The Icelandic Hot Dog – Pylsur

October 6, 2018 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Pylsur Image Used Under Creative Commons License From deskgram.net

Citizens, those of you who have been with me since the beginning know that I am a frequent traveler to the Nordic regions, and in fact enjoyed my honeymoon in Iceland nearly 9 years ago! It was there that I – the always vigilant TFD! – tasted the world’s best hot dog for the first time! 🙂

Doubt me? Read on!

As noted on icelandairhotels.com:

What’s in them?

What sets Icelandic hot dogs apart is that they are made mostly from Icelandic lamb, along with pork and beef. And, this isn’t just any lamb, pork or beef. This is organic, free range, grass fed, hormone free – pick your positive metaphor – Icelandic lamb, pork and beef.

The sheep in Iceland literally roam the countryside until the fall eating berries and leaves. Pigs and cows in Iceland live on small loving farms in one of the cleanest, most pristine environments on Earth. And, the hot dogs are made with natural casings so they have the ‘pop’ when you bit into them!

What are the condiments?

Order an Icelandic hot dog as most Icelanders do and yours will be served on a warm, steamed bun topped with raw white onions and crispy fried onions, ketchup, sweet brown mustard called pylsusinnep, and remoulade, a sauce made with mayo, capers, mustard, and herbs. Maybe you are saying to yourself, “Ew, raw onions. I don’t like raw onions!” Like sushi, or other famous dishes that are literally the sum of their parts, you owe it to yourself to try an Icelandic hot dog with everything first, you will most likely change your tune – we have seen it many times!

How to Order

Assuming we have you convinced you to try one with everything, all you need say when you make it to the counter is “ein með öllu” (roughly pronounced: ane meth alt) will indeed get you one with everything, and may even a wry smile for attempting to speak Icelandic. Not ready to do that? No matter, Icelanders all speak English.

The most famous hot dog stand in Iceland

In downtown Reykjavik, not far from the newly built Harpa Concert and Conference Center is the unassuming Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog stand (which translates to “best hot dogs in town”). It has been open since 1937 and it’s likely that the vast majority of Iceland’s population has eaten a hot dog from here. It’s even had its fair share of famous visitors including Bill Clinton and Metallica – probably many, many other famous people in secret!

What are they called in Iceland?

In Icelandic a hot dog is called Pylsa or Pulsa (with conjugations). There is actually (not joking) an active controversy amongst Icelanders whether Icelandic hot dogs should be called Pylsa or Pulsa. It is a bit of a silly argument, and both sides think that the other is saying it wrong. It is likely that Pulsa is influenced by the Danish language. The word for sausage in Danish is Polser. The Norse influence (Swedish, Faroese, Norwegian) changes the O in Polser to a Y – Pylsa.

Where to buy them?

The short answer is, everywhere! There are hot dog stands in almost every city, town or village, If there’s no village, you can buy them at every gas station or convenience store. You can even buy them at the airport. All of which is further proof that the Icelandic hot dog may be Iceland’s national dish.

Bring some home and how to cook them

If you develop a Pylsa addiction, like many, you can buy them in the duty free shop on your way home as well as all the other ingredients. Then all you need to know is how to cook them correctly, here too we’ve found differing opinions. The main thing you don’t want to do is overcook them – the trick is NOT to boil them.

Some say to put a little malt beer in the water – that part we will leave to you. Then heat the buns a little before you put in the toppings (the microwave works well for this, but just don’t leave them in too long!) and you will be able to enjoy them at home…until they are all gone, which won’t take long. Then you’ll have one more reason to return to Iceland.

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur is a small chain of hot dog stands located in Reykjavík, Iceland.

The chain has been in continuous operation since 1937 when the first stand was set up on Austurstræti street at the very center of the city by the grandfather of the current owner, Guðrún Kristmundsdóttir. In the 1960s, it moved two streets north to Tryggvagata, across from the Harpa Concert Hall, where the current flagship stand remains today.

In August 2004, the stand was visited by former United States president Bill Clinton while he was visiting Iceland for a UNICEF conference.

This celebrity appearance led to a boost in popularity for the stand as it began appearing in tourism guidebooks on Iceland. Two years later in August 2006, the British newspaper The Guardian selected Bæjarins Beztu as the best hot dog stand in Europe.

