“Lohikeitto” is a Finnish salmon soup with cream, although such a dish is prepared in all the northern countries of the Scandinavian peninsula. Due to the lack of sunny days in the year, the body of the inhabitants of these regions does not receive enough energy. This hearty soup replenishes this shortage, besides it is delicious.
It is strange for our people to hear an unusual combination of fish and dairy products, but after tasting the soup, you understand that these products perfectly complement each other. The recipe for Finnish salmon and cream soup is quite simple. Even a young and inexperienced housewife can cope with the preparation. It turns out the soup is delicious and looks beautiful. Light orange salmon contrasts with a white background and bright greens seasonings.
In the article, we will consider how to cook Finnish soup, what products are needed for work. We will detail some interesting recipes with step-by-step description and photos.
Classic recipe
Finnish salmon soup with cream is prepared from our usual products. Instead of salmon, you can use any red fish - salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, chum salmon or trout.
To prepare 1.5 liters of soup, take ingredients such as:
- 1 small fish or set for fish soup, i.e. head and tail.
- Potatoes - 5-6 pieces.
- Carrots - 1 large or 2 medium.
- 1 onion.
- Leek - 1 piece.
- 150 grams of liquid cream.
- 50 grams of butter for frying.
- Spices - salt, allspice - 3-4 peas, a sprig of thyme (fresh).
Cooking
First, clean up the fish. Clean it from the scales, remove the gills and entrails and wash thoroughly. Put all the pieces in a pan and fill with water. When it boils, remove the foam with a slotted spoon and make the fire quieter. Add to the fish soup a whole peeled onion, 1 small carrot, allspice peas, a couple of leaves of bay leaf and a sprig of thyme for flavor. Peel the potatoes, cut 3 pieces into pieces and add them to the fish.
When the fish and vegetables are cooked, the fire is turned off. Gently remove the fish on a plate so that it cools down. Put the potatoes in a separate bowl and crush it with a crush to the state of mashed potatoes. According to the recipe, the Finnish soup with salmon and cream should be of medium consistency - both liquid and not thick.
The broth itself is filtered through a strainer in a clean container and again put on fire. The remaining potatoes, cut into pieces, are thrown into the pan. While vegetables are boiled, do the frying in a pan. Heat the butter and add chopped carrots and leeks. Fry until golden and remove from heat.
Pour the frying in a bowl with mashed potatoes, fill in the cream and mix. When the potatoes in the soup are almost cooked, add the sliced and chopped pieces of fish, as well as the puree mixture. Salt and mix the contents, keep on fire for a couple of minutes and turn it off. That's it, Finnish salmon soup with cream is ready!
Finely chop the dill or parsley and, when serving the first dish, pour a pinch of each family member into a plate.
Potato Starch Soup
The desired consistency of soup with salmon and cream can be achieved without mashed potatoes. Thickness will add potato starch. Consider this recipe in more detail. Prepare these foods:
- small salmon or pieces of fish - 350 grams;
- 3-4 potatoes;
- 1 feather leek;
- 200 ml cream;
- olive oil for frying - 2-3 tbsp. l
- dill greens;
- salt and black pepper;
- potato starch - 1 glass of water - 1 tbsp. l
The budget option for cooking fish soup is to use the head and tail for cooking the broth, not a whole carcass or expensive fillet. A fish soup set is cheap and there are a lot of great pieces in a large salmon head. In addition, the broth turns out to be rich.
How to cook soup?
Finnish salmon soup with cream is cooked simply. The fish is thoroughly cleaned of scales and entrails, the gills are removed from the head, the broth is washed and boiled. If desired, you can add spices, for example, allspice in peas or bay leaf.
After cooking, the fish is removed, cooled and the flesh is cleaned of bones. Grilling is done in olive oil, sautéing only finely chopped leek. In a bowl, mix starch with water, add cream and fry.
The broth is decanted through a strainer into a clean pan, and peeled and sliced potatoes are added. When it is almost ready, pour the creamy-starchy mixture with frying, lay out the pieces of fish, salt, pepper and boil for another 3-4 minutes. At the end, sprinkle with chopped dill.
A budget option
The recipe for Finnish salmon and cream soup can be simplified using cheap products. So, instead of fillet of red fish, a skeleton, tail and head are used, and instead of leeks, onions are cut into roasting.
Let's take a closer look at what you need to have to get started. It:
- fish set - 1 kg;
- 3-4 potatoes;
- 1 carrot;
- 1 onion;
- wheat flour - 1 tbsp. l .;
- cream - 150 grams;
- vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l (you can use butter - 50 grams);
- a bunch of dill;
- salt and spices to taste.
How to cook?
Clean and wash the fish, place in a pan and fill with water so that it covers completely. After boiling, remove the foam with a slotted spoon and make a small fire. Let it cook for 20 minutes. Peel the vegetables in the meantime. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater, cut the onion into cubes. Heat the pan, pour either vegetable oil, or melt a piece of butter, if desired. Pour vegetables and fry until golden brown. Add half a glass of water with flour diluted in it, stir constantly until it boils so that there are no lumps.
Peel and chop the potatoes in large pieces. When the fish is cooked, turn off the fire, take it out to cool, and carefully separate the meat from the bones. Strain the broth and pour into a clean pan. Add potatoes and set on fire. When it is almost cooked, add frying and fish, mix, salt, add black pepper or other spices if desired. When serving, sprinkle with chopped dill. Many chop green onions. It turns out also delicious.
Swedish salmon soup with cream
Despite the similarity of recipes for such fish soup in Norway, Denmark and Finland, Swedish soup has differences. For its preparation use only red fish fillets. It is relatively inexpensive there, as it is found in the sea in large quantities. For soup, only meat is taken, the skin is carefully cut.
To make soup, prepare these foods:
- 250 grams of fish fillet;
- 1 leek;
- 1 liter of water;
- 2-3 cloves of garlic;
- 200 grams of cream;
- a glass of dry white wine;
- 100 grams of sour cream;
- 30 grams oils;
- 2 potatoes;
- a pinch of salt;
- spices - 1 tsp. dried basil, the same amount of thyme, 2-3 bay leaves, allspice in peas (4-5 pcs.), on the tip of a knife of ground saffron.
Saffron will give a unique taste and a beautiful golden hue to the soup. If you do not find ground spice, then dry the saffron threads in a mortar.
Cooking
To make soup, take a thick stainless steel pan. Peel the garlic and chop the tines into small pieces. Chop the leek into thin rings using only the white part of the feather. At the bottom of the pan lay a piece of butter and add onion and garlic, frying until golden brown for about 7 minutes over low heat.
Then add chopped peeled potatoes, pour in cream, wine, 4 cups of water, sour cream and spices (except for bay leaves and allspice), after boiling it is cooked for 15 minutes on a quiet fire. When the potatoes become soft, turn off the gas and set aside to cool. Then, with a blender, beat the contents to a puree state and put on the fire again. When the soup warms up, put the pieces of fish in the pan and cook for 10 minutes, adding the rest of the spices.
Serve a thick soup hot, sprinkled with herbs if desired. Delicate creamy taste with notes of saffron will appeal to everyone, without exception. The fish is not cooked for long, otherwise it can become dry and stiff.
In the article, we introduced readers to several popular recipes for Finnish soup with salmon and cream, you learned how the Swedish version of such a dish differs. As you can see, cooking such a delicate and delicious soup is simple, and the ingredients can be easily purchased at any supermarket. Cook delicious dishes and delight your loved ones with new flavors! Enjoy your meal!