Nordic Rockfish Soup

Nordic Rockfish Soup

The Catch: How I Got The Fish

Now that the evenings are stretching longer, I’m trying to take advantage of the extra light by squeezing in a dive session at the end of busy days. On the first day of the Spring time change, my partner and I hit the coast in the late afternoon and found great conditions. We kicked from shore out to a rocky point with sparse kelp but plenty of opportunities for hole hunting. After about an hour and a half, we walked out of the water with four beautiful rockfish just in time to see the sunset from shore!

The Cook: About This Nordic Rockfish Soup

Growing up in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and later living in Norway, I fell in love with the clean simplicity of northern fish soups: delicate broth, fresh fish, and plenty of dill and lemon. The broth is perfectly creamy and light enough to let the fish shine. Now, after cold ocean dives along the California coast, I find myself returning to those same flavors!

There’s something deeply satisfying about emerging from the water with frozen fingers and toes and turning every part of your catch into a pot of soup that fills your kitchen with the scent of garlic, citrus, and herbs. This recipe feels like a bridge between places I’ve lived and loved and of course enjoyed plenty of fish: Midwest comfort, Nordic simplicity, and the wild pacific at my doorstep. May this dish warm your hands and your heart, it’s best enjoyed with plenty of bread and shared with a friend!

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Nordic Rockfish Soup

by Naomi Lear

This bright northern fish soup features tender fresh fish simmered with seasonal root veggies in a light, lemony broth fragrant with dill. Simple, nourishing, and deeply comforting, it’s the most satisfying dish to warm you up after a Spring day spent outdoors.

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Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Equipment

• ▢
  2 pots
• ▢
  Mesh sieve to strain fish broth
• ▢
  Ladle
• ▢
  Cutting Board
• ▢
  Knife

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 can of coconut milk
• ▢ 4 tbsp butter
• ▢ 2 quarts homemade fish broth (see our fish broth recipe)
• ▢ 2 large rockfish (filleted)
• ▢ 3 carrots
• ▢ 3 stalks of celery
• ▢ 2 leeks
• ▢ 2 large golden potatoes
• ▢ fennel (optional)
• ▢ celery root (optional)
• ▢ parsnip (optional)
• ▢ ½ onion
• ▢ head of garlic
• ▢ 2 lemons (juiced)
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ plenty of dill

Instructions 

• Process your fish and set aside the bones, head, and trimmings in a pot to make a simple homemade fish broth. Cut the fillets into bite sized pieces and set aside in a dish.
Check out our Fish Broth Recipe if you have never made your own before.
• Wash and chop everything, cutting the potatoes into sticks for extra texture in the soup.
  3 carrots

  3 stalks of celery

  2 leeks

  2 large golden potatoes

  1/2 onion
• In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat and sauté the carrots, potatoes, leeks, onion, fennel, and celery until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
  4 tbsp butter

  fennel

  celery root

  parsnip

  head of garlic
• Pour in the fish broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
  2 quarts homemade fish broth
• Stir in the coconut milk and a generous handful of chopped dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  1 can of coconut milk

  plenty of dill

  salt and pepper to taste
• Remove the pot from the heat and gently add in the fish pieces. Let them poach in the hot broth for about 5 minutes, this keeps the fish tender and delicate.
  2 large rockfish
• Stir in the juice of two lemons. Taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper if needed.
  2 lemons
• Serve with flaky bread, butter, and extra dill on top!

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