>> Funding for this series has been provided in part by the following... >> Up Norway, curates Norwegian travel experiences in the footsteps of "New Scandinavian Cooking."

>> ♪ No, take me home ♪ Take me home where I belong >> Vgan, the full taste of chocolate.

>> Grieg Suites.

Chocolate with apples from Norway.

♪♪ Havila Voyages.

Pure Northern.

♪♪ >> Well, excuse me while I powder my fish.

♪♪ Hi, and welcome to "New Scandinavian Cooking," from the Atlantic Ocean.

I am Andreas Viestad.

The sea can be rough, it can inhospitable, even dangerous, but it's also incredibly rich.

The ocean off the coast of Norway's home to one of the richest fisheries in the world and is also home to one of my favorite fishes, the Atlantic cod.

How we manage these resources is incredibly important not just for me, who happens to love cod, and all other food lover, but to the entire world.

This is the pantry of the world.

And in today's program, I'll go line fishing for sustainable cod, and I'll show you numerous ways to prepare it and sometimes even not prepare it.

I'm going to start off using really fresh cod that I'll give a light salt and sugar cure and serve with beetroots and anise.

And I'll cook cod with herbs and spices and served with grilled leek.

And then I'll harvest one of the few things that will actually grow in Svalbard, mushrooms.

And I'll make a dish with cod, snow crab, and mushroom sauce.

But don't worry.

There'll be room for dessert.

I'll prepare grilled rhubarb with honey and raspberries.

Fishing is very important for us as a country, both culturally and economically.

And, of course, for me, it's incredibly important gastronomically, but it has an importance way beyond that.

This is the food that we are gonna live off, all of us, on this planet.

That is why the Coast Guard patrols these waters as if it had been a jewelry shop.

That is why the Marine Institute takes tests to monitor how much you can actually catch of the fish.

For up to one month at a time, this ship, M.S.

Johan Hjort, is out here, taking tests, monitoring current temperature, and, not least, how much fish there is in the ocean.

Here I've got a beautiful, freshly caught research cod that I'm going to use in my first dish today.

Some of the soundest advice I ever got when it comes to preparing fish is that sometimes the best way to cook a fish is not to, and that's precisely what I'm going to do, or not do.

I'm not gonna bake it, I'm not gonna fry it, not gonna boil it, not gonna expose it to any heat at all.

This beautiful cod loin is just gonna get a quick cure, which is a very simple process without any heat at all.

Just slicing it into thin slices.

And then sprinkling with a little bit of sugar, a little bit of salt, and then some kind of seasoning.

It could be an herb like thyme, but I think that it's quite interesting to add a spicy, sort of warm, spicy flavor to it, so I'm adding a little bit of anise.

It's common to add some sort of liquor.

It could be Akvavit, it can be cognac, it can be vodka.

In this case, it's 18-year-old single-malt whiskey.

[ Sniffs ] Ugh.

Single-malt whiskey is one of the worst things I know.

I really don't like drinking it.

But adding a few drops to some cured fish is really quite nice.

And I'm gonna serve the fish with a sort of beet salad.

Cooked beets in thin, thin slices.

And then I season with celery salt, which is salty and tastes of celery but in a very earthy way.

And the fresh taste of celery from finely chopped celery stalk.

And when it comes to beetroot, one of the nice things is that it's quite sweet, but in itself, especially when it's cooked, it can be a little bit bland-tasting, as well, so I always think it's nice to match cooked beetroot with some acidity.

It could be lemon juice, but more frequently, I tend to use vinegar.

This here is malt vinegar.

You can also use sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar, but don't use balsamic vinegar.

That's too sort of sweet and syrupy.

And then, finally, some spice.

Do you know what this is?

You don't?

This is black pepper.

This is long pepper, and if you come across long pepper, you should buy it.

It is a very interesting flavor, similar to what we call normal black pepper but with a sort of smoky aroma to it.

It's very, very nice.

And, of course, in this dish, you can also use freshly ground black pepper.

And here it is.

And here's Harald Gjosaeter, as well.

Harald is a cod researcher.

Are you also a cod lover?

>> Absolutely.

>> Would you like to taste?

>> Oh, yes.

>> You can find all the recipes at our website... >> Delicious.

