General principles of cooking
Pike is a river predatory fish of the pike family. The fish has an elongated body with yellow-green spots and small scales. The head is large, with a large number of very sharp teeth. Favorite habitat is lakes, dams, river inlets with a small current. The body weight of a large individual pike can reach 20-25 kg, and its length can be 1 m or more.
Pike contains a number of useful micro/macroelements and vitamins:
Name | Contents per 100 g of product |
Squirrels | 18,5% |
Fats | 11,3% |
Carbohydrates | None |
Vitamins | A, B₁, B₆, C, RR, E |
Elements | Potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium |
Calories | 84-140 kcal (depending on cooking method) |
Experienced cooks and avid fishermen use special rules for the primary processing of fish and the preparation of pike fish soup, which can be considered basic:
- to prepare a “good”, aromatic fish soup, you need a healthy medium-sized pike, only recently caught or chilled (not frozen);
- the fish should have a characteristic smell of a river or mud (this is a normal indicator);
- The pike should have bright red gills, smooth scaly skin without damage;
- the meat of healthy and fresh pike is always very dense (especially in large specimens) - this can be easily checked by pressing your fingers on the fish carcass in the area of the upper fin;
- cleaning the pike - first, remove its scales, then rip open the belly and remove the giblets, then cut off the head, all fins and tail;
- the fish carcass for pike fish soup is cut into small fillets or steaks;
- for rich, dense fish soup, an additional base is used (broth made from pike trimmings, other river fish or poultry);
- Pike fish soup is prepared with potatoes, cereals, noodles or pasta, vegetables and aromatic herbs.
Features of cooking
Pike soup is an easy dish to prepare, but it is worth knowing and following a certain technology. You can make delicious fish soup if you follow these rules:
- pike should be exclusively fresh and not frozen (ideally buy live fish);
- Ukha containing several different types of fish turns out tastier (perch, sterlet, catfish can be combined with pike);
- It is better to choose several small fish rather than one large one, so that the dish does not acquire a muddy taste;
- Before cooking the fish soup, the fish must be gutted;
- small pieces of fish are added to the soup 10 minutes before the dish is ready;
- the water is salted at the very beginning;
- heads and other parts of pike are boiled over low heat;
- if desired, you can add rice or millet, vegetables, potatoes, parsley, garlic, dill, bay leaf to the broth;
- It is better not to interrupt the aroma of fish with spices with a rich, bright smell;
- the container in which the fish soup is cooked should not oxidize, so it is better to choose a clay pot or an enamel pan;
- Do not cover the soup during cooking.
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Classic recipe for pike soup
Pike soup at home (the recipe can be found on the Internet), as a very special first course of fish, has a tradition in the use of ingredients, which can be called a classic recipe.
Pike soup, classic recipe.
It has only a few basic ingredients and, depending on local or national cuisines, they can be substituted or omitted altogether.
Pike soup, correct
Ingredients:
- fresh pike (preferably live) – 1.0-1.5 kg;
- potatoes - 5 small tubers;
- onion - 2 heads;
- water – 2 l;
- black allspice (peas) – 5-6 pcs.;
- fresh herbs (parsley, dill) - 2-3 sprigs;
- cherry laurel leaf – 2-3 leaves;
- rock salt, coarse - to taste.
Step-by-step cooking process:
- Remove scales from the pike and wash. Rip open the belly and free the pike from giblets and gills.
- Separate the head, tail, all fins. Cut the carcass lengthwise along the ridge and carefully remove it. Cut the fish fillet into portions.
- Place the pike head, tail, spine and fins in a saucepan with cold water and put on fire. When the water boils, you need to remove the foam and turn the heat down. The broth should be simmered over low heat for 40-50 minutes.
- While the broth is preparing, you should prepare the vegetables. Peel the potatoes, cut into small cubes. Peel the onion and cut the head in half.
- After the broth has cooked for the required time, remove the pan from the stove and let the broth brew for another 10-15 minutes.
