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Soup season · Stockholm, Sweden
The best bowl in Stockholm: Yellow pea soup with pancakes
Yellow pea soup with salt pork and marjoram, eaten with mustard, then thin pancakes with whipped cream and lingonberry jam.
Sweden eats pea soup and pancakes on Thursdays, a habit older than the Reformation. In Stockholm, the old beer halls still keep the day.
Pelikan
Blekingegatan 40, 116 62 Stockholm
Get: Ärtsoppa with mustard, then pannkakor with cream and lingonberries (and a punsch)
Ärtsoppa och pannkakor, tack. Och en punsch.Pea soup and pancakes, please. And a punsch.
A Södermalm beer hall in a vaulted 1904 room serving husmanskost (Swedish home cooking); one of the places that still serves Thursday pea soup.
Thursdays only.
Make it at home
Swedish yellow pea soup with pancakes
Whole dried yellow peas (not split) give the old texture, with some skins floating. Marjoram is the Swedish note; be generous with it and with the mustard.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) whole dried yellow peas, soaked overnight in cold water
- 1 lb (450 g) lightly salted pork belly or a smoked ham hock
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) water
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp dried marjoram, plus more to finish
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and white pepper
- Swedish or coarse sweet mustard, to serve
- For the pancakes: 1 cup (125 g) flour, 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) milk, 3 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tbsp melted butter, plus butter for the pan
- Whipped cream and lingonberry jam
How to make it
- Drain the peas. Put them in a pot with the water, pork and onion. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam and any loose skins that float up.
- Add the marjoram and thyme. Simmer gently, partly covered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring now and then, until the peas are soft and starting to break down and the pork is tender.
- Lift out the pork, cut it into slices or cubes and set aside (or return it to the pot). Season the soup with salt and white pepper, and thin with hot water if it's too thick.
- Pancake batter: whisk the flour with half the milk until smooth, then whisk in the rest of the milk, the eggs, salt and melted butter. Rest 20 minutes.
- Heat a buttered 9-inch (23 cm) pan over medium-high heat. Pour in a thin layer of batter, tilt to cover and cook 1 minute until the edges lift and the bottom is golden; flip for 30 seconds. Stack on a warm plate.
- Serve the soup with the pork and a dollop of mustard stirred in, a pinch more marjoram, then the pancakes with whipped cream and jam.
Pans and tools
- 5-quart pot
- 9-inch nonstick or crêpe pan
Chef's tips
- The punsch (Swedish arrack liqueur), served warm, is the traditional drink.
- Soup keeps 4 days and thickens; loosen with water.
Four more bowls in Stockholm
Fish soup
Red, saffron-tinged fish soup with boneless fillets, shrimp and mussels, aioli on the side, in the food hall at Hötorget.
Kajsas Fisk · Hötorgshallen, Hötorget, 111 57 Stockholm
Get: Fisksoppa with aioli; bread, salad and the first refill are included
En fisksoppa, tack.A fish soup, please.
People have ordered only the fish soup at this counter since the 1990s; queue, order, find a seat.
Make it at home: Swedish fish soup with aioli
A red, saffron broth that's more Marseille than Gothenburg. Make the aioli while the soup simmers.
You need
- 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 1 fennel bulb, 2 cloves garlic, all chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 can (14 oz / 400 g) crushed tomatoes
- A pinch of saffron, 1 strip orange peel
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 1 quart (950 ml) fish stock
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) white fish and salmon fillets, in chunks
- 8 oz (225 g) cooked peeled shrimp, 1 lb (450 g) mussels
- Aioli: 1 egg yolk, 1 garlic clove, grated, 1 tsp lemon juice, 3/4 cup (180 ml) neutral oil, salt
- Dill, salt
How to make it
- Soften the onion, fennel and garlic in the oil 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, saffron, peel and wine and simmer 5 minutes.
- Add the stock and simmer 15 minutes. Season.
- For the aioli, whisk the yolk, garlic and lemon, then whisk in the oil drop by drop until thick. Season.
- Add the fish to the soup and simmer 4 minutes, then the mussels and shrimp for 3, until the mussels open.
- Serve with dill, aioli and bread.
Chef's tips
- A spoonful of harissa in each bowl is how regulars at Kajsas do it.
Vegan ramen
A rich, creamy plant-based ramen with handmade noodles at a tiny lunch counter in Vasastan.
Totemo Ramen · Sankt Eriksgatan 70, 113 20 Stockholm
Get: Any of the four bowls; the miso is the regulars' order
En miso-ramen, tack.A miso ramen, please.
Stockholm's ramen lists put it first: handmade noodles and rich vegan broths, lunch only, so arrive early.
Lunch only (weekdays and Saturday).
Make it at home: Creamy vegan miso ramen
Soy milk and sesame paste give the broth the body that pork bones give tonkotsu.
You need
- Broth: 1 quart (950 ml) kombu-shiitake dashi (1 piece kombu and 6 dried shiitake soaked overnight in water)
- 2 cups (480 ml) unsweetened soy milk
- 1/4 cup (70 g) white miso, 2 tbsp red miso
- 3 tbsp tahini or Japanese sesame paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 clove garlic and 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 4 portions ramen noodles (egg-free)
- Toppings: crisp-fried tofu, corn, bean sprouts, scallions, the soaked shiitake sliced, chile oil
How to make it
- Strain the dashi; slice the shiitake.
