Jo's Icelandic Recipes

Brauðsúpa - Bread soup	Saltkjöt og baunir - Salt meat & split pea soup
Kjötsúpa - Traditional lamb soup/stew	Fjallagrasamjólk - Soup made with Iceland Moss
Rabarbaragrautur - Stewed rhubarb	Makkarónumjólk - Elbow macaroni in milk
Hrísgrjónagrautur - Rice Pudding	Ris a la mande - Danish Christmas pudding
Bláberjasúpa - Blueberry Soup	Ávaxtagrautur - Stewed dried fruit
Flauelsgrautur - Velvet Pudding	Fiskisúpa - Fish soup
Eggjamjólk - Egg soup

 

Fish soup #1

I sometimes make this delicious fish soup. It's espcially warming on a cold winter's evening.  I adapted the recipe from one I found on a packaging for fish bouillon. Serves 4.

4-5 ea. potatoes 1 ea. onion 2 tblsp. olive oil 1 ltr water 1 tblsp. fish bouillon 1 sprig thyme or basil 2 ea. garlic cloves, pressed 8-10 ea. sun-dried tomatoes 2 ea. carrots 1 tsp. lemon juice 400-500 g. white fish or 250 g. white fish and 250 g. shrimp, lobster and/or scallops optional: broccoli, cauliflower, celery, chives, parsley

Dice the potatoes and onion and lightly fry in the oil (use a deep saucepan or soup pot). Add the water, fish bouillon, thyme, garlic and sliced sun-dried tomatoes*, and cook for approx. 10 minutes. Julienne the carrots  and add to the soup. If you are using broccoli or cauliflower, slice broccoli stalks and cut cauliflower into small florets and add with the carrots. Cook for approx. 5 minutes. If using, julienne the celery and cut broccoli heads into florets and add. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Cut the fish fillet(s) into strips (cut fillets across). Add fish and shellfish (if using) and cook until done - approx 5-7 minutes, depending on size and thickness. (If you are using scallops, let them cook for a maximum of 2 minutes only, as they will become as tough as old chewing gum if overcooked.) Add lemon juice. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with finely cut chives or small sprigs of parsley.

-serve with crusty bread and perhaps a fresh salad.

*If the tomatoes are dry, prepare as indicated on packaging - if they are in oil, drain before adding to the soup.

 

Kjötsúpa - Traditional Icelandic Lamb soup/stew

There is a recipe for this soup in almost every Icelandic home. No two are the same, and most are not really recipes, but more like general guidelines. It is very hard to put down a measured recipe, since the ingredients available will vary, and so will the taste, mood and inclination of the cook! The following is one variation, which I have tried to make as authentic as possible. The measurements are not meant to be taken too seriously, and should be varied according to taste and availability of ingredients. I have marked the absolutely necessary ingredients with an asterisk (*). These are only necessary for authenticity - you can make the soup any way you please....

Cooking time: ca. 60 minutes, 10-15 minutes preparation. Serves 4-6.

1 1/2 litre	Water* (less if you want a stew)	500 g	Lamb or Mutton*
1/2 medium	Onion*	100 g	white cabbage*
2 medium	Carrots*	1/2 dl	rice* or rolled oats
1/2 small	Rutabaga*	cauliflower, divided into florets
sliced	leeks	cubed	potatoes

Bring the water to boil. Rinse the meat with cold water and drop in the boiling water. Lower temperature to medium. Allow meat to cook for about 2-3 minutes. Skim and add salt. Cook for 30 minutes. Add rice/oats (if using). Cook over low temperature for 10 minutes. Add carrots, onion and cabbage, cauliflower, rutabaga, potatoes and leeks (if using). Cook for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Skim off fat before serving. Serve the meat on a platter with some potatoes (if you cooked them in the soup, don't bother to remove them). Some people will eat the meat and potatoes first, others will cut them up and add to the soup. Some people also add milk just before serving. Save some soup for the next meal. Like its Italian cousin, the Minestrone, this tastes even better the next day.

Some pointers:

-for a more wholesome soup, use brown rice instead of white and cook with the meat the whole time.

-if you can get freshly harvested organic potatoes, cook and eat them with the skin.

-some cooks sauté the meat before cooking - it adds flavour to the soup.

-you can make the soup with just bones, and serve as a starter.

-try using powdered coriander and/or saffron in the soup - it adds a wonderful middle-eastern style flavour.

-Some cooks use bouillon cubes/powder for added flavour, others rely on getting enough taste from the meat.

