Here you'll find recipes from the Taste of Iceland Cooking Class along with information about our amazing chefs and the main Icelandic ingredients used for these award winning courses.

The recipes

Starter

Smoked Icelandic Cod, Potatoe foam, Black Garlic & Lovage

Main course

Crisp Icelandic Lamb loin, Onion confit, Crisp Bread, Oyster mushrooms, Charred Kale, Pickled Red Currants, Vin Jaune Sauce.

Dessert

Icelandic Skyr Mousse, Liquorice & Strawberries, Frosen Rose Granite

Starter: Smoked Icelandic Cod, Potatoe foam, Black Garlic & Lovage

Smoked Icelandic Cod

2pc                                          Whole Cod

100 g   3,5oz                           Salt

100 g   3,5oz                           Sugar

1pc                                          Lemon, zest only

Filet the cod and remove the skin and bones. Trim the filet and remove the loin that we will use. Mix salt, sugar and lemon zest and drizzle under and over the fish. Cover and let sit in the fridge for 20 mins. Rinse under cold water and dry with a cloth. Portion into 3 oz pieces and cold smoke for 30 mins, then cover and refrigerate. When serving, cook in the oven at 90C/195F bringing the core temp to 45C/113F.

Beurre noisette and vinegar cubes

Apple vinegar cubes

300ml               9 oz      Apple vinegar

100 g               3,5oz   Sugar

100 g               3,5oz   Water

8g                    0,3oz    agar-agar

Mix all ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil, pour into an container and leave to set in the fridge. Once set slice into small cubes.

Beurre noisette

500g                 18oz     Butter

Browned butter or “Beurre Noisette” in French has a nutty aroma and flavor. Melt the Butter in a pan over a medium-high heat and cook, whisking gently until it turns a nutty golden brown. When serving, add some vinegar cubes to the beurre noisette.

Potato foam

550g     20oz     Boiled potatoes

125g     4oz       Whey

250g     8oz       Créme Fraiche

500ml   16oz     Whole milk

A pinch             Salt

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor, put in a whipping siphon.

Black garlic purée

100g     3,5oz    Black Garlic

70ml    3oz       Cooking oil

Put in a blender and blend until smooth.

Lovage powder:

100g     3,5oz Fresh Lovage

Dry the leaves overnight at 70C/158F, blend into a fine powder.

Main course: Crisp Icelandic Lamb loin, Onion confit, Crisp Bread, Oyster mushrooms, Charred Kale, Pickled Red Currants, Vin Jaune Sauce.

Fried Icelandic Lamb loin

1pc                   Rack of Icelandic Lamb

3 tbsp               Cooking oil

100g     3,5oz    Butter

                        Fresh Thyme

                        Rosemary

2tbsp                Beurre Noisette

Debone the rack, use bones for stock and trim the loins. Score the fat and portion in approx. 300g/10oz. Salt the loins and heat a pan to medium-high heat and brown the loins, starting fat side down, making sure to render the fat. When browned on all sides add the butter and herbs and baste the meat, transfer to a oven and cook at 80C/176F up to 57C/135F. Brush with a bit of Beurre Noisette when serving.

Vin Jaune Sauce

100g     3,5oz    Vin Jaune

½                     Shallot, sliced

3pc                   Peppercorns

2 sprigs Thyme

180ml   6oz       Chicken Stock

180ml   6oz       Mushroom Stock

30g      1oz       Lemon Juice

50g      2oz       Red Miso

1tsp                  Salt

600g     21oz     Butter, diced & cold

Combine the Vin Jaune with Peppercorn, Thyme, and Shallot in a pot and reduce by half. Sieve and discard the Shallots, Thyme, and Peppercorns. Add all remaining ingredients except the butter, bring to a boil and blend in the butter preferably with a hand blender.

Confit Onion

5pcs                 White Onion

430ml   15oz     Chicken stock

100g     3,5oz    Butter

1pc                   Garlic

Few sprigs        Thyme

Peel onions carefully, leaving the ends intact. Slice in half in the middle, brown the sliced middle on a dry pan until it is almost black. Transfer to a flat oven tray flat side down, add all ingredients cover, and cook for one hour at 180C/356F. Turn the Onions upside down and bake uncovered for 20 min. at 200C/390. Save the remaining stock in the pan to reheat and glace the Onions.

Pickled Redcurrants

125ml          4 oz           White vinegar

125ml          4 oz           Water

125g            4 oz           Caster sugar

300g     9oz                   Redcurrants

Combine Vinegar, Water, and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil and let the liquid cool down. Pour over the Redcurrants, cover and refrigerate.

Watercress purée

300g     3,5oz    Spinach

50g       2oz       Watercress

30g       1,5oz    Dijon mustard

350ml   12oz     Cooking oil

1tsp                  Salt

Prepare a large bowl with ice water, put a large pot with water on the stove and blanch the Spinach for a few seconds, remove the spinach, and put immediately into the ice water. It is recommended to cook the Spinach in a few batches. Drain the Spinach and squeeze all the water from it, preferably in a cloth. In a blender, combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until forming a smooth and green liquid.

