This Fish Soup- Romanian Style is a basic traditional sour soup recipe from the southern part of Romania. People from that region live close to the Danube River.
Therefore fish is very much part of their diet. Add lemon juice or a little bit of vinegar at the end for more authenticity.
I am not sure how popular a fish soup would be out there, but for the Romanians, this soup is considered a wonderful meal.
Having the Danube River as a border with Bulgaria and the Danube Delta close to the Black Sea, many people who live in that part of the country eat fish quite often, as it is widely available.
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What kind of fish is good for soup
Any fish works for soup, with common choices in the Danube Delta being sturgeon, carp, and catfish among others. Mixing different fish types enhances the soup’s flavor, making it a hearty meal.
While traditionally, Romanians use fish heads and tails for soup, you can use any fish you prefer. In places with limited fish variety like Minnesota, accessible options like tuna or cod are great alternatives. For a tasty fish soup, start with fresh or frozen, well-cleaned fish, ensuring no scales or guts remain.
Vegetables for this soup
This soup boasts a light, broth-based consistency, akin to a vegetable soup, but enriched with pieces of fish. You can use larger fish pieces or chop the meat into bite-sized pieces, as per your preference.
- Onion - Any variety works; choose based on availability.
- Carrot, parsley root, parsnip - They enrich the soup's flavor.
- Red, yellow, or orange pepper - Adds both taste and color.
- Celery root or green celery - A flavor boost for the soup.
- Tomatoes - Fresh preferred, canned diced tomatoes are fine too.
- Optional: Potatoes - Not essential, but a nice addition in some variations.
- Lemon juice or vinegar - Any vinegar, barring balsamic, is suitable; apple cider vinegar is a good choice.
- Parsley - A substitute for lovage , a very aromatic herb that is very popular in Europe. However, parsley is perfectly acceptable if you do not have lovage available.
How to make fish soup
Step 1. Prepare the vegetables.
Wash, clean, and chop all vegetables. Make sure they all have about the same size so that they can cook at the same time. They should look something like this:
Step 2. Saute the veggies. In a soup pot, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and sauté the onions, root vegetables, peppers, and tomatoes just enough to develop their flavor.
Add water or fish stock, also the potatoes(as they are optional), and let the vegetables simmer until cooked.
Note: If you add water, make sure you add some salt to it. If you use fish stock, it is probably already salted.
Step 3. Add the fish. Add the fish you cut into cubes or left in bigger chunks and cook for another 10 minutes. Remember that the fish cooks really fast, so there is no need to overcook it.
Taste for salt again and add the vinegar or the lemon juice. You can skip the vinegar, but you need to know that Romanians always say that fish soup is better if it's a little bit sour.
If you do not like the vinegar, add some lemon juice instead. Add the chopped parsley or the lovage.
Serve warm with my super popular Preserved Hot Peppers In Vinegar, if you like that, and some good rustic bread.
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📖 Recipe
Fish Soup- Romanian style
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 -2 medium carrots chopped
- ½ large red yellow or orange pepper or 1 medium chopped
- 1-2 celery sticks chopped or ½ celery root cubed
- 1-2 medium potatoes cut in cubes
- 2 medium tomatoes diced or 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 16 ounces fish tuna, cod etc
- 8 cups water or fish broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lemon juice or 2-3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 bunch of chopped parsley or lovage
Instructions
- Chop onions, root vegetables, pepper, and tomatoes. Set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add vegetables and saute them until they become translucent, just enough to develop their flavor.
- Add water, salt, and pepper to taste and optional the potatoes and simmer the vegetables until cooked, for about 20 minutes.
- Cut the fish into cubes and add it to the soup.
- As the fish cooks quite fast, simmer the soup for no more than 10 minutes.
- Add the juice of one lemon or vinegar.
- Add the chopped parsley or lovage.
- Serve warm with some crusty good bread.
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