Storceag
Storceag is the great fish soup of the Danube Delta, the signature dish of the Lipovans — Russian Old Believers who settled in the reed-laced channels of Dobrogea centuries ago and built a whole cuisine around the river's fish. What sets it apart from an ordinary fish ciorbă is the finish: instead of the fermented-bran borș that sours most Romanian soups, storceag is thickened with a liaison of egg yolks and sour cream and brightened with lemon, giving it a pale, velvety, almost creamy body. Traditionally it was made with sturgeon or sterlet pulled straight from the Danube, though today catfish, pike or zander stand in just as well. Rich, tangy and scented with lovage, it is comfort in a bowl and a direct taste of the Delta.
Danube Delta treasure
Lipovan fish soup from the Danube Delta
Egg-and-cream liaison
Yolks and sour cream make it silky
Brightened with lemon
A squeeze of lemon lifts the whole bowl
Gentle simmer
Never boil after the liaison or it curdles
Ingredients 4 servings
- 1 kg firm freshwater fish (sturgeon, sterlet, catfish, pike or zander), cleaned and cut into pieces
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 potatoes, cut into cubes
- 1 red bell pepper, diced (optional)
- 3 tbsp rice
- 3 egg yolks
- 200g sour cream
- Juice of 1–2 lemons, to taste
- 1 small bunch lovage and parsley, chopped
- Salt, black pepper, 1 bay leaf
How to make it
- 1Start with the broth: put the fish heads, tails and bones in a large pot with 2.5 litres of cold water, a whole peeled onion, the bay leaf and a good pinch of salt, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20–30 minutes, skimming off any foam.
- 2Strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard the bones, then return the clear broth to the pot.
- 3Add the chopped onion, carrots, diced potatoes, bell pepper and rice, and simmer for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are almost tender.
- 4Slide in the fish pieces and poach very gently for 10–15 minutes — keep the heat low so the fish stays in whole, silky pieces rather than breaking apart.
- 5While the fish cooks, make the liaison that gives storceag its name and its velvet: whisk the egg yolks with the sour cream in a bowl, then temper the mixture by whisking in a ladleful of hot broth at a time until the bowl is warm — this stops the eggs from scrambling.
- 6Take the pot off the heat, pour the tempered cream back in while stirring, and warm it through gently without ever letting it boil again, or the liaison will split.
- 7Finish by stirring in the lemon juice to taste and a generous handful of chopped lovage and parsley; the lovage is essential — it is the herb that makes the soup smell unmistakably of the Delta.
- 8Taste for salt and lemon, then ladle into warm bowls and serve at once, with hot green pepper and warm polenta on the side.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