Dessert: Icelandic Skyr Mousse, Liquorice & Strawberries, Frosen Rose Granite

Skyr Mousse

500g     17oz     Skyr

500g     17oz     White chocolate

500g     17oz     Heavy Cream   

1 sheet              Gelatine

1                      Pinch of Salt

Soak the gelatine in cold water. Put the Cream in a pot and bring to a boil, squeeze all water from the gelatine and mix into the cream. Pour the warm cream over the White Chocolate, add a tiny pinch of salt, mix with a hand blender until smooth. Put in a container cover and refrigerate overnight before use.

Meringue sticks

60g      2oz       Water

80g      3oz       Caster Sugar

80g      3oz       Egg whites

60g      2oz       Caster Sugar

A pinch             Liquorice Salt

Put water with the 80g/3oz of Caster Sugar in a pot and heat to 118C/245F. Meanwhile pour the egg whites into a mixer, whisk until foam starts to form. Then add the 60g/ of Caster Sugar little by little. Keep whisking at high speed, and little by little add the hot sugar syrup. Keep whisking at a lower speed until the mixture cools down to room temperature. Pipe into thin lines on a silicone baking sheet, sprinkle the Liquorice Salt on top, dry at 50C/122F for minimum 3-4 hours.

Liquorice Cremeux

120g     4oz       Whole milk

1-2tsp               Liquorice powder

2pcs                 Egg yolks

150g     5oz       Caster Sugar

1tsp                  Salt

40g      1,5oz    Corn flour

Whisk sugar and egg yolks in a mixer until fluffy, add the Corn flour little by little and whisk until smooth. Bring the Milk to a boil with the Liquorice powder, then pour half the warm Milk into the mixer little by little while whisking constantly and blend well. Transfer to a large pot and whisk constantly by hand on medium heat until the mixture thickens. Put in a container, cover and refrigerate.

Rosé Wine Granita

400ml   Rosé Wine

50g Lemon Juice

60g Caster Sugar

1pcs Gelatine

Soak the Gelatine in cold water. Mix the Wine and Caster Sugar in a pot and warm until the Sugar is fully dissolved, add the gelatin and Lemon Juice. Put in a container, preferably metal cover, and freeze.

The ingredients

The Icelandic cod

Iceland has some of the world's cleanest and most sustainable fisheries, and we want to keep it that way. In recent decades we have collected vast amounts of fisheries data and instituted thorough monitoring practices. We follow strict science-based quotas with complete transparency.

Atlantic Cod is the fish in Iceland. It is by far the most important marine resource in Icelandic waters. Cod is a groundfish that is most commonly found at a depth of 100-250 meters on Icelandic fishing grounds. Cod is a very good protein source, and contains a large amount of vitamin В and selenium, and is noted for its very healthy ratio of sodium and potassium.

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The Icelandic lamb

A unique taste experience. The taste of Icelandic Lamb is simply unrivalled. Our pure-bred lambs graze free in the pristine wilderness of Iceland, eating luscious grass, berries, and wild herbs such as red clover, Arctic thyme, sedge, willow, thrift and angelica, making the end result a uniquely tender, fine-textured meat, infused with the natural flavours of pure Icelandic nature. It's a naturally delicious dish, best served in Iceland, making for a dining experience beyond compare.

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Icelandic Skyr

Skyr is a thick & creamy Icelandic yogurt that’s been a provision of Icelanders for nearly 1,000 years. Skyr is akin to yogurt but has a different texture thanks to the heirloom Icelandic cultures used to make it. It takes nearly four cups of milk to make one cup of Skyr, making it thicker, and creamier than yogurt.

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Meet the Chefs

Hafliði Halldórsson

CMC & CEO of Icelandic Lamb

A Certified Master Chef who is juggling promoting Icelandic cuisine, food culture, and marketing in his role as CEO of Icelandic Lamb. Chef Haflidi believes developing and telling the story of Icelandic food culture is of the highest importance to using the pure and humble ingredients Iceland provides.

Culinary competitions and judging are a passion of Chef Haflidi, a former Team Manager of the Icelandic Culinary Team and one of its current mentors. Other roles include serving as a board member of the Icelandic and Nordic Chefs Associations. Training competitors, judging international culinary competitions and speaking publicly about food and cuisine.

Haflidi grew up on a sheep and dairy farm in the Westfjords of Iceland and had hands-on experience working the rough seas of the North Atlantic as a fisherman. Chef Haflidi has first-hand insight into the sourcing, quality, and traceability of Icelandic produce.

Bjarki Snær Þorsteinsson

Member of the Icelandic Culinary Team

Bjarki started his culinary career at 16 by studying and working at Kjallarinn Restaurant in downtown Reykjavík. For some international kitchen experience, Bjarki worked at the esteemed Midsummer House in Cambridge, England. After his stint with modern British cuisine, Bjarki returned to Iceland to work at one of Iceland's premier restaurants, Grillið, at Hotel Saga. At 19, Bjarki went East to Stavanger, Norway, for a year to complete his apprenticeship at Renaa Restaurant, where the focus was on local, pure, and natural. Back in Iceland, Bjarki started as a head chef in Flóran Garden Bistro, working in various restaurants across Reykjavík. Today, Bjarki works as a head chef at Lux Veitingar with celebrated Chefs Viktor Örn Andrésson and Hinrik Örn Lárusson, specializing in exclusive and creative catering and banquet events.