Makes about 4 servings if main course, 6 if appetizer.
Catfish - You'll need 2 medium to large fillets. I suppose you can substitute other fish if you'd like but try to use something with firm flesh so it doesn't break up easily when boiled.
Onion - One large onion or a couple of smaller ones.
Leak - One leak.
Hot pepper - One or two hot peppers of your choice.
Carrots - About 2 or 3 medium.
Red Potatos - About 4 medium.
Eggs - You'll need 2.
Flour - I use whole wheat, about one and a half cups.
Salt, pepper, paprika, and curcumin - This should be done to taste. I used about two tablespoons of salt.
Clean and chop up the vegetables. Cut the fish into about 1" squares.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the flour and about a half a tablespoon of salt. Mix this together with a fork. The consistency of the mixture can be adjusted to taste. If you like slightly harder nokedli (Hungarian dumpling) in the soup, add more flour. If you like them on the softer side, leave the mixture a little runny.
Set a pot on a low to medium heat and add some olive oil. Add the chopped onion and leak and saute until glassy. Add the paprika and saute lightly (don't burn it!). Add the hot peppers and other seasonings and saute until the peppers are slightly soft.
Add the carrots and potatos. After about 2 or 3 minutes, add enough water to cover all the ingredients by about an inch or two. You can now increase the heat to get the soup boiling sooner. After it's boiling, you can decrease the heat back to medium.
Once the potatos are softened, you can add the fish. It will cook very quickly, probably about 5 minutes or so. Now you start adding the nokedli.
Use a small spoon and preheat it by sticking it into the boiling soup for a few seconds. This helps to keep the nokedli from sticking to the spoon. Scoop little bits of the nokedli mixture and drop them into the soup. They will at first sink down and then rise to the top when they are cooked. Keep adding spoon by spoon until it is all added. Once they are all floating at the top, give it another 2 or 3 minutes of boiling. The soup is now ready to be served.
Serve hot with some additional crushed pepper or hot sauce. A nice slice of bread won't hurt either.
© Pal Pocsi 2004