Poached Icelandic cod with potatoes and butter

This wonderful dish is almost like a very traditional Icelandic cod recipe I once tried… For the story behind this recipe we’re taking you to Patreksfjörður, Iceland. In the ocean surrounding this Iceland you can find beautiful cod.
  • persons
  • cooking time: 40
  • difficulty

Ingredients

  • 1 cod loin (or 4 fillets)
  • 600 g potatoes, skin on
  • 50 g butter
  • 4 slices of rye bread
  • salt

How to prepare

This wonderful dish is almost like a very traditional Icelandic cod recipe I once tried… For the story behind this recipe we’re taking you to Patreksfjörður, Iceland. In the waters surrounding this island you can find beautiful cod. The quality and taste of the fish are amazing!

The Icelandic citizens have one very strange way of preparing cod. To find out we went fishing with one of our cod fishermen, Thorsteinn Olafsson. Afterwards Thorsteinn wanted to show us his favourite dish. We first poached the cod and boiled potatoes… so far so good.

But! In the end, Thorsteinn poured over lamb stomach fat! It’s an Icelandic tradition, which we respect, but is obviously not made for our taste buds. Therefore we simply replace the lamb fat with melted butter and voilà! An amazing dish with sustainably caught cod from Iceland. Enjoy!

(note: the cod in this recipe needs to be salted overnight, so make sure to prep the fish one day before)

Preparation

  • 1 Put the cod loin on a cutting board and cover it with a little layer of salt. Store it for 12 hours or overnight in the fridge.
  • 2 Put a pan with water and salt on high heat. Take the cod out of the fridge and cut it in chunks. Put aside. Carefully drop the potatoes in the water and boil until soft (check with a fork).
  • 3 Fill up a pan with cold water and put it on the stove. Use a spoon to put in the chunks of cod and bring the water to boil. As soon as the water is boiling, turn off the heat and leave the fish in the pan with the lid on for about 4-5 minutes.
  • 4 Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat. Make sure the butter doesn’t burn!
  • 5 When the potatoes are done, drain them and put them on a plate. Slightly press them with a fork. Then use a spoon to take out the cod fillets and divide them over the potatoes. Sprinkle over the melted butter. Serve with rye bread.

Icelandic Cod fillet