If you are a seafood lover you can’t miss this seafood soup typical of my area in Sardinia, Italy.
With my family we generally cook a seafood based meal for NYE. Because of the pandemic, like many of us, I will not be able to spend time with them this year, but hopefully this comforting soup will bring you some warmth.
As we always do, Giulia and I cooked this main by making a few small changes in the list of ingredients, in order to offer a healthier alternative. However, the star of this dish was (typically) and still is seafood. Also following Giulia’s advice in terms of nutrition “Mollusks and crustaceans are a great source of proteins and minerals, especially if you compare them with the most popular protein-rich foods like chicken or beef. Prawns, for example, are high in an easily-absorbable form of selenium, an essential mineral that protects our body from free-radicals. Mussels also contain good levels of selenium, zinc and other vitamins such as B12 and betacarotene. I really hope you love sea food as much as we do!
The first thing we added to this recipe in order to give this soup a small amount of fibre was celery. This vegetable is very low in calories, but full of health-promoting benefits such as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds which have been seen to support the function of our heart and digestive system.
We then used red mullet a small-size fish instead of a big one such as sward fish, which is traditionally added to this dish. Small fish contain less mercury and toxins from the sea, so they are for sure a better option! (We decided not to add any oily fish to this soup as their distinctive strong flavour would overpower the delicate taste of the other ingredients).”
With our bellies full, we wish you a very relaxing New Year’s Eve and a positive start with the New Year.
Prep Time: 20 minutes + 2 hours to soak the clams and mussels
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
1 small squid (160g)
6 tiger prawns (shell on)
200g mussels
300g clams
1 small red mullet (200g)
100 ml white wine
1 chilli
2 garlic cloves
400ml tomato passata
150g cherry tomatoes
a bunch of parsley
1tbs olive oil
1 celery stick
FISH STOCK
450ml water
prawn shells
red mullet bones
1 celery stick
1 garlic clove
1tbs olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
To start we will be prepping our ingredients.
The first thing to do as soon as you buy the clams and mussels, is to place them in water for a couple of hours. This is done to help the clams release all the sand. Also if there are any open clams or mussels, lightly tap them to the side of the sink. If they do not close, discard them.
Clean the prawns by cutting the shells along the back slicing into the flesh a tiny bit too to expose the vein. Pull the vein out and rinse the prawn in water. Repeat the procedure for each prawn.
Place the shells in a small pan that you will use to make a fish stock.
If your fishmonger hasn’t filleted your red mullet then this is the time to do it. I suggest watching videos on the internet if you do not know how to fillet a fish. As a summary instruction, you must cut the head and tail of the fish. Then with a sharp knife slice along the back and keep slicing the rest of the flesh. You must feel that the flat part of the blade is rubbing against the bones underneath.
Keep the bones and place them in the same pan with the prawn shells. Add in the garlic clove peeled and sliced in a half and the celery stick with 1 tbsp of oil. Cook at high heat for 1-2 min until the shells have changed colour.
Add in the water and 1/2 tsp of salt and bring to the boil. Then cook at low heat for at least 20-30min.
Start by cleaning your mussels by removing the “beard” often found hanging off the shell. Place the mussels in a colander in the sink and run water over them, using the tip of a knife to clean off any debris that could be on the shell.
Drain the clams. Cut the squid into rings of 1/2 cm thick.
Now in a large non stick pan. Heat up the olive oil, then cook the garlic, celery and chilli for 3 minutes. Pour in your clams and mussels. Cook for 2 minutes. Then add in the white wine. until it evaporates completely.
Cook at medium heat for a few minutes. Shake the pan a few times to help the clams and mussels to open. Mine started to open after just 4 minutes and were all open within 6 minutes.
If you find any stubborn ones that do not want to open, then wait an extra minute for them to open. Avoid opening them with a knife but just discard them instead if they stay closed.
Set the clams and mussels aside.
Now cook prawns, squid and red mullet in the same pan with all the flavours of the mussels and squid. Cook for 2 minutes on each side for a total of 4 minutes and set aside.
Pour the tomato sauce in the same pan where you cooked the fish, season to taste and cook for 5 minutes. If your fish stock is ready then drain it with a fine sieve over the pan with the tomato sauce. Cook until you reach the consistency desired. I cooked mine for just about 10 more minutes.
Then place all the seafood back in to warm up for a further 2 minutes.
Sprinkle some parsley on the top and enjoy!
TIPS:
This recipe can be simplified if your fishmonger does part of the job for you. Such as asking him to clean the squid and fillet the red mullet. But remember to keep the red mullet bones that you will use to make your fish stock.
Alternatively if you want to save yourself some time, most of the fishmongers sell pre-made fish stock.
Check that the clams and mussels you are buying are not closed or broken.
