This is an amazing, traditional Romanian fish soup with whole-cooked potatoes, vegetables, and Romanian garlic sauce.
This incredibly flavorful Romanian fish soup with potatoes uses various kinds of fish like mackerel, salmon, trout, zander, pike, or whatever you have on hand. It's served with delicious cooked potatoes and a Romanian garlic sauce.
This is not just a fish soup to be had as a starter; it is a complete meal that will leave you wanting for nothing more.
This fish soup is my masterpiece in the Dobrogea series: a genuine fish soup recipe from a true Dobrogean, someone who lives in the region and has been eating this soup all his life.
Try this delicious Fish Stew Recipe, too.
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What kind of fish do I need?
This fish soup with potatoes is quick and easy to make, even if you start with your own fish broth. The challenge was finding the right fish. Living 2000 km from the Danube Delta, I couldn't find all the exact fish types needed.
I managed to find some of the fish and substituted others, resulting in the best fish soup I've ever had. The original recipe called for carp, crucian, catfish, black bass, pike, zander, mackerel, gray mullet, and a couple of other fish I couldn't translate.
Most of these are freshwater fish, with mackerel and gray mullet being saltwater fish. The recipe suggests using as many types as possible. However, it's tough to find all these varieties unless you live near the Danube Delta.
I used what I could, mostly frozen fish, as fresh fish beyond common types like salmon and trout are hard to find here. Despite this, the soup turned out wonderful, so don't let a lack of fresh fish stop you!
Though using salmon in a Romanian fish soup might be unconventional, I had no choice. I love salmon and often use it in soups, so I dared to try it, and it tasted great.
Fish for the broth: A salmon's head and tail are pretty easy to find. The head and tail of a pike are leftovers from making this Oven-Baked Pike recipe. The head and tail of a trout are also easy to find.
- You can use more salmon or trout parts if you cannot find the pike (and you probably won't; mine was fished directly from the lake, and I've never seen pike sold anywhere). Check out the Salmon Stock recipe, too.
Fish for the soup: 1 trout, 1 mackerel, 2 large zander fillets, 2-4 pieces pike โ you can replace it with any other fish you have.
Alternatives: Carp, mullet, catfish, or other sorts of sweet water fish.
Other ingredients for the fish soup
Vegetables: You will need rather small potatoes, which are left whole; if they are larger, halve them. I cooked two potatoes per serving, so a total of 12 small potatoes for the soup, which should generously feed 6 people.
The fish should be left whole if possible or cut into large pieces. Do not overcook the fish. If cut into pieces, it will need only 5 to 10 minutes to cook through, but still be tender. I prefer to undercook fish slightly, as it will continue cooking in the hot soup while you bring the pot to the table and get everything ready.
Vinegar: It's important to add the salt and vinegar to the pot along with the fish. This helps prevent the fish from falling apart.
The amount of vinegar to sour the soup depends on your taste. The soup should be rather sour. I like to use about 4 or 5 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and often add more directly to my plate. However, start with only 2 or 3 tablespoons and add more after tasting.
Herbs: Try to get some fresh lovage; it is the perfect fit for this Romanian fish soup. You could use parsley instead, but lovage is more genuine and adds a really special flavor.
Garlic sauce: To make the typical Romanian garlic sauce โ mujdei de usturoi - grate the garlic cloves into a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and slowly whisk in the vegetable oil. Add cold water and mix well. If the sauce is too strong for your taste, you could add a bit more water.
How to make fish broth?
- Place the head and tail of the salmon, pike, and trout in a large pot.
- Add carrots, onion, parsnip, a piece of celeriac, tomato, ยฝ red bell pepper, and one small hot pepper.
- Cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer gently for half an hour.
- Strain the broth through a regular strainer and discard the fish parts and some of the veggies.
- Keep the carrots, parsnip, and bell pepper, chop them into small cubes, and set aside to add to the finished soup.
- Strain the fish broth again, this time through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth, so that most of the residue will be left behind and the soup will be clearer.
How to serve Romanian fish soup?
The fish and the fish soup are actually served separately. You will lift the fish parts and the potatoes out of the soup and place them on a serving platter.
You will have the soup with vegetables and some garlic sauce as the first course and the fish and the potatoes with more garlic sauce as the second course.
Well, I did leave the potatoes in the soup and ate the fish on the side; it was delicious, so either way, you decide, it tastes great whatever you do.
