The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1967, Page 109

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
107
itwiice. Put the fish and onion mixture
in a bowl and add % cup milk, the
yolks of 2 eggs, IV2 teaspoons salt and
a scant % teaspoon pepper. Beat with
an electric mixer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Fold in the egg whites, beaten to a
peak. Take a heaping tablespoon of
the mixture, dip it in seasoned flour,
and shape inito cakes (12 cakes in all).
Saute the cakes in butter until they
are golden brown. When they are nice-
ly browned, transfer them to a heavy
aluminum pot and pour in % cup
court bouillon to start. Steam the cakes
for half an hour, adding more liquid
if necessary.
I can remember my grandfather sit-
ting down to an evening meal of cold
meat, bread, a good cheese, and fruit.
Gramma used to cook pork bocks for
him and Grampa would take a clamp
knife and slice off little pieces as he
needed ithem for his bread and butter
—a Scandinavian open faced sand-
wich. The breads my grandmother
used to make were typically Icelandic.
There was a “boiled” bread that was
simply Strips of yeast dough that was
fried in deep fat. They were tough,
chewy, and delicious. You might say
that flatbraud is the Icelandic counter-
part of the Southern corn-meal hoe-
cake. Originally it was baked right on
the stove; the scoured black top of
ithe old wood-burning stove provided
a hot flat surface for quick even cook-
ing.
Flatbraud (Icelandic Fried Cake)
Mix together 1 cup each of sifted
rye and white flour, V2 cup cracked
wheat, % teaspoon soda, and a pinch
of salt to taste. Make a well and stir
in enough boiling water to make a
fairly stiff dough. Roll ou/t about half
an inch thick and fry on a very hot
griddle using a small amount of fat.
There are three prepared meats that
I remember, all of them good, but
quite different from each other. They
have enjoyed a vogue of late on Win-
nipeg’s holiday buffet tables. The
mast popular is a lamb roll, the
delicate pink of which is distinctive.
Rullu Pylsa (Icelandic Lamb Roll)
Have your butcher bone a 2-pound
piece of lamib flank but leave it in one
piece. Lay the meat flat on the table,
boned side up. Mix together 2 table-
spoons salt, % teaspoon saltpeter, %
teaspoon each of ground cloves, ground
allspice, and pepper and spread the
mixture over the meat. Finely chop 1
medium onion and spread over the
flank, then roll up the meat and tie
it. Sew both ends and the loose edge
with a kitchen needle and coarse
thread. Wind string tightly all over
the roll. Salt the surface thoroughly
and wrap in wax paper. Store the
meat in the refrigerator and leave it
for seven days to allow the spices ;to
work through. The saltpeter, of course,
will give the meat its pink color. After
the seasoning period is over, put the
roll in a pan in water to cover. Bring
>to a boil, then simmer for IV2 hours.
Remove the roll and when it has cool-
ed, place it in a cool place between two
smooth surfaces with a heavy weight
on top and leave overnight. (We have
a cold closet and we find that Volume
I and II of the GOURMET COOK-
BOOK make a sufficient weight). The
next day, discard the strings and store
the meat in the refrigerator. It is best
served cold and sliced very thin, on
buttered dark brown bread.
Kaefa is another prepared meat that
goes well on a buffet table.