Chunky Fish Soup with Vegetables/Sebzeli Balık Çorbası & How to Make Fish Stock/Balık Suyu |

In our house we love soups especially during the colder months.

Here’s my latest and we think it’s scrumptious!

Fish soup with vegetables/sebzeli balık çorbası

The traditional Turkish soups lend themselves well to this time of year: lentil, Ezo Gelin and Yayla, full of grains and pulses as they are, tasty and filling not to mention economical.

But this time, I went for chunky fish soup. We had fish the other day and the fishmonger included the central bones in the bag. There was still some flesh clinging to them so I couldn’t bring myself just to bin them.

Aha I thought. This is a good opportunity to make a good, strong, flavoursome fish stock as I knew that I had a huge fish head in the freezer that I could add. For fish soup you have to have a really good stock otherwise the resulting soup won’t have much taste.

Fish stock in the making: that huge scaly bit in the middle is a fish head

It’s not difficult to make a fish stock. I knew I had all the necessary veg in the fridge as I had just been to the market, so I embarked upon this with gusto. As always for savoury recipes, the exact amount isn’t important: if you don’t have it, don’t beat yourself up about it. The bonus was the appetising fragrance that wafted through the house while it was cooking – not fishy in the slightest.

Ingredients for fish stock

adapted from Özcan Ozan’s recipe
Serves 4-6

3lbs/1.350kg fish bones including any flesh or trimmings

1 small onion, roughly chopped

2 sticks celery or equivalent celery root and leaves

2 leeks, trimmed and roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 or 2 dried bay leaves

1 sprig fresh thyme if available

4 sprigs fresh parsley

6 black peppercorns, slightly crushed

1 tbsp salt

Method

Place the fish bones in a deep pan and cover with 4 pints/8 cups cold water as well as all the other ingredients. Bring the liquid to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer gently for about an hour. Carefully skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Add extra water if needed to keep the bones and vegetables covered.
Strain or sieve at end of cooking time. Let stock cool, uncovered, before refrigerating.
NB Fish stock keeps for up to one week in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it.

Armed with this stock, on with the actual fish soup:

Fish soup with vegetables/sebzeli balık çorbası

Ingredients for Fish Soup with Vegetables
taken from ‘The Sultan’s Kitchen’ by Özcan Ozan

Serves 4-6

1 kilo or so/2lbs firm, white fleshy fish, filleted and cut into chunks

(I used levrek/sea bass; this recipe specifies mackerel)

Approx. 3 pints or 6 cups fish stock, or water (not advised)

4 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 small potatoes, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks or equivalent celery root, chopped

3 tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and finely sliced (2 cups)

1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

½ tsp flaked red pepper/pul biber

4 tbsp lemon juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Place the fish chunks and stock in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 12 minutes or less if your chunks are small.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the fish from the saucepan. Chop it finely, removing any bones, and set aside. Strain the stock into a bowl and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook them gently, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, for about 2 minutes, until softened but not browned.
Add the reserved stock, potatoes, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Stir well and bring the mixture to the boil, then lower the heat, cover the saucepan, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Add the fish to the pan along with the chopped parsley and dill, flaked red pepper, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Stir gently and cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve hot garnished with more chopped parsley or simply parsley sprigs.