Halibut and Saffron Soup ~ wine, saffron, lemon, dill and fish come together to make a healthy and delicious Scandinavian soup, the golden color is fabulous.
Halibut and saffron soup is so unique!
Saffron is such an interesting ingredient, but so hard to describe. I wish I was one of those people who can take a sip of wine and come up with ‘mossy’ or ‘muscular’ right off the bat, but I’m not. The flavor and aroma of saffron is wonderful, but I’m at a loss to describe it. It’s officially said to have a slightly bitter, ‘hay-like’ flavor, which doesn’t really do it justice, but I can’t give you an alternative. It’s one of those times where words aren’t relevant. I love that.
It’s no secret that I love fish, and chowders and soups are some of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
This recipe is a version of a classic Scandinavian soup. It has a base of wine, stock and cream and a generous amount of saffron to give it a distinctive flavor as well as color. I accented mine with dill.
I came across baby parsnips at the market yesterday, so they went into the soup, along with leeks, onion, and fennel. The pale vegetables provide flavor, texture, and a neutral base for the color of the saffron to shine through.
This soup isn’t thick and heavy like a chowder, but the cream gives it substance. It’s the perfect late summer early fall dish. I would have served this soup with Buckwheat Biscuits, but I was out of buckwheat flour, so I made plain biscuits. Crusty bread would be great as well.
I highly recommend this soup, and I’m definitely going to do more experimenting with fish and saffron. Salmon would work here as well, and you can vary the vegetables. This is a winner in my book, I hope you try it.
4.05 from 22 votes Halibut and Saffron Soup ~ wine, saffron, lemon, dill and fish come together to make a healthy and delicious Scandinavian soup, the color is fabulous! Print RecipeRate Recipe Prep Time:15 minutes minutes Cook Time:45 minutes minutes Total Time:1 hour hour Servings: 4 Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Sauté the vegetables in butter for about 15 minutes, until they start to soften. Add the wine to the vegetables, then the water, stock, bay leaves and saffron. Crush the saffron between your fingers as you add it. Season with salt and pepper and bring up to a simmer. Cook gently for about 15 minutes, Add the cream, tomato paste, and lemon juice, and bring back to a boil. Check the seasoning, and then add the halibut and dill. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. The fish will gently poach in the heat of the soup. Let sit for about 15 minutes. At this point you can serve the soup, or, better yet, let it cool and refrigerate it for a few hours to give the flavors a chance to develop, then reheat gently before serving. Be sure to taste it to adjust the seasonings, and throw on some fresh dill sprigs at the last minute. NEW FEATURE! Click here to add your own private notes. Course: Soup Cuisine: Scandinavian Author: Sue Moran Keyword: fish, fish soup, gluten free, halibut, healthy Serving: 1 · Calories: 483 kcal · Carbohydrates: 16 g · Protein: 19 g · Fat: 34 g · Saturated Fat: 21 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g · Trans Fat: 0.5 g · Cholesterol: 139 mg · Sodium: 1198 mg · Potassium: 860 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 8 g · Vitamin A: 2336 IU · Vitamin C: 21 mg · Calcium: 115 mg · Iron: 2 mg Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Did You Make This?We love seeing what you've made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.
Halibut and Saffron Soup
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition
