Súkkulaðikaka með lakkrís í bolla

Quick licorice chocolate cake

in the cup

Ingredients per cup

4 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp baking cocoa
2 Tbsp melted margarine
2 Tbsp vanilla skyr
1 egg
1 pinch of fine licorice powder
1 small chocolate bar, e.g. Þristur


Preparation

In a mixing bowl, add the flour with the sugar, cocoa, melted margarine, vanilla skyr, egg and fine licorice powder and work into a smooth dough.

Then place the dough in a microwave-safe cup.

Cut the chocolate bar in half, stick it into the dough from above...

...and place in the microwave at 850 watts for approx. 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

It's quick and the warm cake is very tasty and very filling!

[Translated from here.]

Rauðrófusalat

Beetroot salad

Ingredients

4 - 5 uncooked beets
1 - 2 apples
250 g sour cream
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of pepper
2 Tbsp blanched almonds
2 Tbsp raisins
3 Tbsp chives


Preparation

Carefully wash the beetroot, dry it and wrap it in aluminum foil.

Place on a baking tray in the cold oven...

...switch on the oven (350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat) and cook for about 1.5 hours. Then take it out of the oven and let it cool down briefly...

...and then peel and carefully cut into small cubes.

Also wash, peel and cut the apple/apples into small cubes.

Mix the sour cream with the vinegar and honey until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Add the apple and beetroot to the sauce along with the almonds and raisins...

...and mix thoroughly.

Sprinkle with the chives and then serve immediately.

[Translated from here.]

Vanillukaka

Vanilla cake

Ingredients

250 g butter
4 eggs
200 g powdered sugar
2 tsp ground vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon peel
250 g flour
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 pinch of salt
2 Tbsp powdered sugar for dusting


Preparation

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

Melt the butter and cool slightly again.

Separate the eggs.

Mix the egg yolks with the powdered sugar, vanilla and grated lemon peel until foamy.

Fold in the flour and mix.

Add the melted butter and lemon juice and stir everything together.

Carefully beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff and fold them into the remaining dough in portions.

Line a rectangular baking pan (approx. 20 cm x 30 cm) with baking paper.

Pour the dough into the mold, smooth it out and bake in the lower third of the preheated oven for about 30 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat.

Cut the vanilla cuca into rectangular pieces while it is still warm and sprinkle with powdered sugar...

...then let it cool and serve.

[Translated from here.]

Rabarbarasúpa

Rhubarb foam soup

Ingredients for four people

1 kg rhubarb
1 liter of water
1 Tbsp potato flour
2 Tbsp water
3 eggs
150 g sugar


Preparation

Wash and clean the rhubarb, cut it into thin slices and put it in boiling water. Let the whole thing cook for about 5 - 10 minutes.

Then carefully puree everything.

In a separate container, mix the potato flour with 2 tablespoons of cold water, pour into the soup and bring to the boil again.

Separate the eggs.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until fluffy.

Beat the egg whites in a second mixing bowl until stiff.

Then carefully fold the egg yolk and sugar mixture into the egg whites.

Remove the soup from the heat, slowly add the egg mixture and stir in.

Then serve the rhubarb soup straight away.

[Translated from here.]

Eggjasalat

Egg salad

Ingredients

6 eggs
1 - 2 bunches of spring onions
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 Tbsp mustard
3 Tbsp butter


Preparation

Place the eggs in a pot of boiling water and cook for 8 minutes.

Then let it cool down a little, peel it and cut it into small pieces.

Place the chopped eggs in a large bowl.

Clean the spring onions and chop them very finely...

...and mix with the salt, pepper and mustard.

Pour everything over the chopped eggs and stir.

Melt the butter, pour over the egg salad (without stirring!) and serve immediately.

[Translated from here.]

Kjöt í karríi

Meat curry

Here's another very traditional Icelandic recipe for Kjöt í karríi - a really nice, hearty lamb curry.

