Iceland is not the best place if you are into mushrooms. The season here is incredibly short and I am not aware of anything especially tasty. I snapped this photo of some unidentified guys popping up behind my apartment. All my mushroom identification books are in storage but I’ll take a spore print and see if I can identify these guys.
I recently hosted the Nuglov’s for the first part of their Icelandic vacation. They were kind enough to bring some good wine and some amazing baklava.
I decided to use some of the Red Wine to make Rillettes. The recipe is a combination of my own and one from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Basically pork belly (in my case short ribs), with a good layer of belly fat. Scored and seared, with garlic. Then lightly coat with a very light layer of whisky and a strong dijon mustard. Then a good amount of red wine goes in.
Tightly covered, in a low oven for 3hours.
One photo of the before, and one of the after, only one left by the time I remembered to take the photo. You can serve cold (as the french do) as a deli item or warm over some mashed potatoes. As Hugh says “they warm your cockles”.
Another entry into the “you eat what” category. As common as ketchup in the USA, Icelanders gorge themselves on Cockteilsosa as a condiment for french fries and a topping on burgers. It’s basically a sweet mayonnaise with maybe a hint of ketchup. It’s actually quite good.
Some photos from Vitabar (not taken by me) where I go to get a quick bite with Cockteilsosa and a beer after work.
While Iceland has great fishmongers, I have yet to find a proper butcher. The supermarkets have an OK selection of lamb, pork etc but you are limited to the cuts you can get. There is no meat counter just a cold room but the quality is always very good and fresh.
For Pork I have found some type of rib, not sure if they are short ribs or some other cut but they do have a HEALTHY amount of fat on them . . .which is nice. I usually cross cut the fat and grill before plopping in the oven for 2-3 hours.
Snapped this pic while picking up some Arctic Char. My fishmonger explained that these are sea gull eggs and were very fresh. There were also bright blue ones which are a cliff bird (i thought maybe puffin but he said no).
When I asked if I should try one.. his eyes got big and he quickly nodded his head left and right. Always listen to the fishmonger.
A few weeks ago I was at my neighborhood fishmonger asking about the various things in the case. They have pieces of the fish I have never seen before, various bellies, jaws, intestines. Yummy.
Anyway he suggested I try these cod cheeks, which are sort of a delicacy. In my experience you really can’t go wrong when you follow the advice of the fishmonger.
And he was right, breaded.. fried… with lemon and tobasco on the side. Yum
The raw product:
Ready to munch:
I think around May 15th I hit my one year anniversary living in Iceland. I do not get homesick but I do find myself missing certain things I really took for granted back in the US.
So here is my list of random stuff I miss by living in Iceland:
I think that covers it.
I have some random iceland fish photos on my phone, time to share! Click for a larger image.
Taken on the bike path where I run, there are wooden frames scattered about where fish are dried.
Take out lunch from Ostabudin – a cheese shop near where I work. They have fantastic fish-of-the-day lunches.
Smoked haddock from my neighborhood fish monger. A bargain at 750ISK for this slab! He suggested cooking in cream… which i did!
I am a freelance American Web Engineer and Information Architect living and working in Portland, Oregon.
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