300g catfish – alternativelly any freshwater fish you can get
2-3 spoons of oil – I used butter, but pork fat or vegetable oil is also fine
1 medium/large onion
1-2 tomatoes – alternativelly tomato sauce or paste
3-4 tablespoons paprika
A bit of salt, black pepper, cumin – I had a fish spice mix around so I used that, but paprika is the main spice in this
1-2dcl water
50-100g sour cream
Side:
Pasta – traditionally this would be fresh homemade egg and wheat flour pasta cut into squares or tagliatelle-like noodles, I used store bought noodles, basically any pasta you have at home should be fine
100-200g Túró – a type of central/east European soft unsalted cheese often used for sweets and deserts. If you’re Slavic you’ll know it as tvaroh, twaróg or something similar. Wikipedia claims it’s quark in English. It’s similar to cottage cheese.
Optional:
Chilli powder – this isn’t really meant to be a super hot dish, but I like to put at least a bit of chilli into anything that is heavy on paprika.
Bacon – I have seen version where the pasta is with the cheese and fried bits of bacon, I decided to keep it a bit lighter
Heat up the oil, fry the chopped up onion for a minute or two. Add the chopped up tomatoes and fry for another minute or two, so the tomatoes start falling appart – or just skip to next step if you used sauce/paste. Add a bit of water and the paprika to make a paprika/tomato/onion sauce. It is important to not let the paprika burn, don’t add it into hot oil, that’s what the water is for. Stir into a sauce for ~30 seconds and then add the catfish cut into small (1-2cm) cubes and the remaining spices. Cook for another ~10 minutes so the catfish is done, stirring lightly. I’ve read somewhere that you’re not supposed to actually stir it, only shake the pot. I cheated and stirred just a bit. Add more water during this if it’s getting too dry. Add the sour cream, mix it in and after 30 seconds-1 minute the dish is done.
In the meantime cook the pasta however it’s meant to be cooked, we don’t want it hard/al dente for this. Mix in the cheese, optionally top with bits of fried bacon.
***
I got the idea to try this after having it in a restaurant month-ish ago as a part of traditional Hungarian menu. I garnished it with a bit of chives, but that is definitely not required. Since I had more cheese and cream than I needed, there’s a bonus desert – nothing fancy, I just mixed them with some sugar, added fruits and voila. If any Hungarians or just anyone in general has any tips/suggestions, I’m open to them, this was the first time I’ve cooked this.
Paprikás with fish? Damn, never even heard of it.
Looks very tasty!
Fish and turo? That sounds not good for the stomach.
Its one of my grandfather’s favourite meals. Its too bad nobody else can stand the taste of catfish, so my grandma usually made it with carp or pike
5 comments
Recipe for 2 portions:
300g catfish – alternativelly any freshwater fish you can get
2-3 spoons of oil – I used butter, but pork fat or vegetable oil is also fine
1 medium/large onion
1-2 tomatoes – alternativelly tomato sauce or paste
3-4 tablespoons paprika
A bit of salt, black pepper, cumin – I had a fish spice mix around so I used that, but paprika is the main spice in this
1-2dcl water
50-100g sour cream
Side:
Pasta – traditionally this would be fresh homemade egg and wheat flour pasta cut into squares or tagliatelle-like noodles, I used store bought noodles, basically any pasta you have at home should be fine
100-200g Túró – a type of central/east European soft unsalted cheese often used for sweets and deserts. If you’re Slavic you’ll know it as tvaroh, twaróg or something similar. Wikipedia claims it’s quark in English. It’s similar to cottage cheese.
Optional:
Chilli powder – this isn’t really meant to be a super hot dish, but I like to put at least a bit of chilli into anything that is heavy on paprika.
Bacon – I have seen version where the pasta is with the cheese and fried bits of bacon, I decided to keep it a bit lighter
Heat up the oil, fry the chopped up onion for a minute or two. Add the chopped up tomatoes and fry for another minute or two, so the tomatoes start falling appart – or just skip to next step if you used sauce/paste. Add a bit of water and the paprika to make a paprika/tomato/onion sauce. It is important to not let the paprika burn, don’t add it into hot oil, that’s what the water is for. Stir into a sauce for ~30 seconds and then add the catfish cut into small (1-2cm) cubes and the remaining spices. Cook for another ~10 minutes so the catfish is done, stirring lightly. I’ve read somewhere that you’re not supposed to actually stir it, only shake the pot. I cheated and stirred just a bit. Add more water during this if it’s getting too dry. Add the sour cream, mix it in and after 30 seconds-1 minute the dish is done.
In the meantime cook the pasta however it’s meant to be cooked, we don’t want it hard/al dente for this. Mix in the cheese, optionally top with bits of fried bacon.
***
I got the idea to try this after having it in a restaurant month-ish ago as a part of traditional Hungarian menu. I garnished it with a bit of chives, but that is definitely not required. Since I had more cheese and cream than I needed, there’s a bonus desert – nothing fancy, I just mixed them with some sugar, added fruits and voila. If any Hungarians or just anyone in general has any tips/suggestions, I’m open to them, this was the first time I’ve cooked this.
Paprikás with fish? Damn, never even heard of it.
Looks very tasty!
Fish and turo? That sounds not good for the stomach.
Its one of my grandfather’s favourite meals. Its too bad nobody else can stand the taste of catfish, so my grandma usually made it with carp or pike