Our weather is very topsy turvy here. Saturday was in the mid 30’s. Sunday was low 20’s. Soup weather, I thought. On one of our trips to visit my sister, she had made a traditional Finnish fish soup (lohikeitto).
I remember tasting it with some trepidation at the time. She assured me her soup was good. My memories of childhood haunted my tastebuds. I had never been a big fan of fish soup and sundry other soups we were made to eat. Top of the list was the horrid vegetable ‘summer soup’ (kesäkeitto). I still cringe at the thought of it. Back then I gagged my way through each mouthful. It was a milky soup made with cauliflower, potatoes, carrots and peas. I would probably like it now if I could get over the hurdle of those memories.
However, I digress. My sister’s soup was delicious. Even TRH (The Retired Husband) whose taste buds err on the side of ‘fussy’, said it was nice. That is high praise coming from him.
So I phoned my sister to ask for her recipe. She said she didn’t have one but was happy to tell me what she does. That was good enough for me. I had sort of watched her make it. Here’s her ‘recipe’ –
- Finely dice an onion. Simmer it in some water with bay leaves and allspice
- (pimento – or as I call them, brown peppercorns).
- Peel and coarsely dice some potatoes and carrots. I often add sweet potato too.
- Add all the vegies to the water.
- Add enough milk to just cover the vegetables.
- Simmer slowly until the vegetables are cooked. I mean s l o w l y ….
- Dice some skinless atlantic salmon. Add.
- It will cook pretty quickly, depending on how small the pieces are.
- Add a generous dollop or two of butter – and a bottle of cream.
- Now, the amount of soup you make will dictate the amount of cream.
- But be generous.
- And last of all, lots of fresh dill.
- If you can’t get fresh dill, use the dry stuff but add it with the vegetables.
- Don’t forget to check seasoning – add salt according to taste.
I followed her instructions bar the sweet potato. It was delicious even though I forgot to cook the vegetables in milk. I added a splash at the end, together with the butter and cream. TRH said it was ‘nice’. Good even.
© Raili Tanska
Nourish the body, feed the Soul
soulgifts - Telling Tales 
Wow delicious, Raili.
🙂
Strange how things we couldn’t stomach as children can become favourites when we are adults. Tastebuds and the sense of smell must undergo enormous changes.
Might pop over if there’s any left! I love fish soup!
You’re welcome, anytime 🙂 This batch is finished but I can whip up a new lot just for you!
That soup looks almost easy enough for ME to make. I can’t cook but I might give this an actual try. Looks great.
It’s very simple. Just a note – I forgot to add salt to the ingredient list. It does need a bit.
That sounds fabulous. But I have questions lol I don’t use dairy so would Almond milk work? And that leaves me without a substitute for the cream. Do you think Cod fish would do just as well? I’ve been wanting to make a soup all winter, and even had a woman from our organic grocery store come by and we made a lentil soup with the smallest black lentils I’ve ever seen. There was also sweet potato in it, along with carrot. But what I’d like to make most of all is corn chowder. Still searching for a recipe. The canned organic is WAY too salty.
Thanks for this post!
I’m not sure, Fim, the only question I would have is about its flavour profile. I know a lot of people use various alternatives to dairy milk. You could try coconut milk – it is used in various fish dishes. Not familiar with corn chowder, so can’t help you with that 🙂
Thank you, Raili. Would you say the cream is used to ‘thicken’ the soup? I’d be able to use corn starch to do that. I like the idea of Coconut milk. I’ll see how that works.
No, the cream is added for flavour 🙂
I’ve never thought of making a fish soup, but this looks lovely.
It is delicious
I will do this in my crock pot very soon!
🙂
Sounds yum. I might try it.
Do. I made it again, this time adding sweet potato to it. Made it even nicer.