Fisherman’s Soup – Ukha
One of the easiest and healthiest fish soups is the Russian Ukha. Prepared by cooking a fish broth from a whole fish, you then add handful of additional vegetables, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes and fresh dill and parsley into that clear and flavorful broth.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 whole fish, 1-1 1/2 lbs, cleaned (snapper, trout, bass, salmon, etc.)
- 10 cups water
- 1/2 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 3 dry bay leaves
- salt, to taste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3–4 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3–5 celery stalks, sliced
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 – 1 Tablespoon each, fresh parsley and dill, finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the fish broth by placing the fish in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add the water, black peppercorns, dry bay leaves and salt to taste. (I also like to add the veggie peels and scraps that you will be using for the soup – onion, carrots and celery. That is optional.) Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
- While the fish broth is cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients. Peel and chop the onion and potatoes, peel and slice the carrots, slice the celery and chop the fresh herbs.
- Set the fish aside until it’s cool enough to handle. Strain the fish broth through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the peppercorns, bay leaves and veggie scraps, if using. When the fish is cool enough to handle, remove the fish meat and set aside to be added to the soup at the very end. Discard the fish skin, bones and head.
- Rinse out the pot that you used to cook the fish broth. Return the broth to the pot and add all the vegetables except the herbs. Add more water, if you want the soup to be thinner. This is optional. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if it needs it.
- Bring the soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are tender and cooked through.
- Add the fish meat to the soup and garnish with fresh herbs. Serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers for 5-7 days.