Norwegian Christmas: Mikael Forselius's festive recipes for the chive oil 4 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp chives, chopped Salt the cod very generously. Place in a pan and cover with water. Put it in the refrigerator for two days, changing the water three or four times. Drain and rinse the cod. In a pan, add the herbs, onion and garlic to the milk and heat for five minutes. Do not let it boil. Add the cod and poach until tender (five to seven minutes). Gently remove the cod with a slotted spoon. Remove any bones and skin, and break the flesh into coarse chunks. Meanwhile peel and dice the potatoes. Cook in well-seasoned water or, better still, use the milk the fish was poached in. When the potatoes are tender, drain (reserving a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid) and purée, in either a ricer or a mixer using the paddle attachment. Take out one third of the potatoes and mix in the cod (at a medium speed, if using a mixer), drizzling in the olive oil and a bit of the cooking liquid. Add the rest of the potatoes gradually and keep mixing and adding liquid until it is the consistency you like. To make the chive oil, mix together the olive oil and chopped chives, season with salt and pepper. Pound with a pestle and mortar. To serve, shape the cod into an egg shape using two spoons and place on thin crackers. Serve the chive oil on the side. Pork ribs slowly baked in honey, with mashed potato and red cabbage serves 4 Allow plenty of time for the red cabbage. for the red cabbage 1kg red cabbage 200g apples, peeled, cored and chopped 100g onions, chopped ¼ whole nutmeg, freshly grated ¼ level tsp ground cinnamon ¼ level tsp ground cloves 3 level tbsp brown sugar 3 tbsp wine vinegar for the pork 2kg pork spare ribs, cut into serving-size pieces 220g honey 3 tbsp cider vinegar 120ml soy sauce 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced for the potato 600g potatoes peeled 4 tbsp double cream 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp milk To make the red cabbage, first discard the tough outer leaves, cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the hard stalk. Shred the rest of the cabbage finely. Put the cabbage and all the other ingredients in a large casserole and leave to cook very slowly in the oven (150C/gas mark 2) for about two and a half hours, stirring a couple times during the cooking. For the pork ribs, preheat the oven to 175C/gas mark 4. Place the ribs in a large roasting tin and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for one hour, or until tender. Drain off all liquid but keep the ribs in the roasting tin. In a saucepan combine the honey, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for about five minutes. Drizzle the honey mixture over the ribs and return to the oven. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Meanwhile put the potatoes in a saucepan. Add a teaspoon of salt and sufficient water to cover the potatoes. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until done. Warm the cream and butter together, either in a microwave or in a pan on the stove. Drain the potatoes and put in a bowl. Add the cream and melted butter, and mash the potatoes until smooth. Stewed plums with vanilla custard serves 4 600g dried plums 20ml fresh lemon juice 100ml apple juice 1 cinnamon stick 100g sugar for the vanilla custard 200ml milk 3 egg yolks 8 tbsp sugar ½ tbsp vanilla powder In a large saucepan bring all the ingredients for the plums to a boil with 200ml of water, then leave to simmer for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Now make the vanilla sauce. In a small saucepan over a medium heat, bring the milk to a simmer. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot milk into the yolk-sugar mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Over a low heat, stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens. Be careful not to overcook or the eggs will scramble. The sauce is ready when you can dip a spoon into it, then draw your finger over the back of the spoon and leave a track that is almost sauce-free. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool, then serve with the plums.