Greek Fish Soup Recipe (Psarosoupa) 🐟
If you've ever struggled with watery, flavorless fish soup, this Greek fish soup recipe with potatoes is about to change everything. Psarosoupa isn’t just another fish soup—it’s comfort in a bowl. With white fish, silky avgolemono (Greek lemon-egg sauce), and the perfect balance of Mediterranean flavors, this might just be the best fish soup recipe in the world.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 538kcal
Ingredients
For the Fish Soup
- 2 pounds white fish cut in 1.5-inch slices, with skin and bones, see note#1
- 7 cups water
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes peeled and cut into 4 see note#2
- 1 carrot large, sliced
- 1 tomato quartered
- 1 red onion quartered
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves
- 3 teaspoons fine salt
- Black pepper to taste
- ½ cup rice optional, see note#3
For the avgolemono
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the ladolemono dressing:
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Transfer the carrot, the potatoes, the tomato, the parsley, the onion, the bay leaves, the cloves and the salt to a large pot. Pour over the water, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once the water starts to boil cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the fish to the vegetables and gently simmer over medium heat until tender and flaky, about 15-17 minutes.✏️ Use whole fish (or fish fillets with skin and bones) to create a rich, flavorful broth. After cleaning the fish, rub it with lemon juice, then rinse with water and drain.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the fish and the vegetables and transfer them to a serving plate. Cover the serving plate with foil and keep it warm inside a warm oven.
- Pass the fish stock through a strainer to catch any bones or other gunk. Discard the bay leaves, the cloves and the skin from the tomato.
- Add the onion, the tomato (without the skin) some of the carrots and about one cup of the potatoes to the strained fish stock and puree using an immersion blender. If you want it thicker, add a few more potato pieces and blend some more.👉 You can also puree in a regular blender in batches.
- Add the rice to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is done and turn off the heat.👉 Stir frequently, otherwise the rice may stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Whisk the egg, the lemon juice and the olive oil together in a bowl, then slowly add warm soup (half a cup at a time) to temper it. After you've added about 3 cups of soup, stir it back into the pot for that signature creamy texture. The residual heat of the fish soup will completely cook the egg.👉 Taste and adjust the salt, the pepper and the lemon juice to your liking.
- Transfer the ingredients for the ladolemono dressing to a shaker or jar and shake well to combine. Drizzle the lemon dressing over the plate with the fish and the potatoes and serve them next to the soup.
Video
Notes
Note #1: Prepare the fish: Scale the fish (if not scaled) and rub it with some lemon juice. Rinse well and drain. See how to scale a fish (external link) if you don't know how to do it. Cod and Red Snapper is my family’s favorite combination, but you can use other types of white fish, too. Use whole fish with skin and bones, for the best, rich flavor. Discard the skin and bones before serving.
Note #2: In Greece, we use whatever potatoes we have at the moment. New potatoes will hold their shape better, but Russet potatoes will also do.
Note #3: Any short grain rice will do. Don't use Basmati, Jasmin or parboiled rice.
Note #4: Don’t omit the cloves!
Note #5: Calorie information doesn't include the ladolemono dressing since it's hard to calculate exactly how much is consumed.
Reheating:
If you have any leftovers, store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat the soup very gently over low heat and don't let it come to a boil because the egg may curdle.More fish & seafood recipes:
- Fish Molly/Kerala style fish stew from Pepper Delight (external link). An easy, fragrant and exotic recipe straight from Kerala!
- Mediterranean style salmon salad
- Easy Mediterranean baked octopus recipe (in foil)
Nutrition
Calories: 538kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 1928mg | Potassium: 1656mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3503IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 4mg
