Lapskaus!

I made lapskaus for dinner yesterday and it was YUMMY! It's really simple and I thought I'd walk you through it if anyone wants to try.

I started out making stock by first browning and then simmering some rather tough meat and a piece of bone with a couple of carrots, half an onion and a bay leaf. You don't have to do this, though, but I had the time! You could skip this step and use sirloin or something similar + stock.

If you're not making stock you start at this point. I had my tender pieces of beef back into the pot after sieving the stock off. I took half a carrot and mashed it up with a fork hoping it would add nice flavours to the gravy after boiling in the stock for so long. I just made that up today, though.
Then add diced potatoes, carrots and pretty much any vegetables you like. Root vegetables are traditional. I just use carrot and potato but I will usually stir in some chopped, frozen spinach when it's done.
Add your stock, either home made or bought so everything is covered.
Let simmer for at least half an hour. Season to taste - salt (if you use home made stock at least) and pepper (I use lots of pepper). Don't stir it too much, but you want the edges of the potatoes to break up (I often mush up a couple of pieces if it turns out to be too soupy). My meat was a bit too tender by the time I got in the vegetables and so it broke up a bit with the final stirring... And I didn't get any pix with the spinach added. It should be a thick porridgy texture. PA ate his with a fork.
I have a little bit of leftovers for later. It's one of those dishes that taste better the next day making it great food when you have company over since you can make it in advance and just re-heat it. You can also use more stock so it remains a chunky soup (suppelapskaus). Any meat and even sausage can be used, but this is my favourite and the most common version.

Did you know 8th Avenue in New York once was known as Lapskaus Boulevard? That was back when Bay Ridge in Brooklyn was the center of the city's Norwegian/Scandinavian community. You can still find the deli "Nordic Delicacies" http://www.nordicdeli.com/history/history.htm

Anna asked if you were to brown the meat before simmering or just chucking it in. You can do either, but browning it will add a bit more flavour and color.

Ane