- Then remove the fish trimmings from the pan and strain the fish.
- Place the strained broth on the stove again, add potatoes and fish, and let it boil. Skim off the foam again, add the onion to the broth and turn the heat down.
- In 10 min. until the dish is fully cooked, add allspice, bay leaf and salt.
- Serve the dish hot. Top each serving with chopped herbs.
It is believed that a real fish soup should contain only 4 main ingredients - water (and the water in which the fish lived), the fish itself along with the head and tail, potatoes, onions and salt. Experts say that adding carrots, cereals and spices to the fish soup turns the original dish into an ordinary fish soup.
How to cook pike soup at home
In Russian cuisine, various river fish are used to prepare fish soup, but preference is given to pike soup, since it turns out to be very aromatic, rich and at the same time transparent. In addition, pike meat contains a huge amount of useful substances - iodine, sodium, zinc, magnesium, calcium, iron, etc. Since fish has a low calorie content, it is considered a dietary product and people who want to lose weight can safely eat dishes with it.
Classic recipe
The most delicious fish soup can be prepared on the go - this is what many fishermen believe. However, rich and tasty fish soup can be made at home. The main thing is to get fresh pike. For the classic version of the dish you will need the following ingredients:
- onions – 2 pcs.;
- pike – 1 kg;
- medium potatoes – 3-4 pcs.;
- carrots – 1 pc.;
- parsley (root) – 2 pcs.;
- peppercorns – 6-8 pcs.;
- water – 2.5-3 l;
- bay leaf – 3-4 pcs.;
- vodka – 70 ml;
- butter – 10 g;
- greens, salt (to taste).
How to cook fish soup at home:
- Peel and cut the potatoes into medium cubes and place in boiling water.
- Immediately add the unpeeled but thoroughly washed onions with their roots cut off.
- Finely chop the peeled carrots and parsley roots, add to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Clean the pike from scales, remove the gills and belly contents, and chop into portions.
- Add spices to the broth and place the prepared fish, turning the heat to low.
- After 15-20 minutes, add vodka. It will improve the taste of the finished dish and eliminate the smell of river vegetation, which is characteristic of pike.
- Turn off the heat, remove the peppercorns, bay leaves, and onions from the pan and add butter to the soup.
- Pour the dish into plates and sprinkle finely chopped herbs on top. If desired, season the soup with sour cream.
How to cook fish soup from a fish head
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The fish soup with pike heads turns out very rich. To soften its taste, you can season the broth with a small amount of fresh ginger, anise or saffron. You can complement the aroma and taste of fish soup with white or green peppercorns, as well as parsley. To prepare the dish you will need:
- medium sized carrot;
- potatoes – 3 pcs.;
- pike heads – 2-3 pcs.;
- peppercorns;
- dill – 1 bunch;
- brine (cucumber or tomato) – 1 tbsp.;
- salt;
- Bay leaf.
How to cook pike soup:
- Rinse the fish parts under cold water, remove the gills with a knife, place the heads in a deep cauldron or saucepan, fill with brine and cold water.
- Let the liquid boil, then remove the foam from the surface of the broth, reduce the heat to low.
- Add bay leaf and peeled onion, cook the pike for an hour. The container must not be covered with a lid.
- Strain the broth, add diced potatoes, grated carrots, chopped onions, and seasonings.
- Continue cooking the fish soup until the ingredients become soft, then add finely chopped dill.
- Disassemble the fish heads, discard the bones, and return the meat to the pan.
- Serve the finished fish soup hot.
How to cook fish soup with millet in a slow cooker
Many housewives prefer to cook fish soup in a slow cooker, because this way it acquires a taste similar to dishes simmered in a Russian oven. Ear soup with millet prepared in this way retains the maximum beneficial properties of the product. To prepare it you need the following ingredients:
- tails, heads, other parts of pike – 1 kg;
- millet – 2 tbsp. l.;
- carrot;
- potatoes – 2-3 pcs.;
- greenery;
- onions – 2 pcs.;
- peppercorns;
- bay leaf, salt (to taste).
