Mediterranean Fish Soup (p. 111)

I finally got to use my fish stock!

This also goes by the name of Zarzuela or Bouillabaisse and is a basic Mediterranean fish soup. I enjoyed it, Matt did not.

First, prepare your clams or mussels by steaming them in a small amount of water and white wine. Once each clam opens, remove it from the covered pan and set it aside. Keep the wine/water mixture, as it will eventually be added to your fish stock.

Add olive oil to a heavy stock pot and begin to heat it up -- add chopped onions and garlic and sauté these until they're very soft. 

Add peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes as well as tomato paste and thyme, and continue cooking for about 30 minutes until the majority of the liquid has disappeared. Add salt.

Add the fish stock and the white wine and water mixture (strained) -- once the mixture begins to simmer add bite size chunks of white fish (I used flounder) and cook for about 2 minutes. 

Add shrimp and whatever else you have and simmer for 6 or 7 more minutes until the seafood is cooked. Add the clams back into the soup and cook for a minute or so longer, just to warm them back up.

Serve sprinkled with pepper.

I liked this, but Matt did not (he doesn't love seafood or soup, so there you go.) I do think I used too much olive oil -- I was trying to cut down the recipe and my math was perhaps a little off. I wouldn't make this again because it was kind of a pain to do, but I did enjoy it.

clams -- $3.12

flounder -- $5.39

shrimp -- $7.41

onion -- $.89

tomato -- $1.44

Total Cost of Mediterranean Fish Soup: $18.25