Fish Soup

I was surprised by the beautiful colours of this dish. It made me pine for the Mediterranean sun. The soup reflected the subtle pink colours of the red mullet, with vibrant yellows from saffron and reds from the tomatoes.

1. Clean the mullet. Ask the fish monger to do this – keep the heads on, descale and keep the livers. Set aside
2. Cook the potatoes. Peel and boil the potatoes. Cook for about about 10 minutes, they should be still quite firm, but nearly cooked. Drain and set aside.
3. Cook the carrot. Peel and cut the carrot into interesting shaped pieces. Cook for about about 10 minutes, they should be still quite firm, but nearly cooked. Drain and set aside.
4. Peel the tomatoes. Cut a cross on one end of each tomato. Plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for about 10-15 seconds. Drain and run under a cold tap.  Peel the tomatoes and remove the hard core. Slice into quarters. Set aside.
5. Make the soup. Chop the shallots, garlic, celery and chillies. Fry in a large pan with a good glug of olive oil on a medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to boil for a minute. Add the stock, tomato puree, sugar, bay leaves, thyme and oregano. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the paprika, saffron, potatoes, tomatoes and carrots and simmer for 3 minutes, add the broccoli and the chopped parsley and cook for another 3 minutes. Carefully add the fish (with their livers) and bring back to a simmer. Cook gently until the fish is done – about 3 – 5 minutes. Season.
6. Serve. This is good with crusty bread and a salad. Drizzle good olive oil over the soup and serve with lemon quarters.