Fish soup is light but filling, and Black Sea fish is on sale all year round. The fishermen's version uses lemon and no extra spices: all you need is vegetables, a bay leaf and about an hour on the hob.

1 h 10 minprep 20 min · cooking 50 min
4 servingsLunch
Mediumdifficulty
320 kcalper serving

Ingredients

  • 1 kgwhole Black Sea fish (horse mackerel, bluefish or sea bream), cleaned
  • 2 lcold water
  • 2 mediumonions
  • 2carrots
  • 2 medium (300 g)potatoes
  • 1 sprigcelery
  • 2 (250 g)ripe tomatoes
  • 3 tbspsunflower oil
  • 1bay leaf
  • 6black peppercorns
  • 1 tspsalt, to taste
  • 1 small bunchparsley
  • 1lemon

Method

  1. Cut up the fish

    Cut off the heads and tails and set them aside for the stock. Cut the body, bones and all, into 4 cm pieces.

    Remove the gills from the heads, because they make the stock bitter.

    fish soup — Cut up the fish

  2. Make the stock

    Put the heads and tails in 2 l of cold water with one onion, the celery, the bay leaf and the peppercorns. Skim off the foam once it boils, then simmer on low heat for 20 minutes and strain.

    fish soup — Make the stock

  3. Fry the vegetables

    Dice the second onion and the carrots into 1 cm cubes and fry them in 3 tbsp of oil for 5–6 minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.

    fish soup — Fry the vegetables

  4. Cook the potatoes

    Pour the strained stock over the vegetables and add the potatoes, diced into 2 cm cubes. Cook for 12 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.

    fish soup — Cook the potatoes

  5. Add the fish

    Add the fish pieces and the salt and cook on low heat for 8–10 minutes, until the flesh turns white and comes away easily from the bone. Don't stir with a spoon. Shake the pot gently instead, so the fish doesn't fall apart.

    fish soup — Add the fish

  6. Finish with lemon

    Take the pot off the hob, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Leave the soup covered for 5 minutes. Cut the other half of the lemon into slices for the table.

    fish soup — Finish with lemon

How to serve

Serve with lemon slices and toasted bread.

Did you know?

Fish soup is a traditional dish on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and along the Danube.

Per serving (approx.): 320 kcal · protein 24 g · fat 16 g · carbohydrates 21 g