Faarikaal

RecipesSpokane

Faarikaal cover

Oh, it might not look like much, and, frankly, it doesn't take too much to make either, but fårikål might be one of the better hearty winter meals you can make for yourself. First cooked up by those smart, good looking Norwegians, there are about a million different ways to prepare fårikål -- literal translation: "mutton in cabbage" -- and you can go pretty fancy if you so desire.

Here at Team SpoCOOL we prefer going the simpler route to keep it traditional and tasty. It's somewhat of a challenge to find the right type of sheep in these parts -- indeed Egger's had never heard of mutton, which is bizarre; I'm guessing going directly to your source of... sheep... would work --  but that part can be improvised.

In our case we just picked up a rack of lamb, which might be a bit too fancy for fårikål, but whatever. The second and final ingredient is cabbage. About quarter of a head will do for two people.

Cut the rack up into separate chops. Line a pot with the lamb, fatty side down, and season well with salt and pepper. Add a layer of chopped cabbage, and season again with the salt and pepper. (Some also use flour here, but let's not go too crazy.) Repeat until there is no more lamb, and end with a layer of cabbage.

In a separate pot, boil enough water to cover the lamb/cabbage layers. Pour the boiling water over the fårikål and put it over low heat. Cook until lamb is tender, about two hours.

For a more flavorful result you should leave the fårikål in the fridge for a day or two. The cabbage will really pull in the flavors from the lamb.

Traditionally you'd drink a pilsner and a shot of akevit with this, but I recommend Redhook's Winter Hook. Its lightly spicy winter flavors go well with the flavor of the lamb.