Dalmatian fish soup OR Dalmatinska riblja juha (i riba leso)

We are a family of fish lovers. – No, we are a REGION of fish lovers! But who could blame us, with the sea like this? And yes, it is precisely the sea that miss most now that I live away from home, other than family and friends, of course. I miss long relaxing walks by the sea, its ever-changing beauty, and its amazing bounty. My family love fish; in fact, I don’t know a sea creature we don’t love, except for the fact that I’m not too keen on squid if it’s not in risotto, or brudet (a type of fish stew eaten with polenta), but that’s another story.  

Right now I’m craving for a simple, comforting fish soup, the way we prepare it in Dalmatia. Here are some photos and the recipe. This is another one of those posts prepared during the summer, that didn’t make it into the blog earlier.

Enjoy!

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Dalmatian fish soup   OR    Dalmatinska riblja juha (i riba leso)

 

SOURCE: My Grandma and Mum’s recipe

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 30 – 40 min

CUISINE: Croatian

SERVES: 6

 

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 kg fish (we used mol, which is hake in English – Thanks, Tea!)

a little olive oil

salt

a few cloves of garlic, chopped

a bit of celery leaf

water as necessary

chopped parsley

1 large or 2 medium carrots, grated  (optional)

garlic

a few handfuls of rice

METHOD:

1. Cut the fish into portions, if you are using big fish. Add olive oil, salt, garlic, celery leaf and add enough water to cover the fish. Don’t add too much water, because it will weaken the flavour. Cover and boil until the fish is cooked. The fish is cooked when the meat becomes soft and white.

2. When the fish is cooked, take it out of the pot and reserve the stock. Leave a little bit of the liquid with the fish.

3. Add fresh chopped parsley, more garlic, carrot (optional) and rice to the stock, and cook until the rice is soft.

Serve the fish soup as the first course, and the boiled fish as the second course. A simple side dish of boiled potatoes goes well with the fish, or some salad. My mum puts extra chopped garlic and olive oil on the table for people to help themselves to eat with the fish. We eat it like this: we take a piece of fish and put some of its liquid over it; then add a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle it with fresh garlic and sometimes parsley. I looove dipping bread into this!

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This recipe is a part of the event Teach a Man to Fish – the Sustainable Seafood Event. Go to Leather District Gourmet for a truly fantastic round-up, containing lots of useful advice and brilliant fish recipes!

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