Kjötsúpa (Icelandic Meat Soup) #SoupSwappers

Here we are at the very first Soup Saturday Swappers event of 2020. Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm started this event and, every month, I get a new array of soup recipes to put in my to-try pile.

And Wendy herself is hosting this month. She wrote: "Let's stay warm this New Year with hearty, stick to your ribs, soups and stews that are a meal in themselves."

• Amish Stuffed Pepper Soup by Palatable Pastime
• Green Pork Chili by A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Instant Pot Beef Stew by Making Miracles
• Kjötsúpa (Icelandic Meat Soup) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Tomato Apple Soup with Pull Apart Cheese Bread by Sneha's Recipe
• Vegetable Beef and Quinoa Soup by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bò Kho) by Karen's Kitchen Stories 

Kjötsúpa

This hearty soup was the main dish for my Jolabokaflod holiday party in December. But I held off on sharing the recipe till now. It's perfect for Wendy's theme.

Kjötsúpa is simply and literally kjöt (meat) súpa (soup). Most of the recipes I found used lamb, but they also use salted meat and even horse meat; I opted to blend ground lamb and chunks of beef. Traditionally, there were no vegetables in the original versions of the soup. Sometimes they included grains, predominately barley, but by the late 19th century, vegetables became more common.

I was excited to find birch-smoked salt from the Westfjords of Iceland. It's so strong and unique. But use any flake salt that you have on hand. Also, this soup is best made the night before you want to serve so that the flavors can meld. Then just reheat before serving.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pound beef, cubed
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 T olive oil
• 6 C water or stock (I used a combination of beef bone stock and water)
• 2 t sea salt (Icelandic if you can get it!) + more for serving
• ½ t freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves (not traditional, but I love that flavor in all my soups)
• 1 leek, trimmed and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 T herbs + more for garnish (I used parsley and thyme)
• 1 pound potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
• 4 to 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 to 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 C green cabbage, cubed

Procedure

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add in the ground lamb and cook until browned. Stir in the ground beef and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Pour in the water and/or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours. The meat should be tender enough to be cut with a spoon.

Stir in the salt, pepper, bay leaves, leeks, onions, potatoes, celery, and carrots. Return the soup to a simmer and cook for an hour. Fold in the cabbage and the herbs. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

If serving immediately, serve hot. However, it is much better if you let the soup sit overnight for flavors to meld properly. Reheat and serve with the garnishes - more herbs and smoked flake salt.