Sea bass fish soup
4 servings
75 minutes
The gills are usually removed from the fish intended for fish soup - so that the broth does not become bitter. But some people leave the gills and believe that there is nothing wrong with this and that the fish soup will only taste better. And indeed, they do not feel any bitterness. To avoid such experiments, you can take sea bass. It is lean, almost boneless and has a refined taste. Therefore, it is often used in Mediterranean cuisine as a main dish or complemented with a bland side dish. The freshness of sea bass can be determined by its bright red gills and clear look. Sea bass fish soup is cooked from all parts of the fish: with the head and spine, the broth is richer.
1
Clean the vegetables. Cut the celery root into eight pieces, zucchini and the white part of one leek into four, and the carrot and celery stalk in half.
- Celery root: 1 piece
- Zucchini: 1 piece
- Leek: 2 stems
- Carrot: 3 pieces
- Celery: 3 stems
2
Clean the sea bass from entrails and scales. Make an incision at the gills and carefully remove the fillet from the bones with a sharp and wide knife, moving from head to tail while pressing the fish with the other hand. Do the same with the other side of the sea bass. Rinse the fish skeletons with heads thoroughly.
- Sea bass: 2 pieces
3
The fillet should be freed from fins and cleaned of remaining bones. First, make a longitudinal cut in the center — at an angle, to remove the central bone. Then cut off the lower bones along with a thin layer of meat. You should end up with four neat pieces of meat on the skin.
- Sea bass: 2 pieces
4
Pour three and a half to four liters of water into a large pot. Add the chopped vegetables (leave one half of the carrot), uncut onions, fish bones with heads, and also parsley and dill (set aside a bit of greens). The water should barely cover the contents, with some parts even sticking out.
- Onion: 1 head
- Celery root: 1 piece
- Carrot: 3 pieces
- Celery: 3 stems
- Curly parsley: 1 bunch
- Dill: 1 bunch
5
Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer the fish soup for an hour. No need to stir; it's better to occasionally ladle broth over the vegetables. Remove the finished broth from the heat and strain it through a sieve into a smaller pot.
6
Place the pot with strained broth over medium heat and carefully add the sea bass fillet. Keep it on the heat for three minutes.
7
Finely chop the remaining parsley and the white part of the leek, and cut half of the carrot into thin strips. Add all this to the broth. Salt to taste - one teaspoon should be enough. Leave on the heat for another minute or two.
- Curly parsley: 1 bunch
- Leek: 2 stems
- Carrot: 3 pieces
- Salt: to taste
8
Pour the broth into bowls. Place a piece of sea bass in each. Sprinkle with finely chopped dill on top — and serve.
- Sea bass: 2 pieces
- Dill: 1 bunch