 

Fjallagrasamjólk -   Iceland Moss Soup  - A very healthy, nourishing soup. Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica) is very versatile. In spite of the name, it isn't a moss at all, but a lichen. It's used in cosmetics (especially creams and ointments), medicines and nutritional supplements  (it is an excellent remedy for coughs and digestive problems), and as food. In olden times it was also used for colouring wool. In modern times, it is also used as a flavouring for a special schnapps. Iceland moss also grows in other northern countries, but as it is very sensitive to pollution, it is not much harvested. If you want to try the recipe, I recommend buying some from Iceland (Heilsuhúsið may have it). It tastes very bitter when used in teas and infusions, but cooking it in milk, like in this recipe, removes most of the bitterness. This soup is very nourishing and tasty. It is up to you if you choose to actually eat the moss or just use it as a flavouring (it gets pretty slimy when you cook it). As far as I know, my mother has never even tried to make "Fjallagrasamjólk", but I sometimes get it at my grandmother's. She also makes a mean cough syrup with Iceland moss, which tastes extremely bitter in spite of it being saturated with sugar!

1-2 fistfuls	Iceland moss	1 litre	whole milk
2-3 tblsp.	brown sugar	1/2 tsp.	salt
OR
2 litres	whole milk	30-40 gr.	Iceland moss
50 gr.	sugar	pinch	salt

Clean the lichens well (this includes picking off any remains of moss). Flush the lichens with cold water and chop them up. Bring the milk to the boil and add the lichens. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and sugar and serve.

 

Rabarbaragrautur - Stewed Rhubarb Rhubarb grows in almost every vegetable garden in Iceland, right alongside the potatoes. In the summer, it is mostly used for soup and "grautur" (thick stew). It is preserved mostly as jam, but it also freezes well, and tastes excellent when preserved in syrup. There are many homes where rhubarb soup/porridge is eaten throughout the winter. It is also good for desserts (especially pies and compote) and chutneys, and it makes excellent wine. My mother used to make rhubarb porridge about once or twice a month through the summer when I was little, but after my brother decided that he didn't like it, she hardly ever makes it anymore.

3/4 litres	water	3-3 1/2 tblsp.	potato starch/cornflour
250 g.	rhubarb	100 ml.	water, cold
200 ml.	sugar

Wash the rhubarb and chop into small pieces. Drop into cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until the rhubarb pieces separate. Add the sugar and thicken with the potato starch. Don't close the pot, it makes the rhubarb loose its colour. Pour into a bowl, sprinkle with sugar and serve hot or cold, with cream or half and half.

-To make rhubarb soup: follow the above recipe, but only use about a quarter of the starch. Serve hot.

-Replace part of the rhubarb with strawberries for a delicious alternative.

-If the soup/porridge looks unappetizingly green, add some red food coloring. This will not be necessary if you are using the red rhubarb variety.

 

Makkarónumjólk - Macaroni in milk This was a very popular soup in my home when I was little. Every time I taste elbow macaroni in sweet milk, it brings back childhood memories. We hardly ever have it anymore, like so many of my old favourites.   1 1/2 litre  milk  60 gr.  elbow macaroni  1/2 litre  water  1 1/2 tblsp.  sugar  1 12 tsp.  salt  some  cinnamon

Cook the macaroni in the water as indicated on the packet. Add the milk, sugar and salt and heat to boiling. Skim and serve with cinnamon sugar.

 

Hrísgrjónagrautur - Rice Pudding

This pudding is sometimes jokingly called "Steingrímur", after a former prime minister of Iceland. Apparently it's his favourite food. This lovely pudding is served for lunch at my parent's house almost every Saturday, and we all love it. This is a cheap, nourishing, tasty meal, which I make way too seldom in my own home. At Christmas, we have a small serving of rice pudding before the main meal of hangikjöt. Mother hides a peeled almond in the pudding and we each choose one bowl. The person who finds the almond (usually my brother) gets a small gift, typically some chocolate.   1/2 litre  water  200 gr.  rice (do not use quick-cook or instant)  1 1/2 litre  whole milk  1 tsp.  salt  Cook the rice in the water until it's almost completely absorbed. Add the milk and lower the heat to simmer. Continue cooking until the rice is tender (the whole process takes about an hour). Add salt and serve with cinnamon sugar. - cook a handful of raisins with the rice for a few minutes before serving, for an authentic, old-fashioned "rúsínugrautur" (raisin' pudding). - The pudding is usually eaten with milk or "saft" - a sweet drink made with berry syrup (raspberry, red currant or crowberry tastes best). Some people serve the pudding cold with hot caramel sauce at Christmas.

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