“Greek” Style Fish (Fried fish with vegetables)
Lightly fried fish with soft vegetables in tomato sauce is a true classic on polish Christmas Eve table. Really light and just indescribable beautiful flavour from paprika, tomato concentrate, hot paprika, bay leaves and lemon juice. Sound simple but it’s totally delicious.
Why the “Greek” style? I don’t really know, and nobody really knows, as there is no dish like that in Greece and no Greek would know what I’m talking about. One for sure, polish people cannot have Christmas without it.
You can use many types of white fish for this dish. I usually go for cod as it’s the easiest option, but you can choose hake, pollock or panga. White fish is the best as it’s the easiest to fry and blends well with the vegetables in this recipe.
“Greek” Style Fish (Fried fish with vegetables)
Ingredients
- 450 g Cod Fillets skinless and boneless
- 100 g Celeriac
- 6 Medium Carrots
- 1 Medium Parsnip
- 1 Medium Leek
- 1 Large White Onion
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 5-6 Whole Peppercorns
- 3 tbsp Tomato Concentrate
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1/4 tsp Hot Paprika
- Plain Flour
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Grate carrots, celeriac, and parsnip on large holes of a vegetable grater. Chop onion into a fine cube. Cut the leek into half and chop into thin slices. Make sure to rinse and drain it well.
- In a large frying pan, heat up 1 tsp of olive oil and add the onion. Cook for few minutes until translucent. Add carrots, celeriac, parsnip, and leek. Follow with bay leaves and peppercorns. Cook for 15 to 20 min on medium/low heat or until the vegetables are soft. Make sure to give it a mix from time to time. If the vegetables are sticking too much to your pan add a bit of water.
- Next add tomato concentrate, smoked and hot paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Leve to cook for few more minutes.
- Meanwhile, portion your fish. I usually just cut each fillet in half. Season with salt and pepper, cover in flour on each side and fry in 4/5 tbsp of oil. Once ready place on a plate with paper towels to soak off any access oil.
- To assemble the dish, we will simply layer the 2 components in the chosen serving platter. Start with vegetables, place the fish pieces on top and cover with the leftover veggies. Cover tightly with foil and leave in the fridge for few hours (best overnight) before serving.