This guide covers the dishes Icelanders eat over Christmas, from smoked lamb to fermented skate and the holiday cakes.

Hangikjöt, the Christmas Eve lamb

Smoked lamb, hangikjöt, is traditionally served on Christmas Eve.

Hangikjöt is lamb salted and smoked in the traditional way.

It is sometimes smoked using sheep dung.

Hangikjöt is then boiled and eaten cold with a hot béchamel-style sauce, peas and potatoes.

Hangikjöt is hard to find on restaurant menus.

A leg of lamb is another popular festive dish.

Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan, rjúpa, is a grouse that turns from brown to white in winter.

It is usually boiled, then fried, and served with red cabbage, potatoes and gravy.

Ptarmigan is a protected bird with a limited hunting quota.

The dish is not sold commercially.

Fermented skate and herring

Fermented skate, kæst skata, has a very strong smell and taste.

It is typically eaten with strong liquor.

Fermented skate is more popular among older generations.

It is usually eaten on Þorláksmessa, the day before Christmas Eve.

Þorláksmessa is named after Iceland's saint Þorlákur.

Marinated or pickled herring, síld, is eaten on rye bread with sauces and garnishes.

Síld is sold in most supermarkets.

Rice pudding, cookies and cakes

Rice pudding with whipped cream and chopped almonds, möndlugrautur, is a holiday treat.

Whoever finds the single whole almond hidden in the pot wins the game.

Liquorice tops, lakkrístoppar, are meringue cookies with chocolate chips and chocolate-covered liquorice.

Sarah Bernhardt cookies have an almond macaroon base topped with chocolate filling.

They are covered in chocolate.

Layer cake, lagkaka, has layers of gingerbread with vanilla cream.

Its sister cake, randalína, has layers of yellow cake with rhubarb jam.

Eating out over Christmas

Icelanders celebrate Christmas on the evening of Christmas Eve.

Most restaurants close that evening and the following day.

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