How to prepare fish soup in a slow cooker:
- Wash, peel, and divide the fish into portions. Place the pike at the bottom of the bowl, fill with cold water to the top.
- Activate the “Steam” option and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Skim off the foam, add bay leaf, spices, salt, and one whole onion. Switch the mode to “Stew” by setting the timer for 60 minutes.
- Take out the pike pieces and remove them from the bones.
- Place carrots, cut into thin strips, finely chopped onions and herbs, and medium pieces of potatoes into the soup. The pike fish soup should be cooked for another hour with “Stew” turned on.
- After about 15 minutes, when the potatoes are half cooked, add the millet.
- 5 minutes before the dish is ready, return the fish to the slow cooker.
- After turning off the device, let the soup sit for half an hour, then serve.
On a fire in a cauldron, in a pot
There is nothing more appetizing and tastier than fish soup cooked on the shore of a reservoir from freshly caught pike. As a rule, fishermen prepare all the accompanying ingredients for fish soup in advance.
We can only hope that the bite will be good and fishing will take place. To cook fish soup over a fire, you can use a heavy cast-iron cauldron or a camp steel pot. Both are quite suitable for cooking, but in a thick-walled cauldron, the soup turns out to be truly tasty and slightly stewed.
Pike soup on a fire in a cauldron or pot
To prepare fish soup outdoors, you should take with you:
- potatoes – 5-6 pcs.;
- water – 4-5 l;
- onion – 3 pcs.;
- cereal (wheat) – 15-200 g;
- carrots - 2 medium fruits;
- aromatic herbs (parsley, cumin, basil) - to taste;
- black allspice (peas) – 5-6 pcs.;
- coarse salt - to taste.
For the recipe you will need 1.0-1.5 kg of fresh pike. How successful the fish soup will be and whether it will be at all depends on the dexterity and skill of the fisherman himself.
How to cook, step by step:
- Remove scales from the pike and rinse with water. Cut off all the fins, head, tail, rip open the belly and gut it. If the fish comes with caviar, it can also be used for broth - this will only make the fish soup tastier.
- Cut the cleaned pike carcass into portions, first removing the spinal bone.
- Fill the cauldron (or pot) with water and put it on the fire. Place the head, tail, fins and spine of the pike in a pan and cook for 40-60 minutes. periodically removing the foam.
- While the broth is preparing, you should prepare the vegetables. Peel the potatoes, cut into large cubes. Also peel the carrots and onions and cut them into small pieces (onions for fish soup can be placed as a whole head).
- After the fish trimmings are boiled, remove them from the fish with a wide slotted spoon. At this stage, you need to try to ensure that the pieces do not fall apart and small bones do not fall into the broth.
- Next, add potatoes and carrots to the pot. Salt the fish soup and add pepper.
- When the potatoes are half-cooked, add pieces of pike and cereal to the broth. To prevent the fish from becoming cloudy, it is necessary to remove the foam from time to time.
- After the fish is cooked, remove the pot from the heat, cover with a lid and let it brew for a while.
- Throw fragrant herbs and chopped herbs into the prepared fish soup. Pour into plates and serve with rye bread.
In a slow cooker
Pike soup at home (a recipe for a slow cooker is offered below) can be prepared using new kitchen appliances.
A slow cooker is a very suitable place for preparing pike fish soup; in addition, it is in it that you can experiment with traditional recipes that have become unshakable classics.
Fish soup in a slow cooker Original
To prepare you will need the following:
- fresh pike (chilled) – 0.6-0.8 kg;
- red tomatoes – 4 pcs.;
- carrots - 2 root vegetables;
- chili pepper – 1 pod;
- onion – 2 pcs.;
- onion - 3 stems;
- cherry laurel leaf – 3 pcs.;
- hot boiled water – 1.5 l;
- parsley – 2-4 sprigs;
- salt, black allspice - to taste.
