My version of a Swedish Fisksoppa, which I originally found in a restaurant in Lund called Malmstens Fisk & Kök. It is a delicious fusion of a Bouillabaisse and Curry. Read the story of how I found this soup here.
200gscallopsI really love scallops in it, but if you don't have it or it's too expensive, you can also add a boneless white fish of your choice, like cod.
200gshrimp
1large onion
1large green onion
2red peppers
4tomatoes
1cupwhite winee.g. Chardonnay
3cupsfish stockI use 2 cubes of Knorr's Caldo de Marisco boullion to make the stock. Make sure to use something of good quality, as this will make a big difference in the taste of the soup.
1cupcoconut milk
2clovesgarlic
1tspcurry powder
1tspsaffronmake sure to get the real stuff – no powder!
1tspHerbes de Provence
1tspchilli spiceadd more, if you like it spicier
2tbspolive oil
pinch of lemon juice
Instructions
Sautée onion and green onion in oil until golden.
Add peppers and garlic, sautée.
Add tomatoes, saffron, curry, chilli, and herbes de provence, mix well.
Add wine and let simmer a bit until it is reduced, then add the fish stock and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Use a blender to purée the soup a bit at this point – it should still have chunks in it, so just use a few pulses.
Add the coconut milk, a bit of lemon juice and the fish/seafood and let it simmer another 15-20 minutes.
Notes
Best served with fresh warm bread and butter — in Switzerland, Migros sells a vegan coconut butter, which is amazing with this soup, but normal butter will do as well. I have never made my own fish stock, but find the Knorr version to be perfectly sufficient. In Switzerland, you cannot find this in the regular stores though (sadly). I usually buy it, when I am in Spain. However, I recently found it on Galaxus.
For my 30th birthday, mid-October 2019, my wonderful boyfriend took me on a surprise trip to Copenhagen, a city that had been on our bucket list to visit.
The trip started with the pilot announcing after 30 minutes of flight, that we have to return to the departure airport, because of “a funny smell” in the back of the plane. I was entirely certain, of course, that we were going to die — the smell was clearly an indication that some highly essential fluid was leaking in gas-form, or that some new form of terrorist attack involving toxic gases was in process.
We ended up landing back in Basel, Switzerland, and it was not entirely re-assuring to see a crew of security personell and fire fighters running towards the plane (at that point I was entirely sure it was going to explode). I should perhaps mention that my boyfriend had been watching a flight crash series for weeks before this trip (thank you, honey!), which had added extra fuel to my generally well-developed imagination regarding potential causes of death.
In the end, we arrived safe and sound (thanks to a replacement plane, because the first one surely exploded), in rainy Copenhagen.
Clearly a bike-city
Colourful Copenhagen (when the sun is out that is)
As per usual, we started our sightseeing via breakfasts and coffees. I personally love the Scandinavian breakfast style, which reminds me of my childhood in Hamburg. Lots of dark breads, topped with meats, cheeses and eggs (also known as Smørrebrød). Good and hearty stuff, your bones have to weather the year-long cold and rain afterall.
Mind you, the prices are Switzerland-compatible, so we needed to keep our coffee and breakfast splurges in check. I didn’t think it was possible to beat the breakfast bills we have seen in Zurich, with 5+ CHFs charged for a simple cup of coffee, but Copenhagen was right up the same alley. Craziest of all were prices for alcohol — I believe Copenhagen managed to beat Zurich in that.
“I can see Sweden from here!”
After day 2 of exploring Copenhagen and paying multiple arms and a legs for coffee, we thought “Hm, Sweden is just a bridge-crossing away, what if their coffee only costs an arm there?”
Copenhagen Train Station
Travel- and coffee-enthusiastic as we are, the next day, we took an early-morning train to Lund, a small and quaint town, home to one of the oldest universities of Scandinavia, Lund University, and presumably the oldest town in Sweden (in fact, archeologist date it back to 9901 https://kulturportallund.se/en/notes-to-the-history-of-lund/),
At 9am we arrived and took a beautiful fall stroll around town, visiting the University area and Botanical Gardens. When we enthusiastically entered a beautiful little café, called “Love Coffee Roasters,” to compare prices to Denmark, we got a heart attack, though. It appeared at first, that we would not only have to pay an arm and a leg, but also a liver for the coffee. Fortunately, we then realised that the Swedish and Danish crown are not exactly the same currency and 45 Swedish crowns are roughly the equivalent of 33 Danish crowns. Or 5 CHFs. Phew, just another arm-and-leg situation, no livers involved!
Classicum, Lund University
Time for some Fisksoppa
After that we started to look for lunch options. A quick Google Maps search showed us the Market Hall in the center of Lund, where we found a promising-looking place called Malmstens Fisk & Kök.
Malmsten Fisksoppa – I know, the picture will not receive an award for instagrammability, I am still learning.
We saw many people eating an orange-ish looking soup, which seemed to fill the air with a decadent scent. The waitress informed us, this was the “Malmsten Fisksoppa.”
We ordered it and wanted to cry (no, really), it was that delicious. Imagine an immaculately successful fusion of a Bouillabaisse and Fish Curry. Add to that freshly made, warm bread and butter, which, as the waitress informed us, we could serve ourselves, unlimited! We wanted to cry even more.
I vowed that day to try to make this soup at home and after several trials, I succeeded to copy it! I wish I could capture smell and taste in words, but trust me, this soup is amazing. If you would like to try, check out my recipe.