Don't leave out the garlic sauce (mujdei de usturoi), though; it makes all the difference in the world! And place some pickled hot peppers on the table as well.
Fish Soup with Potatoes and Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
Fish broth:
- head and tail of a salmon Note 1
- head and tail of a pike
- head and tail of a trout
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 parsnip
- 1 piece of celeriac
- 1 medium tomato
- ยฝ red bell pepper
- 1 small hot pepper
Fish soup:
- 12 small potatoes two per person
- 2.2 lbs fish trout, mackerel, large zander fillets, 2-4 pieces pike, 1 kg, Note 2
- 2 medium carrots
- second half of the red bell pepper
- 1 onion
- 3-5 tablespoons white wine vinegar or more to taste
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons smetana sour cream or crรจme fraiche
- a bunch of lovage or parsley if lovage is unavailable
Garlic sauce:
- 5-7 garlic cloves depending on size
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ยฝ cup cold water 125 ml, a bit more if necessary
- fine sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
Fish broth:
- Fish broth: Place the head and tails of the fish in a large pot. Add the roughly chopped vegetables. Cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes.head and tail of a salmon + head and tail of a pike + head and tail of a trout + 2 medium carrots + 1 onion + 1 parsnip + 1 piece of celeriac + 1 medium tomato + ยฝ red bell pepper + 1 small hot pepper
- Strain the broth. Reserve the carrots, parsnip and bell pepper. Chop them into smaller cubes and add them to the finished soup at the end of the cooking time.
- Strain the broth again through a finer sieve lined with muslin cloth. Clean the pot and pour the fish broth back into the pot.
Fish soup:
- Peel the potatoes, but leave them whole. Only halve them if they are large (and use only 6 potatoes if they are larger). Add them to the pot and bring to a boil.12 small potatoes
- Add vegetables: Start chopping the onion, carrots, and bell pepper used for the soup into small cubes and add them to the soup as soon as they are chopped.2 medium carrots + second half of the red bell pepper + 1 onion
- Simmer soup gently for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done.
- Add fish to soup: Halve the larger fish, like the trout and mackerel. Add all the fish pieces to the soup together with 1-2 teaspoons salt (to taste) and the vinegar. Start with 2 tablespoons vinegar and add more to taste. It is important to add salt and vinegar to the pot now; it will prevent the fish from falling apart.2.2 lbs fish/ 1 kg + 1-2 teaspoon salt + 3-5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Simmer the fish for 5 to 10 minutes or until cooked but still tender and not overcooked. The fish will continue cooking in the soup after you turn off the heat, so don't worry about it being still uncooked.
- Temper soup: While the fish is still simmering, whisk together the egg and the smetana or crรจme fraiche. Slowly add two ladles of hot soup to the egg mixture while whisking all the time. This will temper the mixture, so that it will not curdle when you add it to the soup. Pour the egg smetana mixture slowly into the soup while whisking. Take off the heat immediately.1 egg + 2 tablespoons smetana
- Add herbs: Add the reserved vegetables from the broth to the soup. Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, and more vinegar, if necessary. Chop the lovage and add it to the soup just before serving.fine sea salt and black pepper + a bunch of lovage
Garlic sauce:
- Grate the garlic cloves into a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and slowly whisk in the vegetable oil. Add cold water and mix well. If the sauce is too strong for your taste, you could add a bit more water.5-7 garlic cloves + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil + ยฝ cup cold water/ 125 ml
Serve:
- Lift the fish and the potatoes from the soup and place them on a serving platter.
- Serve the soup with some garlic sauce and more vinegar, if you like, as a first course and the fish and the potatoes with more garlic sauce as a second course. Or serve everything together as a single course.
Notes
- Fish: If you cannot find the pike, you can use more salmon or trout parts (or other fish sorts).
- Other sorts of fish for the soup: You can use other sorts of fish as well (preferably sweet water), for instance: carp, mullet, catfish, and so on.
Joseph says
wow thank you for this recipe. I live on a fresh water lake in Texas black bass white bass striped bass made a Bahamas bass soup yesterday. was great plenty fish here. also Carp , Buffalo Fish , Blue catfish will be making your recipe soon and post results ," PeaceBeWithYou "
Adina says
Thank you for the feedback, Joseph. So great to hear it!