Directions

I think it may help to first visualize the steps in this recipe:

a. Clean and prep the seafood, save the trimmings to make a ‘fish stock’

b. Make the ‘mirepoix’: dice and sauté the vegetables (onion, pepper, fennel and garlic)

c. Add the aromatics and spices to the cooked mirepoix (fennel seeds, sweet and hot paprika)

d. Make the ‘fish stock’ with ½ the cleaned mussels, the sherry, shrimp shells, scallop ‘feet’, canned tomatoes, orange peel and water.

e. Let the ‘fish stock’ simmer for 40 to 45 minutes and strain

f. Use strained fish stock to make the ‘finished fish soup’

g. Season finished fish soup with harissa paste to taste and fresh lemon juice

h. Cut baguette into diagonal slices, grill and brush with olive oil and serve with soup

Clean the ‘beards’ from the mussels. That’s the little string-like piece that hangs outside the shell. If you buy cultured mussels, the beard may have already been removed during the cleaning process. Rinse the mussels in shallow cold water and discard mussels that do not close completely when gently tapped; they have likely died. Refrigerate cleaned mussels.

Clean the scallops by removing the ‘foot’—the little appendage that the scallop uses to attach itself to the shell. Save these little pieces. Wipe the scallops clean with damp paper towels which is preferable to rinsing them off. Refrigerate.

Peel and devein the shrimp. To de-vein is to make a shallow incision along the outside curve of each piece. Rinse away the intestinal vein that will be exposed. Save the shells. After peeling, lay the shrimp flat on a cutting board and slice in half along the outside curve into two identical C-shaped pieces. Refrigerate cleaned shrimp.

Cut the fish fillets into 1-inch pieces and set aside for the finished fish soup. Save the bits and trimmings for the fish stock. Refrigerate.

Make the ‘mirepoix.’ Separately, dice the onion, the bulb of fennel and the green bell pepper into ¼ inch pieces. Chop 2 cloves of the garlic. Warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pot. Add the 3 diced vegetables and cook over medium heat until softened and translucent. Add the chopped garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper and continue to cook for a couple more minutes. Do not brown the mirepoix. Add the fennel seeds and both paprika, stir to combine. Remove ½ the amount of this cooked mirepoix to a bowl—set aside to use in the ‘finished fish soup’.

Make the fish stock. To the pot with the remaining amount of mirepoix, add the shrimp shells, the scallop ‘feet’ and the fish fillet trimmings. Cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat or until the shrimp shells turn a bit pinkish. Add ½ the amount of cleaned mussels and ½ cup dry sherry. Turn heat up, cover the pot and steam the mussels until shells have opened. Add 1- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes and 6 cups cold water. Add 6 strips of fresh orange peel. Stir to combine and bring the stock to a simmer and cook for 40 to 45 minutes to develop flavor. Taste and adjust seasoning. Strain the fish stock, discard all the solids (including the cooked mussels- they will have given up all their flavor and tenderness to the stock). Don’t clean the pot---Re-use the cooking pot to make the finished soup.

Make the finished fish soup (!!). Return the reserved ½ batch of cooked mirepoix to the pot. Add the rest of the sherry and the uncooked batch of mussels. Cover the pot and steam the mussels until they have just opened. Remove the mussels to a bowl with a slotted spoon and cover with plastic wrap to keep warm. (We will add them back later to the finished soup.) Add ½ of the second can of diced tomatoes to the pot. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the strained fish stock and the juice from the orange. Stir. Let simmer for another 20-25 minutes. Taste. Add more paprika if needed. Add 1 tablespoon of harissa paste, if using. Taste. Add more harissa paste to your liking. With the soup at a bare simmer, add the shrimp, scallops and fish fillet to the pot. Simmer on low, low heat until fish has just cooked through (only about 2 to 3 minutes.) Add the reserved, cooked mussels back to the pot and heat through. Season. Add lemon juice to taste, if desired.

Ladle soup into warmed bowls with grilled baguette pieces. (Grill both sides of each slice bread first, then rub with the 3rd clove of peeled garlic and brush with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.)