Thanks to its pristine fishing waters, Iceland’s incredible seafood now plays an important part in the world’s festive season – countries such as Poland, Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic all have fish as the centrepiece of their Christmas dinner.
Iceland exports £1.83billion worth of fish annually, and it recently created a ‘Fishmas’ campaign to promote its own fresh produce, with the friendly, bearded figure of Father Fishmas recommending recipes and tips.
I’ve come to a place now known as a ‘Fishmas’ village: Stykkisholmur is in Snæfellsnes, the wild, wild west of Iceland, a dramatic two-hour drive from Reykjavik past lava fields, waterfalls and dormant volcanoes.
A pretty fishing village with a population of just 1,195, this remote spot, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, has been at the centre of Iceland’s fishing industry since the beginning of the 20th century.
Similarly to Whitstable in Kent, Stykkisholmur is set around a working harbour, where the freshest of hauls then ends up in the kitchens of restaurants dotted around the seafront. Today, however, I have to work for my lunch. I’m joined at the picturesque harbour, sadly not by the mythical Father Fishmas, but the next best thing.
Viktor Orn Andresson, Nordic chef of the year 2014, talks me through the traditional catches, cod and redfish – the village’s fishing boats can catch up to 800kg a day. He shows me how to expertly gut and fillet them, then lightly char-grills the cod before dousing it with some homemade chimichurri sauce – utterly delicious.
Afterwards, he slices the redfish paper-thin and drizzles over some soy sauce, accompanied by a dollop of Icelandic-grown wasabi. Short of catching the fish myself, it’s some of the best – and freshest – sashimi I’ve ever tried.
‘I grew up with my mum always making stews like plokkfiskur from fish she stored in the freezer, but now Icelandic tastes have changed,’ Andresson tells me.
The average Icelander eats up to 92.5kg of fish a year. ‘Sushi is very popular here,’ says Andresson. ‘I love it but we make it our own by using fish like redfish and halibut, which isn’t normally used in other countries.’
The next day, Bjorgvin Þór Bjorgvinsson from fishing platform seafoodfromiceland.com, tells me that over the past 30 years, Iceland has managed to move from overfishing to successful sustainability.
‘Scientists take samples twice a year from 600 spots to get data on the size of the fish, how old they are, etc, all to make sure we’re not overfishing,’ he says.
‘This is then passed on to the ministers who work out what quota can be taken by the fisheries. Plus, the technology allows them to catch exactly what the market is asking for.’
Their conscientious method of fishing involves using every last scale, tail and gill.
‘We’re very proud of using the whole fish. With cod, for example, the heads are dried using natural geo-thermal heat, then sent to places like Nigeria.
‘The liver goes into cod liver oil; the fish skin is turned into leather; and the gelatin and collagen are used in beauty and health products, including collagen drinks, which are really popular here.’
Afterwards, as I stop off at a local corner shop for some stocking fillers to take home, I spot a skin-enhancing collagen drink called Collab on the shelves. Might as well give it a whirl, I think, and purchase a can of the tangy passion fruit and lime flavour.
As I sip what could pretty much be classed as fish soda, this is a new Icelandic tradition I can definitely get on board with. After all, alongside a smoked salmon breakfast, who doesn’t want the gift of fresh, youthful skin for Christmas?
Return flights from London Gatwick to Reykjavik from £175, icelandair.com. Rooms at Hotel Egilsen, Stykkisholmur, from £124pn, egilsen.is
MORE : I thought I’d ‘done’ Iceland after going to Reykjavik – I couldn’t have been more wrong
MORE : Grandad runs entire length of Iceland in just 10 days
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