This delicious fish with vegetables is a traditional Polish dish typically served on Christmas Eve. 'Ryba po Grecku' consists of stewed root vegetables served alongside fried white fish. It's incredibly simple to prepare and can be enjoyed either hot or cold.
Traditional Polish fish with vegetables is an easy and delicious way to serve fish. The sweet and tangy vegetable stew requires very few ingredients and little time and can be served with any white fish. I tend to make it with cod or haddock but tilapia, bass or carp are also very popular choices.
This dish is similar to Greek 'psari plaki', which consists of fried fish with vegetable sauce. This is why in Poland it's called 'Greek style fish' ('ryba po grecku'). It's one of the simplest and quickest to make Polish Christmas dishes and one that is generally loved by everyone at the table. Whereas Polish porcini dumplings and sauerkraut dumplings are not everyone's cup of tea fried fish with stewed root vegetables is a less unusual dish and everyone seems to like it. It's also one of my favourite Polish Christmas Eve dishes.
The vegetables are briefly stewed with seasoning and a little water, which produces surprisingly delicious results. This grated vegetable stew takes only about 15-20 minutes to make, which is no doubt one of the reasons it's so flavoursome. There are no complicated spices or herbs involved, just a bit of sweet paprika, seasoning, bay, allspice and parsley.
How to make fish with vegetables - 'ryba po grecku': step-by-step
1.Start by preparing the vegetable sauce. Chop the onion and coarsely grate the other vegetables.
2. In a pot heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the bay leaf, allspice and onions and fry gently over a medium heat for 4 minutes until golden.
3. Add the grated carrots, parsnip, celeriac, parsley, seasoning, paprika and some of the water. Cook for 5 minutes stirring often.
4. Add the tomato puree, the rest of the water and continue cooking for 6-8 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
5. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, adjust the seasoning if needed and set aside.
6. Season the fish pieces and coat in the flour.
7. Heat up approx. 3 tablespoons of oil and fry over a fairly high heat for about 2 minutes on each side (or longer if your fish pieces are thicker).
8. Serve immediately with the vegetable stew. Alternatively chill the fish and stew first, then place the fish in a large shallow dish, cover with the stew and serve.
Top tips for making Polish Greek style fish
- The fish: Either cod or haddock would work, but you can also use hake, tilapia or bass. Use either fresh or frozen fish, but if you choose to use frozen take it out of the freezer ahead in order to let it thaw. The best way to do this is by placing the frozen fish in the fridge overnight. Once it's thawed completely pat it dry to remove excess water.
- Make the sauce ahead: You can make the vegetable stew the day before and once cooled, refrigerate it until you are ready to serve it.
- Consistency of sauce: The vegetable stew is quite thick but you can adjust the amount of water to get the consistency you want.
- Serving suggestions: If you plan to serve this dish hot fry the fish and serve immediately. Alternatively cool the fish and stew first, place the fish in a large shallow dish, cover with the stew and serve (you can also refrigerate it overnight and serve cold the next day).
- Storing: Leftovers can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.
More Polish Christmas Eve dishes
as well as
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Fish with Vegetables (Polish Ryba po Grecku)
Ingredients
- 600 g cod or haddock, skinless, boneless, cut into large pieces
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 400 g carrots 4-5 medium carrots, peeled, coarsely grated (peeled weight)
- 150 g parsnips approx. 2 medium parsnips, peeled, coarsely grated (peeled weight)
- 80 g celeriac peeled, coarsely grated (peeled weight)
- 5 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
- 6 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 large bay leaf
- 2 allspice berries
- 1 tsp paprika
- 3 tbsp olive oil plus more for frying the fish
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt and pepper to taste
- 2/3-1 cup water or more depending on preference
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour for coating the fish
Instructions
- Start by preparing the vegetable sauce. Chop the onion and coarsely grate the other vegetables. In a pot heat up 3 tablespoons of the oil, add the bay leaf, allspice and onions and fry gently over a medium heat for 4 minutes until golden.
- Add the grated carrots, parsnip, celeriac, parsley, seasoning, paprika and some of the water. Stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes stirring often. Add the tomato puree, the rest of the water and continue cooking for 6-8 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, adjust the seasoning if needed and set aside.
- Season the fish pieces and coat in the flour. Fry in 3 tablespoons of oil over a fairly high heat for about 2 minutes on each side (or longer if your fish pieces are thicker). Serve immediately with the vegetable stew. Alternatively chill the fish and stew first, then place the fish in a large shallow dish, cover with the stew and serve.
Notes
- The fish: Either cod or haddock would work, but you can also use hake, tilapia or bass. Use either fresh or frozen fish, but if you choose to use frozen take it out of the freezer ahead in order to let it thaw. The best way to do this is by placing the frozen fish in the fridge overnight. Once it's thawed completely pat it dry to remove excess water.
- Make the sauce ahead: You can make the vegetable stew the day before and once cooled, refrigerate it until you are ready to serve it.
- Consistency of sauce: The vegetable stew is quite thick but you can adjust the amount of water to get the consistency you want.
- Serving suggestions: If you plan to serve this dish hot fry the fish and serve immediately. Alternatively cool the fish and stew first, place the fish in a large shallow dish, cover with the stew and serve (you can also refrigerate it overnight and serve cold the next day).
- Storing: Leftovers can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
Hi, I am Monika, welcome to Everyday Healthy Recipes! This blog is all about creatively simple recipes with a healthy twist, old classics with a modern take, and an occasional Polish dish thrown into the mix - all easy to make, healthy and delicious, perfect for everyday cooking. 
This looks delicious!!
Thank you Sophie:)
I love fish cooked in a tomato sauce like this and would love to try out your recipe Monika. It sounds so tasty and is lovely and healthy for a Christmas recipe too. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Thank you Corina and you are welcome!
I love how easy this recipe is to make and that you have managed to get lots of hidden vegetables into it - perfect for fussy veggie eaters! x
Thank you Jenny, glad you like the recipe:)
Wow! This sounds so good - a fish recipe for a change (for me). Thanks for sharing, Monika!
Thanks Jhuls, glad you like it:)
Love this idea! I thought I signed up to get the cookblogshare emails, but I am not getting them! I will try again 🙂
How did you sign up? There are 4 of us hosting so the best way to find out who is hosting on a given week is by joining our facebook page (the link is on my #CookBlogShare post week 48), just ask to join and I'll accept you, the current linky is always pinned at the top of the feed:)