Elle Sáve loves to cook, and most of all Sami food. Now she has composed a Sami festive dinner. Flat steak of reindeer with grilled reindeer tail. We are at home in the kitchen of her parents in Máze in Kautokeino municipality. Cooking can start, and the potatoes should turn into mashed potatoes. She grabs a broken mashed potato utensil and starts laughing. CHILDHOOD HOME: Dinner is made at her parents’ home in Máze in Kautokeino municipality. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news – It’s not such advanced equipment that I use at home, it’s what everyone else uses, says Elle Sáve. She herself is a trained chef and has several years of experience from restaurants and offshore. Most people might think that reindeer tails do not belong on the dinner plate. But many Sámi still eat reindeer tails, just as their ancestors did. – For us, it is common to eat reindeer tails. But it is most common that we cook them together with the back, says Elle Sáve. REINDEER TAILS: Reindeer tails are traditional Sami food. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news Now it will not be boiled, but roasted in the oven. Elle Sáve puts the reindeer tails in an ovenproof dish and puts them in the oven. Where do you get a reindeer tail? This meal requires some preparation, as it can be a challenge to get hold of such ingredients. Reindeer flat steak and marrow bones are available in selected grocery stores, but reindeer tails are not available in regular grocery stores. Fortunately, you have other options. – There are many small local companies that process reindeer meat. It is found everywhere where there is reindeer herding, says Elle Sáve. Some of the companies that sell reindeer meat have outlets in, for example, Oslo. While other companies can send the meat to you. DIVIDED IN TWO: The medullary bone is split lengthwise to make it easier to extract the bone marrow. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news If you still can’t get hold of all the ingredients, there are solutions. You can replace reindeer flat steak with inner or outer fillet of reindeer. The reindeer marrow can be replaced with ox marrow. If you can’t find marrow at all, you can replace the marrow with butter. The reindeer tails can be cut out. It will be a complete meal even without reindeer. Reindeer marrow in the sauce A red wine sauce is now ready-made on the plate, it is only missing one important ingredient. Elle Sáve digs out the marrow in the bone with a small spoon. – I took inspiration from the French red wine sauce “bordelaise” which contains beef marrow. The marrow is chopped into small pieces and put into the red wine sauce. Now it just needs a little boiling before it’s ready. – I think it’s fun to show off the food I make, so I hope people will be inspired, says Elle Sáve. REINDEER Marrow: Ready-chopped reindeer marrow ready to be mixed with red wine sauce. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news Food influences on Instagram. Showing off what she makes and inspiring others is nothing new for Elle Sáve. She started an Instagram account called “Njalggat” (Good) in early 2022. Positive feedback has been pouring in since she started the Instagram account. But Elle Sáve also has something else in mind. – My dream is to have my own TV program where I cook, she says. That Elle Sáve is more interested in food and sustainability than the average is clear. Now she has just served a festive dinner to some of the world’s best chefs during the Bocuse d’Or international cooking competition in Lyon, France. – I am so proud of the dishes we served. Sami traditional reindeer dishes, she writes on her Instagram profile. Something sour for meat With familiar movements, the festive dinner moves forward. The mashed potatoes are stuffed and the red wine sauce is ready. Vegetables and mushrooms are ready. The steak is fried in the pan, and heated to the perfect temperature in the oven together with the reindeer tails. Get something from the fridge. A small bowl of orange pieces. CANDY: Mulberry jelly can also be eaten as candy if you don’t want to use it for food. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news – This is mulberry jelly. I like to have something sour with the meat. – Cranberry jam can also be used for those who like it best, says Elle Sáve. The final phase of cooking has arrived. As both a chef and food influencer, Elle Sáve is used to presenting food elegantly on the plate. The pieces of mulberry jelly are nicely dandered around the rest of the food. Finally, it is decorated with something green, and the photography can begin. READY DANDERT: Reindeer flat steak, roasted reindeer tail, mashed potatoes, vegetables and mulberry jelly. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news See the full recipe at the bottom of the article. – Food is more than just survival Elle Sáve wants to inspire people to eat more home-cooked food. But why is it so important to her? – Research shows that ultra-processed food is not healthy to eat. It is also both sustainable and environmentally friendly to eat food made from scratch, she says. RHUBARBRA: One of the local ingredients Elle Sáve uses. On her Instagram profile, she makes, among other things, rhubarb juice. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix Elle Sáve hopes people can become more aware of what they buy and eat. – You can get many raw materials for free by harvesting them yourself. It’s also nice to support local businesses. Now all that remains is to eat the meal, and Elle Sáve’s parents and siblings will enjoy it. RESULT: The festive dinner is finished and the family gets to enjoy Elle Sáve and her cooking skills. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news
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Reindeer tails and flat steak of reindeer for the celebratory dinner on the Sami’s national day – news Sápmi
