Mackerel soup
Description
A hearty first course. If you happen to get your hands on a nice scad, the best thing you can make from it is fish soup (ukha). The recipe for scad ukha won't seem difficult even to a beginner cook, yet in terms of taste, it's simply a masterpiece created from very simple ingredients. I highly recommend it. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Clean the fish, removing the innards and bones, take out the backbone, and cut into portion-sized pieces. Pour 1.5 liters of water into a pot, bring to a boil, and add the fish head, tail, and backbone.
- 2
Step 2
Add black and allspice, bay leaf, and one onion head.
- 3
Step 3
Cut the potatoes into cubes and add them to the broth as well.
- 4
Step 4
Boil the broth for 15-20 minutes, then strain it.
- 5
Step 5
Meanwhile, lightly fry the carrot, cut into small cubes, in vegetable oil.
- 6
Step 6
Place the portioned fish pieces and fried carrots into the prepared broth, bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then reduce the heat to a minimum. Add salt to taste and continue simmering over low heat for another 10–20 minutes, depending on the size of the fish pieces. Do not cover the pot with a lid. Avoid stirring the soup too often to prevent the fish pieces from breaking apart, if you want a clear fish soup, not a mushy one. A couple of minutes before it's done, add 15 g of butter to enrich the soup. Sprinkle the finished soup with fresh herbs and let it steep for another 20 minutes.