INTERVIEW:
SBS Food on smørrebrød
Karin Monk, Vice President of Melbourne’s Danish Club at Denmark House who grew up north of Copenhagen, tells SBS Food: “It was the first Danish food to be exported and become famous abroad”.
An excerpt of the interview here – for the rest, click below.
In Danish, smørrebrød means butter and bread, but these open sandwiches are a lot more than that. They first became popular in the 1800s among factory workers who would bring slices of rye bread and leftovers to make quick open sandwiches for lunch. By the end of that century, families were making them at home and dedicated smørrebrød restaurants had opened up around Denmark.
Despite the etiquette and rules attached to these Danish open sandwiches, there’s a smørrebrød for everyone’s taste.
INTERVIEW:
History of Denmark House
RECIPES
FOOD
FRIKADELLER
RECIPE
1 kg ground veal
1 kg ground pork
5 eggs
100 g plain flour
250 g milk
25 g salt
2 g pepper
2 brown onions
finely chop onions
add all ingredients and mix well
roll into balls fry in (lots of) butter till cooked
*tip* fry till golden brown in pan, finish in oven 7-8 minutes, 180 fan forced
GRAVLAX
RECIPE
One side of salmon
200g salt
100g sugar
200g Fresh dill
2 lemons
3g peppercorn
3g fennel seeds
3g coriander seeds
2g coriander powder
Clean salmon, remove skin and cut in half
Mix sugar and salt, cover salmon in mix
Cut zest off lemons, chop 100g dill and zest, add juice from lemons
Add lemon and dill mix to salmon
Compress and leave in fridge for 8 – 12 hours
Remove salmon, discard dill/zest and pat salmon dry
Mix dill with crushed peppercorn, fennel seeds, coriander seeds and coriander powder Cover salmon in mix, compress and cure for 8 – 12 hours in fridge
Thinly slice salmon and serve – enjoy!
DRINKS
NEGRONI & MOJITO
RECIPE
Akvavit Negroni
30 ml Rød Aalborg
30 ml Campari
30 ml Dolin Rouge
Build into low ball glass
Add ice and stir
Garnish with orange peel
Danish MOJITO
60 ml Dild Akvavit
30 ml fresh Lime juice
15 ml Sugar syrup
Soda water
Build all ingredients in a Tom Collins glass
Fill glass with ice and top with soda water
Garnish with dill sprig and lime wedges
KOLDSKÅL COCKTAIL
RECIPE
Koldskål
60 ml Vanilla vodka
15 ml St Germain
30 ml fresh lemon juice
30 ml sugar syrup
1 egg white
Shake over ice
Double strain into a coupe
Garnish with shortbread crumbs
AKVAVIT AT HOME
RECIPE
1 bottle of vodka
Fennel seeds
Caraway seeds
Fresh dill
COPENHAGEN COCKTAIL
RECIPE
Copenhagen
60 ml Bols
30 ml Cherry Heering
30 ml fresh Lime juice
30 ml Sugar syrup
1 dash bitters
Shake with ice, double strain into a coupe, garnish with orange twist.
Simple Syrup
1 cup water, preferably filtered
1 cup granulated sugar
Heat water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until hot, but do not bring to a boil.
Add the sugar and stir until fully dissolved. Cool syrup to room temperature before using or storing. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.
Mortens Aften
Duck is served at Denmark House all through November.
Juleklip
Join us for an afternoon of arts, crafts and hygge as we come together to make Christmas decorations for the Denmark House Christmas tree! All materials will be provided to make flettede julehjerter (braided Christmas hearts), paper stars, and other traditional decorations. You are more than welcome to bring your own favourite materials or paper cutting tools, templates, and personal Christmas traditions. You can also take decorations home for your own Christmas trees. Drinks and snacks available at bar prices. This event is free, and great for both adults and children.
Melbourne's popular annual beer event is a nine-day celebration of all things frothy and hoppy. Starting in 2011, it offers the best of 50 of Melbourne's best pubs - with the Akvavit Bar at Denmark House being one of them.
Come and sample our vast array of beer - from classic Danish beer on tap or bottled to our range of Danish craft beer, including the well known Mikkeller, and local craft beer.
Eurovision
Although the international Eurovision Song Contest is primarily a European affair, Australia has long had a passionate love affair with it, and even managed to participate successfully in it for the last couple of years.
At Denmark House we love getting into the Eurovision vibe and channeling our inner singer so join us for this fun annual event, usually around May.
Short history lesson: The annual song competition started in the 1950s and features primarily European participants each submitting an original song performed live and transmitted via the national broadcasters of the competing countries who cast votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner.
First in best dressed.
J-Day
The day of the year when Denmark's famous brewery Tuborg - yes, nearly as famous in Denmark as Carlsberg is in the world - releases its annual Christmas beer - a popular and eagerly awaited event.
'J' stands for 'Jul' or Christmas in Danish.
Originally the day was devised as a beer related alternative to the celebration of the annual release of the French red wine Beaujolais which since the 1970s has been transported from France to Denmark by its keen fans under sharp media attention.
Come celebrate the arrival of the beer with us as Denmark House where we also enjoy the event, a relative newcomer in a Danish traditional context.
First in best dressed.