Every time I see fresh fish in the market I remember my mom’s Greek fish soup she would make for us on Sundays. I don’t have her recipe, I guess it was so simple it didn’t require one. As a child to eat a fish soup was probably unheard of – but all my cousins ate and loved it, and would ask for seconds. All I remember is how delicious the clear broth was and all the soft-billowy potatoes floating in the warm soup. With summer here I decided to jump in and try and reproduce the recipe. I poured over many recipes in my magazines and books but nothing came close. I was recently given a copy of our local church cookbook, Lemons, Loaves and Honey a collection from the Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church Community of San Diego. And as I was pouring through it I came across this fish soup recipe by Eleni Merziotis. Her recipe was so close I made it for my family last week and it was a hit! So I dedicate this post to Eleni and her terrific fish soup!
Greek Fish Soup - Psarosoupa
Ingredients
For the Broth
- 1 whole fish, approx. 3 pounds, cleaned, and scaled
- red snapper, cod, halibut, branzzino, or any whole white fish
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 2 stalks celery, cut into 1- inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
- salt
For the soup
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds peeled potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 2-3 fresh lemons
Instructions
Broth
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In a large soup pot, add 8 cups of water, roughly chopped vegetables and salt to boil.
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Add the whole fish to the simmered broth. (I used four smaller fish)
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Simmer for 15 minutes until fish is cooked.
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Remove the fish and strain the broth in a large bowl. Save the strained mixture.
Soup
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In the same pot heat the olive oil and add the chopped vegetables for the soup and cooked until softened.
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Add the reserved stock and simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
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Add more salt and pepper with needed.
Fish
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Remove the bones and skin from the fish.
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Arrange on a platter with the reserved cooked vegetables.
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Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with the platter of fish and vegetables.
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Drizzle with fresh lemon juice. (optional)
Note
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The fish can be served alongside which is more traditional or added to the soup.
Check out my other fish dishes:
Greek Grilled Fish with Greens
I love fish everyday,
Mary
© 2013 – 2022, Mary Papoulias-Platis. All rights reserved.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my, that looks wonderful!
I didn’t grow up eating fish or fish soup (tragedies of growing up in the Midwest) and now I can’t get enough of it. Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi Cathy, Can you believe this was a common dish for us in our household! Living in San Diego, we had access to fresh fish down by the bay from local fishermen on Friday and on the weekends.
This is my favourite fish soup! No sauce or anything like that stuff on it, the only different is that 15 minutes before the end of cooking, I like to add orzo (kritharaki) on it. It looks so tasty!!!
Efi, That’s a great tip, thank-you. This is a simple weekly dish, not intended to be fancy-right? I love dishes like this because you can add your own herbs, pasta, and type of fish you like.
A good fresh fish to love and put in the pot with all the usual fresh vegetables: watch ’em cook and love the result!
Oh my, that is wonderful!!! This is exactly the soup my mother has been making all my life! It is so simple and delicious yet so hard to find the recipe for it!! Thank you, my kitchen here in England smells just like home now =)
It’s such a simple soup, perhaps it was a comfort food for them as well as for us!