Technological process, step by step:
- Before you begin the process of making fish soup, you need to prepare all the ingredients. Clean the pike, gut it and divide it into pieces. Wash the tomatoes and cut into slices. Peel the carrots and onions and cut into small cubes.
- Place chopped fish (including head and tail), carrots, onion, and bay leaf into the multicooker bowl. Fill the contents with hot water, set the machine’s timer for 25 minutes. into the “Cooking” mode and close the lid.
- After the multicooker signal, add chili pepper (do not cut!), chopped parsley and onion into the broth. Close the lid again and set the timer for 10 minutes. to the “Quenching” mode.
- After this, remove the hot pepper pod from the broth, close the multicooker lid and turn off the device. It will take another 5-10 minutes to infuse the fish soup.
- Place portioned pieces of pike on plates and pour fish soup with vegetables over them. The dish can be served with sour cream and garlic sauce.
With millet
Housewives believe that recipes for fish soup with millet are the most correct. One way or another, in most cases, millet cereal is actually included in the recipe for traditional Russian fish soup. Yushka with boiled millet turns out more aromatic, satisfying and rich. In addition, pike meat and millet go well together.
Pike soup with millet and bell pepper
Required Products:
- fresh or chilled pike – 0.5-0.8 kg;
- potatoes - 5 tubers;
- millet cereal – 120 g;
- sweet bell pepper – 1-2 pcs.;
- carrots - 1 root vegetable;
- onion – 2 pcs.;
- cherry laurel leaf – 2-3 pcs.;
- sunflower oil – 30 g;
- water – 1.5-2 l;
- salt, black allspice - to taste;
- fresh herbs (for serving) - to taste.
Technological preparation map:
- Clean the pike from scales, gut it and wash it. Separate the head and tail, trim the fins. Cut into pieces or fillets convenient for cooking (remove the backbone).
- Place all the pike pieces in a saucepan, add water and put on fire. The broth should be cooked over medium heat for 30-40 minutes.
- While the pike is cooking, you should prepare the vegetables and cereals. Peel the potatoes and onions, cut into cubes. Grate the carrots on the coarsest grater or cut into cubes. Remove the bell pepper from the stem and seeds and cut into cubes. Sort the millet thoroughly and rinse in running water several times.
- When the pike has cooked for the required time, remove the pan from the heat and carefully remove all the fish pieces. Strain the broth and put it back on the fire.
- Place potatoes and millet into a boiling bowl. In 10 minutes. Return the fish to the fish soup and add salt to the broth.
- In a heated frying pan with oil, fry carrots, onions and bell peppers. Place lightly fried vegetables in a saucepan.
- In 5 min. Until the soup is ready, add allspice, bay leaf and any spices (to taste). Then remove the pan from the heat, close the lid and let it brew for a while.
- While the soup is brewing, wash the parsley and dill and chop very finely.
- Serve the fish soup hot, sprinkle with herbs on top.
Pike soup with grits
To obtain a more satisfying soup, millet is sometimes added to it. This recipe is not much different from the classic preparation of fish soup.
Ingredients:
- pike - 1 kg;
- millet - 100 gr;
- potatoes - 3 pcs;
- carrots - 1 piece;
- onion - 1 piece;
- bay leaf - 2-3 pcs;
- pepper - 6-7 pcs;
- vodka - 50 ml;
- salt.
Preparation:
- To prepare fish soup with millet, it is better to first cook the broth from pike heads and tails with the addition of spices and onions, as described in the previous recipe.
- Place prepared pieces of fish and diced carrots and potatoes into the strained broth and brought to a boil.
- Rinse the millet and add to the pan.
- One minute before cooking, pour in the vodka and remove the fish soup from the heat. Let the soup sit for about 30 minutes.
- When serving, you can add greens if desired.
Be sure to prepare the fish soup according to one of the suggested recipes. Bon appetit!
With pearl barley
Not entirely traditional, but quite acceptable, is preparing homemade fish soup with pearl barley. This ingredient is mainly suitable for pearl barley lovers. To prepare fish soup with this grain, you should especially carefully calculate the amount of grain and the time it remains on the fire, so that the fish broth does not inadvertently turn into porridge.
