Atlantica - 01.10.2006, Blaðsíða 33

Atlantica - 01.10.2006, Blaðsíða 33
D EL IC IO U S IC EL A N D 71 FORMATION AND LANDSCAPE The Mývatn area as a whole is an immense lava formation created by numerous large and small eruptions, one of the largest occurring about two thousand and seven hundred years ago, which puts it at a time some seven hundred years before the birth of Christ. From this gigantic eruption fl owed a huge amount of lava which covered all of the present Mývatn area and also vast regions of the lowlands to the north reaching all the way out into the sea. This colossal volcanic activity put the fi nal 12 D EL IC IO U S IC EL A N D Those of us who live in the regions of the globe where it snows are undoubtedly familiar with snowmen. Most of us, very probably, have made a number of them; perhaps many in any given winter, rolling the virgin snow into balls large or small, stacking them one on top of the other to make the lower and upper part of the body and fi nally the head. It was a fun game; and not only was, but in truth is, since we still fi nd the snowmen fun. Although we have grown to become adults, we intensely enjoy the old feelings of our younger years as we strain in giving the snowman its form, adding the scarf around his or her neck, placing the carrot nose in the center of the face and positioning the eyes and the mouth. D EL IC IO U S IC EL A N D DELICIOUS ICELAND Tales of unique northern delicacies 14 DELICIOUS ICEL AND Ic el an de rs ’ d id n ot e at e el m uc h in th e ol d da ys , b ut v ie w s ha ve c ha ng ed qu ite a lo t a s fa r a s fo od a nd th in gs e di bl e ar e co nc er ne d sin ce th en , a nd no w e el is c on sid er ed a d el ic ac y in m y ho m e co un tr y. It is ev en fi sh ed a bi t, fo r t he m os t p ar t i n th e w et la nd s i n th e so ut h, b ut a lso a b it el se w he re in th e co un tr y. As a m at te r o f f ac t, in th e su m m er o f 1 99 8, I w as fo rt un at e en ou gh to e xp er - ie nc e th e th ril l a nd e xc ite m en t o f e el fi sh in g. T hi s w as in m y ho m e co un ty in Ic el an d, in A ða ld al ur (M ai n Va lle y) in th e no rt h. It w as s um m er , w ith fi ne w ea th er a nd th e m id ni gh t s un h ov er in g on th e ho riz on , s o th e sh or t t rip to th e w et la nd s, w he re w e in te nd ed to tr ap th e ee l w as p le as an t i nd ee d. M y co m pa ni on s w er e kn ow le dg ea bl e ab ou t t he m os t l ik el y pl ac es fo r e el , s o I h ad li tt le to d o, b ut to e nj oy th e tr ip a nd ta ke as li ve ly a p ar t i n th e pr oc ee di ng s a s I p os sib ly c ou ld . Th e tr ap s ar e ra th er lo ng c yl in de rs , m ad e of n et , w ith a c irc ul ar o pe ni ng in o ne e nd , h el d op en b y a m et al ri ng a bo ut a fo ot a nd a h al f i n di am et er , an d cl os ed in th e ot he r. W e pu t t he m in th e pl ac es m y co m pa ni on s kn ew fro m e xp er ie nc e w er e go od fo r e el fi sh in g. T he la yi ng e nt ai le d qu ite a lo t of h or se pl ay a nd h ap py sp la sh in g in th e br isk ly c oo l w at er s o f t he w et la nd , an d I, fo r o ne , m an ag ed to g et th or ou gh ly w et , w hi ch w as v er y m uc h al l rig ht , s in ce th e ni gh t w as w ar m a nd I fe lt go od in th e co m pa ni on sh ip o f m y fri en ds a nd g ui de s. W e le ft th e tr ap s in th e w et la nd s fo r a w ee k to g iv e th e ee l a m pl e tim e to sw im in to th em a nd g et tr ap pe d. O n re tu rn in g to th e w et la nd s, w e to ok ou t th e tr ap s, an d fo un d th at , i nd ee d, s om e ee ls ha