Step right up, come one, come all! It's time for a new assassin adventure! Ubisoft has been out of the annual rhythm for a while, but developers, players and probably also the big "money-makers" behind the scenes, seemingly can't be without a new game in the series for too long.
The settings for Assassin's Creed Valhalla are the 9th century Norway and England ... unfortunately more England than Norway. Don't get me wrong, the British island is great to look at and the campaign about the adopted Viking princess/prince Eivor ( tragic backstory included) is interesting, but after Egypt and Greece I would have simply been more pleased about a snowy game world with completely different charms.
The often rough tone of the story, in which I sometimes didn’t feel heroic at all, would have fit a backdrop of glaciers, mountains and some northern lights perfectly. However, the revised combat system, the longboat raids and the settlement simulator are also fun in warmer climates. Endland also doesn’t have any stupid whales jumping out of the water next to the boat, giving me half a heart attack - so there’s that.
What does a Viking need to lead a hopefully long, whale heart attack free life full of adventure? A nutritious diet! And these guys had a surprisingly versatile one. Meat, fish, dairy products and root vegetables made up the bulk of their menu. Often in the form of a so-called skause, a kind of stew that simmered for days. You took a portion, added new ingredients to the kettle, and so on and so forth.
Today I have for you a ... more transportable and faster variant: a braided buttermilk bread filled with cheese, meat and leek. The real Vikings actually had bread, even though their hard flat cakes really can't hold a candle to my crispy, hearty braid.
375g Flour 400g Sausage 300g Cheese (eg Gouda) 2 ts Baking Powder
400ml Buttermilk
100g Leek
50ml Mayonnaise Salt
Pepper
Coriander
Caraway
preheat the oven to 230c top bottom
peel the sausages
cut the cheese into small pieces
wash the leek, slice it and then quarter the slices
mix salt, baking powder and flour
add buttermilk till you have smooth dough
add 50g of cheese to the dough and set another 50g aside
divide the dough into three parts
roll one piece of the dough into a strand of ~35cm
flatten it with a rolling pin
fill along the middle with a third of sausage, leek and cheese
season the filling with salt, pepper, coriander and caraway
close the seam and put the roll aside, seam down
repeat with the other two pieces of dough
connect the strands at one end and braid them tightly
carefully life the braid onto a baking paper covered sheet pan
brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with the remaining 50g of cheese
bake for 10min, then lower the temperature to 190
bake for another 35min
take the braid out of the oven and let it cool
combine buttermilk with mayo
add salt and pepper to taste to the dip
Guten Hunger!
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