Mussel Soup from Iceland

Icelandic Mussel Soup

This is an incredibly easy mussel soup that can be made at any dinner party. I made this at my Nordic Supper event which you can read more about here.

This Icelandic Mussel Soup is both easy and amazingly delicious- the only hard part might be the fact that you have to learn which one NOT to eat, but don’t worry- I’ll teach you!

When buying or harvesting mussels it’s is very important that you check with your local area that there is no posion or bad algae in the waters. This changes often so be sure to pay attention to this.

If you buy them at your fish mongler they should be safe to eat. When you have prepeared the saucepan with lovely veggies and butter, all you have to do is tap on the mussels that appear to be open- IF they close when you tap them, they are good to be eaten, if they don’t close- toss them. After you have cooked them for a couple of minutes they should all be open- if you have a couple that’s closed, be sure to throw them away as they are not good to be eaten. If you by chance should find a musself or two that smells weird and quite strong- get rid of it straight away. Mussels should have a fresh sea smell.

When you have mastered how to handle mussels and are comfortable with it- they are a blast to cook- and eat!.

Mussel check list:

1. Is the water fine for mussels in your area?
2. Tap and close – all good!
3. Closed after cooking – toss!
4. Something smells off and quite strong? Be sure to find the bad seed and toss it!

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Icelandic Mussel Soup

Yield 2 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

2 carrots

2 onions

2 celery stalks

2 dl fish stock/ water from the mussels

1 bottle white wine

2 kg mussels

6 dl cream

Instructions

1. Scrub the beard of the mussels and discard any mussels that won’t close to the tap.
2. Add butter and finely chopped carrot, onion and celery stalk to a big sauce pan.
3. Fry for a couple of minutes until soft and slightly brown.
4. Add the fish stock/ water from the mussels, the white wine and the cream. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the mussels and let steam for 8-10 minutes with the lid on.
6. Remove any mussels that has not opened and serve straight away!

Notes

When buying mussels for a dinner party- 1/2 kg per person is reccommended.

A good idea is to make a lot of focaccia or any other light bread to go with it- this way your guest can enjoy every drop of the soup.