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9 mai 2017
This lil’ barley, almond & salmon Finnish style soup is right on time to get you into the swing of the post I’m writing for next week! As some of you have already seen it on my Instagram account or read in my previous posts, I recently went back to Scandinavia for a few days. Not in Finland that time though – you cant still read my Helsinki food and travel guide as well as catching up with my pics from Lapland! -, but in Sweden. I’ve already explored Stockholm 3 years ago and I wanted to also discover Gothenburg and its archipelago since a long time. I’ll put some pictures here, then you can get a foretaste of the travel & food guide to Gothenburg as well as the video about Gothenburg archipelago that I’ll post next week!
In Finland as well as in Sweden, fresh fish is not missing and is a big part of local food culture. I would lie to you if I say that I didn’t mouth-watered right after I booked my trip – oh well hello, have I ever mentioned how much I miss fish here in Germany? -. Meanwhile Swedes swear only by herring, one of the must-eat Finnish fish dishes is fish soup. Most of time, it’s made with salmon, potatoes, carrots, herbs and a good dollop of cream. I wouldn’t qualify the dish as gastronomic, but trust me when you’re surviving in Helsinki streets by – 20 degrees, stopping by a kauppatori – meaning a market hall – to stuff yourself with a huge bowl of hot fish soup is pretty similar to heaven on earth.
The flavours of this dish are simple, honest and authentic, and this Finnish style soup will keep you energised for the next hours. I got inspired by the classic Finnish recipe to make the barley, almond & salmon Finnish style soup, while looking to get something creamier and smoother, looking rather like a cream than a broth. The almond cream brings the mellow texture and a smooth touch that fits heavenly in this nordic soup! To push comfort food to its limits, you can eat it with a slice of sourdough bread or seed bread loaf, previously toasted and buttered.
Ingredients
- The skin of 2 salmon filets
- 150g barley
- 1 carrot
- 1 leek (the white part)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1,5L water
- 1 small onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 1/2tsp salt
- 2 salmon filets (±250g)
- 100ml almond cream
- 2tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2tbsp black pepper
- 1tsp dill per portion
Instructions
- 1. Prepare the fish broth: in a big pan, bring the salted water to a boil. Add skin of salmons, leek cut in slices, peeled carrot diced in cubes, minced onion and garlic, as well as barley and bay leaf. Cover and let simmer for about 30-40 minutes.
- 2. When the fish broth is ready and barley is tender, add lemon juice, ground black pepper and salmon cut in 1,5cm cubes. Stir well and let simmer for 2-3 more minutes, until salmon is cooked through.
- 3. Turn off fire, then add almond cream and stir well. Eat the Finnish style soup warm and with some minced dill on each portion.
thalia
your photography is so stunning. and the recipe too! beautiful! Xx
Solène Roussel
Thank you Thalia!! xx
Jessica
Do you leave the salmon skin in the broth? If so, what happens to the scales and do you cut it up first?
Solène Roussel
Hi Jessica! When the broth is ready I take the salmon skins (I kept them whole) off before to add the rest of ingredients.
I didn’t have any problems with the scales personally, but in case if some are floating around, you should definitely filter the broth to remove impurities before to pass to the next step!
I should have made it more clear in the recipe instructions, I’ll update them :)
Alicia
BEAUTIFUL pictures! What time of the year were you in Finland? Am interested to know how almond cream is made/where can you buy them…and any other alternatives that could be used instead of almond cream?
Thanks! :)
Solène Roussel
Oh thank you Alicia! :) I lived there for about 5 months from January to June – then I came back for a few weeks during summer. I’m currently planning to go back for a few days this Fall/Winter :D
To be honest I’ve never tried to do it by myself, but you can find some quite easily in organic shops (at least in France and Germany), I usually use this one: https://goo.gl/images/sWznpC
I haven’t tried yet the following options for this recipe, but soy cream and oat cream (http://googleshortener.com/oO1q) are doing wonders in soups and creams as well!