Fish chorba

Method

1. Rinse the fish and put it in a pot with two litres of cold water, the whole carrot, the parsnip, bay leaves, peppercorns and a good pinch of salt. Bring it slowly to the barest simmer and hold it there for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Never let it boil hard — a rolling boil clouds the broth and breaks the fish up.
2. Lift the fish out, let it cool enough to handle, then take the flesh off in large flakes and discard the skin and every bone. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, return it to a clean pot and keep it hot.
3. Heat the oil in a wide pan and cook the onion for six to eight minutes, then add the grated carrot and cook for five minutes more, until the oil turns orange.
4. Stir in the flour and cook it for two or three minutes, stirring, until it is pale gold and smells of biscuit. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika.
5. Slacken the roux with two or three ladles of hot broth, whisking, then stir the lot back into the pot. Simmer for fifteen minutes so the flour loses its raw taste.
6. Return the fish to the chorba and warm it through for three or four minutes, without stirring hard, so the flakes stay whole.
7. Off the heat, add the lemon juice, the parsley and salt to taste. Let it stand for five minutes and serve with bread.