Creamy, tomatoey, and full of aromatics, Icelandic Pylsa Tomato Soup is the cure for any ailments, the tonic to comfort all feelings, and the warm blanket that embraces the day with a wonderful spoonful of delight.

Iceland is not known for hot dogs in the traditional sense. There’s no long sausage-making history like that of central Europe. Yet, Iceland has had a long-steady relationship with a single hot dog called pulsa or pylsa, (pylsur for plural, the consensus is not a hundred percent there on the spelling). How it manifested isn’t clear, but most see this national hot dog appear during the late 1930s due to a hot dog stand called Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (translated as The Town’s Best Hot Dogs). During wartime when flour was rationed, the hot dogs were just served with sauce and a scant amount of toppings folded between wax paper. After rationing ended, the long hot dog made of sheep, pork, and beef, was placed on a steam bun and topped with its signature special tomato ketchup, mustard, and fried onions.

Everyone in the small capital has probably eaten from this now-famous regional hot dog chain. This hot dog stand is an even playing field for food. It’s comforting, affordable, and has a unique twist to a ubiquitous dish. Both locals and tourists alike can chow down on a regional specialty without breaking the bank. Nowadays, order the works from the stand and you’ll get ketchup, mustard, Danish-style remoulade sauce, raw onions, and fried onions. The ketchup blends with the other creamy sauces and aromatics to make one epic bite. Here, this Icelandic Pylsa Tomato Soup has the flavors of the toppings you’d find piled on top of the hot dog.

A base of mirepoix is the starting foundation. Apples get added mimicking the sweet notes found in a remoulade sauce. Once everything is softened and cooked slightly, the tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes get added in and everything is cooked until the flavors blend and marry together.

Puree the soup in batches, giving it the same smooth texture as the condiments smeared on top of the hot dogs.

A final addition of heavy cream gives this soup a bit of creaminess.

Topped with garnishes of your choosing, and this soup is ready to go!

This soup tastes like all of the delicious Icelandic hot dog toppings wrapped into one complex and creamy soup. The carrots, onions, and celery team up with the apple to create a mix of savory and sweet aromatics that both contrast and complement the fresh and canned tomatoes.

Cream adds that last bit of richness to blend all of the flavors together. Topped with a thick creme fraiche or (a la the hot dog stand) mayonnaise, the only thing you’re missing is the hot dogs to dip into the soup, which sounds like a new food combination. This Icelandic Pylsa Tomato Soup has the comforting flavors of a classic tomato soup but heightened to a delicious degree.