Saturday, August 19, 2017

Lambakjöt með curry

Lamb curry


Ingredients for 4 persons

500 g lamb
2 large onions
3 Tbsp curry powder
2 Tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper
300 ml meat stock
2 Tbsp tomato paste
4 Tbsp raisins
200 g cream cheese (30%)
3 Tbsp oil

Preparation

Peel the onions and cut them into rings. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion rings and fry them until translucent.

Cut the lamb meat into cubes and sear from all sides together with the onions. Add curry powder, turmeric, ginger, salt and pepper and fry everything briefly, turning regularly.

Add meat stock, tomato paste and raisins. Cover the pot and let simmer for about 45 minutes.
 

Then lower the heat and stir the cream cheese into the no more cooking sauce. Let it brew for another 15 minutes.

Traditionally lamb curry is served with boiled potatoes. But you can also eat it with rice or noodles.
 


Remark:

Iceland is a true paradise for lamb lovers. In Iceland lamb is a relatively inexpensive kind of meat. You can find "lambakjöt" in all varieties: steaks, cold cuts, sausages, pastries, ...

In other countries lamb is often hard to get or quite expensive. For this recipe, if needed, you can replace lamb by roast beef or cattle hip. The result will taste great as well and is still close to the original.




Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Gulrótarsúpa með fiski og krabbar

Carrot soup with fish and shrimps


Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 tsp curry powder
3 cloves of garlic
5 cm ginger root
500 g carrots
1 l vegetable stock

400 g white fish fillet
100 g shrimps
salt and pepper 
some fresh koriander



Preparation

Heat up olive oil in a large pot at medium heat. Chop the onion, the garlic and the ginger and add them to the oil. Sprincle with curry powder and sauté them shortly.

Peal carrots and cut into rough pieces.

Add carrots and vegetable stock into the pot and let simmer at low heat for about half an hour.

Then remove it from the heat and puree everything finely with a hand-held blender. Season with salt, pepper and some coriander leaves and shortly purée once again.


Wash the fish fillet and cut it into cubes. Add them to the soup and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Finally add the shrimps. Serve the soup in bowls, each decorated with a blob of cream and some fresh koriander.










Thursday, May 25, 2017

Fiskisúpa

Fishsoup


Ingredients

2 onions

1 leek 
2 carrots
olive oil 
1-2 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme 
1 can tomatoes
300 ml apple juice
2 large boiled potatoes 
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
300 ml water
500 g fish fillet
200 ml whipping cream
salt and pepper
1 handful parsley
  

Preparation 

Chop the onions. Clean the leeks and the carrots and cut them into small pieces.

Heat oil in a large pot and fry the onions, the leeks and the carrots over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onions become glazed.

Add chili powder, thyme and the bay leaf and fry briefly.

Add the canned tomatoes and the apple juice into the pot, stir well and boil for a short time.


Dice the boiled potatoes, add to the soup and simmer everything for 10 minutes.

Then add water and cider vinegar, stir and boil for another 5 minutes. Purée everything carefully afterwards.

Cut the fish fillet into small pieces 2 cm thick and briefly boil in the soup for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven.


Stir in the cream. Season the soup with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Serve the fish soup with fresh dark bread.


Bon Appetit!

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Rabarbarabaka með smjörbökuðu rúgbrauði

Rhubarb crumble with roasted rye bread


Rhubarb with rye bread is a fairly popular combination in Iceland. This recipe here is less of a cake, rather a dessert - I'd say: Icelandic Rhubarb Crumble. And I found it really delicious!

Icelandic rye bread ("Rúgbrauð") is a particular specialty which I have not yet found outside of Iceland in the same form. I had brought some Rúgbrauð from Iceland to Germany for this recipe. But, of course, you can bake your own Rúgbrauð - or you replace Rúgbrauð by pumpernickel. Pumpernickel is more solid and dryer and grainier, but it works for this recipe.


