Book of Days Tales

Today is Þjóðhátíðardagurinn (Icelandic National Day), a holiday in Iceland that celebrates the day in 1944 that The Republic of Iceland was formed. The date of 17 June was chosen because it is the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, a major figure in Icelandic culture and the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement.

Icelandic cuisine is heavily dominated by fish and lamb (a favorite traditional festive dish is a whole or halved lamb’s head served on a platter with mashed root vegetables).  If you are not a half sheep head sort of person (I am, as it happens), here’s a simple, but delicious, Icelandic fish chowder.  You can use half and half instead of milk if you want a richer broth.  Personally I prefer fresh ground black pepper when I am eating this alone but white pepper is a bit more visually appealing.

Plokkfiskur

Ingredients:

1 ¼ lbs (.7 k) cod, halibut or haddock
1 ¼ lbs (.7 k) potatoes, boiled and peeled
1 white onion
12 oz (3.5 dl) whole milk
2 oz (56 gm) butter
3 tbsp (22 gm) flour
salt and white pepper
snipped chives for garnish

Instructions:

Skin, bone,  break  the fish into flakes.

Dice the potatoes  and finely chop the onion.

Slowly heat the milk in a saucepan almost to the boiling point. Do NOT let it boil. Remove from the heat.

In a medium to large sized non-stick saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion over medium heat until just soft. Do not let it to brown.

Sprinkle flour over the onion, stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes. Do not let the flour brown.

Gradually add the warmed milk. Add a small amount at first and whisk vigorously. Keep adding more milk slowly stirring continuously. Simmer for 3-4 min, stirring often.

Add the flaked fish, stirring briskly so that the flakes are well broken up.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the potatoes and stir gently until they are heated through.

Serve very hot with dark rye bread and butter.

Serves 4