Ukha: clear fish broth with a piece of fish, potato and carrot

Intermediate

Ukha (Clear Russian Fish Soup)

Name: Ukha (Clear Russian Fish Soup)
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients: 800 g Small bony fish for the broth — perch, ruffe or roach, gutted, heads on; 700 g Good firm fish for the pot — pike, pike-perch, cod or salmon, in thick steaks; 2.5 L Water; 1 Onion, whole, peeled; 1 Carrot, whole; 1 Parsley root or parsnip; 1 Leek, white part; 500 g Waxy potatoes, in large chunks; 2 Bay leaves; 10 Black peppercorns; 1 pinch Saffron threads; ½ tsp Fennel seed; 2 tbsp Vodka; 4 tbsp Dill and tarragon, chopped; 2 tsp Salt; 6 slices Lemon and black bread, to serve

A clear broth built from small bony fish, strained, then filled with a second lot of good fish, potato and root vegetables and finished with dill, tarragon and a splash of vodka. It came off the Don steppe with the Cossacks. Vegetables stay to a minimum: the whole point is a broth you can see the bottom of.

Source

Recipe by Russian home kitchens · 🏺 Traditional · Cabbage, potato, cucumber and dill, a pot of soup that is always on, and a spoon of smetana on top of most of it.

Russia · the clear soup of the Don — An ownerless traditional dish, so no cook is credited. The cited article confirms ukha as a clear Russian soup made from various types of fish, usually containing root vegetables, parsley root, leek, potato, bay leaf, dill, tarragon and green parsley and spiced with black pepper, saffron, nutmeg and fennel seed, with roots in the culture of the Russian Cossack steppe riders and mostly associated in Russia with the Don region, and records that vegetables were kept to a minimum in its preparation. The two-stage broth, the vodka, timings and quantities are this book's own.

Background on Wikipedia ↗

Watch it being made · 3 videos

Шеф-повар Василий Емельяненко Рецепты в гостях у Вани Готовь со мной! Евгений Подложнюк.

⏱ 90 min🍽 6 servings🔥 320 kcal🇷🇺 Russia

PescatarianDairy-freeGluten-freeNut-free

Steps

Put the small fish in the cold water with the whole onion, carrot, parsley root, leek, bay and peppercorns. Bring very slowly to a bare simmer and skim every bit of foam for the first 10 minutes.
💡 Never let it boil. One rolling boil and the broth clouds for good — ukha is judged on whether you can read the pattern on the bottom of the bowl.
Simmer 40 minutes, then strain through muslin and discard the small fish and the vegetables. You should have a clear, pale gold broth.
Return the broth to the clean pot, add the potatoes and salt and cook 12 minutes until nearly tender.
Add the saffron, fennel seed and the good fish in steaks. Cook 8 minutes at a bare tremble — the fish should be just set and still in one piece.
Off the heat, pour in the vodka and scatter the dill and tarragon. Stand 5 minutes, then ladle into bowls with a slice of lemon and black bread.

💡 Tips

The vodka is not a joke — a spoonful clarifies the broth and lifts the smell of the fish. It boils off in seconds.
On the riverbank a burning ember from the fire is dropped into the pot at the end, which is where the smoky version, ukha po-rybatski, gets its name.