All through the holy month of Ramadan, Bangladesh Post will share some delectable recipes by culinary artist Afroza Naznin Shumi. Take a look, put your apron on and get cooking. Here goes the last part.
Sea Food Soup
Ingredients
For the soup
3x whole white fish (such as Dory or snapper), gutted
Large handful prawns in the shell
Large handful mussels in the shell
400g/14oz waxy potatoes, such as Desirée, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Olive oil, to drizzle
For the fish stock
30ml/2 tbsp olive oil
Fish trimmings, including head and bones, from fish listed above
1 shallot, chopped
1 small bulb fennel, chopped
3 ripe tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat side of a knife
1 large sprig thyme
2 bay leaves
2 pinch saffron strands
1-2 star anise
2 litres/3½ pints boiling water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Fillet the fish, set aside the trimmings and remove any small bones from the fillets with tweezers. Set the fillets aside to be added to the soup later. To make the stock, roughly chop the fish trimmings into three parts. Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, and add the olive oil. Add the fish trimmings and fry for 5-10 minutes until they begin to brown. Remove the fish trimmings from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Add the shallot, fennel, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, saffron and star anise. Fry gently over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring regularly, until the vegetables have softened. Add the cooked fish trimmings back into the pan, and pour in the boiling water. Bring back to a simmer and remove any scum that forms on the surface with a ladle or spoon. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 35 minutes.
Place a sieve in a colander placed over a large saucepan. Ladle the stock into the sieve, then gently pour in any remaining liquid from the pan - taking care not to tip the fish or vegetables into the sieve. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. For the soup, place the potatoes into the fish stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the potatoes are nearly cooked. Cut the fish fillets into 5cm/2in pieces. Discard any mussels that are open or that don't close when tapped, or have broken shells.
Add the prawns, mussels and white fish to the saucepan and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that have not opened during cooking. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. To serve, ladle the fish soup into soup bowls, scatter with parsley, drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.
Vegetable Tofu Soup
Ingredients
7 oz mushroom
1 tbsp olive oil
3 green onions thinly sliced (light and dark green parts separated)
6 cups water or vegetable stock
3 cups chopped cabbage leaves
454 g soft tofu drained and cut into cubes
Salt and white pepper to taste
Sesame oil
Instructions
Prepare enoki mushroom by brushing off any loose dirt with a paper towel. Then just cut off and discard the roots. Set aside. In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir-fry light green parts of green onions until soft, about 1 minute. Add water or stock and turn the heat to high. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add cabbage or bok choy, a pinch of salt; cook for about 2 minutes. Add enoki mushroom and tofu; cook for 1 minute. Correct seasoning with salt and white pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into individual bowl. Serve with a drizzle of sesame oil.
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