Episode 2. "Fluke or flounder, that is the question - Hel Peninsula"

The second day of the trip, another town and another very cool, interesting and inspiring people with great love for the Baltic Sea. The further I get from the big city, the more it gets to me that this is the right direction. I will travel via unusual means of transport and meet a distant cousin of my skateboard. I will sit across the table and a certain chef will prepare something special for me. My guests (although, in fact, they are ones hosting me) will be people full of passion for the Baltic Sea and Baltic fish. My culinary curiosity will be directed towards the most popular flat fish on the coast. I will also take on the biggest classic among the classics. Are you curious? I invite you for another day of adventure!

Recipe for Episode 2: Cucumber soup on flounder stock with ginger.

Ingredients for approx. 6 servings

Stock:

• 2 large onions
• 3 carrots
• 3 parsleys
• 1 celery
• 1 leek
• 3-4 pieces bay leaf
• 5-7 pieces allspice
• 2 Flounder (gutted, without head)

Soup:

• 2 carrots (grated on large meshes)
• 2 parsleys (grated like carrot)
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 1 celery (grated like carrot)
• 1kg Polish picled cucumber (grated like carrot)
• 0,5 L Polish pickled cucumber juice
• 1 bunch dill (small)
• 150g millet groats
• 300ml cream 30%-36%
• 2 pieces flounder
• Frying oil
• Fresh ginger to grate into the soup. 

Recipe:

Char the unpeeled onion over the gas and put with the rest of the ingredients into a pot, fill the pot with water the water (3L) and cook for about 40-60min on low gas. When the vegetables soften up, strain the stock.

Pour a little oil into the frying pan, fry the grated vegetables one after another and put them into the empty pot. Add the potatoes and millet groats. When the potatoes get soft, add the pickled cucumbers and their juice. Cook for about 10 minutes, then turn off the gas, add cream, chopped dill and salt for taste.

Pour a little oil into a dry frying pan and once it is very hot, fry two flounders for about 2 minutes on each side. When the flounder cools down, remove the meat from it using a fork.

Pour the soup into a bowl, put the flounder meat on top and grate some ginger.