These rough looking fish that look like a Dutch still life are delicious boiled. They are as large as a large man's hand, and have one sharp point on their back fin that has some poison in it (not enough to kill you of course- just enough to make your hand itch). Pavlos the fish guy says he'll clean them for me to be safe, but he says it under his breath because they are 3 eu a kilo and he just told the woman ahead of me he of course would not clean them. They only clean the 5 euroes and up fish- the cod, the striped bass, the red snappers, and so on. I appreciate it- a sink full of spiky fish, and something is could to go wrong.
Greek style fish soup is a simple matter- there is no shellfish, just fish, but of course variety and quantity count. But if you have a good boiling fish the one kind is enough. The soup is thick and filling, thanks to being thickened with potatoes and rice, and avgolemono. The flavors are clean and simple- we just use a little European style celery, parsley, onion, maybe some dill. A carrot is nice.
Like all the nice fish soups, this is traditionally a simple meal. We get what we can out of the humble ingredients- nothing is wasted and it is delicious and virtuous.
We will need:
1-2 K boiling fish- one kind, or a mix- cleaned
3 potatoes
2 onions
5 or 6 carrots
1/2 bunch parsley
a few fronds of dill, plus stems
a couple of stalks of celery
a handful of rice
a few peppercorns
2 lemons
2 eggs
As soon as you get the fish home, salt them well and bury some lemon slices among them.
Scrub the potatoes and carrots clean. Peel them, and put their peels in a pot with the outer layers of the onions (but not the papery skins), the celery, parsley, and dill, and a few whole peppercorns. Add a spoonful of salt, and bring to a boil, boiling about 20 minutes.
Chop the onions finely, cut the potatoes into large dice, and the carrots into large pieces. Strain the broth into a bowl, pressing on the boiled peels and herbs. Put some olive oil in a large soup pot (I used the same one I had made the broth in- we just have the one) and saute the onion until clear, add the rice, and the broth. Give it a head start of five minutes, then add the potatoes and the carrots, and on top of this the fish, which you have tied into one or two packets with cheesecloth or sterile gauze
Simmer just until the vegetables are tender- the fish will need no more time than they will.
Remove the fish carefully and open the packets. The fish, no matter how careful you have been, will be a mess.
The skin of a tasty boiling fish is sticky. Take the flaky meat from the bones carefully if you can, or just leave it on the platter and let everyone work on their own fish, with mayonnaise on the side. You can put the fish into the soup, but we usually have ours plain with mayonnaise and enjoy the rich fish flavor of the soup's broth- it is like two dishes this way, and more of an activity.
To finish the soup, add a couple spoonfuls of flour mixed in cold water to thicken it slightly, then beat 2 eggs with the juice of a lemon, add hot soup slowly to bring it up to temperature, then pour this mixture back into the pot, off the heat now. It will become opaque and velvety.
Test for lemon, probably adding more, and test for salt. Serve with a drizzle of oil and some chopped herbs
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