A thousand years of tradition on the plate
Recipes & Culinary Heritage
Stockfish has been a cornerstone of European cuisine for over a thousand years. From Viking trade routes to Mediterranean kitchens — this unique product has shaped culinary traditions across the entire continent.
Here we share both our own family recipe for lutefisk and traditional dishes with stockfish. The recipes show how raw materials from Lofoten have found their place in kitchens in Norway and Italy — from simple home meals to long culinary traditions.
Family recipe
Oven-baked lutefisk with mustard sauce
This is a family recipe we have used for lutefisk. It is a simple, traditional oven method, with optional salting beforehand for a firmer texture.
Lutefisk
- • Lutefisk, cut into serving pieces
- • Salt
- • Coarse salt or sea salt if you prefer firmer lutefisk
- • Aluminium foil
Mustard sauce
- • 2 tbsp butter
- • 2 tbsp wheat flour
- • 200 ml whole milk
- • 200 ml cooking cream
- • 4 tbsp coarse mustard
- • Salt
- • Lemon pepper
How to prepare the lutefisk
- 01If you prefer a firmer texture, salt the lutefisk 2–3 hours before cooking. Use coarse salt or sea salt, pour off the liquid that is drawn out, and brush away any excess salt before baking.
- 02Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
- 03Place the lutefisk skin-side down in a roasting pan, season lightly with salt and cover with aluminium foil.
- 04Bake the lutefisk in the middle of the oven for about 20–40 minutes, depending on the amount of fish in the tin. The fish is ready when it flakes apart with gentle pressure.
How to make the sauce
- 01Melt the butter together with the coarse mustard.
- 02Stir in the flour and gradually add warm milk and cream while stirring.
- 03Bring to a boil and let the sauce simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until the flour taste is gone. Cook a little longer if needed.
- 04Season with salt and lemon pepper.
Traditional recipes
Oven-baked lutefisk with classic accompaniments
A clean and traditional way to serve lutefisk: oven-baked lutefisk with bacon, pea stew and good potatoes. We link to Godfisk for specific recipes and preparation tips.
Italian stoccafisso with roots in Veneto
Stockfish from Lofoten has a strong place in Italian food culture. In Veneto, stoccafisso is used in slow, flavourful dishes where the texture and mature taste of the raw material take centre stage.
Stockfish as a raw material in traditional dishes
After soaking, stockfish is used in many classic dishes. The flavour is concentrated, pure and clearly shaped by natural drying on racks — a fine starting point for both Norwegian and Italian kitchens.
Culinary heritage
From medieval trade to modern traditions
The journey of stockfish from Lofoten to Europe began in the Middle Ages. The Hanseatic merchants in Bergen drove large-scale trade in stockfish, and the product became a vital source of protein in Catholic countries where meat was forbidden during Lent.
Today these culinary traditions live on. In Vicenza, 'Bacalà alla Vicentina' is celebrated as a cultural heritage, and Norwegian stockfish remains an important ingredient in Italian food culture.
Our role as a supplier from Lofoten connects us directly to this living food tradition, and we are proud to contribute to centuries-old recipes continuing to enrich dinner tables in Norway and Italy.