30 delicious ways to ‘eat by country’

It’s the last ferry back from the Westman Islands to the Icelandic mainland. I find Sigur Ros on my iPod and stay on deck, watching the darkening sky, and smile. I’ve just had dinner at Slippurinn, a restaurant – set in an old boat yard – owned by one of Iceland’s young culinary stars, Gisli Matthias Audunsson. I’ve eaten oyster leaves (they grow wild here and do taste like the briny flesh after which they’re named), lovage-infused gin (lovage is another much-loved Icelandic plant), trout smoked over dung (yes it does have a farmyardy whiff), sweet, succulent lobster and mouth-puckering rhubarb with sor rel. I’ve tasted what grows here and I’ve learnt more history than I did from my guidebook. Fish is still smoked over dung because, due to deforestation, wood, for centuries, was too precious to use. But more recent history was explained, too. There’s a new pride in Icelandic cooking because the financial crisis meant that Icelanders – previously obsessed with foreign cuisines and ingredients – could no longer afford imported foods. They’ve been forced to embrace and reconsider their culinary heritage. An economic crash can bring surprising benefits.

I’ve always eaten countries. It is by eating that I burrow my way into the heart of a place. The last thing I put in my travel folder – before I leave for the airport – is the list of restaurants I’ve booked (exhaustively researched and carefully chosen) and the food markets and shops I’d like to explore. I’ve planned entire routes around a hotel’s spectacular jams (in Chinon in the Loire Valley) or a village’s incredible hams (Sauris in Friuli). It’s partly because I love food – I believe that life is too

Food is the quickest way to get close to a new culture, says Diana Henry, our experts serve up a selection of menus from France, Spain and Italy