Absolutely.

a>> And this is research cod.

>> It is.

>> Certified research cod.

When you go out on these expeditions, the aim is to map what's going on that the eye can't see.

>> Well, we try to map the cod stock on this survey, how large it is and where it is found.

We use echo sounders to do that, and we use trawls, bottom trawls.

We do a stock assessment, as we call it, of these various stocks that are here, and then we give advice to our authorities, management authorities, and they decide on the quotas.

>> Very often, we read that there's huge problems with overfishing.

What's the situation like here in the Barents Sea?

>> That was a problem previously, but for the last, let's say, 10, 15 years, the management in the Barents Sea has been quite good.

So, we have not overfished the cod stock, and that's why it has grown, also, now.

So the stock is really large now.

So it's bigger now than it used to be.

>> Actually, the largest cod stock in the world.

>> And occasionally, you even come across new species.

>> That happens now and then.

We have had the king crab coming into the Barents Sea, or it was placed there by the Russians.

>> Yeah.

>> And now, in later years, we have seen the snow crab coming, also.

>> Is that a problem, or is it a resource?

>> I think it's both.

It's often a problem when a new species is coming into an ecosystem where it doesn't belong.

So it might be a problem, but, of course, it's also a fisheries resource.

>> And the snow crab is utterly delicious.

>> Yeah, I heard so.

♪♪ >> Svalbard is really far off the grid.

We are in the high, high north, Closer to the North Pole than Norway's capital, Oslo.

Why are the humans here at all, one may ask.

When you look at this landscape, almost like a Moon landscape, well, traditionally, the reason was mining.

Today, the two most important industries are tourism and research.

There's a University here.

There's the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where seeds from plants all over the world are kept in safe storage in a mountain, an old mine shaft in this very remote location.

And then, there are initiatives that combine the needs of tourism and research.

Benjamin Vidmar is the founder of Polar Permaculture, and he has erected this greenhouse where he grows greens that he delivers to restaurants in Longyearbyen while at the same time researching on the growing conditions.

What can possibly grow here at 78 degrees north?

Hi.

>> Hello.

>> It's a wonderful greenhouse.

>> Thank you very much.

>> I mean, it's been a while since I've seen green here.

[ Both laugh ] >> Yeah, that's exactly how we all feel here, and it's been a challenge without the green, so that's pretty much why I started this project was to have fresh green things available for people to eat.

>> 'Cause everything here is basically flown in.

And you're sort of mapping what you can actually grow up here in the north?

>> Yeah, we've been experimenting with many different things.

We grow carrots, we've been trying to grow tomatoes, we've been trying to grow, like, roquette, we've been trying to grow rhubarb, we've been trying to grow many different things and see what works and what doesn't work, so... >> That's amazing.

Can I taste?

>> Yeah, for sure.

We have the radish here, and we also have the red cabbage.

And these are the microgreens, and we've been selling these to all of the hotels and restaurants here.

>> Mmm!

The flavor is intense.

>> And what's nice about our program is that we deliver the tray, and then we collect the old tray.

And then, the old tray, we feed it to our worms.

We have composting worms, so we try to compost it, and then we use that, what's created from the worms, we use that to fertilize all of the other plants.

>> So you are creating sort of an ecosystem here.

>> Yes, for sure.

>> What is the most unusual thing that you've grown here at 78 degrees north?

>> Oh, I would have to say it would be the beetrts and the rhubarb.

>> Ah, rhubarb.

♪♪ I'm gonna make a brutally simple dessert with rhubarb and cinnamon.

Just wrap the rhubarb in foil.

And I'm gonna bake it using a burner.

You can also just place it on a grill.

And it smells wonderful, and to no surprise, it smells like burnt rhubarb and cinnamon.

Now, the rhubarb is perfect, to my liking, but it is rather too acidic, so I'm gonna add some honey that I'll just caramelize by burning it a little bit.

[ Burner clicks ] Some parts are totally cooked through and a little bit charred on the outside, and some still have a bit of a resistance.

And I'm serving with a mix of sour cream and cottage cheese.

So you have the creaminess of the sour cream and the chunkiness of cottage cheese.

I have brought with me some raspberries in syrup.

