Eel Soup Recipe, German Fish Soup with all inclusive
Author:
Thomas Sixt is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.
Welcome to my new Eel Soup Recipe.
This is a hearty fish soup wonderfully suitable for cool weather – North German “shitweather” 🙂
In Hamburg the eel soup is called like this because “aal” or “all” is in it.
Most people know “all inclusive” – that’s how it is meant. It is originally a leftover soup that contains “alles” (= everything, High German) = “all” (Low German).
The inclusion of the fish eel came later, it was not included at first.
Promised, our eel soup is with real eel and also the baked fruit, which belongs to it after Hamburg kind. So, now we can start cooking, and I wish you good luck!
Table of Contents
1. Shopping List for Eel Soup
For the preparation of our eel soup I recommend the following ingredients:
- Smoked eel
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Soup vegetables (carrots, leek, celery)
- Baked fruit (dried fruit such as plums, apples, apricots)
- Vegetable broth
- Optional dry white wine
- Fresh or dried dill
- Pepper, salt and chili
2. Recipe Eel Soup
Eel Soup
Cooked, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt.
Simple guide for preparing eel soup with vegetables.
Ingredients
Eel Soup | ||
1 | pc | smoked eel (See note on filleting in the article!) |
200 | g | Soup vegetables (carrots, leek, celery) |
2 | pc | Potatoes |
1 | pc | onion |
60 | g | dried plums without stone (mixed dried fruit with apples and apricots) |
2 | tbs | butter |
50 | ml | dry white wine (optional!) |
200 | ml | Vegetable broth |
1 | pinch | Salt |
3 | pinches | Pepper |
1 | pinch | chili flakes |
Decoration | ||
2-4 | pinches | finely chopped fresh dill (or dried dill) |
6-8 | pc | onion rings |
Equipment
Instruction
Eel prepare
Prepare eel
File the smoked eel, see the step-by-step instructions with photos linked in the article above.
Portion eel
Place the portioned eel pieces in a cool place for later serving.
Prepare vegetables
Wash, peel and chop the soup vegetables.
Sweat about 1/4 of the amount with some butter in a pot for 8 minutes until colourless.
Deglaze with the white wine and fill up with cold stock.
Boil eel
Add the skin and bones of the smoked eel and let it simmer for about 15 minutes below boiling point at about 90-95°C.
Try the stock several times and pass through the soup if the smoked taste is too strong for you.
Make Soup
Prepare soup
Peel the onion and cut into strips or cubes.
Place the remaining soup vegetables ready.
Wash and peel the potatoes and cut them into 0.5 cm cubes.
Sauté the vegetables in a little butter.
Strain ingredients
Pass the finished smoked eel stock through a fine sieve to the fresh vegetables and bring to the boil.
Cook the vegetables until firm to the bite and add the prunes shortly before serving.
Season the soup with salt, pepper and chilli.
Arrange Soup
Serve
Preheat the soup plates in the microwave or oven.
Put the finished soup into the plates. Place the eel pieces in the soup.
Decorate with onion rings and finely chopped fresh dill and serve quickly.
Bon appetite!
Cousine
Keyword
3. Nutritional Information
4. Special Features of Hamburg Eel Soup
The Hamburg eel soup is slightly different because it contains:
- ham bones,
- dried fruit,
- flour dumplings and
- soup vegetables
The eel is added as a garnish. This is the traditional sweet and sour Hamburg eel soup.
I personally find potatoes healthier and tastier and prefer my soup to be based on a vegetable broth.
That is why I have made my soup a little lighter and fresher.
5. Smoked Eel Soup versus Green Eel
You are probably asking yourself: Why smoked eel and not “green” eel?
For those who are not familiar with the term “green” eel or “green” herring:
These are the fish that are prepared in the dish as fresh fish as opposed to smoked fish or pickled fish.
“Green fish” is fresh fish – Smoked eel is our deal!
Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt
To get back to your question: Smoked eel is simply very hearty and rustic in taste. The smoky taste harmonises perfectly with the sweet dried fruit and the vegetables in the soup. What can I say: Simply a great kick on the tongue.
My post Filleting of Eel shows you step by step how to perfectly prepare the smoked eel for your soup.
6. More Delicious Soups Recipes
All soup recipes
Kale Soup with Eel Recipe for a perfect Dinner
Bouillabaise
Chervil Soup
Chicken Soup For A Cold Recipe
Red Lentil Soup Recipe
Impressive Squash Soup Recipe
Prepare Fish Soup with Salmon Head
Green Asparagus Soup
Bean Soup
Parsnip Soup Recipe
Mushroom Soup Recipe with Muffin Bread
Kale Soup Vegetarian Recipe
Kale Soup with Eel Recipe for a perfect Dinner
Black Salsify Soup Recipe
Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers
Below you can write to me directly.
Please don’t forget the star rating on the recipe, 5 stars means you liked it!