My Father’s Fish Soup
I was able to find the best looking whole fish I have ever seen at the supermarket. It’s a yellow tailed snapper. The picture does not do it justice. I was amazed at the clearness of the eyes. Yes, I know that is a sign of freshness. Living in the Missouri away from large bodies of fresh or sea water means most of fish I buy is frozen. When I do buy fresh fish it has already been cut into fillets or steaks.
Each week I approach the recipe with an open minded and acknowledgment of any “baggage” I have regarding the ingredients. With every recipe there is an opportunity to like a food I once did not or think about a favorite in a new way. In the past I have not liked clam chowder –Manhattan or New England. Because of this I have avoided other fish soups.
Rockfish, Sea Bass, Halibut, Shrimp, Clams, Mussels and Squid (not pictured)
There are several steps you must carefully execute to create this dish. In addition to the snapper, I used the seafood listed above. I felt a little sad when had to cut of my fishes head. This head and two others were cooked, meat removed, bones picked and then mashed through a food mill. Dry white wine, garlic, EVOO, parsley and tomatoes are the remaining ingredients. There are quite a few steps to this recipe. The entire recipe dish about 2 1/2 hour including prep. Marcella said it was more of a stew than soup and it was. I used a fork to eat it.
This soup has bold fish flavor. I should have guessed since it gave off a fairly strong aroma while cooking. My palette is not sophisticated enough to appreciate this soup at this time. I can’t say that I’m surprised. However, I am surprised the ingredients for this dish surpassed the cost of the Black Truffle Pasta I made in June. This is the most expense recipe I will prepare during this cooking challenge.
Brava, Irene! Yes, we are happy to finish the fish chapter!
Irene, that snapper is beautiful! It is amazing how much flavor can be extracted by running the fish heads through a food mill.
Italians, Irene, expect fish to be the most expensive item in their food budget, and when they eat out at a seafood restaurant they expect that to be the most expensive restaurant meal they can have. Assuming of course that everything is of the choicest and freshest quality. You did an excellent job and I can sympathize with your feelings about the aroma and taste of the dish. It is bold, and it can be difficult to approach on first acquaintance.
One little bit of fish head lore. The flesh on it is indeed the tastiest part of the fish, in Japanese restaurants it is called kama and can be ordered as a separate course. In Venice, if you order a grilled rombo – turbot – it is brought whole to the table, the waiter then separates the head from the body, mashes it with the back of a spoon, and blends the results with the juices from the rombo.