Ingredients:
Mussels
1/2 a pint of mead
250ml Cream
4 Spring onions (finely chopped)
Method:
Discard any open mussels that don’t close when you tap them.
Mix together the mead and the cream. Stir in the onions.
Bring this to a boil and add the Mussels. Cover and leave to cook for 2 minutes.
Remove the cover and shake or stir. When all the mussels have opened they are ready.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
This is a story of fire, and ice. I’ve embellished it a bit, but that’s my right.
Before the world is here, before grass, or sand, or cool waves, there is only fire, and ice, and the gap.
When the fire meets the ice in the middle of the gap, great rivers grow, roofed with frost, and deep in the folds of the frost, the giant Ymir sleeps. He is the first of his kind, and the best. The first cow comes to lick him free, and then he uses the sweat, and the hair, and the dead skin from his armpits, to create his own offspring, and they become the race of giants.
But the first cow keeps on licking. She licks at the frost until she finds somebody else, the god Buri, the first of his kind and the best. Buri makes his own offspring with his wife, and for a while the race of gods and the race of giants live in peace.
One of Buri’s grandsons, the one they call Odin, sees Ymir, and lifts his spear to aim it at the giant’s heart.
“This will be a good game,” he thinks, throwing it, piercing the giant through.
Odin’s brother Villi sees this game.
“This looks fun,” he thinks, and hooks a noose around the giant’s neck, choking out his last breath.
Odin’s brother Ve sees this game.
“This looks fun,” he thinks, as he hacks at the giant’s throat with his knife and lets him bleed.
But the giant does not stop bleeding. He bleeds and bleeds until everything, the fire, the ice, and the gap, are all filled, until the first gods and the first giants and the first cow are all drowning, drowning and sinking in the sticky red tide, save for those few who can hide in the hollow of an old tree. Odin, Villi, and Ve, work quickly, turning Ymir’s cold bones to rock, shaping his dead flesh into new land, trapping the briny flood so it becomes the ocean. They take his skull, and shake it; his brains become the clouds. The blue in his eyes becomes the blue of the sky, and the gods rule over this world and call it their own. The race of giants are pushed out to the edges of this place, out to the dark corners, where they become the wild things- avalanches, floods, forest fires and plagues- ancient and terrible.
Odin goes for a walk, admiring the grass, and the sand, and the cool waves, using some of the giant’s eyebrows to add a few finishing touches to hedges and trees, when he sees two pieces of driftwood on a beach.
‘This will be a good game,’ he thinks. He calls over his brother Lothar. “Lothar,” he says, “do these bits of wood look like people to you?”
Lothar looks down at them. “No. They look like bits of wood. But you always were rather strange.”
“Are you sure? Look again, will you?”
So Lothar, losing patience, picks up the pieces of driftwood and blows on them both. With his breath he gives them skin instead of bark, and the forms of a man and a woman. He tosses them back on the sand. “There,” he says, “now they look like people.”
Odin calls his brother Hoenir over. “Hoenir! Look what Lothar has done. I bet you couldn’t turn wood into people.”
Hoenir shrugs. “They’re not people, they just look like people. Any idiot with a chisel can make wood look like people.” He picks them up, and blows on them, and with his breath he gives them spirits – joy, laughter, and peace. He shrugs again, satisfied, and places them back on the sand.
Odin smirks. “That’s good,” he says, “but perhaps a little dull.” Before the others can stop him he picks up the pieces of driftwood and coughs, hacking, wheezing into their mouths, filling them with rage, madness, poetry, while the gods look on in horror.
Odin holds up a finger.
“Wait.”
He breathes on them again. With his breath he gives them breath of their own. With his breath he gives them speech. With his breath he gives them stories.
They become Ask and Embla, and they are the first of their kind, and the best.
The gods give Sunna the sun in a chariot to pull across the sky, so that the new race of men might know what time it is. The gods give Mani the moon in a chariot to pull across the sky, so that the new race of men might know what day it is.
But out in the edges of the world, in a dark corner called the Ironwood, where the bark on the trees is rust, and the soil on the ground is soot, a giantess sits brooding. She takes her two sons, and turns them into wolves, and they are the first of their kind and the best.
