Þorran Plokkfiskur (Icelandic Mashed Cod with Bechamel)

📷 · Reykjavik Þorran Plokkfiskur photo by Jasnaah, CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Main Course · Iceland · Reykjavik

Þorran Plokkfiskur (Icelandic Mashed Cod with Bechamel) 🐟

Name: Þorran Plokkfiskur (Icelandic Mashed Cod with Bechamel)
Prep time: 18 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2-4 servings
Cuisine: Icelandic
Ingredients: 700 g cod fillet (or haddock); 600 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed; 1 large onion, finely diced; 40 g butter; 2 tbsp flour; 250 ml milk; 100 g grated cheese (optional, for the crust); Salt, white pepper; To serve: raw rye bread (rugbrauð), butter, pickled red onion

A fisherman's comfort plate: boiled cod and potatoes flaked together into a buttery béchamel, baked until the top bronizes and served with raw rye bread, pickled red onion and a slick of good butter. Proof that the North Atlantic kitchen's answer to cottage pie contains no meat at all.

Capital Region Icelandic ⏱ 45 min Easy

Method

1

Simmer cod in lightly salted water with the potatoes 15 minutes until both flake easily; drain, reserving 200 ml of the cooking liquid.
2

Flake the fish with a fork into big pillows, pick out skin and bones; mash the potatoes roughly into the same bowl — the dish is 'mashed fish,' not a smooth purée.
3

Soften onion in butter 5 minutes, stir in flour, cook 2 minutes, then whisk in milk plus fish stock to a thick sauce.
4

Fold the sauce into fish and potato, season with salt and plenty of white pepper; spread into a buttered bake dish.
5

Dot with butter (and cheese if using); bake 200°C for 20–25 minutes until the peaks colour.
6

Eat it the Icelandic way: a knife of plokkfiskur, a thick slice of raw rye bread slathered in butter, and pickled onion cutting the richness.

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Þorran Plokkfiskur (Icelandic Mashed Cod with Bechamel) 🐟

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