I had a quick connection in Keflavik, Reykjavik’s airport in Iceland on the way home from France. It is a very spacious and pleasant airport with bright halls and many shops. The variety is incredible and the offering quite surprising! Of course, they have the usual tourist  stuff and many aisles of spirits including Icelandic Vodka made with glacier water, Icelandic beers also made with glacier water (not a rare commodity on the island), but also the biggest candy section ever, and many fridges full of  local smoked salmon and lox. That is to be expected. What I did not expect were the shelves of  dry seaweed packages  (yes, kelp!) and dry fish and also a freezer full of lamb: cutlets, legs, racks, full sides and also several sorts of marinated cuts, just there in case. Icelandic lamb is very high quality and definitely a premium export. Too bad the Canadian Customs has a different idea.

Dry fish

Dry Seaweed

Atlantic KOMBU is a fat free, cholesterol free food, rich in dietary and soluble fiber, iodine, magnesium, potassium and calcium.  Iceland’s Atlantic Kombu grows wild and is harvested by hand from pure Icelandic waters. They dry it using renewable geothermal energy to bring you the highest quality food source with a low carbon footprint. Atlantic kombu is similar to Japanese kombu, and is also known as oarweed, tangle and fingered kelp. In Icelandic, it is called hrossaþari.

Kombu is very useful as a seasoning for soups, stews, sauces and vegetable dishes. For best cooking results, soak the kombu in water for 10 minutes and simmer in dishes for 40 minutes. You also can try adding a few strips of kombu to bean dishes to speed up cooking time, so says the packaging company!

Marinated legs of lamb