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Fish and Seafood Soup Recipes
Part 3
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Here's Part 3 of the eCourse - this covers shellfish, cooking, preparing and using plus the next 10 recipes from Frugal Bisque to Mixed Fish Soup.
Shellfish
First, molluscs - mussels, clams and the like.
The majority are alive when caught.
Between then and reaching you, some will die – it’s nature – nobody knows how old these things are when they’re caught and they just die – old age perhaps, damage - who knows.
When you get them, tap each shell sharply and discard any that DON’T close – they’ve already gone to meet their maker.
After cooking, dispose of any that DON’T open – they too have gone to meet their maker.
The rest you can safely eat!
You will only need to steam in a little fluid (wine, cider or water, the recipe will tell you) for a few minutes. Shake the pan as they’re cooking – it helps speed up the process and makes you feel as though you’re doing something!
Take them out of the pan as they open – they’re cooked and long cooking makes them tough and virtually inedible.
Mussels need scrubbing and bearding before cooking – there is a wiry bit hanging from the shell that they have used to attach themselves to rocks –mostly it will pull away, but in a few it’s quite hard, so check them all after cooking and remove any stray bits of beard - it will be easier when they're cooked.
You can soak mussels overnight in salted water and the grit and sand should come away – most mussels these days though are cleaned already.
Scallops and Queens
The shells can be difficult to open – so a tip is to put them, flat side down, in a heated frying pan for a few seconds. The shell will gape a little and allow you to get a knife in to finish opening them.
You need to cut the membrane away and then rinse the scallop under cold running water.
Separate the coral and white meat and trim any greyish bits – the grey bits are edible and useful for the stock pot, but they won’t look nice in the finished dish.
Prawns, shrimp, crayfish etc – you can buy these cooked or raw, peeled or whole. Peel them but keep the shells and heads – they make excellent stock for the soup.
If they are already cooked, then they only need to be added to the soup in the last minute or so, just to heat through.
If they're frozen, then defrost, drain and pat dry prior to adding to the dish as the water content may affect the outcome of the finished soup.
Lobster – well, it’s a knotty one – do you want to cook it yourself or buy it cooked.
You can either pop the live lobster in the freezer for a couple of hours and then boil it in salted water – about 10 mins per lb or 20 per kilo or plunge it head first into boiling water – they don’t scream nor do they have a central nervous system as we know it.
Bring the water back up to the boil and simmer for the required time – no longer than 30 minutes though or they have a tendency to get tough.
If you buy it ready cooked, then cut the lobster tail into sections and push out the meat - scrape away the black intestine.
Crack the claws and extract the meat from those as well.
Keep the shell to use in stock.
Crab - Drop into rapidly boiling water and boil for 10 to 15 minutes depending on their size.
It is easier to get the meat out if they are slightly warm.
Crab, lobster, shrimp/prawn and crayfish shells can all be used to make the Frugal Bisque which is the next recipe here.
Frugal Seafood Bisque
This recipe uses the shell from either a cooked lobster, crab or shrimp/prawn shells – it’s the shell that gives the flavour to the stock and you can just use a either a little reserved meat or frozen or canned meat.
I
count this recipe as one of my most amazing finds – after having
a lobster, prawn or crab meal – there’s still another meal left –
incredible and virtually free AND luxurious!
Serves 4
Cooked shells
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, de-stringed and chopped
2 tbspns oil
2 tbspns brandy
32 fl oz, 2 pints (1.25 litres) fish stock (see below)
4 fl oz, 1/4 pint (15ml) white wine
1/4 cup, 2 oz (50g) white long grain rice
1 small tin, 1 cup, (200g) plum tomatoes, chopped
Pepper to taste
Take the lobster or crab shell and bash it with a rolling pin (it's best to put it inside a cloth before you do this, to prevent the bits of shell flying all over the kitchen, getting caught under things and causing a horrendous smell)
If you’re using shrimp/prawn shells, there is no need to crack them.
Soften the onion, carrot and celery in a pan. Add the broken shells and water to make your fish stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30minutes.
Strain the stock carefully.
Use about a quarter of it to boil your rice until it is soft.
Put the rest of the stock into another pan.
Pour the brandy into a ladle and hold over heat until it flames, add this to your 'main' stock.
Add the wine and leave it to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Take your cooked rice, stock and tomatoes and blend them to a fine consistency - either use a food processor, blender or push through asieve.
Add this to the soup.
At this point, you can add a few prawns, a bit of lobster or crab meat to the bisque, but it isn’t necessary for the taste.
Reheat and add black pepper to taste.
A couple of tablespoons of thick cream swirled in at the end of cooking will make it quite luxurious.
Genoese Soup
This is a tomato based Mediterranean style soup.
