Fish soup with hake

Prepare the necessary ingredients for mint fish soup. I used a whole frozen mint fish carcass, cleaned from the insides, and without the head. To speed up the cooking process, you can take ready-made mint fish fillet from any supermarket. If you live in a coastal area, you probably have the opportunity to buy fresh fish. The vegetable composition of the soup is very simple and affordable. You can also use other vegetables of your choice, such as different types of cabbage, zucchini, or eggplant. You can also add spinach to the soup. The taste will vary slightly, but the fish aroma and tender pieces of mint will remain. In season, you can use fresh green peas, and in cold weather, frozen peas work great. I have aromatic sprigs of dill as greens, but you can also use parsley, celery, or cilantro.

Take the blue whiting out of the freezer in advance and defrost it in the refrigerator compartment. Cut off the fins and tail with kitchen scissors, as I don't use them for cooking. Rinse the carcass with cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Carefully separate the two fillet parts from the backbone with a sharp knife. Don't throw away the backbone.

Remove the skin from the fillet. I find it easier to do this step by hand.

Cut the backbone into two halves. Put them in a saucepan with 1-1.2 liters of water. Add whole black peppercorns and bay leaves. At this stage, you can add some herbs to make the broth more flavorful.

Pour in cold water and put on moderate heat. Bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the tomato. I don't like it when there are tomato skins in the finished dish. So, first I prepare the tomato for easy removal of the skin. Rinse the tomato. Make a shallow cross-shaped incision on top. Immerse in boiling water for 50-60 seconds. After the specified time, transfer the tomato to cold water for 3-5 minutes.

Peel the skin off the tomatoes and dice them into small cubes.

Once the fish broth for the soup is ready, strain it through a fine sieve to remove all the bones. Separate any meat from the backbone.

Slice the whiting fillet into portion-sized pieces. Place them in the strained broth. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes over low heat.

Thoroughly wash the peeled onion. Dice it into cubes. Add it to the pot.

Rinse the celery stalks. Cut them into small pieces. Add them to the rest of the ingredients.

Rinse the bell pepper. Remove the seeds. Cut into small pieces. Add to the pot with broth.

Add the chopped tomatoes. Stir. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes on low heat.

Add the green peas. I have them straight from the freezer. Bring to a boil. Cook the fish soup with minthe for about 5 minutes, until all ingredients are cooked.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped herbs. Pour in vegetable oil. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat.

Turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and let it steep for 8-10 minutes.

The fish soup with saithe is ready. Enjoy your meal!