No. 137 — Fish and Crayfish Soup with Viziga
Complete English translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 137 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original quantities, preparation and source.
Soak viziga (dried sturgeon spinal cord) overnight in cold water. The next day boil it in the same water until soft, drain in a colander, rinse with cold water and chop, but not too finely. Make a fish stock from white soup roots and ruffe cooked until they break down; strain.
Boil twenty-five crayfish in salted water with dill, pepper, bay leaf and a bunch of parsley and celery greens. Remove all the tails and large claws. Clean the shell backs and fill them with breadcrumb stuffing as described in No. 63.
Pound the remaining shell parts, small legs and internal material, fry in butter, sprinkle with a spoonful of flour and fry again. Add three or four glasses of strained fish stock, boil thoroughly, strain and rub through a sieve; dilute with the rest of the stock.
Add the crayfish tails, chopped viziga, filled shell backs and pike-perch quenelles made with crayfish butter, see No. 229. If making these quenelles, first cook the remaining pike-perch bones with the ruffe. Add dill, bring once to the boil and serve. Sour cream may be added.
To provide
1½–3 Russian pounds of ruffe and 25 crayfish ½ Russian pound of white roots and 1–2 onions A bunch of greens and dill; 5–6 allspice berries and 2–3 bay leaves 1/16 Russian pound of viziga | Ingredients for shell stuffing as in No. 63 Ingredients for pike-perch quenelles No. 229 Dill and optionally ½–1 glass of sour cream |