Fish Soup

Living on the coast we're always looking for interesting ways to cook seafood at home. Fish is so healthy and oftentimes very affordable, yet so often people only order it out at restaurants or reserve it for simple preparations in the summertime. This is a great way to use whatever your favorite local fish is in a soul-warming soup. Get ready for flavor!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds very fresh fish fillets: snapper, grouper, redfish, whiting or flounder (we used Haddock)
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 6 Cups (1 1/2 quarts) Seafood stock (homemade or high quality store bought)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• kosher salt
• 2 Cups canned tomatoes or fresh copped tomatoes
• 1/2 Cup white wine
• 4 small new potatoes, halved
• juice of 1 lemon
• chopped fresh cilantro, basil or parsley
• Serve with 4 slices of grilled or toasted bread with Aioli (see recipe below)

PREPARATION:

1. Cut fish into 1 inch pieces. 
2. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium. Add bay leaves, onion, bell pepper, all spices, and season with salt. 
3. Cook stirring occasionally until vegetables are fragrant and soft, about 10 minutes. Do not brown.
4. Add tomatoes to onion and peppers, cook 10 minutes stirring often.
5. Add 6 cups of stock, white wine to vegetables and bring to a simmer.
6. Add potatoes. Let simmer about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
7. Season soup with salt and lemon juice. Remove from heat and add fillet pieces. Allow fish to cook 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
8. Divide soup among 4 bowls. Garnish with fresh chopped herbs. Top each bowl with a slice of toast spread with Aioli.

Aioli

Yield 1 Cup

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 garlic cloves
• kosher salt
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 Cup olive oil

PREPARATION:

1. Mash garlic with salt using the heavy side of the knife until you form a thick paste.
2. Add garlic mixture to egg and egg yolk, whisk well.
3. Whisk olive oil in slowly one drop at a time, until a thick emulsion is formed.
4. If you would like to thin out Aioli, add a touch of water or lemon juice.
5. Season with salt to taste.
6. Spread over toast, serve with Fish Soup.

Recipe adapted from: 

Afield, A chef's guide to preparing and cooking wild game and fish By Jesse Griffiths