Homemade pike soup with pearl barley
What you need to prepare fish soup:
- fresh or chilled pike – 0.5-0.8 kg;
- pearl barley – 250 g;
- potatoes - 4-5 tubers;
- carrots - 1 root vegetable;
- sunflower oil (odorless) – 50 g;
- cherry laurel leaf – 3 pcs.;
- onion - 3 sprigs;
- salt, allspice (peas) - to taste.
How it's done:
- From the very beginning, you should sort through and rinse the barley with running water several times. Then soak in warm boiled water to swell - this will cook the cereal much faster.
- Clean the pike, gut it, rinse well outside and inside. Separate the head, tail, all fins and carefully remove the large spinal bone. Place all the trimmings in a saucepan and place on the stove. Cook for 40-50 minutes, periodically skimming. Then remove the fish trimmings and strain the fish soup.
- Put the strained broth back to boil; when it boils, add pearl barley and salt.
- While the pearl barley is boiling, you should prepare all the vegetables. Peel potatoes and carrots, cut into cubes. Finely chop the onion.
- When the pearl barley becomes soft, add potatoes and carrots to the pan. If “potato” foam appears, remove it with a slotted spoon.
- As soon as the potatoes are half cooked, place the pike fillet pieces into the pan. The foam formed from the fish must be removed, otherwise the fish soup will not be transparent.
- In 5-10 minutes. until the soup is fully cooked, add bay leaf, peppercorns, vegetable oil and chopped onion.
- Serve fish soup with bran or Borodino bread.
Benefits of pike fish soup
Ukha is a hearty, nutritious and rich dish. Fish broth retains as many useful substances as the fish itself.
When properly prepared, the ear contains many trace elements, such as:
- iron,
- iodine,
- zinc,
- sulfur,
- chlorine
- fluorine,
- phosphorus,
- potassium,
- sodium,
- calcium
- molybdenum,
- cobalt.
This also includes vitamins A, B, C, PP. In addition, there are a lot of useful things in the vegetables that make up the fish soup. For example, carrots contain carotene.
It should also be noted that hot soup is perfectly absorbed by the body and has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract.
Calorie content of fish soup
Pike is a low-calorie fish recommended for dietary nutrition. 100 grams of this fish contains only 90 kcal, and a rich fish soup prepared according to the classic recipe contains just over 50 kcal. Therefore, you can eat fish soup without fear for your figure.
Ukha is a wonderful, original Russian dish, beloved at all times. And if you can’t cook fish soup in the wild, take the fish home and cook it on the stove or in a slow cooker. We hope that the taste and beneficial properties of this fish soup will also not leave you indifferent.
With rice
Recipes for making pike fish soup at home often contain rice, which goes well with vegetables, meat and fish. Coarse grain or polished rice is suitable for this purpose.
Fragrant fish soup with homemade rice
Required ingredients:
- pike (or pike fillet) – 1.0-1.5 kg;
- large grain rice – 130 g;
- potatoes - 4-5 tubers;
- onion - 2 heads;
- cherry laurel – 3 leaves;
- mixture of peppers, seasoning for fish – 20 g each;
- salt, black allspice - to taste.
Preparation procedure:
- Remove scales from the pike, wash and cut into pieces.
- Immediately prepare all other ingredients - peel the potatoes and onions, cut into large cubes, rinse the rice in warm running water several times.
- If fillet is used for fish soup, then the fish is placed after the potatoes. For a richer broth, first boil the fish trimmings - if the pike fell under the kitchen knife as a whole carcass.
- Fill the pan with water (or broth), let it boil and add the potatoes. Next, skim off the foam and add salt.
- As the potatoes cook, add onion and rice. Do not fry the onion for the recipe; you can add the whole head.
- In 10 min. Before the rice is ready, add fish, bay leaf, allspice, spices and fish seasonings to the broth. Let the soup simmer over very low heat and remove from the stove.
