Reindeer Pelmeni (Russian Dumplings) in Game Broth

The North Eastern Part of Norway has always been a borderland, for a long time with porous borders to neighboring Russia. The traditional Sami reindeer herders have traditionally roamed freely in the area, without acknowledging national borders. Inspired by this we made Russian inspired reindeer pelmeni when we were aboard Hurtigruten, the coastal express that travels the coast of Norway.

INGREDIENTS:

Number of servings

Serves 4

List of ingredients

3 cups (7 ½ dl) flour

1 cup (2 dl) water

1 egg

1 tbs. salt

1 lb. (500 grams) ground reindeer meat

½ lb. (200 grams) ground pork meat

½ onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar

1 tsp. salt

Pepper

1 tsp. allspice, crushed in a mortar ???

3 cups (7 ½ dl) game stock

Lingonberries

PREPARATION:

• Mix flour, water, eggs, and salt in a food processor. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator until ready to use. Mix the ground reindeer and pork, onion, fennel seeds, salt and pepper in a bowl.

• Take the dough out of the refrigerator, sprinkle flour on your kitchen counter, and roll out the dough until it’s very thin (around 1/4 inch or 1-2 mm). Use a round cookie cutter or a glass to cut out the dumplings. Place one teaspoon of ground meat on each dumpling wrapper. Dip your finger in a glass of water and run it around the edge of the wrapper, and press firmly to seal them.

• Cook the dumplings in the boiling game broth for 4 minutes. Serve the reindeer pelmeni with some of the broth, and garnish with lingonberries.