d sw um in a nd n ot m an ag ed to fi nd th ei r w ay o ut a ga in . T he y w rit he d fi e rc el y an d w er e ra th er ha rd to g et h ol d of , s in ce th e sk in is e xc ee di ng ly sm oo th a nd sl ip pe ry , b ut w e w er e de te rm in ed n ot to le t o ur c at ch g et a w ay o nc e w e ha d m an ag ed to tr ap it . S o af te r s om e fi g ht in g w ith th e w ily fi sh , w e m an ag ed to tr an sf er th em in to o ld m ilk c an s h ol di ng so m e w at er , in to w hi ch w e sc at te re d a lib - er al a m ou nt o f s al t t o nu m b th e ee l a nd m ak e it le ss s lip pe ry . T hi s w or ke d al l r ig ht , a nd s oo n w e w er e on o ur w ay h om e w ith o ur c at ch re ad y to b e pr oc es se d th ro ug h sa lti ng a nd sm ok in g. At present I run the Ferry House Restaurant on Grand Bahama, which is one of the islands in the Bahamas archipelago. There I have been very fortunate, not least in my collaboration with my closest coworker, Ms. Isabel Allis n, a longtime inhabit- It was during my stay at Charlie Trotter’s restaurant that the idea to write a cook- book of my own started to take defi nite form in my mind. Chef Trotter quite fre- quently sent me into the dining room to tell the guests about the native food of my country. I realized that knowledge of Icelandic cuisine was virtually on- existent outside my home country, and also that its fi ne and pure produce in fi sh Trying to fi nd someone who could assist me in composing the text for my cook- book did not turn out to be easy. I fi nally brought up the subject with my father, whom I have found I can rely on for sound judgment in most matters. I wanted someone with a thorough knowledge of Iceland, its cust ms and culture, and also with a good command of English. During our discussion my father brought up the name of Haukur Ágústsson, a former clergyman and one-time principal of the college in our vicinity, but at the tim we spoke, retired and residing in Akureyri. SEAFOOD SOUPwith Halibut, Mussel and Scallop[Serving four] Soup is a frequent starter to a multi-course meal. In most cases it is preferable that this dish should be light and not too fi lling, as more food is to follow. Seafood soup has a certain tingle, which often is most appropriate for gently tickling the appetite. Begin by blanching the fresh tomatoes, removing their skin and mixing them in a blender along with the thyme and chervil. For stronger taste, simmer the liquid until it has reduced to half its original volume. Then pass the tomato reduction through a chinoise and add the basil and the fi sh stock. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and stir it into the soup, adding salt and pepper to taste. The result should be a decidedly red broth. Steam the mussels until they open. Then remove one of the shells, leaving the fi sh inside the other one. Cut the halibut into fair-sized pieces and sauté them lightly in butter along with the scallop. For serving, the soup is put in a soup plate, and a mussel, still in the shell, and pieces of the sautéed halibut and scallop put in the soup. The shell should resemble a boat fl oating in the red soup and the pieces of halibut and scallop be reminiscent of islands. This arrangement is fascinating to the eyes and the food most pleasing to the taste buds. 8 roma tomatoes blanched (See appendix p.235) 7 oz halibut8 mussels 4 scallops 4 cups fi sh stock (See appendix p.236) 1 bunch basil1 bunch thyme1 teaspoon black pepper corns Sprigs of chervil3 oz cold butterSalt and pepper APPLE AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD with Toasted Walnuts [Serving four] Blue cheese has a very pungent taste, which many people feel should be softened a bit for it to be pleasingly appreciated. In the salad at hand this is done quite a bit, but at the same time the tingling fl avor of the c eese is preserved. For the salad, peel the apple and then cut it into very narrow strips. Then break the chunk of blue cheese into small bits and place them in a bowl along with thestrips of apple, the walnut vinaigrette and the green salad. Gently toss these ingredients together. Toast the walnuts in an oven tray at 350° F for about fi fteen minutes and then crunch them into bits; not too fi ne, though, as it is preferable to feel their crunchiness, when eating the salad. To serve, place a fair heap of the salad in the center of a plate. Scatter the crunched walnuts quite liberally on top. If well executed, this dish has colors pleasing to the eye. The tingling taste of the cheese harmonizes well with the freshness of the salad and the earthy taste of the walnuts, the whole creating a most savory blend. 7 oz blue cheese 1 apple 2.9 oz walnut Walnut vinaigrette (See appendix p.239)10 oz mixed green salad Icelanders’ did not eat eel much in the old days, but views have changed quite a lot as far as food and things edible are concerned since then, and now eel is considered a delicacy in my home country. It is even fi shed a bit, for the most part in the wetlands in the south, but also a bit elsewhere in the country. As a matter of fact, in the summer of 1998, I was fortunate enough to exper- ience the thrill and excitement of eel fi shing. This was in my home county in Iceland, in Aðaldalur (Main Valley) in the north. It was summer, with fi ne weather and the midnight sun hovering on the horizon, so the short trip to the wetlands, where we intended to trap the eel was pleasant indeed. My companions were knowledgeable about the most likely places for eel, so I had little to do, but to enjoy the trip and take as lively a part in the proceedings as I possibly could. The traps are rather long cylinders, made of net, with a circular opening in one end, held open by a metal ring about a foot and a half in diameter, and closed in the other. We put them in the places my companions knew from experience were good for eel fi shing. The laying entailed quite a lot of horseplay and happy splashing in the briskly cool waters of the wetland, and I, for one, managed to get thoroughly wet, which was very much all right, since the night was warm and I felt good in the companionship of my friends and guides. We left the traps in the wetlands for a week to give the eel ample time to swim into them and get trapped. On returning to the wetlands, we took out the traps, and found that, indeed, some eels had swum in and not managed to fi nd their way out again. They writhed fi ercely and were rather hard to get hold of, since the skin is exceedingly smooth and slippery, but we were determined not to let our catch get away once we had managed to trap it. So after some fi ghting with the wily fi sh, we managed to transfer them into old milk cans holding some water, into which we scattered a lib- eral amount of salt to numb the eel and make it less slippery. This worked all right, and soon we were on our way home with our catch ready to be processed through salting and smoking. CREAMED SEA URCHIN SOUP with Braised Fennel[Serving four] These dangerous looking spiked shells encase plump, meaty sacs of orange roe that when combined with