Wine match
Victoria Moore suggests wines to drink with salmon and potato soup
Salmon and potato soup flavoured with allspice and dill is a classic Finnish dish. I first encountered it on a midwinter visit to the Arctic Circle after a freezing snowmobile ride through twilit pine forests, and past magnificently antlered reindeer, so to me it also has an intensely Christmassy vibe. Even without those associations, lohikeitto is a soft, warm, nourishing blanket of a winter supper. The creamy broth and just-disintegrating potatoes are best with a wine that also has soft, comforting curves. This makes chardonnay the number one option, and with all that dill, it’s best to go for a more herbaceous, less tropical wine. (Think about it: some chardonnay tastes of melon and pineapple and you would not put dill on a pineapple salad). White grenache or muscadet aged on the lees (sur lie) will also give you that lovely soft feeling, and muscadet is also a consummate fish wine. If you want to emphasise the green rather than the gentle quality of the soup then pick a wine that tastes of herbs itself, such as vermentino. If you want to do the equivalent of adding a dash of lemon, pick a wine that tastes of citrus (gavi, or a grassy sauvignon from Bordeaux which will do both herbs and citrus in one gulp). Of course there is an alternative: vodka, ice cold, straight from the freezer. Delicious.
FOUR TO TRY
Pays d’Oc Chardonnay 2014 France (£4.99, Aldi, 12.5%) Lovely, slightly mushroomy, chardonnay from southern France.
Simply Muscadet NV France (£4.49, Tesco, 11.5%) An easy, straightforward muscadet at an everyday low price.
Magnum of Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine sur Lie Cuvée des Ceps Centenaires 2010 France (£22/magnum, The Wine Society, 12%) Magnums are always Christmassy, and there’s something special about this white too – a class apart from the Tesco version, it’s delicate and textured, like faint lemons and rice paper. Love, love, love it.
Waitrose Gavi 2014 Italy (£6.99, Waitrose, 12%) Light and crisp, lemon pith and white flowers. Refreshing.
Finnish salmon and potato soup (Lohikeitto)
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES|SERVES 2|EASY True fish stock is made using fish bones, but if you’re buying salmon from a supermarket you won’t have any, so this is a cheat’s substitute. Add fish bones if you have them.
allspice berries 3 potatoes 350g, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes salmon fillets 2 (about 225g), skinned and cut into 1cm cubes butter 1 tbsp single cream 60ml dill chopped to make 2 tsp CHEAT’S STOCK salmon skin (from the salmon fillets) black peppercorns 3 carrot 1 small, peeled and chopped shallot 2, peeled and chopped bay leaf 1 flat-leaf parsley 10 stalks leek ½ small celery 1 stick, cut in three
• To make the cheat’s fish stock, put all the ingredients in a large pan with 1.2 litres of water and simmer gently for 45 minutes.Turn off the heat. Use a slotted spoon to remove all the solids, then strain the broth through a muslin or tea towel into a second pan to remove any impurities.
• Bash the allspice berries once each with a rolling pin to slightly crush them. Add them and the potatoes to the broth, bring to the boil again and simmer for around 12 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender. Add the salmon and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the butter and cream, bring back to a simmer and then serve in two bowls. Divide and sprinkle half the dill on top of each portion.
PER SERVING 463 KCALS|FAT 24.7G|SATURATES 9.7G CARBS 30.7G|FIBRE 4G|PROTEIN 27.5G|SALT 0.4G
Victoria Moore writes for The Telegraph and is the author of How to Drink (£12.99, Granta). Read her blog howtodrink.co.uk @PlanetVictoria