Harðfiskur & Butter
A one-inch strip of Icelandic wind-dried cod on a black-lava salt crisp with cultured butter and cracked pepper
Harðfiskur — wind-dried fish eaten with butter — is the oldest food in Iceland still eaten daily.
Why this bite? Iceland's oldest continuously eaten food — settlers, fishermen, and grandmothers — in a single strip.
The Story
Before refrigeration, before salt was affordable, Icelanders hung fish in the Atlantic wind and turned it into protein that would keep for a winter. Today, harðfiskur is still eaten the same way it has been for a thousand years: torn by hand, spread with butter, and taken with coffee at any hour. This one-inch strip on a black-lava salt crisp is the country's most ancient snack — the food of settlers, fishermen, and grandmothers, delivered to a diplomatic tray without changing a thing.
Read Full Story →Ingredients
- Harðfiskur (Icelandic wind-dried cod or haddock) — Nordic import shops
- Salted cultured butter (European-style, high fat)
- Thin black lava salt crackers or crisp rye wafers
- Cracked black pepper
Preparation
- 1.Tear the harðfiskur along the grain into 1-inch strips.
- 2.Place a small pat of soft cultured butter on each crisp.
- 3.Lay a strip of harðfiskur over the butter.
- 4.Finish with cracked black pepper.
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