Fish soup

There are some dishes that belong to an international gastronomic tradition, that are made in many countries and cities around the world, with the result that there are many different delicious variations - just as in the recipe that we offer you today. From our recipe file we have extracted a particularly tasty version of fish soup, a truly wonderful dish that can be prepared in a thousand different ways, with ingredients that change depending on the country and region in question, with the result that it is very easy to enjoy dozens of sensational variants. After buying fresh seafood at your local fishmonger, and some good quality tomatoes from your grocer, you just have to follow our instructions step-by-step, possibly adding some lovely, tasty croutons. Are you ready to serve up this specialty?

Clean and gut all the fish, and remove their scales, under running water. Clean the cuttlefish by removing the skin, eyes, mouth and entrails. Clean the octopus removing the eyes and mouth. Break the crab claws with a hammer so that it will leave more flavour in the soup. Prepare the king prawns by cutting their sides open with scissors, so that you can eat them easily when cooked. Shell the prawns. Wash and cook the mussels and clams in a separate pot until they open. Remove them from their shells and set aside the cooking liquid for the stock. Prepare a stock base for the soup with some vegetables, the mussel and clam liquid and the fish remains. Take the chopped celery and onion and them fry in a large pan, which you will then use to make the soup. Add the tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes with a few basil leaves. Sauté the crab claws along with the tomato sauce and add a dash of white wine, then cut the cuttlefish into rings, and add it to the mixture with the king prawns. Strain in all the stock (about 2 litres) and add the octopus, the gurnard, the rockfish and the grass goby fish. Add salt and a pinch of sugar to give it more flavour. Add a clove of chopped garlic, chili, pepper and a little paprika. Let it cook for half an hour and then remove all the fish from the soup (rockfish, gurnard, grass goby) and sort the flesh from the skin and the bones. Put all the flesh back into the in the soup and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve with toasted baguette.