Lend an Ear

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, our theme for yesterday’s home school lesson was Russia. We made borscht for lunch, and then for supper, I made another traditional Russian dish, a kind of fish and potato soup called ukha. I was informed that the word “ukha” is Russian for “ear,” and for some reason over time it has become a slang word meaning a fortified broth. I promise that no actual ears of any kind were used in making this soup (possibly a potato eye or two snuck in, but definitely no ears).

To my New England brain, making fish soup without a cream base sounds strange. It sounds like it would be flavorless and weak. To be honest, it struck me as stereotypical “peasant food” – like the poor Irish who lived on potatoes and not much else, the poverty-stricken Asians and Africans who subsisted (and still subsist) on strictly rice, and Oliver Twist and his gruel, I expected it to be an essentially flavorless food that imparted little more than calories. Surprisingly, this simple soup turned out to be delicious, easy, and relatively inexpensive to make.

The ingredients were easy enough to gather: a couple of potatoes, an onion, some parsley, and some fish. Although the “real” Russian version of this dish would use freshwater fish, the recipe I found explained that it could be made with any kind of white-fleshed fish (it suggested cod), but noted that it can also be made with salmon, or even a combination of several kinds of fish. I trooped off to my local supermarket and found that both cod and salmon were on sale, so I used both.

First, I put 4 cups of water in a large saucepan on the stove to boil. Be sure to use a large saucepan! Four cups is a lot, and you still need room to add a significant volume of potatoes and fish. While it was chugging along, I chopped up my potatoes. The recipe specified to cube the potatoes, but didn’t mention the size. Since I prefer potatoes in soup to be quite soft, I opted to chop them rather small. 

I was nervous after the fact that they’d get mushy, but they ended up being just the right firmness. (I was always taught that adding salt to the cooking water makes potatoes tender; perhaps since salt isn't added until just before serving, they stay firmer?) Two potatoes didn’t seem like much for a whole pot of soup, but in typical potato fashion, they seemed to magically multiply in size as I chopped them. Next, I chopped up an onion.

My kids are not fond of onions, so I chopped them rather finely, but I think they would have added some nice texture if I sliced them thinly on a mandolin and then chopped them into large but bite-sized pieces. But that might be my New England fish chowder roots talking again. So chop them into whatever size you prefer.

The recipe called for an entire “bunch” of fresh parsley, chopped, which seemed like an awful lot to me. I used probably ¾ of this bunch. Again, adjust according to your own preferences. Soup isn’t chemistry; do it the way you like it and it’ll be just fine.

Once the water was boiling, I added the onion, potatoes, and parsley and left it simmering over low heat for 15 minutes.

I could have used this step as a lesson in density and displacement: the potatoes immediately sunk to the bottom, while the onion and parsley floated nicely on top.

While the veggies were cooking, I cut up the fish. Once again, the recipe didn’t specify the size of the “cubes,” so I went with large but bite-size pieces. The recipe specified 4 ounces of fish, but since 1) that’s difficult to measure, and 2) that didn’t sound like a lot of fish, I used a small filet of cod and half of a medium-sized filet of salmon. It ended up being slightly less volume than the cubed potatoes (probably about 2 to 2-1/2 cups). 

The most difficult part was cutting the skin off the salmon. I cut the filet into strips, then removed the skin, but next time I think I’d do the whole filet at once – once I detached it from the flesh, it pulled away easily and cleanly. Much easier to do in one large piece than a dozen smaller ones. 

Once the initial 15 minutes was up, I tossed in the fish and let it heat for another 10 minutes. 

The outside color of the fish began to change almost instantly when it went in the water. The salmon paled and the cod became less translucent. I was concerned that 10 minutes wouldn’t be enough to fully cook the large chunks of fish I used, but being surrounded by boiling water, it cooked very quickly and evenly. Once the 10 minutes was up and the fish was fully cooked, I added lemon juice (the recipe called for "the juice of one lemon" but I used bottled lemon juice and measured thusly: “Ummm…about thaaaaat much.”). Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust lemon juice as needed. I put in enough that you could barely taste the lemon. I was somewhat generous with the salt (the lemony-salty combination was wonderful!) and a bit light-handed with the pepper, since some members of my family aren’t big fans. Adding extra pepper to individual servings looks pretty and is an easy way to keep everyone happy. If I were serving this to guests, I’d add a sprig of parsley to each bowl as a garnish, but it’s lovely just as is.

Much like yesterdays’ borscht, serving ukha with a side of hearty bread makes a perfectly satisfying and complete meal. (Onions and parsley count as vegetables, right?) I liked the combination of flavors of the two different fish, and the slightly tart, slightly salty broth was a pleasant contrast to the mild flavor of the fish and potatoes, with a slight sweetness layered on top from the onions and just a hint of fresh green from the parsley.

