Here’s a quick way to make a tasty little soup with whatever fish you happen to have fresh from the fish market. It’s great with snapper, but almost any fish will do. For the stock, however, I do recommend lobster stock. Where do you get losbster stock? Easy. When you make Lobster Potato Salad, make sure you save the lobster shells, cover them with 3 quarts of water, simmer until reduced by half, and voilà—lobster stock. It really makes the difference.
Fish Soup
makes about 4 quarts
4 tablespoons butter
3 large leeks, white parts only, halved lengthwise & sliced thinly (about 2 cups)
1 large fennel bulb, quartered, cored & diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced (about 1 cup packed)
1 poblano chile, minced (about 1/2 cup)
2 large tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)
1-1/2 quarts stock (see note above)
2 cups white wine
2 teaspoons salt
1 dash cayenne
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced small (about 3 cups)
kernels cut from 2 ears corn (about 1-1/2 cups)
1-1/2 pounds fish filet, cut into 1-inch chunks
freshly ground black pepper
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt butter and sauté leeks, fennel, & poblano over low heat until very soft & starting to brown, 10-15 minutes. Add parsley & sauté for 2 minutes. Add tomato, stock, wine, salt & cayenne, increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add potatoes and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce heat slightly, add corn & fish and simmer slowly until fish is done, about 10 minutes. Taste for salt and serve with freshly ground black pepper.
