• Level: easy
• Total time: 1 h — for broth about 40 mins, plus 20 min
• Yield: 5 portions
• This recipe will be found on the website about Russian Orthodox feasts and old-fashioned cuisine. Suitable for dietary nutrition. By the way, starting to cook the old Russian cuisine, I’m making sure more and more about a very high level of Russian cuisine before the revolution (especially the middle of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century). Russia’s great expansions of culture, influence, and interest during the 16th–18th centuries brought more refined foods and culinary techniques, as well as one of the most refined food countries in the world. It was during this period that smoked meats and fish, pastry cooking, salads and green vegetables, chocolate, ice cream, wines, and juice were imported from abroad. At least for the urban aristocracy and provincial gentry, this opened the doors for the creative integration of these new foodstuffs with traditional Russian dishes. On Christmas Eve it was a pleasure to taste the old-fashioned  Christmas cuisine of Samara. Many thanks to our constant participant-professional chef Nina Grichay for telling us about the traditions of Russian Christmas.

Ingredients: 

• 500 gr of zander fillet  ( any fish cod or haddock)
• 25 ml of vegetable oil
• 25 gr of all purpose flour
• 350 gr of carrote
• 100 gr of onions
• 25 gr of dry or fresh parsley roots or celery roots
• 250 ml of white apple vinegar
• 20 gr of sugar
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 2-3 cloves
• 25 gr of fresh chopped parsley and dill
• Fish stock (cooked a bit earlier, the method is below)
• Salt and freshly grounded black pepper on taste

Method:

1. Cut fish fillet into chinks. Heat a heavy pan over medium high heat. Lightly dredge fish in flour and shake off excess. When pan is good and hot, add oil f As soon as foaming subsides, place fish in pan with the skin side down. Jiggle pan for the first 10 seconds to keep the fish from sticking. Cook until golden crust forms on both sides. Transfer to a plate and leave aside.
2. For white marinade. Cook fish stock (boil fish heads and tails with herbs, spices, salt and pepper during 30-40 mins, don’t forget remove foam from the top). Add white vinegar to the stock, stir. Add salt, sugar, black pepper, bay leaves (4-5), cloves (2-3) and boil few minutes. After that sieve.  Carrot peel and carve as the small stars. Add these stars and parsley or celery roots to stock with vinegar and herbs. Boil and cook over medium heat for 8-10 mins. Onions peel and slice.
3. Serve fried fish chunks with ready stock, veggies and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and dill. It can be served warm or chilled.