Skonsuterta (I)

Skonsur cake (savoury)

Skonsur are, in a sense, “pancakes in Icelandic”. Small, thick pancakes in contrast to the larger, wafer-thin "Pönnukökur". The skonsur is often eaten "as is", sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon or powdered sugar to taste and/or with jam. If you want something a little more festive, layer the Skonsur with the appropriate filling (sweet or savory) to make a Skonsur cake. These are very popular at Icelandic (cake) buffets, especially in the run-up to Christmas, but also throughout the rest of the year.

One more note:

No, you can't actually make this skonsur fresh for breakfast, because it takes quite a long time to fry all the skonsur in a pancake pan at low heat. I think it took me about two hours. But if you were to bake at a higher heat, the outside would probably be burned before the dough on the inside was cooked through. So the only thing left to do is start early, ideally prepare the day before!

Ingredients

720 g flour
120 g sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
2 eggs
600 ml lukewarm milk
3 Tbsp rapeseed oil

250 g mayonnaise
150 g sour cream
200 g cooked ham
4 hard-boiled eggs
1 small can of pineapple
1 pinch of coarse sea salt
1 pinch of black pepper


Preparation

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl...

...then add the eggs first,...

...then the milk,...

...finally stir in the rapeseed oil...

...and work everything into a smooth dough.

Fry 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter in an ungreased pancake pan over low heat until golden brown on both sides. (Carefully flatten the dough a little in the pan into as round a shape as possible.)

The dough is enough for approx. 16 to 18 skonsur.

Then prepare the filling:

Mix the mayonnaise with the sour cream.

Cut the cooked ham and the canned pineapple into small pieces, dice 3 of the eggs and stir both into the mayonnaise-cream mixture.

Season with salt and pepper.

Then first place one skonsur on a cake plate, spread it with a layer of ham and egg salad, then place the next skonsur on top and spread it again with the salad and put the third skonsur.

Finally, decorate the layer of ham and egg salad on the top skonsur as desired and serve the skonsuterta.

[Translated from here.]

Piparkökuskyrkaka með saltkaramellusósu

Gingerbread skyr dessert with salted caramel sauce

The very last remnants of our Christmas gingerbread have now gone into this skyr dessert with salted caramel sauce!


Ingredients for 6 servings

For the ground

200 g gingerbread
150 g melted butter

For the filling

300 g vanilla skyr
200 ml whipping cream
3 tsp powdered sugar
1 pinch of ground vanilla

For the salted caramel sauce

200 g white sugar
2 Tbsp butter
75 ml whipping cream
1 pinch of coarse sea salt


Preparation

First put the gingerbread cookies in the mixer with the melted butter,...

...mix thoroughly and pour into dessert glasses in portions.

For the filling, whip the cream until stiff, mix the whipped cream with the vanilla skyr, the powdered sugar and the vanilla...

...and pour it onto the biscuit mixture in the glasses.

It is best to let the mixture solidify overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare the salted caramel sauce the day before serving:

Melt the sugar very slowly in a large pan. When the sugar has completely melted, remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and stir in.

Pour in the cream and stir until the mixture has thickened nicely.

Finally add the salt and stir in.

Allow the sauce to cool thoroughly in the refrigerator.

The next day, take the dessert out of the fridge, pour the salted caramel sauce over it, optionally sprinkle with a little lava salt and serve straight away.

[Translated from here.]

Lifrarpylsa

Liver sausage

At the end of January, the time for the Þorrablót begins in Iceland - actually an old Nordic blood sacrifice in the winter month of Þorri. The tradition was revived in Iceland in the 19th century and nowadays private Þorrablót parties often take place and restaurants also offer corresponding dishes during this time , often also as a "platter" with typical specialties such as black pudding and liver sausage (blóðmör and lifrarpylsa), hangikjöt (lamb smoked over sheep dung), pickled ram testicles (súrsaðir hrútspungar), singed sheep's heads (svið), dried fish (harðfiskur) and hákarl, the well-known fermented ice shark.

This year we had homemade liver sausage based on an Icelandic recipe for Þorrablót!

For the sausage I used two artificial casings ("soup casings", caliber 90) that I had previously purchased online.


Ingredients

450 g liver
100 g kidneys
300 ml milk
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
300 g hearty oat flakes
200 g rye flour
650 g lard

2 large sausage skins


Preparation

Wash the liver and carefully remove any skin, then cut into small pieces.

Also cut the kidney into small pieces.

Place the liver and kidney in the meat grinder or food processor...

...and process thoroughly into a mushy mass.

Then mix the meat mixture with the salt, pepper and sugar in a large bowl.

Add the milk and stir.

Knead in the oat flakes.

Finally, add the rye flour in small portions and knead until a nice thick, mushy mass is formed.

Finally add the lard...

...and mix.

Soak the skins accordingly according to the package instructions (here: 10 to 20 minutes in approx. 140-160 °F (60-70 °C) warm water).

Then fill the finished meat mixture into the well-watered skins without any air pockets, but be careful not to fill the skins too tightly, as the sausage mixture will expand a little when it is cooked. Tie the skins carefully.

Heat plenty of salted water in a large pot. When the water is boiling, add the sausages and let them cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on their size. Also make sure that the sausages rotate so that they are cooked evenly. (I cooked the two sausages in two separate pots because I don't have a pot big enough for both sausages.)

Then let the cooked sausage cool down and keep it refrigerated.

For a hearty warm meal, cut the liver sausage into slices, fry/heat it briefly in the pan with a little fat...

...and serve with mashed potatoes and Rófustappa, i.e. mashed turnips.

[Translated from here.]

Myntuís

Mint ice cream

Icelanders love mint chocolate, almost as much as licorice chocolate! And there are tons of Icelandic mint and mint chocolate recipes!

The mint chocolate "Pipp súkkulaði með mintufyllingu" from the Icelandic company Síríus is particularly common, but there are others too.


Ingredients for the mint ice cream

4-6 sprigs of fresh mint
3 eggs
3 Tbsp sugar
100 g whipping cream
250 ml vanilla skyr
100 g peppermint chocolate


Preparation

Wash the branches thoroughly in cold water, dry them with kitchen paper, pick off the leaves and chop them carefully.

Separate the eggs.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until foamy.

Whip the cream until stiff.

Roughly chop the peppermint chocolate and fold it into the egg yolk and sugar mixture along with the cream, skyr and chopped mint.

Finally, beat the egg white until stiff and fold in carefully.

Then pour the ice cream mixture into a mold or small molds and let it freeze in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

Here we enjoyed the mint ice cream with delicious chocolate-mint cookies !

[Translated from here.]

Súkkulaðibitakökur með myntu

Chocolate mint cookies

Ingredients

3-4 sprigs of fresh mint
1 egg yolk
100 g brown sugar
80 g butter
140 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of coarse sea salt
100 g dark chocolate


Preparation

Wash the fresh mint thoroughly in cold water, then dry it with kitchen paper, pick off the leaves and chop them carefully.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until fluffy.

Melt the butter and pour it into the egg yolk and sugar mixture.

Then add flour, baking powder and salt as well as the chopped mint.

Roughly chop the chocolate and mix in carefully.

Form a “sausage” / “roll of dough” out of the dough and put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour so that the dough becomes nice and firm.

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

Cut the dough roll into slices...

...place them well apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake each tray in the oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 10 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool thoroughly and then carefully remove them from the tray.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]