- Place on plates with pieces of fish, sprinkle the dish with fresh chopped herbs.
With potatoes
“Folk” recipes for pike fish soup almost always contain potatoes. And it’s not surprising, because in Rus' potatoes, just like bread, are the boss of everything. It is possible that with the addition of vegetables, cereals and spices to the broth, the result is still fish soup, and not a classic fish soup, but the recipe exists and is used quite often.
Pike soup Narodnaya
For a unique recipe you will need:
- fresh or chilled pike – 1.0-1.5 kg;
- river fish for good fish soup (catfish, ruff, perch) – 300-400 g;
- cereal (millet or rice) – 100 g;
- potatoes – 4 pcs.;
- carrot – 1 pc.;
- onion - 3 heads;
- quality vodka – 30 g;
- parsley - 3-4 roots;
- cherry laurel – 3 leaves;
- dry mixture of fragrant herbs - to taste;
- coarse salt, pepper (peas) - to taste.
Technological process, step by step:
- Clean pike and small river fish, gut them, cut off heads, tails and fins. Rinse everything thoroughly.
- Place the prepared fish pieces in a suitable pan, add water and place on the stove. Bring to a boil, be sure to remove the scum and reduce the intensity of the heat.
- Peel the onions, carrots and parsley roots. Chop coarsely and add to broth.
- After 20-25 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove, remove the fish and boiled vegetables. You can throw away the vegetables, and fillet the fish, remove the heads and all the bones.
- Strain the fish soup, add salt and put it back on low heat.
- Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes. Sort the grains, rinse in 2-3 waters. Place both into the broth, then remove the scum and adjust the heat to the lowest setting.
- When the potatoes are cooked until half cooked, put pike fillet, a mixture of aromatic herbs, pepper, and bay leaves in the fish soup.
- After 10-12 minutes. Pour vodka into the broth, turn off the heat and let the fish soup rest under the lid.
- Place a piece of fish and a sprig of fresh herbs into each serving of hot fish soup.
Without potatoes, dietary
Pike soup at home (a recipe for any dietary fish soup can be found on culinary sites) consists of vegetables, cereals and any river fish. That's all you need for a delicious diet dish. To enhance the taste and richness of the broth, 2 or more types of river fish are used. The set of vegetables and fresh herbs can be completely different, but it is not advisable to use too many “bright” spices in a dietary dish.
Diet soup without potatoes
Required ingredients:
- fresh pike – 0.6 kg;
- mirror carp – 0.6 kg;
- carrots – 1-2 fruits;
- millet cereal – 100 g;
- onion – 3 pcs.;
- laurel leaf – 3 pcs.;
- coarse salt, allspice (peas or ground) - to taste.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Clean the pike and carp, gut them, rinse thoroughly and cut into pieces.
- Place the fish in a saucepan, add cold water and put on fire. Periodically removing the foam, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Then remove the pieces of fish from the fish, disassemble, separate the meat for further use. The head, large and small bones can be removed.
- Strain the fish broth and place over medium heat.
- Peel the carrots and onions, cut into cubes and add to the boiling broth.
- Sort the millet, rinse several times in running water and add to the vegetables.
- Then put boiled pieces of fish and bay leaves in the ear. Season the broth with salt and pepper.
- As soon as the millet cereal is cooked, remove the fish soup from the heat, cover with a lid and let it brew for a while.
- Serve with fresh herbs and rye bread.
Royally
“Tsar’s” fish soup is prepared in chicken broth, dietary and neutral in taste. This is a thick fish dish made from several types of fish and vegetables, very appetizing and aromatic, which is not a shame to serve to the most important guests.
Tsarskaya fish soup with chicken broth
Set of ingredients:
- fresh chicken broth (or chicken) – 2 l (1.5 kg);
- small river fish – 250 g;
- fresh pike (preferably live) – 350 g;
- fresh pike perch (chilled) – 400 g;
- potatoes – 5 pcs.;
- juicy, sweet carrots - 2 medium roots;
- onion – 1-2 pcs.;
- peeled millet – 150 g;
- chicken egg (white) – 2 pcs.;
- butter – 40 g;
- salt, black allspice (peas) - to taste;
- dill, parsley - to taste.
