Around the table with Hanne Buxrud for some heart-warming Grøt
Oslo-based food writer and photographer Hanne Buxrud is co-author of Grøt På Ville Veier (Porridge: Off the Beaten Track). The book features 76 novel recipes for porridge that focus on nutrition, cultural context and sustainability. Food and wine are the focus of her commercial and editorial work, and she runs the creative community Rundt Bordet Studio with fellow freelancer Nadin Martinuzzi. She tells us how she creates festive spirit in her family home and shares a special recipe for the season.
What inspired you to write Grøt?
I heard about a porridge café opening in Copenhagen, and I wondered why we in Norway hadn’t come up with this idea earlier. I mean, we were born in a pot of porridge.
At least when grains were a staple that we practically had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We dressed it up with cream, butter, and sour cream for feasts. It’s the dish that nourished us after long days in the fields; the one we brought to the table when someone was born, died, or married; and the one we celebrated fall and the start of the harvest with.
I thought about my childhood, growing up with my grandmother who made me oatmeal every morning before school. She soaked the grains overnight which makes them very smooth, and even healthier. When three friends of mine and I decided to have a pop up, we made six totally different kinds of porridge. It attracted a long queue, and we sold about 600 portions in a day. After that a publishing company made contact, and after a few months, the book was born.
When do you start prepping for Christmas?
In November, with all its darkness, rain and short days, with no snow yet. I start with lighting candles in the morning and evenings, but it is not to do with Christmas. It’s just about embracing this time, instead of disliking it. At the end of the month, I might start to play some classical Christmas music, mostly Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. I burn some incense from a Catholic bookstore downtown. I grew up with that music and fragrance, now they are traditions I share with my children, who are 16 and 19.
Since I work with food, I might already have made some Christmas cookies and traditional meals, but that will be only for magazines and clients. My first homecooked Christmas meal will be pork ribs on the first Saturday of December. Of course, the prepping for the Julekalender [Norwegian advent calendar] starts around this time too. The night before the first of December, after the kids have gone to bed, I pour myself a glass of wine, put on some Christmas music, wrap all the small presents and put it up on the wall.
Did you have an advent calendar when you were growing up, and what was it like?
Yes! My mom made me one that she embroidered my name on and a picture of Santa sitting on a sledge. The two sides were covered with rings to hang small gifts, and some small bells. The gifts were things I needed for school, like erasers, or a pair of socks. Maybe a chocolate, too.
Did you make advent calendar for your children? If so, what were they like?
I did make one for my kids that they share. It looks almost the same as the one my mother made me, but of course with their names. They get one present every second day. It might be tickets to the movies, woollen socks, underwear, candy at the weekend, or even a lottery ticket.
Christmas traditions are so strong, and for me they bring back so many good feelings and memories. I always play the same music during the holidays as my parents did when I was a kid.
Tell us about the recipe you have created for Dohur.
It’s a porridge that in Norway we usually make with rice. We used to have it as an early dinner every Saturday for years when I was a kid. It is also an old Christmas tradition. I guess it comes from Norwegian fairy tales, with a portion given to the small Santas living in barns and farmhouses on Christmas Eve.
There is one tiny difference between the Saturday and the Christmas version though, and that’s the almond. A single almond is hidden in the porridge, and the one who finds it, wins a marzipan pig. Even if you’re not fan of marzipan, getting the pig is a huge deal.
Considering that we don’t grow rice in Norway, I’ve made my Christmas porridge with barley, as older generations did. As I said, when porridge is made for feasts and big occasions, people use their best produce, making the dish more special. I make it with full fat milk, vanilla, some good salty butter, and cinnamon.
If you want to use this recipe daily, you could make it with skimmed milk, serving it with some fresh berries, nuts and a tablespoon of honey.
Porridge recipe (serves 2)
Ingredients:
200 gms pearl barley
1 litre full fat milk
½ vanilla pod
A pinch of salt
Toppings:
Cinnamon, good quality butter, sugar
Method:
1. Soak the grains in a pot overnight (at least 4 hrs). Pour out excess water;
2. Split the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add both pod and seeds to the pot of grains;
3. Pour in the milk and let it slowly come to boil, using a medium to low heat;
4. Stir occasionally, as the porridge will simmer (a nice Norwegian word for this is“putre”;
5. Let it “putre” for 40-50 mins. If the porridge seems too thin, let it sit a little bit longer. If it is too thick, add some more milk.
6. Serve topped with cinnamon, butter and sugar.
Hanne Buxrud
Food writer and photographer