Fish recipes
Romanian Christians celebrated the Annunciation, when fish is traditionally eaten.
Ștefan Baciu, 29.03.2020, 14:00
Romanians
have just celebrated the Annunciation, an important feast day in the Christian
calendar. It is only on this day and on Palm Sunday that practicing Orthodox
Christians are allowed to eat fish during Lent, the fasting period before
Easter. During Lent, all animal products are forbidden. So with this feast day
in mind, here’s a few fish-based recipes.
If
you have people over for an informal meal, we recommend a cold fish platter
with fish paste, taramasalata, fish cakes and some slices of stuffed pike. Making the taramasalata
and the fish cakes is quite easy, but the fish paste may take a while because
the fish filet must first be cooked in the oven on a low heat. Making the
stuffed pike dish also requires some skill and will take a long time. It
involves descaling and deboning the fish, then removing the skin without
breaking it so as to be able to stuff it with a filling of minced fish,
vegetables and spices.
One
fish dish that’s quite easy to make is fish soup and today we’re also giving
you the recipe for a fish broth from the Danube Delta called storceag
that’s made using root vegetables. To make it, you’ll need a kilo of fish
fillet, a handful of potatoes, two carrots, one head of celeriac, two onions
and, optionally, a couple of tomatoes and bell peppers. Start by salting the
fish and leaving it in a cold place while you prepare the vegetables. Into a
large 4-5 litre capacity pan place the finely chopped carrots and celeriac together
with the onion, which can be either whole or chopped, the potatoes, diced, and,
if you’re using them, the sliced tomatoes and peppers. Rinse the fish fillet of
the salt, dice it and place it in the pan, bringing it to boil and then simmering
it for at least 15 minutes. Add a dash of lemon juice and, when the broth is
almost done, mix the yolk of one egg with a few spoonfuls of sour cream and then
pour it into the pan. Finally, add a few sprigs of finely chopped dill. Remove
the pan from the heat, cover it and let it sit for a few minutes until the
flavours have seeped in and then serve.
As a
main dish, we suggest stuffed roast carp. For this recipe, you’ll need a 2 kg
carp. Descale, debone and rinse the fish before sprinkling it with salt, inside
and out. Now to create the filling of mushrooms and rice with which to stuff
the fish. To make the filling you’re going to need about half a kilo of
mushrooms, half a kilo of tomatoes, one cup of rice, two onions, a head of
garlic, some fresh parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Slice the mushrooms
and the onion and fry them gently in oil, then add a splash of water and cook a
little before adding the rice, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour some tomato juice
and some white wine into the roasting tin and place the carp inside, using the
pan juices to baste the fish while it cooks. Roast until golden. Poftă bună!
Let us know if you’ve tried any of our recipes yourselves and what else you’d
like to know about Romanian cuisine. (Tr.: CM)
