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If a restaurant in Norway is proud of itself, it is proud of it Butter from Røros. And not just the butter, ideally that too sour cream. Last year I was traveling around Røros and of course I brought home the butter, cream, sour milk and cream. Maybe because a large herd of cattle in Norway means around twenty cows and maybe because they spend a lot of time in the fresh air and, as I also found out, for which herbs and grasses are sometimes grown, the dairy products from Norway are so irresistible good. And of course there are the fish and seafood, especially those from Arctic waters, which are so unbeatably fresh that you would only want to eat fish in Nordic countries.
I was sitting in this little restaurant on the west coast not far from Alesund removed and actually knew after the first two spoonfuls of the fish soup that I definitely wanted to take this recipe with me. But the chef didn’t want to reveal it. We asked politely but there was no response from the kitchen. Well, okay. Then without his help. Actually, a creamy fish soup like this is the easiest thing in the world. All it takes are good ingredients. There is a small fishmonger at the weekly market and to my delight he had arctic char in the display. And shrimp. They were a bit bigger than the northern sea crabs in Norway, but I’m being generous here.
As I enjoyed the soup, it quickly became clear to me that the base was one Bechamel is. It was fantastically rounded, which you can usually only achieve with the addition of acid. So white wine and lemon juice. I love adding white wine to creamy soups. Of course, the alcohol-free version Verjus, the juice made from unripe grapes, is also an option here, but you usually have it in the kitchen less often than a bottle of white wine. A bit of vegetables for flavor and a good one Fish stock. And for me, an extra dollop of Nordic sour cream.
Nordic fish soup with shrimp and arctic char
For two
1 stick of celery, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 tbsp butter
1.5 tbsp flour
60 ml white wine
400 ml fish stock
100 ml milk
3 tbsp crème fraîche (or of course Norwegian sour cream)
Juice of a small lemon
Sea salt
10 shrimps, raw and peeled
1 tsp butter
150g skinless arctic char, cut into cubes
Parsley for decoration
Melt the butter in a pot and sauté the vegetable cubes in it for a few minutes. Dust with flour and stir in. Add the milk and stir until smooth. Gradually stir in wine and fish stock. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
Season with salt.
In a small pan, lightly cook the shrimp with a teaspoon of butter.
Add it to the soup along with the char and let it simmer at a low temperature for about 2 minutes.
Season with lemon juice. Add a little more salt if necessary (maybe add a splash of white wine).
Sprinkle with parsley leaves and serve.
