On arrival Fisketorget’s staff greeted the members and their guests on a cold winter evening with a glass of Champagne Nomine-Renard Brut. Bailli Gisle Steffensen welcomed and informed everyone about upcoming events. 

The wonderful five-course winter cod-themed menu Chef/Owner Karl Erik Pallesen and his team prepared for us was a visual delight with great flavours accompanied by pleasant wines.

First: cod tongue served on toast, with smoked cod caviar, horseradish and cress. A first for most of us, the fresh, crisp, spicy taste was superbly accompanied by champagne.

Next: Fisketorget’s (locally famous!) fish soup. A piece of art so light, yet rich and very tasty. Cod, shrimp and root vegetables, topped with chive oil and crispy croutons was matched perfectly with Domaine Séguinot-Bordet Chablis 2016.

Third: poached cod loin served on a delicious crab risotto with peas and accompanied by an excellent Austrian white wine - Huber Terrassen Riesling from the Traisental region.

Main: pan-fried cod loin, served on a velvety onion puree, with grilled cauliflower, beef jus and browned truffle butter matched beautifully with a Renato Ratti Dolcetto d’Alba Colombè 2016.

Dessert: Gâteau Marcel (chocolate mousse with apricot) with an Austrian Angerhof Tschida Zweigelt Schilfwein 2011 made a great end to a very successful menu. We will serve this wine, new to most of us, with chocolate again!

We expressed our appreciation to Chef Karl Erik and Fisketorget for a great event. For an excellent fish meal when in Stravanger this is the place to go!

Karin Sandvold
Vice-Chargée de Missions

Food photos: Jonas Friestad

* Skrei, a real delicacy, is cod which travels from the Barents Sea back to its spawning grounds off Norway’s Lofoten Islands during the winter months. It has firm, white meat flaking easily making it ideal for pan- and deep-frying, grilling, steaming, drying, smoking and salting! Skrei comes from the word Skreid, meaning “wanderer” in Norwegian.