Hearty fish soup

Phil's Cookery Corner

Hearty fish soup

Ingredients:

	Half a celery (coarsely dice the celery and finely chop the leaves)
	One medium brown onion (finely chopped)
	Six large tomatoes (chopped) - tinned is perfectly okay (two tins, say)
	Bay leaves (two)
	Turmeric (two teaspoons)
	Garlic (three cloves crushed)
	Butter or margarine (one tablespoon)
	Tomato paste (about 4 tablespoons)
	Fish (1.5 - 2.0kg of something like New Zealand Red Cod, Gurnard or Flathead)

Method:

Fry the onion in the butter in a big saucepan on medium heat until soft (do not brown). Add garlic and celery leaves and stir in. Add celery and soften a bit. Add turmeric, bay, tomatoes and tomato paste. Add some boiling water (about 1-2 litres) and boil on high. Add the fish (cut into smallish pieces) and boil for 12-15 minutes. Yes, keep boiling and stirring-you can do it-none of this simmering! Season with black pepper. Serve.

Comments:

The basic family recipe above is marvelous, but try adding some fennel in place of some of the celery and/or some saffron in place of the turmeric. On special occasions, I add raw prawns for 30 seconds at the end; don't forget to clean them. A couple of fresh coriander leaves per person goes well as a garnish.

Enjoy!

If you have any comments on these pages,
feel free to e-mail me: ppollett@bigpond.net.au