Ástarpungar - ný útgáfa

Love balls - new version

When I suddenly came across two new types of Skyr here in the supermarket last weekend, they were of course allowed to come with me and I happily thought about what I could do with them. "Skyr with honey" in particular sounded interesting, even if I only know it from a few breakfast recipes in Iceland - more from the whole food corner, where I also like to go. I then decided on an alternative version of "Love Balls", without vanilla, but with honey skyr. I changed the ratio of flour to skyr a bit because the consistency of the dough otherwise didn't fit properly.

Classic Ástarpungar ("love balls" or "love balls") are prepared with regular skyr. In the supermarket, these “loveballs” are often advertised as a typical Icelandic specialty - which of course they are!


Ingredients for approx. 40 balls

2 eggs
240 g sugar
900 g flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
400 g honey skyr
100 g raisins

1 liter rapeseed oil for frying


Preparation

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

Add flour, baking powder, vanilla, cardamom and honey skyr, mix everything thoroughly and knead until you have a really smooth dough.

Finally add the raisins and knead them in.

Using your hands, form walnut-sized balls out of the dough.

Heat the oil in a high pot.

Then add the balls (depending on the size of the pot in batches of between 4 and 6 balls at a time) to the hot oil and fry for about 4 minutes, turning regularly so that the love balls become golden brown on all sides.

Then carefully remove the balls from the fat with a ladle and let them drain on kitchen paper.

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Ástarpungar - love balls

[Translated from here.]

Birkisíróp

Birch syrup

Birch syrup is made from birch sap and sugar, possibly from birch leaves. In Iceland, birch syrup is traditionally eaten on waffles and pancakes and with desserts, but it is also used to sweeten drinks, tea and coffee and even to marinate meat and fish (but then together with fresh herbs).

From the ingredients to the preparation to the final product

Ingredients

2 liters of birch sap
50 g brown sugar
birch leaves, if available


Preparation

Put the birch sap with the sugar in a large pot and let it simmer until a thick syrup is formed.

If you like, you can add a few young, washed birch leaves to the juice while boiling it and fish the leaves out before pouring into a clean bottle that has been freshly rinsed with boiling water.

Attention - you only get around 150 ml of birch syrup from 2 liters of birch sap. So either boil down a large amount of birch sap straight away - or use it sparingly, as here as a sauce for Hvannarís (= angelica ice cream ).

Excursus

Birch sap - what is that anyway?!?

Birch and maple are the only tree species that grow in Iceland and can be used for syrup production. In late spring, when the ground is no longer frozen, you drill a hole in the trunk of the birch tree and use a hose to let the birch sap flow into appropriate collecting containers. On average, you can “tap” 3 to 4 liters of birch water in one day. The hole is then closed again with a plug. The tree then has to rest for a few years before it can be tapped again - but you can't do this all too often without damaging the tree.

Birch sap is rich in minerals and antioxidants. It affects the body's fluid balance and is said to counteract edema and also improve skin, hair and nails (this is probably where the view that birch sap has a rejuvenating effect and can even have an aphrodisiac effect comes from). For people with pollen allergies, it sometimes helps to drink birch sap to make the symptoms of hay fever more bearable.

For original Icelandic birch sap, you can, for example, contact the company "Holt og heiðar" ("Hills and Heath") based in Hallormstaðir near Egilsstaðir in East Iceland. The company was founded in 2010 by a gardener, a chef and his wife (the couple also runs a farm with a guesthouse and restaurant in Skagafjörður) and specializes in the production of typical local products (fresh and without additives).

They sell different types of rhubarb jam (also with vanilla or Icelandic moss), wild mushrooms (either frozen or dried) and various cones, for example from different types of pine and spruce, larch or pine cones, which are also offered specifically as Christmas decorations.

“Holt og heiðar” produces the birch sap or birch syrup from birch water, which is obtained from around 60 birch trees in the forest near Hallormstaðir. So not for mass production - rather small, but nice!

According to the homepage, the company's products are sold on the farm of the couple involved and in the shop in Egilsstaðir, but also in various visitor centers such as the Þingvellir National Park, the Skaftafell National Park or the visitor center at Geysir in Haukadalur as well as in the Viking Shops in Reykjavík and a shop for Icelandic specialties at the international airport in Keflavík, but you can also buy them quite mundanely in the supermarket, namely in the "Nettó" in Egilsstaðir and in the "Hagkaup" in the "Kringlan" shopping center in Reykjavík.  

Birch forest at Borgarfjörður

[Translated from here.]

Algjör gúrka

Awesome cucumber

Ingredients for 6 half cucumbers

3 country cucumbers
400 g cooked haddock
200 g pure Skyr
100 g grated cheese
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 pinch of pepper


Preparation

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

Wash the cucumbers thoroughly and cut them in half lengthwise. Then scrape out the seeds with a spoon.

