River fish soup

In Ukraine it’s a must to cook the river fish soup in the summer at least once in a month. All the fish soups even have their separate category name in Ukrainian language, it’s called “Uha” and there are so many recipes of them. Some knowing people say, that it’s the best when “Uha” is cooked in open fire at some riverside, with the fish that has just been caught. My recipe is the house version but still full of summer flavor!

Serves 6

600 grams of river fish (carps or trout or any other river fish)

1,5 l of cold chicken stock

3 potatoes

Vegetable oil for frying

3 average carrots

1 onion

2 tomatoes

200 ml of sour cream

A bunch of dill

Salt and white pepper to taste

1) Clean the fish, scrape it, take the guts out, wash it properly, cut off the fins and head. Cut the clean fish into the pieces (average, not too big, not too small) and put it into 3 l pot.

2) Peel potatoes and cut into 2 cm dice. Place it into the pot with fish and fill it with chicken stock and bring it to the boil and let it simmer gently. Add salt.

3) In the mean time, peel tomato skins, deseed them and chop into small pieces. Peel an onion and carrots. Dice the onion, grate the carrots using the largest holes on a pyramid grater.

4) Heat the oil into frying pan. Add onions, sweat them until soft and add carrots, sauté for about 2 min and add tomatoes and the sour cream. Steam it all together for 2 min more. Turn off the heat.

5) When the potatoes are ready add the steamed vegetables into the pot. Bring everything to the boil, try it and correct seasoning with salt and pepper.

6) Chop the dill. Put it into the soup pot and cover with the lid. Leave it for 10 min.

7) Serve!