Iceland - Celebrating midwinter with trout, raisins and mutton | At our Neighbour's Table

Iceland is the largest volcanic island on earth and the most sparsely populated country in Europe. At the end of a lonely valley lives the family of Arna Bjarnadóttir and Denni Karlsson with their three children. The distances to the shops are long and often impassable in winter. The family supplies itself largely with local products. This requires wise stockpiling of the things that thrive in the short summer near the Arctic Circle. The family grows and stores potatoes and rhubarb - the rhubarb frozen, the potatoes in a peat house that protects against frost.

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In 2007, Arna and Denni renovated an abandoned farm. Arna's son Bjarni was just one year old at the time when his mother and Denni turned their backs on their old life. Arna is a historian and has worked as a cultural manager in the capital Reykjavík, Denni as a film director. He grew up in the valley where the family opposes the general rural exodus.
In summer, Arna occasionally cooks for holiday guests; in winter, there is time to reinterpret traditional dishes. Fish and mutton are the cornerstones of Icelandic cuisine. The sea, rivers and lakes provide fresh fish even in winter. In the past, fish was considered a simple food, but today it has gained in esteem and is prepared creatively.

Sheep farming is a tradition in Iceland, and sheep are also a source of meat. The custom of using everything from one animal has survived. Today, this is still served once a year: at the 'Thorrablót', a festival celebrating midwinter - in the hope that the long winter will soon come to an end.

At our Neighbour's Table - Iceland | Season 2019 - Episode 230
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