the fennel and cream make a delicious soup. For the soup: remove the sea urchin roe and rinse it gently in water. In a soup pot gently cook the onions, garlic and half of the fennel with 2 tablespoons butter. Cook until they are soft, then deglaze the pot with the Pernod and reduce by half. Add the wine and reduce by half . Next add the fi sh stock and heavy cream and reduce by half. Using a hand blender, puree the soup to a smooth consistency. Pass through a chinois into another soup pot. Add half of the raw sea urchin roe to the soup and puree again. Season with salt and pepper. Froth the soup again before serving. Place the diced fennel and olive oil in a small pot on low heat. Slowly cook the fennel until a golden color is achieved. Season with salt and pepper. Place a mound of warm braised fennel in the middle of a soup bowl. Next, pour the freshly frothed sea urchin soup around the fennel. Place the remain- ing sea urchin on top of the fennel and garnish with the fennel fronds. 4 sea urchins, (yielding approximately 20 sacs of roe) 2 bulbs of fennel, trimmed and fi nelysmall diced, (save the tops for garnish) 1 onion, peeled and fi nely diced 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 2 table spoons butter¼ cup Pernod¼ cup dry white wine½ liter fi sh stock½ liter heavy creamSalt and pepper2 table spoon Olive oil 14 DELICIOUS ICEL AND Ic el an de rs ’ d id n ot e at e el m uc h in th e ol d da ys , b ut v ie w s ha ve c ha ng ed qu ite a lo t a s fa r a s fo od a nd th in gs e di bl e ar e co nc er ne d sin ce th en , a nd no w e el is c on sid er ed a d el ic ac y in m y ho m e co un tr y. It is ev en fi sh ed a bi t, fo r t he m os t p ar t i n th e w et la nd s i n th e so ut h, b ut a lso a b it el se w he re in th e co un tr y. As a m at te r o f f ac t, in th e su m m er o f 1 99 8, I w as fo rt un at e en ou gh to e xp er - ie nc e th e th ril l a nd e xc ite m en t o f e el fi sh in g. T hi s w as in m y ho m e co un ty in Ic el an d, in A ða ld al ur (M ai n Va lle y) in th e no rt h. It w as s um m er , w ith fi ne w ea th er a nd th e m id ni gh t s un h ov er in g on th e ho riz on , s o th e sh or t t rip to th e w et la nd s, w he re w e in te nd ed to tr ap th e ee l w as p le as an t i nd ee d. M y co m pa ni on s w er e kn ow le dg ea bl e ab ou t t he m os t l ik el y pl ac es fo r e el , s o I h ad li tt le to d o, b ut to e nj oy th e tr ip a nd ta ke as li ve ly a p ar t i n th e pr oc ee di ng s a s I p os sib ly c ou ld . Th e tr ap s ar e ra th er lo ng c yl in de rs , m ad e of n et , w ith a c irc ul ar o pe ni ng in o ne e nd , h el d op en b y a m et al ri ng a bo ut a fo ot a nd a h al f i n di am et er , an d cl os ed in th e ot he r. W e pu t t he m in th e pl ac es m y co m pa ni on s kn ew fro m e xp er ie nc e w er e go od fo r e el fi sh in g. T he la yi ng e nt ai le d qu ite a lo t of h or se pl ay a nd h ap py sp la sh in g in th e br isk ly c oo l w at er s o f t he w et la nd , an d I, fo r o ne , m an ag ed to g et th or ou gh ly w et , w hi ch w as v er y m uc h al l rig ht , s in ce th e ni gh t w as w ar m a nd I fe lt go od in th e co m pa ni on sh ip o f m y fri en ds a nd g ui de s. W e le ft th e tr ap s in th e w et la nd s fo r a w ee k to g iv e th e ee l a m pl e tim e to sw im in to th em a nd g et tr ap pe d. O n re tu rn in g to th e w et la nd s, w e to ok ou t th e tr ap s, an d fo un d th at , i nd ee d, s om e ee ls ha d sw um in a nd n ot m an ag ed to fi nd th ei r w ay o ut a ga in . T he y w rit he d fi e rc el