Greek Fish (Ryba po Grecku)

as featured on The Guardian Readers' Recipe Swap: Winter Salads 10 October 2015 

Greek fish (Ryba po Grecku)

Greek fish or Ryba po Grecku in Polish is a festive family favourite.  I cannot remember a Christmas Eve (Wigilia) that this was not part of the traditional spread.  A tradition I have carried on to this day. My gran never shared her recipe but this tastes pretty close to the original and the flavours I grew up with.  

A handy make-ahead dish which is very useful at this busy time of year. But it's not just for Christmas! It's a really versatile light fish dish great served cold as a starter or lunch dish or served warm with a simple side dish of boiled or mashed potatoes. An interesting contrast to all the heavy meals during the festive season too.  I also made a huge amount of this for my sister's wedding meal to add a little Polish flavour to her Polish-Cornish wedding day (the Cornish contingent provided the best Cornish pasties I had ever eaten). 

Ryba po Grecku is such a simple combination of affordable, readily available ingredients but creates a dish much greater than the sum of its parts. For me it's a real taste of home and tradition that I will always return to. Do get in touch and share your family favourites and traditional recipes too.  

Smacznego and Bon appetit!   

serves: 4-6 as a starter or part of a buffet meal

preparation time: 10-15 minutes

cooking time: 20-30 minutes

ingredients:

500 - 750g white fish - skinned/boned fillets (I often use coley or sustainable haddock but any firm white fish would be good)

2 large mild onions - sliced into thin rings

4 large carrots - grated

5-6 bay leaves

1 tsp allspice berries

3 tbsp tomato puree

6 tbsp plain flour 

4 tbsp oil

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper

method: 

1. add the paprika and salt and pepper to the flour and mix before coating the fish fillets on either side.
2. add half the oil and butter to a preheated pan and fry the fish on either side until lightly golden and cooked through, then drain on kitchen paper and leave to one side while you cook the carrots and onions.  
3. wipe out/clean the pan before reheating and adding the remainder of the oil and butter before adding the sliced onions, bay leaves, allspice berries, salt and pepper. Cook gently until the onions are well softened and translucent.  
4. add the carrots and tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes
5. to finish roughly layer up the fish with the carrot and onion mix.  It's ready to eat now, but I think it's so much better the next day served cold when all the flavours have had a chance to mix and mingle.  

Greek fish (ryba po Grecku) 

I look forward to hearing about your favourite festive dishes too.  

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