A bit of Iceland on my pasta

For almost a week in December, I stayed in the capital of Iceland in search of the illusive Northern Lights. In between, I had the opportunity to visit the south coastal village, Vik, and saw the huge waves pounding the black volcanic beaches, had mini hail rain on me on and off and leant into 30km/h winds while trying to take a walk. I even got to see the Aurora Borealis with the constellations above my head in the deep night on snowed over lava fields. 

But after the Lights were gone and the wind died down, all I can recall about Iceland is the superb quality of food that is available, from hot dog stands to upmarket restaurants. The Icelanders take their food seriously and even the simplest fish and chips come with matched sauces for different kinds of fish.

I had a superb meal at the famous Grillmarket in downtown Reykjavik and could not forget how well it tasted as it looked. In particular is the volcanic rock salt that they sprinkled freely so that we could literally have a taste of Iceland.

This pasta is simply elevated pasta olio with caviar and garnished with a pinch of the land of Northern Lights. Perhaps the memory of the Borealis lingers on, because each rock salt tasted unique and gave a sense of adventure to the dish.

For 3.

Ingredients :

240g dry pasta

1 cup of bean sprouts

¼ cup of olive oil used for sundried tomatoes

3 bulbs of garlic, thinly sliced

1 bulb red onion, thinly sliced

4 strip of semi sundried tomatoes, chopped coarsely

3 tbsp of caviar

Black volcanic salt (scant amount)

2 handful of dill leaves

Method :

Boil the pasta according to instructions, minus salt.

Just one minute before removing the pasta from the stove, add the sprouts to the pasta.

Drain and reserve.

Meanwhile, sauté the garlic, onions and sundried tomatoes in the oil until the garlic is about to brown.

Turn off heat. Pour the cooked pasta into the pan with garlic.

Toss well with carviar.

Serve on plates.

Garnish with black salt and dill leaves.