Waterzooi Soup
Waterzooi is a classic stew of Northern Belgian cuisine. Its name is Dutch, meaning “watery mess”. It is sometimes called Gentse Waterzooi (in Dutch) or waterzooi gantois (in French), which refers to Ghent, a city in Belgium.
The original form is made of fish, either freshwater or sea, (waterzooi de poissons, viszooitje), though today chicken waterzooi (waterzooi de poulet, kippenwaterzooi) is more common. The most accepted theory is that rivers of Ghent became too polluted and the fish there disappeared[1]. The stew is made of the fish or chicken, vegetables including carrots, leeks and potatoes, herbs, eggs, cream and butter.
Typically, fish such as eel, pike, carp and bass are used. (Other fish such as cod, monkfish, or halibut can be used.) Gentse Waterzooi van Kip includes chicken. Gentse Waterzooi van Tarbot includes turbot.
Both the chicken and fish versions are based on an egg yolk and cream thickened vegetable broth and usually served as a soup with a baguette to sop up the liquid.
Russian Soup
Ukha or уха is a Russian soup, clear salmon soup or clear fish soup, made of fish like salmon or cod, root vegetables, parsley root, leek, potato, bay leaf, lime, dill, green parsley and spiced with black pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Fishes like perch, tenches, sheatfish and burbots were used to add flavour to the soup.
Ukha is a fish dish, made with broth. However calling it a fish soup would not be absolutely correct. “Ukha” as a name in the Russian cuisine for fish broth was established only in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. In earlier times this name was first given to thick meat broths, and then later chicken. Beginning from the 15th century, fish was more and more often used to prepare ukha, thus creating a dish that had a distinctive taste among soups.
A minimum of vegetables is added in preparation, and in classical cooking ukha was simply a rich fish broth served to accompany fish pies (rasstegai, kuliebiaka, etc.). These days it is more often a fish soup, cooked with potatoes and other vegetables. A wide variety of freshwater fish can be used. There is an opinion that you can not make a good ukha from seafish, but this is untrue. Fresh fish is best to be cooked, so if it is frozen it is better not to defrost it. Preference is given to smaller, younger fish, with the tail part of bigger fish discarded.
Fishermans Soup
Fisherman’s Soup is a hot and spicy paprika based river fish soup recipe. The meal originates from the Hungarian cuisine, a bright red hot soup prepared with carp or mixed river fish, characteristic for the cuisines of the Pannonian Plain, particularly prepared in the Danube and Tisza river regions.
The dish is a famous soup, it is a perennial favorite with tourists and locals alike. The secret of good Fisherman’s Soup is in the Court Bouillon. To prepare the soup base, fish trimmings are used, fresh carp heads, bones, skin and fins. These are boiled with water, salt and vegetables (red onions, green peppers, tomatoes) for two hours. When ready, the Court Bouillon is strained. Hot ground paprika and two finger-thick carp fillets, the roe and coral is added, ten minutes before serving, to the boiling soup. Smooth white wine goes best with Fisherman’s soup.
Fisherman’s Soup variations
* Fisherman’s Soup a la Szeged. Four different kinds of fish are used. The usual ratio is 1.5 pound (800 g) carp, 1 pound (500g) catfish, 0.5 pound (350g) sturgeon and 0.5 pound (350g) pike or perch.
* Hell’s Pub style Fisherman’s Soup[3] or Drinker’s Fisherman Soup. Bay leaf is added and flour, sour cream and a small amount of lemon juice is mixed into the hot soup. Garnished with lemon rings.
* Fisherman’s Soup a la Paks. Home made thin soup pasta called csipetke is added.
Traditionally, the soup is prepared in small kettles on open fire on the river banks by fishermen. Fisherman’s soup in kettle is prepared with fresh fish on the place. First, chopped onion is fried in the kettle with some oil and water until it is caramelized. Then, ground paprika is added and the kettle is filled with water. When the water comes to a boil, other spices (such as black pepper, white wine, tomato juice) are added, and finally the fish, chopped into large pieces. Entire fish, including heads and tails, are often added to the soup. The soup is usually prepared with mixed fish, the most common species are common carp, catfish, perch and pike. Depending on the amount of added hot paprika the soup is mildly to very hot. (The Hungarian soup is always very hot and spicy.)
The soup is poured directly from the kettle into the plates and eaten with bread (the spicier the soup, the more bread is required).
Many people, especially fishermen, regard the preparation of fish soup somewhat of a cult. Although the recipe is basically simple, the “right” ratio of spices, onion, fish (its quality and variety) and water, as well as timing, affect the soup taste significantly. Many dedicated fishermen regarded their recipe as a highly-kept secret.
A plate of Fisherman’s Soup with carp fillets
Competitions in preparing the soup are popular and are usually held at fairs or picnics along river coast. Visitors are offered to taste the soup for money or for free; the quality is determined by public or committee and (un)success of competitors is often subject of mutual teasing. The soup is best consumed with Riesling wines.
Fanesca Recipe
Fanesca is a traditional soup recipe from Ecuador. Its components and preparation vary from one region to other of the country, if not from one family to another. It is typically prepared and served only in the week before Easter. It is a rich soup, with the primary ingredients being figleaf sambo, pumpkin, corn, fava beans and twelve different kinds of grains, representing the disciples of Jesus, and salt cod, cooked in milk thickened with pumpkin seeds, due to the Christian religious prohibition against red meat during Holy Week (the week before Easter). It also generally contains hard boiled eggs, fried plantains, and sometimes empanadas. It is usually garnished with parsley and other native vegetables.
Cullen Skink Recipe
Cullen Skink is a thick Scottish soup made of smoked Finnan haddie, potatoes and onions. Lacking the traditional ingredient, any other undyed smoked haddock will suffice.
This soup is a local speciality, from the town of Cullen in Moray, on the north-east coast of Scotland. The soup is often served as a starter at formal Scottish dinners.
The name is not derived from Gaelic. The first element refers to the town of Cullen in Moray, skink is a Scots word for a shin, knuckle or hough of beef which has developed the secondary meaning of a soup, especially one made from these. The word skink is ultimately derived from Middle Dutch schenke “shin, hough”.
Cullen Skink appears in many traditional Scottish cookery books and appears on a large number of menus across Scotland. The soup is extremely easy and quick to make.