Cooking steps:
- Make broth from a whole chicken. Remove the chicken, put small river fish in it and boil in a gauze bag or on a sieve. After this, remove the fish, it is best to strain the broth.
- Clean the pike and pike perch, gut it and wash it inside and out. Cut into portions and cook in the same broth.
- Then carefully remove the fish and strain the broth again.
- Place the pan with the yushka on the stove (over medium heat) and when boiling, add the egg whites, whipped into foam.
- Next, add potatoes to the boiling broth (cut into cubes), add the sorted and washed millet, return the fillet pieces of fish (it is advisable to remove small bones), add allspice.
- Peel the onions and carrots and cut into strips. Fry until golden brown in a heated frying pan with butter, add to the pan with the fish soup.
- Then place the fish soup in an oven preheated to 150˚C for 15-20 minutes. for languor.
- Serve the dish in a beautiful ceramic bowl along with herbs, sour cream, pancakes with minced chicken.
Fish head soup in brine
Do not rush to throw away pike heads if you only needed fillets. A good, spicy pickle brine will also come in handy. Both products can be used to prepare homemade fish soup, because a good and thrifty housewife never wastes anything.
Kalya from pike head in brine
For the Kalya recipe you will need:
- fresh pike heads (chilled) – 3-5 pcs.;
- potatoes - 4 root vegetables;
- cucumber or tomato brine (without vinegar and acid) – 200-350 g;
- carrot – 1 pc.;
- fresh garlic – 1-2 cloves;
- greens (dill, parsley) - 2-3 fresh sprigs;
- coarse salt, allspice (corns) - to taste.
How to cook, step by step:
- Cut the fish heads in half lengthwise. Then cut out the gills and eyes (otherwise the broth will taste bitter). Wash all the pieces.
- Place the fish in a saucepan, add water and place on the stove (over medium heat). Bring to a boil, skim off foam.
- Pour brine into the broth, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Next, add garlic to the broth and let it simmer for another 20-25 minutes.
- After this, remove the pan from the heat, remove the pike heads and garlic, and strain the fish. Put the strained broth back on the fire and let it boil.
- Peel the potatoes and carrots, cut into arbitrary pieces (not too small).
- Place the chopped vegetables in a boiling fish soup, add salt and peppercorns and cook until the potatoes are fully cooked.
- While the fish soup is cooking, remove the meat from the boiled pike heads and place it on plates. When the dish is ready, pour into portions and sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs.
Recipe for fish soup from pike head at home
Servings: 8.
Time: 110 min.
Calorie content: 33 kcal per 100 grams.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg pike head;
- 2 onions;
- 5 potatoes;
- 3.5 liters of clean water;
- 1 large lemon;
- 2 tbsp. breading;
- 2 tbsp. sunflower oil;
- 1 bunch of parsley and onion feathers;
- 2 bay leaves;
- a little salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.
We start the recipe for fish soup from pike heads by preparing the heads. We wash the parts, cut out the gills and eyes so that the broth does not taste bitter. Place the head in a saucepan with cold water, heat it to 100 degrees, skim off any foam that appears.
Next, we continue to cook for about half an hour, adding bay leaf, a washed bunch of parsley, and one whole peeled onion.
We take the heads out onto a plate and remove the meat. To prepare a safe dish, discard the onions and herbs from the finished broth and strain.
Peel the remaining onion, carrot, and potato tubers. Chop the onion, carrots into half rings, and potatoes into large cubes.
To make the yushka tasty, prepare the vegetable frying. Place the onions and carrots in a frying pan with vegetable oil, stir, and brown a little.
Heat the strained broth well; when signs of boiling appear, add the chopped potatoes, fried vegetables, and breadcrumbs. Salt the dish and cook for a quarter of an hour. Then add the meat from the pike heads and remove the pan to the side. Immediately add spices and squeeze the juice from half a lemon.