This is a good, basic recipe which could be altered by using different kinds of fish, different herbs, perhaps adding a bit of spice or various seasonings instead of the lemon juice, possibly even using other root vegetables like sweet potatoes or summer squash instead of potatoes.

Mmmm, pass the ears!!

From Russia, with Love

A month or so ago, my son requested that we learn about France as part of homeschool. So we had “French Day.” We found the country on a map, we talked about what people wear in France, what the weather is like there, what kids study in school, what kind of games they play, and what kind of food they eat. We even found some recipes and planned out a meal that would be similar to what people in France would eat.

Yesterday, my son requested that we have another day like that, so I suggested a few countries he might choose from: Australia, Russia, Mexico, and Zimbabwe were all choices. He opted for Russia, so today we spent the morning studying what kind of clothes people in Russia wear (mostly the same as us, except traditional costumes for festivals and warm furry hats up north), what’s different about school (they start at age 6 or 7 and finish at age 16 or 17), what kinds of homes people live in (mostly high-rise apartments, sometimes with a shared kitchen or bathroom), and what people in Russia eat. I found dozens and dozens of delicious-looking recipes, several of which we’ll be trying later, but it seemed appropriate that for our first attempt at Russian cooking, we would make borscht.

Borscht is, of course, beet soup, sometimes made with beef and often made with cabbage and carrots, which is often served with a dollop of sour cream and a side of dark rye bread. I searched out a recipe that touted itself as being “easy,” and I went to the store for supplies.

Left to right: Russian rye bread, beets, cabbage, beef broth, carrots. Not pictured: an onion, salt, butter. I wasn’t sure if “real” borscht used red cabbage, smooth-leaf cabbage, or the “ruffled” cabbage shown, but I thought the ruffled cabbage would look the nicest, so that’s what I bought.

The first task was to peel and shred the beets and carrots. My assistant learned to use both a peeler and a grater during this lesson – and without bloodshed (although while shredding the beets, who would know?). 

We discovered that leaving the greens attached to the beet give it a nice handle to grab onto while peeling. Three beets gave us more than enough for the 2 cups of shredded beets called for in our recipe. 

We tried grating the carrots both end-wise and sideways. End-wise turned out to be more effective, although you have to be very careful not to grate your fingers!! We lost count of how many carrots we needed to make the 1 cup called for, because a certain assistant kept eating them before we finished shredding them. (This is most definitely NOT a bad thing.) But it was probably around 3 or 4 medium-sized carrots.

Mom took charge of chopping up the onion – the white discs looked very artistic against the remaining beet and carrot shreds on the cutting board. We didn’t bother to measure one cup – one medium-sized onion, chopped, is reasonably close to one cup. See? This is why I love making soup: approximations are king. 

Pour two cups of water and ½ teaspoon salt into a large saucepan and add the shredded beets, carrots, and onion. 

It doesn’t seem like enough water, but that’s okay. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat, covered, for 20 minutes. While this is simmering, shred the cabbage. It’s pretty difficult to shred cabbage on a grater, so I simply chopped it. I did it the same way I chiffonade basil: wrap two or three leaves together to form a tight tube, then chop along the length. In this case, I went back and chopped again at an angle so the pieces weren’t too big. 

 

I only used two leaves, but I got way more than the needed one cup. I used it all anyway. Cabbage is good for you, right? (See also: approximation comment, above.)

When the 20 minutes was up, I uncovered my simmering broth to find it nicely thickened and a gorgeous, deep purplish-red. 

I had a large box of beef broth rather than the two cans called for in the recipe, so once again, I approximated, and just used most of the box. I also dumped in the cabbage, and a tablespoon of butter. 

I realized at this point that I probably should have shredded the cabbage a lot finer, but oh well. That’s why I leave space at the bottom of all my recipes to make notes for next time!

Next we simmered for 15 minutes, but uncovered this time. The recipe called for adding a tablespoon of lemon juice right before serving, but I read in a number of comments that this is NOT traditional Russian, so I left it out (and didn’t miss it). I did, of course, top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream. 

I could not convince either my 4-year-old daughter or my husband to try it, and my 6-year-old (whose project it was to begin with) took one taste and made a face. I, however, was surprised at how delicious it was, especially considering that I dislike cabbage and am only “meh” on carrots and beets. My main objection to all three is their tendency toward bitterness, but apparently the cooking changed the chemistry in such a way that the sweetness of the onion and the hint of saltiness from the broth come forward in a very pleasant way.

If you’d like to try it for yourself, here’s the complete recipe (based on a recipe from Taste of Home)!

2 cups shredded fresh beets (about 3)

1 cup shredded carrots (about 3-4)

1 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) beef broth (about 3-1/2 cups)

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 tablespoon butter

Sour cream, optional

In a saucepan, bring the beets, carrots, onion, water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add broth, cabbage and butter; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream if desired. 

Prijatnovo appetita!