I have been on a slight hiatus, not from cooking, but from writing up my blogs, so time to catch up. Given that it is April 25th and there was a touch of snow the other day, what better dish to represent Finland than Lohikeitto (Salmon Soup)! This dish was QUICK, EASY, HEARTY and TASTY!!! I must admit, I was having a hard time finding a dish to make, but the picture of this looked tempting so again I was back to watching YouTube videos to find inspiration for an authentic recipe. I think I hit the jackpot as everyone loved this dish. Did you know that they no longer seem to sell the whole Allspice berries in the supermarket spice aisle???!!! Even our local organics market does not carry it anymore. Everyone seems to have switched to ground allspice these days. I had just run out (use it for mulling cider) so I quick ordered some on Amazon as adding the ground version might have been overpowering. I also learned an interesting trick while watching the videos…you can just bundle the dill stems together, put them in then pull them out easily for extra flavor. One person I saw added orange peel, another squoze lemon on at the end. Both seemed like good options. Hope you enjoy this.
Ingredients
- 4oo g salmon filets
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 leek, sliced finely
- 1 L water (or fish broth)
- 3 T butter
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 whole allspice berries
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 C chopped dill. (You can also tie the stems together to use in soup – this is optional)
- 100 ml cream (1/2 cup)
- 250 ml milk (1 cup)
- 2 T flour or cornstarch
Step by Step Directions
1.  | Dice 4 medium potatoes and 2 carrots. Mince 1 small onion. Wash 1/2 leek thoroughly and slice finely. |
2.  | Melt 3T butter in a pot over medium high. |
 3.  | Add onions and leeks. Sautee for 2-3 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. |
 4.  | Add potatoes and carrots. Mix for 1 minute. |
 5.  | Add 1 liter water, 2 bay leaves, 5-10 allspice berries, 1 tsp salt and dill stems bundled together (dill stems optional). Mix. Bring to a boil. |
 6.  | While broth is heating up, put some of the liquid in a small bowl or glass and and whisk in 2T flour. Add more liquid if needed to get a smooth but liquidy consistency. Set aside. |
7.  | Chop dill and cube salmon (1 inch cubes). |
8.  | Add 250 ml milk and 100 ml cream. Return to boil. |
 9.  | .Remove dill stems from soup and discard. Add salmon. Stir. |
 10.  | Pour in the flour mixutre. Return to boil until it thickens a little. |
 11.  | Add 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh dill. Mix. |
12.  | Serve. Garnish with fresh chopped dill. You can also serve it with a slice of lemon. |
Recipe inspiration: Easy Fish soup, Kokkaillaan Kermainen Lohikeitto