Get ready for a taco experience unlike any other, and picture this: tender reindeer shavings seasoned with juniper and brown goat’s cheese, nestled in homemade potato flatbreads, spread with a tangy lingonberry cream, crispy parsnip chips, and pickled red onions. This isn’t just a meal—it’s a goddamn celebration of the best Norwegian flavours!
Reindeer shavings, or reinskav, is a staple in the far north of Norway, especially cherished by the Sami people, who have herded reindeer for generations. These thinly sliced shavings of meat pack a punch with their deep, gamey flavour, balanced here with the sweetness of Geitost and the tart pop of lingonberries. It’s a perfect marriage of old-world ingredients and modern cooking, bringing together everything that makes Norwegian food so unique.
We’re taking that rustic tradition and wrapping it in potetkaker, those super soft and plump potato-based flatbreads that feel like a warm hug on a cold winter’s day. Add in the crispy parsnip chips and the brightness of pickled red onions, and you’ve got a taco that’s equal parts comfort food and culinary adventure.
Did you know?
Potetkaker is the same as lomper, we just call it different tings in different parts of Norway. They are a kind of Lefse, but not a Potetlefse. Lefse is the umbrella term for Norwegian flatbreads, but we also have Flatbrød, which is a kind of flatbread, but it’s not the same as Lefse. Clear as mud?
Ingredients
Pickled red onions
- 100 ml sugar
- 200 ml red wine vinegar
- 300 ml water
- 1 tbsp blackcurrant juice(optional)*
*To boost colour
Deep fried parsnip chips
- 200 g parsnips
- oil for deep frying
Raindeer taco filling
- 400 g Reinskav (raindeer shavings) *
- 1 kg assorted foraged mushrooms, or champignons
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ripe, dried juniper berries, crushed
- 5 slices Norwegian Geitost (brown goat’s cheese)
- 150 ml full fat sour cream
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- Salt to taste
* Raindeer (caribou) isn’t available to most, so I would use practically any big game for this; any deer, musk ox, bison, and if any of that fails, try lamb, goat or beef. Hell, if kangaroo is all you have, fuckin give’er!
Norwegian potetkaker (lompe)*
*Potetkaker is a kind of Lefse, and is exactly the same as lomper; it’s just a matter of where you live in Norway! You can buy potetkaker all over Norway, but most are very industrialized. This recipe is the real deal. If you want to buy, Lisbets Potetkaker are the absolute best we’ve tried.
- 600 g potatoes*
- 50 ml sour cream
- 180 g flour
- 5 g fine sea salt
*The perfect potato is a quite large potato with high dry matter – starchy, not waxy.
Lingonberry cream
- 150 ml full fat sourcream, ideally Røros*
- 3 tbsp lingonberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 tsp sugar
*Røros is organic sourcream with an absolutely amaaaaazing flavor! Unlike other Norwegian sourcreams, it does not like heat treatment, so always use cool.
To serve
- Beet leaves or lettuce
- Finely chopped chives
Method
Start by making the pickled red onions. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, red wine vinegar, water, and a splash of blackcurrant juice (if you’re feeling fancy). Bring that to a simmer, stirring until the sugar’s dissolved. Pour the pickling liquid over thinly sliced red onions in a lidded jar and let them sit for at least 1 hour to pickle up and get some attitude. These can be made well ahead of time, and will keep for weeks.
To make the potetkaker, start by prepping the potatoes. Traditionally, the potatoes are boiled, but just like with gnocchi, for the absolute best texture and flavour, bake the potatoes at 200C in the oven until they’re fluffy and soft. This will make them steam off a lot of water, and that means you can reduce the amount of flour to use. Flour mutes flavors, so the less flour you use, the more flavorful and soft and fluffy they become. Sure, you can boil them if you’re in a rush, but baking is where the magic happens. Don’t half-ass it if you’ve got the time.
Once the potatoes are cooked, and while they are still warm, peel those fuckers and mash until they’re smooth as hell and let them steam off even more to get rid of as much moisture as possible (so you can use as little flour as possible). Ideally pass them through a fine sieve, or use a ricer, cause even a small lump will create a hole in the potetkake when you roll it out.
In a mixing bowl, chuck in the riced potatoes, sour cream, 2/3rds of the flour, and salt. Mix it all together to a cohesive dough, but don’t go kneading it like a madman—keep it light and easy.
Add more flour as necessary, until it’s juuust right and easy to roll out. Adding too much flour or overworking the dough will leave you with rubbery, sad potetkaker, and no one wants that.
Divide the dough into little balls about 40-45 g each, dust your countertop well with some more flour, then roll each one out into a thin, tortilla-like round. You want them a 1-1.5 millimeters thick. Not too thicc; not too thin; just right. If they break when transferring to the pan, they’re too thin; if they end up dense and doughy, you made them too thick. You can clean up the edges with a ring mold (plating ring) if you like.
Get a dry pan proper hot over medium-high heat, then cook each potetkake until it’s got those sexy, golden-brown spots and maybe a hint of char. Set those beauties aside with a towel over and keep them warm while you work on the filling.
Below is a pretty good video about how to make potetkaker. I do things a little bit differently, but all in all, between my explanation and this video, I think you should get very good results:
For the reindeer taco filling, heat up a pan until it’s white hot and sear the hell out of the reindeer shavings. Get some serious browning on that meat, then set it aside. In the same pan, toss in the mushrooms and give them the same treatment – you’re after some serious Maillard reactions here! Turn down the heat, add the sliced onion and cook until completely soft, then add the minced garlic for a minute or two, until everything’s smelling like a goddamned feast.
Reindeer shavings, or reinskav, are thin, rustic slices of reindeer meat, often cut from the leg or other lean parts of the animal. Traditionally, they’re sliced paper-thin while the meat is still partially frozen, which helps achieve those ultra-thin, delicate layers. Reinskav is a staple in Norwegian and Sami cuisine, where it’s often cooked quickly over high heat to preserve its natural gamey flavour and tender texture.
Throw the reindeer back into the pan, along with the crushed juniper berries. Toss in five or six slices of Geitost and stir them in until they melt into the mix, adding a rich, slightly sweet twist. Finally, stir in the sour cream and a splash of light soy sauce. Give it a taste and throw in a bit more salt if it needs it. Let everything simmer just until it’s all hot and mingling together, creating a savoury filling that’ll blow your taste buds to high heaven. Keep this filling warm until you’re ready to assemble.
Next peel the parsnips and slice them chips-thin (a mandoline works best). Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180°C (350°F). Fry the parsnip slices in two batches until golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on a paper towel. Set aside.
To make the lingonberry cream, grab a bowl and toss in the sour cream, lingonberries, and a teaspoon of sugar. Mash the berries a little bit to get their juices flowing, then stir it all together until you’ve got a tangy, creamy mixture. Add a little more sugar if you need to, but don’t overdo it—this should be a tart, punchy contrast to the rich filling.
To put it all together, grab a potetkake and slap a spoonful of lingonberry cream onto it, then some lettuce. Add a hearty spoonful of that kickass reindeer filling, then top with a sprinkle of finely chopped chives, pickled red onions, and the crisp parsnips. Serve these bad boys warm, with extra lingonberry cream on the side if you’re feeling generous.
