For awhile now I've been thinking about posting a fish soup recipe , and to make a good soup you , of course , need a good stock .
My thought was that between us , spearos , chefs , cooks , fishmongers etc , we should be able to cococt the ultimate fish stock .
( Surely , the most essential ingredient for any sea food cook ? )
This is the stock recipe I use at the moment , please add comments , ideas , howls of derision , your own recipe etc .
First , all the ingredients except the herbs are chopped very fine , even the fish is cut into small pieces , this reduces the cooking time and avoids the chalky taste that occurs from over-cooking and means the stock is ruined .
As far as the fish goes , I use fresh or frozen fresh frames and trimmings of prime white fish , turbot and sole are best but use what you've got , no oily fish , guts or gills though . You can add shellfish but I keep mine for shellfish stock .
2kg fish frames and trimmings
4 sticks of celery
2 onions
2 carrots
1 med' fennel bulb
1/2 med' celeriac
few shallots
handful of button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
small bunch of thyme
small bunch of parsley stalks
6 black pepper corns
big glass of white wine
Add all ingerients to a large stockpot , add white wine , place over medium heat and when the wine starts to bubble add sufficient water to cover the ingredients .
Bring to a gentle simmer , I don't time the stock , just keep tasting it and ladle off any scum that forms .
I think it's ready when the taste is clean and fishy , a bit gelatinous , fragrant from the herbs and veg' , almost good enough to serve as a dish and absolutely no chalk taste .
Now turn the heat off and leave to cool .
Strain the liquid and refrigerate if using within three days or freeze if keeping for longer .
So what do you think ? Is yours better ? What chefy tricks are used in stock-making ? Which fish do people from different parts of the world use ?
In anticipation ,
Regards ,
Dave .
My thought was that between us , spearos , chefs , cooks , fishmongers etc , we should be able to cococt the ultimate fish stock .
( Surely , the most essential ingredient for any sea food cook ? )
This is the stock recipe I use at the moment , please add comments , ideas , howls of derision , your own recipe etc .
First , all the ingredients except the herbs are chopped very fine , even the fish is cut into small pieces , this reduces the cooking time and avoids the chalky taste that occurs from over-cooking and means the stock is ruined .
As far as the fish goes , I use fresh or frozen fresh frames and trimmings of prime white fish , turbot and sole are best but use what you've got , no oily fish , guts or gills though . You can add shellfish but I keep mine for shellfish stock .
2kg fish frames and trimmings
4 sticks of celery
2 onions
2 carrots
1 med' fennel bulb
1/2 med' celeriac
few shallots
handful of button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
small bunch of thyme
small bunch of parsley stalks
6 black pepper corns
big glass of white wine
Add all ingerients to a large stockpot , add white wine , place over medium heat and when the wine starts to bubble add sufficient water to cover the ingredients .
Bring to a gentle simmer , I don't time the stock , just keep tasting it and ladle off any scum that forms .
I think it's ready when the taste is clean and fishy , a bit gelatinous , fragrant from the herbs and veg' , almost good enough to serve as a dish and absolutely no chalk taste .
Now turn the heat off and leave to cool .
Strain the liquid and refrigerate if using within three days or freeze if keeping for longer .
So what do you think ? Is yours better ? What chefy tricks are used in stock-making ? Which fish do people from different parts of the world use ?
In anticipation ,
Regards ,
Dave .