Today, the chain is popular with both tourists and locals. There are three additional locations in the city, which together sell over one thousand hot dogs on a busy day.

A number of celebrity patrons have visited in recent years. Former US president Bill Clinton, Metallica frontman James Hetfield, actor Charlie Sheen and The Food Dictator are among the famous people who have ordered from the stand.

The main stand also appeared in the first season of Anthony Bourdain’s travel program No Reservations.

Citizens, there is no way I can improve on this recipe – you can buy the Icelandic hot dogs, crispy onions, remoulade and mustard at the apropos links. Shipping is expensive at $30 flat, but trust me – you will never try a better tube steak in your life! Just order lots of Icelandic treats to justify the shipping. 😉

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Icelandic Hot Dog – Pylsur

Ingredients

6 long white, fluffy hot dog buns
6 pylsur sausages
4 tablespoons Icelandic hot dog mustard
4 tablespoons ketchup
4 tablespoons Icelandic remoulade - recipe below if you aren't buying it remade
6 tablespoons crispy deep-fried onion slivers
6 tablespoons diced shallots
1 ½ cups water mixed with 1 ½ cups of beer (Icelandic Viking or Gull are classic Icelandic beers, but any lager will do)
***
Remoulade:
¾ cup neutral tasting oil
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped gherkin
2 teaspoons chopped capers
1 tablespoon chopped chervil

Instructions

Braise the pylsur in the beer water just until they are hot.
Split the buns down the middle and lightly toast them, although steaming is the traditional way that TFD prefers.
Add one sausage and the raw onions to each bun.
Add a stripe of mustard, remoulade and ketchup down each sausage.
Top with the crispy fried onions. Enjoy the world’s best hot dog!!!

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-icelandic-hot-dog-pylsur/

The Hirshon Jewish Kurdish Kubbeh in Chicken Soup – קובה חאמו

August 24, 2018 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Kubbeh in Soup Image Used Under Creative Commons License From pinterest.com

Citizens, your intractable Sovereign – the all-encompassing TFD! – is always seeking out recipes that showcase many less well-known communities here in the West. Today, I would very much like to share this delicious dish beloved by the Kurdish Jews! 🙂

As noted in the Jerusalem Post:

It is believed that Jews have lived in the area of modern Kurdistan since the 8th century BCE. Also known as Assyria and Mesopotamia, the area now encompasses parts of Iran, northern Iraq, Syria, and eastern Turkey.

The first Jews arrived after the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel and the subsequent exile of the ten tribes during the period 858 – 824 BCE. An ancient Kurdish tradition relates that Kurdish Jews are the descendants specifically of the tribes of Dan, Naphtali, and Benjamin.

In his travel memoirs, Benjamin of Tudela related that there were about 100 Jewish settlements and substantial Jewish population in Kurdistan in 12th century. It is also from Benjamin of Tudela’s memoirs that we learn of David Alroi, the messianic leader from central Kurdistan, who rebelled against the king of Persia and had plans to lead the Jews back to Jerusalem.

Benjamin of Tudela also reports of wealthy Jewish communities in Mosul, which at the time was the commercial and spiritual center of Kurdistan. During the crusades many Jews fled from Syria, the Levant, and Judea to Babylonia and Kurdistan.

Kurdish Jews in Israel are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Kurdish Jewish communities, who now reside within the state of Israel. They number around 200,000.

Immigration of Kurdish Jews to the Land of Israel initiated during the late 16th century, with a community of rabbinic scholars arriving to Safed, Galilee, and a Kurdish Jewish quarter had been established there as a result. The thriving period of Safed however ended in 1660, with Druze power struggles in the region and an economic decline.

Since the early 20th century some Kurdish Jews had been active in the Zionist movement. One of the most famous members of Lehi (Freedom Fighters of Israel) was Moshe Barazani, whose family immigrated from Iraq and settled in Jerusalem in the late 1920s.

The vast majority of Kurdish Jews were forced out of Northern Iraq, being evacuated to Israel in the early 1950s, together with other Iraqi Jewish community. The vast majority of the Kurdish Jews of Iranian Kurdistan relocated mostly to Israel as well, in the 1950s.

The Times of Israel reported on September 30, 2013: “Today, there are almost 200,000 Kurdish Jews in Israel, about half of whom live in Jerusalem. There are also over 30 agricultural villages throughout the country that were founded by Kurdish Jews.” Today, the large majority of the Jews of “Kurdistan” and their descendants live in Israel.

