An Icelandic experience

Taken in South-east Iceland

Iceland was very poor in the 1940s, and the country only began to improve economically after the introduction of the Marshall Plan, where the Americans offered financial support to European countries to aid their post-war recovery. The country’s infrastructure began to develop and so did people’s awareness of their culinary culture. But it was only in the last 20 years that Icelandic cuisine went through many changes. This can be credited to the many chefs who have travelled abroad, brought back new ideas, and integrated them into their food.

Tourists who visit Iceland, especially Reykjavik, are usually very surprised at our cuisine’s variety and quality. And a happy visitor does more for marketing our country than any advertisement placed in a magazine. Our food is not just about preserved lamb meats or smoked seafood, although the latter still forms the bulk of what we eat. One of my favourite places for seafood is Rub 28, where they make an excellent thin crust pizza with toppings like catfish, monkfish and langoustine. There is also Grillmarkaðinn, an eatery which specialises in cooking meats and seafood on an open grill. Some of its dishes include lamb chops with broccoli and a sauce made from organic yogurt, and spotted catfish with leek and citrus soy.

For old-fashioned feasts, you should come to Iceland during Þorrablót, an Icelandic midwinter festival that takes place between 20 January and 20 February. During this period restaurants will serve hákarl or cured shark meat. After a Greenland shark is a caught, it is buried in sand for more than a month. And because the fish does not have urinary tracts, it releases its urine and other fluids through its skin during this time, fermenting itself in the process (you can’t eat the shark fresh as its high amount of uric acid is poisonous and thus must first be drained from its body). The meat is then sliced up and hung up to dry, creating a crust around its skin. It smells a lot like ammonia, and if you like very pungent French cheese, you can handle this cured dish. Múlakaffi restaurant, a very old establishment, is one of the places where you can try this speciality.

Excerpt from the July issue of epicure.