Anna's Fish Soup from Gamla Rif, Iceland

I came across this delicious fish soup in the small harbour village of Rif in the Snaefellsnes peninsula in Iceland in June 2010. Gamla Rif, owned and run by two fishermen’s wives, has a variety of delicious homemade food and snacks. Their fish soup was made from the freshest daily catch from their husbands’ boats. It was so delicious that we asked Anna, one of the owners, for the recipe, and she was kind enough to share it with us. The recipe is simple, and the secret of success certainly lies in the fresh fish and seafood. I have experimented with variations of this by using different fish, and adding sweetcorn etc. You should do the same and find the ultimate best combination – let me know!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Onion
  • 2 Cloves of garlic
  • 1 Can of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 Cans of water
  • 2 Cubes of fish stock
  • 1 Cube of vegetable stock
  • 1 Tin of peaches
  • Fresh cream (single cream)
  • Fish / Seafood of your choice (I’d recommend firm white fish, scallops and prawns)
  • Curry Powder

METHOD

  1. Chop the onions into small pieces, and cut the peaches into halves
  2. Fry the onions and garlic
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes, water, stock, juice of the peaches, and chopped peaches. Add curry powder to taste
  4. Leave to simmer for 30-45 minutes
  5. Add fish / seafood, and then simmer for another 10 minutes
  6. Add cream to soup, and then serve

11 thoughts on “Anna's Fish Soup from Gamla Rif, Iceland”

  1. Thanks a lot for this recipe, I wanted to ask for it when I was there but didn´t. Made it last night, and it was delicious of course. Thanks again.

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Magical Iceland III « Alles ist gut.

  3. you should chop and add the peaches only at the very end and only 1/2 peach per bowl. Got the recipe directly from Anna and she said “they use much peaches” when we asked her about what she was chopping right before the soup was served.

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  4. I am wondering on the amounts here. How much is one can of tomatoes and one tin of peaches? And how much fish do you use? Can you help?

    Reply

    1. It really is up to your taste. I used a 28 oz/794gram can of tomatoes and a smaller can of peaches but, as I commented, only used about half a peach chopped in each bowl of soup but more is always better.

      Reply

  5. Gamla Rif is no longer a coffee shop, but there is a new place in the next town that serves the same soup: Gilbakki Kaffihús. I think maybe Anna runs it, but I’m not sure. When we asked about the recipe they told us to google for this page. Gilbakki Kaffihús is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gilbakki/

    Reply

  6. Thanks for the recipe. I was just there last week. The soup tastes spicy, I thought the spicy flavor was from the chili, so it was from the curry?

    Reply

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