In Poland, where I live, a certain fish dish became very popular not so very long ago. It's called "ryba po grecku" which essentially translates to "Greek-style fish". The recipe is not particularly complicated, and I personally find it very tasty, but I was wondering if it is actually something originating from the Greek cuisine, or perhaps somewhere else, and hence I want to ask if you ever came across something similar.
The basic idea is to get some fish filet (most popular choices include hake, pollock and common sole), cut it into middle-sized pieces which you then sprinke with lemon, salt and pepper, roll them in flour and fry on both sides in a pan. In a separate pan, chopped onion is fried until it gets soft, at which point grated carrots (sometimes also parsley, celery, leek) are added, and this is braised (with water) until the vegetables are soft. Some tomato concantrate is mixed in and the mixture is flavored with salt, pepper and allspice to obtain a sort of paste with distinct, soft onion chunks. It is supposed to be quite thick, not liquid. The fried fish pieces are mixed with this paste and put in a fridge (it's said to best let it sit for approx 2 days) and the dish is served cold, like a salad.
Best Answer
I found an article (Polish) that may shed some light onto the origins of this mysterious dish. The first two paragraphs in translation:
"If you were to show the Greeks fried hake or pollock filets, covered with grated carrots, braised until soft with onions and tomato concentrate, asking if they could recognize it as a Greek dish, they'd probably nod their heads in an affirmative manner. At such time it's good to know that this gesture has the opposite meaning in Greece as compared to us.
"Most likely, the original recipe was psari plaki - fish baked in a tray, covered in tomato sauce with vegetables. The vegetables are prepared separately. Onions and garlic are sauteed with olive oil, sometimes with the addition of carrots and celery, perhaps some olives, a spoonful of honey and always - a lot of tomatoes. This is braised briefly with the addition of white wine. The sauce is delicate, fragrant with the wine, herbs and full of vegetable chunks. The fish is gutted, rolled in olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice and prepared for baking by covering it with the vegetable sauce. It should not by any means be fileted, as it is detrimental to the flavour."
So as was to be expected, our national variation is probably at most a bastardized version of a Greek dish. But who cares, it still tastes great. ;) I just made my first batch and it was delicious, I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity. :)