Fish soups are one of my favourite things to eat, and for that reason they are also one of my favourite things to make. There’s nothing more comforting and warming than a hearty bowl of soup in the colder months, and there’s even something quite decadent about a seafood soup. Smoked fish and shellfish are glorious ingredients for getting layers and depth of flavour: simple, elegant, punchy – and the ideal thing to serve to guests at home.
Curried mussel soup (pictured top)
The perfect winter warmer with a little kick. Mussels are always delicious, but sometimes you just want to eat them without messing about with those shells.
Prep 15 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4
2kg live mussels
400ml white wine
2 tbsp sunflower oil
4 banana shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt
2 tbsp madras curry powder
150ml double cream
1 tbsp olive oil
70g carrots, peeled and cut into 5mm dice
120g celeriac, trimmed, peeled and cut into 5mm dice
Rinse the mussels in cold water and pull out and discard their beards; discard any with cracked shells or that aren’t tightly closed.
Put a large pot for which you have a lid on a high heat and, once it’s good and hot, throw in the mussels and white wine, and cover the pot. Cook for about two minutes, until all the mussels have opened, then strain through a colander, reserving the cooking liquor. Leave the mussels to cool a little, then pick them from their shells, as you do so discarding any that have refused to open. Set aside 20 of the nicest, plumpest mussels to garnish the soup later.
Put the sunflower oil in a second pan on a medium heat, then sweat the shallots, garlic and a pinch of salt, until they’re nice and soft. Stir in the curry powder and cook gently, stirring, for five minutes – the spices will soak up the oil, so add a little more oil if the mix is looking too dry. Add the picked mussels and 500ml of the reserved cooking liquor, bring to a simmer, then pour in the cream and return to a simmer.
Tip the curried mussel mix into a blender, blitz until the soup is very smooth, then pass it through a sieve. Taste and add more salt, if need be.
Put the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, then saute the diced carrot and celeriac with a pinch of salt for about five minutes, stirring regularly, until tender and just lightly browned.
Put any remaining cooking liquor in a small pan, add the 20 reserved mussels, then warm gently over a low heat.
Gently reheat the soup, then ladle it into four bowls. Garnish each portion with some of the sauteed veg and five of the warmed mussels, and serve hot.
Roast cod with cullen skink
My husband Shaun likes to make this at home. He loves food – loves eating it, reading about it, serving it – but he hates cooking it. He has a few dishes that he does make, though – they’re mostly one-pan wonders – and this is the best (when he hasn’t bought a ready-made soup from our local fishmonger, that is).
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4
400g sustainably sourced smoked haddock fillet
350ml double cream
50ml whole milk
1 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 banana shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
100ml white wine
200g baby potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
6 baby leeks, trimmed, washed and cut into 1cm pieces
4 200g sustainably sourced cod fillets
60g baby spinach
10g chives, finely chopped
Using a sharp knife, cut out the central part of the smoked haddock fillet – the bit with the most bones in it – but don’t throw it away. Put the rest of the haddock in a wide pot with the cream and milk, and warm very gently until the liquid is almost simmering. Take off the heat, then strain the cream mix into another pot. Flake the cooked smoked haddock and set it aside.
Put the reserved bony bit of smoked haddock in the pot of strained cooking liquid, then put it back on the heat and simmer very gently for 30 minutes, to extract all the flavour from the bones.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/410F/gas 6½. In a separate pan, melt the butter, then add the sliced garlic and shallots and a pinch of salt, and saute gently, stirring often, until soft. Pour in the wine, reduce until the pan is almost dry, then add the potatoes and saute for a few minutes.
Strain the creamy soup into the pan, then cook on a medium heat for 10 or so minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through. Add the baby leeks, simmer for three minutes, until they are soft, then stir in a pinch of cracked black pepper and keep the soup warm on a low heat.
Season the cod, put it on an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, then roast in the hot oven for 10 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning of the soup to taste, add the spinach, chives and reserved smoked haddock flakes, and stir just until the spinach wilts and the fish warms through. Ladle the soup into four bowls, top each portion with a piece of roast cod and serve at once.
