Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Spring Salmon and Leek Soup





From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...
I was digging through my freezer today, searching for the last vestiges of some salmon I knew was hiding at the bottom. Salmon season is here and it's time to use the old to make room for the new. It proved to be a good day to undertake the search. The arctic blasts of winter are past, but our weather can still be unpredictable. Late this afternoon, our glorious weather changed and we had a fierce, if short, hail storm followed by heavy rains and rapidly dropping temperatures. It turned into a perfect day for soup. I used the tail ends of the resurrected salmon, quite literally, to make two soups we love. Both are fast, simple and light. They are what I call cusp soups. They are much lighter than the heavy soups of winter but have enough substance to make a meal. I thought we'd do one of them tonight and the other next week. This is the lighter of the two soups and it's my personal favorite. The recipe calls for fish stock. I make mine from shrimp shells that I freeze until I need stock. You can also dilute bottled clam with water to make a serviceable fish stock. Here's the recipe for a light and lovely salmon soup that's perfect for spring.

Spring Salmon and Leek Soup
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 large leek, white and tender green, sliced
1 large potato, diced
2 cups fish stock
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
3/4 pound skinless salmon cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup cream or half and half
Optional: lemon juice, parsley for garnish

Directions:

1) Heat oil in a heavy bottomed soup pan over medium heat. Add onions and leeks and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2) Add potatoes, fish stock, water, bay leaf and a large pinch of salt to pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
3) Let soup cool slightly. Transfer half of soup solids to a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful not to burn yourself. Return to pan. Heat soup to a simmer. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Add salmon to soup and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream. Adjust to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with parsley. Serve warm. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipe:

Tortilla Soup - One Perfect Bite

Yucatan-Style Soup with Chicken, Lime and Orzo - One Perfect Bite
Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup - One Perfect Bite

44 comments :

Devaki said...

You had me at Salmon..and soup...together. How lovely...I want a bowl of that now :)

Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Nice click, and sound healthy!

Angie's Recipes said...

This is a soup for 4 seasons!

Trissa said...

I am a big fan of salmon in all shapes, cooking forms and sizes but I've never tried in a soup. I like the idea!

Cherine said...

this is one great soup!

MaryMoh said...

Ooooh...I love this soup very much. I would love to try Thanks for sharing.

Ana Powell said...

Sounds really yummy, great recipe x

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

hello Mary,
oggi questo tuo piatto mi intriga moltissimo.
Fine settimana voglio provare a farlo :-)
Myriam

Federica Simoni said...

ottima ricetta!! ciao!

Allie and Pattie said...

Mary, my husband grew up at the beach and his elderly neighbor used to make a very similar soup- it was just lovely. I will try this one this week
xoxo Pattie

Sushma Mallya said...

Healthy & looks beautiful..have a nice day mary

Deb in Hawaii said...

Looks delicious! Funny, I have a salmon soup tagged to make this week too--with smoked salmon though. This one sounds wonderful with the leeks.

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

Now I know what I can do with those little end pieces of salmon. Thanks for a lovely recipe.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This soup is definitely one for the books with all the BC salmon available.

My Little Space said...

I love light soup like this one here. Looks very yummy and good for the heart as well!

Deana Sidney said...

So wonderfully good... you made me laugh about going to the bottom of the freezer... i remembered a recipe for candied salmon i saw years ago... maple syrup and slow smoking... I remember thinking at the time "hmm if I had some long frozen salmon... this would be great..." never tried it though... your recipe deserves the best.. love it!!

sandwich365.com said...

This soup is a beatiful thing, Mary. You're a cook in the kitchen for sure. Love it. Keri (a.k.a. Sam)

Lucie said...

This soup looks absolutely delicious! I often make steamed salmon with caramelized leeks--I love the combination of these two ingredients. Thanks for the inspiration, Mary!

Michelle said...

OH boy! My husband would love this soup! Sounds so good with the salmon and leeks.

Claudia said...

I've never used salmon in a soup. This indeed spring-like, pretty and satisfying.

♥ Kathy said...

Oh I love salmon any way you fix it! This looks wonderful!

My Little Space said...

Mary, thank you very much for the tempura flour info. I'll take note of that!

Lazaro Cooks said...

Wonderful use of salmon. Great soup. Everything is better with leeks.

Stella said...

Salmon soup is actually one of my favorite soups, Mary. This sounds wonderful with leeks-probably better than mine with just regular, strong white onion. I'm going to try this for sure-we make fish soup here all the time...
Oh, and blessings to you too, Mary.

Chef Dennis Littley said...

Hi Mary

what a perfect soup for a bad weather day....and Local Salmon, that is definitely the way to go..
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog...you can be sure I will be a regular vistor to yours
All The Best
Dennis

Namitha said...

Such a healthy comforting soup..We too have a fish post today :-)

Thistlemoon said...

This looks so nice and fresh! I love the idea of a salmon soup!

Pam said...

My salmon husband would really love this soup.

Unknown said...

Hi mary , thats a very healthy and nice soup..thanks for sharing....

Regina said...

Love this one. Delicious!
Thank you Mary.

The Blonde Duck said...

You always know what recipes I need.

Joanne said...

You are quite the bearer of good news today! yay for salmon season! My all-time favorite fish.

This soup looks fantastic. Great from the cold-hot transition.

Cristie said...

Salmon is my favorite fish, but I've never made soup with it for some reason. Thank you for a wonderful reason to make that ajustment!

Rita said...

That sounds fantastic and looks very healthy; I love it
Rita

Jen_from_NJ said...

I love the idea of a "cusp soup" - perfect for this time of year! Salmon and leeks are a great flavor combination.

Rambling Tart said...

This looks so light yet filling, Mary. :-) I'm feeding my salmon addiction this month, and enjoying every bit of it. :-)

Katy ~ said...

The perfect salmon soup for sure! Looks divine.

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Mary- This is just the kind of soup I am looking for. I need a something light and fresh, and this soup sounds divine! I have salmon and fish stock, now I just need the leeks. Thanks for this lightened up taste of Spring!
Yvonne

scrambledhenfruit said...

It's rainy and chilly here too, and perfect light soup weather. You are so lucky to have the problem of salmon in your freezer that you have to use! The soup sounds delicious.

Velva said...

Here is wishing some warmer sunny skies to head your way. Lovely soup.

tasteofbeirut said...

This photo is beautiful and now I want to make this! Never had a soup with these two ingredients so that would be a new experience!

Jamie said...

Lovely! Lovely light salmon and leek soup. Brilliant for a change of season meal. Just what we need. I rarely cook fish as it makes me quite nervous but this could actually be easy enough for me! Wonderful!

tigerfish said...

I like the idea of salmon in there. Have cooked a soup with kale, salmon and tofu before. It was light and comforting. Next time, I will try a creamy soup like yours.

Andreas said...

Sounds like a great spring soup.

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