Italian Seafood Soup

• μερίδες: 8 servings
• συνολικός χρόνος: 1hr 45 mins

Υλικά

175 g vegetable oil, divided

500 g White onion(s), (2 medium onions) 250 g cut into 2.5cm dice, 250 g cut into 0.5cm dice, divided

40 g salt, divided, plus extra as needed

130 g Garlic clove, (~26 cloves) minced, divided

500 g Carrot, peeled, cut into 2.5cm obliques (see video), divided

500 g tomato, (~3 tomatoes) quartered, core cut out

1 g Black pepper, freshly ground (1/2 teaspoon)

0.7 g Cumin seeds, (1/4 teaspoon)

7 Allspice, whole

2 Fresh bay leaves

450 g Prawns, (large 10–15 count), shell-on, peeled and deveined, shells reserved

10 g Mariscos Sazón (a Mexican seafood seasoning - see recipe in Spice Mixes)

120 g Unsalted butter

2500 g Chicken stock

450 g Fish fillet, cut into 2-inch cubes

400 g Squid, cleaned, bodies cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rings, tentacles kept whole, (optional)

400 g Octopus, cooked, cut into 1-inch pieces, (optional)

30 g Olive oil

355 g Potatoes, whole, scrubbed

200 g Clams, fresh, scrubbed, purged (see “Before We Begin”) (optional)

400 g Mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

To Serve:

Parsley, finely chopped

Οδηγίες

Make Stew Base:

In a a large pot, heat 125 g neutral oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add 250 g onion (cut into 2.5 cm dice) and 5 g salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add 100 g garlic and 140 g carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is aromatic and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to caramelise and stick to the bottom of the pot, about 6 minutes.

Add the pepper, cumin, allspice, and bay leaves, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the reserved shrimp shells, mariscos sazón, and butter, and cook until the shells turn bright orange, about 3 minutes.

Add stock and 20 g salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat; remove and discard bay leaves.

Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large container or bowl. Working in batches, transfer stock to the jar of a countertop blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Pass purée through prepared strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Set aside.

Cook Seafood:

Clean and dry the pot.

In a bowl, combine the fish, prawns, squid (if using), octopus (if using), olive oil, and remaining 15 g salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.

In the pot, heat remaining 50 g neutral oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add remaining carrot and potatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, until carrots are slightly softened around edges, about 3 minutes. Add 150 g onion (cut into 0.5 cm dice), remaining 30 g garlic, and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add reserved stock, bring to a simmer, and cook until carrot and potatoes are slightly softened, 12 to 15 minutes.

To finish, cook the seafood in stages, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a simmer.

Add reserved marinated fish and cook for 1 minute. Add reserved marinated prawn, octopus, and squid, and cook for 2 minutes. Add clams (if using) and mussels.

Cover pot and cook until clams and mussels have opened, about 2 minutes longer. The total cook time for all the seafood should be about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, taste, and season with additional salt if necessary.

To Serve:

Ladle into serving containers on top of polenta (if using), making sure to evenly distribute seafood.

Garnish with remaining finely diced onion and parsley.

Σημειώσεις

Before Starting:

Oblique Carrot Cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLnSUmETTSI

This recipe calls for a variety of specific fish and shellfish, but you should use a selection of the best quality seafood you can find. If that’s five different kinds, amazing; if it’s just one or two, you’re still going to make a delicious seafood soup. If you do decide to mix and match, always include cooking the prawn shells in the stock so that you can make a more flavourful stock.

If using clams, you will need to purge them before cooking to get rid of sand and grit. Fill a large bowl with cold water and stir in enough salt to make it salty like the ocean—about 2% salt by weight of water, or 20 g salt per 1 litre of water. Add clams and soak for 30 minutes. Then, lift clams out of water and discard purging water and any sandy residue left in the bowl. Rinse out bowl and repeat purging process until clams no longer release any sand, 2 to 3 purging cycles total.

This recipe can use Mariscos Sazón (see recipe in Spice Mixes), an umami-boosting seafood seasoning blend.