Stuffed Pike Perch
4 servings
90 minutes
Stuffed pike perch is a refined dish of Russian cuisine, known for its delicate taste and elegant presentation. The fish is skinned while maintaining its shape and then filled with a delicate stuffing made from its own flesh, cream, and spices. This cooking method preserves the fish's natural juiciness and imparts a special aroma. After gentle boiling in vegetable broth, the pike perch acquires a rich flavor with subtle hints of greens and spices. The dish is often garnished with fresh vegetables and herbs, creating a bright and appetizing composition on the table. Stuffed pike perch is considered a festive treat, perfect for celebrations and family dinners, symbolizing the traditions of Russian culinary art with its attention to detail and richness of flavors.
1
Clean the pike perch from the scales.
- Pike-perch (zander): 1 kg
2
Make incisions on the fish's skin at the base of the head and fins with a knife. Then carefully separate the skin from the flesh in a circle using the tip of the knife, so you can grab the skin and pull it off completely from head to tail. Next, cut the spine at the base of the tail. One hand should hold the skin with the tail tip, while the other holds the fish flesh on the spine. If the skin tears somewhere, it's not a big deal – it can be stitched or pinned with toothpicks.
3
We wash the carcass, remove the entrails, spine, and large bones. If there are pieces of flesh left on the skin, clean them with a knife and add to the fish mass. Pass the resulting fish fillet through a meat grinder. This will be the fish filling.
- Pike-perch (zander): 1 kg
- Butter: 50 g
4
Preparing the filling: dissolve sugar in cream. Add semolina, cream with sugar, pepper, salt, and dried herbs to the fish mince. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Semolina: 1 tablespoon
- Cream: 50 ml
- Ground black pepper: 0.5 teaspoon
- Sugar: 0.5 teaspoon
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Dill: 1 tablespoon
5
Fill the pike perch skin with filling and grease the top with butter. Place the fish in cheesecloth or wrap it with string, and boil it in vegetable broth. If you don't want to deal with broth, you can simply pour boiling water over the fish, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to let the water simmer slightly, and cook for 30-40 minutes.
- Butter: 50 g
- Water: 3 l
6
Preparing the broth: clean, wash, and cut the vegetables into portions. Pour boiling water and add spices, excluding bay leaf. Boil for 15 minutes.
- Carrot: 1 piece
- Onion: 1 head
- Allspice berries: 10 pieces
- Bay leaf: 4 pieces
- Parsley root: 50 g
7
Then we lower the pikeperch into the boiling broth, reduce the heat, and cook for 30-40 minutes. Add the bay leaf 10 minutes before the end of cooking. The head always cooks together with the stuffed body and is also greased with butter beforehand.
- Bay leaf: 4 pieces
- Butter: 50 g
8
Place the cooked fish on a plate, cut into portions, and garnish with salad, tomatoes, greens, and olives.
- Fresh herbs: to taste
- Green salad leaves: to taste
- Cherry tomatoes: 30 g
- Green olives: to taste
