of his favorite Norwegian potatoes, a small and strange, but tasty crop from Ringerike.