She raises up her son Hati, and says “Run. Run after the moon until you catch him, run until you swallow him, so that all the months of men shall be ended.”
She raises up her son Skoll and says “Run. Run after the sun until you catch her, run until you swallow her, so that all the days of men shall be ended.”
But it’s taking them a little longer to catch up than they expected; they are still there, the chasing wolves, running over the land shaped from Ymirs’ corpse, through the sky shaped from his skull, until they reach and devour their prey, until the world is gone and nothing is left but fire, and ice, and the gap.
Save, of course, for those that hide, in the hollow of an old tree…
Written by Emma Brooks
Ingredients:
250g salt
Goat, lamb or pork ribs
Water
Birch sticks (bark removed)
Method:
To preserve;
Place the ribs in a large container and work the salt into the meat, making sure every part is covered.
Leave to rest somewhere cold or in the fridge for 24 hours per Kg. Turning every 12 hours.
Brush the excess salt off and hang in a cool & dry location. Dry for 4-6 weeks.
To cook;
Separate the ribs lengthwise and place to soak in cold water overnight.
In a large pan or cauldron build a grid with the birch sticks by criss-crossing the sticks in the bottom.
Add water to the pan, to just about cover the sticks. Place the ribs on top of the grid and pop a lid on the pan. Leave the meat to steam for 2-3 hours on a low heat. Be sure to add water occasionally to make sure it does not go dry. When the meat falls off the bone, it is done.
If you choose you can put the meat on a grill for about 15-20 minutes to crisp prior to serving.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
600g Flour
300g salt
Water
1/2 a Leg of lamb
Rosemary or juniper berries
Method:
Mix together the flour and salt and slowly add water, bringing it together to form a stiff dough.
Roll out the dough thin enough that it will encase the leg of lamb.
Make slits in the lamb with a sharp knife and stuff a little rosemary or juniper berries into the flesh.
Wrap the leg in the salt dough and cook for 2 hours (rare) up to 3 hours (well done) over hot coals, turning occasionally. Depending on conditions, this may need extra cooking time.
Remove the now burnt and blackened salt dough before serving.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available on Amazon
Ingredients:
2 eggs
200g bread flour
A handful of blanched, chopped nettles or spinach (optional)
Method:
Stick the flour into a bowl with the nettles (if adding) and add the eggs. Mix together, by hand, to form a dough. You may need to add a splash of water, but be careful not to make the dough too wet.
Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, before rolling out thinly with a rolling pin and cutting into thin strips.
Cook the pasta in boiling, lightly salted water for 3-5 minutes.
Great served drizzled with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Ingredients:
Water
A 2-3 cm thick plank of oak or other ‘food safe’ wood
1 whole trout (or any other fish)
Salt
Nails or wooden pegs
Optional Parsley, bay or other herbs
Method:
Soak the plank for 3 to 4 hours, or ideally overnight in water. You could substitute the water for beer or wine.
Prepare the fish by gutting, and removing the head, tail, and spine. Leaving the fish ina ‘butterfly’. Clean the fish and season the flesh with a little salt and any extra herbs. Fold in half, place onto the oak plank, nailing or pegging to hold it in place. If pegging you’ll need to drill some suitable holes into the plank.
Place the plank near to a fire and leave to slowly cook for about an hour, rotating the plank by 180 degrees half way through. Ensure the fish is cooked through before serving.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
200g sourdough starter
20g bread flour
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
butter
Method:
Mix the starter, flour, honey and salt in a large jug or bowl. Cover with a wet cloth or tea towel and leave to prove for about an hour.
Heat some butter on a low heat and, once hot, add the batter to the pan in large spoonfuls, using one spoonful per crumpet.
Cook for around 5 minutes, flip and fry for a further few minutes, until golden in colour and cooked through.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
Large handful of blanched, finely chopped nettle tops
350g bread flour (plus extra for dusting)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
100 ml milk
50 ml water
Method:
Put the nettles, flour and salt into a large bowl and mix together. Add the yeast.
Mix together the water and milk.
Slowly add the milk solution to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix together to form a dough.
You can add more or less milk/water depending on how your dough feels. I find it varies slightly every time.
