Finnish Beer Soup Recipes

FINNISH STYLE MOJAKKA

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium high heat, brown the meat on all sides in the butter. Add 4 cups of the water and bring to a boil. Add the onion, salt and ground black pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.
• Add the carrots, celery and potatoes and simmer for another 1 1/2 hours. Then combine the flour and remaining 1/2 cup water in a separate small bowl, forming a thin paste. Add this to the soup, stirring well; simmer for 15 more minutes.

HERNEKEITTO (FINNISH SPLIT-PEA SOUP)

Steps:

• Form a spice bag by wrapping allspice in cheesecloth and tying with a string, or placing allspice in a stainless steal tea ball.
• In a soup kettle saucepan, combine water, peas, ham or pork hocks and allspice; bring to a boil, cover and simmer 1 hour.
• Add potatoes, carrots, onion, salt and pepper, return to boiling.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
• Remove spice bag.
• If using pork hocks, remove and cool slightly.
• When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and coarsely chop.
• Return meat to soup, discard bones.

FINNISH DRIED PEA SOUP (HERNEKEITTO - FINLAND)

Steps:

• Rinse and remove unwanted pieces from the peas. Cover with cold water and let soak overnight.
• Afterwards, drain and rinse the peas. Peel the onion and stud it with the cloves. Put everything into the pot with the peas. (Use fresh water for the 8 cups, not the soaking water.).
• Bring to a boil; cover, lower heat, and let simmer until they are very soft, about 2 hours, stirring often.
• Remove meat from soup. Trim it from the bones, cutting into small pieces. Return it to the soup.
• Salt to taste and serve. (I must add, however, that the listed amount of salt could be too much for some people, let alone adding more at this point. However, I've included the amounts listed by the author because she says that Finnish food is very salty. Use your own judgement.).

FINNISH BEEF AND DUMPLING SOUP (KLIMPPISOPPA FROM FINLAND)

Steps:

• Place meat in pot with cold water. Bring to a boil. Skim off froth as it rises to the surface. Add salt, onion, carrot, allspice, marjoram, bay leaf and rutabaga. Cover and simmer 1.5 hours.
• Add the whole peeled potatoes. Simmer until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Remove them from the broth with a slotted spon to a small bowl. Let them cool.
• Mash the potatoes with a fork. Add 1/4 of the cooking broth, egg, flour and salt. Mix well.
• When the meat is tender, remove it from the broth and let it cool.
• With a soup spoon dipped in the broth, take a rounded tablespoon of the dough and release it into the broth. If it breaks up, add some more flour to the dough. When the dumpling remains in one piece, drop them all into the broth, dipping the spoon in the broth between dropping each dumpling. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
• Remove the fat and bones from the meat. Cut it into bite-sized pieces. Add to the soup. Salt to taste.
• Add some chopped parsley for color. Serve hot in deep soup bowls with bread.

BEST-EVER BEER CHEESE SOUP

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until well incorporated, about 5 minutes more.
• Add the chicken stock, beer and half-and-half and cook, whisking often, at a very slow simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
• Add the cheddar to the soup by the handful, whisking each batch until smooth. Add the Worcestershire, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, the nutmeg, mustard and lemon juice, and stir to combine.
• Puree the soup in batches in a blender (holding a thick towel over the lid to prevent overflow) until very smooth.
• Just before serving, reheat the soup until steaming and taste for seasoning, adding salt as necessary. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with a swirl of mustard oil, a dollop of goat cheese and a sprinkle of thyme.