Ingredients

500 g pumpernickel
50 g butter
200 g brown sugar
500 g rhubarb


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 100 °C.

Thoroughly crush the rye bread resp. pumpernickel with a grater.
                                                      

In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the bread crumbs.


While still stirring, add sugar and stir until it has dissolved.


Then place the mixture on a baking tray, spread carefully, and bake in the pre-heated oven at 100 ° C for about 15 minutes.



Remove the tray from the oven and let the bread mass cool down a bit.

Place about half of the breadcrumbs in an ovenproof dish and gently press them down.


Wash the rhubarb, peel and cut into pieces about 2 cm long.


Spread the rhubarb pieces on the bread mass.


Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbles over the rhubarb.


Set the oven to 150 °C and bake the Rabarbarabaka for about 30 minutes until the rhubarb is soft.

Serve everything (warm or cold) with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Hafragrautur með bláberjum

Blueberry porridge


A classic Icelandic breakfast - and without animal products: That's our blueberry porridge. It's suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Even the Icelandic sagas tell of grouts, in Icelandic "grautur". But these written record are not very detailed. They don't tell us how "grautur" was prepared. Maybe the Norsemen used Fjallagrös, Icelandic moss, instead of oat flakes. We don't know.


Ingredients for 2 persons

100 g oat flakes
300 ml water
1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
4 dried dates
100 g blueberries (fresh or frozen)

 
Preparation

Cut the dates into small pieces.


Put oat flake, chopped dates, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and 2/3 of the blueberries into a pan. Pour water over it and let everything simmer at medium heat for about 5 minutes while stirring regularly.

Serve the porridge in two bowls decarated with the remaining blueberries.




Sunday, May 7, 2017

Pönnukökur

Icelandic pancakes


Ingredients
 
400 g white flour
30 g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
50 g margarine
milk (as needed)



Preparation

Mix flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, baking powder and eggs to make a smooth dough. Put it into the fridge for approx. 1 hour.

Then melt margarine and add the dough.

If the dough is not smooth enough, add some milk,

Heat up the pancake pan and lightly grese it.

Pour in a thin layer of dough and fry on both sides until nicely gold.


Sprincle the pancakes with sugar and cinnamon or coat them with rhubarb marmalade - whatever you like. Then roll them up.


 In Iceland, the rolled pancakes are usually served cold.






Sunday, April 23, 2017

Lambakjöt með lakkríssósu

Lamb with chocolate licorice sauce


Ingredients

For the meat:

800 g lamb
2 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper

For the sauce:


400 ml lamb stock
100 ml orange juice
1 Tbsp butter
3 licorice snails
100 g orange chocolate
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp cold water

If available, you can use Icelandic licorice chocolate and grated orange peel instead of licorice snails and orange chocolate.


Preparation

For the sauce:

In a pot heat lamb stock with orange juice and butter. Chop the licorice snails and add them into the brew.


Let everything simmer. Thereby again and again stir around, until the licorice has melted.


Cut the chocolate into small pieces and add them to the sauce.


Mix flour and cold water and add it to the sauce.



Let the sauce simmer at low temperature and stir occasionally.


Now prepare the meat:

Melt butter in a large frying pan at medium heat.

Cut the lamb into 1 cm slices. Brown the slices from both sides in the butter and season with salt and pepper.


Serve the fried lamb with licorice sauce, mashed potatoes and salad.


Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Lax í bláberjasósa

Blueberry marinated salmon


Well, at first glance the combination of fish, blueberries, onions and garlic might seem a bit strange. But modern Icelandic cuisine often tries out unusual things and places traditional Icelandic products in a new context of taste.

Blueberries, "bláberja", are typical for Iceland. There are many large heather areas all over the island. If you keep your eyes open, you can find blueberries at many places. And salmon, in Icelandic "lax", is very common in Iceland, too. Lots of rivers are named "laxá", meaning salmon river.


