Fish Soup 🍲 Serbian Style 🇷🇸 (Riblja Čorba)

Description

Classic Serbian river-fish soup—clear yet robust, with paprika warmth and soft flakes of fish in a brick-red broth. 🌶️🐟

Hook: One pot, big flavor—paprika-bloomed broth ready in under an hour. ⚡

Ingredients

• 🐟 Fresh river fish (carp/catfish), bone-in chunks: 900 g (2 lb)
• 🧅 Onion, finely chopped: 200 g (1⅓ cups / 7 oz)
• 🥕 Carrot, small dice: 100 g (¾ cup / 3.5 oz)
• 🌿 Celery stalk, small dice: 60 g (½ cup / 2.1 oz)
• 🧄 Garlic, minced: 8 g (2 cloves / 0.3 oz)
• 🫗 Sunflower oil: 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🌶️ Sweet paprika: 12 g (1 tbsp / 0.4 oz)
• 🌶️ Hot paprika or chili flakes (to taste): 1–2 g (¼–½ tsp / 0.04–0.07 oz)
• 🍅 Tomato passata (or crushed tomatoes): 300 ml (1¼ cups / 10 fl oz)
• 🌿 Bay leaves: 2
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈8 g / 1½ tsp)
• ⚫ Black pepper, ground: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 💧 Water or light fish stock: 1.5 l (6 cups)
• 🍋 White wine vinegar or lemon juice (finish): 10 ml (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 🌿 Parsley, chopped (garnish): 1 tbsp (4 g / 0.14 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Base: Warm oil in a pot. Sauté onion, carrot, and celery with a pinch of salt 6–8 min until soft. Add garlic 30 sec.
2. 2️⃣ Bloom & color: Stir in sweet (and hot) paprika 30 sec, then add passata; simmer 2 min.
3. 3️⃣ Broth: Pour in water/stock, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil; cook 10 min.
4. 4️⃣ Fish: Add fish pieces; simmer lightly 15–18 min until just cooked and starting to flake. Skim foam; adjust salt.
5. 5️⃣ Finish: Off heat, stir in vinegar/lemon for brightness. Rest 5 min. Serve sprinkled with parsley and crusty bread.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 15 min
🔥 Cook: 35 min
⏳ Total: 50 min

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