Keto Christmas Eve

For centuries my family has eaten rømmegrøt, or Norwegian cream porridge, for our Christmas Eve supper. Rømme translates as cream and is pronounced "remma" with a rolled 'r' to rhyme with Emma, and grøt means porridge and is pronounced "gret" (also with rolled 'r') to rhyme with "fret".  I am pretty sure this is the source of the word "grits" to mean porridge! This food has wound its way into the family lore in so many instances. My grandmother grew up on a cherry/dairy farm in Northern Michigan and her mother could make the rømmegrøt with cream and she hated it and thought it too thick. My grandfather grew up with the rømmegrøt made from skim milk because his father was paralyzed by polio and they were too poor to buy cream. Because Grandma hated rømmegrøt she never made it (my mother and her siblings were given it by their grandmothers) but Grandpa evidently really missed it. When I was grown up he gave me the recipe and I helped him make it. While we cooked he told me the story of his school Christmas play. The children were wearing letters to spell out "Merry Christmas" and each was supposed to step forward and recite part of a poem on their letter's turn. Grandpa was wearing a letter 's' and he was supposed to step forward and say "And now there is an 's' between." This was difficult for him because they spoke Norwegian in their home, so he was worried about making a mistake and was rehearsing  a lot. However, his older brother, Frederick, kept teasing him by saying, "And now there is some grøt between"! Grandpa was terribly afraid he would repeat Frederick's line instead of his own, but in the end he said the poem correctly. Poor Frederick died (of rheumatic fever, I believe) when he was only thirteen, so there aren't many stories about him. I am so grateful I shared this food with my grandfather while he was alive and learned to make it for my own children. Every year my Norwegian cousins used to send a photo of themselves eating their rømmegrøt  on Christmas Eve to my grandparents so now I always take a photo of our family eating ours and post it on Facebook!

This year, however, our tradition was threatened when our oldest son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Because he is controlling the condition so well with diet and supplements and essential oils he is no longer on mealtime insulin, so he doesn't just inject himself and eat what he wants and he can't have really high-carb stuff. I was determined this disease would not steal our beloved tradition from us, so I revised the recipe into a ketogenic (grain-free and sugar-free) version. Recipe and videos below:

Ketogenic Rømmegrøt 
serves 8

1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup monkfruit sweetener, granulated
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp Xanthan gum
1 tsp liquid monkfruit sweetener
Melted Butter
Cinnamon
Monkfruit or Stevia granulated sweetener

Melt butter in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Add almond flour and stir until well blended and smooth. Slowly add whipping cream and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower heat. Add monkfruit granulated sweetener and salt. Stir and simmer until the mixture begins to cling to the sides of the pan as shown in the first video. Stir in the coconut flour and Xanthan gum (a natural thickener made from a bacterium produced from the fermentation of simple sugars). Keep stirring (a whisk works best) until the  mixture is a thick, bubbly porridge as shown in the second video. Remove from heat and stir in the liquid monkfruit sweetener. Place in bowls and serve with a pitcher of melted butter, cinnamon, and granulated monkfruit or stevia sweetener. Each person serves themselves by pouring melted butter over the porridge and then sprinkling with cinnamon and sweetener.

Nutritional Information
(for rømmegrøt only, not including added butter and sweetener) :
Calories: 493
Fat: 51 grams
Sodium: 212.2 mg
Potassium: 51.8 mg
Carbs: 15.6 grams
Fiber: 4.1 Grams
Sugars: 10.2
Protein: 4.2
Vitamin A %: 31.82
Calcium %: 6.83
Iron%: 4.88

I hope your family enjoys this rømmegrøt  as much as my family always has. Traditionally this is the supper served on Christmas Eve, and my family often has it then, but some years we have it for Christmas morning breakfast or as dessert after Christmas dinner. You can make it early and then cover the bowl with a clean cloth and place it in a warm oven until you're ready to serve it, according to my grandpa's recipe. You can microwave it as well, but sometimes that makes it gummy. 

I wish you a very Merry Christmas! My Atelier Mandaline shops are taking orders but I will not resume shipments until December 28th so I can enjoy a much-needed respite and family time.