Soupruary 9th: Fisherman's Soup

My pitch: The island relocates to a spot in the Ligurian Sea, nestled between Tuscany and Corsica. Inspired by the Mediterranean climate and the local waters, erstwhile fisherman Jin whips up a quick soup. Sawyer takes a bite, turns to Kate, and says "Now that's amore, Freckles," and the whole crew of Losties breaks out in song.

Tell me that isn't Emmy-winning storytelling.


Location:
Kendall's apartment, Downtown Cincinnati

Attendees:
Kendall, Mandy, John, Josh, me


Menu:
Fisherman's Soup
Cannelini, tomato and mozzarella salad

Entertainment:
Lost Season 6 Episode 3, which is actually airing in the second week so it feels like episode 2 and I'm pretty sure they're cheating us out of some show somehow.

The Soup:
They're calling it Snowpocalypse right now in certain parts of the country. I can't say it's that serious here--Our own snowstorm only brought us about 6 inches, but that's enough to really screw us up in Cincinnati. I braved the yuck and made it to Findlay Market, but some of my favorite vendors were closed, and some of those who were open weren't 100% stoked about it. Accordingly, this meal wasn't precisely what I wanted it to be (for instance, I wanted squid, and I really wanted my shrimp to be just a little more straight-from-the-sea), but hey: at least it happened.


This soup is called cacciucco in Italian, which means mixed but is way more fun to say.

The broth on its own, before the seafood was added, was megaflavorful. Probably not hearty enough to eat on its own, but if you added a pasta and maybe a nice leafy green, I'd totally eat that. In fact, depending on the quality of the seafood, that might even be better.

The really fun part of this soup, though, is what it does to the toast at the bottom of your bowl. What had so recently been solid, crispy bread quickly evolved into what felt and tasted like a big ol' pile of melted cheese in the most brilliant WillyWonkan fashion. I know wet, soggy bread sounds disgusting, but in reality it was nothing short of delightful.


adapted from Bon Apetit, May 2000

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 small pinch saffron
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 28-oz can diced or whole peeled plum tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
1 lb mixed firm, white fish (I used orange roughy and cod)
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz bay scallops
zest from one lemon

to serve:
additional chopped Italian parsley
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
crusty bread

Heat olive oil over medium heat in your pot, then add onion, celery and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Add parsley, rosemary, crushed red pepper and saffron and stir for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, for another two minutes. Add white wine and cook until liquid evaporates. Add tomatoes (with juice) and vegetable broth--if using whole tomatoes, break them down into manageable pieces with your spoon. Bring to a gentle boil and cook down for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat your oven to 400F. Slice your crusty bread and brush each piece with a little olive oil, then place on a cookie sheet. Bake until nicely toasted, then remove and set aside.

Add seafood to your broth, and cook about 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Add lemon zest to soup and stir to combine.

To serve, place a piece of toast in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle soup on top of bread, then sprinkle with parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano.