Traditional Meat Soup

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time:  90 minutes

This is traditional Icelandic Meat Soup, made with lamb and vegetables – a life saver when food was scarce and energy was needed to battle the elements.The soup is conventionally made with potatoes, rutabagas and carrots. It can also contain leeks, onions, and dried herbs.

Here is our quick and simple twist on this classic – swapping the dry herbs for some fresh ones and adding fresh leek and cabbage in place of oatmeal or rice, the traditional thickening agents.

Ingredients:

1     Large Yellow Onion
2    Green Cabbage
3     Large Potatoes
4    Large Carrots
5    Large Rutabagas
6     Large Leek
7    Lamb Shanks (You can use shoulder if you are making your own stock)
8    Handfuls of fresh herbs
9   Tablespoon of butter and enough lamb bouillon to handle three litres of water.

 Directions:

1.   In a large pot, sear the bottom of the lamb shanks. Chop the large yellow onion, add butter t the pot, and toss in the chopped onion. Cook until the onion is soft and just starting to brown.

2. Dice the leek. Add 3 litres of water to the pot and toss in the leeks.

3. Peel and chop the rutabagas and potatoes and toss them in the pot.

4. Chop the carrots and add them to the pot.

5. Finally chop the cabbage and add it to the pot.

6. Mix in the bouillon. Chop your fresh herbs and add them to the pot.
Let simmer for about an hour.

7. Use a large fork to shred the lamb off the bone into the soup. Serve with a garnish of fresh herbs and sour milk (lactic acid is a traditional flavouring in Iceland).

Cold cucumber soup
Ingredients
4 cucumbers
1500 ml natural yoghurt
4 cloves of garlic (if you like)
4 ts (table spoons) chopped mint
6 ts olive oil
500 ml icy water
white pepper
ice cubes for serving
fresh mint leaves for decoration 

Preparation
working time: appr. 20 min, cooling time: appr. 2 hours. /

Grate the cucumbers into a sieve, add one teaspoon of salt, stir and let them drain. Put the drained cucumbers into a large serving bowl and add yoghurt (garlic), mint and olive oil. Cover the boil and allow for 2 hours to cool down in the fridge.

Just before serving add icy water in order to obtain a creamy texture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with ice cubes and some mint twigs as decoration.

 

Traditional Salmon soup

200 g             onions
100 g             butter
800 g             potatoes
2 l                  fish stock
6 dl                cream
                      sea salt
12 pc.            allspice
5 pc.              bay leaves
2 slice            rye bread
500 g             salmon
20 g               dill

Simmer chopped onions in a butter. Add peeled and diced potatoes and continued simmering. Add fish stock and cream. Wrapped spices and rye bread to a food cloth and add it to a soup base. When potatoes are almost ready, add diced salmons. Let it simmer until potatoes and salmon is cooked. Remove food cloth. Add salt and chopped dill.