Many argue whether fish soup and ear from river bass differ in something . The second course recipe is very specific. If in soups we use various vegetables - carrots, garlic, celery root and the like, then the ear accepts only one additional ingredient - potatoes. Inveterate fishermen believe that odorous vegetables only overshadow the unusual taste of the main ingredient. In Ukrainian cuisine, a handful of cereals (buckwheat or millet) is traditionally put in the ear, and in Russian it will be canonical to put out a burning smut in a casserole - to give the dish a haze smell.
There is one more nuance. The preparation of fish soup from perch requires the removal of only the insides and gills. Whereas in fish soups the carcass is cleaned of scales. If we are already talking about the canons of Russian cuisine, then we can’t but mention the so-called “triple ear”. Start to cook it with one third of the catch. Then they take out the fish, filter the broth and throw another part into the pan. Then the same procedure is done with the remaining share of the fish. There is also a royal ear. This is when they select all the trifle from the broth, and put in the broth pieces of noble fish - sturgeon, salmon or trout. But now we are going to cook an ordinary ear, from a simple river perch. I only note that the smaller the fish, the tastier the dish.
That's enough theory, let's move on to practice. We take out a large pan in which our ear will be cooked from perch. We lay the gutted fish there and fill it with cold water. The liquid level should rise above the perches only one and a half centimeters, no more, otherwise we will not get richness. We put the cauldron on the fire. As soon as it boils in a saucepan, reduce the heat and remove the foam with a slotted spoon. Among gourmet fishermen, discussions are underway whether the “noise” in the ear is useful or not. Some believe that the dish comes out muddy from him. Others argue that the foam gives the broth. Let us dwell on a compromise: we will make noise, but we will also throw in the boiling water an unpeeled (but washed) onion.
We have seven minutes to peel and chop two or three potatoes in large pieces. We put a colander in another pan, where the ear from the perch will be cooked. We filter the broth. We throw out the onion, and remove the scales from the fish with our hands in rubber gloves. It is cleaned very easily, just floating under the fingers. If there are no mittens, you can just wait for the perch to cool.
The strained broth is again set on fire. Throw chopped potatoes into it. Some people think that carrots there will not hurt, but, I repeat, this is not canonical. So we will be pulled even by the onion, garlic, parsley root and, you see, not fish soup, but fish soup comes out. This, of course, is not a disaster, it is also tasty, but still not that. And therefore, we will limit ourselves only to potatoes. Allow yourself only a classic set of spices: two bay leaves, five peppercorns, salt.
When the potato is almost ready, it’s time to attach the peeled and washed (to remove possible sticky scales) fish to it. After this, it is necessary to cook for another three minutes, no more so that the carcass does not creep into unaesthetic flakes. Turn off the fire under the pan, let stand a little. The perch ear is ready! Grind parsley or dill. Pour soup on plates. Sprinkle with herbs. Enjoy your meal!