Ingredients
- 1 litre fish stock, preferably homemade
- ¼ teaspoon saffron threads
- 400 g mussels in shells, scrubbed and beards removed
- 100 g peeled raw prawns
- 100 g shelled scallops
- 100 g white fish fillet, skinned
- 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 zucchini, finely diced
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives to garnish
- 1 baguette to serve
- 1 small red capsicum, seeded and finely chopped
- ⅔ cup (160 g) ricotta
- pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 small stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
Preparation
- First prepare the capsicum spread.
- Stir the capsicum into the ricotta together with the cayenne pepper, celery, chives and salt to taste.
- Cover and chill until required.
- Heat the fish stock in a large saucepan until boiling.
- Crumble the saffron threads into the stock and stir well, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- To prepare the mussels, discard any broken shells or shells that do not close when tapped.
- Put the mussels into a clean saucepan and cover tightly.
- (There is no need to add water as they should be wet enough after having been scrubbed.
- ) Cook over a moderate heat for 4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
- Check that the mussels have opened – if not, cover and cook for a further 1–2 minutes.
- Set a colander over the saucepan of stock and tip the mussels into it so that the juices from the shells are added to the stock.
- Leave the mussels until they are cool enough to handle, then remove them from their shells and set aside.
- Discard any unopened shells.
- Use a small sharp knife to make a shallow slit along the back of each prawn.
- Use the tip of the knife to remove the black vein and discard it.
- Cut each scallop across into 2–3 thin slices, depending on size.
- Cut the fish fillet into strips about 2 cm wide and 5 cm long.
- Reheat the fish stock until simmering.
- Add the mussels, prawns, scallops and strips of fish.
- Stir, then heat until simmering gently again.
- Add the tomatoes and zucchini with salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer the soup for 3 minutes.
- Ladle the soup into warm bowls and scatter chives over to garnish.
- Serve at once, with the capsicum spread and warm baguette.