Here it is, burnt rhubarb and cinnamon.

Mmm.

I love that slightly smoky flavor that you get from using a gas burner.

If you don't have a gas burner, well, you can just take the rhubarb and honey, put it in the oven, under the broiler, take it out every minute or so, and stir it around, and you'll get much of the same effect.

♪♪ It's easy to think of Norway as this smallish country in the far north end of the world.

That's what we are.

But we are also a great nation, and I mean that quite literally.

Norway's economic zone at sea, where we do our fisheries, that area is huge.

It's bigger than the combined land mass of France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

In fact, you'd have to throw in a couple more smallish countries just to fill it up, like Denmark and Belgium.

This is a very modern vessel.

How long are you out at sea?

>> We stay out normally for 30 days, one month, out to sea.

We are fishing by hooks.

We put the bait on, shooting out the line, and then we start hauling.

The line coming up, the fish is on the hook, one by one coming in.

It's alive, and then the fishermen immediately put it into water and into the freezing and the process on board.

Three hours it's stored.

Fantastic product.

Fresh frozen fish from a longliner.

It's also very important for us to take care of the coming generation.

This is a sustainable fishery, and that's very important for the future, the coming generation.

>> I look forward to tasting the fish.

>> Yeah, yeah, you can.

>> One of the great things with cod is that there's so many different ways to prepare it, but I think that we sometimes forget how easy it can be if you talk to a fisherman and ask what's the best way to prepare a piece of beautiful, fresh cod.

He will answer, "The best way is to cook it or just poach it lightly," and that's what I'm going to do now.

So, I just basically fillet it.

And I just cut it into smaller pieces.

And you can cook the fish like this.

Just pop it into boiling, lightly salted water.

But I want to add a bit of flavor, as well.

Some earthy flavors of old-fashioned spices.

This is allspice and bay leaf, seven or eight bay leaf.

And then, just add the fish on top inside a cheesecloth and sprinkle with a bit of salt to firm the fish up even more.

Then I'll just cook it in simmering water for 8 to 10 minutes.

And I'm gonna serve with grilled leek using the same rough cooking technique as I did with the rhubarb, except here, I'm not even gonna wrap it in foil, because if you think of it, leek comes with its own foil.

[ Burner clicks ] You don't need any special equipment in order to do this.

You don't need a gas burner.

You can put the leek in a fireplace, you can put it on a grill, you can pop it in the oven at the self-cleaning circle.

The thing is, when the leek burns to charcoal on the outside, it steams on the inside.

And after only a couple of minutes, it comes like this.

You see that it's cooked through, and it comes rather limp.

And while it's completely charred on the outside... it's very different on the inside.

And I'm gonna serve it also with some sour cream, to which I add a little bit of malt vinegar, and I serve it with a little bit of capelin roe, as well.

And capelin is a tiny fish that lives in the Atlantic Ocean in an abundance.

And the roe is kind of crunchy when you eat it.

And also a tiny sprinkle of hazelnuts and some finely chopped chives.

Now the fish should be done.

♪♪ See how the fish flakes beautifully?

This here is a very nice dish, but it's a very kind and gentle dish.

It lacks some of the temperament from the grilling, from the burning.

So I've actually taken the totally charred outside of the leek, and I've just pressed it through a sieve.

So I've got a fine powder, and it smells of smoke, but it also has notes of onion, and it is very nice to use as a spice.

I'm just gonna give the fish a little bit of a dusting.

And here it is.

♪♪ Black as a coal mine, white as a polar bear and with lovely, flaky flesh.

I think that that combination of the leek and the cod is really a classic.

You should try it in any way possible, either boiled leek or grilled leek like this.

It's very, very nice.

>> You can find all the recipes at our website... Every time I come here, I'm struck by the beauty of the place and also of the brutality and harshness of the landscape.

It is always cold here, but if it's cold today, you can bet that it will be even colder tomorrow.

And the first time I came here, I wanted to get closer to the place.

I wanted to taste what the place tastes like.

And you can often do that by tasting wild plants and wild herbs, but not here.

You're not allowed to pick a single straw.

Everything is on a preservation list because it's so fragile.

If you damage anything, it takes a long time to grow back.

But there is one exception to the rule and that is mushrooms.