Ingredients for 2 persons

1 salmon half (with skin)
200 g blueberries
1 garic clove
1 onion
1 cm ginger root
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp chopped basil
salt and pepper


Preparation

Peal and dice the onions. Grate garlic and ginger. (Freshly grated ginger has much more intense taste than ready-to-use ginger powder.)

Heat some butter in a pan. Add blueberries, garlic, ginger, onion, lime juice, balsamic vinegar and basil. Let everything simmer for some minutes. Briefly allow to cool. Then mash the marinade with a blender.

Place the salmon half with skin facing down on a baking tray. Brush it with a part of the marinade (not too thick!).  Let it soak in the fridge for some hours.

Roast the fish (still with skin facing down) in the preheated oven at 250 °C for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve the salmon decorated with the rest of the marinade and, traditionally, with potatoes and vegatables.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Heimatilbúið páskaegg

Homemade Easter eggs


In Iceland Easter is celebrated by giving big chocolate Easter eggs. You can get these chocolate eggs everywhere in shops and supermarkets. Some weigh more than 1.5 kg. They are filled with candies and slips of paper with good wishes.

Here's a short guide showing how you can make such an Easter present by yourself:


Ingredients

400 g milk chocolate

Depending on taste:

vanilla
instant cappuccino
licorice powder
or similar

and

a big egg mold

Preparation

Melt the chocolate over hot water. Depending on taste, stir in vanilla, instant cappuccino, licorice powder or similar. Allow to cool down, until the chocolate starts to thicken.


Pour some chocolate into a small mold to create a base, on which the Easter egg can be placed later. Let it cool down in the fridge.

Add some chocolate to the egg mold halves and spread it out. Leave to harden a bit. Then add chocolate once more and repeat again and again, until the chocolate layer is thick enough. After cooling down in the fridge, remove the chocolate carefully from the mold. (If something goes wrong, you can melt the chocolate again and start from the beginning.)

When both halves of the egg have turned out well, fill one half with candy and add a piece of paper with a good wish.


Melt a bit of chocolate, coat the edges of the egg halves with it and press them together.


When everything is hardened, add some melted chocolate on top of the base, place the egg on it and let it harden.

If you like, you can decorate the egg with colored sugar izing.


Store the Easter egg in a cool room - and give it to a nice person!


Monday, April 3, 2017

Baunastappa

Pea purée


Ingredients

400 g frozen peas
2 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp whipped cream
salt
pepper
mint pepper or mint powder


Preparation

Add frozen peas into a pan of boiling water and let them cook for about 5 minutes.

Melt butter in a second pot. Add peas and whipped cream and heat up the mix for a while.

Finally mash the fried peas and season with salt, pepper and mint.


Pea purée is served as side dish to meat or fish.



Saturday, April 1, 2017

Rabarbarakaka með rifnu rúgbrauði

Rhubarb cake with crumbled rye bread


In Iceland, rye bread is very common. Even if the bread has become a bit stale, it's no reason to throw it away. You still can process it into something tasty, for example into a rhubarb bread cake.


Ingredients

 
500 g rhubarb stalks
 
500 g pumpernickel
 
150 g sugar
 
1 pinch of ground vanilla
 
3 tbsp margarine


Preparation

Wash and clean the rhubarb, cut into small pieces, sprinkle with 100 g of sugar, mix and let soak for about 1/2 hour.


Thoroughly crumble the pumpernickel.


Mix in ground vanilla and the remaining 50 g of sugar.


Preheat oven to 180 °C.

Fill the bottom of a springform pan (approx. 22 cm) lined with baking paper with 1/3 of the crumbled bread and press firmly.


Then spread half of the rhubarb on it, followed by another layer of breadcrumbs, the remaining rhubarb, and a third layer of breadcrumbs.


Spread margarine on top.


Bake the cake in the pre-heated oven at 180 °C for about 40 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Then gently remove from the tin.


It's important to keep the cake in the fridge, since it could lose its shape otherwise.

Serve well chilled and with whipped cream.