Provençal fish soup
Cuisine: French
Author: Maria Kalenska
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 50 mins
Total time: 1 hr 5 mins


Ingredients
  • 400 ml vegetable stock
  • 800 g canned peeled tomatoes
  • 400 g salmon fillet, cut into large pieces
  • 200 g king prawns, unpeeled
  • 200 g mini octopuses
  • 12 fresh mussels in shells
  • ½ onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 30 ml dry white wine
  • 5 sprigs of thyme
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 2 sprigs of fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • cayenne pepper
  • sugar
  • salt
Cooking method
  1. If the mussels are just harvested and not cleaned yet for cooking, then remove any gnarls and rip away the ‘beard’ (water plant). Grind the tomatoes with a blender until smooth. Fry in oil the onion and ⅓ of the garlic in a saucepan, add thyme leaves from 2 two springs. Then pour in tomatoes, vegetable stock, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
  2. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add mussels, white wine, remaining garlic, and basil. Let wine evaporate a little (5-7 minutes), add octopuses and prawns. Stir well, cook for another 3 minutes, and remove from heat.
  3. Pour ½ litre of cold water into a saucepan, salt a little bit, add salmon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, remove the lid and boil until cooked.
  4. Add all the mussels, octopuses, prawns, salmon, stock from salmon, to a saucepan with tomatoes. Season with cayenne pepper, salt, sugar (to balance the acidity of the tomatoes), rosemary, and thyme. Bring to boil over low heat, remove from heat, and let the soup steep for 5-10 minutes. Then take out the sprigs of rosemary and thyme and serve.
My tips and tricks
If you like to dive into the tastes of southern France, serve this soup with a lightly roasted crispy French baguette (just remember to slice it) and the classic French rouille

Maria Kalenska Gastronomy Blog | http://www.myodessacuisine.com/recipes/provencal-fish-soup/