Fish soup

The trick here is to come prepared. Each time I buy a whole fish I keep the head and the bones in the freezer for a while. Then comes the day I like to serve some nice fat grilled gamba's, with garlic, parsley and olive-oil. The guests peel the gamba's themselves and I keep everything they leave on their plate. Take the frozen fish bits from the freezer. Bring 2 liters of water to the boil and add the fish and ganba bits, with some onions, celerystalks, carrots, bay leaf, thyme and crushed peppercorns. An hour later I take everything out and strain the fishstock trough a sieve and reduce it till only a 1/2 liter is left. Which gets in the freezer.

The moment we expect guests I buy 12 big juicy Spanish mussels, a handfull of vongole, some salmon and 4 gamba's. Plus my secret ingredient: a jar of 'Soupe de Homard a la Bretagne'.

Readymade lobstersoup, yes. But which still need my concentrated fish stock to become perfect. So I combine the two an heat them up slowly. I steam the mussels and vongole. Fry the gamba's and cut the fresh salmon.

The salmon cubes go raw in the plates and will be

slightly cooked when I pour over the soup.

The mussels and vongole follow as do the prawns.

Served with bread and a very garlicky rouille

(which comes for free with de Soupe).