In the Kitchen

April 16, 2009, 11:27 pm

Curry soup

Do any of you visit ethnic markets in your town? They are fascinating and full of aromas and ingredients that might be new to you.

I haven’t visited an Indian market in our town yet –not sure where one is actually. But we do make trips to the Japanese and Chinese markets and there are Mexican markets everywhere. We get a kick out of visiting these places and always come away with some new “thing” to try. Sometimes it’s food, other times it’s a kitchen gadget, and in the case of the Japanese market there is almost always a fashion magazine or two that make there way home with us.

For this recipe there really isn’t anything too exotic in it so everything should be available at your standard market. But maybe with all the cooking that’s going on you’ll consider venturing out and exploring what your town has to offer.

This soup has an elegant look, but don’t let that or the list of spices deter you. It’s amazingly simple to prepare and due to the tomatoes and fish, your protein, vitamin C, and iron will each get a nice boost.

Ingredients

• Water, 6 cups
• Canned tomatoes, 28 ounces (704 grams)
• Cardamom seeds, 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL)
• Whole cloves, 2
• Cinnamon stick, 1
• Red pepper flakes, 3/4 tsp (3.75 mL)
• Curry powder, 2 TB (16 grams)
• Lemongrass, 1 stalk (44 grams) -cut into 1" sections
• Halibut, 1 lb (486 grams) -cut into 2" chunks. Any firm, white fish will do, such as snapper or monkfish
• Salt, 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL)
• Flat leaf parsley, 1/2 cup (118 mL)

Preparation

Place water, tomatoes, cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, red pepper, curry powder and lemongrass pieces in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Strain liquid; add fish and poach until opaque, about 10 minutes.

Taste, add salt if needed (the nutrition label includes the salt). Garnish with parsley after placing in a bowl (I totally forgot to add the parsley to the dish for the photo).

5 servings

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