Seafood Soup with Parmesan Croutons
When your husband offers to cook for you + serves up this amazing soup for a quiet, late Saturday afternoon lunch. Recipe from David Herbert, thank you.
Italian-style seafood soup
Serves 4-6
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled + finely sliced
1 carrot, scrubbed + finely sliced
1 stick celery, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced lengthways
2 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 large glass white wine
750ml fish or vegetable stock
750g fish fillets (use two types with firm white flesh)
250g large uncooked prawns, shell on
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped basil
(My husband added some mussels as well - around 15….)
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrot, celery + garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft but not coloured. Add fennel, tomatoes, bay leaf, chilli, white wine + stock and bring to the boil. Turn down heat and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Cut fish into bite-size pieces; add fish, mussels + prawns to stock mixture and simmer for a few minutes until cooked through. Sprinkle with chopped herbs + season to taste. Serve with croutons or crusty bread.
Parmesan croutons
6 thick slices rustic white bread or 1 small baguette
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
½ cup freshly grated parmesan
Cut bread into cubes + transfer to a bowl. Combine oil, garlic + parmesan; pour over cubes + toss to coat; add a pinch of salt. Spread over a baking tray + bake in a preheated 180ºC oven for 5 minutes, then toss and return to the oven for another 5 minutes, until coloured and crisp. Alternatively, cut a small baguette into 5mm slices. Combine oil and garlic and brush over both sides of the slices. Place in a single layer on a large baking sheet + sprinkle one side with some parmesan. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn and cook until crisp and coloured.