Ingredients
- Red Pepper sauce:
- 1 large red bell pepper, roasted
- 2 garlic loves
- 2 ripe, juicy tomatoes, peeled
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 3 to 4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- Soup:
- 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lbs. of whole fish (such as smelt, rock cod, or snapper), cleaned but heads and tails intact
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2-3 small rock crabs, if possible
- 4 potatoes, peeled, and cut into pieces
- 6 ripe, juicy tomatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely
- 3 six-inch sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 inch length of wild or cultivated fennel stalk, chopped, leaves included
- ½ to 1tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 4 ½ cups water
- 2 cups white wine
- Garlic rubbed toasts
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Preparation
Step 1
Red Pepper sauce: Place the red pepper, garlic cloves, tomatoes, salt and cayenne pepper in a blender or small food processor and puree, gradually adding olive oil. The sauce should be thick not runny. Set aside.
Soup: Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom soup pot. When the oil is hot, add the fish, onions and garlic cloves. Cook and stir until the fish begins to change color and fall apart, about 4-5 minutes. Add the crabs, and potatoes and sauté 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, orange peel, fennel, salt and pepper, plus 4 cups of water and the wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat. Position a food mill over a bowl. Pour the contents of the soup pot a little at a time into the mill and press it through into the bowl. This will extract the juices and the essence of the ingredients, making a thin puree. The fish bones, herbs, and other coarse material will be left behind in a thick puree. Return the pomace that is trapped in the mill to the original soup pot and add ¼ cup water. Cook, stirring for 3 or 4 minutes. Then put the pomace through the food mill again, extracting more juice and essence. Add this to the puree in the sauce pan. Discard the pomace in the food mill.
Heat soup over medium heat. Taste for salt and pepper. The consistency is thick. Serve with toasts and red pepper sauce. Serves 4.