Recipe: Fish Soup

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From Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish by Jesse Griffiths. Photograph © 2012 Jody Horton (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

This week on Good Food, Evan talks with Jesse Griffiths, author of Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish.

Jesse lives near fresh water lakes in Texas where he catches his limit of fish every chance he gets. Keep reading for his recipe for Fish Soup and to hear him discuss fish soup in this outtake.

When You Catch a Whole Mess of Fish…Make Fish Soup by KCRW

Fish Soup

(Adapted from Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish by Jesse Griffiths. Welcome Books. Text © 2012 Jesse Griffiths. Photographs © 2012 Jody Horton. Foreword © 2012 Andrew Zimmern. www.welcomebooks.com/afield)

 I learned to love fish soup because I kept catch­ing little whiting while fishing for flounder. I had come a long way to catch some fish, and no way was I leaving without a meal, so soup it was, and it worked. This recipe is now our sig­nature dish.

Serves 4

4 pounds very fresh whole fish: snapper, grouper, redfish, whiting, or flounder

4 bay leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

Kosher salt

2 cups canned tomatoes or fresh

chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

4 small new potatoes, halved

Juice of 1 lemon

Chopped fresh cilantro, basil, or parsley

1 recipe aïoli

4 slices grilled or toasted bread

1. Fillet the fish and cut into 1-inch pieces. Reserve the bones.

2. In a large soup pot, add the fish bones and 2 bay leaves to 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.

3. In another large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the 2 remaining bay leaves, onion, bell pepper, and spices, Season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Do not brown.

4. Add the tomatoes to the onion and peppers and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often.

5. Add the white wine and pour 6 cups of the fish stock through a finemesh strainer into the pot. Bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.

6. Season the soup with salt and lemon juice, remove from the heat and add the fillet pieces. Allow the fish to cook for about 5 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.

7. Divide the soup among four bowls, garnish with chopped herbs, and top each bowl with a slice of toast spread with aïoli.

From Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish by Jesse Griffiths. Welcome Books. Text © 2012 Jesse Griffiths.

Photographs © 2012 Jody Horton. Foreword © 2012 Andrew Zimmern. www.welcomebooks.com/afield