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Ear soup with trout head potatoes

Trout Head Fish Soup (Ukha) with Potatoes

Oh, what a beauty this delicious fish soup is! Trout is both tasty and good for you. Choosing a classic ukha (Russian fish soup) recipe is far harder than making one — there are countless versions, sometimes so wildly different that if it weren't for the one thing they all share, the fish, you'd swear you were looking at completely different dishes.

Galina

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Trout (Rainbow trout: head, fins, backbone)

Potatoes

Onion

Carrots

Bay leaf

Garlic

Peppercorns

Salt

Water

2.5

Dill

Dried vegetable seasoning (dried blend: tomato, celery, bell pepper, onion, and carrot)

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 50 % 3 g

Fats 0 % 0 g

Carbohydrates 50 % 3 g

28 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather all the ingredients. Rinse, clean, and pat dry the fish pieces, paying special attention to the head: scrape it with a knife, pull out the gills, and rinse thoroughly under running water. Check the gill cavities carefully — any stray bits of gill will make the soup bitter.
Step 2:

Cover the trout head with cold water and set the pot over low heat.
Step 3:

As the water comes to a boil, a lot of foam will form. Skim it off with a slotted spoon. The broth turns out rich and full of fish fat — but that's fish oil, with no cholesterol and plenty of omega-3 fatty acids that are great for your heart and blood vessels.
Step 4:

Add the remaining fish parts and trimmings to the broth, bring to a boil, and skim again. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
Step 5:

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large cubes, grate the carrot on the coarse side of a grater, and add the onion whole (so you can fish it out later). If you like onion in your soup, chop it however you prefer. I'll add the garlic in whole cloves.
Step 6:

Strain the finished broth to remove the bones and any sediment. Set the fish aside on a plate to cool.
Step 7:

Add the vegetables — fresh and dried — to the strained broth. If you have fresh tomatoes and peppers, use them; I didn't have any on hand, so my go-to is a dried vegetable blend. A couple of tablespoons fill the broth with flavor. When the broth returns to a boil with the vegetables, add the spices. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are done, salting a few minutes before the end.
Step 8:

Take out the onion and discard it. Pick the meat off the head, backbone, and trimmings, add it to the finished soup, and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
Step 9:

Done! Add the fresh herbs — and a spoonful of sour cream or a splash of cream, if you like.