FOOD JUST LIKE IT WAS IN THE OLD DAYS

DANISH INN FOOD: Spare ribs from the good old Danish pig. Strong dark beer to boil them in. Served with caramelised potatoes and creamed kale. Nothing could be more traditional. The dish is served at Sevel Kro – one of Denmark’s most pleasant and most charming inns

A cold, wet and windy afternoon on The Royal Mile in Edinburgh suddenly becomes a memory for life when you go into a pub and warm yourself up with a pot of scorching hot moules mariniere of fabulous quality. Or frog’s legs in Provence which together with chilled white wine and the singing of the cicadas becomes a southern apotheosis. Not to mention the moment when genuine Peking duck is served in Beijing and the host according to tradition offers the duck’s tongue as the most delicious delicacy.

Local food and local cuisine is an essential part of any journey, to many even the most essential. Especially because it also contains elements of surprise. To turn a corner and suddenly discover a charming inn with invitingly good food. Friendly natives who like a chat, and a landlord and landlady who for years have kept a special local avec which they think right now is the moment to be uncorked.

Spare ribs in beer
In Denmark there are hundreds of small local inns which all have their special menus offering distinctive local food. Everywhere along the coasts, freshly caught fish is the attraction. Inside the country one finds rural dishes based on the world famous Danish pig. A general dish in almost all Danish inns is omelette with fried pork, decorated with fresh tomatoes and lots of chives. Served with cool beer, preferably from the local microbrewery, an ice-cold aquavit, and you are ready to take lodgings and spend the rest of the day exploring the neighbourhood.

In the middle of Jutland, in an ancient heathland area of natural beauty with plantations and beautiful lakes, lies the village Sevel in whose local inn reside the proprietors Ruth and Hans Kurt Nielsen. With overnight accommodation and a restaurant which is frequented by food connoisseurs from far and near. On their menu, Ruth and Hans Kurt offer an old Danish regional dish which is worth a detour: Ølbien in old Jut-land language. Or spare ribs in beer to make it understandable.

Local avec
The main ingredient are spare ribs from a pig, boiled in a bouillon laced with a bottle of Old Gambrinus dark beer from the local brewery. After boiling, the spare ribs are fried until tender and crispy. Following tradition they are served with caramelised baby potatoes and creamed kale, with which you naturally drink the same beer as the spare ribs have been boiled in. But take care, at 9.7% it is strong stuff. And if you are also attracted by Hans Kurt’s own distilled spirits, using a recipe involving the calming St. John’s wort, then you are ready for a midday nap in room 3 with a view over Sevel’s age-old church.

Thus refreshed, and after a cup of coffee with homemade cake, you are ready to explore the surrounding countryside. A walk around Stubbergård Lake, where one of Denmark’s oldest monastery ruins lies in lonely majesty. A short drive to visit the old village of Hjerl Hede. Or Sahl Church with Den-mark’s most famous gold plated altarpiece. All within a radius of five kilometres.

Limousine cattle
Back at Sevel Kro there is now one hour to dinner. That is used to briefly explore the inn’s new wine cellar where you choose the wine of the evening while Hans Kurt pours a small drink before the evening’s culinary experiences. If you choose one of the chef’s meat dishes, all of which originate from meaty Limousine cattle, then you are not making a poor choice. And if you are lucky –and usually you are at Sevel Kro – the day is ended with one of the homemade distilled spirits and some pleasant chatter with Ruth, Hans Kurt and the local people.

http://www.sevelkro.dk  

The Aquavit Route Together with nine other inns, Sevel Kro forms part of a loose cluster of eating places which lie around the Limfjord in Jutland, which is known for its beautiful countryside with a mixture of water, open landscapes and woods. The inns market themselves under the name ’The Aquavit Route’. In addition to its local regional dishes, each inn offers a choice of special Danish aquavits made using herbs often picked in fields or meadows close to the inn. All inns offer overnight accommodation, which for two people sharing a double room, including morning buffet, costs on average EUR 100-120. http://www.snapseruten.dk 1. Sevel Kro lies in the heart of Jutland as the closest neighbour to the village church. The inn can be used as a base for exploring some of the most beautiful countryside in Denmark –and a stay of high gastronomic quality. 2. To prepare ’Ølbien’, meaty spare ribs are boiled in a mixture of bouillon and Old Gambrinus dark beer from the local Hancock Brewery 3. The spare ribs are fried until crispy – 4. – and served with caramelised baby potatoes and creamed kale