The Clermont-Ferrand town council has joined forces with the final of the Europavox Campus springboard competition with its Clermont Fête Ses Etudiants initiative, providing students with an opportunity to sample some European recipes at the Coopérative de Mai piazza.
Bergen, a Norwegian city filled with hundreds of colorful houses and lively families despite the cool temperatures, is also a place where you can discover many authentic recipes, like the Pinnekjøtt, a Christmas meal that should be eaten with loved ones in a warm and cosy home. To present this delicacy, Oystein, associate professor at the art department of the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (one of the four universities participating in Europavox Campus), is welcoming us to his home!
This is a comfort food staple that brings back festive memories… And the best way to make your mouth water before the Europavox Campus final. Indeed, we’ll have a beautiful gourmet surprise, in collaboration with Clermont Fête ses Etudiants, on the 26th of April in Clermont-Ferrand. Stay tuned, you’ll know more about it very soon on this website!
Ingredients
For the meat
- 2 kg Pinnekjøtt
- Big bowls for soaking the meat in
For the Swede Mash – Rotmos
- 1.5 kg swede peeled and chopped
- 3 medium carrots washed and chopped
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
- 50 ml double cream
- 50 ml single cream
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 75 ml cooking stock from the pinnekjott
- pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
- salt
- ground black pepper
Instructions
For the meat
The day before eating:
- Place the meat in casseroles or big bowls (or a pyrex dish – anything will do) and cover with plenty of water. Leave in room temperature for approx. 30 hours.
- Why do we do this? Pinnekjøtt is meat that has been salted and dried, soaking it ensures it regains its consistency – as well as making it palatable by removing most of the salt. How long this takes depends on the thickness of the meat, as well as the temperature of the water. Tepid water will speed up the process.
On the day of eating, 3 hours before you plan to eat:
- Pour off the water and place the meat to one side.
- In your biggest casserole(s), place a metal rack or birch branches in the bottom. Add water until it covers the rack or your branches. Place your meat on top and cover with a lid. Leave to gently steam cook at low heat for approximately 3 hours. Sausage can be added to the casserole for cooking for the last 15-20 minutes; chop into chunks of 2-3 inches to ensure they cook through. It is done when the meat falls easily off the bone.
For the Swede Mash – Rotmos
- Peel your vegetables and chop coarsely into even-sized pieces. Boil until tender in lightly salted water. Leave for 3 minutes to dry, then mash by hand. Add cream and butter and give it a good stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a pinch (not too much – this has a very strong flavour) of ground nutmeg if liked – the slight sweetness goes really well with the salty meat. If you think the mash is too thick, loosen it with some of the pinnekjøtt cooking water.
- Serve with pinnekjøtt, lingonberry jam, perhaps some freshly boiled potatoes and a good shot of aquavit.
Recipe from Martina on scandikitchen.co.uk
A few words about Clermont Fête ses Etudiants
With more than 40,000 students at Clermont university, making them more than a quarter of the population, Clermont-Ferrand is a major student town!
Clermont Fête Ses Etudiants also holds several events throughout the academic year, such as the Clermont Student Cup, an inter-disciplinary sports challenge, organised in the springtime, and this first final of the Europavox Campus springboard competition, which will be hosted in Clermont-Ferrand on Thursday 26 April.
To welcome new students and to help them to settle in, Clermont-Ferrand town council organises an annual festive event at the start of the university term called Clermont Fête Ses Etudiants. Since 2022, the project has been supported by Université Clermont Auvergne, and it has become a key event in highlighting the importance of students in Clermont.
Discover the Gourmet Passport for the Europavox Campus’ final
Norway – Cheese Lefse
Germany – Potato Knödel
Romania – Tochiturâ
