Welcome to Greenland! We actually did Greenland a few weeks ago, but life has gotten a little hectic. So, here we are. Better late than never! According to Google, Greenland has a population of 56,225 people, and the capitol is Nuuk. It looks very cold. Very, very cold! It is also the world's largest island! Their national dish makes a whole lot of sense though! Their national dish is...
Sael Suaasat!
Basically, it is translated to seal stew. The recipe said that if we couldn't find seal, that whale, reindeer, musk-ox, or sea birds would work too. Sorry...not sure where to find any of those things in Oregon...We compromised and used elk - ha! The recipe calls for barley, which is wheat, so we opted for rice instead. We also made something called Chef's Dream Cake for dessert. It's not something I expected from Greenland! Here's what we did:
SAEL SUAASAT
2 lbs Elk Meat, cubed
8 1/2 C Beef Broth
1 C Rice
3 Onions, chopped
2 Carrots, sliced
2 Potatoes, diced
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Rosemary, chopped
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Sage
Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Soak the rice overnight in just enough water to cover the rice.
- Pour the rice water and remaining amount of broth, for a total of 8 1/2 C liquid, into a large pot.
- Add meat and everything but the rice, and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, continue simmering for one hour.
- Add the rice, and cook until the rice is done.
CHEF'S DREAM CAKE
2 C Gluten Free Flour (I used the "Cup for Cup" brand)
1/4 C Butter
1 1/2 C Sugar
3 Eggs
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla
1 C Milk
Topping:
1/2 C Butter
1 C Shredded Coconut
1 1/8 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Milk
- Preheat oven to 392 degrees.
- Cream the eggs and sugar.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and vanilla.
- Warm the butter and milk together until the butter is melted.
- Add milk and butter mixture to the flour mixture.
- Line a cake pan with parchment paper and pour the batter in.
- Cook for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, make the topping.
- Warm up the butter and milk until the butter is melted.
- Add the brown sugar and coconut, and mix well.
- When the cake is cooked, spread the coconut mixture on top of the cake and put it back in the oven at 428 degrees for about five minutes.
- The cake is done when the top is browned and crunchy.
Source: Chef's Dream Cake
The verdict? It was actually quite good! We really enjoyed the meal. But, once again, I failed to take a picture. Someone needs to remind me to do so...Handsome Husband??? It was quite the adventure to make, especially with the Nifty Niece. I'll let her tell you more about it:
Greenland's food is very good! I enjoyed eating and tasting all the different flavors. If you like lots of flavor, you would love the stew. The stew is amazing and lots of fun to make but when you have to wait for it to simmer it is best to do the cake. We used elk meat instead of the other weird meats they listed and I think it was a good substitute and that you should use.
The cake is really good and I would like to make it and eat it again! Something that I suggest is that you bake it or blow torch it until the middle topping is nice and crispy because it tastes better to me that way. The cake part tastes kind of like angel food cake to me.
I didn't expect Greenland's food to have so much produce because of its lack of good weather; but it was a delicious and nutritious meal!
ME
Taste of Sael Suaast (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Sael Suaast (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8
NIFTY NIECE
Taste of Sael Suaast (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 10
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 2
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 10
ME
Taste of Chef's Dream Cake (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Chef's Dream Cake (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6
NIFTY NIECE
Taste of Chef's Dream Cake (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4
So there you have it! This one was fun, and it's always a joy to cook with the Nifty Niece! Join us on our next adventure in Burkina Faso!
