Pike-perch fish soup made with the head and tail

Name: Pike-perch fish soup made with the head and tail
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: Pike-perch — 700 g Potatoes — 4 pcs. Carrot — 1 pc. Onion — 1 pc. Parsley root — 1 pc. Parsley stems — 6 pcs. Butter — 20 g Bay leaf — 1 pc. Allspice berries — 6 pcs. Salt — to taste Ground black pepper — to taste

Published: 05.09.2026

Updated: 05.09.2026

🤤 Здорові рецепти щодня

Cooking time 80 minutes Portions 4 servings

Pike-perch gives a clear, mild broth — it has almost no fat, and the flavor comes from the head rather than the meat. That's why the soup is made in two stages: first the head and tail work with the root vegetables for half an hour, and only into the finished, strained broth do the potatoes and pieces of fish go.

The whole point is in that split. If you drop portioned pieces in from the start, within half an hour they'll boil apart into fibers and disappear into the soup — lean pike-perch has no fat to hold the meat together. Twenty minutes at the end is more than enough for it.

The boiled-out vegetables are discarded. Carrot, onion and root vegetables give the water everything they have within half an hour, and after that they just fall apart; fresh carrot cut into matchsticks goes into the already-strained broth, so that on the plate it stays carrot, not mush.

Three broths, three jobs: this one pulls flavor from the head and tail, the carp head soup uses cheaper cuts of a different fish for the same trick, and the clear pike broth clarified with egg white aims for a clean stock rather than a rich one.

Caloric content: 60kcal

Ingredients

Pike-perch — 700 g
Potatoes — 4 pcs.
Carrot — 1 pc.
Onion — 1 pc.
Parsley root — 1 pc.
Parsley stems — 6 pcs.
Butter — 20 g
Bay leaf — 1 pc.
Allspice berries — 6 pcs.
Salt — to taste
Ground black pepper — to taste

Preparing the ingredients

Gather everything on the list: the fish, potatoes, carrot, onion, parsley root and stems, and the spices.

Cutting off the fins

Scale the pike-perch and cut off the fins — scissors work best, since the fins are sharp.

Gutting

Gut the fish, remove the innards and always the gills, then rinse it inside and out.

Cutting into portions

Cut the fish into portioned pieces. Set the head and tail aside — they go into the broth.

Starting the broth

Put the head and tail into a pot along with half the carrot, the onion, the parsley root and stems. Cover with water and put on the heat.

Simmering for half an hour and skimming

Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes, skimming the foam from time to time.

Cutting the potatoes

While the broth cooks, peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes.

Cutting the carrot into matchsticks

Cut the other half of the carrot into matchsticks — it will go into the already-strained broth and stay whole.

Straining the broth

Strain the finished broth through a fine sieve. Discard the boiled-out vegetables and root, and if you like, pick the meat off the head.

Adding the potatoes

Return the broth to the stove, add the potatoes and salt it.

Adding the carrot

Once it comes back to a boil, add the carrot matchsticks.

Adding the fish and spices

When the broth comes to a boil for the second time, add the pike-perch pieces, bay leaf and allspice.

Simmering twenty minutes with butter

Add the butter and simmer for another 20 minutes at a gentle boil — a rolling boil would break the pieces apart.

Serving

Ladle into bowls so everyone gets a piece of fish, and serve hot.

Notes

Always remove the gills. They're the main source of bitterness and cloudiness, and it shows up fastest in a soup made from the head.
Cut off the fins with scissors. On pike-perch they're sharp and stiff, and there's no use for them in the pot anyway.
Skim the foam from the first boil onward. Whatever isn't skimmed off in the first minutes spreads through the broth, and straining won't fix it afterward.
Strain the broth through a fine sieve. The small bones from the pike-perch's head are sharp, and they have no place on the plate.
Add the butter at the end. Twenty grams for the whole pot isn't about richness — it's a way to pull the flavor together: a lean broth with no fat can taste empty.
Don't let the soup boil hard once the fish goes in. A gentle simmer is enough; a rolling boil will break the pieces apart within the same twenty minutes.

Questions and answers

How long to cook pike-perch fish soup?

Half an hour for the broth with the head and tail, then twenty minutes with the potatoes, carrot and fish pieces. About an hour of cooking in total, plus twenty minutes of prep.

Why discard the boiled vegetables?

Within half an hour the carrot, onion and root vegetables give the water everything they have and after that just fall apart. Fresh carrot goes on the plate, added to the strained broth.

Why did the fish pieces fall apart?

They were put in with the head for the whole hour, or cooked at a strong boil. Pike-perch has no fat to hold the fibers together, so the meat goes in for only the last twenty minutes, at a gentle simmer.

Can the soup be made with just the head and tail?

The broth will come out the same — it's the head that gives the flavor. But there'll be no fish on the plate, so the portioned pieces are either kept in or replaced with meat picked off the head after cooking.

Recipe and step-by-step photos — kolizhanka.net.ua.