Ostasalat

Cheese salad

I love cheese - and so I find this cheese salad with fresh vegetables and fruit and a nice peppery spice to be extremely delicious! With fresh bread it makes a nice starter or dessert, but also a good side dish for grilling. Well, that would actually be something for New Year's Eve...

Ingredients

150 g sour cream

1/2 tsp curry powder

1 small can grated pineapple

200 g cheddar

200 g pepper cheese

1 red pepper

1 small stalk of leek

200 g grapes

Preparation

Open the pineapple can, drain the juice and mix the grated pineapple pieces with the sour cream and curry powder in a large bowl.

Cut the cheese into small cubes and add to the salad dressing.

Wash and clean the peppers and leeks, then cut the peppers into fine pieces, halve the leeks and cut them into thin rings.

Wash and halve the grapes.

Add the peppers, leeks and grapes to the bowl,...

...mix everything thoroughly, if necessary season with salt and pepper to taste...

...and let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Then Bon Appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Jólagrautur

Christmas porridge

Ris á l'amande, Risalamande - whatever you call it, it has been a typical Christmas dessert in many Nordic countries since around 1900. In Iceland too, "jólagrautur", or "Christmas grits", has become part of the Christmas tradition for many families .

For Christmas dessert, a whole almond is hidden in the rice pudding - an "almond gift" that knows who it ends up with. Because whoever finds the almond gets a small gift.

Ingredients for 4 servings

1 liter fresh milk

140 g rice

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch of ground vanilla

2 bananas

50 g grated dark chocolate

125 ml whipping cream

Preparation

Put the milk with about salt and the ground vanilla in a large pot, add the rice and cook... xx according to the package instructions.

Then let the rice pudding cool down a little in the saucepan and then put it in the fridge for at least an hour until it is nice and cold.

Whip the cream until stiff.

Mash a banana with a fork...

...and mix with the whipped cream and 2/3 of the grated chocolate.

Then mix the cream mixture with the cold rice pudding.

Cut the second banana into thin slices and then garnish the Christmas fruit with the banana slices and the remaining grated chocolate.

Well, who will find the almond?

[Translated from here.]

Stóra-Sara

Giant Sara

These cookies with ground almonds / marzipan, butter cream and chocolate coating are often found in Scandinavia, in very different versions. By the way, the original recipe is a Danish invention in honor of the French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844 - 1923): the crowds cheered her on her first visit to Copenhagen in 1880. When she visited Denmark again in 1911 to present her biography, one of Copenhagen's leading patisseries is said to have created this pastry in her honor.

In Denmark there is "Sarah Bernhardt Kager", in Sweden there is "biskvier" - and in Iceland a piece is called "Sara" and in the plural it is "Sörur". By the way, it is typical of Icelandic recipes that there is still a bit of coffee flavor in the cream.

I already have several recipes for "Sörur" here on the blog, in addition to the classic version with marzipan there is also a version with licorice .

When I came across a recipe for a giant Sara as a "cake" in an Icelandic magazine with Christmas recipes, I immediately knew - I had to try it!

Ingredients

100 g raisins

3 Tbsp raspberry vinegar

warm water

4 egg whites

1 pinch of salt

200 g powdered sugar

200 g ground almonds

4 Tbsp maple syrup

4 egg yolks

250 g soft butter

2 tsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp instant cappuccino powder

1 pinch of ground vanilla

80 g dark chocolate

1 Tbsp almond flakes or similar for decoration

Preparation

The night before, place the raisins with the raspberry vinegar in a suitable container, add warm water until the raisins are covered and then soak overnight.

Then prepare the cake the next day:

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

Separate the eggs.

Beat the egg whites well with the salt until stiff.

Fold in the powdered sugar and ground almonds.

Draw three circles with a diameter of approx. 16 cm on baking paper, spread the dough on the circles...

...and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 20 minutes until the bases are lightly browned.

Take the bases out of the oven and let them cool.

Heat the maple syrup in a pot.

Add the egg yolks to the pot with the warm maple syrup and beat thoroughly.

Then add the butter in small pieces and stir in slowly.

Drain off the excess water from the raisins and then puree them.

Now the cocoa powder, the instant cappuccino powder...

...and add the pureed raisins and mix everything into a smooth cream.

Then let the cream set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

When the cream has a good consistency and is no longer too runny, layer the cake:

Place the first layer on a cake plate and spread with a third of the cream.

Place the second base on top and spread with the second third of the cream.

Place the third layer on top and spread with the last third of the cream.

Then put the cake in the freezer for a good hour.

Melt the dark chocolate in a water bath and pour it onto the top cream layer.

Decorate with roasted almond flakes, chopped almonds or similar to taste.

Then put the cake back in the freezer.

Take it out of the freezer and let it thaw about half an hour before serving. Well then - bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Bóndakökur

Icelandic oatmeal cookies

A recipe that many Icelanders have associated with Christmas baking since childhood are these cookies here - bóndakökur . Unfortunately, it is not reliably known where these delicious Icelandic oatmeal cookies get their name from. The word "bóndi" usually means "farmer", but sometimes also "husband" and "húsbóndi" simply means "master of the house". The cookies are definitely delicious!

Ingredients

150 g flour

400 g oat flakes

1/2 tsp baking soda

120 g butter

100 g brown sugar

1 - 2 eggs

Preparation

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and knead thoroughly.

Then shape the dough into rolls and cut off 1 cm thick slices with a knife.

With moistened hands, roll the individual slices into balls...

...place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and gently flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake in the middle of the oven in a preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C) for about 10 minutes until the cookies are nice and golden brown.

This recipe is part of the #julbak2020 campaign from mahtava.de

This little guy pictured here is the Skyrgrámur, the Skyr Greedy Maw - one of the 13 Icelandic Christmas companions.

By the way, the Icelandic Christmas companions are troll brothers. They come down from the mountains near Dimmuborgir to people's farms and homes in the 13 nights before Christmas. One brother after the other descends from December 12th and causes mischief and mischief among people. And the Icelandic Christmas cat, the Jólaköttur, is also out and about and ambushes people when they are out in the dark and snow...

[Translated from here.]

Piparkökukaka með hindberjakremi

Gingerbread cake with raspberry cream

This cream cake with cream, white chocolate and raspberries is extremely delicious - and with the spices in the dough it really is wonderfully Christmassy! I wish you a nice Advent Sunday!

Ingredients

250 g butter

260 g brown cane sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp ground vanilla

1 pinch of salt

280 g flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cardamom

2 tsp ground ginger

100 g white chocolate

450 g cream cheese

200 ml whipping cream

150 g powdered sugar

80 g raspberries

Raspberries for decoration

Preparation

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

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

Then add flour and sugar and stir.

Stir in cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger.

Then put the dough into two springform pans (20 cm) that have been greased or lined with baking paper...

...and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for approx. 20 - 25 minutes (test with a toothpick!).

Take the two bases out of the oven and let them cool thoroughly.

When the cake bases have cooled, prepare the raspberry cream:

First melt the chocolate in a water bath and let it cool again.

Then thoroughly mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and the fresh, washed raspberries in a separate bowl.

Add the melted chocolate and mix.

Whip the cream until stiff and fold it into the cream mixture.

Place one cake base on a cake plate or similar, spread with half of the raspberry cream...

...and place the second floor on top.

Spread the remaining raspberry cream on the cake.

Decorate with a few fresh raspberries and a little powdered sugar and then serve well chilled.

[Translated from here.]