y an d w er e ra th er ha rd to g et h ol d of , s in ce th e sk in is e xc ee di ng ly sm oo th a nd sl ip pe ry , b ut w e w er e de te rm in ed n ot to le t o ur c at ch g et a w ay o nc e w e ha d m an ag ed to tr ap it . S o af te r s om e fi g ht in g w ith th e w ily fi sh , w e m an ag ed to tr an sf er th em in to o ld m ilk c an s h ol di ng so m e w at er , in to w hi ch w e sc at te re d a lib - er al a m ou nt o f s al t t o nu m b th e ee l a nd m ak e it le ss s lip pe ry . T hi s w or ke d al l r ig ht , a nd s oo n w e w er e on o ur w ay h om e w ith o ur c at ch re ad y to b e pr oc es se d th ro ug h sa lti ng a nd sm ok in g. D ELIC IO U S IC ELA N D Tales of unique northern delicacies DELICIOUS ICELAND Tal s of unique northern delicacies ISBN-10: 9979-768-72-X ISBN-13: 978-9979-768-72-2 Chef Völundur Snær Völundarson in Iceland in 1973 and raised in the northern countryside by the banks of Laxá in A one of Iceland’s most renowned salmon rivers. It was there that he first experienced the wonders of produce and wildlife fresh from the rivers, and ocean. He has roasted venison ove from fiery volcanoes, poached A over Iceland’s steaming geysers in some of the most celebrated rest Europe and North Americ Trotter’s Restaurant in Chic Domaine de Clairefontaine Philippe Girardon), T in Oregon, and Iceland’ and Hotel Holt. H a popular cooking show His quest for cha Thank you for an exquisite meal. You are an amazing chef. Many thanks. Orlando Bloom Three cheers to you, Völundur, you have produced a masterpiece! Charlie Trotter www.salkaforlag.is DELI IOUS RECIPES DRAMATIC LANDSCAPE UNIQUE TALES FROM ICELAND 64x246 1 15.8.2006 12:28:42 ���������������������� ������� ������ ���������������������� ������������ ����� ����� ��� ��������� A new Heimur online VIEW OUR NEW WEB SITES: www.heimur.is www.icelandreview.com www.tolvuheimur.is P H O TO B Y P Á LL S TE FÁ N S S O N Augl ATL506.indd 31 20.8.2006 11:52:26
Blaðsíða 1
Blaðsíða 2
Blaðsíða 3
Blaðsíða 4
Blaðsíða 5
Blaðsíða 6
Blaðsíða 7
Blaðsíða 8
Blaðsíða 9
Blaðsíða 10
Blaðsíða 11
Blaðsíða 12
Blaðsíða 13
Blaðsíða 14
Blaðsíða 15
Blaðsíða 16
Blaðsíða 17
Blaðsíða 18
Blaðsíða 19
Blaðsíða 20
Blaðsíða 21
Blaðsíða 22
Blaðsíða 23
Blaðsíða 24
Blaðsíða 25
Blaðsíða 26
Blaðsíða 27
Blaðsíða 28
Blaðsíða 29
Blaðsíða 30
Blaðsíða 31
Blaðsíða 32
Blaðsíða 33
Blaðsíða 34
Blaðsíða 35
Blaðsíða 36
Blaðsíða 37
Blaðsíða 38
Blaðsíða 39
Blaðsíða 40
Blaðsíða 41
Blaðsíða 42
Blaðsíða 43
Blaðsíða 44
Blaðsíða 45
Blaðsíða 46
Blaðsíða 47
Blaðsíða 48
Blaðsíða 49
Blaðsíða 50
Blaðsíða 51
Blaðsíða 52
Blaðsíða 53
Blaðsíða 54
Blaðsíða 55
Blaðsíða 56
Blaðsíða 57
Blaðsíða 58
Blaðsíða 59
Blaðsíða 60
Blaðsíða 61
Blaðsíða 62
Blaðsíða 63
Blaðsíða 64
Blaðsíða 65
Blaðsíða 66
Blaðsíða 67
Blaðsíða 68
Blaðsíða 69
Blaðsíða 70
Blaðsíða 71
Blaðsíða 72
Blaðsíða 73
Blaðsíða 74
Blaðsíða 75
Blaðsíða 76
Blaðsíða 77
Blaðsíða 78
Blaðsíða 79
Blaðsíða 80
Blaðsíða 81
Blaðsíða 82
Blaðsíða 83
Blaðsíða 84
Blaðsíða 85
Blaðsíða 86
Blaðsíða 87
Blaðsíða 88
Blaðsíða 89
Blaðsíða 90
Blaðsíða 91
Blaðsíða 92
Blaðsíða 93
Blaðsíða 94
Blaðsíða 95
Blaðsíða 96
Blaðsíða 97
Blaðsíða 98
Blaðsíða 99
Blaðsíða 100

x

Atlantica

Beinir tenglar

Ef þú vilt tengja á þennan titil, vinsamlegast notaðu þessa tengla:

Tengja á þennan titil: Atlantica
https://timarit.is/publication/1840

Tengja á þetta tölublað:

Tengja á þessa síðu:

Tengja á þessa grein:

Vinsamlegast ekki tengja beint á myndir eða PDF skjöl á Tímarit.is þar sem slíkar slóðir geta breyst án fyrirvara. Notið slóðirnar hér fyrir ofan til að tengja á vefinn.