That soup looks great! Would you post the recipe please?
Sure!
The following recipe is more a general guide, I never do things exactly the same every time. The recipe is a bit more descriptive due to being originally written to people who are first time salmon soup cooks as the baseline.
INTRODUCTION
Just your generic Finnish-style salmon soup with a few twists.
This recipe makes for six(?) very generous portions.
Cooking time is about 60-90 minutes when starting from scratch.
INGREDIENTS
* One large sweet/white onion
* 1kg or so of semi-firm/starchy potatoes
* Two medium-sized carrots
* Atlantic salmon fillet (500-750 grams or more > to your liking). Fresh. Usually like the tail end for sashimi (more flavour and I like the texture), but for soups, you need larger pieces so buy from the head end (or a half fillet of a smaller salmon).
* Vegetable oil (neutral cooking oil or good-quality extra virgin olive oil if you like the flavour better)
* Dashi (I use Ajinomoto powdered dashi soup base)
* Dried parsley
* Non-iodinized salt (I use Himalayan salt, aka. the pink kind)
* Fresh garlic (to taste)
* Fresh dill
* For a bit of acidity: Champagne vinegar or lemon juice
Optional ingredients:
* 500 grams of fresh blue mussels in shells or the equivalent precooked and frozen (around 200 grams or whatever)
* Prawns
* Basically any other seafood
* Mushrooms (I usually use small brown button mushrooms)
* Any other damn thing you’d like to have in the pot
* Spring onions (added thinly sliced at the end)
Note: The measurements here are approximations. I usually just eyeball or measure things by hand, with taste and proportions being the more important things to look for.
EQUIPMENT
* One stainless steel stock pot of around 5-6 liters/quarts
* Frying pan of decent size
* Sharp kitchen knife of your liking
* Potato peeler
* Large cutting board
* Kitchen roll
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1) Onion & garlic
With everything set and ready and the cooking area cleaned I usually start by cleaning the onion, cutting it into two halves, and dicing the halves into around 4x4mm pieces.
2) Potatoes
I prefer medium to large ones (of similar size and shape). I do not bother washing them unless they are excessively dirty, just a quick rinse and off to be peeled they go.
After peeling I cut them first into three slices (keep the center slab around 1cm thick and the sides about the same). The center I cut in half lengthwise and then slice the pieces so that they are of similar volume. Then I cut the sides also lengthwise into two and the same keeping the volume of the pieces about the same as the ones from the center.
The purpose is to make pieces that cook at a similar rate and fit easily into a regular spoon with other stuff (carrots, onion, occasional mussel or two), etc.
3) Carrots
Peel and cut the carrots into julienne/matchsticks and slice these into suitable, uniform-length bits. I usually cheat using a Triangle julienne slicer which does 3mm julienne. So... 3 x 3 x 6 mm? This ads a bit of sweetness and colour to the soup.
4) Do the dill
Prep the dill if fresh. I usually cut off the thicker ends of the stems and mince the rest finely. The dried stuff is ok too, you just need to add more of it.
If you want more dill flavor, bundle the stems with twine. Toss them in when you add liquid to the pot, and remove before adding the proteins.
Reserve about half of the finely cut dill for topping of the soup at the end.
5) Make ‘em sweat!
Once the main ingredients that go into the soup have been prepped I start by sweating the onions. So toss them into the cooking pot with some oil to soften and brown them a bit on medium heat. After the onions have cooked some (5-10 minutes) you can add grated garlic to the mix and turn the heat down a bit.
6) Soup base: liquids and spice (makes things nice)
Add about 2-2,5 liter (as much as you need) of water into the pot. The onions should be nice and translucent by now. Add dashi, dried parsley and salt to taste, usually around a tablespoon, tablespoon, and two pinches. If you are using whole dill, you can add the bundled stems to the soup after you’ve added the liquid.
7) Cooking the soup base ingredients
As soon as the water has reached a rolling boil, turn the heat down a bit and add the potatoes and the carrots (and other vegetables, like the quartered or sliced mushrooms). Let them cook until tender (20-25min?). It all depends on the potatoes and the size of the pieces. Check for doneness...
8) Prep the fish
Now that the soup base and ingredients are cooking in the pot it is time to prep the fish. What you need is a de-skinned and de-boned filet of appropriate size/weight.
If you want to get fancy, you can sugar cure the filet for 20 minutes to give it a bit more firm texture and cleaner flavor (cover the filet with finely granulated sugar, skin side first and then the top, let it sit for 20 minutes, then rinse with cold water, and pat dry with a kitchen roll).
Slice into uniform volume pieces (so they cook evenly).
I usually start with the head end by cutting the fish into 2,5-2 cm cubes (or so). Adjust when going towards the tail. These pieces should fit into a regular table spoon just on their own (and that actually applies to all bits and bobs in the soup).
Place the pieces into a bowl of suitable size, salt them lightly, and let them sit for a bit.
9) Fry the fish (optional)
When the vegetables are done lower the heat to simmer and fire up the frying pan with some oil on it. Cook the salmon in batches on a very hot pan with some additional salt.
Try to get the pieces seared all around but not cooked through. The idea is to enhance the flavor through searing but leaving the pieces raw on the inside. Once seared remove from the pan and leave on a plate on the side to withdraw a bit until all of the salmon is done.
If you do not like the flavor of fried fish (sometimes it can feel a bit clashing if you want a super clean tasting soup), just skip this part.
10) Optional ingredients...
Once the fish is seared add it and any other proteins and whatnot to the pot. Simmer for a bit.
11) Pre-serve instructions
Once everything else is ready and the food is about to be served turn the heat up a bit and add the salmon to the pot a minute or so before serving. That will make sure that the salmon does not overcook but instead, if done right, remains nice and pink inside with a flavorful crust protecting it. You can also drip in the grease from the frying pan for some added flavor.
12) Final touches
Add the rest of the dill just before serving.
Mix everything else together carefully (you don't want to mush the now-cooked potatoes or the salmon).
If you feel like the soup could use some subtle acidity add a bit of champagne vinegar or lemon juice to the soup (careful with that though).
Add the last of the dill on top just before serving. If you want to make the soup a bit more green you can add thinly sliced spring onions to it.
13) Serve and enjoy
Serve the soup with Finnish rye bread & spread (not optional, at least for me).