Rybí Polévka

The story

Once the carp fillets have been set aside for frying, the head and trimmings that remain go into rybí polévka, a soup that offers a practical, thrifty way to use every part of a single fish — a philosophy that reflects the humbler, rural roots of the Christmas Eve meal before it became the laden festive table it is today. The soup simmers slowly with root vegetables, bay leaves, and sometimes a little cream for a silkier texture, and its aroma drifting through the kitchen while the carp is readied for frying is, for many Czechs, one of the most recognizable smells of Christmas Eve. In some regions the soup is thickened with a little flour; in others it stays clearer. It is served as the first course, ahead of the main meal of fried carp and potato salad. For Czech families in the diaspora, where a whole fish is bought less often, this soup tends to be the first thing to vanish from the menu — a practical loss that nonetheless takes away one small but authentic layer of the traditional Christmas Eve dinner.