Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Soup
"This lightly-creamed soup is truly special. It works as comfort food for a casual soup & salad dinner or a starter course for an elegant dinner party. On our recent trip to the US, my SIL gave me the recipe. She said her mother had copied it from a cookbook & did not recall the source. I wish I knew who to acknowledge & thank for this classy taste sensation. I hope you try this & enjoy it as we did. (PLS READ NOTES shown as steps 7, 8 & 9 of prep)... *Edited To Add* This recipe was revised to include the addition of garlic & Old Bay Seasoning."
photo by JackieOhNo!
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 15
- Yields:
-
8 8-10 oz servings
- Serves:
- 8
ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1⁄2 cups onions (yellow or white variety, finely chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed & finely minced)
- 3⁄4 cup fresh dill (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning (more as desired)
- 2 medium tomatoes (ripe, seeded & chopped)
- 8 ounces smoked salmon (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 8 cups water
- 2 cups fresh spinach (10 oz pkg, stems removed & leaves finely chopped)
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
- 1⁄3 cup vodka
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
- snipped fresh chives (optional garnish)
directions
- Melt butter in med-size stock pot over med heat. Add onion + garlic & saute till onions are soft, 10-15 minutes.
- Stir in dill, Old Bay Seasoning, tomatoes & smoked salmon. Cook 3 minutes. Then add flour & cook 1 min more.
- Gradually stir in water & heat to a soft boil. Reduce heat & simmer uncovered over med-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Stir in spinach & simmer 5 more minutes.
- Stir in cream cheese (1 oz at a time) over low heat, allowing ea bit to melt into the soup.
- When all the cream cheese has been added & the soup is smooth, stir in the vodka & lemon juice. Taste for seasonings & serve immediately.
- NOTES: I entered this recipe as given to me & made a half recipe w/2 chgs in my trial version.
- I left out the vodka (none in the house!), subbed dry white wine & frankly doubt I will ever use the vodka. I pd homage to a DH pers pref & subbed diced broccoli florets for the spinach. I pd homage to 1 of my own by adding 4 oz baby shrimp.
- Pers pref are often at the heart of any success a recipe enjoys. I found this soup in need of salt, but DH did not. He found the lemon juice a bit excessive, but I did not. Bottom line is tasting for your pers pref is advised.
Questions & Replies
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This is a recipe from Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins cookbook silver palate good times! Your mom had excellent taste!
Reviews
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Wow - we just loved this soup. I made this exactly as posted, except I used a 15 oz. can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes in place of the fresh tomatoes. I did use the vodka and I stirred the chives into the soup. I thought the amount of lemon juice was just perfect, but I did add some freshly ground sea salt for flavor. Made by a Tasty Tester for the ZWT9 Scandinavian Seafood Challenge. -
This is fantastic...I wasn't sure how it would come out but we really liked it. We had a bit of trouble getting the cream cheese to incorporate into the soup, next time I might get the whipped cream cheese instead of the bricks. I also used low fat cream cheese to take away some fat. Rather than water I used all chicken broth for the liquid. Made for ZWT #9! -
Delicious! I changed the recipe slightly to add a bit more richness by making the broth from 3 cups of skim milk and 3 cups of water rather than the 6 cups of water the recipe asked for. Soup turned out remarkably light still, but with a good creamy texture. The Old Bay I had on hand had blackening seasonings in it, but still tasted very good. I also used 1/2 cup of dill rather than 3/4. Big hit with everyone in the house. Will definitely make again!
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Totally decadent and divine soup, and so quick and easy to make. I had to make Recipe #11791 (we can't buy this ingredient in Australia). I used 120 grams of fresh baby spinach (which equalled two loosely packed cups), and had only 200 grams (7 ounces) of salmon. I used one bunch of dill, which was about a half a cup loosely packed. The proportions were totally fine. I'll admit that I was too impatient to let the cheese melt ounce-by-ounce, so towards the end of cooking I buzzed it all up with my stick blender. Our luncheon guests loved it. Thanks for posting. As an aside, I couldn't find this recipe in my first Silver Palate cookbook, so it must appear in a later volume.
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This recipe is from the Silver Palette cookbook. It is an excellent choice as a starter for an elegant evening. Definitely use the vodka.
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Tweaks
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This was possibly the most savory soup I've ever tasted. Substitutions I made were dried dill for fresh, Sherry for the vodka, and broccoli for spinach. Wonderful! Thank you so much!
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My roommates and I really enjoyed this! I had to use dried dill and I opted for the white wine in place of the vodka. I would like to try using chicken broth in place of the water, and also using less than 8 cups because I like my soups ultra-thick. That being said I really didn't think it was lacking anything! I would also like to try broccoli in this. I can't wait to make it again! Thanks!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
twissis
Iceland
I am an American transplanted from Dallas to Iceland by marriage to a native Icelander & I retired to become his "Kitchen Queen". We love to entertain our family & friends, so I have an eclectic collection of recipes. I especially love simple, easy-fix, flexible & make-ahead recipes - BUT also like challenging myself on occasion. I enjoy baking & food photography. I am devoted to the "More is Always Better Principle" & apply it liberally to bacon, butter & garlic. I can have ingredient issues due to availability here in Iceland & my DH is medically diet-restricted from some ingredients as well. Either situation might require me to modify a recipe, but I will do my best to be true to your recipes & fair/honest in my reviews. Mary Pat (aka twissis)
