Balkan River Fish Paprikash with Potatoes and Peppers 🐟✨

Description

Balkan River Fish Paprikash with Potatoes and Peppers is a warm, rustic fish stew with tender white fish, sweet peppers, potatoes, tomato, garlic, onion, paprika, bay leaf, and fresh parsley. It has deep red sauce, soft vegetables, and a clean river-table feeling, perfect with crusty bread and a spoonful of thick paprika broth.
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Hook ✨
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Tender fish, sweet peppers, soft potatoes, tomato paprika sauce, garlic, and parsley make this Balkan fish paprikash bold, warming, and made for bread. 🍞

Ingredients

• Fish 🐟
• 🐟 700 g firm white fish fillets, cut into large pieces (1.54 lb)
• 🍋 20 ml lemon juice (1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 0.7 fl oz)
• 🧂 4 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• ⚫ 1 g black pepper (½ tsp / 0.03 oz)
• ‌
• Paprikash base 🌶️
• 🫒 35 ml olive oil (2 tbsp + 1 tsp / 1.2 fl oz)
• 🧅 220 g onion, finely chopped (2 cups / 7.8 oz)
• 🌶️ 300 g red bell peppers, sliced (2 large / 10.6 oz)
• 🧄 4 garlic cloves, minced (4 cloves / 0.7 oz)
• 🍅 400 g crushed tomatoes (1½ cups / 14.1 oz)
• 🍅 30 g tomato paste (2 tbsp / 1 oz)
• 🌶️ 8 g sweet paprika (3 tbsp / 0.28 oz)
• 🌫️ 2 g smoked paprika (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🥔 650 g waxy potatoes, cut into chunks (4 cups / 1.43 lb)
• 💧 850 ml fish stock or vegetable stock (3½ cups / 28.7 fl oz)
• 🍃 2 bay leaves
• 🧂 5 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.17 oz)
• ⚫ 2 g black pepper (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• ‌
• Finish 🌿
• 🌿 25 g fresh parsley, chopped (½ cup loose / 0.9 oz)
• 🍋 15 ml lemon juice (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🫒 10 ml olive oil for finishing (2 tsp / 0.3 fl oz)
• 🌶️ 1 pinch sweet paprika for topping

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Season the fish 🐟
2. ‌
3. Place the fish pieces in a shallow bowl with lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Rest for 10 min while you prepare the stew base.
4. ‌
5. 2️⃣ Cook the onions 🧅
6. ‌
7. Heat olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 8 min, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden.
8. ‌
9. 3️⃣ Add peppers and garlic 🌶️
10. ‌
11. Add sliced red peppers and cook for 6 min, until they begin to soften. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 min.
12. ‌
13. 4️⃣ Bloom the paprika 🔥
14. ‌
15. Add tomato paste, sweet paprika, and smoked paprika. Stir for 1 min so the paprika opens in the oil, but do not let it burn.
16. ‌
17. 5️⃣ Build the sauce 🍅
18. ‌
19. Add crushed tomatoes, potatoes, stock, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer.
20. ‌
21. 6️⃣ Simmer the potatoes 🥔
22. ‌
23. Cook uncovered for 25 min, until the potatoes are almost tender and the sauce becomes red, glossy, and slightly thick.
24. ‌
25. 7️⃣ Add the fish gently 🐟
26. ‌
27. Lower the fish pieces into the sauce. Cover and simmer gently for 8 min, until the fish is just cooked through and flakes softly. Do not stir hard.
28. ‌
29. 8️⃣ Finish fresh 🌿
30. ‌
31. Remove the bay leaves. Add parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and a small pinch of paprika. Rest for 10 min before serving.
32. ‌
33. 9️⃣ Serve with bread 🍞
34. ‌
35. Serve warm in shallow bowls with extra parsley and crusty bread for the paprika sauce.

Total Time

⏱ Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 49 min
🛋 Rest: 20 min
⏰ Total: 1 h 29 min

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