Kjötsúpa: Traditional Icelandic Lamb Meat Soup

Super fresh, bold flavors, and hearty ingredients is what makes up the core of Icelandic cuisine. A token trait of Icelanders and their cuisine, in fact, is just how much they treasure the freshness of the ingredients in what they eat. On par with these elements of their culture comes kjötsúpa, Iceland’s own traditionally made lamb meat soup.

A token aspect that is considered when compiling ingredients for a dish of Icelandic food is freshness. In Iceland, the standard of freshness when it comes to food is much higher than other places. Icelanders aim to acquire ingredients as direct from the source as possible, be it from a local farmer, a butcher shop down the street, or even from their own garden. That’s exactly how kjötsúpa came to be.

Before the modern times brought steam and electricity, Icelanders kept warm during their harsh nordic winters in the form of heat from the hearth and warmth from their food. They also needed food that was comprised of ingredients that would be readily available in the bitter winter months, and food that was calorically dense enough to insulate their bodies from losing too much heat. For these reasons, soups were an ideal choice.

Kjötsúpa is comprised largely of lamb meat, root vegetables such as potatoes, turnips, and rutabaga, and also contains rice and various herbs and spices. The hearty vegetables added calories and vital nutrients, and were reliable to keep throughout the winter, and the lamb was a dense, tasty protein that was readily available in all parts of the country. Dried spices were the go-to when fresh ones weren’t available, but the amenities of modern life have since made fresh spices available year-round much to the delight of freshness-loving Icelanders.

There are various recipes floating around for kjötsúpa, and all of them are unique in their proportions of ingredients. Kjötsúpa doesn’t have a hard and fast set of rules for what, and how much of it, to put in. It’s a recipe that is unique from family to family, restaurant to restaurant, and most of these recipes trace back through generations.

Though proportions may change, the core of kjötsúpa does not. It’s a hearty soup perfect for a bitter winter’s evening or a cozy autumn night. It’s a dish that delivers freshness to the recipient in the form of a hot, flavor infused broth with plenty of meat and root vegetables to satisfy just about any appetite.