A most amazing fish soup with whole cooked potatoes, vegetables and Romanian garlic sauce.
FISH SOUP RECIPE
An incredibly flavorful fish soup using different sorts of fish like mackerel, salmon, trout, zander, pike or whatever other kind of fish you happen to have. All served with those 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 soup with fish is my masterpiece when it comes to this Dobrogea series: a really genuine fish soup recipe received from a genuine dobrogean, that is somebody who lives in the region and who has been eating this soup all his life.
WHAT KIND OF FISH TO USE FOR FISH SOUP?
This fish soup with potatoes is an easy and quick to make fish soup actually, considering that you start with making your own fish broth, but…
The main problem I had was finding the necessary fish sorts required for the recipe. Needless to say, considering that I am living almost 2000 km away from the Danube Delta, finding the exact sorts of needed fish was not possible.
Well, I did not find all I needed, but a few fish I did find, I replaced some others and in the end I made the best fish soup I have ever eaten.
So what fish to use for this soup?
There were several sorts of fish mentioned in the original recipe, fish like (OK, wait a second, I need a dictionary here…): carp, crucian, catfish, black bass, pike, zander, mackerel, gray mullet and another two fish kinds for which I found no translation at all…
Most of these fish are sweet water fish, the mackerel and the gray mullet are apparently salt water fish. The recipe recommends using as many sorts of these fish as possible.
But, how could anybody who doesn’t live directly in the Danube Delta could ever dream of finding all those fish sorts?
So, I did get what I could and I have to admit most of the fish I used was frozen fish. Finding fresh fish in our area is difficult, you might find the most common sorts like salmon and trout, but beyond that is difficult.
Still, the fish soup made with frozen fish was wonderful, so don’t let that stop you!
And, of course, this being a Romanian fish soup, I guess using salmon is pretty sacrilegious, but I had no choice and after all I love salmon and I use it to make soup often and I knew it tastes good, so I dared… Sorry…
Fish for the fish broth:
- Head and tail of a salmon – actually pretty easy to find.
- Head and tail of a pike – leftover from making this baked pike recipe.
- Head and tail of a trout – also easy to find.
- If you cannot find the pike (and you probably won’t, mine was fished directly from the lake and I’ve never seen pike being sold anywhere at all), you can use more salmon or trout parts.
Fish for the fish soup:
- 1 trout
- 1 mackerel
- 2 large zander fillets
- 2-4 pieces pike – you can replace it with any other fish you have.
What other fish you can use for the fish soup?
- Carp
- Mullet
- Catfish
- Other sorts of sweet water fish
HOW TO MAKE FISH BROTH?
Another serious deviation from the original recipe was the water I used to cook the soup. I was told that this fish soup recipe is actually made with water taken directly from the Danube and that it is this water that gives the soup its special taste.
Of course, I could not get any Danube water here and to tell you the truth, I am pretty sure I would not have used it even if I had had the possibility. I am afraid I am way too squeamish for something like that… 🙂
But, I am happy to report that I used all the recommended vegetables and other things mentioned in the recipe: potatoes, carrots, parsnips, bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, vinegar, egg and smetana/creme fraiche. That’s easy, isn’t it?
And we so loved the soup, my husband and I of course, the children only ate one potato each, they are at an age when fish is still scary, especially when it comes in form of a soup.
And I kind of understand them, I would not have touched fish at their age if you paid me to and I only started liking fish soup a couple of years ago when I made this Fish and Vegetable Soup for the first time.
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, ½ 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.
TIPS FOR MAKING FISH SOUP
Vegetables:
- To make the actual fish soup I used fresh vegetables, but still added the carrots, parsnip and bell pepper used for making the broth.
- 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.
Fish:
- The fish should also be left whole if possible, or when cut, they should be cut in large pieces.
- I did cut my fish: the pike was already in pieces, the zander I could only get in fillets and the mackerel and the trout were too long for my pot, so I cut them in half.
- Whatever you do, do not overcook the fish, if cut into pieces, it will only need 5 to 10 minutes to be cooked through but still tender.
- When it comes to fish, I would rather under cook it than cook it for too long, the fish will continue cooking in the hot soup during the time you bring the pot to the table and get everything ready.
Vinegar:
- It is important to add the salt and the vinegar together with the fish to the pot. They will prevent the fish from falling apart.
- The amount of vinegar used to sour the soup is according to your taste.
- The soup should be rather sour and as I like to put vinegar in soups I used about 4 or 5 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and added a bit more directly to my plate.
- However, start with only 2 or 3 tablespoons and only 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 – mujdei de usturoi – grate the garlic cloves into a small bowl.
- Add a pinch of salt and slowly whisk in the vegetable oil.
- Add about 125 ml/ ½ cup cold water and mix well.
- If the sauce is too strong for your taste, you could add a bit more water.
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 a 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.
MORE FISH RECIPES?
Easy Skillet White Fish Fillet in Tomato Sauce
Oven-Baked Pike with Vegetables and White Wine
Aromatic Skillet Trout with Onions and Whole Peppercorns
How to Make Fish Stock
Moqueca de Peixe – Brazilian Fish Stew
Fish and Vegetable Soup
PIN IT FOR LATER!
Fish Soup with Potatoes and Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- Fish broth:
- head and tail of a salmon See 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
- ½ red bell pepper
- 1 small hot pepper
- Fish soup:
- 12 small potatoes two per person
- about 1 kg/ 2.2 lbs fish as follows See note 2
- 1 trout
- 1 mackerel
- 2 large zander fillets
- 2-4 pieces pike
- 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/ crème fraiche
- a bunch of lovage or parsley if lovage is unavailable
- 5-7 garlic cloves depending on size
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- fine sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
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 half an hour.
- 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.
- 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.
- Leave to simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done.
- 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 the salt and vinegar together with the fish to the pot, it will prevent the fish from falling apart.
- Leave to simmer 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 the fish being still uncooked.
- While the fish is still simmering, whisk together the egg and the smetana or crème fraiche. Slowly add two ladles 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.
- 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.
Garlic sauce:
- Grate the garlic cloves into a small bowl.
- Add a pinch of salt and slowly whisk in the vegetable oil.
- Add about 125 ml/ ½ cup cold water and mix well.
- If the sauce is too strong for your taste, you could add a bit more water.
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
- If you cannot find the pike, you can use more salmon or trout parts (or other fish sorts).
- You can use other sorts of fish as well (preferably sweet water), for instance: carp, mullet, catfish and so on.