Balik Corbasi

This Turkish fish soup is really delicious and filling! It reminds me of Greek Avgo-Lemono (Egg and Lemon) soup. I rewrote this recipe to make it easier and faster. The original calls for a whole fish, which is cooked then strained for the stock. I had wonderful results with fish bouillon cubes.

Balik Corbasi

2 Tbl Olive oil
1 large leek, sliced and rinsed
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (or use 1 Tbl garlic paste)
zest of 2 lemons
3 cubes Knorr fish bouillon
3 cups water
OR 3 cups fish stock
1 cup dry white wine
1.5# of firm white fish, 1″ cubes (I used flounder, but snapper, sea bass or cod would be fine.)
1 Tbl dill
pinch cayenne or red pepper flakes
2 Tbl fresh parsley, chopped
juice of 2 lemons
6 egg yolks
1 Tbl cornstarch
S/P taste
Greek yogurt for serving

Heat a large pot over med heat and add olive oil. Add leek, onion, carrot, garlic and lemon zest and cook until tender. Crumble in fish bouillon cubes. Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add water and fish. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.

Whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice and cornstarch. Temper the eggs by adding several ladles of the hot stock, then add to soup. Add dill, red pepper and parsley. Add S/P to taste. Bring back to boil for a minute or two to cook the cornstarch, then kill the heat. The soup will be thick and have a lovely colour.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and lemon slices.

Tips: I used prepackaged flounder from Kroger. It’s cheap, ready to use and tasted fine. I buy it when it’s on sale and keep it in the freezer. If you have fish stock, use it, but the Knorr cubes work great if you can find them!