Kurdish Jews began immigrating to Israel in the 1920s, but most came after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948; today virtually none remain in Kurdistan. Most moved to Jerusalem, and the neighborhood abutting the Mahane Yehuda market remains a center of the community.

One of the few aspects of Kurdish culture remaining among their descendants is cuisine. The most familiar is kubbeh soup—semolina dumplings stuffed with meat and cooked in a lemony sour broth.

In Israel, a red version of this soup made with beets is very popular. This recipe, however, is for the lesser known yellow variety.

Kubbeh are semolina dumplings with a flavorful meat filling. They are related to kibbeh, a croquette made of bulgur, also filled with meat, but then fried. For this recipe, the semolina parcels are cooked and served in a turmeric-laced chicken broth.

Citizens, my version is based closely on a recipe I found on allrecipes.com, but with the addition of several spices and my own Iraqi spice blend. I have every confidence you will love this delicious recipe, my Citizens!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Jewish Kurdish Kubbeh in Chicken Soup – קובה חאמו

Ingredients

For the shell:
190g fine cracked wheat, not bulgur, uncooked
1 cup cold water
165g semolina
½ teaspoon salt
***
For the meat filling:
1 ½ pounds fatty stewing lamb, such as chuck, shank or neck
1 ¾ ounces (50g) lamb tail fat - if unavailable, use regular lamb fat
1 onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. celery leaves, minced
***
For the soup:
2 cups chickpeas, uncooked
4 green onions
4 tbsp. chopped celery leaves
6 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. turmeric
1 bunch Swiss chard (white beet leaves)
10 ½ cups (2.5L) chicken stock
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped into large pieces
2 turnips, chopped into large pieces
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. Hirshon Iraqi Baharat spice mix, made from:
2 ½ tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons freshly ground cumin
1 tablespoon freshly ground coriander
1 tablespoon freshly ground allspice
½ tablespoon cinnamon
2 ½ teaspoons freshly ground cardamom
1 teaspoon freshly ground cloves
1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon paprika (it’s not traditional, but I like smoked Spanish paprika – use regular paprika to go old-school)
½ teaspoon ginger
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons crumbled dried rose petals, optional but strongly recommended

Instructions

The shell: Soak cracked wheat in water for 30 minutes, or until it has absorbed the water and has expanded. It shouldn’t be soupy. Add the semolina and ½ teaspoon salt and knead until the dough is soft and elastic like playdough. Add more water if necessary to create pliable dough. If the dough is too wet, let stand for 30 minutes or add small amounts of semolina. Remember that different batches of semolina and cracked wheat absorb water differently.
Meat filling: Fry the chunks of meat in lamb fat using a cast iron skillet until the meat is browned on all sides, adding a few drops of water to the pan if the bottom begins to burn. Cover the meat with water and let the water boil down completely and until the meat loses about half of its volume (this is an improvised khelia). Set aside to cool.
Fry the onion in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil or lamb fat until dark brown, add to meat. Add the salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add the chopped celery leaves. Cool completely.
Soup:
First, soak the chickpeas in a pot of water overnight. For the soup, drain the chickpeas. Return them to the pot, cover with water reaching almost twice as high along the sides of the pot and cook over medium heat for 1 hour, until tender - drain liquid and discard, reserve chickpeas.
In the blender add the green onions, celery leaves, garlic and about ½ of the chard leaves. Add a little water and blend until all the vegetables are pulverized. Roughly chop the remaining chard. Boil the chicken stock. Add the vegetables and chopped Swiss chard (and whatever didn’t fit into the blender) and cook for about five minutes. Add the pulverized vegetables, the chickpeas, the turmeric and the Iraqi baharat to the stock and cook for another 10 minutes. Add lemon juice. It should be sour.
Kubbeh: Take a piece of dough the size of a walnut, shape the dough into a ball, and with your thumb make a hole for the stuffing. The sides of the shell should be thin, about 2mm (about as thick as a U.S. nickel), as the dough will expand in the soup. A bowl of water is useful to dip your hands in to keep the dough from sticking.
Stuff the shell with the cooled meat filling. For every piece of dough, try stuffing with about the same volume of meat. Flatten the stuffed kubbeh into discs. Place them on a lightly oiled surface such as a baking pan. Only when the soup is boiling add the kubbeh.
With a long wooden spoon stir the soup gently to make sure the kubbeh have not stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the kubbeh begin to float. Remember the kubbeh will disintegrate if cooked too long.
Uncooked stuffed kubbeh can be frozen. To freeze put a tray of kubbeh in the freezer until frozen to the touch. Take them out and put them in a freezer bag.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-hirshon-jewish-kurdish-kubbeh-in-chicken-soup-%d7%a7%d7%95%d7%91%d7%94-%d7%97%d7%90%d7%9e%d7%95/

