Royal Fish Soup with Black Caviar

⏳ Time

2 hours

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

Royal fish soup, like any authentic fish soup, is prepared exclusively over an open fire. A must-have condition is the presence of fresh river fish of 4–5 varieties for the broth, sturgeon fish, and natural black caviar from sturgeon species.

Ingredients

Onion - 3 heads
River Fish - 17.6 oz
Carrot - 4 pieces
Bay leaf - 6 pieces
Green peppercorns - 1.8 oz
Fillet of Sturgeon - 17.6 oz
Blue Ling Fillet - 17.6 oz
Salt - to taste
Water - 8 qt
Pike - 2 lbs
Crucian Carp - 17.6 oz
Parsley - 4 pieces
Parsley - 1 bunch
Sterlet - 17.6 oz
River Fish - 17.6 oz
Red Caviar - 5.3 oz
Pickled pearl onions - 17.6 oz
Anise Vodka - 5 fl oz

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Gut the pike and small fish, remove the gills, and rinse (do not remove the scales). Cut the pike into 3–4 pieces. Prepare the sturgeon fish by filleting, removing the skin, cartilage, and bones. Cut the fillets into pieces of 5–6 cm.

Step 2

Peel and wash the onions, pearl onions (small, shallots), carrots, and parsley roots. Soak a piece of cheesecloth well, fold it into two layers in a square shape of 50x50 cm. Place the pike and small fish — perch, ruffe, roach, crucians — in the center. Add the vegetables and roots (except for the pearl onion), the bunch of parsley, bay leaves, and black peppercorns (lightly crush the pepper beforehand in a mortar). Tie the ends of the cheesecloth crosswise into a tight knot, ensuring there are no gaps.

Step 3

Place the pouch in a 10-liter pot, knot side up, pour in 8 liters of water, and place it over the open fire without a lid. After boiling, skim off the foam and salt to taste. Cook for about 40–45 minutes. Remove the pot from the fire. Take out the pouch and let the contents drain back into the pot. To extract as much broth as possible, you can place the pouch under a weight (a stone) for 5 minutes, pouring any remaining broth back into the pot. Discard the squeezed pouch.

Step 4

Line a sieve or colander with a double layer of well-washed cheesecloth and strain the broth. Pour the strained broth back into the pot and place it over the fire without a lid. Once boiling, add the prepared pearl onions (shallots) and cook for 6–7 minutes. Then immediately add all the sturgeon fillets and cook for no more than 5–6 minutes from the moment it boils. During the cooking of the fish, add salt if necessary, as the fish will absorb some salt from the broth.

Step 5

Remove the pot from the fire and immediately dip a large smoldering ember into the soup for 3–4 seconds, then remove the ember and skim off any small charcoal pieces from the surface of the soup with a slotted spoon or sieve. Pour in the vodka and stir. Cover the pot with a lid.

Step 6

Mash the black sturgeon caviar (you can use black salted caviar or even a less expensive black roe) in a mortar into a paste, adding a little broth from the soup. Pour the caviar paste into the soup and stir. Cover with a lid and let the soup steep for 10–15 minutes.

Step 7

Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Serve the royal fish soup with pastries filled with sturgeon and pike or with fillings of pike, cod, or burbot. Enjoy with a shot of cold vodka.