Top 10 Traditional & Unusual Icelandic Dishes

Iceland is a country of harsh Vikings, wild hot springs, ice, volcanoes, and mesmerizing views. Here they still believe in elves and, as thousands of years ago, they cook their island food.

Icelanders, due to their isolation and unfavorable climate, respect food and do not throw anything away. Not all tourists will dare to try, for example, hakarl – rotten Greenland shark meat, which is generally impossible to eat fresh – it is poisonous! Now let’s taste the hot Icelandic top ten.

Contents

Saltfiskur
Lundi
Svid
Volcano Bread
Kjötsúpa (Lamb Soup)
Lifrarpylsa
Skyr
Hangikyot
Slatur
Khruteaspoonungur
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Top 10 Traditional & Unusual Icelandic Dishes

Saltfiskur

One of the most popular ways to store fish is salting. Saltfiskur is a common salted fish. The fish carcass is completely covered with salt, which dries it out. Then the meat is placed in water and, depending on the size of the fish, for several hours, up to several days. After soaking, the fish is cooked. It is usually served with potatoes or bread. Sometimes sun-dried tomatoes or olives are added to it, giving the dish a richer taste.

Lundi

Lundi is made from puffins – cute birds in Iceland. If in the whole world it is forbidden to hunt them, then here they are not only hunted but also eaten. Catching a dead end is not difficult, they fly very low, and a net is enough to “hunt” them. Many restaurants offer this exotic dish that tastes like chicken meat. It is served with berry sauce.

Svid

Icelanders are not used to throwing away food, everything goes for food, including the head of a sheep. The eyes are considered the most delicious, but this is a matter of taste, until you try it, you don’t know. In some restaurants, the head is only marinated in lactic acid and only slightly boiled.

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Volcano Bread

In this country, bread is often prepared in an unusual way on a volcano. The dough for bread is laid out in a mold and placed not in the oven, but on the ground, which is heated by volcanoes. Such bread is prepared for a day. It tastes like rye bread, it is darkish and sweetish, but if you put a slice of saltfiskur fish on it, you get an excellent combination of tastes.

Kjötsúpa (Lamb Soup)

On cold days, Icelanders warm up and feed themselves with a rich meat soup. The ingredients are very simple: lamb, potatoes, carrots, and leeks. Importantly, all vegetables should be very boiled when preparing soup. Outwardly, it vaguely resembles a stew. An essential ingredient is rutabaga and herbs. Often cauliflower, broccoli, or even radish are added to the soup.

Lifrarpylsa

Icelandic liver sausage made from lamb giblets is another popular dish. The sausage contains lamb kidneys, liver, fat, oatmeal, rye flour, onion, and milk. All products are finely chopped, mixed, and filled in the stomach of a lamb or intestine. Then it is boiled in hot water (80 ° C) until the temperature of the filling reaches 72 ° C. Liver sausage is usually served with boiled potatoes and yellow turnips.

Skyr

Skyr will appeal to lovers of dairy products; this dish is somewhat reminiscent of yogurt or rather soft cheese. A distinctive feature of skyr is that it contains no fats and contains a lot of protein. Culinary historians believe that this product was created in Scandinavia and only then it appeared in Iceland, but the recipe for skyr was forgotten at home, but not on the Island. It is made from pasteurized skim milk. It is customary to eat skyr in its pure form, sometimes fruits, jam, or even porridge are added to it. They eat it with a spoon.

Hangikyot

Hangikyot is a festive dish, usually prepared for Christmas according to an old recipe. First, lamb meat (hind leg) is smoked on a birch tree, and just before serving it is boiled and allowed to brew in its own broth. Hangikyot is delicious both hot and cold. It is accepted to eat it with green peas, bread, and béchamel sauce, or cut into thin slices and eaten with a flatbread.

Slatur

The word slatur itself is translated as bloodletting, at the heart of the dish is sheep’s blood and fat. In Iceland, this dish is also called lamb blood pudding. It is made simply: a little salt, fat, and flour are added to the lamb’s blood diluted with water. Then all this mixture is pushed into the intestine and boiled. No spices other than salt are used, the result is a very tender dish with a bloody flavor. In establishments, slatur is served with rice pudding both cold and hot.

Khruteaspoonungur

Like hangikyot, khruteaspoonungur has considered holiday dishes today. Khruteaspoonungur is a real lamb egg delicacy. Before serving, they are pickled, pressed, or poured with gelatin. They taste a little sour, the structure is a bit like a sponge.

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