COPPERPlokkfiskur recipe
Icelandic poached fish and potatoes folded into a bechamel and eaten on dark rye bread.
Ingredients
- 500 g haddock fillets
- 500 g potatoes
- 50 g butter
- 30 g flour
- 500 ml milk
- 1 onion
- 4 slice rye bread
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
How to make Plokkfiskur
- Poach 500 g haddock fillets in lightly salted water for 6-8 minutes until they flake, then lift them out, remove skin and bones and break the flesh into large chunks.
- Boil 500 g potatoes in their skins for 20 minutes, peel them and cut them into 2 cm cubes; do not mash them smooth, the dish is meant to stay chunky.
- Melt 50 g butter in a wide pan and sweat 1 finely chopped onion over low heat for 5 minutes without letting it colour.
- Sprinkle 30 g flour over the butter and stir for 2 minutes to cook the roux.
- Whisk in 500 ml milk a little at a time and simmer 5 minutes until the bechamel coats the spoon.
- Fold in the fish and the potatoes, season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper and heat through for 5 minutes, stirring only enough to keep visible chunks.
- Serve very hot, spooned over thick slices of buttered dark Icelandic rye bread.
What is Plokkfiskur?
Plokkfiskur is a traditional dish from Iceland, simmered in one pot, and takes about 40 minutes from start to finish. It is built around haddock fillets, potatoes and milk. The recipe below uses 9 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Plokkfiskur take?
At 40 minutes it is quicker than 89% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. The method runs to 7 steps, the longest being 20 minutes.
Any tips for making Plokkfiskur?
Cut the potatoes into cubes instead of mashing them, and stir only enough to heat through: the dish is meant to stay chunky.
How Plokkfiskur compares
Hard to find elsewhere: haddock fillets (1) and rye bread (2).
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