Eplaskífur

Apple fritters

The Icelandic word "skífa" means "disc", but it refers to a flat, round object - like these apple fritters here.

Traditionally, these apple cakes were baked in a special pan, a so-called "eplaskífupanna" with corresponding cavities. When we recently visited the "Cave People" in Laugarvatnshellar, there was one exactly like that hanging on the wall - a really beautiful old "eplaskífupanna". Since I happened to come across the recipe for this eplaskífur in an old Icelandic cookbook, I recognized the pan straight away and was delighted!

Of course, I tried the recipe straight away at home, even though I made do with a poffertjes or egg pan. After all, I couldn't take the good pan from Iceland with me!

Ingredients for approx. 25 pieces

4 eggs
500 ml concentrated milk
1 tsp ground vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon peel
2 Tbsp sugar
300 g flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 apple

some oil for the pan


Preparation

In a bowl, mix the eggs with the thick milk, vanilla, lemon zest and sugar.

Then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk everything together to form a nice, liquid dough.

Wash, peel, core and cut the apple into small pieces.

Stir the apple pieces into the dough.

Then let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the pan well over medium heat.

Carefully grease the hollows in the pan a little and then fry the dough in portions on both sides.

If bubbles form on the dough, carefully turn them over with a fork or something similar until the cakes are golden brown on both sides. Make sure that they are properly baked on the inside too!

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.
We had applesauce with it.

[Translated from here.]

Sítrónukaka

Lemon cake

This is actually a very classic lemon cake that is baked in a springform pan. But now, just before Easter, I used a silicone Easter bunny mold for it! But this hasn't changed the baking time.


Ingredients

200 g flour
2 tsp baking soda
200 g sugar
200 ml sour cream
100 g melted margarine
4 eggs
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel

4 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel


Preparation

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and sugar.

Add the sour cream, melted margarine and eggs, grate the lemon over them...

...and mix everything into a smooth dough.

Pour the mixture into a springform pan lined with baking paper or greased (I used a silicone mold here and sprinkled it a little with breadcrumbs)...

... and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 45 minutes (test with a toothpick!).

Then take the cake out of the oven and let it cool slightly.

Heat the sugar, lemon juice and grated lemon peel in a small saucepan over low heat.

Pour the mixture slowly and carefully over the still warm cake and then let it cool.

Just for fun, I gave my Easter bunny an eye made of icing that I still had in stock.

With this in mind: Bon appetit - verði sér að góðu!

[Translated from here.]

Saltfiskmús

Saltfish puree

Salt fish is really a typical Icelandic food - and I found this puree really tasty too. That's what I had for breakfast!

(If you cook it with unsalted fish, cook the cod in salt water and then add 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt to the puree.)


Ingredients

200 g cooked salt fish
80 g boiled potatoes
1 pinch of ground garlic
1/2 tsp dried parsley
4 Tbsp oil


Preparation

Mash the cooked potatoes with the garlic, parsley and oil until relatively smooth.

Then add the cooked salt fish...

...and mix thoroughly.

Place the fish puree in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and then serve with fresh rye bread (rúgbrauð) and butter.

[Translated from here.]

Sítrónuskyr

Lemon Skyr

Here's another Skyr recipe, either as a dessert or as a delicious, vitamin-rich breakfast. Oh yes, I love Skyr for breakfast!


Ingredients for 2 servings

400 ml pure Skyr
1 organic lemon
2 Tbsp brown sugar
150 ml whipping cream
4 Physalis
2 Tbsp pomegranate seeds


Preparation

Wash the lemon, halve it and cut four thin slices. Set the slices aside for decoration.

Grate the zest of the remaining lemon and squeeze the remaining lemon.

Mix the lemon zest and lemon juice as well as the brown sugar with the skyr.

Beat the whipping cream until stiff and fold in.

Divide the lemon skyr into two bowls and serve with the lemon slices, pomegranate seeds and a physalis each.

Cut the other two physalis into small pieces and add them to the lemon skyr over the other fruit.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Price comparison when shopping

Supermarkets in Iceland

I wanted to get an idea for myself as to how the well-known Icelandic supermarket chains compare in price here. To do this, I chose four “staple foods” and went to various supermarkets here in Reykjavík and looked at the prices. It's not necessarily representative, just a personal snapshot of my stay in Reykjavík now in March 2019.

I was at the "Bónus Fiskislóð" at the old harbor of the city, ...

... also at the old harbor at the "Krónan Granda", ...

… then at “Tíu-Ellefu”, the “10-11” shop on Austurstræti…

...and at the "Hagkaup" in the Kringlan shopping center.

The next day I was at “Nettó Granda”, also in the commercial area at the old harbor in Reykjavík.

The products I chose for my personal comparison were a liter of fresh milk, a piece of toast (770 g each), a pack of cheese (330 g) and a cup of Skyr (200 g).

In comparison, I can now say that Bónus and Krónan hardly differed in price, Netto was a little more expensive and Hagkaup was a little more expensive - and, unsurprisingly, the "10-11" store was by far the most expensive supermarket.

Of course, you can only compare the shops to a limited extent in terms of their orientation, their location, their offerings and, above all, their opening times. It is obvious that a store that is located in the middle of the city center and is always open day and night has different costs for store rent and staff than a supermarket in an industrial area or in a shopping center. In addition, the range of products on offer, the selection, the layout of the store, etc., differ. Ultimately, it is up to the consumer to think about when and where they want to buy or what alternative they have - or don't have.

