Jul 4, 2016
Retro Stefson performing live at Drangey music festival
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Retro Stefson performing live at Drangey music festival
UNI STEFSON : KYRIE
Uni Stefson
I ate skyr! Taste of Iceland Toronto
By Sara McGuire
If you can't make the trip to Iceland, it's nice when Iceland comes to you. Last weekend I attended Taste of Iceland Toronto, a yearly event put on by Iceland Naturally. Saturday was an Icelandic food and arts extravaganza. A series of Icelandic short films screened at The Royal fairgrounds. Toronto's iconic Horshoe Tavern housed a Reykjavik Calling concert featuring musicians Uni Stefson, Young Karin, Hermigervill, Retro Stefson and Toronto's own LYON. And I got to enjoy an Icelandic tasting menu at Luma that I won't soon forget.
Icelandic chef Viktor Örn Andrésson flew over to share his special four-course tasting menu with us Torontonians, and he did not disappoint. Viktor was named Nordic Chef of the Year this April, and he is currently the head chef at Iceland's world-renowned LAVA Restaurant at Blue Lagoon. This was my first time trying Icelandic cuisine and I was very excited to see what he, along with well-known Toronto chefs Michael Wilson and Anthony Walsh, would serve up on this appropriately cold Saturday evening.
The menu suggested an Ontario wine to pair with each course, but I opted to try the featured cocktail.
Aalborg Akvavit, Dillon's Method 95 Vodka and Dillon's Ginger Bitters were a comfortingly spiced meeting of Icelandic and Canadian spirits.
The first course was a very cool Arctic char dish (literally--the garnish was frozen with a liquid nitrogen technique and served table-side from a steaming cold pot).
The char was lemon-cured and blow-torched, still soft and translucent at the centre, and served beside Icelandic barley and a cucumber and horseradish salad. Strong notes of dill made it a very refreshing first course.
The second course was cod and a langoustine (also known as Norway lobster) salad.
The cod was topped with dried seaweed söl from Stykkishólmur, a harbour town on the western part of Iceland. The dish was served with a light, airy and slightly buttery foam that had me scraping the plate with my fork. Tiny pickled onions and black salsify framed the plate.
The third course was probably my favourite. Iceland is known for its free-range lamb and boy, was it ever good.
Our server informed us that the reason the lamb was so special was because it was raised roaming the Icelandic highlands. Whatever it is they did, it was certainly the best lamb I have ever eaten. Moist and earthy with a rich Madeira glaze, the lamb paired perfectly with the wild mushrooms, single baby carrot and sunchoke. The piece of shoulder meat hidden beneath the pile of crisps was a particularly decadent treasure that practically melted in your mouth.
The fourth course, the one I had been most eagerly anticipating, was (naturally) dessert. Finally, I would get to see what all the fuss was about skyr! Skyr is a low-fat Icelandic dairy product with a similar texture and sourness to yogurt.
This course offered skyr three ways: tangy skyr lemon ice cream, a sinfully smooth chocolate crémeux sprinkled with hazelnuts, and a chewy marzipan cake with blueberries. I am officially a skyr convert and can't wait to eat more of it when I attend the Iceland Writers Retreat in April!
Safe to say, I think Iceland has a lot to offer in the way of exciting modern cuisine. I can't wait to see what other treats Iceland has in store!
I attended the Reykjavik Calling concert that night but was unable to snap any good pictures. It was probably for the best--I let myself be caught up in the music and the moment.
Next time I'll come to you, Iceland!
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The Iceland Writers Retreat will take place April 8 - 12, 2015. Registration is now open.
EP1 Uni Stefson - Kyrie
Uni Stefson - EP1
21st century r&b from Iceland
Uni Stefson - Enginn Grætur [mp3 SoundCloud]
Unis Stefson from the supercool Icelandic band, Retro Stefson just released his first solo single