Serves 4
1/8 cup, 1 oz (25g) butter
1 onion – peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic – peeled and crushed
2 sticks celery – chopped
1/4 cup, 2 oz (50g) bacon – chopped
2 cup size, 14 oz (400g) can peeled chopped Italian tomatoes
4 fl oz, ¼ pint (150ml) white wine
8 fl oz, ½ pint (300ml) fish stock or water
½ tspn marjoram
2 cups, 1lb (450g) white fish – skinned, boned and cut into chunks
1/2 cup, 4 oz (100g) cooked peeled prawns
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley to garnish
Fry the onion, garlic, celery and bacon for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, wine, stock or water and marjoram and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the fish and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the prawns and heat through – taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve garnished with the parsley.
New Orleans Seafood Gumbo
This is a simple version of New Orleans Seafood Gumbo.
Find the biggest prawns (shrimp) you can for this recipe. In Louisiana, their shrimps are the size of lobsters! Not really - but they're big
Serves 4
2 tbspns oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, seeds removed and diced
1 green pepper, seeds removed and diced
1 cup, 8 oz (250g) okra, sliced
2 cups, 14 oz (400g) canned plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tspn allspice
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
2 cups, 1lb (500g) peeled shrimp - large
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened.
Add the peppers and okra and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, allspice and cayenne pepper and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the gumbo is thickened.
Add the prawns - heat through and serve with boiled rice.
Herring Soup
Serves 4
1/8 cup, 1 oz (25g) butter
1 onion – peeled and finely chopped
1 leek – sliced finely
1 carrot – peeled and chopped
2 cups, 14 oz (400g) can peeled chopped tomatoes
24 fl oz, 1 ½ pints (900ml) water
2 tbspns wine vinegar
2 tbspns pearl barley
3 herring fillets – skinned, boned and cut into pieces
salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter and fry the onion, leek and carrot for five minutes.
Add the tomatoes, water, vinegar and pearl barley. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
Add the herring and simmer a further 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Italian Fish Soup
Serves 4
This seafood soup recipe is quite substantial and with the addition of some crusty bread, would make a good meal.
If you were to use halibut or monkfish for instance, you could serve it at an elegant party.
4 cups, 2lb (1kilo) assorted fish - cod, haddock, mullet
48 fl oz, 3 pints (1.5 litre) water
salt and pepper
bay leaf
olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 sticks celery, destrung and chopped
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
fresh chopped parsley
2 cups, 1lb (450g) ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbspn tomato puree
32 fl oz, 2 pints (1.25 litre) mussels, bearded and scrubbed
4 fl oz, 1/4 pint (150ml) white wined
1/4 cup, 2 oz (50g) small pasta shapes - or broken vermicelli
Clean, trim and cut the fish into cubes.
Use the trimmings, heads, tails etc and put them into a stock pan. Add the water, salt and pepper and bay leaf and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 30 minutes, removing any scum that rises to the top. Strain and put the stock to one side.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Add the celery, leek, tomatoes, tomato puree, fish and stock and bring to the boil.
Taste and adjust seasoning - simmer for about 10 minutes.
In another pan, heat the white wine and add the mussels - steam open and remove the mussels from their shells.
Put the mussels and their cooking liquor into the fish soup.
Add the pasta shapes and simmer a further 4 minutes or so until the pasta is cooked.
This recipe could be adapted for any combination ofshellfish or wet fish as available or to your taste.
Lovely served with fresh crusty bread and butter.
Italian Seafood Soup
Serves 6
This is a substantial soup – the mixture of fish can be any you prefer, buttry coley, whiting, red mullet, rock salmon, cod, monkfish, halibut, turbot,basa, tilapia – aim for three or four different types.
4 cups, 2 ¼ lbs (1k) mixed fish – skinned, boned and cut into chunks
6 tbspns olive oil
1 onion – peeled and finely chopped
1 stick celery – chopped
1 carrot – peeled and chopped
handful fresh chopped parsley
5 fl oz, 6 fl oz (175ml) white wine
3 ripe tomatoes – skinned and chopped
2 cloves garlic – peeled and crushed
40 fl oz, 2 ½ pints (1.5 litres) boiling water
salt and pepper
French bread to serve
Olive oil for frying
Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Gentlyfry for 5 minutes.
Add the parsley and wine. Simmer for 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.
Pour in the boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the fish and simmer for about 10 minutes.
You now put the soup into a blender – process until smooth.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the rounds of French bread until golden –allow two to three pieces each.
Put the French bread in the bottom of the bowls and pour the soup over it.
Lobster Bisque
Serves 6
Classic Lobster Bisque - you can make crab bisque in the same way.
1 large lobster, cooked
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, de-stringed and chopped
2 tbspns oil
2 tbspns brandy
32 fl oz,2 pints (1.25 litres) water
4 fl oz, 1/4 pint (15ml) white wine
1/4 cup, 2 oz (50g) white long grain rice
1 small tin 1 cup, (200g) plum tomatoes, chopped
Pepper to taste
Take the meat out of the lobster and set aside.