Since the mushrooms are technically just the fruit of the organism, you can pick them without doing any damage, and many of them are delicious.

And right now, Reidun Braathen, the general manager at the Norwegian Association of Mycology and Wild Food Plants is here, mapping the edible resources on this archipelago.

♪♪ Hi.

>> Hi.

>> So, what have you found here?

>> Oh, here found the Lepista multiformis.

>> Lepista multiformis.

This is a mushroom that grows here on Svalbard.

>> Yes.

>> But this is an edible mushroom.

>> This is safe.

You can put it just into the pan and eat it.

>> [ Sniffs ] It smells wonderful.

>> Yes, and it has a good taste, too.

It's a very good mushroom, yes.

>> So while other plants are somewhat reluctant to grow this far north, this actually thrives here.

>> Yes, it's adapted to the climate.

>> I see you have another mushroom.

This looks vaguely familiar.

>> Yes, this is an Arctic champignon.

>> So it's actually related to these white button mushrooms that taste almost nothing.

>> Yes, yes.

>> And this one is a big one.

So here it is, a true delicacy from 78 degrees north.

Can I bring some of the mushrooms for my cooking?

>> Yes, yes.

>> Thank you.

♪♪ Now I'm going to do something that I've never done before on "New Scandinavian Cooking."

I'm going to cook a dish that I've never tasted before.

That's because the ingredients are so rare.

I'm gonna cook seared cod with Arctic mushrooms, with this Arctic champignon and with this apparently delicious Lepista multiformis.

So I'm excited to see how it actually tastes.

Here on the island, supplies can be incredibly difficult.

When there was the big volcano eruption in Iceland a few years back, all air traffic was halted, and there were no supplies here for a week, and it started to thin out in the stores.

So the best and most reliable way to get produce is often to buy it frozen, especially if you want high-quality fish.

And then you need to know how to thaw it, 'cause that makes a whole lot of difference.

So the best way is actually to put it in ice water with lots of salt.

That is actually the environment that the fish has been swimming around in in the Barents Sea, and that is the best way to get a really nice, firm piece of fish.

And it actually is a good method.

Even if you buy fresh fish in the store, it has been out of the water for a few days.

You return it to its natural environment, ice-cold salty water, and just leave it there for a few minutes, and it's nice and firm.

Just patting it dry, then I'm gonna fry it in a pan with bacon, skin-side down, and the bacon lends both flavor and fat to the dish so it heats a little bit from the top but mostly from the bottom.

And just place the fish on the side, and then I'm gonna cook the mushrooms in the same pan, in the same fat.

♪♪ It smells -- It smells of mushrooms, of course, but it smells sweeter and more aromatic than I can remember having smelt in a mushroom before.

It's like a combination of porcini mushrooms and shiitake and champignons and matsutake mushrooms.

Now the mushrooms are cooked, and this is a pretty straightforward mushroom ragu.

You can also make it with other kinds of mushrooms that are not Arctic.

You can use a combination of portobello mushrooms, button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and if you can find porcini, it will be even better.

So, finally, I'm gonna add some cream.

This is full cream, about 1/2 cup, a little more than a deciliter.

Then just bring it to a boil, let it boil for a couple of minutes.

I'm taking almost all of the mushrooms and just leaving some for texture.

[ Motor whirring ] Now I've got this thick, delicious mushroom puree with very, very pure mushroom flavor.

♪♪ And then just a few of these Arctic greens.

And then, finally, some snow crab.

Remember that you can find all the recipes at our website... And here it is, an almost 100% Arctic dish.

That is one delicious mushroom.

I think that, from now on, Lepista multiformis is one of my absolute favorite mushrooms.

It is delicious, isn't it?

>> I agree.

It's fantastic.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> For more of the "New Scandinavian Cooking" experience, visit our website or Facebook page.

♪♪ >> Funding for this series has been provided in part by the following... >> Up Norway, curates Norwegian travel experiences in the footsteps of "New Scandinavian Cooking."

>> ♪ No, take me home ♪ Take me home where I belong >> Vgan, the full taste of chocolate.

>> Grieg Suites.

Chocolate with apples from Norway.

♪♪ Havila Voyages.

Pure Northern.

♪♪