The " Bónus Fiskislóð " opens at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m., on Sundays at 12 p.m., and usually closes at 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., on Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

The " Krónan Granda " is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Sunday.

The " Tíu-Ellefu " in Austurstræti, in the middle of downtown Reykjavík, is open 24 hours every day, so it is a little different than the classic supermarkets on the "outskirts" or in the shopping center.

The " Hagkaup " in the Kringlan is (at the moment) open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Sundays it only opens at 1 p.m., but on Thursdays it is open until 9 p.m.

Like the 10-11 store in the city center, the " Nettó Granda " is also open 24 hours a day.

(Just a note - other stores in the different chains often have different opening times.)

Here is an overview of the prices that I wrote down:

	Bonus	Kronan	10-11	Hagkaup	Net
1 piece of toast	409 ISK	410 ISK	699 ISK	445 ISK	449 ISK
1 liter of milk	178 ISK	154 ISK	369 ISK	189 ISK	155 ISK
1 pack of cheese	725 ISK	729 ISK	1,119 ISK	879 ISK	789 ISK
1 cup of skyr	175 ISK	178 ISK	309 ISK	209 ISK	189 ISK
	1,487 ISK	1,471 ISK	2,496 ISK	1,722 ISK	1,582 ISK

Converted, my “shopping cart” cost around €10.90 at Bónus, around €10.80 at Krónan and around €11.60 at Nettó. At Hagkaup it cost a good €12.60 and at 10-11 it cost a good €18.30.

As a point of comparison - in Germany I pay around €4.20 at my usual supermarket for a roughly comparable shopping basket with milk, cheese, skyr and toast.

[Translated from here.]

Bulsu- og byggsalat

Pearl barley salad with vegetarian sausages

I have already told you about the Icelandic meat substitute products based on barley grown in the country, which I came across by chance during my last stay in Iceland. Now the recipe for the pearl barley and barley sausage salad!


Ingredients

200 g barley pearls
1 cucumber
200 g tomatoes
1/2 onion
2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp parsley

1 pack of Bulsur

100 ml rapeseed oil
1 Tbsp mustard
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 pinch of pepper


Preparation

Prepare the barley pearls according to the instructions on the package, cook them and then allow them to cool thoroughly.

Clean and chop the vegetables, wash and chop the parsley.

In a large bowl, mix the cooled pearl barley with the cucumber and tomato pieces, the chopped onions, the pumpkin seeds and the chopped parsley.

Carefully remove the vegetarian sausages from the plastic packaging and fry them in a pan with a little oil until crispy.

Then cut the bulsur into slices and stir in as well.

For the sauce, mix the mustard with the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Then slowly pour in the rapeseed oil, stirring constantly, until a uniform liquid is formed.

Then pour the sauce over the salad and serve immediately.

As a side dish I also had Rauðrófubuff, a vegetable burger with beetroot.

[Translated from here.]

Sausages for vegetarians and vegans

Meat substitute in Icelandic

A typical Icelandic product that has long been replaced by imported products such as rice and pasta, but is now experiencing a renaissance (even in more sophisticated cuisine), is pearl barley, known as "bankabygg" in Icelandic. In contrast to rice and pasta, barley is grown in Iceland itself and is therefore a regional product that does not have to be imported in a laborious or expensive manner.

In connection with pearl barley, I recently came across Icelandic meat substitute products for vegetarians and vegans, namely vegetarian "sausages" and "Grænmetisbuff", i.e. vegetable burgers. Both products are made from barley pearls. Pearl barley has long been traditionally used in the production of sausages in Iceland, usually in addition to meat, not instead of meat. But why not try new things? Because I'm a curious person, I tried both out right away!

The name "Bulsur" is a play on words from "bygg" (= barley) and "pylsur" (= sausage). The "Bulsur" from the Havarí company consist of barley, kidney beans, water, tomato puree, cornmeal, flour, seeds, oil, salt and other spices. In Iceland you buy them frozen in packs of four, for example in Krónan, Nettó or Hagkaup. For my 300 g pack in the Krónan Granda I have just under 900 ISK (the equivalent of around €6.60 / as of March 2019).

The "Bulsur" are packed in a plastic wrapper, you have to remove the packaging from the individual "sausages" before putting them in the pan or on the grill.

The “vegetable burgers” from Móðir Jörð in Vallanes are available in two versions, one with barley and another with beetroot. I chose the beetroot version ("Rauðrófubuff"), a pack (250 g) with 4 citizens cost just under 800 ISK (approx. €5.90). Here, too, the product consists of over 40% barley, plus potatoes and beetroot (23%) as well as herbs and spices. The "breading" consists of pearl barley and sesame seeds, which gives the whole thing a nice, crunchy consistency on the outside.

The “vegetable burgers” are heated in a pan or in the oven.

In terms of taste, I actually found both tasty - for my taste, the "Bulsur" had a consistency that reminded me less of sausages and more of dumplings, soft and almost a bit creamy, but they tasted nice and spicy with the fried surface it's a bit crunchy again. Because of the breading, I found the "Rauðrófubuff" to be very crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, but not too soft, still a little bit chunky... definitely very tasty!

I prepared both for lunch, the fried burgers and a pearl barley salad with fried bulsur. I'll definitely pass the recipe on to you in the next few days!

[Translated from here.]