In the Soup - Seafood Soup Recipes
In winter not many fish-fanciers enjoy standing in icy wind and rain to tend a barbecue and pan-fried fish seems to go cold the moment it leaves the pan. But fish soups and stews warm the tum and are very flexible for the budget.
The most famous of fish soups made on the fling-in-everything-you-can-find principle is Bouillabaisse, but unlike meat or vegetable soups it isn't cooked for hours on end.
A Traditional Bouillabaisse a la Marsellaise
(serves 10 or 5 serious eaters)
2.5kg mixed fish - cobbler, dory, whiting, mullet, herring, yabbies or marron, crabs, herring, scallops, prawns, any fish you like, cheap or expensive.
You do need some white fish, like whiting, so the soup will thicken.
125g chopped onion
50g chopped white leek
250g chopped peeled and seeded tomato (canned is fine)
30g crushed garlic
15g chopped parsley
good pinch of saffron
½ cup olive oil
1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of savoury (or thyme) and some chopped fennel leaves
Fresh, thickly sliced bread
Method
Cut large fish in pieces, leave small ones whole, wash and break up crustaceans and put shell and legs in as well - these will add a lot of flavour.
Keep aside any soft-fleshed fish such as cobbler to add later, and pour all the other ingredients into a pan, cover with water, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
Boil rapidly for about 8 minutes, add soft fish, boil quickly for another 8 minutes.
Pour the liquid into a deep dish containing the sliced bread, and arrange the fish in another dish. Roll up your sleeves and feast.
When you have fish heads, bones, etc left over, turn them into fish stock which can be frozen and used as a soup base.
Basic Fish Stock
(makes 1 litre)
Method
Simmer about 900g fish bits, 1 quartered onion, 1 quartered carrot, 1 roughly chopped stick of celery, 1 sliced leek, 150ml dry white wine, 1 litre cold water, a few peppercorns and some fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley and a bay leaf together in a pan for at least an hour. Strain it through a fine sieve, skim and use or freeze.
You can use it immediately for a magnificent Spanish fish stew, known more elegantly as zarzuela. Use more seafood in this dish if you like.
Zarzuela
(serves 6)
12 king prawns (shells on)
200g fish steaks (mackerel would be perfect)
6 small squid, cleaned and cut into rings
12 scrubbed mussels
1 chopped onion
3 crushed cloves of garlic
2 peeled and seeded tomatoes, chopped
1 seeded and chopped dried red chilli pepper (to taste!)
pinch of saffron,
2tbs chopped parsley,
1 bay leaf,
1 tsp paprika,
salt and pepper
150ml olive oil
2-3 tbsp brandy
250ml dry white wine
150ml fish stock (use water and vegetable stock cube if necessary, but the taste will not be as rich)
Method
Heat the oil in a big frying pan, saute prawns quickly and set aside when they turn pink. Fry onion and garlic for a minute, then throw in tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper.
When onion is soft, add the brandy and flame it (set alight until the alcohol disappears and flames die away).
Add bay leaf, paprika, chilli, saffron, wine and fish stock and stir well.
Put in fish steaks and squid, bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes - shake the pan a few times to make sure fish doesn't stick.
Add mussels, cover the pan and cook until they open, about 10 minutes (throw out any which don't).
Return the prawns to the pan and heat through, then serve decorated with croutons and chives if desired.
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