Seafood Soup

 

This seafood soup is inspired by the Spanish dish called paella. I've always wanted to try it, and some day make a real, true Spanish paella dish; I hope one day I do get to make that dish but in the mean time, I've thought up this recipe! Its a quick, easy to make and hearty seafood soup/stew that really brings you to the shores of the ocean!

Don't be afraid of the fishy taste of fish, this soup definitely does not taste fishy-- I made sure that the broth has plenty of vegetable flavor that would compliment the fish and shrimp, not overpower it!

 

Perfect for a cooler summer day, rainy day or any day actually! My seafood soup will surely be a crowd pleaser!

 

Ingredients:

5 filets of cubed, bite size pieces of fish (any kind, I used tilapia)
15- 20 shrimp, cleaned and deveined (you can keep the tails of remove them)   
1 cup of rice
2 cups of water
2 cups of vegetable or fish stock
1/2 cup of wine
1 cup of chopped celery (chop up the tops of the celery leaves also)
1/2 cup of chopped parsnip
1/2 cup of onion
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of tomato paste
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp of dried mint
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
4 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking time: About 1 hour

Assembly:

 

1.) Heat 2 Tbs of olive oil in a medium pot, add onions and cook until they appear translucent. Add celery (but not the leaves) and parsnip, add a dash of salt and cook for 15 minutes and stir constantly.

2.) Slowly, add 1/2 cup of wine to the vegetables, stir and scrap the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon (there is a lot of flavor at the bottom from all of those caramelized veggies!) Bring wine to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

3.) Add both apple, balsamic vinegar and vegetable stock to the pot. Stir in the tomato paste and when the soup starts to simmer, add herbs, red pepper flakes and 1 tbs of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

4.) When the soup starts to boil, first add in cubed fish and let cook for about 3-5 minutes, then add the shrimp (This is because shrimp cooks much faster than fish): there is no need to season the fish before because it will absorb all the flavor of the broth. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until seafood is tender and fully cooked.

5.) In a separate pot, cook rice until fluffy. Add 1 Tbs of olive oil, and 1/2 tbs of salt.

(I actually used bulgur wheat instead of rice when I cooked this because I didn't have rice at home. So feel free to substitute rice with another grain, like couscous, bulgur wheat or even buckwheat!)

To serve: In a bowl, add desired amount of rice and ladle in seafood soup on top of the rice. The grain will soak up all the juices and make for a heartier meal!

ENJOY

<3 Babushka