A creamy white Norwegian fish soup of salmon, cod, leek, and root vegetables — light, briny, and ready in under an hour.
Fiskesuppe is the Norwegian coast in a bowl. A fast fish stock made from cod heads and salmon skins forms the base; from it spring a glossy roux thickened with milk and cream, then sweet leek, carrot, celeriac, and fennel softened slowly so the broth turns silky. Cubes of fresh salmon and cod are slipped in only at the end — they poach in residual heat to keep them buttery. Dill, white pepper, and a squeeze of lemon finish. Norwegians eat it with crusty grovbrød (rye bread) and a pat of butter; coastal families on the west coast add a glug of sour cream just before serving. It is the dish at every harbour-town café from Stavanger to Tromsø.
Serves 4
Bring fish stock to a gentle simmer in a small pot with the reserved salmon skins. Simmer 10 minutes to deepen flavour. Strain and discard skins.
In a wide soup pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add leek, carrot, celeriac, and fennel. Cook 10 minutes, stirring often — they should soften without colouring.
Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes to cook out the raw taste.
Gradually pour in the warm stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Pour in milk and cream. Simmer 5 minutes — do not let it boil hard or the cream may split. Season with white pepper and salt to taste.
Cut salmon and cod into 2.5 cm cubes. Pat dry; lightly salt.
Reduce heat to absolute lowest. Slide in the fish cubes. Cover and let the residual heat poach them for 4 minutes — do not stir or they break apart.
Stir in most of the dill and a squeeze of lemon. Ladle into deep bowls. Top with remaining dill and a crack of white pepper. Serve with buttered rye bread.
Don't boil the soup once the fish is added — gentle poaching keeps the salmon silky and the cod flaky.
If your stock is weak, simmer the salmon skins in it for 10 minutes — that step doubles the depth.
Use a sharp knife to cube the cod, which is fragile; a serrated knife shreds it.
Norwegians often add a teaspoon of sour cream to each bowl at the table for tang.
Bergen-style fiskesuppe adds shrimp and mussels alongside the fillets.
Lighter version: skip the cream and use 500 ml milk only, finishing with a knob of butter.
Add 100 g smoked salmon trimmings in the last minute for a smokier broth.
Refrigerate 2 days. Reheat very gently on the lowest heat — never boil; the cream will split and the fish will overcook.
Fish-and-milk soups are documented in Norwegian cookbooks from the late 1800s, when shipped milk became reliable enough on the coast to combine with the abundant cod and salmon. The modern restaurant version was standardised in Bergen in the mid-20th century.
Yes — all-salmon fiskesuppe is common in Oslo restaurants. Cod adds a flakier contrast, but the soup is delicious with salmon alone.
The cream has split from boiling too hard. Pull it off heat, whisk in a splash of cold milk, and never let it return to a rolling boil.
Very close cousins — lohikeitto is usually salmon-only with potato; fiskesuppe is creamier and uses mixed fish and a roux base. Both belong to the wider Nordic fish-soup family.
Per serving (480g) · 4 servings total
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