Ingredients for 4 persons

500g lamb
250 g meat broth
100 g water
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
8 medium potatoes
4 large carrots
2 Tbsp softened butter
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp curry powder
freshly ground pepper


Preparation

Wash the lamb thoroughly under cold running water and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Heat a large pan, add the sliced ​​meat to the pan and add the broth and water until the meat is covered. Add the bay leaf and salt and cook for about 30 minutes.

Wash, peel and dice the potatoes and carrots. Add both to the pan and cook again for about 20 minutes.

Remove the meat, potatoes and carrots from the pan and keep warm in the oven.

Melt the butter in a fresh pot, mix with the flour and curry powder...

...and pour in the broth from the pan in portions, stir in thoroughly and bring to the boil until the sauce is thick enough. Season the sauce with fresh pepper and possibly a little salt.

Add the meat and carrots and potatoes back into the sauce and serve with rice.

[Translated from here.]

Krabbasalat

Crab salad

Ingredients

200 g crab meat
100 g white cabbage
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 pinch of coarse sea salt
1 pinch of black pepper
some fresh parsley, if desired


Preparation

Place the sour cream and mayonnaise in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Clean, wash and chop the white cabbage thoroughly.

Also chop the crab meat.

Add crab meat and cabbage to the sauce and mix thoroughly.

Then season with salt and black pepper to taste, and if necessary with parsley.

Then serve the crab salad on bread, traditionally on rye bread.

[Translated from here.]

þurrkaðir ávextir

Dried fruit in Icelandic cuisine

I only really became aware of it last weekend when I made Rúgbrauðsís með rabarbarasósu, i.e. rye bread ice cream with rhubarb sauce, and my sister enthusiastically spooned it up and suddenly raised her head and asked "There are dried plums in there, right?!?" - that's when I really realized what an essential part of Icelandic cuisine dried fruit is.

Of course, not much fruit grows in Iceland, and what is imported always has to be preserved for a long time in advance, so at second glance it is actually not surprising that Icelandic cuisine contains so many recipes with dried plums, dried apricots, lots of them dried dates etc. includes.

One of the oldest recipes from Iceland, which is already known from late medieval sources, is Lúðusúpa, or halibut soup, which has a wonderfully soft, velvety taste thanks to the cream, the prunes and the (also imported) honey in it.

Another, somewhat more modern, but also typically Icelandic dish is the rye bread ice cream mentioned above, the Rúgbrauðsís með rjóma og rabarbarasósu .

The Icelandic Rúgbrauð is made into a very tasty dessert with milk, egg yolk, sugar, cream cheese and, among other things, dried plums - if it's not available, you can also use pumpernickel to prepare it, which also works well here.

Another very typical Icelandic dish is of course Vínarterta, which is the "Original Icelandic Christmas Cake" especially for many second and third generation Icelandic exiles in Canada and the USA, and one fondly remembers how everyone's Icelandic grandmother made this pastry Made for Christmas every year using her very special family recipe.

Here you boil the pitted dried plums with water, cardamom and a little lemon juice and then spread them on the individual bases of the cake.

A nice pastry for Christmas is also an Aðventukringla, an "Advent wreath" with dried plums, dried apricots and raisins.

And dried apricots are also used in the vegan alternative to meatballs, nut balls with mushroom sauce ("hneturbollur með sveppasósa ").

Dates ("döðlur") in particular have become very popular in Icelandic cuisine over the last 60 years:

From Döðlubrauð (date bread) to salmon with dates and Hafragrautur (porridge) to Lakkrístrufflur (licorice truffles) and Rifsberjabaka (currant crumble), Frosin ávaxtakaka (frozen fruit cake) and Dessert kökur (dessert cake) you can find dried dates in many different dishes. And there is also a version of the "Happy Marriage", a very typically Icelandic cake ("hjónabandssæla "), with date paste - made from dried dates, of course.

Date bread

Salmon with dates - steiktur lax með sólþurrkuðum döðlum og tómötum

Liquorice truffles

Rifsberjabaka

Frozen fruit cake

Dessert cake

"Married Bliss"

I think I'll definitely have to look for recipes with dried fruit in the near future!!!

[Translated from here.]