Tip out onto your worktop and knead for around 10 minutes.
Roll your dough into a ball, and dust with a little flour. Put it into a bowl and cover loosely with a damp cloth, to stop it drying out. Place somewhere warm.
Leave to prove for 1-2 hours, or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
Tip your dough back out onto your work surface and carefully deflate it by poking it with your fingers. Divide the mix into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and coat with a little more flour.
Place onto a baking tray, that has been dusted with flour, and leave for another hour or to prove again.
Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cook for about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, the rolls should sound hollow when you tap them on the bottom.
These can also be cooked in the dying embers of a fire.
Leave to cool fully before serving with butter.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
225g oats (1 1/2 cups)
60g wholemeal flour (1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
60g unsalted butter 1/4 cup)
60ml just boiled water
Method:
In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour and salt.
Add the butter and rub it into the flour and oats with your finger tips, until it forms a breadcrumb like texture.
Add the water and mix together to form a stiff dough.
Roll out thinly to around 5mm thick and cut into rounds using a cup or pastry cutter.
Cook in a dry pan for around 5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned, or bake for approx 20 minutes at 170 degrees C
Leave to cool fully before eating
Ingredients:
Butter
A few mushrooms
A small bunch of wild garlic leaves or flowers, or modern cloves work too (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp rosemary (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp thyme (finely chopped)
Salt & pepper (to taste)
Method:
Melt a little butter in a pan.
Roughly chop the mushrooms and add them to the pan.
Fry for a couple of minutes, before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Fry once more for a couple of minutes before serving.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
Butter
1 Onion (finely chopped)
500g diced Venison
500ml beef or venison stock
1 Leek (sliced)
2 parsnips (sliced)
2 sticks of Celery (sliced)
1 Turnip (diced)
Handful of roughly chopped Kale
Splash of Elderberry wine or red wine
2 Bay leaves
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 sprig of Rosemary
1 stick of Cinnamon
Method:
Heat a little butter in a large pan or cauldron. Add the onion and fry for a few minutes, to soften.
Add the venison, stock, veg, wine & herbs, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 2 hours., topping up with more water if necessary.
Remove the bay, rosemary and cinnamon and serve immediately.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks
Butter
1 onion (peeled)
2 turnips
2 white carrots or parsnips
2 sticks of celery
1 tablespoon honey
100 ml mead
1 tablespoon flour
1 litre beef stock
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons black peppercorns (crushed)
Method:
Melt some butter in a large skillet or frying pan. Add the lamb shanks and sear them for 10-15 minutes. Leave to one side
Melt some butter in a large casserole dish or cauldron. Chop the onions, Turnips, carrots/parsnips, and celery and add to the dish. Add the honey, mix well and cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in the mead, flour, peppercorns & bay, followed gradually by the beef stock. Bring to a simmer.
Add the lamb to the dish and cook, covered if possible, for 2.5- 3 hours or until the lamb is falling off the bones.
Ingredients:
For the stew;
A knob of Butter
300g pork (diced)
200ml cider
4 large handfuls of barley
2 turnips (peeled and and cut into chunks)
1 stick of celery (quartered and sliced)
1 leek (quartered and sliced)
A handful of kale
2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 sprig of rosemary (finely chopped)
A small bunch of thyme (finely chopped)
Salt & pepper (to taste)
For the dumplings;
50g suet
100g flour
100ml cold water
Method:
Melt the butter in a large cooking pot. Add the pork and cook until nicely browning
Add the rest of the ingredients and add enough water to just cover everything.
Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered. Don’t let the stew run dry, add a drop more water, if necessary.
While that’s cooking. Mix together the suet and flour and season with salt & pepper. Slowly add the water, while mixing with your hands, until it all comes together.
Divide the dough into 4 and press firmly into balls. When the stew has been on for about 90 minutes, carefully drop the dumplings into the stew and simmer for a further 20 minutes.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
100g butter
50g honey
1 egg
200g bread flour
Method:
Blend together the butter, honey and egg.
Mix in the flour to form a stiff dough.
Tip out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead together for several minutes.
Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick, and cut into squares. Optionally, prick the tops with a knife.