The Hirshon Icelandic Meat Soup – Kjötsúpa

June 4, 2018 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Kjötsúpa Image Used Under Creative Commons License From Pinterest.com

My Citizens, your supreme Leader – the never fungible TFD! – has just returned from a 2-week trip to the Nordic region, including several days in the starkly beautiful country of Iceland!

While there, I was privileged to try this mainstay of Icelandic cooking in the charming Hamlet of Vik on the southern coast of the country where despite being June, it was a chilly 6 degrees Celsius. The lamb used in the soup was literally raised in a field across from the restaurant and it was incredibly delicious! So much so that I am compelled to share it with TFD Nation.

Icelandic meat soup or just ‘meat soup’ is a soup of lamb and vegetables. Most commonly, the soup includes potatoes, carrots and cabbage, but other vegetable types are also used, such as onion and leek, and it is flavored with dried soup herbs. Often, grains are used in the soup to thicken it, such as rice, rolled oats or barley.

Earlier in the centuries, cheeses that were eaten fresh were usually boiled in the soup, which was then pleasantly flavored with lactic acid (a common flavor profile in old Icelandic recipes).

There were no vegetables in the original versions of the soup, but usually some grains, predominately barley and when rice was introduced to the country, it was also used. Imported soup mixtures came to the scene in the late 19th century, and at the same time vegetables were used in the soup, especially potatoes.

Young lamb and goat meat was not the only meat used in soup. Salt meat was often used and sometimes beef and veal, as well as horsemeat . Usually, meat of the forefront or chest is used, sawn into rather large pieces (soup meat).

In the past, this soup was often served on Sunday or as part of a feast and sometimes a Christmas dinner, but now it is a part of everyday life and even a packet soup from Toro, known as Icelandic meat soup.

Many people think the soup is a good example of traditional Icelandic cuisine, and when Icelanders abroad have to introduce Icelandic cuisine for foreigners, they often cook meat soup.

Similar soups are known elsewhere, especially wherr similar vegetable species are grown and sheep farming is common, such as in Norway and Scotland.

My version hews strongly to tradition, updated only by my enjoyment of bay leaves, which are typically not used in this recipe. Feel free to leave them out. I recommend both Icelandic sea salt and their superlative dried herb mix known as Villikrydd. You can get the salt here and the Villikrydd here. If you so prefer, just use your favorite dried herb mixture in place of the Villikrydd.

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Icelandic Meat Soup – Kjötsúpa

Ingredients

2 pounds lamb shoulder (preferably with some bone)
6 cups water, plus more if necessary
2 teaspoons sea salt - Icelandic if you can get it
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves (not traditional, but TFD likes it)
1 leek, white and light green parts only - chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons mixed dried herbs, TFD strongly endorses Villikrydd
½ pound rutabaga, peeled and chopped
½ pound carrots, peeled and chopped
½ pound potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped green cabbage
Chives and parsley (for garnish)

Instructions

Trim some of the excess fat off the meat, and cut into chunks. Place it in a large pot, add 6 cups cold water and heat slowly to a boil. Skim the broth, then add salt, pepper, onion, bay leaves (if using) and dried herbs. Simmer, partly covered, for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. They should be chunky, large enough that each piece is a separate spoonful. Add the rutabaga, carrots and potatoes to the soup, and continue simmering for 15 minutes more.
Add the cabbage and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Lift the meat out from the soup, and separate out the bones, sinew and excess fat.
Chop the meat up into bite-sized pieces and add them back into the soup. If needed, add a cup or two of more water, and adjust seasonings.
Let soup sit overnight for flavors to meld properly, then reheat and serve with the garnishes.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-hirshon-icelandic-meat-soup-kjotsupa/