Denmark, Food

Danish Ristaffel // The Ultimate Quarantine Meal

Hello, hello! I hope you are all well. I can’t believe I have been at home for nearly TWO months. So this post is titled ‘The Ultimate Quarantine Meal.’ I know what I am doing is technically self-isolating, BUT isn’t everyone just calling this time quarantine? I feel like they are. 🙂

Anyway, you need to try this meal. Period. It looks strange. It sounds strange. It is strange, but once you try it, you’ll be hooked! I first ate this meal in Denmark with Nicolas’s family. He grew up eating ristaffel and was eager for me to try it. It is basically chicken cooked in a curry sauce that is served over rice with a LOT of different toppings. I had never eaten curry before, and the thought of putting bananas and raisins on top of anything savory was foreign to me. However, several foods that I learned to love in Denmark were very different to me at first, so I decided to wholeheartedly give this meal a go. I literally put all the toppings on, and to my surprise, it was DELICIOUS.

Ristaffel was very popular in Scandinavia and the Netherlands during the 1960s. After doing some research, I think it might’ve been eaten in the U.S. then, too. It is really just a very hyggeligt and cozy meal to share as a family. I cooked it for my family last week for the very first time. I was a little nervous because I was recreating one of Nicolas’s favorite meals, and I wanted it to be as yummy as I remembered it! Thankfully, it turned out even better than I could’ve hoped. My family loved it, and Nicolas was so pleased. Here’s what I did …

I followed this recipe for the chicken curry and cooked it in my crockpot. My house smelled amazing the entire day! You can certainly also cook some chicken curry on your stovetop, but I just love my slow cooker. 🙂 My mom prepared some rice and brought it along with her to my house. All that was left to do was the toppings.

On my table, I laid out: canned pineapple, green apples, bananas, cucumber, raisins, salted peanuts, mandarin slices, red and green peppers, and orange marmalade. I simply used what I had, but I also love to add coconut flakes, mango chutney, and any other chopped fruits and veggies!

I served the chicken curry over rice and let everyone add their own toppings! It was so much fun. This was my plate!

So here is what I need to know. Have you ever eaten ristaffel before? Have you heard of it? If you try it, please let me know!

xx, Madison

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8 Comments

  • Reply mamasmercantile May 3, 2020 at 8:51 am

    Looks delicious and so nice that you were able to share it with your family. Yes it is something that we are familiar with and cook this on a regular basis.

    • Reply Madison Marie May 7, 2020 at 9:26 pm

      Ahh so cool that you’ve also tried it before! 🙂

  • Reply BillieJo Stoltz May 3, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    It was delicious! Thank you so much for making it!!!!!

    • Reply Madison Marie May 7, 2020 at 9:26 pm

      It was my pleasure! 😉

  • Reply Danielle May 6, 2020 at 1:13 am

    I have never heard of this but it looks absolutely delicious! I would love to try it! YUM!

    • Reply Madison Marie May 7, 2020 at 9:26 pm

      Maybe we can try it next time you visit!!! <3

  • Reply Bee May 15, 2020 at 4:17 pm

    Hi Madison,

    I love the way you set it up! 🙂

    I just wanted to say I’m Dutch, and yes, “rijsttafel” (as we call it) is a popular thing here. However, it is very different from this Danish version, because it stays truer to its Indonesian origins. It’s basically a huge table with tons of authentic and semi-authentic Indonesian dishes; most of which are savory. Very tasty!

    • Reply Madison Marie May 16, 2020 at 6:23 pm

      Hi, Bee! Thank you so much! And, wow, that is so interesting! I would love to try the Dutch version sometime then. 🙂

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