Yahoo News Lamb's blood meringue: everything you need to know about the Nordic dish
We really can’t get enough of Iceland – the history, landscape, design, but most importantly the rich cuisine. Icelandic lifestyle trends are increasingly being incorporated into our own.
But is a blood-based pudding one step too far for Londoners?
On an episode of City Bakes, Bake Off king Paul Hollywood tucks into a meringue made with lamb's blood in Reykjavik.
Before you recoil in horror, here's everything you need to know about the local delicacy and how it came about.
What are the traditions behind it?
Blood as an ingredient has had a long culinary history throughout Europe. The influence of using blood in sausages is one that takes us from Scandinavia to France. Lamb's blood or sheep's blood is typically incorporated into Nordic dishes during the “slaughtering season”, which is in autumn.
Lamb blood meringue is a dish that has been served in Reykjavik for years - it takes inspiration from history to times when food was scarce and locals made full use out of their livestock by extracting blood from it.
How has this evolved?
As well as an ingredient that Paul Hollywood saw chefs use in Iceland, blood is now a revolutionary ingredient. It was made famous by Michelin-starred Noma head chef René Redzepi and culinary entrepreneur Claus Mayer at Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen after they experimented with using blood as a substitute for eggs, as it has the same protein-rich properties.
Recipe for Lamb's Blood Meringue, as featured in City Bakes
Ingredients:
1 pint of lambs blood
Sugar
Thyme
Strained yoghurt
An assortment of berries
Method:
Blend lamb’s blood, pinch of sugar and a sprinkle of thyme with an electric whisk.
Fill in piping bag, place meringue on baking mats.
Bake at 93°C until it is dry and brown.
Serve with Icelandic strained yoghurt and an assortment of berries
Where can I try a blood meringue in Iceland?
Before setting off on your next trip to Reykjavik, these are the two places you can get your blood meringue fix: Matur og Drykkur serves a sheep blood meringue and Berjamór provides a blood meringue with its wine pairing menu.
