We live in a small mid-western town, but the place we went to this evening was a teeny mid-western... hamlet? Not sure what to call it; there is a sign labeling the "town" which has a ...church and an old school house restaurant. Not much else. Don't let that fool you.
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Inside this old schoolhouse is a cozy and casual restaurant - and the draw for us was that it was TUESDAY NIGHT.
On Tuesday evenings this nondescript dwelling serves up a Norwegian staple called ...
kumpa, or kumla, or klub, depending on what part of Norway your ancestors came from...
also known, for those of us non-norwegians as "potato dumplings."
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This happy group was ready to dive right in....
And here they are! Kumpa! Those large roundish things are the object of delight - potato dumplings... one grinds raw potatoes, forms them into balls (and maybe adds a little flour or something to help it "hold together") and boil them in a large kettle of water. Usually there is a small piece of salt pork or ham slipped into the middle of the "kumpa." In this case, there was a generous serving of ham along with some cole slaw. These kumpa were served with butter; some put honey or syrup (Roger's Golden Syrup for good Canadians) or else just salt and pepper.
AND... if you have some left over, you fry them the next morning.
Most say that is the best.
I can't understand why they just don't do that from the start....
.
I have eaten kumpa.
I think you have to grow up with them.
.
I had the other special of the evening.
:)
.
And here they are! Kumpa! Those large roundish things are the object of delight - potato dumplings... one grinds raw potatoes, forms them into balls (and maybe adds a little flour or something to help it "hold together") and boil them in a large kettle of water. Usually there is a small piece of salt pork or ham slipped into the middle of the "kumpa." In this case, there was a generous serving of ham along with some cole slaw. These kumpa were served with butter; some put honey or syrup (Roger's Golden Syrup for good Canadians) or else just salt and pepper.AND... if you have some left over, you fry them the next morning.
Most say that is the best.
I can't understand why they just don't do that from the start....
.
I have eaten kumpa.
I think you have to grow up with them.
.
I had the other special of the evening.:)
.
4 comments:
Yummy! Looks like fun - Say hi to Harold for me!
Your post was hilarious - I totally thought from your descriptions that you *loved* dumplings as much as your dining companions, until I got to the end. That made me laugh! I've been meaning to try my hand at making them and the photos you posted gave me the push I needed to try it tonight! :) I grew up with them cooked in ham broth, with ham and orange jello (has to be orange) as side dishes. I am proud to say that all my kids love dumplings as much as I do! ;)
HILARIOUS!!! But you hit the nail on the head - they are better the
2nd day! Still laughing OUT LOUD! J
We also call it "raspeballer" - and in Norway today it's an "official" dinner to serve at Thursdays. Often, you will get this at any diner on Thursdays. And did you know that even IKEA serves this dish?? But even so.. not all norwegians loves this dish!
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