Cooking Around the World

Last summer I stumbled across a blog called 196 Flavors (www.196flavors.com). The idea being to cook food from the countries of the world. I thought, that’d be cool. Pick a country, research their cuisine, prepare a meal. Snap.

So how does one choose? Alphabetical? Continent? Throw a dart at a map? Random drawing? Hmm, that seemed feasible and adventurous, not knowing where you’re going next. I created a list of the countries, cut the country names into strips and put them in a jar. I shook it up and drew out a slip of paper. And it said Iceland. Iceland, seriously, Iceland? I have never thought of Iceland as a foodie type country.

Off to Iceland

My first inclination was to throw it back in the jar and pick somewhere else. Well, that’s not right. They have to eat something in Iceland. So, I started googling for Icelandic food. The first search came up stating that Iceland is not known for their food. Great, the foodie in me was very tempted to toss out Iceland, not just throw it back in the jar.

I googled some more and found an article from the December 2014 issue of Saveur: https://www.saveur.com/article/travels/christmas-in-iceland

I chose these four recipes (very blueberry centric, but who doesn’t like blueberries):

Icelandic Dark Rye Bread (Dökkt Rúgbrauð)

Christmas Grouse with Berry Sauce (Jólarjúpa með Berjasósu)

Spiced Cabbage with Blueberries (Kryddað Rauðkál með Bláberjum)

Caramel-Glazed Potatoes (Brúnaðar Kartöflur)

As I looked through the recipes, I became less inclined to throw out Iceland. However, it was mid-summer and the thought of Christmas dishes was not terribly attractive. So, I kept putting off the dinner. And then it was December.

The rye bread recipe is a quick bread that uses baking powder and soda for leavening. Nothing odd about that. Seemed similar to Irish soda bread. The cooking is odd though, bake at 200F for 8-12 hours. The recipe comments state: Slow baking gives this slightly sweet dark rye loaf from Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir’s Icelandic Food and Cookery its dense crumb and deep color. Baking the bread at a low temperature overnight mimics the traditional Icelandic method of steaming the bread in a glass or metal mold in a geothermally heated earthen pit. Dense is an understatement. The loaf came out inedible in my opinion. Although, I will say the flavor was good. I hope to try this again but I will bake it in a normal hot oven.

Mine

Saveur Pic

The cabbage dish is very good. Although there are blueberries and currant jam in it, it’s not terribly sweet. The vinegar tones down the sweetness and adds a tart note. Less jam could be added if the amount seems too much.

I substituted chicken for the grouse due to the fact that grouse is not readily available at the market. Very good sauce. The dried blueberries give more intensity to the berry flavor. 

The caramelized potatoes were very good, sweet and crispy. 

My impression of Icelandic Christmas food is pretty good. I think they must go for all the sweetness to make up for the short winter days.

May not be very good looking but it tasted good.

So, the next slip of paper has been chosen. Next up: Yemen, yep Yemen!