Although I’m a huge fan of seafood, I make it much less often than I’d like. I’d dog-eared this recipe but wasn’t sure I’d have time to go to my favorite fish market to buy the salmon. The market’s not particularly close to where I live and there’s never parking available…. like EVER.
But I found myself running errands around that part of town on Saturday, happened to end up on the same block as the market and saw that there was not one, but two parking spaces out front. Even better? When I got inside I saw they were running a special on Salmon filet. It’s like the universe aligned for me… for about five minutes anyways.
This isn’t a flashy recipe, just a good, basic salmon soup with a cream base. Or, you could consider it a potato and leek soup with a salmon upgrade. Just be sure to add enough salt to make the flavors pop and top it with plenty of fresh herbs. I tried both parsley and dill. My recommendation? You can never go wrong with the salmon and dill combination.
Lohikeitto- Finnish Salmon Soup
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
* 3 Tablespoons olive oil
* 1 leek, chopped (white and light green part only)
* 3 cups plus 1 Tablespoon water, divided
* 1 bay leaf
* 3/4 pound potatoes, cubed and peeled
* 3/4 pound salmon filet, skinned, de-boned and cut into small chunks
* 3/4 cup cream (I used half and half)
* 1 Tablespoons cornstarch (up to 1 1/2 Tablespoons if you’d like the broth thick)
* 1 Tablespoon butter
* salt and pepper
* fresh parsley or dill for topping
* lemon wedge (optional)
Directions:
Heat the olive in a large saucepan and saute the leek until softened. Add 3 cups of the water and the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and carefully add the potatoes. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
Add the salmon and and simmer for five minutes. Add the cream and stir to mix. Make a cornstarch slurry with the cornstarch and 1 Tablespoon of water, stirring to dissolve the cornstarch. Add to the soup and simmer until the soup has thickened.
Add the butter and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with plenty of fresh parsley or dill. Serve with a squeeze of lemon, if desired.