In a large bowl, mix the cooked fish with the skyr and grated cheese. Add the thyme and season with the salt and pepper.

Then spread the filling with two teaspoons into the halved, seeded cucumbers.

Then bake the cucumbers in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 30 to 40 minutes, ...

...until the cheese has turned nice and golden brown.

[Translated from here.]

Blómkálsmjólkursúpa

Cauliflower milk soup

Ingredients for 6 people

2 heads of cauliflower
800 ml milk
500 ml water
3 Tbsp potato flour
400 ml sour milk
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1 pinch of nutmeg, if desired
2 Tbsp chopped parsley


Preparation

Wash and clean the cauliflower and remove the stalk.

Set aside about 100 ml of the milk in a glass. Bring the remaining milk and water to the boil in a large pot, then add the cauliflower florets to the boiling liquid and cook for about 5 minutes.

Then carefully puree the soup with the blender.

Mix the tablespoon of potato flour with approx. 100 ml of nice cold milk until smooth. Then add it to the soup, stirring constantly, and bring to the boil briefly.

Then season the soup with salt, pepper and curry powder. If you like, you can season with a little grated nutmeg.

Then pour the soup into the bowls, add a good splash of sour milk to each and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

By the way, the nice warm soup with the cold sour milk tastes very good even on hot days!




[Translated from here.]

Hjónabandssæla

Happy Marriage

Here's another quick, uncomplicated recipe for Hjónabandssæla , or "Happy Marriage" cake.

By the way, it is unclear how the cake got its name. Maybe because it's so easy to make and gets better the longer you keep it - or because there are so many different recipes and variations for this cake as there are recipes for "real Happy Marriage".


Ingredients for 6 servings

200 g soft margarine
180 g oat flakes
180 g flour
100 g brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
6 Tbsp rhubarb jam


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C) (upper/lower heat).

In a bowl, knead the soft margarine with the oat flakes, flour, sugar and baking soda.

Grease the molds and then pour a good half of the dough into the molds and press the dough down carefully.

Then spread with the rhubarb jam.

Form thin "strings" from the remaining dough and place them crosswise on the side or top of the jam, pressing very carefully on the edge.

Bake in the preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C) for about 25 minutes on the middle shelf.

Then let it cool well and traditionally serve with cream, as it is a relatively dry cake - but it keeps well and lasts for a long time. This pastry only develops its full flavor after a few days of storage.

Baked in small molds, this “Happy Marriage” is also very suitable as a dessert!

[Translated from here.]

Spínat-fiskibollur

Spinach fishballs

Ingredients for approx. 12 balls

500 g white fish
300 g milk
4 Tbsp potato flour
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

300 g spinach

3 - 4 Tbsp margarine


Preparation

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

Place the fish in a blender with the milk, potato flour, sea salt and pepper and puree thoroughly until smooth and uniform.

Wash and clean the spinach and chop it carefully.

Add the chopped spinach to the fish batter and form balls out of the batter with your hand, then carefully flatten the balls a little.

Melt the margarine in a large pan.

Fry the fish balls in batches in the pan for a few minutes on both sides.

Then put the fish balls in an ovenproof dish and bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes.

Traditionally in Iceland, these fish balls are eaten warm with boiled potatoes and vegetables as the main course. But they are also very good cold with a dip like here with skyrnaise!

[Translated from here.]

Hvönn með blaðlauk

Angelica with leeks

When used correctly, angelica is fundamentally healthy due to the tannins and vitamins it contains. It has a mild antibacterial effect and can be used for sore throats or urinary tract infections; some people even swear by it for athlete's foot. It is also said to help against depressive moods and burnout. Angelica also stimulates digestion - but in large quantities it also stimulates the uterus and can lead to bleeding.

Therefore, pregnant women should not consume angelica in large quantities, but rather only eat it as a spice so as not to cause bleeding.

By the way, you should definitely wear gloves when harvesting angelica, as many people react to the fresh plant sap with allergic skin irritations.

Fresh angelica stems and fresh leeks are used for this dish. If you don't have fresh angelica on hand, you can alternatively use celery, which is very close to angelica both in terms of appearance and taste.



Ingredients for 2 people

300 g fresh angelica stems
800 g leek
500 ml whey
1 handful of fresh herbs
4 Tbsp pure Skyr


Preparation

Wash the angelica stems (alternatively celery) thoroughly and cut them into small pieces.

Also wash and clean the leek, then cut into rings approx. 1 - 2 cm wide.

Cook both together in the whey for about 20 - 30 minutes until nice and soft, ...

...sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve with two tablespoons of Skyr per person.

An experiment from the series "How did Icelanders eat 1,000 years ago" -

Taste-wise, let's say, very interesting!

[Translated from here.]