Ukha: Ukrainian Fish Soup from Fish Heads and Tails at Home
Some will say ukha isn't made in a kitchen, and they'll be absolutely right. Ukha needs the outdoors, a campfire, a light mist over the water. But you can't always get out into nature.
The modern world is intense and complicated. Everyone's in a hurry, with a pile of things big and small to do. But sometimes you just crave ukha. Really, it's worth having a fish day at home now and then.
Homemade ukha is very good for you. Well? Even if it's not ukha proper but just fish soup, you should have it.
How do you make traditional ukha from river fish? Salt and pepper the water, add sliced carrot, celery root and a peeled onion, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Take out the onion and add peeled potatoes cut into 6 pieces, cook for 12 minutes. Add the prepared fish (heads, tails, backbones). More on all the finer points below…
After a good fishing trip, there are always heads and tails left over. It's not salmon ukha, of course, but it's tasty too.
So: homemade ukha from fish heads, at home in the kitchen. An improvisation.
Ingredients
4 servings
- Fish (heads, tails) 1 kg
- Carrot 1
- Celery or parsley root 1
- Onion 1
- Potatoes 1-2
- Garlic 1-2 cloves
- Salt, black pepper, allspice, cloves, bay leaves, coriander seeds to taste
- Parsley 3-4 sprigs
Step-by-step recipe
- Homemade ukha always brings back memories of fishing. Pour 2 liters of water into a pot. While the water comes to a boil, add all the spices and a little salt.
- For spices, we add 10-12 black peppercorns, 2-3 allspice berries and ½ tsp coriander seeds. Plus 1-2 cloves and 2 bay leaves.
- Peel the carrot and cut it into thick rounds, or just cut it in half. Add the celery root whole if it's small (you can add parsley root, but carefully, it can make the soup a bit bitter). Or cut a piece off a large root. Peel the onion and cut a shallow cross into it, literally a quarter of the way down.
- When the water boils, let the spices and roots simmer for 15 minutes, then take out the celery and bay leaves.
- After that, drop the peeled potatoes, cut into 4-6 pieces, into the boiling water. Throw out the boiled-soft onion. Add the garlic, lightly crushing the cloves with the flat of a knife.
- Cook the potatoes for 10-12 minutes. Then add the fish to the soup.
- Usually the fish is heads and tails, unless you've specially saved something better for ukha. We end up with pike and zander leftovers. Well, sometimes we also buy trout and salmon soup packs. And the homemade ukha comes out rich.
- By the way, if you're making ukha with salmon or trout, add half a lemon, without squeezing it. Then take the lemon out and throw it away.
- Once the fish is in, homemade ukha will turn out better if you don't stir it and don't let it boil hard.
- Cook the ukha for 15-20 minutes over low heat, so it barely simmers.
- Then you can take out the carrot. Whether to leave the cooked carrot in the soup or not is up to you. Me, for one, I like the carrot.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- At this stage you can add pieces of good raw fish to the ukha: zander, trout and so on. Once that fish is cooked, you can put a piece in each bowl.
- Add finely chopped parsley. While the ukha is still boiling, add 2 more bay leaves.
- Take the ukha off the heat right away and let it stand for 10 minutes. For the ultimate touch, you can splash about 50 g of vodka into the ukha. But vodka in ukha is for the outdoors. If you're making it at home for the family, you probably shouldn't. Then again, nobody's stopping you from pouring a shot for anyone who wants one.
- Take the fish out of the soup and put it on a separate plate. Then ladle the ukha into bowls and eat it with fresh bread.
- Be sure to put salt and ground black pepper on the table.
| Serves: | 4 servings |
| Calories: | 46 |
| Prep: | 20 mins |
| Cook: | 30 mins |
| Total: | 50 mins |
| Category: | Soups |
| Cuisine: | European |
| Rating: |
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4.8
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