Rømmegrøt- Norwegian Sour Cream Porridge

Serves 4 Prep Time 5 minutes   Cook Time 8 minutes   Rated:

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Norway's Ancient Sour Cream Porridge (Basically a Béchamel That Went to Valhalla) ;)

I ate a lot of things on my recent Norway foodie trip that I didn't expect to fall for, but Rømmegrøt properly stopped me in my tracks. It's a sour cream porridge that's been feeding Norwegians through brutal winters for centuries, and traditionally rolled out for weddings, christenings and Christmas; it's that kind of dish. The first time it landed in front of me on board, mid-fjord, I clocked the method before I'd even tasted it: you're essentially building a béchamel, except instead of milk you're working with cultured sour cream, coaxing the butterfat out until it separates and pools on top like something from an alchemy experiment. It's rich, it's tangy, it's deeply savoury-leaning-sweet, and it makes absolutely no apologies for the amount of butter involved. I believe they use flour as opposed to semolina but I couldn't quite bring myself to eat a bowl of béchamel straight up, so I subbed in the semolina. I think semolina is an accepted substitute in Norway as well. 

On the ship, it was right next to the stewed strawberries, so what's a girl to do?  Simple, bright, cutting straight through all that richness. I couldn't stop thinking about it once I got home, so I've built you the classic version here, plus one extra: champagne stewed strawberries, because if we're going to romanticise a Norwegian fjord cruise, we may as well go all the way.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve warm, straight from the pot, Rømmegrøt waits for no one and firms up fast

Classic Norwegian style: a dusting of cinnamon sugar and a well of melted butter in the centre

The ship-inspired way: ladle over warm stewed strawberries (or the champagne version) for that fjord-side breakfast feeling

Any roasted nuts, like pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, which are all plentiful in Norway as well

A small pile of flatbread or crispbread on the side is traditional, for scraping the bowl clean

For a savoury twist, a few slices of cured meat (like 'fenalår', cured lamb or mutton, or 'spekemat', charcuterie) alongside cuts the richness beautifully

Leftovers reheat gently with a splash of milk to loosen, don't rush it, or it'll split

Of course, coffee 

 

Need

Do

1  

Place sour cream, semolina, milk and salt into the Thermomix bowl and cook 8 min/90°C/speed 3.

2  

Serve hot with any of the suggested toppings, typically butter and cinnamon to taste.

3  

To make the Champagne Strawberries, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer until the strawberries are soft and the liquid is reduced. You can pre-make this and keep refrigerated for up to a month. It is great on ice cream, pancakes or crepes and of course, porridge of all descriptions.

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Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.

Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once! 

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