Warm your Cold Days with Seabass Soup

As you may have known, Sea Bass is one of the most popular fish for cooking a range of fish recipes, and although there are a lot of fish being referred as bass, only black sea bass and striped bass are considered the true bass.

Bass fillets may be cooked and served in healthy meals like bass back, cooked in juniper and almond, which has a lot of interesting flavors and textures mixing in harmony with this dish.

Bass may be also included in healthy food recipes like curries and other savory dishes. Its taste and texture makes it excellent for soups, especially seafood soups served in bread bowls. A great example of this soup recipe is the Seabass Soup which is created by Valentine Warner.

Ingredients

1 fresh sea bass, skinned & filleted and cut into bite size pieces

½ onion, finely sliced

2 small leeks, finely sliced

2 sticks celery, finely sliced

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 bulb fennel, chopped

2 bay leaves

300ml white wine

300ml water

Small bunch fresh parsley

Toasted bread to serve

Salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

For the garlic mayonnaise (makes approx 200ml):

2 egg yolks

2 tsp Dijon mustard

½ lemon, juice only

150ml sunflower oil

50ml olive oil

2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped

Preparation

1. Heat some olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onions, leeks, celery, potatoes and fennel seeds to the pan. Cook for approx 8 minutes until softened and then add the fennel, bay leaves, white wine and water. Season with a pinch of salt and a good grinding of black pepper.

2. Bring to a simmer and leave to cook until the potatoes are nearly tender.

3. Now add the fish and stir gently into the pan. Cook for a further 2 -3 minutes before removing from the heat, ready to serve.

4. While the soup cooks, to make the garlic mayonnaise, whisk together the egg yolks, mustard and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

5. Add the sunflower oil in a slow but steady drizzle whisking all the time, then do the same with the olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt. Taste and add a little more lemon juice if necessary. Finish by mixing in the finely chopped garlic.

6. Chop the parsley and mix some through the soup reserving a little for garnish.

7. Spoon some mayonnaise on to toasted bread and serve alongside the soup like giant croutons. Sprinkle with any leftover parsley.

Recipe: Seabass Soup by Valentine Warner from lifestylefood.com.au