Iceland’s Winter Soup

In Iceland, October 24th is considered the First Day of Winter.  The city of Reykjavik is celebrating the day with its traditional Skólavördustígur Icelandic lamb soup, kjötsúpa.The website IcelandicReview shares the recipe:

You can buy up to ten-kilo bags of frozen súpukjöt (“soup meat”) at Icelandic supermarkets for a fair price. The meat has bones and fat and is not suited for steak or lamb chops, but is perfect for kjötsúpa.

Three or four pieces of meat are enough for one liter of soup. It is best to let them thaw completely before you start cooking.

Bring one liter of water to boil. Put the meat into the boiling water along with whole pepper corns (preferably black) and bay leaves. The meat should boil for about one hour. Then add a handful of yellow split peas or lentils.

Slice leek and dice a few carrots, half a yellow turnip, four to six potatoes (depending on their size), and add to the boiling soup after about 30 minutes. If there is not sufficient water in the pot, just add some more pre-boiled water.

After another 20 minutes, add some lamb stock and salt until you feel the soup has a strong enough taste. Then five minutes before the soup is ready, add some fresh herbs. Parsley and chive is a good option, but you can also experiment with thyme, rosemary or whatever fresh herbs you can think of.

When the soup is ready take out the pieces of meat to make sure that they are tender. If they are, cut out the bones and sinews and remove the fat (unless you like the taste of it) and chop the meat into bite-size pieces. Then put the meat back into the soup, which is now ready to be served. One liter of soup serves about four persons.

Kjötsúpa is often served with flatbread and butter. Enjoy.

The day is in part meant to honor the contributions of the Icelandic sheep to Icelandic society.  Most sheep appreciate the honor, but are still not sure how they feel about the Icelandic lamb soup.  “I have to admit it is a strange way to honor someone,” one wool-covered resident observed while his human neighbors looked around awkwardly at each other.