Warming the pans while your page comes together
Seasonal & Local · 4 min read
July 12, 2026
September flips a switch in Icelandic kitchens. The last of summer's salads and grilled fish give way to something heartier, as the light shortens and the first frost settles over the highlands. Autumn cooking in Iceland leans on what's actually in season right now — root vegetables coming out of storage, the last of the lamb from summer grazing, and a handful of traditions that only really make sense this time of year.
Nothing signals autumn quite like a pot of soup on the stove. Icelandic kjötsúpa (lamb and root vegetable soup) is the obvious classic — lamb, potatoes, carrots, swede, and a handful of oats or barley, simmered until the meat falls apart. It's forgiving, scales up easily for a crowd, and reheats better on day two than day one.
Once the oven is running for a couple of hours anyway, a slow stew makes good use of that time. Lamb shoulder or shank, browned first and then simmered with root vegetables and a splash of stock, turns into something far more than the sum of its parts by the time it's ready. These are dishes that reward patience rather than effort — an hour of hands-on time followed by a couple of hours where the oven does the work.
Late September into October is traditionally slátur season in Iceland — the time when lamb offal, blood, and suet are made into slátur (blood pudding and liver sausage), a tradition that stretches back generations as a way of using the whole animal after autumn slaughter. Making slátur from scratch is a genuine project, often still done as a family gathering with several generations working together, but it's also widely available ready-made in shops for households that want the tradition on the table without the process. Sliced and fried, it's a hearty breakfast or dinner alongside mashed potatoes and rófustappa (mashed swede).
A good autumn week doesn't need to be complicated — it just needs a rhythm that matches the season:
Autumn cooking works best with a bit of structure — hearty dishes that take longer benefit from being planned rather than decided at 5pm on a Tuesday. Mapping out soup nights, a stew, and quicker fill-in meals on a makes the season easier to enjoy rather than something to scramble through. Matinn's has a solid rotation of seasonal soups and stews to pull from when the fridge needs new ideas.
Kjötsúpa is a traditional Icelandic lamb soup made with root vegetables — usually potatoes, carrots, and swede — along with oats or barley, simmered slowly until the lamb is tender. It's a classic autumn and winter dish in most Icelandic households.
Slátur refers to traditional Icelandic dishes made from lamb offal, blood, and suet, prepared in casings and either boiled or baked. It comes in two main varieties: blóðmör (blood pudding) and lifrarpylsa (liver sausage), both tied to the autumn slaughter season.
Yes. Most Icelandic supermarkets sell ready-made slátur, especially during the autumn season, so households can enjoy the tradition without making it from scratch.
Potatoes, carrots, swede (rutabaga), and turnips are the staples, since they're in season and store well through autumn. They hold their texture through a long simmer and pair naturally with lamb.