Fiskibollur með kóriander og chili

Fish balls with coriander and chili

The first chili peppers in our garden are now ripe and need to be harvested. So I went looking for an Icelandic recipe that uses chili peppers - and came across these fish balls, which are actually very classic Icelandic, but have a slightly Asian touch with fresh coriander and chili.


Ingredients for approx. 16 fish balls

1 kg cod fillet
1 red onion
1 red chili pepper
1 handful of coriander
2 eggs
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 pinch of ground pepper

2 - 3 Tbsp butter


Preparation

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

Wash the fish fillet, pat dry and cut into medium-sized pieces.

Peel the onion and cut it into coarse pieces.

Also cut the chili pepper into small pieces.

Then put all the ingredients for the fish cakes in a food processor or blender and puree thoroughly.

Heat the butter in a large pan.

Use a tablespoon to “cut” the dough in portions and, using moistened hands, shape each dough into a meatball.

Then briefly fry the fish balls on all sides.

Then place the fried fish balls in a suitable mold and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 15 minutes.

Then serve the fish balls with fresh salad and side dishes to taste.

[Translated from here.]

Sætar skonsur

Sweet Skonsur

A "skonsa" is a "þykk hveitipönnukaka", i.e. a "thick flour pancake". The plural is then “skonsur”. We had these sweet skonsur with cinnamon and dried berries for breakfast last Sunday - and I thought they were really tasty!


Ingredients

320 g flour
60 g brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baker's ammonia
1/2 grated lemon peel
90 g margarine
180 ml whipping cream
100 g dried berries

1 Tbsp whipping cream
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon


Preparation

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baker's ammonia and lemon zest.

Add the margarine and whipping cream and mix everything thoroughly.

Finally, briefly knead in the dried berries.

Place the dough on a work surface sprinkled with flour or lined with baking paper and roll out into a circle.

Mix the tablespoon of whipping cream with the brown sugar and cinnamon and spread it over the dough.

Cut into x pieces with a sharp knife...

...place on a baking tray lined with baking paper...

...and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 20 to 25 minutes,...

...until the skonsur have acquired a beautiful golden brown color.

I think the sweet skonsur taste best with fresh butter!

[Translated from here.]

Bakaður lax

Baked salmon

Sometimes it's the simple recipes that are so impressively simple and delicious!


Ingredients for 2 people

4 small salmon fillets
1 pinch of ground pepper
1 pinch of coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter


Preparation

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

Place the salmon fillets in a tin lined with aluminum foil.

Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the dried.

Drizzle with the oil and lemon juice.

Spread the butter in small flakes over the salmon.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 15 minutes.

[Translated from here.]

Karríkartöflusalat

Curry potato salad

Whether you have to peel the boiled potatoes for this dish depends on the potatoes: In Iceland there are usually very small potatoes with thin skins that you don't have to peel. You don't necessarily have to peel new potatoes, but you should use peeled potatoes for large, thick-skinned potatoes.

PS: This salad was an absolute success, especially with my husband, and I'll definitely be making it again soon, but the salad with the onion and curry powder is a bit spicy!


Ingredients for 4 persons

600 g boiled potatoes
1 cucumber
1 red onion
3 Tbsp sour cream
2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 pinch of salt


Preparation

If necessary, cut the cooked and cold potatoes into bite-sized pieces, depending on their size.

Peel the cucumber, core it in the middle and grate it.

Also peel and chop the onion.

In a large bowl, mix the sour cream with the mustard, the curry powder and the salt.

Add the potatoes, cucumber and onion pieces...

...mix thoroughly...

...and let it steep briefly (approx. 30 minutes).

Then serve immediately.

[Translated from here.]

Skyrís

Skyr ice cream

This article contains advertising / links to other blogs - Volker from the food blog "Volker mampft" is the organizer of the food blogger campaign " Culinary World Tour ", and this month the trip stops in Iceland of all places - exactly the topic that is close to my heart!

So of course I didn't miss the opportunity to take part in this travel stop and contribute a typical Icelandic recipe.

Iceland was settled over 1,000 years ago by Norwegian Vikings, who settled here with their families, their servants and slaves, their pets, horses, sheep, cows, chickens and pigs. They brought their recipes with them from their old homeland, including the traditional recipe for Skyr.

Skyr is actually (technically) cream cheese, given the bacterial strains used, the addition of rennet and the corresponding whey formation. Pure skyr tastes quite sour, which is why Icelanders always eat it with milk or cream. Skyr basically has a nice, creamy consistency and can therefore be processed wonderfully.

In the past, each farm made its own Skyr and stored it in large wooden Skyr barrels - these days, however, most Icelanders buy their Skyr quite simply in the supermarket, where there is a very large selection.

Sure, there are many different recipes for Skyr ice cream, even here on my blog, but this is one of my absolute favorite recipes!



Ingredients

4 egg yolks
200 g brown sugar
450 g blueberry skyr
200 ml whipping cream


Preparation

Mix the egg yolks thoroughly with the sugar.

Add the blueberry skyr to the egg yolk and sugar mixture and mix vigorously.

Beat the cream separately...

...and carefully fold into the skyr mixture.

Then put the mixture into a suitable mold, if available a king cake mold lined with cling film...

...and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours until the ice cream is frozen.

Then cut the ice cream into slices and serve with fresh blueberries.
Well then - bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Hjónabandssæla frá Litlibæ

Photo: Litlibær in autumn 2016

Happy Marriage from Litlibær

This typical Icelandic cake is called "Hjónabandssæla", which means "happy marriage". There are several explanations for the name of the cake - perhaps because it is easy to make and gets better the longer you let it sit. Or maybe because there are as many different recipes and variations for this cake as there are recipes for a “real happy marriage”.

I got this recipe for "happy marriage" during our stay in Iceland in July 2018 from Sigríður Hafliðadóttir, who runs the old Litlibær peat house with her husband Kritsján and her family in the summer and provides guests there with really delicious waffles, cakes, jams and drinks spoiled.

I translated the recipe as literally as possible. However, I had to wait until I got rhubarb again to try it out so that I could make rhubarb jam for a Happy Marriage cake according to Sigríður's recipe.

When baking, however, I didn't completely follow Sigríður's recipe; I replaced the oat flour with soft oat flakes because I simply can't find oat flour in the usual grocery stores here. And I didn't grease the mold with butter, but lined it with baking paper. Oh, I used 3 to 4 large tablespoons of rhubarb jam, just based on how I felt.


Ingredients

200 g brown sugar
280 g flour
150 g oat flour
1 tsp baking soda
240 g margarine
1 egg

Butter for greasing the baking pan

Rhubarb jam


Preparation

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

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, oatmeal and baking soda.

Then crumble the margarine into small pieces and add the egg...

...and knead everything thoroughly.

Then divide the dough into three parts - knead the first two parts again and place them in a well-greased springform pan.

Spread with the rhubarb jam.

Then roll out the last third of the dough and cut it into approx. 1.5 cm wide strips...

...and place the strips on the jam.

Then bake the cake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 45 minutes.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]