The theme of the Jokkmokk Winter Market 2018 is Arctic gastronomy. From looking for exciting food from faraway lands, we are now turning our attention to what is close to us, resource management and our own traditions. Food unites people; netted reindeer steak challenges the Christmas ham, which is especially popular with young families. We want to know what we are eating and we also eat the values ​​that the meal carries with it. We want to offer the best and eat with a clear conscience, not least at Christmas time. At my place we serve ham, herring, turnip salad and other things that belong to Christmas, but there is also boiled reindeer tongue, preferably a little blood palt and gáhkku (Sami mulled wine) which is baked on Christmas Eve morning. The warmth of the fire in the tiled stoves and people, the smells of food and Christmas tree fill the house.

If you want to eat Sami, you should look out for quality labels from Renlycka and Slow Food Sápmi, then you will get good food from Sami producers in Sweden, produced in a traditional way, always with the next generation in mind. My own favorite is boiled reindeer back meat and I can highly recommend this simple, wonderfully tasty and healthy dish for the Christmas table. Something magical happens in the meeting between meat and bone and the preparation is childishly simple; put the back pieces in well-salted water and simmer over low heat. Choose knife-jointed vertebrae if you can, but sawn cutlet-like pieces are also fine. The cooking takes care of itself and you have tender, delicious meat and a divine broth. Don't forget to scoop out and eat the marrow that is inside the spine.

I have become increasingly aware of the fine food I have eaten throughout my life. Ham is still on our Christmas table, but traditional food feels increasingly important. It reminds me of my origins and our future. The reindeer's healthy meat, without added fat and with lots of Omega 3, comes from grazing and it gets to choose what it eats. That's how I want it to continue. I want to return to showing respect for the animal by taking advantage of everything; raw materials and flavors that we are losing in the footsteps of rational industry. That's why I cook blood sausages filled with kidney, small pieces of meat and flavorful fat. And I set out the table with nature - evergreen spruce branches from the edge of the forest by our house, decorating the Christmas table and reminding us of the world we are all a part of. Me, my family and you who are reading.

Listen to me and others in P1 "Christmas in Sápmi" on Christmas Eve at 11:00 - 11:55 with a repeat on New Year's Eve at 8:00 - 8:55.

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