CREAMY FISH SOUP WITH MUSSELS Soup’s up!

The bacon gives the soup a deliciously smokey taste, but for extra oomph, stir in a pinch of smoked paprika.

Ingredients

(serves 4)

1 bottle (330 ml) beer

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 bay leaf

500 g black mussels, scrubbed and bearded

1 tablespoon olive oil

200 g bacon, cubed

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon cake flour

1 cup hot milk

2 cups vegetable stock

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced 200 g firm white fish, such as hake or kingfish, cubed

½ cup cream

Here’s how

1 Heat the beer, turmeric and bay leaf in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Once boiling, add the mussels, cover and steam for 2-3 minutes or until all the mussels open. Drain the mussels in a colander, but keep the beer. Discard any mussels that didn’t open.

2 Heat the oil in a black potjie and fry the bacon until nice and crispy. Stir in the onion and garlic and fry slowly until the onion is glossy. Stir in the flour and then beat in the milk, as if you’re making a white sauce – a balloon whisk works well, but a fork will also do. Now stir in the stock and add the potato, and simmer slowly until the potato is tender (around 15 minutes).

3 Stir in the beer you kept, followed by the fish. Simmer the mixture for a few minutes until the fish is just cooked. Remove half of the mussels from the shells (or discard all the shells) and add the mussels while stirring in the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat the soup until thoroughly warm – don’t allow it to boil. Serve immediately with fresh bread and butter.

Drive & Camp says you can also add a few drops of olive oil and a sprinkling of chopped fresh chives just before serving.