• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
✮ The Food Dictator ✮

The Hirshon Finnish Garlic Soup – Valkosipulikeitto

May 27, 2015 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

339
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditWhatsappYummly
Light Dark Dark Light
()
The Hirshon Finnish VALKOSIPULIKEITTO
Valkosipulikeitto Image Used Under Creative Commons License From valio.fi

Citizens – I am on a clandestine several day trip through the Nordic region and Scandinavia, and am currently visiting the secret TFD lair in the beautiful country of Finland! Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental style cooking.

Fish and meat (usually pork, beef or reindeer) play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms. Evacuees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland in the aftermath of the Continuation War.

Finnish foods often use wholemeal products (rye, barley, oats) and berries (such as bilberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn). Milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food, drink or in various recipes. Various turnips were common in traditional cooking, but were replaced with the potato after its introduction in the 18th century.

The way of life and culture of Finns was mainly based on agriculture already at prehistoric times. However, in the harsh and cold environment, agriculture was neither a very effective nor secure way of life, so getting food from nature has often been an important secondary livelihood.

When crops failed, it might have been the only way to survive. Also, while farms mainly produced plants like crops or turnips, and often families had only some farm animals to get milk products and meat, hunting and especially fishing were important ways to get more protein. Large scale meat production and therefore meat as a daily food started to emerge only at the beginning of 20th century, after periods of malnutrition in the 19th century caused by failed crops.

In former times, the country’s harsh climate meant that fresh fruit and vegetables were largely unavailable for at least nine months of the year, leading to a heavy reliance on staple tubers (initially turnip, later potato), dark rye bread and fermented dairy products, occasionally enlivened with preserved fish and meat. Traditionally, very few spices other than salt were available, and fresh herbs like dill and chives were limited to the summer months.

Many Finnish traditional dishes are prepared by stewing them for a long time in an oven, which produces hearty but bland fare. Forests and lakes were historically a major source of food, and produce from forests currently accounts for the distinctive traits in Finnish cuisine. The simplicity of traditional Finnish food has been turned into an advantage by shifting the emphasis to freshness. Modern Finnish restaurateurs now blend high-quality Finnish products with continental cooking techniques. This approach helped Helsinki’s Chez Dominique to receive two Michelin stars in 2003 (the restaurant closed in 2013).

As I plot total world domination from my Sanctum Sanctorum here in Helsinki, I would like to share my version of a delicious Finnish recipe for garlic soup before I leave for Sweden tomorrow!

My version of Valkosipulikeitto (best of luck pronouncing it to anyone who isn’t Finnish!) is heady with roasted and fresh garlic, beer, cider, herbs and spices yet it is mellowed by potato and a touch of mayonnaise emulsion. Then I brighten the soup with a parsley and bacon fat drizzle.

It will cure all your ills and repel vampires for weeks. 😉 I ask you to prepare this pungent treat and identify proudly with your Glorious Leader as we, , prepare our ultimate victory! If you are looking for a good Finnish dessert to pair with this, I recommend the Finnish blueberry pie! If you’re looking for a fairly comprehensive list of what Finns keep in their pantry, this fits the bill!

Enjoy, my Citizens!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

The Hirshon Finnish Garlic Soup – Valkosipulikeitto


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Total Time: 0 hours
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • 1/2 cup dark beer such as Heineken
  • 3 heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
  • 1 head of roasted garlic, pulp squeezed out of cloves
  • 3 large potatoes, peeled and roughly cut into small pieces
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons thyme
  • 3 cloves, ground to a powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 sprigs parsley
  • 3 pinches of nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons bacon fat
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Bacon fat
  • Parsley
  • Rye croutons
  • Sprigs of fresh thyme

Instructions

  1. Boil the chicken stock, beer, cider, garlic, potatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaves, parsley, and bacon fat together slowly for 45 minutes.
  2. Remove bay leaves and puree the soup with an immersion blender (or let cool and put into a food processor) until smooth.
  3. Whisk the egg yolks for one minute while slowly adding the olive oil, as you would for mayonnaise.
  4. Put bacon fat and parsley in a blender, combine to make a dark green oil.
  5. When ready to serve, place a generous spoonful of the mayonnaise in the bottom of a heated soup bowl.
  6. Add hot (or reheated) soup and stir briefly. Decorate soup with drops of the parsley oil, croutons and thyme sprigs and serve.
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Category: Recipes

Nutrition

  • Calories: 613.74 kcal
  • Sugar: 13.24 g
  • Sodium: 1893.15 mg
  • Fat: 20.61 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5.54 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 86.15 g
  • Fiber: 8.62 g
  • Protein: 21.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 57.06 mg

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thefooddictator on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook and hashtag it #TFD

How useful was this post, Citizen?

Click to rate My Recipe, Citizen - 5 hearts are ALWAYS appreciated!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you found this post useful...

Follow us on social media, Citizen!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Related posts:

The Hirshon Laotian Chicken Larb Salad - ຊີ້ນ ໄກ່ ເຢັນ
The Hirshon Black and White Truffle Popcorn
The Hirshon Cambodian Amok - អាមុកគ្រឿងសមុទ្រ
The Hirshon Salisbury Steak
The Hirshon Balinese Suckling Pig - Babi Guling
The Hirshon Jewish-Finnish Meat And Fish Pâté - Vorschmack
The Hirshon Marlborough Apple Custard Pie
The Hirshon Mississippi Comeback Sauce

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Soup

About The Generalissimo

The myth of the Generalissimo is far more interesting than the reality.

Previous Post: « The Hirshon Japanese Curry – カレー
Next Post: The Hirshon Swedish Cardamom Cake – Kardemummakaka »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

➤ Citizens – Please Support TFD Nation!

Donate to Help TFD!

⇔ Search, And Ye Shall Assuredly Find!

✮ Citizens ✮

TFD currently has a total of 1,365 posts and 1,162,744 words written since December of 2014! Add your voice to My 50,000+ dedicated readers, comment on My recipes and thus become an active member of TFD Nation! Looking for a particular recipe? Search for it in the box above or via the category tags below - there are THOUSANDS of the finest in world and historic recipes here!

❧ TREMBLE Before Our Categoric Zeal!

Appetizers (146)Beef (143)Beverages (24)Bread (112)Cheese (64)Chicken (132)Chinese (122)Chocolate (16)Condiments (262)Dessert (166)Drinks (23)Duck (20)Egg (47)Fish (56)French (56)Game (30)Georgian (34)Indian (60)Italian (58)Jewish (84)Lamb (73)Manifestos (1)Pasta (90)Pork (148)Salad (40)Sandwich (42)Seafood (84)Shrimp (53)Soup (110)Spices (12)Tofu (7)Turkey (15)Veal (18)Vegetables (108)

✺ Click to Follow Us Across Social Media!

Facebook   

    instagram

☥ TFD SPEAKS!!!

https://www.thefooddictator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TFD-Avatar-Cold-Open-FINAL.mp4

 Enjoy TFD’s Mellifluous Podcasts, Citizen!

Listen on Apple Podcasts

© 2023 · The Food Dictator is abjectly served by WORDPRESS

✮ The Food Dictator ✮
Manage Cookie Consent
Citizens!

Be advised that as an enlightened Dictatorship here at TFD, we are indeed on the side of right when it comes to protecting the privacy of TFD Nation!

We do use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information, solely to improve your browsing experience and to show personalized ads.

Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions - trust us, we really ARE on your side!

YOUR LOYALTY IS NOTED! 🎖️
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
339
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditMailYummly