Scandinavian Summer Soup
10 Comments | Written on June 20, 2012 at 5:00 am , by Kristina Vanni
Soup is normally thought of as a cold weather dish, but this traditional Scandinavian recipe captures the essence of summer and highlights the early produce of the season. It is a bowl full of bright colors and garden fresh flavors.
I first learned to make this soup when I lived in Helsinki for a summer, and it was exciting to recreate it back in Los Angeles with the vegetables available in the farmer’s markets here.
Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. In many parts of the “land of the midnight sun” light will shine all day and night as Scandinavians celebrate Midsummer. After a long, dark and very cold winter there is certainly reason to rejoice!
I wanted to mark the day with one of my favorite summer recipes. This soup is unique because it uses early season produce. Tiny new potatoes, baby carrots, early green beans, and small sweet onions are simmered in a light milky broth with a dash of white pepper. The result is a pristine bowl of soup unlike any you have tasted before!
Scandinavian Summer Soup (click here to view and print recipe)
15 baby carrots
1 cup sweet peas
2 cups green beans
3 small, sweet baby onions, chopped
2 cups tiny new potatoes
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
chopped parsley
Peel carrots (cut larger carrots into 2-inch sticks). Scrub the new potatoes and slice in half. Put the carrots, peas, beans, onions, and potatoes into a pot. Add water just to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are almost tender. In another pot, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, flour, and milk and bring to a boil. Drain vegetables, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Return vegetables and reserved liquid to the pot and add milk mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into a soup tureen, dot with butter, and garnish with parsley. Serve hot. Serves 4-6.
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10 Responses to “Scandinavian Summer Soup”
This is one of my favorite soups! Oh, now I miss my mom’s summer soup
Looks nice! In Sweden we usually say that Finnish summer soup is vodka served in a flower-patterned bowl
This is such a beautiful summer soup!
I wonder if it would still taste good with lower fat milk and a neutral oil instead of Whole Milk and Butter
This is known to East Coast Canadians as “Hodgepodge”.. and I don’t know about Scandinavia, but it has been a staple here since my great grandmother was a little girl. And no, this is not a “low fat” dish when done properly..it’s a vegetable chowder rather tahn a soup. Think of it as a “indulgent treat” once in awhile.
I was just going to write about it being “Hodgepodge”! I’m a New Brunswicker and this is definitely a summer treat
I’ve never seen this soup before — thanks for sharing!
This looks so good. Thanks for sharing, Kristina!
the colors of this soup caught my eye. it looks so beautiful and delicious
i love all the veggies in this soup!!