By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 4
307 cal · 45 min
Eastern European Broth
Recipe GLPRc7e8b30322badf
A light and nourishing Eastern European fish and beef bone broth, clarified with egg whites and enriched with fresh vegetables. This aromatic soup features tender diced white fish, julienned carrots, and fragrant herbs, making it a delicate yet satisfying traditional dish.
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Ingredients
5 cups Meaty beef bone
1 Onion, quartered
2 Bay leaves
3 Black peppercorns
2 sprigs Fresh parsley sprigs
4 sprigs Fresh dill sprigs
2 Egg whites, beaten
3⅓ cups White fish, diced (cod, halibut, or monkfish)
3 Carrots, julienned
2 tablespoons Fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
Place the meaty beef bones in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, skimming off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface.
Add the quartered onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley sprigs, and dill sprigs to the pot. Continue simmering for another 15 minutes to develop the aromatic base.
Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot, discarding the solids. You should have approximately 4 cups of clear broth.
In a small bowl, whisk the beaten egg whites until foamy. Slowly add them to the warm broth while stirring gently—the egg whites will rise and trap impurities, clarifying the broth. Let this mixture come to a bare simmer and cook for 2–3 minutes without stirring.
Carefully pour the broth through a cheesecloth-lined strainer to remove the egg white clarification raft, leaving a crystal-clear broth.
Return the clarified broth to the pot and gently bring to a simmer. Add the diced white fish and cook for 3–4 minutes until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 160°F and is just opaque.
Add the julienned carrots and simmer for 2 minutes to warm through and slightly soften.
Taste and season as desired. Ladle the broth into bowls, distributing the fish and carrots evenly, and garnish each serving with fresh chopped parsley.
Comments
This broth is deeply flawed on two fronts. The stated 45 minutes is dishonest: extracting flavor from beef bone requires at least two to three hours of simmering, and the addition of fish (which cooks in minutes) creates a timing contradiction—add it early and it disintegrates into mush, add it late and the broth never develops the richness the recipe seems to want. Beyond technique, the ingredient list is confusing and incomplete: parsley appears twice, quantities are missing entirely, and fish is never clarified (whole, fillet, type?), making it impossible to shop or cost. Most critically for Charlotte, the only potential stoppage is fresh dill, available at Harris Teeter and Kroger but not standard at Food Lion or ALDI, and beef bone is cheaper at ALDI or Walmart than specialty grocers. The dish does reheat well, but the time trap and vague instructions make it a recipe for frustration on a weeknight.
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