- Whisk the misos, tahini, soy, sesame oil, garlic and ginger in a bowl with a ladle of dashi until smooth.
- Heat the dashi and soy milk until steaming (don't boil, or the soy milk splits). Whisk in the miso paste.
- Cook the noodles, drain well, and divide between bowls. Pour over the broth and top with tofu, corn, sprouts, shiitake, scallions and chile oil.
Chef's tips
- Fry the tofu in cornstarch for a crust that stays crisp in the broth.
Shio ramen
A light, clear chicken-salt ramen with Swedish touches, in Gamla Stan.
Café Stiernan · Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Get: The shio, lighter than the usual pork bowls
En shio-ramen, tack.A shio ramen, please.
Praised for traditional Japanese recipes with Swedish ingredients and a lighter chicken broth.
Make it at home: Shio ramen with chashu and soft egg
A home-scale version of a Hokkaido-style pork shio. The broth simmers hard so the bones turn it milky; the seasoning is just salt, kombu and a little dashi, so the broth has to be good. Make the eggs and chashu the day before.
You need
- For the broth: 3 lb (1.4 kg) pork neck bones or trotters, 2 lb (900 g) chicken backs or wings, 4 quarts (3.8 l) water, 1 onion, 2-inch piece ginger, 6 garlic cloves, 3 scallions
- For the chashu: 1 1/2 lb (700 g) pork belly, skin off, rolled and tied; 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup mirin, 1/4 cup sake, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 cup water
- For the eggs: 4 eggs, plus 1/4 cup of the chashu liquid and 1/4 cup water
- For the shio tare: 1 piece kombu (4 inches), 1 cup water, 2 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp mirin, 2 1/2 tbsp sea salt, 1 tsp dashi powder or a handful of bonito flakes
- For the aroma oil: 1/4 cup pork or chicken fat (skimmed from the broth), 2 scallions, 1 garlic clove
- 4 portions (about 1 lb / 450 g) fresh thin wavy ramen noodles
- To top: menma (bamboo shoots), sliced scallion, 4 umeboshi (pickled plums), nori sheets
How to make it
- Broth: blanch the pork bones and chicken in boiling water 10 minutes, drain and rinse off the scum. Return to a clean pot with 4 quarts fresh water. Boil hard, uncovered, 4 hours, topping up with water to keep the bones covered, until the broth is milky. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and scallions for the last hour. Strain; you want about 2 quarts.
- Chashu (the day before): brown the rolled pork belly on all sides in a pot, add the soy, mirin, sake, sugar and water, cover and simmer on low 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes. Cool in the liquid and refrigerate.
- Eggs (the day before): boil the eggs 6 1/2 minutes, chill in ice water and peel. Soak overnight in the chashu liquid mixed with water.
- Tare: soak the kombu in the water 30 minutes, then bring just to a simmer and remove the kombu. Add the sake, mirin, salt and dashi, stir until the salt dissolves, and strain.
- Aroma oil: warm the fat with the scallions and garlic over low heat 10 minutes until fragrant. Strain.
- To serve, slice the chashu and warm it in a little broth. Bring the broth to a simmer. Put 3 tbsp tare and 1 tbsp aroma oil in each warm bowl.
- Boil the noodles in a big pot of unsalted water for the time on the packet (usually 60-90 seconds), shake dry, and put in the bowls. Pour 1 1/2 cups hot broth over each. Top with chashu, a halved egg, menma, scallions, an umeboshi and nori.
Pans and tools
- 12-quart stockpot
- medium pot for the chashu
- fine sieve
- large pot for the noodles
- kitchen twine
Chef's tips
- Taste one bowl first: if it's flat, add tare a teaspoon at a time.
- The broth freezes well in 1 1/2-cup portions for ramen night.
- Warm the bowls with hot water; ramen cools fast.
Chanterelle soup
Golden chanterelles from the Swedish forests, cooked with cream and a splash of sherry.
Den Gyldene Freden · Österlånggatan 51, 103 17 Stockholm
Get: Whatever the forest is giving: chanterelle soup in autumn, then the Swedish meatballs
En kantarellsoppa, tack.A chanterelle soup, please.
Open since 1722 in the same Gamla Stan house and owned by the Swedish Academy, it keeps Swedish home cooking on its menu.
Autumn, while chanterelles are in.
Make it at home: Swedish chanterelle soup
Brown the mushrooms properly before anything wet goes in: that's where the flavor is.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) chanterelles (or mixed mushrooms), cleaned and torn
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 cups (720 ml) chicken or mushroom broth
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- 2 tbsp dry sherry or Madeira
- Salt, white pepper, thyme leaves, chives
How to make it
- Brown the mushrooms in a dry pan over high heat until their water evaporates, then add 2 tbsp butter and fry until golden. Keep a handful aside for the top.
- In a pot, melt the rest of the butter and soften the shallot and garlic 3 minutes. Stir in the flour for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the broth, add the mushrooms and thyme and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the cream and sherry and simmer 5 minutes. Blend half, or all, as you like. Season and serve with the reserved mushrooms and chives.
Chef's tips
- Dried chanterelles soaked in the broth add depth in winter.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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