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How often do you eat fish?


Rod Caster

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When I was growing up , NO MEAT ON FRI. , so salt cod , smelts , fresh cod when my mother could get it , halibut , kippers , even pickled herring , were on the menu Fri. As I got older and when fresh fish and all kinds of seafood , with the new fast transport methods came available from all over , fish (seafood),the ones I catch and the ones I can buy at St lawerance market or Kensinton , became more and more the go to food in my house , All 4 of my children love fish . We still eat our share of vension , moose , duck , and geese , with wild turkey on the menu if me or one of my sons gets lucky . And like I said a great big beef T-bone now and than but red meat bought from the gocery store I find just does not do it for me anymore . Char up some thick tuna steaks (agressively cook ) on the barbe keeping them red in the middle , doesn't get any better ..

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I have always wanted to make a fish soup, never had one, how is it?

 

What fish makes the best soup?

 

In my opinion a mix of shellfish and freshwater makes the best fish soup. I make an Italian " Brodetto" which loosely translated simply means stew. A bit tricky when the freshwater fish is added. The softer the flesh the later you add the fish, otherwise you end up with a consistency like boiled canned tuna, not good.

The white flesh freshwater fish seems to work best for me. I never use any of the salmonoid species in the Brodetto, comes out very strong for me. Pike is a good quality flesh to start then walleye and perch last. Don't forget the crusty bread toasted and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil to dip.

 

Gee thanks for bringing it up, now I'm hungry and could miss a meal or 2 after this long winter. If you guys and gals want I'll post a recipe.

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If you guys and gals want I'll post a recipe.

 

I'd also like to try a recipe. I had Piranha soup in South America once and it was awesome. Haven't had fish soup since but I'd love to try it again.

(not going to be buying pirahna at the pet store for soup tho... lol)

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I'd also like to try a recipe. I had Piranha soup in South America once and it was awesome. Haven't had fish soup since but I'd love to try it again.

(not going to be buying pirahna at the pet store for soup tho... lol)

I may have two for sale!!l.15 years young.?lol.

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Depends on the time of year. Over the summer a can of tuna is a quick snack at work. I like to have sushi once a week as my treat and, if I can, I love having my catch once a week as well (perch, walleye etc).

 

If mercury poisioning didn't exsist, fish would be all I'd ever eat.

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OK folks I'm going to attempt to write a fish soup recipe here for all to share, not give a cooking lesson. It' late and well,,,,, it's late. And I have a tendency to digress I'll try to stay on point, my wife is howling right now. I hope it turns out, I think I'm set up for members to email me or just ask a question here and I'll try and answer it as best that I can. Before we start the first thing I learned from my Italian Noni when she started teaching me to cook around the age of 5 was you can always add salt but it's difficult to remove it once it's in there. Even harder to remove hot pepper.

This should serve 6 to 8 for sure, or 2 bowls for one of my buddys referred to as "Sun Don't Shine", played CFL and he's called that because where ever he walks the sun don' shine behind him. before we make our " Brodetto " the consistency can be from a thinner soup to a thicker stew, cook longer and I've used it on anything from Angel hair to Fettuccine pasta. It can be served on a large 3x5 foot board of plywood with 2" thick polenta (cornmeal). The first time I had it with polenta was when Mrs. Trevisani served it to Mario and I and it was a out of body experience. Just remember the freshwater fish can't go in too early. I started using freshwater fish and substituted less expensive shellfish. Everything thing listed here is best fresh. sometimes it is just impossible to find fresh or the cost is too high. Fresh if possible,

 

Things we will need;

 

  • large cooking onion (minced finely)
  • 1 shallot (minced finely)
  • 4 large cloves minced garlic
  • sea salt
  • course black pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, chefs call it EVO. If you see Light it doesn't mean less calories it means light tasting it's watered down with cheap vegetable oil, a rip off.
  • tomato paste
  • smoked Hungarian paprika
  • Franks Redhot sauce to taste (actually in Nani's recipe, used to be Durkees Redhot, Buffalo NY)
  • crushed dry chile flakes
  • handful fresh basil leaves
  • 12 New Zealand green muscles ( always found frozen)or common east coast black muscles beards removed
  • 12 cherrystone clams
  • 18-20 littleneck clams
  • 1lb fresh calamari cut into rings and use tentacles ( this is where you stop reading if you don't like seafood!)
  • 12 med size scallop's
  • 12 /20-30 size shrimp, peel clean and save shells, if its alreadyvclean ask fish monger if he/she has any shells., stick with me here.
  • 3/4 lb pike or white fish cut into approx.3 inch squares (substitute is fresh cod)
  • walleye and perch as above
  • 1/2 cup white wine ( if you wouldn't drink it you don't cook with it, cabernet sauvignon is a good choice for me. Fazzi Battaglia Verdiccio for under 20 bucks is best) If alcohol is a concern the alcohol burns off at 212F.
  • 32 oz.of cannedf plumb tomatoes, whole. More if you want iti thinner.

Let me check, yes that's it.

  • put on a small pot boil 1 cup water add shrimp shells bring back to boil simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Need a good quality large pot
  • Heat pot med high heat, once hot add 1/8 cup EVO
  • once oil hot add onions and shallots, sweat for 3 mins add garlic and 1/4 teaspoon crushed chiles, add pinch sea salt and cracked black peppe
  • add all clams, cover, once clams all open check to ensure all are open, if not open chuck it, dead before cooking, not good.
  • add calamari
  • add shrimp stock
  • taste for salt and heat, add salt if needed (seafood lives in saltwater has natural salt in the critters) if required add more chiles
  • crush the can off tomatoes I use a blender to ensure all the seeds are emaciated, no one tells you they are allergic to seeds. Add crushed tomatoes. Tomatoes that come crushed have puree in them and are higher in acid content as well as other additives, whole plum are as close to fresh as you can get.
  • bring to rolling boil
  • turn down to simmer taste for salt and heat, add some hot sauce, ready, now!
  • simmer for a bit and taste for salt and heat, add 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • continue to simmer and check for thickness, add tablespoon tomato paste if thicker is want you want, taste for salt.

I didn't mention it before but you could add potatoes cut and peeled into small 3/4 inch or larger now. It adds thickness to the Brodetto and a depth of texture as well.

 

once you have the consistency you want add the pike, carefully. Get it just below the stock to cook, only takes 10 mins or so on a rolling simmer, covered, after the Pike has been in for 10 mins. check carefully for fork tenderness, if done lay the walleye in. 10 minutes covered, also add scallops. Taste for salt heat.

now we add the perch and shrimp, maybe 10 mins once shrimp is pink check for fork flakiness of the perch. taste for salt and heat.

 

to serve carefully remove the freshwater fish with 2 spatullas, set aside in a separate plate. Dole out a bowl of soup and place a piece of each species of each fish on top of each bowl. make sure every bowl has at least 2 cherrystone clams and 2 muscles etc. Then drizzle some olive oil on the top of the soup. again it can be served on top of any long strand pasta with the fish set on top last.

 

Toast thinly sliced Calabrese bread or chibatta buns, drizzle olive oil on the crustini also known as bruschetta which are all fancy words for, are you ready, toast.

 

I think that's it, if there are any ingredients left over I guess we didn't need it. Almost forgot, chop Basil lay on Brodetto and drink the rest of the wine and enjoy.

 

Johnny D

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