Spicy fish soup
This dish uses as its basis the fish soup/stews that are found all around the Mediterranean. They lend themselves well to Kiwi ingredients. It is a bit like a Kiwi bouillabaisse of fish and mussels with harissa and slow fried vegetables. It can be prepared beforehand and finished in 10 minutes. Bought harissas are all of different strengths so I have specified the one that I used for this recipe. Otherwise adjust the flavour and spiciness of the soup to your taste. This is a hearty dish and can be used as a main course.
Serves 6 24 live mussels, well scrubbed, beards removed 100ml dry white wine 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 red onion, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, finely
chopped 1 medium-sized carrot,
peeled and diced 1cm 1 stick celery, thinly sliced 1 small fennel bulb, cored
and thinly sliced Zest of 1 lemon 1 litre water 4 Tbsp harissa, I used the
Culley’s brand 2 Tbsp tomato paste 300g firm white fish fillets,
cut into 2cm pieces 2 Tbsp each chopped
parsley and coriander Warm flatbread for
serving 1 Put the mussels and wine into a saucepan over high heat. Cover and bring to the boil so they steam open, removing them as they do. 2 Place the mussels in a bowl, cool and shell. Strain and reserve the cooking liquid. Pull the brown tongue and its white root (these are the tough bits) out of each mussel and discard. 3 Slice the mussels thinly lengthways. Place in a bowl and pour the cooking liquid over them. Reserve. 4 Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or wide saucepan and add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, fennel and zest. Fry gently, without browning, for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. 5 Add the mussel liquid to the pan, reserving the sliced mussels. Add the water, harissa and tomato paste, bring to the boil and simmer 5 minutes. The soup can be prepared to this stage a day in advance if desired. 6 Add the fish and simmer 2-3 minutes or until the fish is just cooked, add the reserved mussels, the parsley and coriander. Mix well, taste, season and serve with warm flatbread.