Icelandic cooking, recipes and food

Is there a potato-growing country in the world where people don’t make mashed potatoes? I doubt it. Here is one version. I have been making mashed potatoes since I learned to cook and have never used a recipe, but this recipe gives a good idea of the approximate proportions of the ingredients. Mashed potatoes are served with many Icelandic dishes. I like it best with sausages, stews and goulash, and occasionally with roast lamb. It's also good with fried liver sausage. 1 1/2 kg potatoes 1/2 l milk 1 tbs butter (approx.) 1/2 tsp salt 15 g sugar (approx.) Cook the potatoes, peel and mash well. Add some milk and stir well. Continue adding milk until the desired consistency is reached (should be fairly thick, but not runny). Add the butter, sugar and salt to taste. Warm up, but do not boil. Notes: -Add a pinch of ground nutmeg as well as salt and sugar. -For really light, lumpless and fluffy mashed potatoes, whip them, but not for long or they can become gummy. A little etymo...

These are good with any kind of roast meat, especially lamb and pork roast. I don't like to make them too often, just occasionally. Potatoes caramelising in the pan: 1 kg cooked potatoes 50 g butter OR margarine 50 g sugar If you need to convert the measures, see link on the right. The potatoes should preferably be cold, but it is not necessary. They should be small and even in size. If they are big, cut into smaller pieces (about bite-size), flush with water and pat dry. Put the sugar in a medium hot frying pan. When it starts to brown, add the butter and stir to mix. Lower temperature and add potatoes. Roll the potatoes around to coat evenly. The caramel covering should be soft and light brown. If it is dark and hard, the sugar syrup was too hot. This can be fixed by removing the left-over sugar from the pan and returning the potatoes to the pan with a little water. Roll them around and allow the boiling water to soften the caramel shell. Serve hot, for example with roast o...