Fish Shrimp Soup with Shellfish

Ingredients

• 8 large shrimp
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 1 stalk leek (white part only)
• 1 onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 0.5 tsp mild curry powder
• 200 ml dry white wine
• Sea salt
• ground pepper
• 1 pinch saffron strands
• 250 g shellfish (e.g., mussels, Venus clams)
• a splash of vermouth (e.g., Pernod)
• 1 tsp chopped parsley

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse and pat dry the fish heads. Fillet and devein. Cut all fillets into bite‑size pieces and refrigerate. Clean shrimp, remove head, peel leaving tail segment, and devein.

2. 2.

   In a hot pot, briefly sauté fish heads (without gills) with shrimp shells in 1 tbsp oil. Cover with 1 l cold water, add star anise, bay leaf, thyme, and bring to boil. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes just below the boil, skimming foam as needed.

3. 3.

   Preheat oven to 180°C fan‑forced. Mix parmesan with thyme and sprinkle over white bread slices. Bake on parchment paper for 6–8 minutes until melted. Remove, dust with parsley, and let cool.

4. 4.

   Clean leek, slice into thin rings. Peel onion and garlic, finely chop.

5. 5.

   Add remaining oil to a hot pot and sauté leek, onion, and garlic until translucent. Stir in curry powder and deglaze with white wine. Strain fish stock through a fine sieve and bring to boil. Season with salt, pepper, saffron; simmer gently for about 20 minutes, adding water if needed.

6. 6.

   Wash shellfish, discard any open ones that remain closed after cooking. Add shellfish to the simmering soup, cover, cook for ~5 minutes, then discard any still closed shells. Add fish pieces and shrimp to the hot soup, let them finish cooking over gentle heat without boiling further. Season with vermouth, parsley, salt, pepper and serve with parmesan chips.