Robert's fish soup.
Before I moved to Stockholm, I am pretty sure that I’d never had fish soup. And if I had, I probably would not have liked it. But since living here, I’ve had it a lot and have grown to love it. The quality of the salmon here, in particular, is amazing and that forms the basis for the soup. (It’s so good, in fact, that it’s spoiled me for eating it elsewhere.)
The fish restaurants in the food halls here typically serve up the soup with a dab of aioli on top and crusty bread on the side. It’s tasty and so good to have this time of year, in particular. And I have to brag a little: Robert also makes a really good one at home using such middle eastern spices as Ras El Hanout and sumac. (That’s his soup in the photo above.). He typically uses chunks of salmon, mini shrimp and such vegies as snow peas and green beans. His soup ends up being more like a stew.
And for the classic Swedish version, check out this recipe from Utö Vardhus, a restaurant on the island of Utö in Stockholm’s archipelago.
Fish Soup. Recipe courtesy of Utö Vardhus. Serves up to 8 people.
Ingredients:
1 bulb fennel
1/2 leek
2 yellow onions
4 cloves garlic
3 cups fish stock
2 cups dry white wine
5 cups water
4 cups cream
1 gr saffron
salt
freshly ground white pepper
cayenne pepper
Cut the fennel and the onion into 5 mm-sized pieces, cut and wash leeks into 3 mm slices.
Fry the fennel, leek and the onion.
Add the saffron and cook for another minute. Add wine, water and fish broth.
Let it boil. Add the cream and season with spices.
The soup should have a taste of acid from the wine, add cayenne pepper to taste.
You should be able to taste the garlic. Add the cream to tone down the flavor. The saffron “should exist between all the flavors.”
When serving, add the fish of your choice and a little shrimp.
Garlic bread is a perfect accompaniment to this dish.
By the way, you can check out other Food Friday options here.
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