Pölsa is a traditional northern Swedish dish that is a close relative to Scottish
haggis
Haggis ( ) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's offal, pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), Mincing, minced with chopped onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with Stock (food), stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the anima ...
.
The main ingredients are beef
sinew
A tendon or sinew is a tough band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tension.
Tendons, like ligaments, are made of ...
,
liver
The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...
,
heart
The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
,
lung
The lungs are the primary Organ (biology), organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the Vertebral column, backbone on either side of the heart. Their ...
,
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...
, and
barley
Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
, mixed with stock, black pepper, and
marjoram. Sometimes
ground beef
Ground beef, hamburger, hamburger meat (North American English), minced beef or beef mince (Commonwealth English; often just generically referred to as ground meat, ''mince'' or ''mincemeat'') is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife or ...
or minced pork is added. It is usually served with mashed or boiled potatoes and pickled beetroot, and sometimes a fried egg.
Background
The Norwegian and Danish word ''
pølse'' means sausage and even if the two dishes don't look the same, the two words are related. Pölsa is simply a traditional variety of sausage filling without any casing.
In popular culture
The dish plays a central role in the allegorical novel ''Pölsan'' (2002) by Swedish author
Torgny Lindgren
Gustav Torgny Lindgren (16 June 1938 – 16 March 2017) was a Swedish writer.
Lindgren was the son of Andreas Lindgren and Helga Björk. He studied in Umeå to become a teacher and worked as a teacher until the middle of the 1970s. For several ...
(1938–2017), in which two men go on a personal quest across postwar Sweden in search of the genuine Swedish "pölsa".
See also
*
Haggis
Haggis ( ) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's offal, pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), Mincing, minced with chopped onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with Stock (food), stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the anima ...
– similar food from Scotland
*
Labskaus
Labskaus () is a culinary speciality from northern Germany and in particular from the cities of Bremen (city), Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck. The main ingredients are salted meat or corned beef, potatoes, and onion. Some recipes put beetroot, pick ...
– similar food from Northern Germany
*
Lobscouse
Lobscouse is a thick stew made of meat and potatoes common to multiple Northern European maritime countries.
It is particularly well known in a nautical context in the age of sail, when a long voyage might require the sailors to eat and drink w ...
– similar food from Norway
*
Scouse (food)
Scouse is a type of stew typically made from chunks of meat (usually beef or lamb) with potatoes, carrots, and onion. It is particularly associated with the port of Liverpool; hence, the inhabitants of that city are often referred to as "Liverpo ...
– similar food from the Liverpool area
*
Stippgrütze – related food from Westphalia
*
Hakkemat – similar food from Norway
*
Faggots – similar food from western Britain
References
Swedish cuisine
Offal
Ground meat
National dishes
{{sweden-cuisine-stub