Take the lobster shell and bash it with a rolling pin (it's best to put it inside a cloth before you do this, to prevent the bits of shell flying all over the kitchen)
Soften the onion, carrot and celery in a pan. Add the broken shell and water to make your fish stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Strain the stock carefully.
Use about a quarter of it to boil your rice until it is soft.
Put the rest of the stock into another pan.
Pour the brandy into a ladle and hold over heat until it flames, add this to your 'main' stock. Add the wine and leave it to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Take your cooked rice, stock and tomatoes and blend them to a fine consistency - either use a food processor, blender or push through asieve. Add this to the soup.
Chop the lobster meat and add to the bisque. Reheat and add black pepper to taste.
Majorcan Fish Soup
Use a mixture of fish – aim for three or four types – cod, haddock, whiting, coley, bass, bream, hake, halibut, turbot, tilapia, mahi mahi, basa or monkfish.
Serves 4 - 6
4 cups, 2 lb (1k) mixed white fish – cleaned
32 fl oz, 2 pints (1.2 litres) water
1 bay leaf
4 tbspns olive oil
4 ripe tomatoes – skinned and chopped
1 large onion – peeled and chopped
1 green pepper – deseeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic – peeled and crushed
2 cups, 1lb (450g) potatoes – peeled and diced
1 tbspn chopped parsley
½ tspn dried fennel
½ tspn dried thyme
½ tspn dried marjoram
pinch of saffron
4 slices brown bread
Put the fish, bay leaf and water into a pan. Bring to the boil and skim the surface. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the fish, take away the skin and bone and flake the flesh. Strain the stock and make up to 2 pints with white wine.
Heat the oil and gently fry the tomatoes, onion, green pepper, garlic and potatoes for 5 minutes.
Add the herbs and the stock and simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Add the fish and heat through.
Put the bread in the bottom of the bowls and pour the soup over.
Mixed Fish and Shellfish Soup
Serves 6 – 8 as a starter of 4 – 6 as a main course
4 red snapper fillets
2 cups, 1lb (450g) white fish fillets
1 cup, 8 oz (225g) prawns (shrimp) – shelled or defrosted
1 cup, 8 oz (225g) mussels - cleaned
1 cup, 8oz (225g) scallops – cleaned and cut in half
2 onions – peeled and finely chopped
few parsley stalks
1 stick celery – finely chopped
32 fl oz, 2 pints (1 ¼ litres) water
4 fl oz, ¼ pint (150ml) white wine
2 ripe tomatoes – skinned and chopped
2 cups, 14 oz (400g) peeled, chopped italian plum tomatoes
2 medium sized potatoes – peeled and diced
1 clove garlic – peeled and crushed
1 tspn dried oregano
½ tspn sugar
1 tbspn tomato puree
fresh chopped parsley to garnish
Put the prawn shells, onions, parsley stalks, celery, water and wine in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, skim and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the red fish and simmer a further 10 minutes.
Strain the stock through a sieve – flake the fish and discard the vegetables and shells.
Put a little stock in a pan and steam the mussels open – discard any that do not open.
Put the stock in a large pan.
Add the tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, oregano, sugar and tomato puree.
Simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Chop the white fish into pieces.
Add the white fish and scallops and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Add the prawns (if they are not cooked) and the red fish and bring to the boil.
When the soup boils, add the mussels (prawns if they are cooked and defrosted) and the parsley.
Serve immediately and garnish with parsley.
Some crusty bread or check out my ideas for herby bread would be great.
Mixed Fish Soup
2 tbspns olive oil
3 cloves garlic – peeled and crushed
2 onions – peeled and finely chopped
2 leeks – sliced thinly
2 carrots – peeled and chopped
2 cups, 14 oz (400g) can peeled chopped Italian plum tomatoes
24 fl oz, 1½ pints (900 ml) fish stock or water
8 fl oz, ½ pint (300ml) white wine
bouquet garni
juice and rind of 1 orange
4 cups, 2lb (900g) mixed fish – skinned, boned and cut into chunks
4 tbspns cream, yoghurt or crème fraiche
3/4 cup, 6 oz (150g) cooked peeled shrimp
fresh chopped parsley to garnish
Heat the oil and fry the garlic, onions, leeks and carrots for about 5minutes.
Add the tomatoes, stock, wine, bouquet garni, orange juice and rind andsimmer for 15 minutes.
Add the fish and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the shrimp for the last minute or so, just to heat through.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Pour the soup into bowls, top with a tablespoon of cream and the choppedparsley.
Part 4 of this eCourse covers fish, vegetables, herbs and spices plus recipes from Mussel and Rice Soup through to Salt Cod Soup.
Look out for the email which gives you the link and don't forget to save these emails into a folder - you can access the website from this page, but not this page from the website.
If you have stumbled across this page by accident and would like the complete 5 part eCourse, 50 Fish and Seafood Soup Recipes, then please go to this page, 50 Fish and Seafood Soup Recipes to register.
Bye for now
Liz
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