10 Fish Dishes

Today we are presenting a tasty selection of Russian fish dishes. Fish has always been eaten in a variety of kinds: steamed, boiled, telnaya (i.e. made of fillet alone boned but not skinned), fried, stuffed (with porridge, onions and mushrooms), stewed, jellied, roasted in scales, fried in sour cream, salted, wind-dried, sun-dried (vobla) or stove-dried (suschik). In north-eastern Russia fish was soured (sour fish), in western Siberia it was raw-frozen (stroganina). Smoked fish was less spread in Russian national cuisine until mid 19th century, but these days it is, on the contrary, is very popular in three kinds – cold-smoked, hot-smoked and smoke-dried.

Pike Jelly

1.5kg pike
1 carrot
1 parsley root
1 onion
3 peppercorns
1/2 tbsp salt
1.5-2L water

Cut pike, sprinkle with salt, leave to let the salt absorb. Make a bouillon from parsley, onion, carrot and pepper. Strain it and chill. First boil the pike head in the bouillon, then the rest of the fish. Take out the cooked pieces and bone them carefully. Strain the bouillon and keep on boiling at low heat until sticky. Put the prepared fish in a round or oval form, add bouillon, stir and leave in the cold. 6 hours later overturn the form on a dish and serve without any garnishing.

Russian Herring

1 soaked herring
500g pickled tomatoes
50g dried mushrooms
200g mayonnaise
potatoes, spring onions

Fillet the herring, cut into thin stripes, lay out on a dish, atop put boiled potatoes, boiled mushrooms, spring onions and mayonnaise. Alternatively, put the products as a hill with pickled tomatoes and greens around.


Volga Fish

800g fish
3 tbsp sunflower oil
salt, pepper
Marinade:
3-4 carrots
1 parsley root
3 onions
1 cup tomato paste
4 tbsp sunflower oil
bay leaves, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice pepper, salt, vinegar
2 cups water

Cut rinsed and cleaned fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, fry in sunflower oil until ready. Prepare the marinade: slice vegetables into julienne, add tomato paste and fry until the oil is the colour of tomato. Add water, bring to boil, add salt, vinegar and spices, boil 10-15 min. Optionally, add pounded garlic. Add the marinade to the fish and leave 4-5 hrs in a cold place.

Catfish in Sour Cream Sauce with Horseradish

1kg fish
1 horseradish root
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp butter
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp wheat flour
1 onion
1 carrot
20gparsley root
3 bay leaves
salt, black peppercorns

Make spicy broth, add lemon juice, greens and a few cored lemon circles. Cut the fish into rounded pieces, put them in the boiling broth, bring to boil, and turn down the heat to the minimum. Boil about 15 min until ready and put the fish on a dish. Grate horseradish finely, put it on a frying pan with heated oil and fry just a little not letting it get dark. Sprinkle the horseradish with flour, stir, add sour cream and a few spoons of broth, boil and add 1 tbsp butter. Add the sauce to the fish and serve.

Fish Balls

400g fish
100g white bread
1/2 cup milk
60g fresh parsley
1 onion
20ml sunflower oil

Take pikeperch, cod, pike or burbot fillet. Process the fillet through the meat grinder with onions and white bread soaked in milk. Stir thoroughly, add salt, pepper and chopped fresh parsley, stir again, and make balls – 10 balls per serve. Put the balls in a buttered stew pan and fry a little in oil. Add tomato sauce and stew covered 20-25 min at low heat.
Garnish with fried or boiled potatoes.

Roast Eel

600g eel
60g butter
salt, greens

Choose young eel so that you do not have to skin it. Scrub the skin thoroughly with a knife, sprinkle with salt and rinse. Cut along the belly, remove the innards, rinse and dry with a tissue. Sprinkle with salt, coat with butter outside and inside, put on a frying pan or baking sheet. Roast until ready, brushing with butter periodically. Serve with finely chopped fresh herbs.

Carp Stewed in Beer

600g carp
20ml grape vinegar
20g butter
1 cup beer
80g white bread
0.4g lemon peel
black and allspice pepper, greens

Clean, gut and rinse the fish. Cut if large, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with vinegar and leave in the fridge for 40 min. Pour beer in an enamelled pan, bring to boil, add butter cut into small pieces. When it melts, add fish with vinegar, stale white bread pressed through a sieve, lemon peel. Put the pan in the oven and stew 30-40 min covered.

Salmon Grill

500g salmon
40g butter
200g mayonnaise

Pkhali from the Chef of Kharcho Restaurant

Marinated cod

Fresh sea bass carpaccio with citrus sauce

Tuna with orange sauce from Chef of Lesnaya skazka Restaurant