A few years ago I was visiting Finland with our then 11 and 9 year old sons. It was a beautiful summer day and we were on Suomenlinna Fortress Island (a must see Helsinki sight!). We'd gone on a great guided tour for kids and the boys were hungry. The small cafe we found only offered one warm entree: salmon soup. I was sure the kids would want no part of soup with fish in it having never eaten it before. But they were whiny and I was desperate... so I bought them one to share thinking neither would actually eat it.
Ends up not only did the kids eat the soup, they fell in love with it! When we later had a Scandinavian style Christmas party with our California friends our eldest even made it as an appetizer for the large group of adults. They all loved it. It is that easy - and delicious! In fact I was so enamored with the success of the salmon soup that now that we're in Finland - with easy access to fish stock and inexpensive salmon - I've overdone it and the rest of the family has grown tired of having the soup once a week.
The only challenge to making salmon soup is that fish stock, one of the main ingredients and a staple in Finnish kitchens, isn't that easy to get in the US. In the US I had to order it off Amazon and it was actually shipped to CA from the UK. I guess you could try to make your own stock but I for one don't have time or interest for that. When we go back to the US I'll just bring a suitcase full of fish bouillon cubes back with me.
So, assuming you've got your fish stock sourced, you'll also need about a pound or more of salmon, ~8 medium potatoes, a leek, 2 fish bouillon cubes, 4 cups of water, few bay leaves, ~ 6 whole black peppers and little less than a cup of cream. A lot of people add in dill but I personally dislike it so I just skip it. You may not need salt thanks to the saltiness of the fish stock.
First prep the veggies. Peel and cube the potatoes and cut up the white part of the leek and let the cut pieces soak in a bowl of water to rinse out possible sand/soil. Then separately bring the water and fish stock/fish bouillon cubes to boil in your soup pot. Once boiling put in leek, potato, bay leaves and peppercorns. While the soup cooks for about 10 minutes or so, skin the fish and cut it into bite size pieces. Put the fish into the soup with cream and let cook for a few minutes. (Add dill if you like it.) Remove bay leaves and serve. In Finland you might enjoy the soup with real dark rye bread and a glass of milk, which even the adult Finns consume in large quantities. Hyvää Ruokahalua!
Commentaires