Fish boiled in sauerkraut juice, served with garlic sauce and polenta, is a traditional dish from Vadu Izei. The recipe comes from Bledea Maria, 78 years old, and was collected within the Maramureș – GastroEtnoArt project of the Maramureș Museum.
🥣 Ingredients
- fresh river fish (carp or pike, for example)
- sauerkraut juice
- garlic
- salt
- water
- polenta (for serving)
👩🍳 How to prepare
Clean the fish of scales and on the inside, but don’t cut the head off. Boil them in the sauerkraut juice – they are boiled when their eyes come out of their heads, after 2-3 boils. Then strain them.
Meanwhile, make a garlic sauce from garlic rubbed with salt and water, and place it over the boiled fish. It is eaten with broken pieces of polenta.
📖 The story of the recipe
The recipe was offered by Bledea Maria, 78 years old, from Vadu Izei, and is part of the collection of traditional multi-ethnic recipes „Maramureș – GastroEtnoArt” published by the Maramureș Museum in Sighetu Marmației. Sauerkraut juice was used by the elders to give the fish a naturally sour taste, without other spices – a simple and ingenious way to prepare river fish.
📺 Video recipe
You can watch the step-by-step preparation here: Fish boiled in sauerkraut juice – video
🔍 What’s next
If you like fish prepared in sour juice, also try fish boiled in pickled cucumber juice, another traditional Maramureș recipe, from Glod.
Recipe source: Maramureș Museum Sighetu Marmației – Maramureș GastroEtnoArt
Photo source: Bucataras.ro
