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History
The name literally translates as plucked fish, and the base is cod or haddock with milk, potatoes and onions; newer versions add curry powder, cheese or a bechamel. In Reykjavik Cafe Loki serves it gratinated with rye bread and salad, Hofnin lists a traditional creamed fishstew with buttered potatoes and rye bread, Kaffivagninn bakes it with melted cheese and Bearnaise, and Messinn serves it in a pan with Bearnaise and rye bread.
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Common allergens: Fish, Gluten, Milk
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 500g cod or haddock fillet, skinless and boneless
- 600g floury potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 60g unsalted butter
- 30g plain flour
- 500ml whole milk, warmed
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Freshly grated nutmeg, pinch
- Sea salt, white pepper
- 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
- Rugbraud (dark rye bread) and butter, to serve
Method
- Boil potatoes in salted water until just tender, 14 to 16 minutes. Drain, keep warm.
- Simmer the fish in a wide pan of salted water for 5 minutes until just cooked through. Lift out, flake into large pieces, discard any bones.
- Soften onion in 30g butter in the same pan for 8 minutes until translucent.
- Add remaining butter, stir in flour, cook 2 minutes to a blond roux.
- Whisk in the warm milk gradually until smooth, then simmer 5 minutes to a coating sauce. Stir in mustard and nutmeg.
- Roughly crush the potatoes with a fork (do not mash smooth). Fold them through the sauce with the flaked fish.
- Warm 3 minutes, taste, season with salt and white pepper. The texture should be loose but spoonable.
- Scatter chives. Serve in deep bowls with slices of buttered rugbraud on the side.
Tip from the editors. Crush the potatoes rather than mashing them; the contrast between chunks of potato and flaked fish is what makes plokkfiskur honest rather than a fish pie filling.
Where to eat plokkfiskur (fish stew)
Plokkfiskur (fish stew) in Reykjavik
Hofnin ★ 4.1
Höfnin is a homely family restaurant at Geirsgata 7c by the small boat harbour in Reykjavik, serving classic Icelandic food with a view over the old harbour.
OrderThe fish soup, which a guest says won the restaurant a medal in 2012.
TipA guest advises asking for a window seat, since the restaurant is right on the harbour.
Cafe Loki ★ 4.2
Café Loki is a restaurant across from Hallgrímskirkja serving Icelandic home-style food, with rye bread slices with mashed fish and rye bread ice cream.
Why locals goA family-run restaurant on two floors right across from Hallgrímskirkja, the most famous landmark in Reykjavik, cooking classic Icelandic home-style food.
TipThere are no table reservations, so it is first come, first served.
Kaffivagninn ★ 4.1
Kaffivagninn, founded in 1935 by the Reykjavik harbor, calls itself the oldest restaurant in Iceland and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
Why locals goIt began as founder Bjarni Kristjánsson's small coffee truck serving the heroes of the sea at the harbor, and the house that still hosts Kaffivagninn was built soon after.
TipOrder the catch of the day, which the site says is served where the fishermen themselves eat; breakfast runs daily until 11:00.
Messinn ★ 4.5
Messinn is a seafood restaurant at Laekjargata 6b that specialises in fresh seafood, served at lunchtime and in the evening every day of the week.
OrderA fish pan: freshly cooked fish straight from the kitchen with butter-fried potatoes and vegetables.
TipThe fish pans come with butter-fried potatoes and vegetables and are made for sharing.
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