Icelandic cooking, recipes and food

This soup is among the oldest recorded Icelandic recipes. It's sweet-sour taste is unusual for fish-based soups. Traditionally, the recipe is given for halibut, but you can also use salmon, trout, wolf-fish or lumpfish, or other fatty fish. 1 1/2 kg fresh fish with bones, cut into pieces to fit in the pan 1 1/2 litre water 2 tbs white vinegar 2 tsp salt 2 bay leaves 50 g flour 100 ml cold water 1/2 lemon 20 prunes 1-2 tbs sugar 200 ml water potatoes parsley If the prunes are dry, soak them in water for an hour or so, or cook them in a little sugar-water with the zest of the 1/2 lemon until soft. Keep them whole. Put water, salt, vinegar and bay leaves in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the fish. skim off the scum when the liquid boils again. cook the fish until it loosens from the bones. Strain the cooking liquid into another saucepan, leaving a little in the pan with the fish to keep it moist. Mix together the flour and cold water into a smooth paste. Bring the strained coo...

This root is known variously as a rutabaga, swede, swedish turnip or yellow turnip. I prefer rutabagas raw, but I also like them in lamb soup . Poached rutabagas: Wash 1 kg. the rutabagas in cold water and peel them. If small, leave whole or halve, if big, quarter and then halve or cut into wedges and halve those. Try to make the pieces a uniform size. Bring 1/2 liter water with 2 tsp salt to a gentle boil. Drop the rutabaga pieces into the water and poach - or steam them for a stronger flavour - until soft. Take care not to overcook, of they will become watery and bland. Serve with boiled meats and fish. Mashed rutabagas: 1 kg rutabagas salted water (100-200 ml milk) 50 g butter salt, pepper, (sugar) Wash, peel and re-wash the rutabagas in cold water. Cook in the salted water until soft. Remove from the cooking liquid and mash thoroughly. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the mash and thin with the milk, if needed, to the consistency of thin mashed potatoes. Add salt, pepper and suga...

I have never tried this soup, so I am not taking any responsibility if you make it and hate it! 1 liter strong whey 4-5 tbs sugar 1 cinnamon stick 50 g potato flour or cornstarch 100 ml cold water Cook the whey with the cinnamon and sugar for 5-10 minutes. Make a paste from the starch and cold water and stir into the soup to thicken. Pour into a bowl, sprinkle with sugar and cool. Red food colouring or crowberry (or redcurrant or cranberry) concentrate can be used to give the soup some colour.

This is delicious with pork roast, ham, hangikjöt or salt herring: Pickled red beets (beetroots) Sweet apple Beet juice Lemon juice Cream Sugar all to taste The beets and apples are cut into small cubes and mixed into softly whipped cream, along with lemon juice, sugar to taste, and enough beet juice to turn the salad pink.

Red beets are traditionally served with meats, especially pork, but I like them best in herring salad , creamy beet salad (recipe upcoming) and with liverwurst on Danish rye bread. Red beets water salt 100-200 g sugar 1 liter white vinegar Wash the beets thoroughly in cold water, put into cold water, add salt and cook until done through. Remove from the cooking liquid and gently remove the skins with your hands and cut off the tops. Slice the beets into slices, about 1/2 cm thick (I like them crinkle-cut). Fill a pickling jar with the beet slices. Cook together sugar and vinegar until the sugar is melted. Pour boiling vinegar over the beet slices. They will keep in sealed jars for 2-3 months.

My mother used to make this dish several time a year when I was growing up, and I liked it then, but now that I have learned to appreciate genuine Indian and Chinese curries, I never make it, simply because I detest pre-mixed curry powder (the only thing I use it for is sauce for marinated herring). The curry used is the mild type, but I imagine that a medium hot curry powder would be good with mutton, which has a stronger flavour than lamb or veal. This is a relatively new but still traditional Icelandic dish. I think curry powder first appeared in Iceland in the 1940s or 50s, and this dish has been part of the Icelandic everyday diet ever since. Lamb or mutton is generally used, but this recipe is also suited to veal. 750 g lamb, mutton or veal 800 ml water 2 tsp salt 2 carrots Curry sauce: 2 1/2 to 3 tbs flour 1 tsk curry powder 150 ml cold water 400-500 ml meat cooking liquid or stock 100 g rice 1 liter water 1 tsp salt A cheap cut like shoulder can be used in this dish. Meat shou...

The cod's cheeks are eaten both salted and fresh. This recipe will do for either. Salted cheeks must be soaked in water to wash out some of the saltiness. 10 cod cheeks an egg yolk, lightly beaten some breadcrumbs mixed with salt and pepper 100-200 g butter If you have whole cod's heads, cut away the cheeks and clean them well. Roll in the egg white, and then in the brumbs. Melt the butter in a frying pan and brown the cheeks in the butter. They may also be fried in an oven-proof dish in the oven. Serve with boiled potatoes.