Fish Soup

Dear Devon,

For the past few years, I have been making a simple fish soup. It's not a recipe I read about or learned from anyone, but a dish that I threw together on a whim one wintry night. It was so successful that I've repeated it many times. Over the years, I've played around with the recipe, creating two versions. One is tomato-based, infused with garlic and spiced with red pepper flakes and parsley. The second is made from a more classic vegetable stock of carrots and onions or leeks, and flavored with dill. A fillet of firm fish is nestled into the hot stock and slowly poached until flaky.


Herbs bring a sensation of freshness to any dish. In the winter, I stock up on dill and parsley, in part to remind myself that snow melts and warm sunny days will return. Aside from flat leaf parsley, dill is one of my all time favorite herbs. I love its strong distinctive flavor and bold green color. I mix a handful into salads, eggs, soups, and beans. A friend of mine told me that his mom often added dill to her soups. I was shocked I hadn't thought of it and quickly incorporated this flavoring technique into my cooking. Numerous bowls of soup later, my boyfriend has requested a hiatus from dill.


A light stock is essential. Otherwise, you will lose the flavor and texture of the fish, and perhaps overpower the dill. I begin with onions, garlic, and carrot sauteed in olive oil. I don't want to brown the veggies too much. I use both chicken broth and water. You can use all water, if you prefer, but I like the heartiness of the chicken broth. It gives the soup a bit more substance. I advise against using only chicken broth, as it creates an overly salty soup and disturbs the flavor.

There's nothing quite like sitting down to a nice bowl of warm soup. As my glasses steam up, I'm struck by the bright fragrance of dill. The fish is moist and easily flakes against the sharp tines of my fork. A piece of hand-torn day old bread quickly soaks up any remaining juice, melting into a soft delicious mush.


Fish Soup

1 large Tilapia filet, roughly 1 lb
1 yellow pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 small onion, chopping
2 carrots, diced
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup, chopped dill
1/4 cup, chopped parsley
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup water

Prepare vegetables in roughly equal size pieces. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Gently saute yellow pepper, onion, carrots, and garlic in olive oil until onions become translucent. Pour in chicken stock, water, and a bit of salt. Cover and let simmer over medium low heat until the carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Cut the fish fillet into large chunks. Add to hot soup and poach until just cooked through, 8 - 10 minutes. Toss in fresh herbs and scallions. Cook for 2 minutes. Taste for salt. Ladle into large bowls and serve with crusty bread.