Cook in the centre of a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 10 - 15 minutes, until golden in colour.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
Butter
2 cod fillets
1 egg
Salt and pepper
Rolled oats
Method:
Heat a little butter in a frying pan or on a griddle.
Whisk the egg and use it to coat the cod fillets. Season with salt & pepper.
Sprinkle some oats onto a plate and push the cod fillets firmly into them, turn the fillets over and coat the other side.
Fry for about 5 minutes. Carefully turn the fish and cook for a further 5 minutes, until cooked through.
Serve with fresh seasonal salad leaves and barley risotto.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
A favourite of the Anglo Saxons.
Pork was know as ‘swin’ or modern ‘swine’. With no secondary uses a pig would have been used solely for its meat.
A Saxon swineherd who looked after his lords pigs was entitled to one pig and its entrails, presumably for making sausage casings.
Ingredients:
3 pig tails (cut into 1-1.5’’ chunks)
1.5L chicken stock
1 onion (finely chopped)
3 white or purple carrots (quartered and diced)
3 handfuls of split peas
3 celery (finely chopped)
Handful of wild garlic (roughly chopped)
2 bay leaves
Butter
Method:
Stick the pig tails in a pan or cauldron. Add the stock.
Bring to a boil & simmer for 40 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for a further 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and remove the tails from the soup.
Heat some butter in a pan and fry the tails for 10-20 minutes, until crispy. Return the tails to the soup and serve.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
Butter
6 rashers of Bacon (roughly chopped)
1 leek (roughly chopped)
2 sticks of celery (roughly chopped)
1.5L chicken stock (any stock will work)
300g Dried split peas
Handful of wild garlic (finely 3chopped)
2 tsp fresh mint (roughly chopped)
Method:
Melt some butter in a large pan or cauldron.
Add the bacon and cook for a few minutes, until starting to brown. Add the leeks and celery and fry for a few minutes.
Pour in the stock and add the peas, garlic and mint.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour, until reduced by a third and the peas are soft. If necessary top up with more water.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
1L Full fat milk (I like to use goat)
250ml buttermilk/1-2 tablespoons of vinegar or rennet
Salt
Method:
Heat the milk until almost boiling.
Take off the heat, add the buttermilk, vinegar or rennet and stir thoroughly.
Leave for about 15 minutes. The milk will curdle and the whey and curds will separate.
Pour the mixture through a sieve or colander, lined with a double layer of cheesecloth.
Rinse with cold water and sprinkle a little salt over the cheese. Leave to drain for about 2 hours.
This will keep, if chilled, for up to a week, but the flavour will mature.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Ingredients:
Double cream (at room temperature)
Method:
Put the cream into a bowl.
Mix and stir vigorously with a whisk, or your hand for 5 – 10 minutes, the cream will thicken, then suddenly start to slosh around as the buttermilk separates from the butter.
Drain the buttermilk, and stir again for another minute to remove the last of the buttermilk, before draining one last time.
Rinse the butter with cold water. Optionally you can now season with salt or try adding herbs or garlic to the butter.
The buttermilk can be used for making cheese, cakes or biscuits.
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon
Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ available now on Amazon
Traditional Scandinavian tvare whisks date back to at least the 9th century. The old Norse word for them was þvara. The word tvare, means 'mixing' though they would have been used for mashing, as well as stirring porridge and stew.
As these were custom made the size of the handle varied for its user, as well as its purpose.
The handle can be anything up to half a metre long for large pots of porridge.
1. The first step is to find a suitable tree, the top part of a 5 foot tree will probably make no more than two whisks, any lower down the handle and branches will be too thick to work with.
2. Cut the trunk to the desired length for your handle. Cut below the second large spread of branches. Remove the top branches and any others along the stem.
3. Cut the remaining branches to around 5/6cm long.
4. Remove as much bark as possible from the handle and branches. Don't worry too much as this will be easier after the next step.
5. Bring a large pan of water to a boil and boil the wood for 10-15 minutes. This will soften the remaining bark, making it easier to remove.
6. The final step is to sand everything smooth and treat with a food safe oil. Traditionally this would be Linseed.
