Kartöflubuff

Potato pancakes

Ingredients

200g potatoes
100 g yellow peas
100 g grated Chester cheese
3 Tbsp oat flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Oil for the pan


Preparation

Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into large pieces, then boil them in salted water until they are soft. Then let the cooked potatoes cool thoroughly.

Cook the half yellow peas with approx. 400 ml of water in a second pot over medium heat for approx. 1.5 hours until soft, then allow them to cool down a little.

Then put all the ingredients together in a bowl or mixing bowl...

...and use the mixer to form a smooth, sticky dough. Then put the dough in the fridge for another hour, as the pancakes will then be easier to fry.

Heat some oil in a pan, use a tablespoon to add the dough for the pancakes to the pan and fry them in batches. Fry on each side over high heat with enough oil until the underside becomes crispy brown, then turn over and fry the second side until crispy.

Then serve the potato pancakes with fresh salad and/or herb quark (skyr).

[Translated from here.]

Ástarpungar

Love balls

Ástarpungar is translated quite literally as “loveballs” in English. In the supermarket, these “loveballs” are often advertised as a typical Icelandic specialty - which of course they are!

"Ást" means "love" and "pungur" means something like "sack" or "bag", although the word is also used for the male anatomy - just like "balls" in English. Um, yes, understandable, based on the look, but did I really want to know that exactly?!?

Ingredients for approx. 30 balls

2 eggs
240 g sugar
900 g flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cardamom
180 g Skyr
100 g raisins

1 kg vegetable fat for deep-frying  


Preparation

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until frothy.

Add flour, baking powder, vanilla, cardamom and Skyr and mix and knead everything thoroughly.

Finally add the raisins and knead them in.

Using your hands, form walnut-sized balls out of the dough.

Heat the vegetable fat in a high pot.

Then place the balls (in portions of between 4 and 6 balls at a time, depending on the size of the pot) into the hot vegetable oil and deep-fry for about 4 minutes, turning regularly so that the love balls become golden brown on all sides.

Then carefully remove the balls from the fat with a ladle and let them drain on kitchen paper.

Ástarpungar taste good warm and cold!

[Translated from here.]

Sveppagratín

Mushroom gratin

Ingredients for 2 people

300 g mixed mushrooms  
1 onion
2 spring onions
2 tsp oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 eggs
45 g flour
180 ml milk  
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
15g grated Parmesan


Preparation

Wash and clean the mushrooms and cut them into small pieces.

Wash the onion and spring onions and chop them into very fine pieces.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion pieces and chopped mushrooms until the mushrooms have color.

 
Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Separate the eggs. Mix the egg yolks with the milk and flour in a small saucepan and then heat until the mixture thickens. Then remove from the heat and let cool.

Beat the egg white until stiff and carefully fold it into the cooled egg yolk-milk-flour mixture, season with a little salt and pepper and place in a shallow baking dish.

Spread the fried mushrooms over it, sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and bake in the oven at 400 °F (200 °C) for about 30 minutes until the crust has turned golden brown.

Serve with green salad and fresh bread.
 

[Translated from here.]

Steiktur lax með sólþurrkuðum döðlum og tómötum

Fried salmon with dried dates and tomatoes

 
ingredients for 4 persons

500 g salmon fillets
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp thyme
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of pepper  
1 chopped onion
10 finely chopped dates
10 chopped dried tomatoes
250 ml cream

 
Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 °F (160 °C) upper/lower heat.

Wash the salmon fillet and pat dry.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and fry the salmon fillets for about 2 minutes on each side.

Then place the salmon fillets in an ovenproof dish and season the top with plenty of thyme and a little salt and pepper.

In the pan with the remaining butter, heat the chopped onion over medium heat, after a few minutes add the chopped dates and chopped tomatoes.

Add the cream, let the whole thing simmer for about 10 minutes and then season the sauce with a little pepper to taste.  

Pour the sauce over the fish and cook in the oven at 325 °F (160 °C) upper and lower heat for about 10 minutes.

 
Then serve the fried salmon with mashed potatoes and fresh salad.

[Translated from here.]

Gróft og gott brauð

Good coarse bread

Ingredients

400 g spelled flour
200 g wheat flour
100 g almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g sesame seeds
100 g sunflower seeds
100 g pumpkin seeds
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp honey
350 ml water
1 Tbsp lemon juice  


Preparation
 
Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C) upper/lower heat.

Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add the honey...

...and add the water and knead everything into a smooth dough. Finally add the lemon juice and knead it in.

Place the bread dough in a loaf pan lined with baking paper...

...and bake in a preheated oven at 375 °F (190 °C) for about 45 minutes until the bread is cooked through. Then take the bread out of the mold and let it cool down.

Verði þér að góðu - bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Fiskur með rauð rjómasósu

Fish with red cream sauce

Ingredients

500 g cod fillet
1 onion
3 large carrots
1 Tbsp margarine
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp thyme
100 g tomato paste
250 ml cream


Preparation

Peel and chop the onion and carrots.

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions and carrots.

Add the sea salt, thyme, tomato paste and cream.

Cut the fish into rough pieces and add it to the sauce.

Simmer over low heat until the fish is cooked and the vegetables are soft.

Potatoes and fresh green salad are ideal side dishes.

[Translated from here.]

Eggjakaka með spínati

Omelette with spinach

Original Icelandic home cooking, the kind that was cooked and eaten there in the late 1940s and early 1950s (found from an old cookbook!).


Ingredients per person
 
3 eggs
1 Tbsp flour
5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp coarse sea salt
3 Tbsp butter
200g spinach
 

Preparation

Wash and clean the spinach and slowly heat it in a saucepan until the leaves have settled.

Separate egg whites and yolks.

Beat the egg white until stiff.

Whisk the egg yolks with the flour and milk and mix carefully with the egg whites.

Heat the butter in a large pan and, when the pan is really hot, remove a little butter and add the omelet mixture to the pan. (At the end, pour the removed butter back onto the finished omelet!)

After a few minutes, add the cooked spinach to the omelette..

...and mix everything together while baking.

Pour over the removed butter and serve immediately.

[Translated from here.]

Espresso-súkkulaðikaka

Espresso chocolate cake

Ingredients

8 eggs
225 g sugar
225 g flour  
2 tsp ground vanilla
3 Tbsp espresso powder  

Ingredients for the chocolate mousse  

250 ml whipping cream  
200 ml sour cream
400 g dark chocolate (56%)  
80 g soft margarine  
80 g dried fruits


Preparation  

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat.

Mix eggs and sugar until foamy. Then add the flour and vanilla...

...as well as the espresso powder and mix everything into a smooth dough.

Bake the dough in a rectangular cake tin (20 cm x 30 cm) lined with baking paper in the lower third of the preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 20 minutes until the dough is cooked through (test with a toothpick!).

Then let the base cool thoroughly and then attach the edge again around the baking pan.

Then carefully heat the whipping cream and sour cream in a large pot and slowly bring to the boil. Then remove the pot from the heat.

Break the chocolate into small pieces, add to the hot cream and let it melt slowly.

Then mix the soft margarine with the chocolate mousse,...

...until it becomes nice and smooth and shiny. Pour the mixture onto the top of the cake in the tin, smooth it out and let it cool in the fridge.

After about a quarter of an hour, decorate with the dried fruit and leave to set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

This time stylishly on paper plates - for your colleagues in the office!

[Translated from here.]

Ljúffengar lakkrísmúffur

Delicious licorice cupcakes

Ingredients

- for the muffins

140 g sugar
180 g brown sugar
125 g margarine
260 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
40 g cocoa
200 ml milk
2 eggs
2 tsp licorice powder

- for the licorice cream

90 g margarine
440 g powdered sugar
2 tsp licorice syrup
1 tsp ground vanilla

Preparation  

Preparation of the muffins (approx. 18 pieces)

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (170 °C) (upper/lower heat).

Stir the sugar and margarine together until fluffy.

Then thoroughly mix the dry ingredients flour, baking soda and baking powder, salt and cocoa in a separate bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients with the butter-sugar mixture, milk and eggs and work into a smooth dough. Finally add the licorice powder and mix gently.

Liquorice powder

Use a teaspoon to fill the muffin tins up to a maximum of 2/3 full with batter.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (170 °C) upper and lower heat for about 20 minutes.

Allow the finished muffins to cool thoroughly.

Preparation of the licorice cream

Beat the margarine until soft, mix with the powdered sugar, add the licorice syrup and then beat the mixture until stiff for at least 5 minutes.

Then pour the cream onto the cupcakes using a piping tip or similar.

Allow the finished cupcakes to firm up a little in the refrigerator and serve well chilled.

[Translated from here.]