Storecupboard Fish Soup
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced (can be rough as it will be blended)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped, tough outer leaves removed (save and freeze for stock!)
Big pinch of Saffron
30ml Sambuca, Ouzo or Pernod
2 tablespoons tomato purée
400g frozen white fish fillets (these can the most inexpensive you can find. I use block of coley fillet)
1 litre fish stock
Lemon, a squeeze
Method
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan that is big enough to hold your soup.
Add the onion, garlic, fennel, saffron, the alcohol, tomato purée, and cook over a low to medium heat for 10 mins. Stir occasionally. It is not to brown, you just want all the flavours to meld.
Add the fish (doesn’t matter if it is frozen or defrosted), the tin of tomatoes and the stock. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Blend.
Taste for seasoning, add a squeeze of lemon to taste.
Serving suggestion
Take small oval slices of sour dough bread, or slice a few rounds of baguette. Drizzle with olive oil and toast under the grill. Either top with wild garlic pesto, or serve the pesto on the side for people to help themselves.