As you can see, cooking a fisherman’s dish at home is not at all difficult. All that remains is to pour into plates, add a slice of lemon and serve.
Useful tips and tricks
Pike soup at home (the recipe for any occasion is given above) can be prepared according to any of the above mentioned recipes, which are based on the basic principles of preparation. Each cook who prepares this dish accumulates his own experience over time and special cooking techniques that can be taken into account.
Here are some recommendations for preparing delicious and truly healthy fish soup:
- If you cook fish soup from several varieties of fish, it turns out richer and tastier. For example, for a good broth recipe, you can add ruffs, which make the yushka more rich.
- To prepare fish soup, it is best to use cast iron dishes or a thick-walled cauldron. Aluminum pans or kettles are not recommended, as they may oxidize upon contact with food.
- To prepare a good fish soup, it is better to use exclusively fresh, not frozen pike. From frozen or overfrozen fish, the broth turns out to be bland and tasteless.
- To avoid straining the fish broth, some housewives boil fish pieces on a sieve or in gauze bags. This method is especially good when small river fish are used together with pike for the broth.
- All fish broths, including fish soup, should be cooked over low heat. It is not recommended to overcook the fish, otherwise it will become tough and lose its taste. For example, when cutting pike into steaks 3 cm thick, 15-20 minutes is enough. boiling.
- To preserve the special taste of fish broth, it is not recommended to use too many spices, aromatic herbs, vegetables and even potatoes in the recipe.
- In the “correct” fish soup, onions and vegetables are placed fresh, not fried. Oil is added at the very end of cooking and in very small quantities (if the recipe calls for it).
- It is better to cut vegetables for fish soup into large pieces, this way they will better retain their juiciness. In order for the fish soup to acquire a beautiful golden color, you can add a whole carrot to the broth at the very beginning of cooking.
- You need to prepare the fish soup for one serving, since if it is heated the next day, it loses all its taste and usefulness.
Fragrant fish soup made from fresh pike at home is suitable for lunch with the whole family. Fish is an extremely healthy product that should be in the diet of every person who cares about their health. River fish is an important component of dietary dishes and perfectly satisfies the feeling of hunger.
Cooking pike fish soup: features
How to choose and prepare fish correctly?
Remember a few basic rules for choosing fish for fish soup, and then the dish will undoubtedly turn out tasty and rich:
- To prepare fish soup, you should use only fresh fish, ideally live fish. Frozen pike soup will lose its rich taste;
- If you add several types of fish in addition to pike (for example, catfish, sterlet or perch), the fish broth will be more rich and tasty;
- When choosing fish, give preference to several small fish carcasses rather than one large one. Larger fish can give the finished dish a muddy taste;
- Before the cooking process, be sure to gut the fish;
- It is better to place the fish in small pieces ten to fifteen minutes before the fish soup is ready. You need to cook over low heat.
The best utensils for fish soup
The ideal dish for preparing fish soup is a clay pot. However, if it is impossible to obtain it, you can also use an enamel pan.
Remember: the container in which the fish soup is prepared should not be subject to oxidation, otherwise it will affect the taste of the cooked fish soup. Also, do not cover the pan with a lid during the cooking process.
What else should you add to your fish soup besides fish?
Some gourmets believe that real fish soup should consist solely of water, potatoes and onions. However, for richness, you can add something else to taste.
For example, in some recipes, cereals are added to the fish soup - rice or millet, vegetables, garlic, herbs - dill or parsley, as well as bay leaves. All this will give the broth greater fat and make the dish more satisfying. In addition, parsley will “smooth out” the overly intrusive taste of fish.
Tips for using spices
The most important tip: don’t overdo it with spices! They can overpower the flavor of the fish. It is enough to add a little black peppercorns (precisely peppercorns - it will add piquancy to the dish).
Another subtlety: the water for the broth must be salted at the very beginning of cooking.