Greek Fisherman's Soup With Egg And Lemon

[mrmoshe]

Greek fisherman's soup with egg and lemon

The simplest versions of this recipe are made by cooking everything in the one pot - bones and all. Cooking with fish still on the bone imparts more flavour, but it's terribly messy to eat, unless you have very large-boned fish. For this recipe you first make a fish stock from the bones and then make the soup.

INGREDIENTS

For the stock:

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, sliced

3 tbsp olive oil

bones and head from 900g of firm white fish (e.g. flathead), the flesh of which has been filleted, cut into large pieces and set aside for the soup

1 carrot, sliced

1 stick celery, chopped

a few stalks of parsley

1/2 tsp peppercorns

1 litre water

For the soup:

reserved fish pieces (see stock recipe above)

1 clove garlic, sliced

4 tbsp butter

a pinch of dried oregano

salt

fish stock

75g short grain rice, rinsed

3 whole eggs

1-2 lemons

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

METHOD

For the stock: In a large pot gently cook the onion and 2 cloves garlic in olive oil until soft.

Add all the other ingredients (keeping the fish flesh aside for the soup). Boil, skim any scum and reduce heat. Cook gently for 45 minutes then strain and reserve liquid.

For the soup: In a large, wide, heavy-based pot cook the fish pieces and garlic in the butter over high heat for a few minutes. Don't allow the butter to colour. Add the oregano, salt and stock. Simmer gently for a few minutes or until the fish is just cooked.

Remove the fish to a plate with a slotted spoon and add the rice to the stock. Simmer for 15 minutes, then return the fish and remove from the heat.

Whisk the eggs with the juice of 1 lemon then add a ladleful of hot soup to the eggs, whisking. Stir this into the soup until well combined. Add parsley and season to taste - you may want more lemon juice. Cover with a lid and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4