Norwegian Food Week (AKA trying to keep my sanity during lockdown by cooking)

It has been a long time between posts and sadly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, I have not been able to visit many restaurants in the last 6 months. Only about 1!

I hope you are all safe and well, and managing to cope with the myriad of stresses we all face right now.

Conveniently it is winter and, as half the family is Norwegian, we have a ton of comfort food recipes to console ourselves with. Norwegian food is based on good old fashioned recipes using fresh and simple ingredients, so conveniently many of these ingredients will already be found in your home!

Tonight I made a family favourite, Fiskesuppe (fish soup). A hearty soup packed with vegetables, seafood and that all important ingredient, loads of cream - Fiskesuppe is very different to a European broth style fish soup.

Norwegian Fish Soup (Fiskesuppe)

Number of servings - 4

Ingredients

• 2 large potatoes

• 2 large carrots

• ¼ of a celeriac

• 1 large onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 litre of fish stock (premade or from cubes/powder, both are fine)

• 1 tablespoon of salt

• 1 teaspoon of pepper

• 2 teaspoons of lemon pepper (sold at most Australian supermarkets)

• 300 ml heavy cream or Crème Fraîche

• 400 grams of white fish (you could use salmon instead of white fish or a mix of salmon and white fish). I used duckfish from San Remo Fisherman's Co-op in the soup pictured above.

• Optional - I also like to add approximately 300-400 grams of pre-cooked prawns or crayfish just prior to serving.

For serving

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives (can be omitted)

Here's how to do it

1. Start by peeling and then grating the potatoes, carrots and celeriac coarsely, or cut them into thin strips. Finely chop the onion and cut the garlic into thin slices.

2. Pour the fish stock into a large saucepan and add all the vegetables. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes (until vegetables are cooked). Add salt, lemon pepper and pepper. Tip - 200 ml of the stock can be replaced with white wine if you wish. Choose a white from our Yarra Valley of course!

3. Add cream or Crème Fraîche and bring to the boil just before serving. In the meantime, cut the fish into cubes of around 2 to 3 cm in size.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the fish pieces, letting them cook in the soup for approximately 5 minutes until the fish is barely done (if you are using frozen fish please allow more time for this step, you may need to keep the saucepan on a low heat). Tip - If you think the soup is too thin, thicken with cornflour before serving. Stir 1-2 teaspoons of cornflour into 50 ml of cold water. Once it is smooth and free of any lumps, add it to the soup in a steady stream while stirring constantly.

5. If you want to add prawns, scallops etc, add them just before serving so that they do not become overcooked and chewy! Garnish with fresh chives or other herbs.

I hope you enjoy this family favourite. Be warned - keep a keen eye on your family members, as mine are known to try and get as many of the prawns into their bowls as possible!

Take care, stay well and hang in there!