If you love clam chowder, you should consider Finnish lohikeitto, a quick-cooking creamy salmon soup loaded with leeks, potatoes and carrots. According to food writer John Thorne, author of “Serious Pig,” “Every nation fronting a seacoast has a native fish stew whose origins reach far back into history.” Take a few pantry staples—alliums, potatoes, cream or broth, a few seasonings—and whatever fresh fish you’ve caught and you have Breton cotriade, Belgian waterzooi, Basque marmitako, Scottish Cullen skink, Marseillais bouillabaisse.

Finns aren’t one to embellish (look at Aalto’s architecture!), so lohikeitto remains simple and the better for it. For starters, it makes do with butter—instead of chowder’s salt pork or bacon—and sliced leeks for the base. Onions don’t grow well in the limited daylight of Nordic latitudes, though leeks do, so that’s what lohikeitto uses. Cut crosswise against the layers into half moons to rupture cell walls, the leeks break down into a soft, jammy texture with just a few minutes cooking to thicken the broth.

As with chowder, potatoes contribute body to lohikeitto. In chowder, they are often cooked long enough to slough off their edges to thicken, but this felt a little sludgy to us with the leeks already contributing to the texture. We favored cubed Russets, which shed enough starch to enhance the creamy texture, though retain their shape (Yukons stayed too firm). A few carrot rounds add crunch and sweetness.

Clam chowder benefits from the flavorful, glutamate-rich juice released after
steaming and most fish chowders call for broth made from fish heads and racks, which we weren’t going to get into for an otherwise simple soup. We tried water, chicken stock and jarred clam juice and preferred the latter (though, frankly, any of the three are fine). Just don’t forget the cream, which doesn’t feel as overbearing as it sounds.

Unlike fish chowder, which overcooks the fish into flakes, lohikeitto keeps the salmon in juicy just-cooked cubes. We slipped skinless pieces in to poach through in the last few minutes of cooking—just about 30 minutes of simmering total—and finished with a handful of fresh dill.

Beyond these basics and a handful of dill to finish, we liked versions best with a dose of warming allspice and nutmeg, which cut the cream and boosted the fish, and a bit of lemon zest to wrap it up.

Matthew Card

Matthew Card is Milk Street’s Creative Director for Recipes and Products, resident coffee geek, knife collector and equipment junkie. He has 25-plus years of professional cooking, recipe development, food writing and teaching under his belt. When he’s not in the Milk Street kitchen or on the road hunting for new recipes and ideas, Matthew lives with his family in Canberra, Australia, where he does his best to dodge kangaroos on his mountain bike and is learning to love Vegemite.