Because I have a special connection to Hungarian culture, I thought I would continue exploring the country’s traditions. Today’s theme is food eaten at the Christmas table, and from what I understood, there is one dish that stands above the others: Fisherman’s soup.
The main ingredients are exactly what you would expect from a meal named after professional fishermen: freshwater fish.
This caused me some difficulties, because the freshwaters of Finland contain very different fish compared to those of Hungary. Our customs of selling fresh fish are also quite different, so getting the correct type of fish at this time of year can be challenging.
However, I managed to find some zander in the local supermarket, so I decided to buy the whole fish, as the recipe called for using all of it. I was very happy that they had already descaled it and removed the internal organs at the store, since I am definitely not a fish expert. Filleting it and removing the fins and most of the bones was already quite enough work, to be honest.
Hungarian Fisherman’s Soup
- 1,5 kg freshwater fish
- 2 onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp Hungarian paprika spice
- 1 chili (or 2 hungarian hot paprikas)
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- ground black pepper
- 2 l water
Making The Broth
Fillet the fish and set the meat aside for later use. Put the leftover pieces into a pot with the vegetables, half of the salt, and the paprika spice. Let it simmer on low heat for 45–60 minutes. After that, allow the broth to cool for a few minutes and strain it through a fine sieve.
Building The Soup
Heat the broth again on the stove. Add the rest of the salt and more paprika spice; the soup should be visibly red. Slice the fish meat into large chunks and add them to the broth. Let it simmer for 12–15 minutes. Add both the broth and the fish pieces to the serving bowls.
Fisherman’s soup is traditionally apparently served with spicy paprikas and bread. This makes sense, since it really contains little more than broth and fish. I did not have the paprikas, of course, but I served it with Finnish barley flatbread, and it actually turned out to be a pretty nice combination with the soup.
The soup itself was curious — I would describe it as more traditional than a delicacy, but definitely a nice new experience. The preparation, however, was too much work to repeat very often, so I don’t see myself making this too frequently in the future.
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